I just can't anymore. I KNOW this is a way of life, but I don't think I can do it. I think part of my problem is that I am going on vacation in a few days and I am thinking that I want to eat all of the yummy things I usually eat when at the beach (ie. pizza, ice cream, fries, a few drinks) and so my mind set is all blown! I also think another part is I haven't felt the dramatic increase in energy that everyone is talking about. Of course, I do have two small children so I am tired understandably .

Anyhow, I don't know why I'm posting this here or what I am looking for but I felt the need to vent. Of course, family is telling me I am crazy and that it just isn't sane to eliminate foods from your diet and all the nonsense we've all heard. Sometimes, you just get to a point and you say "what the hell! life's too short! I am going to eat what I want!"

I have been on this WOE for about a month and I am thinking that I need to either stop or try something less rigid. Any thoughts or insights would be welcomed. Thanks.

hey
I think if you make sure not to over indulge on the foods you love that it is o.k. to have those foods you love as long as you stick to your plan of eating small. As for drinking make sure to not drink so much you regret it. Alcohol has a extreme amount of sugar in it that it could blow all the work you've done so far. It is o.k. to take off for a little bit as long as you don't let yourself go hog wild. See this will be your test and a time for you to see that enjoying life is about being in control. Just control the amounts that go into your mouth and then when you get home just get back on the diet again. No big deal!

The problem is that the genie is now out of the bottle. For the first time in your life you know exactly what is going to happen. You know the link between what you eat ( it is always a free choice) the insulin reaction and the consequent fat depositing or fat burning depending on the amount of carbohydrate in your diet.

You know that it is not low fat that will keep your weight down. In fact if you increase you carbs significantly your fat consumption will probably be too high.


Perhaps you are at a weight now that you are comfortable with. The trick on holiday is to maintain that level. No doubt you will be more active on holiday. That will help.

But remember, even if you choose another low carb plan, one that you would regard as less rigid, they all have one thing in common....they are all low carb.

Atkins is not compulsory, LC is not compulsory. It is just a class in healthy eating. Nor is low carb...no carb.


So enjoy your vacation and don't worry. In restaurants you will have a real choice. If you blast away at the high carb, white , processed foods every day. So what. You will only put back on some of the weight you have lost.

You know how to lose it again. But bear in mind that the second time round it is just that little bit harder. The body remembers.

My advice is to enjoy yourself but use your LC knowledge to make selective choices of what you eat. Spread the yummies out and avoid the big carb binge.

Go for wine as your alcohol of choice or spirits.

When you come home after vacation. Take stock. What is the damage. Be honest with yourself. You might need a quick induction week.

Then look at some of the other plans, like CAD. Do this when you come back not now. You are no more going to stick to a new plan as the old plan while you are away. You will find a plan in the LC family that you can live with. The essence is to discover how and to what extent carbohydrate affects you.

There are many people who eat and are not insulin resistant and do not put on weight and eat like there is no tomorrow. I wish I was one of them but I am not. alas.

Enjoy your vacation. Come back and talk to us when you get back. We will be here if you need to rant again.

I agree with everyone else. Some days I get discouraged, and buy a pizza from Kroger and eat the crust. I also sometimes go to starbucks and buy a chocolate brownine frappocino. I am still losing though. Obviously more slowly that if I was totally on atkins. Just remember control. I think in the end you will come back. I also think you will notice the difference in the energy level, even though you don't notice one now. So, enjoy your vacation and see you when you get back.
Sincerely, Belle

Allyoop;
Actually we aren't eliminating foods from our diet. We are reversing the unhealthy, downright poisonous, and addictive foods that high technology has introduced into our diet since the Industrial revolution.

Ask your family just how sane it is to eat a diet used to fatten livestock for slaughter? We are still mammals after all and we will react in a similar manner, at least medical modeling is fashioned after that belief.

I'm sorry in a way you are going on vacation now. You aren't even one month into this and you won't feel the effects really well yet, and you haven't built up the habit nor have you kicked the insulin problem especially if you may have used aspartame or other artifical sweeteners that keep the sweet tooth alive.

