Isn’t that the basis for the Atkins diet?
I tried it & lost 15lbs but cravings for pasta & mashed potatoes took control so I stopped.
I lost half my body weight on something like an Atkin’s Diet. ALL diets work if the calories in are less than the calories out. They all fail eventually if the cost of doing this feeling like you are starving all the time. Atkin’s Diet tends to give a person objective measures on whether what they are doing is working. If you eat crap food, processed carbs, sugars, etc...then the calories you are eating are really easily absorbed and the fat burning pathway does not happen. It takes a bit to restart it and it won’t happen while your calories are easy. Fasting will get it started but not easily. For guys it may take as much as three days. That’s why it is good to check with a doctor. Gals can have the effect start in one. But you can check with easily available strips to find out when your fast is working. After that, it only takes about a one day fast every 10 to 14 days. But the keys is not to eat the crap food at all, if you do...you will overeat.
One thing that was kind of funny when I lost the weight, EVERYONE loved the way I looked, but most everyone was trying to get me to eat crappy food, knowing my diet was working great.
DK
You need to still eat carbs as well as the protein and vegetables. Just keep the carbs to a level you are comfortable with.
My story as well.
The Atkins diet puts your body in a state of ketosis, so it burns your body fat. This diet doesn’t forbid carbohydrates, but allows you to tak enough protein to maintain muscle mass and only cuts out the proportion of carbohydrates needed to lose weight.
Cravings occur because your body isn't getting something it needs. This often happens because of the ways foods are processed and prepared.
I got past the cravings you describe with high-quality simply prepared choices. A baked sweet potato with Smart Balance as a topping is a good choice. Whole grains with no added cornsyrup, extra gluten other things with no nutritional value are satisfying. Brown rice, whole wheat cereals, many German breads and pasta with all-natural tomato sauce are good choices. The mashed potatoes with the skins included would probably be satisfying.
The trick for everyone is keeping calories low enough, but with the balance that works for them.