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**futurefitbabe** · July 18, 2006, 05:28 PM

Re: It's a new day...

Hey Jenna! It's like you took the words right out of my mouth with the "I know" list!! (All except the daughter one...

no children...no husband...

) Otherwise, I'm right there with you! I've been scratching my head for years now trying to figure out why I don't just allow myself to succeed in this area of my life.

We all know how to lose the weight...what keeps us from attaining the very thing that we want so desperately to change??!! I wish I had the answer to that one! I hope like you that I can keep it together this time! Good luck to you! (And me!)

**ValidRouge** · July 18, 2006, 06:11 PM

Re: It's a new day...

Its called addiction...and we are all carbohydrate junkies! That's my opinion anyway. We've got to treat it like an addiction and kick all that junk to the curb once and for all so that we can live a happy life. To me, my happiness is far more valuable than the seconds that the carb highs last.

**Terry** · July 18, 2006, 07:40 PM

Re: It's a new day...

I agree .......... carbs are an additction. It certainly feels that way when you are coming off them that is for sure.

Welcome back!! Thats a great list you have to go back to when ever you need to be reminded of why you are here.

**Roshen** · July 19, 2006, 02:36 AM

Re: It's a new day...

welcome back to this WOE!!!

**DragonflyMoon** · July 19, 2006, 07:45 AM

Re: It's a new day...

Thank you all! It is good to be back. I don't know if anyone else feels like this ~ but after i have been "out of control" for awhile with my eating, when i get back on track with Atkins i feel such a sense of relief. Anyone else feel like that?

So the question is then ~ what is it that makes the cycle go from relief to being on track... to succeeding & doing well... to freaking out and eating the evile carbs again? I just don't get it.

And i agree with you about the carbs being an addiction. ABSOLUTELY! 100% that is true for me. So maybe that is the answer to my question then ~ like other addictions, if you just slip up that one time - that is the kiss of death, and the downfall of the diet.

We are going to a groundbreaking ceremony today for my husband's work which will include lunch & then dinner at his boss's house. Wish me luck ~ i hope i can stay on track! I'll be wishing that i could be checking in on the boards all day! It really is so motivating. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

**booklady** · July 19, 2006, 09:33 AM

Re: It's a new day...

I totally agree with you, my relief at being back on plan was very noticable. A ten year veteran low carber I know teaches to lead with the diet and she is so right. If I know tonight, what I am going to eat tomorrow, there is nothing to think about on any day. I am also taking her advice and keeping it very simple. Just pure meats and veggies and salads and of course my bacon and eggs. I have found by taking the focus off the food and just eating what I planned, there is no struggle any more. I just eat.
I love your I know statements, they are awesome. I agree with each of them completely.
Food addiction in some ways is harder than drug or alchohol addition as you do have to eat, BUT, if you avoid the addictive foods, it really is the same , in that, you are not letting yourself be tempted by the things that are bad for you. Even alchoholics have to see beer advertisements , so carb addicts are not alone in that. The only differance is people tend to honor an alcholhoics journey and not offer them thier poisin, when it is food, people just do not get it and want you to eat just one bite, it won't hurt you, but it awakens that addiction inside of you that makes you go from leading with the diet, to leading with your emotions. The food does cause reactions in our bodies and once you give in, the addiction takes over. That is why, one little bite is so dangerous, it rarely ends at that one little bit but causes you to lose all self control with those foods.
The secret I do believe, is keeping a check on how you feel each day and determine if there is something going on in your life that could cause you , as you put it , to freak out, and then go on the offensive, really get pure on your foods, drink your water and come here and talk about it so you can get through those hard times without giving in to your addictions. Why do you think people drink , smoke or do drugs, it is to numb themselves when things are hard, that is what the carbs do to a carb addict. You are trying to medicate yourself so you will feel better, but the problem is, just like the other addictions, it does not really work. Just makes things worse. YOu have to be very aware of what is going on in your life and know when you are most vunerable. Then you can start to see how your emotions can cause such a problem. The key is, just let your diet be the one constant in your life. Let it be the one thing you ARE in control of. That way you know that no matter what, no matter what happens, the food will not make your challenges harder for you.
YOu can do it, you are asking the important questions and that is how we learn to fix our behavior. I am doing the same thing right now and I have learned a lot.
I look forward to watching you get to your goals, I know you can do it !!!
Stephie

**DragonflyMoon** · July 20, 2006, 08:29 AM

Re: It's a new day...

Thank you so much, Stephie ~ that was an amazing post. I am going to print it out and save it, actually, so i can re-read it when i need to. I'm also keeping it for research ~ i have half of my Masters degree in Counseling, and soon i'll be going back to finish it, hopefully. I have taken some time off to be with my baby, who is now two, and when she goes into school i'll be going back to my old job at a University nearby... the program i worked in (i'm an administrative assistant to a director) is in Addiction Studies. I recently ran into my old boss who said that if i come back, she'll work on them paying for me degree. How cool would that be?! Anyway, to make this long story short, i think it would be really interesting to have a degree in Counseling/Addiction Studies ~ with a focus on the issue of overweight. We have tons of counselors out there for drugs/alcohol ~ what about food issues? This is something i have been toying with in my mind for a little while ~ and coming back to this board has really made me think more about it ~ so thank you!

~Jenna

**booklady** · July 20, 2006, 12:16 PM

Re: It's a new day...

Wow, Jenna, that is a great idea, we need a lot more studies in that area and what better person to do it than someone who understands it !!! That sounds like it would be a very interesting and an amazing opportunity your old boss is giving you !!! I am so thrilled for you !!! Until then enjoy that baby, three of our of our four are married now and it seems like only yesterday they were little , now we have a five year old granddaugher and two year old grandson and two ( maybe three, there could be twins ) more on the way in Dec and Jan, very exciting !!! They just grow up so fast !!!!!

