Heed Rule #5 of Induction

[eclectikat]

It boils down to how we approach Atkins.

For me, it is a life change, a new beginning. Cheating is not an option.

Along with flipping my metabolism switch to fat burning (ketosis) the switch in my brain has been switched from saying 'what diet can I lose on' to saying 'what life changes can I make to become healthy and whole?'

I am master of what I put into my mouth.

I am not a slave to the temptation.

Its all me, every day, every hour, every minute.

I am chosing to be aware of everything I put into my mouth. Being unconsious is why I ended up tipping the scale at 299 lbs... being aware is why I have to date lost 55lbs.

I am responsible.

NOTHING IS WORTH GETTING OUT OF KETOSIS. Not for me at least.

Atkins works, I am shedding fat and inches, getting fit; Why would I want to affect that progress even in the slightest way for the taste of a teaspoon of ketchup on my tongue? FORGET IT!!!!!!!

Thanks for the great thread Eric... and all the great responses!!!!!

Kathy

[julirama723]

Amen to this thread, Eric!

Jace and Joy, you know I wholeheartedly agree with your posts. I'm of the school of "tough love" too, and most of the time I don't even bother posting anymore, since my response is not likely to be mushy or forgiving or what anybody wants to hear.

I get so annoyed when posters claim "I am doing this 100%, I am so strict." Then they list their menu and they're subsisting on pork rinds and cheese and vodka tonics. I get annoyed with people who say they work 8-hour days and have "no time to exercise". I get annoyed with people who say "I'm giving up caffiene because it's causing problems" and then the next day say "I needed this <insert caffeinated beverage here> today an I'll quit tomorrow".

Crikey. It all comes down to something my dad says: $hit or get off the pot.

I've figured out that I don't care if people think I'm a party pooper or a purist or dogmatic. I've had success following Atkins THE RIGHT WAY. I know what works.

[Minofex1]

Now its time for me to chime in. . .

Eric, you wrote exactly what was about to drive me away from this BB forever (I didn't say it was going to drive me from this WOL). It is SOOOOOOOO discouraging to read every other thread say, "Oops, I did it again.......Need to restart......Help I am eating a load of crap!" There are a lot of forums that I stay away from because I do not want to hear that everyone is cheating and having to start over. I am making major sacrifices EVERYDAY because I want to be successful. I do not need anything causing me to lose focus.

I had grown so tired of this 'happy-go-luck, it'll be alright' kind of tolerance of people doing the wrong thing. Let's face it, if you have committed to following the Atkins' WOL then eating something that is unacceptable is doing the wrong thing.

People need someone who will be straight forward with them. Just like Bonnie Rose was talking about, allowing others to skate by after they succomb to temptation is enough to discourage anybody. We are here to motivate and help each other! When we sit by and read about others saying they messed up and do not hold them accountable to the decision they made, WE are to blame for their failure!

Trust me, I do not believe we should pull out the rocket launcher and blow the folks away with our corrective recommendations. What I am saying is that we must be honest enough with our knowledge of DANDR and the established rules of this WOL to let them know that they can overcome times of temptation and be successful.

Like I mentioned in a post on yesterday, you have to STOP & THINK when you are faced with the choice of eating off plan and going the extra mile to stay focused. Think about how long it will take to get back in the groove after eating off plan foods.

Furthermore, cheating is probably the thing that has brought all of us to this BB and this WOL, at one time or another. It can be had to restict or limit things we like but the simple fact is that WITHOUT SACRIFICE, THERE IS NO SUCCESS! That is true in all parts of our lives.

Regards,
- Minofex1

[BonnieRose16]

.....

[flpooh19701]

Can any of you honestly say that you have NEVER been in the position of any of the other people you speak of that start and stop , start and stop? I mean really, did you just wake up one day fat and then decide oh I'm going to lose this weight and I'm going to be successful the first time around? The majority of us have been fighting this for years and years. We are learning people! We make mistakes but we learn from them. And who is to say that any of you won't be in one of these other peoples shoes in the future? Sure, you are losing the weight, sure you have a great attitude about being successful doing it but do you really think that you are now immune? If we got here once we can certainly get here twice. We are all newbies in some aspect of our lives. It's all about learning and in the end we are all capable of getting it right. And you know something else.. sometimes you can get your message across with some compassion. Sometimes people just need to realize and be told that you don't have to kick this to the curb because you screwed up. You can pick yourself up and move on from screwing up. And then, next time you will know better and do better. And if it's a swift kick in the *** you are looking for, ask for it because I think you should be treated with compassion first. This is NOT easy. IF it were we would NOT have the obesity epidemic that we have. Losing weight and getting healthy is so much more about a healthy mind than what we put in our mouth. The food for many people is a symptom of bigger things. We have to work through both to be successful. The people that think they have this down to perfection, I really hope you do because one day you could be eating a lot of crow or you will just disappear from these boards out of embarrassment.

