Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

[skinny before 21]

I am struggling with a decision on weather or not I should continue attempting Atkins. I have tried many times and have never gotten past a few weeks in. I totally believe in the program but every time I try the people around me try to sabotage me by saying its unhealthy and it wont work.

Also, I just feel like my life is super unorganized and it's really difficult to count how many carbs I take in and usually end up guesstimating. And because of that, I never make it out of induction, because I don't know how much to add for the rungs and then I get bored with the choices and it's all downhill from there.

Maybe even Atkins is too hard for me.

Ya know, I sit and watch tv for hours and I feel badly about it, and think maybe I should get up and exercise,but just the thought of exercise makes me cry. Flashbacks from high school gym class being forced to run a mile and my chest hurting really badly and feeling like I just can't breathe fast enough. I dread that feeling. Is it possible to have an exercise phobia?

ok, I'm done complaining now haha.

Any advice? Should I keep trying or just admit defeat?

[Georgiana]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I am struggling with a decision on weather or not I should continue attempting Atkins.

You should stop attempting Atkins. If Atkins is how you want to eat for life, then you should decide to do it, not "attempt" it.

I totally believe in the program but every time I try the people around me try to sabotage me by saying its unhealthy and it wont work.

You don't "totally believe in the program". If you did, then you wouldn't give a flying fig about whatever others are saying.

It's no one else's fault that until now you have failed at sticking to the plan. Others might not even try to "sabotage" you -- they could be just worried about you (because they don't understand Atkins) and could be openly expressing their concerns. That you don't like this, it's a different story. You could ignore what they are saying, if you "totally believed in the program". Unless those people who are telling you that Atkins is unhealthy are forcing food down your mouth, whatever you choose to eat is YOUR decision, whether good or bad.

If you are to see long-term success on Atkins, then the people around you might change their thinking. Or not. For what you do (that is, eat), it shouldn't make any difference.

I just feel like my life is super unorganized

What are you doing to change that?

it's really difficult to count how many carbs I take in

Counting net carbs is not difficult. Once you are determined to make Atkins your way of eating for life, you'll start counting your carbs.

Maybe even Atkins is too hard for me.

Maybe you need to change your attitude and stop disparaging yourself.

Instead of

• "maybe even Atkins is too hard for me"
• "maybe I'm wrong and others are right saying Atkins is unhealthy"
• "maybe others are correct saying that Atkins won't work for me"

you could

• PLAN your meals
• FOCUS on following the plan
• exercise (you don't have to love it and you don't have to run a marathon -- you need to find something you can live with and just do it; it can be something like walking)

Ya know, I sit and watch tv for hours and I feel badly about it

Not bad enough to DO something about it though?

think maybe I should get up and exercise

Thinking about it doesn't help. For results, you need to act.

just the thought of exercise makes me cry.

As I wrote above, you don't need to enjoy exercise. Once you stop feeling sorry for yourself and doing only what you feel like doing and what's easy, you will change your behavior and you will be able to stick to the plan.

Should I keep trying or just admit defeat?

That's for you to decide. You are the one that needs to be determined to change your way of eating for good.

[ziggy]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

its easy to eat atkins like once you get the hang of it

eggs, unsalted butter, broccoli, and meat
and some feta cheese in either your eggs or broccoli but not both cause cheese has a little lactose sugars

but see how easy that days food was?

and as for exercise i used to feel the same way but trust me if you follow the atkins diet and do exercise the day will come when you LOVE exerciseing

and till that day just do the exercises that are most comfortable for you and make sure you exercise every muscle on your body

[AJs-mommy]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

Why tell people you are on Atkins if you know how they will respond ("Everytime I try..."). Just say "I'm watching what I eat and limiting my carb intake". Or, for that matter, why tell them anything? It's none of their business!! This is YOUR life and only YOU can make the decision to do something about it. Think of the serenity prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Can you change how some people view Atkins?... No, but you can change the way you view it. You don't believe in it, or you would be fighting to prove them wrong. How can Atkins be any less healthy than weighing 290 lbs? Completely invest yourself and the results will speak for itself. I am the queen of excuses... you have to find the positive ones. For every negative excuse that pops in your head, quickly replace it with a positive one.

You say you watch TV for hours? Why not do something while watching TV? Do 10 jumping jacks, 10 sit ups, 10 push ups, 10 squats, etc. If you do nothing but march in place... swing your arms as wide as you can and lift your knees as high as you can. This is very low impact and gets the heart pumping pretty good.

Don't let the past ruin your future. Forget the past. It's done, it's over, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is your health and happiness. Make a committment to yourself to do this for YOU.

Don't blame others. We are our own worse enemies. The only person that can truly sabotage our weight loss is us. Only you can decide whether you are going to take some responsibility and start living your life or continue sitting and watching TV for hours while hiding from life. I hope you make the right choice!! Good luck!!