Stephie

**DragonflyMoon** · July 20, 2006, 01:13 PM

Re: It's a new day...

They sure do grow up fast ~ don't they??? I sometimes still can't believe that i am a mom! I feel like i am "playing mom" or something, you know?! Thank God for my mom moving out here ~ i couldn't do it without her help! She is amazing.

Speaking of which, i was telling my mom about this board earlier today. My mom has the same carbohydrate issues as me, although not nearly as bad. She weighs a lot less than i do! Which, to be honest, is hard for me sometimes, and i feel guilty saying that. I am in that category of "fat" ~ as Bender describes in "The Breakfast Club" ~ as the person who used to be thin, but now is fat, and you can sort of see the thin person trying to get out! Anyone remember that quotable quote?

Anyway, i was always very thin, even through college. Then slowly stress of relationships and school, and then the untimely & unexpected death of my father, really took a toll on my psyche. And then i turned more and more to sugars & carbs... and then my body started to change, and it wasn't good. But i was so sad that i guess i didn't care. Although as i grew older and even went through two years of therapy, i could get through the sadness and pain, but the bad habits of reaching for food lingered.

There is so much psychology tied in with any addiction, isn't there? So maybe while we are all here, at this board, we need to try to not only focus on our diets, and supporting each other there (with diet & exercise!) but also in terms of searching for the root causes of why we have the problem to begin with, as Stephie so eloquently pointed out in her posts.

There is a lot of serendipity occuring for me right now. Running into my old boss, starting this way of living again, and being back on this board. It all ties in ~ you all are so wonderful, and your thoughts & posts are making me think deeply about things in my own life. I want to start thinking of some mental exercises we can do to try to focus in on our issues. So if anyone is interested, or has some things of their own to share, start a new post with them! I'll keep thinking too and will get back to you with some ideas!

You are all amazing!!!

~ Jenna

**booklady** · July 20, 2006, 02:51 PM

Re: It's a new day...

I was painfully thin as a child and slim as a teenager and young adult. I got pregnant with our oldest child at nineteen and had him when I was 20 and then three years later we had number two and then two years later number three and then a few years later number four, The only one we planned was four lol !!! Yes, we are nuts, but we love having a big family. Four kids from Sept 1980 through Nov 1989.
For me the weight piled on after each kid, but that excuse runs out when the youngest hit two lol, when he was born I weighed 176 ( I was 118 when I got pregnant with the oldest amd 160 by the time I got pregnant with the fourth )and by the time he was seven I was up to 204 and by the time he was 12 and I was 41 I was up to my highest of 242 which I was back up to again when I started back eight days ago. Enough is enough. If I gain as much in five years as I did then, I will be pushing 250 by the time I am 50 years old. That scares me.
My metabolism changed as I had our kids and I have read that it is very common. Since we are done having kids now, lol, I do not have to worry about that anymore and can get this weight off once and for all !!! Had I known about this while having kids, I probably would have done some things differant, but I learned about this years too late and the damage had been done.
There are a lot of issues related to food addiction, I agree strongly with that. Many times eating is a way to fill voids left by other needs. My husband and I have decided to not eat out and not shop at all, excpet for absolute necessities and we figured out we were fillling any voids we had with food and yard sale and thrift store shopping. We quit them all cold turkey. We eat at home only now. We spent way too much money on both and decided enough was enough, so I am having to figure out what to do without my addicted foods and yard sales lol !! We want to become more financially and more phyiscally fit. My husband works so much that he is too busy to think about voids, I think it was more boredom and just having fun to him, but he does have weight to lose too and I feel his weight is more just liking the food and having a pure addiction. Mine is I think common in women, we have kids, we stop doing what we loved to do and over the years fill those voids with food. Mine is art and writing, that is probably why the boards apeal to me so much. I am working on that as much as I am working on the eating. I am very rusty and it will take time, but at least I am working on it now.
It is a process that can take years,but you just keep chipping away until you find what was hidden by all the food. It is there, you just gotta dig it out !!! lol !!
Stephie

**maribelle** · July 20, 2006, 03:48 PM

Re: It's a new day...

Welcome back! Wishing you lots of strength and determination!

**DragonflyMoon** · July 20, 2006, 03:56 PM

Re: It's a new day...

Once again, awesome post, Stephie! We have a lot in common ~ although i guess that is probably true with most people here, huh?!

And i think all women who have carb addiction + pregnancy will agree how extra hard it can be to stay away from the low carb path when pregnant! Holy cow ~ i was RAVENOUS when pregnant. I could eat & eat and an hour later be completely starved.

At my heaviest, pre-baby, i was probably around 240 in the summer of 2003 and lost 25 pounds... and poof! Surprise pregnancy. My husband and i were very surprised, although thrilled, and i promptly stopped eating low carb. "Atkins isn't good when you are pregnant" i theorized. (Which i think you CAN certainly do low carb when pregnant but you have to have over a 100 carbs a day or something. I am not sure. If someone knows that info please chime in...)

Then i started with... "The BABY wants Taco Bell" ~ "I'm pregnant - i'll have the chocolate chip paradise pie, please" (my all time favorite comfort dessert from Chilis.) "Ooops, the BABY is hungry again... let's go for pizza!" How horrible!!!

Result: gained 85 pounds during my pregnancy. EIGHTY FIVE! Who does that? AHHHHHHHH!

And now after all of that i forget my point ~ and i am looking at the clock and have to go out to another work-function with my husband ~ so i am going to excuse myself, slip into my plus sized party outfit and will check in with you all later!!!

~ Jenna

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