Tips that help you stick
 

I am in my first week of induction and all is well. My carb cravings are down so low that my focus is not on what can I eat next. I am more like "You better go eat" because I am not all that hungry.

I just wanted to know if any of you (and I am sure you do) have found little tips that help you stick. Here is one lttle tip :

TIP:
I made enough salad to last about 3 days (I think any longer the stuff would wilt) and I pack my lunch the night prior to work. I also have on hand already cooked frozen meat so 1-2 minutes in the microwave and wa-la low carb meal.

1) Never allow yourself to get very hungry. Eat snacks.
2) Don't keep any high carb foods in the house.
3) Bring your lunch (and snacks) to work.

My must have/must do list includes:

Keep lots and lots of those gladware storage containers for bringing stuff to work to eat EVERY DAY. A microwave at work is a godsend. I stink up the office every morning with my bacon and eggs.

A HUGE cup for drinking water so you don't have to run back and forth all the time for refills.

A bathroom close by.

A bin full of meats and cheeses in your fridge.

FITDAY!

DIET RITE!

A measuring tape to prove to myself that even though the scale numbers aren't shrinking, my size is.

Measuring spoons in every size and cups, half cups, quarter cups, etc. in the kitchen and USE THEM!

Keep packets of hidden valley ranch mix and sour cream to mix them in. Keep it thick for dips or thin it with cream to use as dressing on salads. Beats any dressing in a bottle both for taste and carbs.

Lots of canned veggies like spinach, greens, and green/wax beans.

Cabbage! The all-purpose veggie. Cauliflower, it's favorite cousin.

Sugar-free jello (with or without the cream cheese)

Exercise, exercise, exercise.

A supportive family.

Taking my own lunch to work is a biggy for me, too.

Tip #whatever....record your day's menu at Fitday ahead of time to avoid those "oops!" surprises.

judy

Totally agree about the ichihuahua about the big glass of water, those small glasses are too irritating to continually fill

Other tips:

- Don't freak out if the scale goes up one day, it will come back down

- If you go off track get back on. You've worked too hard to stop now.

- If you eat something that might cause a stall or gain, be prepared for the consequences.

I agree with/already use many of the tips already listed. One I haven't seen yet: I think of certain foods as 'heart medicine'. Left to my own devices I might want to eat more than 1 oz of almonds, but since I consider 1 oz. (24) almonds to be part of my vitamin E & 'good fats' ration for the day, I think of it as 'heart medicine'. Since I have no desire to eat more 'heart medicine' than I need every day, it's pretty easy to count out my 24 almonds, eat 'em and get on to the next thing on my to-do list. Worth trying if you're having a problem limiting yourself with nuts or any other food you should only eat in moderation.

Texascarl, I agree with you! I do the same thing with Brazil nuts. Its my heart "vitamins" :D
I have a trick with water: I drink a liter by lunch, another by dinner, and another by bedtime. I carry the liter bottle every where.
Also if I have a sweet craving at night, I make me a salad. It fills my stomach and has a slight sweet taste.

I can't read!!! Gimme what's in the bag!
 

On Saturday or Sunday, I fry up two pounds of bacon. What doesn't get eaten then goes into a ziploc bag and into the refrigerator. Then, during the week, I'll take some out and put it in a smaller one to be carted off to the office for breakfast and/or lunch. Also, bacon makes a quickie between meal snack.

And oh yes -- www.fitday.com. I can't live without it. About cried when I couldn't get to it most of the day Sunday.

put one of those cheat free icons on your signature (results will come up if you search) I am more careful because I do not want to start that number again... (thanks, Dustin!)

How to get to cheat free icon
 

I would love to add that if you would, could you please be a little more specific on how you get there to add the icon, i typed it in under search and it gave me all the post where people used those words. Thank you

My best (and only) tip is to spend a few hours on the weekend cutting and bagging cheeses, bologna, making individual servings of tuna, egg salda, bags of pepperoni slices, hard boiling eggs...Anything that can be "grab and go" in the mornings.

My number one tip for people who stall:


Don't give up no matter how long it doesn't move. Don't give up because if you give up and start eating carbs again you will gain all your weight back!!! And if you do not give up and stick with the program eventually you will start losing again! you will!

My tips for sticking with it:

- Get your head on straight. Write down your reasons for doing this, your goals, and refer back to it often.

- Never, ever start feeling sorry for yourself because you "have" to eat this way. You're *choosing* to eat this way.

- Don't be a people pleaser when it comes to how you're going to feed yourself. Don't feel you *have* to have carbage in the house for your kids, or *have* to have donuts with your boss. Say NO. Let them get junk food on their own.

- Plan, plan, plan. Have lots of food ready and prepared. Cook more than you need so you'll have leftovers. Multitask - if you're in the kitchen anyway, throw on a pot of hard boiled eggs.

- Treat yourself to kitchen toys that'll make your life easier: next on my list, for example, is a crockpot. ;)

I play 'mind tricks' on myself. If am ready to reach for something on impulse, before I put it in my mouth I visualize it as something totally different. For example a pretzel might become a pitch fork; a piece of bread might become an old musty mattress; a piece of hard candy transforms into a rock; a scoop of mashed potatoes becomes cotton batting! Any RIDICULOUS mental image that will make me stop, laugh and break the cycle just long enough for me to change my mind!!!

I actually sat down one day and took all of my favorite foods...those that triggered over eating in me. I made a chart of those foods and picked the most outrageous things I could think of to take their place mentally. It is becoming second nature now to 'see' those foods as the transformed objects. I guess it is my own personal diversion program!!