I can't believe how tempted I am about carbs when the benifits are so apparent and wonderful. I figured out why though.
I have what I call, Grass is Greener over the fence complex.
I keep whining how unfair it is that I can't eat sweets and breads while all my friends and family can. I make myself feel deprived.

This is wrong. What the true depriveness that I have is the lack of caring for my own health. I will deprive myself a healthy future when I'm older. These excuses I give myself for that little treat or that piece of bread goes deeper than just this diet. It affects other aspects as well.

So what to do? I'm trying to learn to appriciate what I have. To enjoy every part of who I am and what I do. ...
As well as not peaking over that fence to often to compare.

Anyone else feel like this?

Lessara -

I know what you mean but you are looking at it all wrong. Today I have clarity, tomorrow who knows...

You need to change your patterns now to get down to where you want to be and you are doing awesome.

You can have sweets just low carb sweets.
You can have bread (high fiber/multi grains) with lots of butter but in maintenance.

You can have everything you always wanted.... just not today.

Stick with it girl --- and help me on my down day ok???

Lessara,

Yes, I do know exactly what you mean. I went through a period of time where I wallowed in self pity because my DH could eat anything and everything -- thousands of calories per day, and still stayed so thin that people who didn't know him thought he was anorexic. Then, when he turned 40, it crashed down on him and he gained quite a bit of weight -- he didn't understand what to do because he had never had to watch what he ate before. After I began low carbing, he decided to try it also. He lost 40 pounds in 3 months -- looks absolutely fabulous. He also cheats quite often, but does not gain any weight back at. He does not exercise at all. I, on the other hand, exercise a lot, watch everything I eat, and have struggled every step of the way to lose the few pounds and inches that I have lost, and still look like the 'before' picture in one of those diet ads. Whenever we see people who have not seen us for a while, they always gush "Wow, Dave, you look fantastic! How much weight have you lost?!!!!", then add, "Oh, Hi Peg". I've gotten over it, though. I stopped worrying about others and am concentrating on what I need to do for myself. So what if others eat differently than I do? I know what I am doing for myself is healthy. The cookies, candy, chips and other junk is unhealthy, no matter what weight they are at, and if they chose to eat that junk, it's their health they are hurting. So, the answer is yes, I used to feel envy, but I've moved past that.

I hear you. The sixteen-year-olds that I work with munch on chips and cookies constantly. When other people are indulging, it's harder to resist.

There's a passage from a weight loss motivation book of some sorts; I don't remember the source, but I saw it posted a long time ago and it's really stuck with me. To paraphrase:

You are not deprived. People in nations with a collapsed economy are deprived. Poor people who depend on food bank donations of pasta and baked beans are deprived. Malnourished children of negligent parents are deprived. If you are making a decent living and have a roof over your head, and you don't live under some kind of dictatorship, you are not deprived. You have <b>choice</b>. You can go to the grocery store and buy just about anything you want. You can eat ice cream till you burst - no one is stopping you. No one's holding a gun to your head. Rather, you recognize that there are certain consequences to eating certain foods, so you're probably choosing foods that have more positive consequences. That's all. Deprivation is not a factor.

Food for thought.

You don't have to feel deprived.........you have to be in control

I cycle several types of diets. For the last 4 days I've been doing a low fat/low cal diet (the results aren't clear since carbs cause temporary water retention). Why couldn't you do 2 weeks LC, 1 wk something else? It certainly helps to keep you from stalling, and you can keep losing. I've lost an average of 1 1/2 lbs a week for the last 6 1/2 months and don't feel deprived at all.

For the next 4 days, I'll be doing CAD, when I can have some of these treats once a day. Then 2 1/2 wks of LC to get me to Thanksgiving.

The only person holding you back from trying new things is you. There are a lot of negative people who will try to contradict what I say, but I'll let the scoreboard speak for itself

Kristine, well said.

nancy

Thank you so much. Kristine, I read that too some where (I own a plother of low carb books... hmm maybe I should revisit them) and its so nice to see it again. It is better to view your low carb as choices than "must do" takes the edge off the "Oh my Goodness! You mean I can't have a hot dog bun!!"

Somethings I can do without thinking. I can skip a hamburger and hot dog roll without blinking. I get stuck when the secretary at the office throws a pack of M&Ms onto everyone's desk. When I game with my friends on a Friday night, the munchies flow like water: chips, cookies, candy etc. And they always want pizza (Good news there, they eat the loaded kind so two pieces without the crust really fills you up)or pupu platters from the chinese resturant. I find myself sitting there and I feel two things.
One is what I said before "Oh why do I have to be different" and the other, I feel invisable . Because I'm not sharing in the eating experience. This is the mind trap.

I keep tell myself I'm here to either work or game not to eat and try to remember what is truely important. Its tough though