I'm going into my 8th month of low-carbing. Maintenance is a WHOLE different story. I'm finding a middle ground. Anyway, I was thinking of all the good habits I had all those months before maintenance. A behavior is just really a group of habits. I thought we could share some of those habits and learn from each other.

Q: What SOLID good habits do you long time low-carbers have that help you achieve success?


Mine: If I am starting to slip, I make myself read a chapter of the Atkins book.
Also, if I am experiencing hunger, and think it is PROBABLY emotional hunger, I go drink a HUGE glass of water and wait a half an hour.

I have been eating low carb with no cheats or departures since July 28th, 2002. I reached my goal on October 8ths, 2003 and have been maintaining ever since... again without any cheats or departures from this way of eating.

My main 3 meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) are still almost always composed of natural whole foods - meat, eggs, veggies, and oil/fat to serve and cook with. Low carb products are occassional additions and do not predominate my daily menus. They were almost non-existent while I was working on losing.

I spread my carb intake out throughout the day. I never have more than a net 15 carbs at any meal. I may have 3 meals and 3 snacks in a day... all with that net 15 carbs - but no more than that per eating and about 3 hours of time elapsed between each "eating". By doing this I am now able to eat much higher carb levels and am actually losing at the moment eating about a net 65 carbs on average.

I have a 3 pound buffer zone that I allow myself to maintain in (above and below my goal weight) and if I reach the limit of 3 pounds either way... I take action by modifying my eating. So far I have only had to do this once and it was only 1 day of eating very simply to drop some water weight that had kicked on with TOM since reaching my goal. I have been very comfortably in my zone.

When cravings kick in or I was stalled out... I always went back to basics and the world was set right. For me that mean't KISSing for a few days to get back on track and moving things along. I am a firm believer in this. Here is a link if you are interested in this. http://www.geocities.com/lajenner/KISS.html

I prepare ahead of time. I cook up large batches of roasted chicken thighs, tubs of meat salad (tuna or chicken with mayo and diced onions/celery), boil eggs, and I always keep a fresh and bountiful supply of good low carb veggies ready. I plan my menu for the following day and I almost always pack my lunch/snacks for work - making it easy to stay on track.

Those are probably the most important elements of what has helped me to be successful. That and that I consider this the way I eat now... not a diet per se.

Good thread, WordLady!

-Learn as much as you can about the way you've chosen to eat for the rest of your life. Knowledge = success. Get and read the book for at least your chosen plan and keep it handy to refer back to as often as you need to. It's helpful to read at least a couple of other books on low carb as well to get different perspectives on what low carb is and how it works.
-When at all possible, eat real food instead of processed food.
-Eat your veggies (mom was right about this one)! If you've never been a veggie eater, keep trying different ones until you find at least a few that you can eat or try different ways of preparing them.
-Don't skip meals and allow yourself to get so hungry that you're tempted to eat the first edible thing you see, low carb or not.
-Breakfast is important; eat something even if it's a string cheese on the way out the door.
-Plan ahead and be prepared for situations where you may find no low carb options available to you.
-Keep tempting high carb food out of the house or at least out of sight.
-Learn to be firm when offered high carb foods by well-meaning friends and relatives. Don't be so concerned about what people think of how or what you are eating that you sabotage your new WOE to please someone else. They don't have to live with the consequences of what you put in your body. You do.
-Be patient with your body when it comes to how fast you lose the weight. You didn't gain it all overnight (or usually even over a few months), you're not going to lose it that way, either.
-Try to avoid replacing your old high carb favorites with low carb substitutes; often this only prolongs cravings instead of getting rid of them.
-In light of the last tip, try to keep low carb treats limited to only a few times a week at most if you feel that you must have them. Low carb candies may taste good, but they're just as much empty calories as their high carb counterparts.

This is a great thread. I've only been LCing since last May, and still have a long way to goal, but already feel this WOE is it for a lifetime. I am really curious though about pre-maintenance and maintenance, as I really want to keep the weight off once I've accomplished it. Looking at how others have developed lifelong habits will help.

Thanks

Great Question, Great Answers! Thanks, once again this forum gives me the reinforcement I was looking for. These first two responses summed it up beautifully! At this point I have lost 39lbs and am losing very slowly but still losing by doing almost exactly what is described in these first two postings. I am eating healthier than I ever have in my life, enjoying it, feeling incredibly good and losing weight! I suggest you scroll back up and reread these two posts just for good measure...I'm going to.

Thats a really tough and important one for me to work with. Especially now that they make LC versions of almost everything.

Thanks for the great tips.

MJ

..with so much valuable advice. THANKS ! Another printout for my LC file.

