On & Off the Wagon

[vikski]

I've been doing Atkins since last September. I've lost a little over 40 lbs. There are times that I do really well, and then something stupid clicks in my brain that it's o.k. to go off plan and cheat because I can always start back up on induction and lose the weight again. When I cheat, I feel bloated & fat. I really don't know why I go off plan. I've been back on plan for 3 days now. Next weekend is my 20th high school reunion. Has anyone else gone through this and finally got back on plan and got to their goal weight???

[Finelly]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

Come on over to the Second Time Around forum!

[FightingTheFight]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

to go off plan and cheat because I can always start back up on induction and lose the weight agai

Dr. Atkins talks about this in the Maintainence chapter of the book. How not to abuse Induction.

Basically what happens is that you speed up and slow down your metabolisim. your body starts not to trust you lol and it gets harder after a while to lose the weight. Its best to decide to stay on it and do it. I know its easier said that done....but its the best advice.

[ttdriver]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

You are wreaking havoc with your blood sugar. Sooner or later, your body will catch on and weight loss will become increasingly difficult for you.

This is NOT A BUS .. there is no hopping on and off without paying the price. You are responsible for what you put in your mouth. It takes discipline, focus, determination.

To put it simply, "how bad you want it?"

Betty

[goin2Bgood]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

I've been doing Atkins since last September. I've lost a little over 40 lbs. There are times that I do really well, and then something stupid clicks in my brain that it's o.k. to go off plan and cheat because I can always start back up on induction and lose the weight again. When I cheat, I feel bloated & fat. I really don't know why I go off plan. I've been back on plan for 3 days now. Next weekend is my 20th high school reunion. Has anyone else gone through this and finally got back on plan and got to their goal weight???

I kinda did what you did and eventually ended up gaining back all my weight (over 40 pounds) plus some because at one point I went off and stayed off. If I had stayed on plan these past 2 years I bet I would be at goal now. Instead, I'm within 5 pounds where I left off in March/April of 2004.

[vikski]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

Thanks everybody. I am responsible for what I put in my mouth. That is what i'm going to say to myself when a bad craving comes along. I need to get this weight off. Thanks for the words.

[ttdriver]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

I am responsible for what I put in my mouth. That is what i'm going to say to myself when a bad craving comes along.

THERE YOU GO!! YOU CAN DO IT!

Betty

[Iapetus999]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

Thanks everybody. I am responsible for what I put in my mouth. That is what i'm going to say to myself when a bad craving comes along. I need to get this weight off. Thanks for the words.

What stage are you in?
If you are still having cravings at this point you may want to have people look at your menu. Also have some lo-carb snax when you get hungry...don't wait too long before eating.

[vikski]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

What happened last week is that I didn't go shopping for Atkins friendly foods because $$$ was low. The only things we had in the house was the carb stuff for the kids. A bowl of cereal is what got me off plan. That's where it started. Then I thought, well now I cheated what can I have next that I haven't had in a long time. One thing lead to another. Don't cheat.

[ttdriver]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

Don't cheat.

There is NO BETTER ADVICE.

Betty

[Becky Sue]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

Don't cheat.

This is the best advice we can give and also take.

We have all cheated(in the past, before Atkins WOE) and then the next cheat is so much easier, so....Don't cheat! The best advice to succeed in reaching goal!

Happy Low Carbing!

[Elizellen]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

If you can convince yourself that you are not on a diet but have changed your way of eating for good you will find it much easier to pick up Atkins after one 'slip'.

[Becky Sue]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

If you can convince yourself that you are not on a diet but have changed your way of eating for good you will find it much easier to pick up Atkins after one 'slip'.

Elizellen is so right. It is our midset that helps us achieve our goal or it can also derail our efforts. It is all in how we think about it.
Once I made the conscious decission to change my way of thinking, then the battle was on the way to being won.
I have changed my way of thinking. I am not on a diet, I am on a new improved way of eating. One that is saving my life. I eat healthier now and it makes me so happy.
The past 30+ years I let food control me and didn't know that all I had to do was to quit eating those foods(bad carbs) controlling me.
It was so wonderful getting control of what I eat, instead of the food controlling me.
Happy Low carbing!

[not2late]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

If you're one of the folks who are trying to lose 80-100% of their weight on Induction, I suggest that you stop trying to do that and do 14 days of Induction and move onto OWL and the other phases as Dr. Atkins wrote in the book.

Induction is very restrictive in terms of food choices and carb levels. Sure, Dr. Atkins said you can stay on Induction longer, but if you read the example of a person who did that in DANDR 2002, she was someone with a very high metabolic resistance to weight loss. The majority of us don't and should move onto the OWL phase to avoid getting bored to death or frustrated by the Induction restrictions.

You don't do yourself any favors by falling off and crawling back on multiple times. In fact all you are doing is prolonging your weight loss journey.

Remember OWL stands for On-Going Weight Loss. The diet was designed so that the majority of your weight loss would be during OWL, not during Induction.

[FightingTheFight]

Re: On & Off the Wagon

and should move onto the OWL phase to avoid getting bored to death or frustrated by the Induction restrictions.

I am a lucky one, induction never bores me nor do I get tired of eating the same thing every day. Eating now is not an event....actually it gets in the way of the rest of my day...