You know, after getting through the 4th of July with only a few minor cheats, I was thinking about how you live on this WOE. I've been doing Atkins since March and as of yesterday am only 3 pounds away from losing 40 pounds. I have a way to go, but I feel so much better about myself, my body and my health!

I was thinking that sometimes we so concentrate on our "diet change" that we forget the mental change that needs to be a part of changing our WOL and WOE forever. I guess having done this for almost 5 months, I wanted to share with you guys how I've started thinking about this WOE that I hope will keep me an LC'r for a very long time.

The first is changing the way we look at a "diet". Every other "diet" I've tried has been about denying myself - with the concomitent "oh woe is me" attitude. But I have a friend with two young boys who is committed to not using the word "no" if she can help it. Instead, she tells her boys what they "can" do rather than what they can't.

Now, applying this to our WOE, I have found telling myself about all the things I CAN eat rather than obsessing about the forbidden things has been very helpful. I CAN have steak, shrimp with garlic butter, butter on my veggies, cheese for a snack, nuts, cream on my strawberries, full fat blue cheese dressing, etc. I CAN have Endulge ice cream (which is very good, BTW). I was NEVER able to have those things on a "diet", and it is hard to feel sorry for yourself with all the good things we CAN eat. So every time you think about "I can't have _____", mentally tag onto that statement, "but I CAN have _____."

I find this mental attitude to be helpful for times, particularly in resturaunts, when the bread or tortillas get dropped in front of me. And if I CAN have the chilie rellanos smothered in cheese or the taco salad with cheese and guacamole, I can resist the pre-dinner chips. It changes the feeling of what I am doing of a diet to truly a sustainable WOE. It also helps with those annoying people who want to either make you eat something (it's just a little bite...you know that drill) or want to make you feel deprived for not eating those nice cheese muffins. I can say - back off, I'm intentionally leaving room for the good stuff!

Another thing is deciding that I am in control of what I eat, and I'm even in control when I cheat. It is hard to be perfect, and on occasion there will be cheats - in some way the little cheats are necessary so that you stay on the larger plan. But instead of letting a cheat make me feel out of control, I try to put myself in control. I DECIDE if something is worth a cheat. I make the decision to possibly knock myself out of ketosis for a day or two, and decide whether the cheat is worth it. But what I've found is if I decide that I'm going to eat that Cracker Barrel biscuit (which I did over the fourth), I can also decide that the cheat stops with one biscuit. It helps to prevent the "well, I've already cheated once, so I might as well keep cheating" attitude that is so easy to fall into (particularly when it comes to Krispy Kreme donuts). It is a conscious decision to control what is going into my body, rather than feeling that hopeless sense of a loss of control that was part of my being overweight in the first place. I have found that to be very helpful also.

I don't know if these ideas are helpful to anyone else, but so much about the changes we are trying to make is greater than simply regulating our carb intake. Its about taking control. And since we are on the journey together, I thought I'd just share some of the things that have helped me to stay on this WOE and make it a WOL.