Why am I having so many problems sticking to this WOE???
 

I have started this WOE numerous times, and I can never make it past the 2 month mark without weakening my resolve. It's happening again and I would like to get through it. I've lost 12 lbs. so far (I have about 60 more to go). Two weeks ago I began cheating again - a piece of raisin bread here, a cheese sandwich (or two!) there. Eating carbs has an unparalleled calming effect on me and I'm having a hard time substituting it for something more positive. Life is rather difficult right now for me (I have a new baby and my mother has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer), but then again, whose life isn't tough?

Another problem is that I am bored with eating red meat and other greasy things. For some reason, the more red meat I eat, the more disgusting it seems to me. I was eating tuna and chicken for a while but I got really sick of those too (I'm in a bit of a rut when it comes to varying my menu). Of course, if I was truly committed to this WOE I would be more willing to try out new recipes and attempt to overcome my boredom by spicing things up.

My question is, why oh why am I having such a hard time getting past the psychological cravings even though the physical ones have diminished (though I have to say that even when I was strictly adhering to the Induction phase I still had an awful, constant desire to cheat)?

Some will say it's because I'm really not committed to losing weight and perhaps that's the case, though I can't imagine wanting it any more badly than I do now. It is just SO HARD for me to resist the temptation that surrounds me (my husband can only eat carbs because he cannot tolerate eating protein due to a stomach ulcer). Why is it that the longer I stay on the program the less able I am to resist temptation? Shouldn't it be just the opposite?

Thanks,

Jules
223/211/150
5'10"

Do you enjoy cooking?



Then don't eat red meat. You said you were eating tuna and chicken, what about other poultry such as turkey, pheasant, or duck? What about tofu and fish? Load up on veggies and just use meat as an accompiment, getting extra protien from soy products and an occasional shake if you can eat soy.

Get various LC cookbooks, like one called "500 Low-Carb Recipes". Go through peoples journals on here and the recipe section for ideas. You want a cheese samwich, then fine, grab some LC bread and go for it, try cream cheese samwiches even. You can also flatten a chicken breast, roll up ham and cheese in it, then roll in breading and fry for a really filling mock cheese samwich. The moral is, get creative. Take your favorite recipes and see how you can alter them to be low carb using splenda and different flours. Try new foods from the allowed list, don't be afriad because you've never heard of it or tried it. I made a bok choy stirfry the other night that my non LC mom polished off all the left overs to last night.

Maybe you need to decide what's most important to you right now. This might not be a good time/plan for you. I personally eat TONS of vegetables-love'em! My meat portions are just normal-size.

If you're really ready to do something, try invetigating a less-demanding program. Your loss will be slower, but that might work better for you in the long run.

Good Luck, whatever you decide!

:wiggle: :wiggle: :wiggle: :wiggle:

Hi Jules. :wave: My sympathy for your mother's illness; my mom has cancer, too. She starts radiation this month.

You said that you're expecting us to say, "you're not really committed to losing weight." I think it's a little different: I think you're not quite accepting the real concequences of "carbitude". (I like inventing words! ;) ) You're seeing it as your "life preserver;" the thing that's getting you through your stressful times; it's calming to you. And heck, it's not like you're drinking or doing drugs, right? It's just food.

The key to me sticking to it is that I've truely accepted that if I want to be healthy and feel good, I can NOT eat the way other people do. Period. It makes me mad sometimes, and sometimes I say "to heck with it" and go off the wagon. But I know that I pay for it. I get very moody, my depression returns, PMS comes back with a vengance, my face breaks out like a 16-yr-old's, and I feel like crap. That's my reality now.

I think if you're willing, you can sit down and really isolate the specific problems you're having, and find a solution. My b/f can't eat meat, either, because of his IBS, but there's still no temptation food in the house. :nono: I've figured out what we can both have, or stuff that he can have that doesn't tempt me. He doesn't "suffer", if he wants junk food, he's an adult. He can go get it himself. It's a medical issue for me, and my health is more important to him than junk food.

With respect to the boring-ness, you need to be more creative! ;) Don't feel you have to eat red meat: I hate steak. The only red meat I eat is ground beef, the occasional roast beef, or stew in winter. Don't forget fish, chicken, turkey, etc; and don't forget that you can mix them into dishes. You don't have to eat a big ol' slab of dry meat. :thup:

Okay, my "quick reply" has turned into a lecture. :D Best of luck to you! :thup: Even if you're not losing weight, be good to yourself and take care of yourself. :rheart:

I'll second that. I walked back from the edge of Type II diabetes on this diet, and there's no doubt in my mind I'll hurtle over that edge if I eat a high-carb diet. That said, I find it easy to stick to this diet because my carb cravings are minimal (I get fat cravings instead).

If, after a genuine effort (by your own definition) at a LC WOE, you still have cravings, it may be time to consider that you are not metabolically suited to this WOE. I suggest you check out the following materials on metabolic typing, which allows that different groups of people have fundamentally different nutrition needs:

• the Metabolic Nutrition web site
• The Nutrition Solution, a very readable book on metabolic typing