What is wrong with me?

[livelaughlove08]

I do soo good then it hits me ... cheating... Why do I cheat... and when I cheat I don't just do it with one thing... if I cheat even on something little I go even farther saying I've already cheated I might as well do it big ... so then I eat even more bad things.... what is wrong with me... I have willpower but I guess it isn't strong enough... There is so many times I say no at the hardest easiest to cheat times but no!!! it is the times where I can easily get something lowcarb but i cheat anyways... anyone have any willpower tricks that will help. I'm not that bad but I think ive cheated like twice almost every month... a big cheats... when I cheat I REALLY cheat. For example:

Yesterday, I went to a wedding and for some ungodly reason in my mind I was like oh, I can cheat its a wedding, I don't go to weddings often. And what did I do ... stuffed my face with fruit and sandwiches... I was absolutely starving and dinner wasn't being served for another 2 hours and those were my only options at least it wasn't cake but still not carb friendly. I need help... I can't not lose weight anymore even though I lose tons of inches.... please any help /ideas/ or tips would be great

[MrsYvette]

Re: What is wrong with me?

To cheat or not to cheat...
If you tell yourself that the only one your hurting is yourself you may not do it.
I am not on a diet is what I tell myself.This is a life style and if I want a bite of something or two I can have it. That way it takes the badness out of the whole deal.
Hope this can help in someway.

[liv]

Re: What is wrong with me?

I think you are pretty normal. Perhaps you need some strategies to deal with things. You should probably not go to a place which serve bad food hungry. Eat before you face temptations and carry around legal but yummy snacks. Remember failing to plan is planning to fail.

Also it may be a good thing to do a bit of soul searching. What is going on? Are you afraid of succeeding? Are you bored with your food choices? Is it time to move up OWL?

Hang in there.

[allyscharm]

Re: What is wrong with me?

I agree with liv. You gotta be prepared. If I am going somewhere where there will be temptations I eat something with a lot of fat before I go so I am not at all hungry. It is a lot easier to stay in control if you aren't hungry. I am not a big fan of the Atkins bars but I ALWAYS have one in my purse. I have only had to eat my emergency bar once. I was at a baby shower and I ended up staying for several hours. Everyone was having their second round of chocolate cake and I ate the bar. I try to keep almonds in my purse too. They are a better option than the bars but sometimes you just have to have something sweet.

Tomorrow is another day!! You can do it

[KellySmith]

Re: What is wrong with me?

LiveLaughLove08...

I am so glad that I am NOT the only one who behaves this way. I am really trying to "work" on myself to stop this behavior. It just make me feel awful.

I, too, have to plan and be prepared. I just recently started taking L-Glutamine and already notice the cravings are subsiding. When I feel a strong craving coming on, I try to grab some ice cold water and drink it while I am observing the craving and soon enough it passes.

The one thing I have learned is this....I cannot allow myself to have one cookie b/c I know it won't be just one...it will be 10, 20 or all of them. And then the depression hits me. So, I just KNOW I am not going to abuse myself anymore. It's not going to be easy but I am truly sick and tired of torturing myself.

I don't know if I offered any advice or if I am just venting and babbling.

We can do this and conquer this once and for all.

[eschli35]

Re: What is wrong with me?

Really when you think about it being overweight for me is like being an alcoholic. Just one drink can derail them and for me just one bite of anything illeagal. I am just like you once I cheat small I think oh well lets go for it just one more time and I will start back tommorow and be really good.

[livelaughlove08]

Re: What is wrong with me?

So far I just restarted on induction... because I never had a really strict induction and I need to get back to the basics... plus my weight had stayed the same... so I'm trying to mix it up and follow Atkins the way its meant to be not the way I want it to be... lol

[KellySmith]

Re: What is wrong with me?

So far I just restarted on induction... because I never had a really strict induction and I need to get back to the basics... plus my weight had stayed the same... so I'm trying to mix it up and follow Atkins the way its meant to be not the way I want it to be... lol

I think I am going to do the same thing....Starting tomorrow.

Please Lord give us the strength to do this right.

[DesertRain]

Re: What is wrong with me?

I was the same way, but honestly....I had to really burn it in my brain that I could no longer live like that. I did what other suggested and stayed away from temptation until my willpower was completely built up. I was just at a wedding with my family and everyone was pushing the cake on me, well, I took a slice, took a bite (it was delicious) and pushed the plate away. Sure, I thought about eating the whole thing, but I just know better now, and I have worked so hard to get where I am that I will not let a slice of cake bring me back to square one. Put your mind to it and you will get what you are searching for.

[chiloe]

Re: What is wrong with me?

In my pre Atkins days I found the supplement chromium really helped with cravings. Since starting Atkins, those cravings have gone.
I so far I have not and plan not to have any sweeteners as I'm afraid it will trigger cravings.
Are you eating a lot of artificial sweeteners or alternate 'healhty' sweeteners? That could be triggering you.
I just know if I make a habit of eating anything sweet it will lead me over the edge and believe me, I loved my sweets!! But now, I am focused on re-programming my taste buds and my brain and really enjoying some new veggies and combinations.
Some days I notice sweets are everywhere when I'm out shopping and I don't really crave them but can't help remembering the fix they gave me.
At the same time it all looks so fake to me. I mean I can see a bunch of desserts on a nice display and it kind of looks fake somehow. Weird huh?
There have been days that I have felt deprived and that's because I didn't take time to prepare some foods in advance to have on hand and had less variety.
I like to keep cooked meats on hand as well as a big container of creamed cauliflower, pumpkin puree, grilled veggies, cheese, sour cream and cream on hand so there is always something yummy to eat. And olives and hot peppers to add a little zip.
Keep at it you're doing great!

[Time2Shine]

Re: What is wrong with me?

So far I just restarted on induction... because I never had a really strict induction and I need to get back to the basics... plus my weight had stayed the same... so I'm trying to mix it up and follow Atkins the way its meant to be not the way I want it to be... lol

That's a smart decision. Atkins isn't meant to be tailored to something more comfortable It's designed based on scientific data and it's a well documented fact that you can't have "just a little" cheat. We've all faced the cheat dragons and they will win every time. We're all addicted to carbs, food, whatever and if we have just a little we end up having too much or it reactivates cravings and we're faced with dealing with those.

If you know you're going to an event, plan accordingly. Wedding means food and drinks = take along snacks and plan to dissect your food. Sandwiches were a fine choice, but only if you removed the bread and stuck to allowed fillings. Fruit would be fine if you were at OWL level, even if you hadn't reached the fruit rung!! You could just have lowered the carb intake for the following day to make up for the overage. On induction, there simply aren't any allowances for straying. It's boot camp for this way of life. You either do it right or you don't get results.

You attempted the best choices and you knew that you were cheating, so you were at least cognizant of it. You're asking for help here, so you're obviously serious about succeeding. Now just execute a plan for future events.

And the old adage "failure to plan is a plan for failure" is very true. You have to plan every single day until it becomes a normal routine and you no longer need to think about it. I'm six weeks in and I still have to plan or I end up mad dashing to find something when hunger hits. And speaking of planning, I need to pack my lunch and snacks and hit the road!

Stay focused!