I'm so discouraged. I've had put on 18 pounds that I lost since being on Atkins. Needless to say, I've gotten off track so badly and can't get back on. I know everyone will say go back on induction, problem is my critical carb count is only about 20 carbs so I'm so limited to what I can eat and now I crave everything again. I'm a major sweet aholic. Tonight I ate two sloppy Joes with buns, doritoes, then 3 donuts right in a row. I'm such a glutton and I've quit going to the gym. I've started a new job after 10 years and I'm very stressed that's why I think I'm eating like I am. I'm sick of meat. Can anyone encourage me. I started atkins last April and I lost 34 pounds, but have gained 18 of it back and I can feel it. I'm miserable. PLEASE HELP

Tracy,



You got it. Do you want this or not? You decided you wanted it once. Go right back to where you started before you gain the rest back and are twice as miserable.

You need to get back into the groove of things. You fell off the wagon, now jump back on it!!

You came to the right place though!!

Hi tracyR

This is definitely one for the LC'ers that have more experience, but I would say just hang in there. For the last couple of days, I've been thinking about why I want to lose the weight and change the way that I eat.....that's the easy part.

I've also been thinking about what makes me cheat...feel that I can't do it....and fall off track. Right now, that list is in my head, but it will be in my journal soon.

I guess the short and sweet would be to think about what motivates you and what it will take to get there. I've done a lot of reading in the various forums and read A LOT of journals. Take a look at some of the veteran's journals. THEY ARE GREAT!!!! They have wonderful ideas, recipes, and believe me....you're not alone

BTW, I see we're about the same weight....we should keep track of each other so that we can cheer each other on

Take it one day at a time, if that isn't small enough...

Take it one meal at a time, and if that isn't small enough...

Take it one bite at a time....

I play games with myself but it works. I tell myself, if you don't want to do this tomorrow, don't. But I have to do it at least today. Every morning I ask myself (and I really do), do I want to do LC today? And the answer is yes. I don't think about doing it tomorrow, just today. And I tell myself if I hate it that much, I don't have to do it tomorrow. But that tomorrow of not LCing never comes.

And like I said above, if a day at a time is too much, do one meal. Tell yourself at breakfast, I am going to do LC. If I want something at lunch, I can have it. Then at lunch, ask yourself if you want to eat a LC lunch and so one.

I have found this to be very effective at not getting me overwhelmed with the future. It is a long road, but tomorrow is going to come whether or not I lose weight, so I might as well lost weight and feel better tomorrow!

HTH,

Amy

I like your approach Amy!!! Sometimes thinking too far ahead can be a little overwhelming.......

I'm going to take your advice myself

I can totally relate to your frustration. It took me about 6 trys to actually do it and stick with it. I would do okay for a few days and then just start eating junk again. I would tell myself that there is no way I could live the rest of my life not eating the foods I love (sweets) I didn't do the strict induction. I allowed myself some nuts but I stayed under 20 grams a day and so far so good. I don't crave the sweets at all anymore and I'm surrounded by them having 3 kids and a sweet freak husband. I'm not even tempted anymore and all of my family can't believe it.. I'm the girl who's eaten a candy bar a day for 15 years now. I feel so much better and I will never go back to eating the way I did. I love this WOL!!

So you need to lose 60 pounds, and find a way to keep it off. But how badly do you want to lose those pounds? I'll bet you look a lot better with them gone. And I'll bet you'll feel better about yourself; and feel better in general. But only you can make that decision. The only way to succeed in Atkins is to stick to the plan.

For you, I think a part of that plan has to be to diminish the importance of food in your life. Yes, go back to induction. And go to Chapter 21 of the Atkins book and read it. And do what I do every day, whenever I think of it. Stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself if you are happy with what you see; if what you see is leading you to a happy and healthy life.

You have to want to be 140 pounds more than you want to sit around eating. You must be willing to get up and exercise every day. That's what it takes. When you feel like cheating, get up and do something active; even if its just cleaning up around the house. It works if you want it to.

If you will get back on Induction and stick with it for a few weeks, I think you will get past your present state of cravings and weakness. Go pick up something that weighs 20 pounds. That's what you had lost and are now carrying around with you everywhere right now. So don't sit around moaning. Get back to it, and get determined. I believe you really want to or you wouldn't be here for support.

Good Luck, and please keep us posted on your progress!!!