[canucme]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

throw in the towel and admit defeat if that's who you are. you can sit around watching tv and eating junk food for a while if that is what you like. and then maybe when you're 350 pounds you can take another shot at it.

me personally, i wouldn't give up. 6 years ago i was 250 pounds. slowly over the last 6 years i put on 130 pounds and wish i would have done something when i hit 300 or 325. i didn't though. i threw in the towel and shot up to 380 pounds. i now have 140 pounds to lose instead of 40 like you. i wouldn't waste the chance you have right now. you have to step up and do something right now. and forget telling people you are on atkins or any diet at all. i find that when i tell people i am dieting i can never live up to what i think their expectations of me are. i also have people that do not like the atkins plan and think it is unhealthy. it wasn't until i heard from my doctor that i had to lose weight by any means necessary that i really made the decision to change my life and follow the atkins plan.

[Aprile]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I found an easy way to keep track of my carb counts was to make a list with foods I eat on a regular basis. I make a list of what I eat in 5 carb increments. I can glance at my list and know if I add so much of this it is 5 carbs so much of that it is 5 carbs. Each time I move up a rung I add the new foods I want to try. I add the amount and the carb amount always for me 5 carb increments though it makes it easier for me. I also when I add the food to the list look at the fiber content and subtract it. So my 5 carb list is always net carbs. I hope that made sense. This way when I eat I just look at my list and know what I am eating. If I end up adding something that I don't normally eat I just look up the count on fitday and add it to my list. I keep the list in excel and print it out each time I add something new and keep it folded in my purse.

[Browneyedmelly]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

If you don't do it now with either this wol or some other way.. then your going to be like me that started this wol at 404.. exactly what canucme said is what happened to me...with each diet I was on I gained back what I lost and more...till I hit this horrendous weight I started at...if you do not do it now, then not only will you feel unhealthy, but you begin to stop living your life and it begins with the little things...I don't give a flying banana what other people think...at my family dinner last Saturday in front of 25 people I announced loudly and proudly as possible that I was on the Atkins WOL...the 2 people who turned their noses up at me, well a few months ago they were on the medifast diet.. had lost 25 pounds... well last Saturday when I saw them again they had gained that back and 20 more...where as I had lost an extra 30 pounds...as for exercising...even if while watching TV, you can walk in place... or walk back and forth from the front of your house to the back of your house several times.. that's how I started...you just have to do the work and when you do you will see results... I wish you all the best...

[JulieB]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I love TV too I sometimes do pushups, squats, crunches, etc at commercials I also go for a walk on my lunch break at work. Moving a little is always better than not moving at all

Have you tried fitday.com? If you switched 1/2 hour of TV watching for 1/2 hour (or less) in front of the computer journaling what you eat, your exercise, you could make this work for you!

When I decided to do Atkins, I made it (myself!) a priority in my life. The cooking, counting, exercise, etc takes time - so I had to give some other things up - my house isn't as clean as it used to be...I don't watch quite as much TV (although I got a stationary bike & parked it in the middle of the living room so I can ride & watch) I struggled with diets/yo-yoing weight for decades...this time I decided it was something I wanted...and I made it work for me. When you are ready, with the support from the people on this board, you will do it too! Best Wishes,

[maxima]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

Julie, you look TERRIFIC! You should be so proud and pleased with yourself.

When I started this, I was very afraid it would be too complicated and voiced my fear. I did not have the book, was just doing what my neighbor told me to do .

Not good. The good people here told me to get the book and I ordered it via amazon that very day. I read it in one sitting and though to tell you the truth, I DID find it complicated, it was also a lot to take in all at once.

A little at a time. Induction first, knowing that for some (me) this is a hard process in the beginning. I think it took me about three weeks before I began to feel comfortable with this diet - the "withdrawals" from my junk eating was really felt.

And then the scale pleased me and I was happy. All you need is a one cup measuring cup and a half cup measuring cup for induction for your veggie consumption. Simple.

Exercise. Walk for ten minutes for awhile with an ipod. Every step counts. If ten minutes is too much, do it for five. Or three. Or one. Whatever it takes to make a plan and then be willing to do what it takes to stick to it, even if it's a tiny plan.

Every big accomplishment starts with step one and step one is to admit that wishes and excuses won't accomplish anything good. Step two is to decide that you will go through what it takes to get this show on the road.

It doesn't have to be difficult to manage, the book makes that crystal clear. And the diet in the beginning couldn't be easier. No, you will not eat bread or junk food - after all, you wouldn't need to go on Atkins if that stuff didn't hurt you.

But what you will eat will, after a period of time, leave you feeling wonderful inside and out, physically and emotionally.

But you have to actually DO it. It all starts with you. Nobody else can inspire you, that must be demanded from yourself.

Best wishes!

[mission to lose]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I am struggling with a decision on weather or not I should continue attempting Atkins. I have tried many times and have never gotten past a few weeks in. I totally believe in the program but every time I try the people around me try to sabotage me by saying its unhealthy and it wont work.

Also, I just feel like my life is super unorganized and it's really difficult to count how many carbs I take in and usually end up guesstimating. And because of that, I never make it out of induction, because I don't know how much to add for the rungs and then I get bored with the choices and it's all downhill from there.

Maybe even Atkins is too hard for me.

