I NEED HELP....ADBB old timers...talk to me! :(

[is thin possible?]

First let me say thanks for always being here when I need you! Sometimes I feel guilty that life for me is so busy with a large family, work, college classes and teaching school that I don't log on as much as I used to. Then when I am in a jam...here I come a running! I need to make a committment to log on even if it is only for 5 minutes a day. (Problem is....there is so much awesome stuff going on here I can't just stay on for 5 minutes! You guys are addictive!Ha! Ha! )

Anyhow, as you all know Atkins has made me a success in the weight loss thing. I continue to eat realatively as I did during my weight loss phase and have failed MISERABLY at following the pre-maintenance part of the program. I have yet to find my CCC and if I don't get this figured out soon I fear that I am going to sabatoge my whole success.

Here is my dilemma at hand. I am feeling like a real loser today because for the first time in MANY MONTHS...I binged! Yes! Binged! I took in over 300 carbs today! OMG! I have not done this forever. At first I started out cognitively deciding to take in more carbs. I have kept myself restricted to about 20 to 30, as I said not moving up the rungs. I think that as I have depleted my fat stores, my body is definately needing more carbs now. However in my stubborness to get off those last "10 pounds" I was going to hang in there on extended induction. You know....a real know it all. You guys warned me to slow it down by moving in to the next phase and I didn't! So....have kept at very low carb, exercising vigorously and faithfully for over a year. I was feeling weak and achey, not much energy. That is why I thought, "OK, time to up the carbs, the weight is not coming off now, in fact I am up 7 pounds, so this isn't working anymore. Time to work up the rungs.
So I started out today telling myself that I think my body is not losing anymore because I am restricting it too much. At some point I lost it an ddecided to have a gazillion carbs instead of say 50 or 60. I am rambling....let me get to my point. I am afraid I have totally screwed up my program so bad by eating that many carbs. Can I recover form this or am I in BIG TROUBLE? Also, by staying on extended induction so long, have I screwed up my body to the point it is hanging on to every little thing I eat because it thinks it is starving and now I am going to gain weight by eating just a little bit of even the good stuff? Help me....I am scared! Is it too late for me to start up the rungs... or have I already blown it?

Thanks for listening! I cannot afford to become fat again. Please advise ASAP!

[tabekat]

Of course you can recover silly killy. You are not in big trouble nor have you screwed up your program. You seem perfectly aware. So just get back on Atkins with your next bite. This was just a little speed bump.

Speak kindly to yourself kitten.

As you know, weight fluctuation is perfectly normal, and if you are spending way too much time obsessing about that number, it is time to back away from the scale.

A large part of OWL and Pre-Maintenance is experimentation to see how the body reacts to certain stimulus. Trust your instincts; if you need more food then eat more food.

If you had been full to the brim with the healthy food you could be eating would you have had room for the carbage anyway?

You are doing just fine.

[is thin possible?]

Thanks sooo much tabekat! I needed that bit of encouragement! Your encouragement has meant sooo much. I am feeling better today but still a bit ancy. Would you recommmend that I do a few days of induction just to cleanse the system and then start back up the ladder slowly? Any other old timers willing to take a stab at my questions? Please?

[2big4mysize]

okay back to business. based on your weight loss in induction andthe charts in the book find your netabolic resistance then look in chapter14 at the charts and you should have a pretty good idea of where your CCLL will be. that is your target for now. if you have increasedyour exercise and active life style since then your CCLL will be even higher.

nowthat you have a target to shoot for start at the begining like everybody else does OWL rung one use the higher carb veggies on the rung to increase your carbs 10 net then when you have seen if your body can handle that move tothe frsh dairy rung and so on until you have added more of the lower GI foods soyou can maintain your blood sugar stability. if you makeit 10 through all of those rungs and are still not at your CCLL then swap out some of your lower rung carb foods for the higher rung foods and see what happens. I know when i was doing BFL and HIIT I had a CCLL over 115 net carbs when i cut back my exercise my CCLL fell to 45.

Now take a good look at your body and get your lean body measured so you know if you are actually a goalie as we add pounds of lean tissue as we lose the fat weight and we will have a higher body weight at a lowerbody fat % on the way downward in pounds. if your body fat is between 25-15% you are in a healthy range and can declear goal. many folk have contimued to lose as their body adjusted to maintnenance life. our fat redistributes its self too once we stop and what looked like a big area of fat in 6 months to a yr will shrink.

Now drink your water, do your exercise take your needed supplemtnts and eat according to Dr Atkins instructions not just upping the carbs but upping them in a controlled manner and see how well you can be come a goalie.

Happy low carbing

[Moochiecat]

Look at this as being a REALLY good learning experience for you. In your message you already have pinpointed where you went wrong, and that's just so excellent that you've been able to step back and analyze the situation...you're already on your way to helping yourself by recognizing whats going on.

You may want to go back to Induction for a few days...not as punishment or penance, but to get your head back into the game. But go into it with the knowledge that you will be starting a proper OWL, and plan accordingly.

You're almost there....and even if you stay within 10 pounds of your goal for a while, you are still a success, aren't you?

Logically, you know in your mind that the last pounds can take time to come off...relax...get back into the groove, enjoy your life, eat sensibly and in time, it'll come together.

[iyamamaschke]

OMgosh you have LOST 126 pounds that's like a whole entire Person, I know you can do it girl you gotta have faith in yourself that you can. Look at yourself pull out some old pictures and take a hard look at where you came from. You don't wanna go back there. You ahve been a HUGE success and you are doing sooo great. YA you ahve had a small bump we have all had those and some how we get past them. You can too. Hold your chin up look your future right in the eye and GO FOR IT.

Sarah

[higgies]

Hey there!!! Everyone's given you such great advice already, all I can do is lend some support. I am maintaining for over a year now and know just how you feel.

I never really did the pre-maintenance or OWL thing very well and have no idea what my CCC is. I've basically been eating induction foods with some additional OWL things and maintaining a little over 20 carbs a day. I am not losing anymore really, just maintaining...which is just what I want.

I binge on occassion...well, maybe not binge, but I do have a day every other week or so that I just eat what I want. I gain some water and then get back on track the next day. So the key I believe is to get back to your plan and not make it a habit!

Don't worry, you've come so far that you know what to do! Your body knows what's coming now too. Good luck and keep us in the loop.

p.s. I'm not advocating my WOE/WOL for anyone else...lol

[is thin possible?]

Hey thanks everyone! I can always count on you all! What a blessing! I am pouring over all of the advice given and taking it all in. I am proud to say that today has been on awesome eating day and I am feeling actually pretty great considering all of the carbs I woofed down yesterday!

Hey "Higgies!" Thanks for the moral support in the arena of another successful Atkineer who has not actually found their CCC level. It feels good to know I am not alone!

Thanks again for all of the support you guys. I will be logging on frequently in the next several days to let you know how things are going and so that you all can help keep me accountable.

Blessings.....

[is thin possible?]

Just checking in! I am doing well and back on the wagon! My eating is back on
track and my exercise as well. I am already down 4.5 pounds and feeling full of energy again! I am also adding in more carbs and reading the DANDR in regards to how to move into the next phase. I am anxious to see if the scale continues to dip down...come on over "whooshie fairy!"

Thanks all for the moral support when I was face down in the ol' cookie jar!

Hugs....

[Isabeau]

Great job. We knew you could do it.