The longer you go without eating carbohydrates, the easier it is to go without eating carbohydrates, because your
insulin and ghrelin levels fall, so you have fewer sweet and starch cravings. The hardest time on any diet is
always the first 48 hours. After that, if you are not eating carbohydrates (less than 5-10 grams of carbohydrate
per meal), your cravings will significantly diminish. Drinking diet pop decreases carbohydrate cravings for some
patients, but it increases carbohydrate cravings for other patients. It’s helpful to find out which group you are in.
Have a Diet Coke or add some Equal, SweetNLow or Splenda to your coffee, tea or iced tea – and see what
happens to your sweet and starch cravings in the hour after you’ve had artifical sweetener. In some animal
studies, artificial sweeteners increase feeding behavior, in other animal studies, artificial sweeteners do not
increase feeding. You’ll know what group you’re in after an hour.