Well congratulations! This is exactly the mood I have to get myself into before I really get going and STICKING to the plan.

In 6 months, we will all be older. It's up to me whether I will also be lighter/slimmer/healthier.

I don't think anybody just sort of "drifts" into serious weight loss. Many of us have to be VERY unhappy with either our current weight or the gaining trend that is going on before we "get serious".

I wish you to be annoyed with yourself for many months if that's what will keep you on plan.

Nothing tastes as good as being slimmer feels.

You are really funny! But try to be kind to yourself. I have been there myself and the bottom line is, I want to be healthy and fit more than I want the rotten slice of bread.

Honestly, I was at a buffet last week and had lost four pounds that week. I thought I would treat myself with some (hard core Atkins people please turn away) mashed potatoes. I got about a cup of the potatoes and yes I added a bit of gravy, but otherwise I choose wisely.

Well, the potatoes were good, but halfway through the meal I realized that they were NOT better than the other low carb foods I was eating. I tossed the rest of the potatoes and hope to remember this next time I verge off the path.

Now, pick yourself off the floor (from your self imposed butt kicking!) and have a lovely cut of meat, a nice salad and some delicious cheese.

This is something I try to remember every time I'm tempted to eat a food that is not on my plan. Nearly every time that I have, it has not tasted nearly as good as I thought it would and didn't satisfy me as much as I thought it would, either.

Kristine posted something yesterday about your inner two year old needing a spanking. That certainly fits me; it's time to tell my inner two year old to get over it and put it on time out for having a tantrum.

Spoken like a true new yorker you go girl

shoshie
( a former New yorker lol)

Funny you should post this morning. I just read something and wonder if it could help you. Here's the URL: http://www.innertalk.com/Process_of_Change.html

I find that when I go off plan, it's because there is some inner voice giving me a wrong instruction. The last time I messed up it was a package of donuts that I just couldn't throw away. Having grown up poor, my inner voice was telling me it was bad to throw perfectly good food away.

Change is good for us, but it's hard when we are resistant. Finding that inner resistance will help you immensely in overcoming it. Good luck to you!

First step, clean out your pantry. If it's not there you can't eat it. If you have family, tell them they can cope for 2 weeks eating somewhat LC or getting higher carb things elsewhere

You can do it. If you make it through a clean 2 weeks, your cravings really will diminish. You might also want to look into candidia and L-Glutamine for help.

Hopefully you'll find what I've found and I think many others have too and that is that the longer you eat LC correctly the less you want to eat off plan. As a matter of fact stuff like french fries can be downright disappointing...they really didn't taste as good as I seemed to think they did. Now for the most part I'm just not interested in high carb or high glycemic index foods. I've found myself going hungry because I couldn't find any decent LC food to eat and the high carb white death stuff seemed....well, a little repulsive....

I agree with Archie. I often wonder why people fall off the "meat wagon", when I don't even seem to crave any of the carb loaded stuff anymore. True test was Halloween just now. I was a chocaholic for 3 years, the same time I was in lots of back pain and gaiining like a bear in prep for winter. Since LC I have not had the desire to cheat, only to feed a hungry body or a tired one. The tired one tends to eat fast though, so I am trying to change that and maybe catching a quick 10 min nap, rather than going overboard on calories.
And when I think back, alot of the eating was because of being tired, brain or otherwise.

I hope you spankin helped and you can get back into the groove of things. Its sooooo worth it !!! Just remember that indeed the food isn't going to do it for you anyway, and besides it will be available yet, even when you are skinny. Then you can still make a choice if its worth it.
Laters Gators
Bubu

I know when I cheat that at first the reason I cheat is to have that GREAT tasting high carb goodie, but then when it comes time to actually put the food in my mouth I feel SOOOO guilty, and I just can't do it anymore! So far so good.

Take care!

ha I tasted the potatoes I made for my husband tonight and they werent even good..tasted weird to me actually..but everyone else LOVEd them so I guess it was me and not the potatoes..lol I had pizza for Halloween 2 small slices no back crust but still! I dont know if it harmed me really but I am sure not feeling well since....could be unrelated I guess...I agree that NON of it tates as good as you remember..have you noticed that too???

Make yourself a loaf of Atkins bread if you need bread.

I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS GIRL!!!!!!! go for it! You sound really ready now. And to take the words of "potatoe free" it sounds like you might benefit from reading Dr. Phil's book. lol I have seen some quotes from it that relate to what you are going through and maybe if an ~ss whoooing from yourself doesnt work one from him may?! you never know.

(((HUGS)))

Here I found this for you (and NO I dont actually have this book either but I might get it )

Exert from Dr. Phils new Book The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution

If you have ever been to a circus, perhaps you have seen six ton elephants tethered by rope to little wooden stakes. Have you ever wondered why one of these powerful animals doesn't yank that stake out of the ground and stampede off? When the elephants are young and powerless, they are attached by heavy chains to immovable steel stakes. The baby elephants tug and pull, but no matter how hard they try, the chains will not break and the stakes will not come out of the ground. As the elephants grow and get stronger, they come to believe that they cannot move anywhere as long as there us a stake in the ground nearby, no matter how tiny or weak the stake. They don't try to break loose because they think they can't.

So it is with people. If you are like those circus elephants, you've allowed your thoughts and actions to limit you, and like those elephants, you may not have been aware that you had choices. Well, you may not have been aware before, but I'm telling you now that you do have choices, you do have power; now you know. You don't have to stay mindlessly tied to stakes of wrong thinking and self destructive behavior. You can "pull up the stakes," transcend your conditioning, and reprogram yourself for success rather than failure.

I haven't gone off of the diet in 7 weeks and didn't lose a pound the first 6 weeks, then suddenly dropped 10. The only time I feel like I am cheating is when I eat the candies that say they are 0 carb 0 sugar. I am diabetic, therefore have chosen this diet because it keeps my blood sugar down,<S> Halloween was interesting, I had all kinds of treats for the kids but HALLELUJAH I didn't eat any. I agree though, I think if you don't have the high carb goodies in the house, it's not so easy to cheat. Take care and good luck

Before starting Atkins, I spent about a month preparing myself. I'd have my mashed potatos or pasta or rice or whatever next to my meat and veggies. I'd take a bite of the carb crap and ask myself, "How much am I really enjoying this?" Then I'd taste the meat and ask the same. I just made myself realize that the carb crap wasn't really that great and I could live without as long as I had that yummy meat to enjoy. It's something I had to come to terms with on my own before I could even start Atkins because I have this psychological thing where if I can't have something I just want it twenty-million times more.

But since going through that process, I haven't had any cravings for that carb crap since I've started (about 1 month now). I'm almost 31 years old, and this is the longest I've ever lasted on a diet (I know - this is a WOL, so let's say diet adjustment) in my entire life!! As pathetic as that is, it's a huge accomplishment for me. Especially since the weight is coming off verrrrrrry slowly.

I too need a butt kickin'. Us NY chicks do a good job. LOL

I have such a problem with guilt. I think it's the only thing that keeps me from falling totally off the wagon. I even feel guilty when I have too big a portion of the low carb Breyer's ice cream. How pathetic is that?

We have to buckle down and stick with it. We can do it.