[Greeneggs&ham]

Don't get me wrong -- I certainly believe in compassion and I understand that mistakes can be made (and recovered from). However, my perception of late is that there has been a lot of lovey-dovey responses and giving feedback with all comfort and no criticism. I'm simply looking for a balance and asking if members are looking to succeed or looking to fail. If you want to succeed, then constantly being told that failure is OK won't get you there.

I specifically started a new thread to address this rather than respond similarly to one of the umpteen posts I'm speaking about. I thought the generic approach would be the compassionate approach. If a person can't see the compassion "between the lines" of the tough love crowd, then he's missing the purpose of what caring is all about!

[liv]

I kind of agree with Trisan myself.
I think sometimes people who succeeds in something like "stopping to smoke" turns into the biggest anti-smokers because they personally need a certain obsessiveness to break a habit as hard to break as that and this carries over to their smoke free existence. Not all people are like that. Some people employ different strategies in order to find and stick to the right path. This may just need a different approach by those who help as well.
I had a very flawed beginning to Atkins - when someone new comes to board and eats "wrong" stuff, I believe I understand where they are coming from and even if it is repeating myself over and over again sometimes I do not mind spending my board time pointing out that they are not doing it by the book. I needed that kind of help when I came here. I got it. I am just giving it back.

On the other hand, people that are deliberately trying to include things in their diet even if it is not "on the list" and do not intend to change, I have less patience with. I love the "by the book" attitude of ADBB.

I think for those who get tired of continuing to give the same advice, that is understandable. There are other great ways to help people too: by posting pictures or starting cool topics (like this one) or just being inspirational by their dedication. That is very important too.

[Minofex1]

Whoa, whoa.......I think this is being a little bit blown out of proportion. Compassion is the given in all of this. If we all were not compassionate for others, there would probably be no posts on this BB. Being straightforward to people when they post that they have fallen off the plan is the definition of compassion. There is no reason that message cannot be conveyed in a kind way. No question! The main thing is that it be said. I do not think anyone alluded to being mean and discourteous to our fellow members. (I am not saying that was anyone’s words) I did not see any mention or impression given in any of the comments that seemed as if someone was being self-righteous, either.

My take is for everyone to use all of the information available, make better decisions and continue to work on you. That is all we can ask from ourselves and hope for others. BUT, continue to add value to the lives of each member on this BB by offering your opinions, solutions and salutations!

Regards,
- Minofex1

[ValidRouge]

Just repeating what's been said earlier...we're not talking about the people here who have slips. ****, I have had slips, cheats, eaten off plan intentionally, accidently...whatever. But it's not an excuse to continue eating that way. It doesn't give license to start making up my own rules.

I'm also not saying that if something happens that a person does eat off plan,...who cares what the reason was...that they can't get right back to the plan and be consistent with it for extended amounts of time. I can't in good conscience say it's okay to cheat over and over and over again. It's not. It's not healthy for your body (insulin), it's not healthy for your mind (guilt, anger, and all the emotional stuff that comes with this ADDICTION).

I invite anyone to come see for themselves what this journey has been like for me. Battling obesity and addiction is HARD. And, I'll give you a little further tidbit...maintenance is HARDER! If you can't make it through just two weeks of even a semi-clean induction, I honestly don't know how the **** you're going to make it for the long haul.

[SunnySmile501]

Originally Posted by Jace

Lately it seems as though most of the posts in the induction and main diet forums could be answered simply with the question "If you can't commit to following the plan properly for 14 days, what makes you think you're going to be able to sustain this for the rest of your life?"....that's much of the reason I don't post as often anymore...saying the same thing over and over again to people is depressing and most don't want to hear it...so I just throw my hands up in defeat.

I really think it's no coincidence that the long term weight loss success stories on this board are the same people that stress doing it by the book (and, unfortunately, get deried as purists for calling people out on their less that stellar adherence to Dr. Atkins' plan).

~Far la bella figura!

Being called a purist is way nicer than what I and the other members of the 100% Pure Atkins thread on eDiets were called! We were lovingly (yeah, right) called Atkins Nazis. We were called this by members that had been 'doing Atkins' for as much as 4 years and had lost 6 pounds, I kid you not!