Hello everyone!

I have been off atkins for the last 3 months and I feel awful. I am going through alot of stuff right now and I seemed to fall off the bandwagon in a big way. I feel tired and puffed up like a fish. My mom is dying of cancer and I have been trying to stay strong for my family as well as my mom. Taking over meals, doing things at their house and I guess I am an emotional eater. I know its not helping anyone. I guess this is the only thing I can control right now. I need help to get back on the atkins plan. I was doing awesome. Losing lots of weight. Now its back on. Oh well. Please I need support and motivation. Thanks for reading this and may god bless.

Laurie

Luvatkins,
I know EXACTLY what you are talking about! I, too, am an emotional eater and have very little willpower, but I also know that I have never found a better way to lose weight than Atkins. I would be more than happy to buddy up with you if we can help each other out. I also know what you are going through right now since several friends of mine just got through losing their loved ones to cancer. In fact one of them is a co-worker who like me is off and on with LC, but when her mother started dying of cancer she threw it all out the window. Every time there was any mention of how her mom was doing she would immediately reach for the candy on the front desk and pound them down. Granted she is a lot smaller than I am but I could see her putting the weight back on.
Give me a shout because it sounds like you and I have very similar goals, although you started out at a higher weight than I did--KUDOS TO YOU!!!!!!!!! There is something to be said for that and in the long run you are doing much better than I am.
Heidibug

You have a lot to handle right now, and you need your strength and health. You know that you feel better when low-carbing. You mention that this is the only thing you can control, well do it for yourself! You so deserve to feel good! Make yourself a delicious and comforting dinner, steak and salad. Relax and have a cup of herbal tea. Your family may depend on you, but what good are you if you don't take care of yourself first?? So low-carbing will benifit them and you! You will have more energy, and without the guilt, also be able to handle the stress better. I still look for "comfort food" from time to time, so I keep certain "legal goodies" around. My favorite for a stressful day is the keto hot chocolate.

May God bless you and your family in this trying time. Your mom is lucky to have you at her side right now. The most precious gift God gave me, after my 4 children, was the gift of being with my dad in the hospital for a few days before he passed.

Take care and hang in there.

That could have been written by me. Its hard to explain emotional eating to someone who doesnt understand or go through it themselves. I can completely sympathize with how you feel. we look to food for comfort and then feel even worse after we do it. And for me, i continue that, I eat because i feel stressed, and I feel stressed because of eating the way i shouldnt be. I went through the same thing with my father when he was diagnosed with cancer. I did the same thing, i put on this strong persona, to try to keep all the others uplifted, and then i'd go home and crash, and let it all out, and eat,eat, eat. Listen, you are NOT alone, and many of us relate to exactly what you have said. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Do not put yourself on a guilt trip, we are not perfect. take each meal one at a time. we are here for you.

Laurie,
I'm sorry for your Mom's struggle with cancer and that you're going through a rough time emotionally. It's important to remember though that even though you are caring for your family, you must take care of yourself first. Allowing yourself a sense of well being will help you cope with the other emotional aspects of your family struggles.

Think back to your beginning phases of Atkins, and how energized you felt not eating all those carbs. You could recapture that energy and sense of well-being by re-starting the plan. This bit of "putting yourself first" will give you more control over the situation and could help you be even stronger for your family.

I looked at your profile and saw that you lost 60 pounds!! I need to lose 60 pounds. It is coming off very slowly because I found the "lettuce portion" of the Induction phase really disgusting...I mean, I like salad, but not as a mainstay of my diet. I've modified the plan, still staying under 20g carb a day, and am slowly losing some weight. I'm resolved to stick with it.

I hope you'll take care of yourself, while caring for your mom.

Stay strong.
deb146

This must be a very hard time for you. My MIL is also dying of cancer and has been very hard on my DH. My Dad died of cancer when he was only 56.

I also am an emotional eater. Wish I was like some who didn't want to eat when they have stress.

Try to prepare some things ahead of time so you aren't tempted to just grab whatever's around or fast food. When you make one recipe, make another to freeze. The Chef's Choice LC meals from Super Walmart are good to have available in a pinch. Wish I could be there to help you out.

Noticed that we both started at about the same weight and currently weigh about the same. You've come so far, and I know that you don't want to return to your old habits.

Big {{{{hugs}}} to you.

The people in this forum are awesome. Its nice to know that I am not alone in this and that so many are feeling the same thing. I thank you for your support. I felt so much better when I was low carbing and I am restarting today. Its so true, I eat a couple of pretzels and I want to eat the whole bag. I truly am addicted to carbs.

I would love to be buddies with you heidibug. You sound awesome.

I will keep posting and going to this forum as you are all so positive. Thanks again!!!!!

Laurie

Laurie,
Glad to see that everyone is supporting you in your efforts and I just reaped the benefits as well by reading the replies. My biggest problem right now is not having enough time to cook the things I should be eating and the stress makes me want to eat carbs. My work schedule is so nuts that I am there from 10 am to between 8:30 and 10:00 pm and last week I actually was there from10 am to 11:30 pm--how nuts is that?! I can't eat a lot of prepared meats because the salt kills me and I don't have time to use the bathroom so I avoid drinking too much water througout the day. Does anyone know if anyplace else sells the Chef's Choice LC meals besides Super Walmart? I'm from MI and we don't have a Super Walmart anywhere around here (aren't most of them down south?) and those sound like they would be ideal.
Anyway, hope everything is going well with your Mom (well at least as well as they can be) and I'll check back as soon as I can. In the meantime take care of yourself and write me back. On my off days it really helps to get on here and just keep pounding out replies and asking questions to everyone--it keeps me out of the cookie jar!!! Take care--talk to you soon.
Heidi