Tracy, How did you feel when you were lc-ing? I know that I feel much better than I have for the 14 months that I had been off of it. You still have a good -sized loss so is wasn't all for nothing. I agree with several people re-examine your motives, pick yourself up again and just face each moment as it comes. It takes 21 days to make a new habit but I know for myself it took alot longer to change what I consider my comfort foods to low carb choices. Speaking of choices, this time try to add more variety on yr menus. With a ltd amount of carbs there are an unlimited amount of recipes on the net. It takes a little time and effort but alot can be prepared ahead of time.
Do not put yrself down because you eat x amount of food. I bet I could beat you on a binge any day of the week. What is past is past -tomorrow is a new day and with each good food choice will come a new sense of acomplishment for you. All of us are here to listen girl, but if you didn't want to do it again you wouldn't have posted.
Looking forward to seeing more posts on yr sucesses!!!!
Jan Patterson

And don't forget--those carbs will MAKE you feel hungry.

Maybe this isn't the place to post this..but it just hit me in this thread....

I have love looking at everyoen picutre in the avatar...I then look to see everyone progress, how weight they lost and what their end goal is...
And in every picture I see...I see a very beautiful person. I always say to myself, this person is beatiful and doesn't need to feel bad about their appearnce. A beautiful smiling face...full of life!

We are all LCing for ourselves..to makes us feel better about ourselves. But don't forget to feel good about yourself everyday...but each one of us is already beautiful.

So if we have a bad day, cheat, fall off the wagon, get up, brush yourself off, look in the mirror and say..I am beautiful and I am worth it! I want to be the best person I can be.

Keep your chin up! And smile on your face! A smile takes away ten pounds! hehe!

Hopefully this will help, maybe...maybe not, but each one of us is beautiful and well worth to have healthy and happy life.

I can relate. I first tried LCing in march 1999 and lost about 60 lbs, but looked at this WOE as a quick fix. So needless to say I went back to my old ways of eating and tried at least 4-6 times a year to go back to LCing and I couldn't do it for more than 3-4 days without quiting.

Then on November 10th I had a wakeup call when I went to the doctor and weighed in at 270. You see my scales at home said that I weighed 250 (which is still alot). So you can imagine the suprise. Well 5 days later I began this WOL and I can honestly say that I haven't cheated once. I made it through thanksgiving, my birthday, spouses birthday, christmas, new year, daughters birthday (I know you get the point) and managed to stay strong. I would almost consider myself a LCaholic now. I guess there are worse things to be called.

You just need to ask yourself which do you like better; feeling good all the time, or feeling good the 3 minutes it takes to eat that donut.

You are the only one that can make that choice for yourself.

Good luck, we are all here for you.

Hey Tracy,

I feel for you! Don't beat yourself up, though: Sometimes it takes more than will-power to gain control after falling off the wagon. Sometimes you need a little helper.

I don't know if this will work for you, but the following tip may give you the strength to get started again. It's from Atkins' website. If you're not already doing so, try this:

"To stop a binge from going any further, immediately take chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate (400 mcg, three times daily for two days); L-glutamine (500 to 1,000 mg, three times daily); plus a single dose of vitamin B complex."

(http://atkinscenter.com/advice/atki...acles.html/pg=2)

I haven't tried this, but I usually take one 200 mcg chromium picolinate tablet with my multivitamin (which contains 300 mcg chromium polynicotinate and several B vitamins) at lunchtime, plus one Atkins Dieter's Advantage tablet (containing 150 bcg chromium polynicotinate, among other things) before dinner each day.

I am AMAZED at how the chromium eliminates my carb cravings. I can look straight at them and they have no effect on me. I'm totally indifferent to them. It is the weirdest thing ever. It's hard to believe a pill could do this for you, but this is my experience.

The supplements have made it easy for me not to cheat and they may help free you from your cravings long enough to get back in the saddle again.

Good luck! You can do it! Also, keep surfing the forums: I find that spending time here also keeps me on track. Everyone's stories are so motivating and the support is great.

Best wishes,

Ophelia

YOU CAN DO IT! I agree with what everybody said so far. You have to do it for yourself, and you have to have faith in yourself too. Nobody else can make the decision for you, only you can. Years ago, when I joined Jenny Craig, I went through one of their courses that addressed emotional eating. I realized that anxiety and stress really made me pig out. Instead of eating to ease my emotions temporarily, I learned to address my emotional needs in depth before I turned to quick fixes that I KNEW wouldn't work. Unfortunately, high carb, low carlorie diets didn't work for me even then. But since starting Atkins, I found that the class actually did help me deal with emotional eating, more than I knew. My opinion is that for any "diet" to become a WOL, you can't just focus on the weight loss or inches lost. You have to approach it from many different aspects that includes your emotional and mental well being. That may be the most important aspect that will make the difference between succeeding and quitting. Have faith in yourself, and don't just focus on the way you look or what you weigh. Pay more attention to the way you feel too, and try to work on that before turning to those doughnuts. Thanks for listening to my rant!