Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

[Mr. Dustin]

Hello!

I am writing this to see what kind of advice I can gather in regards to staying on this way of eating. I have always ALWAYS struggled with my weight, ever since I was a child, and now that I'm 28 I really need to get this under control. I successfully do Atkins for a week or two, get into ketosis, see the scale budge and feel great. I love the feeling of being in control and working towards a healthier weight. Then trouble strikes. I get broadsided. I fall off the bandwagon. At one point or another I am tempted by the evil seductress named Chocolate. Or stress gets the best of me; you can imagine any other reasons or temptations.

What I need is some sort of radical motivation to "stick with it" which I apparently lack. Can anyone think of something that might help me? How do you all counteract the moments when you are tempted? How do you resist your favorite carb-loaded foods? I really need a strategy to follow. I am very frustrated with myself and my lack of willpower and weakness or whatever you would choose to call it. I can't seem to figure out if I simply deep down have given up or what is going on.

If anyone here can offer me some insight or perhaps a good swift kick in the butt, I would sincerely appreciate it!

Dustin

[TC-on-LC]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

Sometimes I can't overcome temptation. Take today for example. The easter candy was sitting out and I gave in and ate some. What I told myself was only going to be one piece turned into four.
But you just have to dust yourself off and get back on the wagon ASAP. Don't let one small falter turn into a week long binge.

As far as a "radical motivation" to stick with this way of eating all I can tell you is how would you like to be a diabetic? Have high blood pressure? Be so overweight you cannot go outside to play with your kids? (assuming you have kids)
Only you can find your true motivation. You must do this for you.

Good luck.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

>>How do you all counteract the moments when you are tempted?>>

I ask the food in question, how are you going to help me achieve my goals?

>>How do you resist your favorite carb-loaded foods? I>>

I say, "No, thank you". I decided when I committed to doing Atkins that this was going to be a major change in my way of eating ... and I committed to doing it.

I realize that just because <insert food here> is on the table, that I don't have to eat it.

>>I really need a strategy to follow.>>

You will have to find your own strategy. What personally works for me might not work for you.

>>I can't seem to figure out if I simply deep down have given up or what is going on.>>

You have to figure that out ... or you will simply keep repeating what you're already doing.

[Tiggerdagibit]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

I agree with getting right back on track if you slip up. Don't let it completely sabotage you. Try reading the sticky "What excuse do you have" at the top of this forum. Maybe some of those will apply to you. Make your own list and refer to it when you feel weak. Personally, these are some of the things that help keep me motivated..

-I'm diabetic and able to keep my blood sugars under control without meds.
-I have so much more energy.
-I have a couple summer trips planned, including the beach (eek!) and I want to look the best I can.
-My daughter is also diabetic and I want her to learn how to eat properly so she won't have problems later in life.
-I'm a nurse and I don't want to feel hypocritical when I'm talking to someone about taking care of themselves. lol

Always be prepared! Carry some sort of snack with you so you can't use the excuse that you were hungry and had no other options than what was in the vending machine. I have a LC bar in my purse. I don't believe they should be eaten all the time, but it's better than a snickers bar. ;-)

If you haven't already, check out Linda's LC recipes. Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home
There are some great ones in there. Also check out the recipes on this site. There are several friendly ones that you can substitute for high carb foods.

Another thing that helps me is to visit this (and other) LC sites regularly. Even if I don't post, sometimes just reading other posts helps me stay strong.

Hope some of this helps!

[Summerdressgirl]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

Try not to have all the bad carb and sugar at your home, at least until you have more will power. You are 28 as you get older it will be harder to lose the weight, you can do it but it will take a lot of work. You will always have things go wrong, bad thing happens, it is life! it will go down and up and emotional things will come up you can't control that! but what you will always have control of is what you eat..hold on to that piece of control and take it all the way...the car broke down? great but I am eating eggs with bacon period. Good luck and hang in there

[bizzlekitty]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

You need to find what works for you. What works for me might not work for you, but here's what I do:

1. Not have any bad things in the house. If you share a house with others that don't eat your way, put the food out of sight as much as possible.
2. Plan plan plan, every meal, every snack, really try and eat as much homemade meals as you can. If you are going to eat out, research the menu ahead of time and know what you can eat, and ask for safe substitutions. If you don't have time to make a meal, have backup plans or quick to make foods ready. Ex. I keep quick reheat frozen veggies and hamburger patties in the freezer. Then I have no excuse to not make them when I don't have time.
3. Eat well. That includes lots of veggies and fat. Keep each meal balanced with fats, proteins and veggies. That helps keep your blood glucose level throughout the day and fats keep you sated.
4. Look for trigger foods and avoid them. Bad foods you can't resist, or even good foods that may cause you to overeat, have cravings etc. For me, cauliflower, if it's made too much like potatoes or rice, I can overeat really easily. Having anything sweet can also trigger hunger for me so I try to limit sweet things. Soda too.
5. See how long you can go without cheating. The longer you go, the easier it becomes
6. Don't think you can have "just one", one morsel, one jelly bean, one cookie, anything. If you can't control yourself, you're better doing without any.
7. Make a list of your goals of what you want to achieve with your weight loss and post them on the fridge or anywhere else where you'll see them. I have pictures of me from when I was at a normal weight on the fridge. It makes me stop and think.
8. Find alternatives to eating when you feel tempted and use non-food rewards when you do things.
9. Don't be afraid to just say no to others when they want you to have x, y, or z. Have replies ready if they ask you questions. I simply say "I don't eat that anymore". You are in control of what you, no one else."
10. Next time you're tempted, drink some water, take a walk, find a different coping mechanism until it becomes modus operandus for you.

Hope some of these help!

[poobears1972]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

I think Atkins is a mindset. If you aren't set on this way of eating you will have a long challenging road ahead of you. If you decide this is how you are going to eat and that's that, you'll find temptation is few and far between.

I didn't take anything out of the house, I didn't avoid any situations etc. Because I need to learn to eat for the rest of my life and those things will be encountered. I decided this is what I am doing and rarely am I tempted with anything because I don't even think about cheating for long, if you allow yourself to obsess you will eventually give in. No matter what eating plan I am on I fail everytime if I'm not mentally committed to it. I can't just decide ok I'm going to start, I have to be ready or I don't last long.

Take a long hard look and decide if you are ready or not.

[callog]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

I myself have the same problem but this time I have just told myself I have to lose weight. I don't know how much you weigh but for me my weight has been my absolute rock bottom moment! I went to the Dr. and never in my life thought I would ever weigh this much. And I am your age. Well I just turned 29 not even two months ago. I had such a hard time this weekend, there were treats EVERYWHERE! lol But I did not cheat at all. I have to admit that I came home cried! I know your a guy and thats probably not what you would do. But I did! I didn't eat anything illegal so I had myself a pity party because I wanted that stuff sooooo bad. But guess what? I got on the scales this morning and I am down 20 lbs. so now I feel so much better and proud of myself for not giving in. I think it simply comes down to how bad you want this. And if we want to be thin bad enough there just has to come a point when we say NO if I keep cheating or saying I'll just have it this one time or I'll get right back to it Monday morning then we will never reach our goal. I made myself some sugar free jello it was banana and strawberry flavored, I had that with some whip cream. It was good and it satisfied me. Maybe if you are craving chocolate so bad you have to have something you could buy some of that Russell Stover sugar free candy. It tastes pretty good. The pecan delights and the peppermint patties are my fave. I know some will say that it probably isn't the best thing to have but I think I would rather curb the craving with that then totally get off the plan and have the real deal thats loaded with sugar! Just use it only for emergencies. Because if you had it alot it will make you stall or even gain. Good Luck!

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

>>I think I would rather curb the craving with that t>>

You're not curbing the craving though. All you're doing is keeping your cravings alive. Your "sweet dragon" is winning the battle.

>>Just use it only for emergencies.>>

What emergency would that be?

[poobears1972]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

If you would ride out and eat clean you won't have those cravings anymore. If you do you'll find the taste is horrible after you haven't had it in a while. By feeding your cravings you are creating your own future struggles. No one will stick to this WOE long and lose the weight they want if they cheat and keep their cravings active, it's just too hard.

[callog]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

The emergency would be that he could not help himself and he is going to cheat. So I suggested he could have the sugar free stuff rather than the real deal. No I don't recommend that he just not try to stick to the plan or just go ahead and have all the sugar free candy you want because you crave it. I agree we are all trying to break the addiction to sugar and should avoid the candy. But we are all just human and sometimes we will give in and it was just a suggestion to help him so that he doesn't totally get off the plan and eat something high in sugar. Only a suggestion and a helpful tip. I don't know why people take such offense it things. Its like someone is trying to start an arguement. People write in for help and I was only trying to help! It is my opinion and mine alone, you are more than welcome to write your own. And he may take whatever adivice or helpful tip he sees fit.

