Need a little help......

[sogamusicman]

Hi, everyone. Thanks for all the great support everyone gives. It's really helpful. Here's my question/quandry/confusion. I have done well thus far (7 weeks in the WOE, 26 lbs. lost), but can't seem to break my old eating habits, particularly snacking when at home. On days that I don't work, I eat 300-400 more calories per day. My carb count is fine, just my calorie count goes up. I know we don't need to obsess over calories, but I thought maybe someone else has dealt with this and has some advice. BTW, it's not sweets, I finally beat that beast - nothing sweet for 6 weeks! Thanks!

M/49
July 14, 2005
298/272/199!!!

[Moochiecat]

Re: Need a little help......

Snacking is ok!
I snack when I'm at home too. As long as you are sticking to Induction-friendly foods and staying within your fat/protein/carb ratio and the limits as set in the Rules of Induction, then don't worry so much about it. When I work it out, I find that I haven't actually over-eaten, I've just spread it out through the day more than I normally would if I had been working.

If you feel you are actually over eating, then this is a great learning experience for you. Are you actually hungry, or are you seeking comfort? Consciously do something else when you have the emotional (as opposed to physical) urge to snack....drink water, go for a walk, do some sort of craft to keep your hands busy, tell yourself you'll wait 15 minutes and then go have your snack, keep lots of Induction friendly foods handy so you aren't tempted by anything else. Reassure yourself that you are fine.
But by all means, if you are hungry, eat!

I found that in the early months of Atkins I was sort of slightly panicky over whether I would be getting enough food, so I was doing my share of snacking. From what I knew about dieting it meant deprivation and that scared me. In my family, eating between meals and after dinner was frowned upon, so I was a 'gorger' at dinner time because I knew that would be it for the day. When I started Atkins I reduced my meal size (eat until satisfied, but not stuffed) and I had to learn to accept that it was ok to eat less, because there would always be the option of a snack later on.
It took a while, but I finally got back in tune with my body and can recognize the actual hunger signals now and I also recognize when I'm just bored and looking for something to eat to pass the time.

If structure is something that works for you, plan out what you will eat and when you will eat it. Train your brain and body to know that it'll get fed if it's hungry, but you won't be catering to every little whim and notion it has when it comes to snacking. This doesn't mean you'll be following a schedule for the rest of your life, it just means you are shifting your conscious and unconscious thinking to help you be able to maintain this way of eating.
I hope all that made sense!

[Finelly]

Re: Need a little help......

Don't sweat it unless you hit a 4-week stall. SEriously. If you are noshing on legal foods that do not raise your carb count above 20, and you are losing like you obviously are, then do not worry about it!

You are doing GREAT!

[Kiasmama]

Re: Need a little help......

I would echo the above words. Don't fret too much about it as long as it's legal and the numbers are good.

[cleochatra]

Re: Need a little help......

On those days when you are home, make plans for what you'll do that are out of the norm.

Your eating is triggered by your routine: you are home, you will brush your teeth, you will log onto ADBB, you will eat a snack...

So shake up your routine.

On the next day you are home, do something totally different.
Enter and exit the house through the back door.
Go outside and walk the dog.
Go window shopping at local stores for exercise and to browse.
Volunteer in a school to help teach literacy.
Write a letter to a friend in longhand.
Put on your workout clothes and during the commercials of your favorite show jog in place or do 30 situps and 10 pushups (alternating).

We have to retrain the way our brains have been taught to function due to routine. Routine is what made us fat.

Adopt a new routine for the newer, healthier you!

[sogamusicman]

Re: Need a little help......

Thanks,everyone. Some great suggestions, particularly about changing my routine!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Need a little help......

the thing about Atkins is you need to know ifyou are eatingin responce to true hunger or are you eatting cause you were bored or on autopilot. (favorite tv show is on in 5 min, get snack ready). Once you only respond to hunger as your cue to eat something and stop as soon asthat hunger is satisfied you will not need to ever worry about am i eating too much. On different days you will find you eat different amounts because your level of activity will vary or the foods you ate were slightly differing in their ability to satisfy your hunger.

Happy low carbing.

[island reina]

Re: Need a little help......

I know how you feel, I have a bad problem with snacking also