It would have been better to have started Atkins after you returned because if you stop now it will be harder to lose next time. How hard? That's difficult to say, but each time we go through a change in patterns our body learns a new schema and therefore doesn't react as readily. Further if you stop now you won't see the benefits. I didn't feel much different at 1 month in. But now my life is 180 degrees out from where I was. My energy is up but more importantly I have a house stocked with cookies and chocolate and all kinds of 'stuff' that my hubby just loves and I don't even THINK about it!!! I no longer have that horrid NEED/CRAVE junkie attitude toward food. It's like a switch was thrown somewhere around the 3-4th month. You can see the shift in my attitude in my journal.

I now eat to live instead of living to eat. I hope you can find your way. Good luck and have a nice vacation. Remember you can enjoy it without imbibing poison, and if you react to the processed foods with an insulin swing then that type of food IS poison to you.
Jo

Allyoop-

You say you don't know why you posted this here...I do. You did it b/c you need some help. Some support...and that's what we are here for!!!

No, it's not a piece of cake to LC and yes, we do get the "naysayers"!!! BUT!!!! If you think about what you ARE allowed to eat and STILL lose weight compared to what you CAN NOT eat and barely lose weight on the LOW FAT plans...I think you will appreciate LC more.

I noticed you have only been on the plan one month...I'm guessing that you have not been COMPLETELY faithful to the diet, right??? Yet you STILL lost around 9 pounds? And you only have about 16 more to go??? YOU CAN DO IT!!! You are already on your way to feeling and looking better!!!

You are just feeling scared and anxious about your trip. Let me be the first to tell you that 1. It is easier than you think to eat LC foods anytime, anywhere...there are always YUMMY choices! You can eat whatever meat with sauces and veggies but skip the rice, potatoes, bread or pastas. Or order one of the HUGE specialty salads 2. Even if that doesn't work for you, you can try to just cut back SIGNIFICANTLY, so maybe just eat half of a pasta dish and skip the bread. Just make sure you also eat a huge salad and some cheese or something high fat beforehand to curb your appetite. OR 3. Write this off as a planned cheat and once you get back from your vacation, start again at induction level!!!

My point is this- one vacation should not spell the end of the road for your weight loss goals!!! I'm guessing you started this plan for a reason AND you were serious enough about it to find this support forum!!! YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!! DO IT!!

As far as your family and friends go...I would just say arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can about this way of eating. Here are some things that I say...I don't know how much of this you are using in your plan but these are definitely some benefits that I have found--

1. I'm eating WAAAAAYYY more veggies than I have ever eating and a wider variety

2. I'm taking vitamins regularly

3. I eat lots of Flax which is known to lower cholesterol and also helps keep me regular

4. I drink WAAAAAYYYYYYYY more water than I EVER have before

5. I'm eating more healthy meats like fish

6. How can it not be healthy to cut out refined sugars and white flour??

7. There are more and more studies that show that carbs are bad for your health (for your own knowledge you can look these articles up on this website)

8. I'm eating well and STILL losing weight!

Allyoop, stay strong. I know it's hard at times but you can do this.

Peace,

Star

Thank you all so much! I went home last night and ate some strawberries and blueberries (more than I should have!) and felt a bit better. I think I am going to plan to have SOME carbs on the vacation and TRY not to eat them all day long. We'll see but no matter what, Ithink I will be back on Tuesday.

My husband has been following this WOE at my urging and now wants to stick with it. He said that he is going to try to even while we are away.

I have followed the plan to the letter until yesterday and I think I iwll be OK when I get back.

Thanks again for the support----it helps to know you have all been there before!

There has been so much good advice I struggled to think of something to add. So when in doubt add water....that's the advice. Carry lots of water and when hunger hits or before you plan to eat, gulp down a bottle or two. It is amazing how most of the carb cravings will disappear! Of course this is a bit tricky if you are going on long car trips. You definitely get to stop and enjoy the scenery more often.

It is great to hear that you have support from your spouse. Choose places to eat that you KNOW have foods that can be manipulated into low carb choices. (salad bars, wings (unbattered), steak houses etc.) I have spent quite a bit of time on the road and know that there is always a way if you are given a bit of a choice. I've had a Wendy's salad and took a triple cheeseburger and tossed the bun. Instant steak&salad. Italian places are the hardest and I just ask forebearance from my companions and refuse to go to them. Mexican is the same.

Do a quick read through DR. Atkins' section on eating in the real world and the tips he gives. Heading to the beach? get a bag of premixed salad and newman's basic dressing. Go to a deli and get some turkey breast. A great cool lunch! There are options open to you if you put your mindset into all the things that are possible, rather than the old standard that you have been habituated toward. Need a munchy salty treat? Buy some nuts and nab a few salt packets. Add the extra salt and it wil help you limit the amount you munch down. Oh yes, and water water water. Good luck!

