Why Bother – Taking inventory

My post earlier this morning in my journal made me think about why I bother with this. Decided to post it here too, hoping it may help some of you take a differnt look at what's going on in your life.

LCing is hard work. Here’s why for me:

1. No more headaches - Headache free for 25 days
2. No more phantom gall bladder attacks
3. No more urgent diarrhea after eating
4. No more intolerance to cheese
5. No more tossing and turning for 2 hours before falling asleep
6. No more morning grogginess – wide awake early and raring to go
7. No more split, dry, pealing finger nails
8. No more aching feet at the end of the day
9. No more indigestion/heartburn
10. No more wasted money on take-out breakfast and lunch
11. More quality time with my husband. We chatter away after work now while I fidget in the kitchen getting meals ready
12. More quality reading time and less wasted computer surfing time

That alone makes it worthwhile and keeps me going. Funny thing is, losing weight has become a secondary goal now. Feeling better is so much more rewarding.

The only odd thing that has happened is that I have stopped dreaming!

My 2 cents

I have much more energy.
My skin is looking great, I used to get occasional breakouts.
For the first time in my life I am not counting calories.
For the first time, I don't feel hungry after a meal.

What could be better? LOL
zellie

no more bloated indigestion or waking up at 0300 am feeling like i ate a housebrick, no more wind and constant need to go to the toilet, no more cravings or ravening hunger... life is so hard on this woe! Woe is us, dare i say.
I'm less than halfway to my goal but i feel so much better that i don't care, well, only a bit, how long it takes to get there cos i've lost so much weight already. I'm even having a glass of wine (dry white, 0.6g carb per 100 ml according to my calorie counter, with my dinner of roast beef and pumpkin with horseradish. Oh yeah, life is hard.

I've only been LCing (this time ) for six weeks, and just beginning to feel some good effects. The biggest is the bloated feeling is gone, and I'm waking up, without an alarm clock, between 8:00 and 9:00 every morning rather than 10:00 or 11:00 (I work at home ) On three days last week, I did not need to lie down in the afternoons (as I have for the past four years). THAT is the biggest change for me.

I started several notches below zero, I think, so it will take some time to reap some of the bennies others find in the first week. It is work. Some days it's easier than others. But I do know it's worth it.

It could be because you're sleeping better. We remember our dreams when we are awakened frequently out of a dream state. Someone who knows better could correct me, but I understand that we only dream when we are in REM sleep. There is a deeper stage as well in which we don't dream. My hunch is that you are still dreaming when you are in REM, but you make it to the deep sleep stage now, which means you don't remember the dreams you had. Just my unprofessional opinion

I thought I had stopped dreaming, too, and other people on the board had mentioned they dreamed MORE and the dreams were weird. I think it IS just deeper sleep.

YB

Could it be because,
I look, and feel younger. I'm happier. I have energy that I thought was lost forever. I no longer wake myself up puking in my sleep (acid reflux- new meaning to feel the burn) , no more explosive diarrhea, no more foot pain, no more water retention, the jeans that I bought six months ago that didn't fit are now loose on me Watching my hubby watch other guys watching me, seeing how proud my kids are of me (even though they now are like the food Gestapo).
How could I have forgot the main reasons that I began this way of life (which at the time I thought was just another diet):
No more diabetes medication, no more High Blood pressure meds, no more asthma attacks, and No more low fat.
Because I found something that works for me the weight loss is just a pleasant side effect.

Great thread - it's so important to see beyond the weight loss.