words of wisdom and motivation desperatly needed.....

Hi guys....I've been very very bad.   i'm trying to crawl out of the pit I've dug for myself... I'm not really sure why I've been sabatoging myself, I want to loose weight, and feel better, and instead I've been stuffing myself so full I've been drinking pepto bismol so my stomach doesn't fill like it's gonna burst at night. I've started off good for the past week, I wake up bound and determined to stick to my plan. My will power lasts till around 10-12 noon and then I crumble. Today I stuffed my mouth with stuffed crust pizza and cinnamon sticks and soda. I think I'm gonna throw up, and yet my mind keeps wandering over to the last couple pieces of pizza still in the box. and. I. want. to eat. more. YUCK!

I would like to blame it on my female problems, but i know it's just me. I did so well before Christmas, it was almost easy to stay on track. Now I don't know.

I'm feeling like a big failure.

Firstly, You're NOT a failure.  So, you caved into old habits? Bad ones? yep... BUT you are not a failure because you KNOW it is a mistake.  Learn from this. 

Ask yourself "why" you chose to eat those foods, why you fall off the bandwagon after lunch...  are you physically hungry? emotionally hungry? joining the crowd? tempted by available foods?how is it that these temptations are available to be eaten? don't have money available in your purse to buy them.

Secondly, it is very much a cultural thing to eat and be merry between Christmas and New Year.  Most people splurge a little, most people indulge this time of the year.  It is traditional, it is how we celebrate the season... now let me be "tough mamma"..... the season is OVER, so STOP celebrating.  Make a new focus, focus on celebrating health.

Thirdly, have you ever considered adapting your favourite foods into healthier versions? a thin piece of Lebanese bread with a smear of tomato paste, HEAPS of fresh veg- peppers, tomato, spring onions, mushroom, fresh chopped basil... and a small sprinkle of reduced fat cheese all baked until bubbly and golden? Soda... sugar free ones.  and as for cinnamon sticks.. not sure what they are- so sorry no alternative ideas.  But for a sweet hit you could try low fat low sugar yoghurt with a sprinkle of crunchy cereal.  Or even a handful of dried fruit.  What do you think? Rather than deny yourself... adapt!

Em

The hardest thing in the world is to stay focused.  I have been trying so hard yet the scales won't budge which makes me want to eat pizza with you, but I know that I have to keep going if I am ever going to get to have surgery.  Don't be so hard on yourself.  Today is a new day and you pick yourself back up and go on.  You have almost made it to your first minigoal so focus on that and not what you did yesterday.  You can do it.  

Sandy

Heather....you're in the right place and asking for help and you know that's the first step....good for you!

Put down that fork and revisit the way you were feeling when you started Atkins (I'm pretty sure that's what you were doing).  Go back and read some of your early posts when you were so enthused and so full of motivation.  Journal your reasons for wanting to lose the weight.  Visualize the slimmer, more energetic you and all that you will be able to do.

YOU ARE WORTHY OF YOUR EFFORT, HEATHER!!  We all slid off the wagon over the holidays in some form or other.  It ain't easy climbing back on board but we're all hanging over the side with our arms outstretched ready to haul your ass back up with us.

I have decided to challenge myself to just sticking to plan for six weeks....no projected weight loss, just sticking to it!  It's been a LONG time since I've been able to do that.  I'm abstaining from flour and sugar (I'm definitely an addict).

Hope you watched Oprah yesterday....it's all about the love and believing your worthy of making healthy choices and taking the time to plan your meals and exercise.  You can do this, Heather!  We're all here to help you and cheer you on.

Baby Girl...don't waste time berating and feeling low - make the best of this experience and really try to work out WHY you are acting like this!

From personal experience, when we eat lots of food it is hard to back off - I really beleive that is a physiological insulin response, esp when we over indulge in carbs. When we choose food like that - pizza/cinnamon sicks/soda... we stack the deck against ourselves. Start there - make your food be higher protein, higher fiber and you will feel better and have less hunger.  Do not be afraid to add fat - that will help you stay more satisfied!

I recall eating a HUGE 12" plate stacked with pasta/sauce, a Jethro bowl of salad with ranch on it and croutons, several pieces of garlic bread, huge glass of milk or three...one might think I might be too full to eat another bite?  hail naw..those nights were whne I would really be driven to eat more sugary things!

Lemme tell you pizza is one food i highly respect as a trigger food - it is VERY hard for me to eat a reasonable amount! I could not eat it for a few years til I got my head around on why i would overindulge with it. Hear this:  it has too much bread for peeps like us! Balance it out with protein & fat IF you must have it. Have a salad with chicken or beef on it and high good fat dressing (no sugar added) - eat lots of the salad and treat the pizza like 1-2 pieces of bread. Better yet, don't eat it till you get a better handle on eating grains.

