When will it finally sink in??

[ttdriver]

I read over and over the same posts ... and ask myself the same question!

"I did Atkins a few years ago and did well. Lost ____ pounds and felt great. Then I fell off the wagon and gained it all back and more!"

I ask myself every time I read these posts: "Why?"

I don't understand what drives people to abandon such an empowering way of eating. A sure-proven way to conquer the sugar demon once and for all time and yet they give it up and return to their old ways and habits. Why is that?

Why do people think they can go back to white sugar and flour without paying the price? What makes them think "it won't happen to me?" What allows them to drop their guard against refined JUNK?

I just don't get it.

Betty

[fivebyfive]

this post offends me we are only human. some of us for whatever reason do slip sometimes.. we know what the consequences are. For some people eating is more of an emotional issue than a physical issue.

[cleochatra]

{{{{{Five by five}}}}}

You know, it's psychological, not physical. It's hard to fall off the wagon on Atkins when you're doing really well. Still, those years and years of self-abuse fall back into play, not because it's logical, but because we're creatures of habit. We're also fallible. (Or however one spells it.)

I've been doing really well on this way of eating. I've lost so much weight I have to run around the shower to get wet.

Still, right now I'm engaging in more stress with this move than I've had since my father passed away. So, while I haven't completely jumped ship, I'll be honest. I'm not doing so well right now.

My schedule's disrupted, I'm tired, and I've had money streaming out of my wallet faster than Al Gore can say, "I Guaran-Damn -Tee it". And while all these seem still like bad reasons for me to sabotage all of the success I've had so far, they're comfort to me. My old habits bring me comfort.

And right now I'm taking that comfort as my survival mechanism to get me through this move.

So these are justifications, as weak as they may be. But I'm just a human. Even if I have that antenna sticking out of my elbow and know how to speak Klingon.

I'm not here whining about my weakness, and I'm not revelling in it, either. I'm not looking for attention and I'm not looking for pity. I'm sucking it up like the big girl I am. I'll get through it.

We all do. :joy

[ChixRule]

Cleo and Fivebyfive.... well said.

[ttdriver]

I didn't mean to offend .. I realize we're all human.

I just don't understand the mentality of giving up or giving in on something you know works.

I realize its not that black&white for everyone; but it surely would make it easier if we could all see this is a forevermore type thing instead of an on-again-off-again deal.

Betty

[cleochatra]

You are more of an objectivist on this issue. I'm a relativist.

Therefore, we're going to view this issue differently.

You see that people should stick to this WOE through thick and thin.

I say there are circumstances we revert to old habits for primal comfort/survival and then we go back to doing what works in the end.

You can take a trip, make a wrong turn and that don't mean you're not still headed to Memphis. You just needed a pit stop. Or you veered right when you should have veered left.

I think there's room for all points of view!

Here's to all of us!

:joy

{{{chixie}}}{{{ttdriver}}}{{{fivebyfive}}}

[FightingTheFight]

You see that people should stick to this WOE through thick and thin.

I say there are circumstances we revert to old habits for primal comfort/survival and then we go back to doing what works in the end.

Well, one could argue that you need to make this WOE a habit of primal comfort/survival. Because if you don't, you are not changing the way you are eating for life, you just doing it temporarily until things get bad again.

I agree with Betty on this, BUT, I do understand how people can go back to their old ways.

Emotions can cause some serious mental fogginess causing the wrong decisions to made. Its not an excuse though to make it a habit of jumping on and off again of the wagon. Its detrimental to your Mind,Body and Soul.

[cleochatra]

I see your excellent points, fighting!

I am not stating one ought not strive for perfection.

I only am stating that along the way we are all still human, with needs, emotions and sometimes insatiable desires, impulse control problems, you name it!

It's easy to say that because a person can do something everyone else has to do it.

It's quite another to live up to someone else's standards when our own is all we have.

So shoot for the stars! But along the way, look out for occasional falling rocks.

I have a great amount of respect for betty, and am so pleased with her accomplishments. Girl, you rock!

At the same time, I see the precarious situation many of us fall into: We take two steps forward and a half a step back. But we're still making progress. Yes, it's a little bit more slow, and yes we make booboos along the way. Still, we'll all get there in the end if we believe!

We even have a new forum for those of us who have jumped back on the wagon again. It deals with issues that backsliders tend to face, coupled with ways to forego any further roadblocks on our travels.

I think this is a great thread, and certainly has validity in its points, even if we all see things a little bit differently on this issue. I hope I haven't overly-repeated myself. I now recuse to others who want to chime in!