Is it possible to make this thread a "sticky" or whatever it's called ?

Wow, what an excellent thread idea. My favorite subject!

The one key thing that I've done is this: I've removed all barriers to success. All of the little things pretty much fall under this category. Figure out the weak points in your "plan of action" and try to change things.

- My environment is 100% temptation free. If my SO wants it, he can buy it at work. I've don't even buy tempting stuff.

- I've said goodbye to the junk food and sweets. I'll have the rare Atkins bar, LC chocolate bar or batch of almond cookies, but making LC "replacements" is (a) a hassle, (b) EXPEN$IVE, and (c) just triggers more cravings.

- I plan well ahead and stock up. While I prefer fresh veggies and meats, I've got plenty of non-perishables on hand at all times for when I'm not in the mood to cook or can't get to the store.

- While I do plan ahead, on the grander scheme of things, I take it one day at a time. I know I'm not going to go the rest of my life without Oreos or french fries, but *today*, I know I'm going to be happy with eggs for breakfast and tasty veggies and meat for lunch and dinner.

- I've come to understand my "self-talk" and I don't let it lie to me. (You know what I'm talking about - "one bite won't hurt", etc) It's necessary to be really honest with yourself. Learn to deal with your demons.

- This is a crucial one: I've given myself a serious attitude adjustment. I've kicked my "inner two-year-old" to the curb. No more "poor me, I'm deprived because I can't have Coke and pizza." I'm doing this voluntarily. I'm making good choices for myself. I'm not deprived, I'm blessed with the knowledge and resources to be able to treat my body with respect it deserves.

Thanx for all the suggestions. I've been stuck in a rut for a while, and I think this will give me a little kick in the pants.

Sometimes, I crave dounuts. I know that it is just a craving that I get for baked goods. I refuse to succumb to my cravings by visiting my favorite health food store and get a bag of low carb chocolate/walnut cookies. These cookies are very small and they stop my cravings dead in their tracks.

Black57

Just wanted to jump in and comment on the great info being posted. Very informative and helpful. Gracias!

Solid Habit:

~~Take my vitamins
~~Think of sugar as POISEN.
~~If I even THINK I'm getting bored, just go to the kitchen section or other great low carb recipe site and find a new easy thing. Try something new once a week.
~~Continue to be informed, ex: new products on the market.

Kristine--LOVE the "inner two-year-old" comment! What an apt description of what we ALL struggle with. The feeling of wanting to have our cake and eat it too...without stalling! Sometimes my inner child needs a good spanking!!!!

When the urge to blow it comes over me, I re-read parts of my (increasingly worn) copy of the Dr Phil book. It helps to put a nice, stern voice in my head to argue with the self-talk that is leading me to justify a binge.

I sort of disagree with the "avoid low-carb versions" angle. Yes, you are replacing one vice with another, and on a regular basis, this may NOT be good. I keep low-carb versions of some "goodies" on hand, because I'd rather not have the struggle when my son is eating something I can't have, and it's "substitute or fall off the wagon altogether"...That may be my inner two year old, or it may be a sanity saver, depending on how you look at it. Of course, I've gotten to the point where the taste of the substitutes doesn't trigger the old binge-y feelings. I had to go without lc bread for MONTHS because I couldn't STOP at one slice!

My best new habit is not keeping snacks out in plain sight, even lc ones. At those times when I used to snack (ie watching tv in the evenings) I find something else to do with my hands, keep the snack foods AWAY from myself, and I really don't miss it. It was purely habit, not hunger.

Potatofree..it's not so much that I think that low carb versions of our former high carb favorites are evil, but I see sooooo many people who incorporate them into their daily menus at the expense of much higher nutrient foods (replacing veggies or fruits with low carb candy, for example) and then wind up falling off the wagon completely because they become unsatisfied with the low carb version and wind up going for the old high carb version. After 2 1/2 years of low carb, there are some low carb products that I do use on a regular basis, the main one being some of the hot cereal mixes. I do also eat a low carb bread, but not necessarily even every day because bread used to be a huge downfall for me.
Low carb candy has become only an occasional treat for me as it's still a trigger for cravings.
All in all, I agree that it's better to use the low carb version than to binge on the high carb stuff, but I think we'd all be better off if we kept them out of our daily menus and used them as the treats that they really are (something you only have once or twice a week if that). I often wonder, though, where we got the idea that something sweet has to be part of our daily menu or we are somehow depriving ourselves?

I've been LCing since July 2002 and finally hit my goal at the beginning of September 2003. My main rule (besides watching out for sugar or white flour) is to have at least one big salad a day. I drink LOTS of water too!