[london19]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

I have tried and failed more times than I care to count. At more than just dieting. And here's what I've learned, over the 19 years of being overweight, and about 7 of those being obese:

1) Never say I can't. Because you can. The only thing stopping you from stopping yourself cheating is your mind, and you're totally in control of that. That nagging little voice that tells you "Eat some candy, go on!". Treat it like your little brother/sister, and tell it to sod off!

2) No one ever regrets saying no. You can give in all you like and have the guilt and the sugar race through your blood and leave you filled with regrets. But if you deny yourself the fleeting pleasure of whatever's tempting your tongue... that you NEVER regret the next morning.

3) You're worth the sacrifice. That's all there is to it. It's a sacrifice. That mean's it'll be hard. You just have to suffer through it knowing that you, and the end result, are worth the struggle.


Best of luck to you, Dustin. Be strong. I know you can do it.

[mission to lose]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

Hello!

I am writing this to see what kind of advice I can gather in regards to staying on this way of eating.

I love the feeling of being in control and working towards a healthier weight. Then trouble strikes. I get broadsided. I fall off the bandwagon. At one point or another I am tempted by the evil seductress named Chocolate. Or stress gets the best of me; you can imagine any other reasons or temptations.

What I need is some sort of radical motivation to "stick with it" which I apparently lack. Can anyone think of something that might help me? How do you all counteract the moments when you are tempted? How do you resist your favorite carb-loaded foods? I really need a strategy to follow. I am very frustrated with myself and my lack of willpower and weakness or whatever you would choose to call it. I can't seem to figure out if I simply deep down have given up or what is going on.

If anyone here can offer me some insight or perhaps a good swift kick in the butt, I would sincerely appreciate it!

Dustin

For me there is/was only one thing to keep me on track.

Commitment to this WOE. Like a marriage vow.

Here was my radical motivation: I was sick of looking at my fat body in the mirror, tired of being tired, had enough of wearing big un-stylish clothes, sick of feeling like an outsider... just plain sick of it all! Until you reach that point and decide you REALLY want to change your life, no "strategy" is going to make you stay on plan.
Harsh words? Maybe. Reality? I think So.

No motivational words, advice from friends or family, encouraging tips, none of that means "sqwat." (FOR ME) Once I finally made the commitment, that was it.

For Easter our family attended a HUGE brunch as we do often for holidays.
In the past I would be checking out the 12 foot dessert table, (Yes 12 feet, not exaggerating) before I even went to the buffet for the first serving.
Yesterday, I didn't even look at it, I simply was not interested. In fact, my family all had the various desserts all over our table at the end of dinner, and I SWEAR to you...If those desserts were "CARB FREE" they still would not tempt me. You see, after a while, if you do not give into your sweet cravings and do not string them along, it WILL go away eventually.
Some family members looked over at me and said, "are you okay with us eating these desserts in front of you?" (They know how I love Baklava).
And I truthfully told them to please not worry about me. I realized sitting there that actually the thought of eating those pretty little desserts, cakes, puddings, tortes, napoleons, eclairs, etc...actually made me feel a little sick.

So think about it, and I hope this helps you.
I wish you to be an Atkins Success.

[LateNiteDiner]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

I almost fell last night to the heavenly sight of a Reese's peanut butter egg.

I managed to convince myself that I am tired of re-losing the same 10 pounds over and over. I reminded myself of how desperately I wanted to be around 240 by the end of May for a trip to Disney. I told myself that if I could overcome this one temptation this one time, it would be easier to do it again the next time. I then told my wife that she needed to have the chocolate out of the house by the time I came home from work on Monday to avoid further temptation and went to bed early.

It was hard. It will probably always be hard. But, like you, I'm tired of failing over and over and over again. I hope you find a similar strategy -- I know exactly how you feel!

P.S. Frequenting this site does help a lot. I seem to re-energize my commitment when I read of others' struggles. I also find that my lack of willpower only occurs late at night. No matter how bad I want to give in the night before, if I can say "no", the craving is entirely gone the following morning.

[poobears1972]

Re: Trouble with sticking to this WOE...

My kids try to keep me in check they say you can't have this can you? I reply with I can I just don't want to. I can have anything I want. I chose not to eat it. Everything is a choice.

To me the best advice is to make the rest of your journey as easy as possible. No one has to cheat, they chose to cheat. Don't give food that much power, it can't make you do anything. Want some sugar, eat a dill pickle, works for many people to kill the craving. Don't like pickles eat something else with a strong flavor, anything that is opposite of whatever you are craving.