old habits die hard...

first of all I would just like to share with you all that I so enjoy posting on here instead of the main message board b/c I feel like you all care about me personally a lot more! Secondly I need a little bit of whining time/encouragement...I posted on another post that I nothing really makes me dump...not fat not sugar not carbs not anything except atkins ice cream. I can eat regular ice cream (like 2oz if that) and I am fine. Tonight I made a surprise visit to my sisters and she was having pizza for dinner so I joined her and ate a small slice. I also ate some cheese and low carb crackers when I got home about an hour later so I would be sure toget all my protein. I prefer a tsp of reg. mayo to the light mayo bc the light mayo is too sweet for me. I prefer the light bread to the low carb bread b/c the low carb bread is too chewy and makes me want to . I prefer eating a 1/4 cup of whole wheat pasta to the low carb pasta for the same reason. I did go overboard with ice cream tonight which was my own stupid fault but my eyes got bigger than my stomach. ITs just bad...I try to avoid sugar b/c I know its a trigger...I should try to avoid carbs but its so hard for me to find food that I even want to consider eating that I just take what I can get! A lot of food just looks so unappealing and I dont want to eat after like 2 bites! I dont do soda EVER b.c I know it will make me want to eat. I guess I would rather eat a little bit of the stuff I know I will like than more of the stuff that grosses me out...how do y'all feel about this?! sarah

Sarah, I don't know if I dum*****t ... I haven't tested those waters at all. Yes, I have eaten a bite of real ice cream, but just a bite. When I want something sweet I check the sugar contents and always make sure it is not over 5 to 7 and I don't want anything that is loaded with sugar alcohols. I don't like the taste of the low carb ice creams. The no sugar added is too tempting as I like the flavor so I don't buy it. I do eat a Healthy Choice bar occassionally and have sugar free popsicles in the freezer. I'm not perfect, I do try to eat my protein first tho. Some days I can eat more quantity than others, then the next just a few bites. I try to focus on portion sizes and just eat until I am satisfied. I've had a few days that I felt I could eat all day (little bits), that shook me up and it reminded me of the old me. I gave up sodas over a year ago. So fluids for me is water, Propel, crystal light. I do try to exercise in some form each day. Do a lot of walking, riding my exercise bike, and hope to get back to the pool soon. I do some carbs each day, in small amounts. I try to stay under 30 grams. I don't do protein shakes but do eat protein bars. Sorry for the babbling, hard to put it all into words. Mary

I also don't dump on on sugar, bread, or pasta so long as I keep it very low. I check the sugars on everything and generally skip anything very high. I've been surprised to find many "regular" foods that aren't as high in sugar as I might have imagined, like some of the pre-made graham cracker crusts. I believe Keebler makes one with only 5 grams of sugar per slice, so I make a cheesecake with splenda and put fresh strawberries on it and it's perfectly okay for me. I try to avoid alot of the "lo-carb" stuff as I'm afraid it just feeds my old eating habits and I'd rather just eliminate those kinds of foods. Fortunately, it's summer and the fruit is awesome. I keep fresh cherries, watermelon, and pineapple cut up in the fridge all of that time and that keeps my snacking need under control. I did wonder...I posted about getting very ill last Sunday morning about 8 hours after eating some lo-carb ice cream, but I also remembered that I attended a wedding Saturday evening where I ate about 1/4 of a slice of wedding cake and that may have been too sweet for me to handle. Julie -59