Colin

I just want to pass on a little story about my vacation experience with atkins diet.

we were eating out with a bunch of friends. i had shrimp cocktail for starters, french onion soup without the croutons, a great salad, a wonderful broiled stuffed filet of sole, yes, a bit of breading in there, and steamed broccoli. the rest were stuffing themselves with rolls and alcoholic drinks, and when their entrees came, they were almost too full to enjoy the real food. they became aware all of a sudden, and my husband said, "bevie, you are on a diet and you're eating more than any of the rest of us." which, if he was referring to good food, was correct, but in another way, way wrong. yes, i was eating FAT. lot's of butter with the fish and veggies. and so yummy. and i came home from vacation 5 pounds thinner and on top of the world.

and yes, people will relish putting you down for choosing such wonderful, delicious food. but you know eating this way works. if you remember to choose your favorite low carb foods, you'll be satisfied and accomplish your goals at the same time.

I just got off a 4 day vacation at the beach, had one drink with gin in it and crystal light

Ate a cold boiled shrimp salad when I couldn't eat anything else on the menu with oil\vinegar

During breakfast I ate a western or a mushroom omelette every day

Lunch I ate alot of walmart deli meat and cheese wrapped in a big green lettuce leaf

got a big huge ribeye one day with a big ole bowl of sauteed green beans in butter

I DIDN'T CHEAT ONCE

I came home I when to the boys room took out a keto stix and was the same light shade of pink as when I left and lost 4.0 pounds last week as well.

I know for a fact you can do it ....But your gonna have to dig down deep inside to get the will power.

My absolute diet saver is "Carb Solutions" 3 grams of carbs per bottle and very sweet and very filling and has lots of protein

I just wouldn't do CS on induction.


Good Luck To YOU!!!


Jeff

Hey there

I just got back from a week long vacation to Vegas. I did try to stick to LC, and I did really well for the first 4 days. My downfall was all those full-sugar desserts at the buffets--cakes, pies, mousse, puddings, ice creams--you name it, they had it...and I ate it!! I did notice that I didn't feel too well afterwards, and I began craving even more carbs. Even if I ate a plate full of meats and felt full, I still WANTED those sugars and starches. Anyway, I did come back 3 lbs. heavier and had heartburns again, but I am back on track now and have lost 2 of the 3 lbs. that I'd gained.

I think the main thing is to learn from the past and use it constructively. Don't beat yourself up over it. I don't think I would've enjoyed my vacation as much if I had to totally deprive my cravings nor if I had gone totally out of control the whole 7 days I was there. Try maintaining some kind of control without feeling like you're totally bound and vise versa.

You can totally go low carb on your holiday, ESPECIALLY since you have the support of your husband. You are SO lucky for that!
Of course, you aren't obese or anything, so if you want to go off the diet, the choice is yours. But I honestly think you are going to feel so much better about yourself if you stick with it.
You can have pizza, just eat the toppings and leave the crust behind If you totally HAVE to have some dessert, how about just a BITE of someone else's? I don't know, it's just a suggestion. You're doing so well already, and you are just so fortunate to have a supportive husband. If you go off the diet, you might actually be a bad influence on him as well. Instead, I think you should both lean on eachother, motivate eachother
I've been on the Atkins plan for a week. I have no cravings anymore. The first few days I was eating a few artifically-sweetened things, and I found that it was making me want more sugar and carbs. Once I cut out the fake sweeteners, my cravings stopped completely.
If you feel the need to indulge, try a bite or two. I've heard of people ordering a dessert, having a bite or two, and then pouring salt all over it, so they aren't tempted to eat any more of it. I know that works as well.
But, you know yourself better than anyone. The choice is always yours, but the reason you posted on here is because you want some support. If you REALLY wanted to quit, would you have posted here? I don't think so.
You are going to feel so much better about yourself if you can stick with it, you just have to decide if you really are committed to losing weight. That's pretty much what it comes down to. If you're happy with yourself the way you are, then do what you want. But remember what Star says:
"If you keep doing the same things you;ve always done, you're always going to get the same things you've always gotten." (or something to that effect)
Good luck whatever you decide, but I think you can do it!!!!!!!!
Three cheers for willpower on vacation!!!!