Induction Thoughts

[BeeDee]

Today I finish Induction. Here is what I learned.

Over the past 2 weeks, searching through the threads has given me a wealth of valuable information, support and encouragement. Many times this has helped me with a question, a bump in the road, or offered a laugh (carbs in semen?!) and a much needed lift. I thank you all for the time and care it took to write and post your facts and figures, thoughts, feelings, and most off all, your lessons learned. Up until now, I didn’t feel I had much to offer in return. Today, however, I will try to reciprocate.

The first thing I had to remind myself of during Induction was a Mauri proverb that I learned in a University English class 15 years ago. There have been tough times in my life when I literally had this taped to my fridge because I needed to be reminded daily. It is, simply:

“Turn your face to the sun and let the shadows fall behind you.”

3 years ago I was living slim and feeling wonderful about myself. Then things changed, and now I have a body that is carrying 40 pounds it shouldn’t be carrying. The tendency is to let “how could I?” gnaw away at me (how many carbs are there in regret?) and wonder (being fully honest with myself) if I even deserve to achieve this goal again, having ‘carelessly’ thrown it away before. But that is all foolishness, of course. What does it matter who I was before? I need to forgive myself and move on. The only power I have is in this moment; the present is where things happen. I am here because of all the choices and actions made in the past. My future, then, is made of all the choices and actions made right now. That is where/when my power to change my life lies. Shadows are cold, dark and behind me. I must choose to face the sun today and shape my tomorrow as I see fit. So I take a breath, set my sights on what I want to create in my life, and I go forward from here with the power of each choice and each moment firmly in my grasp.

The second thing I am reminded of concerns how we respect ourselves as ourselves. In the theatre world, there is a man named Jerzy Grotowski who once said something very simple and profound. He was a revolutionary in his field (much like Dr. Atkins in some ways), and I try my best to live daily with his words. He said,

“Don’t compare. Identify.”

This sounds wise and rather obviously true, but it is so hard to apply to weight loss. The hopes and dreams we have about our bodies and our health are deeply rooted and personal. We want to look fabulous, feel fabulous and be fabulous. We want to go to that wedding/reunion/beach party and have people say “Wow! You look fantastic!” On the road to this goal, we want to know that we’re making headway, that we’re doing things correctly, that we’re normal. So we look for comparisons with other people. And while this can offer great support, advice and encouragement, it can also put us into a competitive downward spiral if we don’t put it in its proper perspective.

During my 2 week Induction, I immediately lost 3 pounds (water, obviously), and then nothing until the last few days, when another 1 ½ came off. During this time, I read a multitude of stories about people losing 8, 10 or even 15 pounds during this same 14 day period. Very, very disheartening. Was there something wrong with me? Dr. Atkins talked about highly metabolically resistant people who had a tough time even on this diet…could I be one of them? Is it impossible to lose weight, after all? Am I ‘broken’ somehow?

But wait, I think. Remember Jerzy Grotowski?

It took me almost the whole 2 weeks of Induction just to get it right. I did read the book, thoroughly, but new routines and procedures can take a while to incorporate correctly. First I wasn’t perfect on the ‘legal’ foods list, and it took me a few days to get it straight. Then I wasn’t drinking enough water (“Hmm…only 6 glasses today…what can I do to help myself remember to get this water into me?”), and it took me a few days to find workable solutions. Then some ‘legal’ foods were tripping me up and I had to make some more adjustments. Then constipation had me gaining a pound or two all on its own. 2 weeks was barely enough time to sort it all out and make the necessary adjustments, let alone shed tons of weight. Aside from behavioral changes, my body needed time to adjust, too. For me, Induction was a learning process, not a destination. (Besides, with a total of 50 pounds to lose, 4 ½ pounds put me well within the 5-10% range. But it didn’t feel like it when other people were dropping weight like they were shedding winter clothes.)

Some people ‘get’ Induction right away. Some people have a lot more weight to lose, so they can lose more (and more quickly) on Induction. Some people are men, and men lose faster than women because they have so much more muscle mass. Some people are much younger, so weight comes off more easily. Some people were used to eating lots of carbs (I wasn’t), so the differences would be drastic, and changes could happen readily.

But none of these people are this person.

I am my age and my weight. I have my metabolism, my history, my food preferences and reactions and my exercise and water intake. I am uniquely me, and my body is uniquely mine. What other people can do has not one lick of impact on what I can do. Why would I even consider comparing this body and mind to another? The fact that we all share opposable thumbs does not mean that our life experiences will be same.

Induction is designed to make corrections to my metabolic process, addictions, habits and perspectives. My job is to use Induction, then, as a tool to identify my unique goals, strengths, challenges, habits and metabolic requirements. Other people must identify their own path. Armed with this information, I can now proceed to modify and adjust my lifestyle in order to achieve the goals I set for myself. Induction is a wonderful tool to help me do this. But it is a process, a learning curve, an adjustment—and it is uniquely individual.

So, if anyone out there is on or about to start Induction and is struggling with how they’re doing, here is what I found out. It may help. Take what you need and toss the rest:

-Let go of past ‘blame and shame’ and grab the power that is in the present.

-Remember you are unique and your journey will be uniquely yours.

-Identify your strengths and build on those. Identify your challenges and tackle one at a time.

-Weight loss and returning to health is a process, and it is not going to be perfect, or even ever ‘finished’. It is on going, just like life's journey.

Thanks again to everyone here who has helped me as I work all this out. Words cannot express how much it has meant to me. I hope someone finds some of this helpful on their journey.

Warm thoughts all around.

[msanjelpie]

WOW...

Favorite line: My future, then, is made of all the choices and actions made right now.

Thank you so much for writing this... I am sure you will help many people starting on their journey, and others who are stumbling or lost...

[barbiedoll4j]

wow ... just wow. Nicely said.

[krstinam]

thank you so much for writing this and sharing your thoughts throughout your induction experience. I am on day 5 and have not had the weight loss whoosh that so many seem to post. it was reassuring to read your thought...thank you!

Kristina

[imagood1]

Great post -- it is disheartening to see when others are loosing left and right and you aren't....but it's all relevant. I'm as happy for the person who lost 6 pounds this week as well as the one who lost 1/2 pound. As long as someone is honestly trying and moving forward they deserve praise no matter what the scale says.

I look forward to watching the rest of your journey.

[BeeDee]

Thanks to all of you who have responded; I really appreciate the feedback.

I actually had to go back and read this today to keep my chin up...sometimes the things we learn don't stay with us and we have to remind ourselves again and again. Your replies helped me remember why I wrote it, so thank you. I'm also glad to hear it helped others, too!

I have to remember that I can do this (we can ALL do this), I'm just moving at my own pace. Slow and steady, sometimes, but the goal will be achieved. I guess I get impatient somedays. Ah, well, being perfect is SO overrated...

All the best to everyone!

[rhiannon99]

So well written and so true

Beautiful....

[MsUnderstood0000]

Most excellent post. Good Luck to you on your journey.

[rhiannon99]

Can we have this as a sticky as it would be helpful to newbies?

[atkinsrox]

u ROCK BEEDEE!!!=D