Be cool with yourself...after the holidays many of us - me included - have to go back to square one on some things. I had been picking up cookies/cakes/etc waaaay too much in my case. Little here, little there...not binge level, but bad enough!

You'll get there....no matter how many times you fall, get back up. Falling and staying there is far worse!

I forgot to tell y'all that I'm doing Atkins... So yogurt, bread, cereal, sugars, flours are out, and need to be. I know this, I'm a carb addict with next to no will power, so, at least for now, those foods have to go. I guess one of the main problems I'm having is that I need to go shopping, and I can't do that till tomorrow. I have some food in the house that I can eat, and thanks to my mom, lots of atkins shakes and bars. 

Other than obvious reasons for losing weight, before Christmas I was motivated by the fear that I wouldn't fit on a train to travel. Now that I accomplished that I'm struggling to find a short term goal that provides enough motivation for me to stick with it. I'm used to giving in. Its easy. I know, most things that are worth it aren't easy and require work, so why do I sabotoge myself?? I wish I knew.

I don't know much about Atkins but I am trying to follow a yeast cleansing diet, which isn't that low carb but it's low enough for me :) Anyway, I can have beans so when I get a carb craving I bake garbanzo beans in the oven at about 450 for 40 minutes. They get all crunchy. Then I sprinkle whatever seasoning I'm in the mood for. It helps with the crunchy-carb craving.

Maybe Atkins is too strict? Could you do something like Body For Life or Zone, where you still get a little bit of bad carbs? Then you don't have to feel deprived since you can have a tiny amount once a week.

No matter what, don't berate yourself. It will only add to the downfalls. I am trying to learn this. Everytime a bad thought about being a failure comes into my head I have to fight back and tell myself positive things. It's hard after 20 years of telling myself that I am a failure.

First I wanted to say welcome back! :)  Hpe you had a nice vacation with your family.  

Getting back on a diet of any kind is very hard after a vacation full of sweets and goodies.  Especially being on a strict diet like Atkins.  I remember I would think long and hard whether if it was really worth it getting off plan for a while just because it's so hard getting back on track.  So I feel your pain.

Leave the fast food joints alone!  If that is a trigger for you, stay away!  I'm in the same spot, I'm a fast food junky like you wouldn't believe, so is my husband.  Even while we were eating dinner last night he looked at me and told me he wanted a big mac.  You have to be strong girl!  Don't feed into these cravings.  Try to remember what your food intake was when you first started and make your menu.  Your wanting these extra foods right now and that little vision is getting in the way of what your food intake should really be!

And I will take my own advice also and stay away from those cute little Arches and big red pizza sign! :)  Cheer up, go for a walk, do some kind of activity to get you in the right mood to make this happen girl!  You got a precious little girl that needs you around for a while!  In fact, take her for a walk too! :) hehe

Hi hunnybuns,

First (((((BIG HUG)))))

My suggestion: Small goals. 

It is soooo much easier to promise yourself that you're going to stick to a plan for only a few weeks.  If you tell yourself that you're going to stick to Atkin's until Valentine's day, you can do it.  It's such a short spurt of time.  Reward yourself after you make it to Valentine's day with a new blouse or new pants or something like that. 

If you read my blog on here, I broke my weight loss goals down to every week.  Example, by March 9th, I want to be at 245.  So, this week, my goal was to be back down to 263, next week, my goal is to be 261, the week after, 259 and so on. 

For me, it's easiest if I look at small hills, rather than the mountains. 

When I was pre-op, and had to loser 40 pounds before my doctor would touch me, it was easy for me to stick to Atkin's because I had in my head "Okay, 40 pounds.  I only have to do this for 40 pounds".  It was motivating and tangible as a goal. 
Now - I'm kinda doing the same thing.  I'm keeping 245 in my head.  I'm telling myself "I only have to do this for 20 more pounds" and then I'm going to reevaluate my diet by either continuing Atkin's or picking something different.  No matter what I pick, I'm going to keep clear from bad carbs because the devil invented those himself, I swear.

The little goals make it easier sweetie.  I promise. 

I promise you, I know how you feel.  I weighed at my highest at 398 - 2 pounds from 400, so I promise I have been in your shoes.  I know how much it sucks to see such a looooong road ahead.  But you've got to tackle it in milestones, not all or nothing.

Best of luck honey and PM me if you need anything.

Janina, the small goal suggestion is a great idea. I actually noticed you had started doing that and started that myself. I feel it is much easier to stay with the program if you have goals that are closer to your current weight to accomplish. Because it all adds up.