I have been on again off again since mid march! I do real well one day then screw it up the next. I know that I feel better on Atkins and I know that I am hurting myself but how do I get past this self-sabotage? DO I just give in and eat carbs until I can't look another one in the face and then go back on induction? Should I just go cold turkey? Anyone else been in this situation? My family does not eat this way and that does make it hard. Should I just go with the old saying "when Mama's on a diet, everybody's on a diet."?

One potential snag, on the 7th, I am going to Disney World for a week.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

It's very hard to do this if your having to cook differently for everyone. I hear you there. But if you cook the same main dish for all and the same veggies (that are legal for you) , if they want a starch just throw in some potatoe or rice or noodles for them. They shouldn't be too hard to turn down. I love this time of year when we can grill. My family's (there's only 4 of us) I can cook a meat and salad , then add corn or a packaged noodle or rice for them and they are happy. As for motivation. I'm 41, it's not going to get any easier in life for me to lose this weight. I didn't put alot of pre thought into this WOE when I started 3 months ago, I've done this "diet" before and lost weight but gained it back. I just decided I'd had enough, I was fat and ugly and tired, I wanted to be thin and shop for hip clothes in hip stores instead of the "womens dept". So for the past three months I've worked hard, Iwalked most days, I've lifted weight and have totally changed my way of eating. Yes I've "cheated", and yes I was mad at my self but It just made me walk farther, lift longer and the scale and my body shows the rewards of all my efforts. I've had to go by a new wardrobe. And guess what? I've got to shop in the Misses dept. for these clothes, not the women's. What a kick. Someone on this board has a saying attached to thier closing signature and goes like this "NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS". That has become my mantra, I'm going to put it up on the fridge, the pantry and my mirror because I'm feeling pretty good right now. I don't know if this helps or not. Pick your goal and go for it. Make it a small one. Be positive, talk with your family about how hard it has been for you, enlist their help. If you have a lapse, just pick yourself up and keep on going. Come back to these forums for hints/support. As for Disney world, there are theads here with good advice about going there and staying on this WOE. Try doing a search. Hang in there.

I've been off and on as well. Often I know that it's not worth it to cheat, but I do it anyway. I'm getting better using this specific technique:

Mostly I get by through the use of visualization combined with motivational comments. I'll tell you what I mean in a minute...

I believe that I cheat when I go into a semi-hypnotic state. In other words, when pizza (for example) is in front of me, I allow myself to forget all of the negative consequences of bad eating. I allow myself to focus on the smell and the taste of the food. Bad move...

Now here's how I get by:

1. I visualize myself as fat, as unhappy, as ugly, and depressed.

This gives me a reminder of why pizza, in the grand scheme of things, is not worth it. Don't stay in this mode too long.

2. I visualize myself as healthy, lean, attractive, and happy.

Then I focus on this even more.

I make the concious decision in my mind: "I will not eat this pizza. I don't eat that many carbs. Let them eat that poison if they want. I know that I am losing weight by saying no."

Afterwards, I feel much better. I eat something sensible and the cycle continues.

Also, don't let yourself get tricked into "I'll start on Monday," or "I've already cheated today, so I'll cheat again, and start tomorrow." If you do this every day, you'll never start the diet.

In summary, STOP yourself before digging into the food pile. THINK consiously, deliberately, and with passion. Give yourself at least 2 minutes of good, hard decision making before even getting near the food.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I can do no more than echo the well written thoughts of Bebet and JF3

No one here is perfect, at least not to my knowledge. Life goes on, with a multitude of struggles. Many of which seem out of your control. One of the many advantages of this WOE is that you are gaining control over a couple of important areas of your life. Food and the way you appear when you look at yourself in the mirror.

Eating supports you, you dont eat to support the food.

Stay strong and look at this WOE as your most powerful tool to a fitter, healthier you.....

Well, I did what you are doing for a year and gained more weight than I ever have in my entire life, went over the 200 pound mark AND developed high blood pressure, so STOP!!!!!

You can't mix low carb eating with normal eating. You end up eating toooo many calories and then storing those calories as fat.

As for going on vacation. That is easy...especially if you don't have to ceek for anyone else. You just go and have a great time and eat what you know is right for you. Carry your water everywhere and never be afraid to throw away the bun in front of others!

It really isn't as hard as you think (unless, of course, you are looking for an excuse to have a massive carb-fest pig out, which is soooo not worth it).

~Shelly