Thank you for the respectful and polite discourse, and let's remember, everyone, that we can agree to disagree and still be friends here.

*hip bumps around the room to my pals*

[FightingTheFight]

lol@hip bumps

I am not stating one ought not strive for perfection.

I Say we should! I know that no one can be perfect, but if we strive for it, we will have better results than striving and setteling for average right?

I with ya Jamie, I have compassion for when things happen to people, but I lose it the more and more they continue to show a pattern.

[cleochatra]

As an aside, I meant we should strive for perfection. The double negatives were confusing and I apologize. That's a m'I bad.

I agree that if someone has no desire to change then there's little validity to claims otherwise. A person's got to want to make the change and a person who only wants to lose weight in a lukewarm fashion can't be taken seriously if there's an obvious pattern of bathing in gravy and then wondering why the weight's just not pouring off..

Still, there are fools like me. I'm scrappy, make a mistake from time to time, but I hold myself accountable and move on. It doesn't mean I'm not worth supporting. It just means that I might not get to the finish line at the same time as people who never veer. I might be the one who's tied my shoelaces together back at mile 3 and wonder why I fell in the pothole, but I'll correct the problem and make it in the end!

We all will if we want it bad enough!

OK. Promise I'm shutting up now.

[FightingTheFight]

I would almost think you are a carpenter, because you hit the nail on the head there.

If someone wants something bad enough....they will get it.


I think most people are sold on the dream of reaching their goals, but sometimes theres a shock of the actual work involved. We all know that victory is much sweeter when the work is hard though!


and no, don't shut up!

[matawguro]

Re: When will it finally sink in??

Why do people think they can go back to white sugar and flour without paying the price? What makes them think "it won't happen to me?" What allows them to drop their guard against refined JUNK?

It all boils down to how one answers this question...

Is it worth it?

How someone answers that question differs depending on a lot of factors like current environment, stress, hormones, etc. At times knowing that something is worth it is not the same as feeling or believing it.

People fall off the wagon because at one time they said to themselves "It's not worth it. It's not worth giving up foods that give me comfort. It's not worth all the flak I receive from family and friends. It's not worth limiting my options a restaurants."

A similar discussion a while back mentioned that women seemed to fall off the wagon much more than men. Someone asked if it was because men had more willpower than women. I answered by saying that if this WoE had people limiting sex rather than carbs, I think very few men would be able to stay on the wagon.

It all boils down to how much you value what you have to give up compared to how much you have to gain.

[carbcounter999]

Part of it is called the 'personal fable' - the belief that we are invulnerable to things that others fall victim to. So while others warn us that we will fall back to our old habits if we cheat, we believe that this won't happen to us. It's the same thinking that guides unsafe sex practices - others will get pregnant/HIV/an STD/etc but I won't. It's not true of course, but for most of us we think we're "different."

And Oprah had it right - you need to have the 'a-ha' moment. That moment when you realize deep in your gut and soul that this is the way to live. You can't force this, and sometimes all the info in the world doesn't make it happen. I'm not saying you can't be successful without an 'a-ha' but it is one of the most motivating things.

Just my 2 cents.

[ttdriver]

I answered by saying that if this WoE had people limiting sex rather than carbs, I think very few men would be able to stay on the wagon.

:nod :nod :nod :nod

Betty

[sadie147]

And Oprah had it right - you need to have the 'a-ha' moment. That moment when you realize deep in your gut and soul that this is the way to live. You can't force this, and sometimes all the info in the world doesn't make it happen. I'm not saying you can't be successful without an 'a-ha' but it is one of the most motivating things.

I'm completely with you on this one! As well as being successful on this woe, I quit smoking 5 yrs ago and I can tell you it is exactly the same. You cannot do it without that 'a-ha' moment (well i couldn't). For me both were completely different. I quit smoking after a 43 yr old friend massive heart attack (he lived thankfully). I had known many ppl who'd become sick or died from smoking, including my own father, but this one for some reason was that turning point for me. I started atkins as just another 'diet', but had never eaten so healthy in my life. One mont into it I suddenly had my 'a-ha' moment were i realized this is about my health and not about losing weight (though i did still want that). For me it just became a change lifestyle, a completely NEW lifestyle, and no longer a diet. I stopped caring what people thought, and how long it would take to lose the weight, and starting enjoying how good i felt.


Losing weight (as well as quitting smoking, drinking, drugs etc) is a very individual thing I think, and everyone has their own 'a-ha' moment at different points in their life.

This is a great thread, and I think every has some very valid points on both sides!