Ya know, I sit and watch tv for hours and I feel badly about it, and think maybe I should get up and exercise,but just the thought of exercise makes me cry. Flashbacks from high school gym class being forced to run a mile and my chest hurting really badly and feeling like I just can't breathe fast enough. I dread that feeling. Is it possible to have an exercise phobia?

ok, I'm done complaining now haha.

Any advice? Should I keep trying or just admit defeat?

Excuses!

Do you want to lose weight?

Everyone's life is super disorganized. BUT If we want to lose weight, we just do it. No matter what. You just have to decide if you really want it enough and COMMIT!

Disorganized life???
There are people here unemployed, some working 2 jobs, some with very sick relatives, some with no kids, some with 6 kids, some who go to school and work two jobs, some with emotional problems, some with health issues, some with relationship problems, some who lost relatives recently,some who hate to cook, some who can't live without sweets, some with only a hot plate to cook on in a dorm, some with all of those situations, but they still made the decision to lose weight.

Too hard to count carbs? But you say..."I sit and watch tv for hours".
You can watch less TV and read the DR Atkins New Diet Revolution, and do some exercise. And forget about HS gym. No one is making you run a mile. I made excuses for years and I finally stopped and said I hate the way I look and feel. I am almost 1/2 way to my goal now, and I did it by not making any excuses...EVER!

" Should I keep trying or just admit defeat?"....that's up to you.
Go to the success story threads, or the before and after picture threads. They don't make excuses. They do it! Maybe they will encourage you to continue.

You got a lot of advice on this thread, now you make the decision.
If you decide to stick with it, come back here for help and advice, you have almost 2000 people here everyday to help you.

Good Luck to you whatever you decide. I hope to see you stay.

[Empyre]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I know I won't make any friends saying this but owell:

When i started my weight loss i think I was 240lbs. The simple act of standing hurt my feet and mostly my hips. I could say everything hurt.

Simply walking to my car made me cringe. I have no prior injuries to speak of, it was simply the extra weight on my frame that made the simple act of walking to the kitchen very very uncomfortable.

So, I decided I would lose weight without any exercise at all. I lost 35 lbs my first month and 60 lbs within 4 months without any exercise at what so ever. I literally lost weight living on my couch playing online video games. << (true story)

I can say since living in keto, I have not experienced hunger, hunger pains, cravings, binge eating etc.

I can say since deciding to live in keto, that I have literally forgotten what its like to be hungry or crave any type of food whatsoever.

I decided to allow my diet to do all the work for me and it worked extremely well. I don't personally feel as though stressing out the body while overweight is ideal physically and or mentally. This ofcourse is simply my opinion.

Had I incorporated exercise into my diet when I was overweight...I may have lost more weight sooner, although I will say that honestly I think I would have failed if I had tried to do so.

Everybody is different. The most important thing I found during losing weight is, You have to want it ( it being losing weight) more than life itself.

[goin2befit]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

i find that when i tell people i am dieting i can never live up to what i think their expectations of me are.

So many times I have made the wrong choices just based upon teh "expectations" that I created or created around what I "thought" they would think. Literally, I hate to eat infront of my SIL even if it is just a good old salad with 100% Atkins. I have allowed the idea of her image of me destroy much of our relationship because of the pressure of expectations. As if it is not bad enough that I fight myself wanting to loose the weight at lightning speed and then feel I Failed... having someone else see you fail is the worst feelings. But remember they are only a feeling that with time, will go away and meanwhile, you must continue to make the best choices for yourself because at the end of the day, it is you who sleeps with yourself, not anyone else!!!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

forget about the old gym class exercise images. all exercise needs to be is moving your body more then you are currently doing it. if you like dancing then turn on some music and become a dancing fool for as long as you can. then take a break and do it a gain a couple more times aday.

March in place will you cook your foods. replace your tv room chair with a fitness ball and workout just sitting there watching tv when you finally can balance on the ball you can step it up a little by sitting with your feet off the ground. You will get a great easy to do workout. once you get the balancing part down you could do leg lifts and lay backs during commercials and get some core muscle exercise just watching TV.

there are lots of nongym class type exercises you can do. click the link in my siggy to the Preschallenge and checkout all the stuff they count as exercise things like playing with your kids doing your house or yard work.

you can do this if you want to.

if you are not willing to measure and count carbs and go over because you don't, then just move to OWL and add more of those legal veggies to your daily eating. As long as you are not adding not legal for induction foods to your eating that not measuring and going over of the legal veggies limits which is derailing your induction will be a blessing in OWL rung 1

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: Should I get back in the saddle or admit defeat and sell the horse?

I totally agree with the other posters here. I get where you are coming from, though, but that's not going to help you feel better about you, to give up. You are worth more than that.

Try not to look for approval of what you are doing by telling others around you. Share share share here, where people who are doing Atkins will encourage you on your journey. Trust me, I know how annoying and disconcerting it can be to be so happy about something and have someone shoot it down. It was happening (mildly) on my blog this past week, but you know what? I don't care. That kind of talk usually comes from people who have only heard something about Atkins and haven't lifted a finger to really learn about it. Those kinds of opinions are not needed when we are making a life change.

I swear, some people would rather see people overweight and eating crap than to be happy that we are taking control of our eating habits. *steps off soapbox*