Starting Over AGAIN

[IrishSarahHB]

ok, so two things .....


First off .. i have to confess .. I went off the diet AGAIN .. all weekend .. I hate that i keep doing that .. i get frusturated .. cause it worked soooooo good the first time and now it doesnt work for me anymore .. i think i have ruined it for myself by going on & off and On and off .. now it doesnt work for me .. :-( i dont know what to do becuase its the only thing that has ever workrd and now it doesnt ...... What should i do? Any suggestions?

[MrsBrittney]

I'd say stick to the 2 weeks cheat-free (to give yourself time to adjust, etc) and then re-evaluate if you feel its a successful WOE for you. Do you feel that the diet isnt working this time or is it that you are finding it harder to stick to this time around? I would say the key is variety in your meals - check out Linda's recipe website and the STAC forums for great support and ideas!

[blue996]

I have gone on and off Atkins a thousand times in the past five years. But once I stuck to it for a serious amount of time, it started working! All you need to do is get through the first month...it then becomes must easier. A few more months in and you'll be hard pressed to go back to your old ways since you will feel so much better and look better. You just need to stick it out.

[Hoping]

Just follow the plan, it works.
But if you don't feel you can commit then try the induction period or maybe a month's worth and then, as Mrs.Brit said, re-evaluate whether this is the woe for you or not.

[almondina]

Ugh! I'm in a similar situation. I've done Atkins twice with really good results, but gained it back (life stressors, etc...). And this time, I lost about 4.5 lbs and have completely stalled. In the past when I've done Atkins, I admit, I've been more restrictive that called for, so this time I'm not doing that. I'm trying to be reasonable while sticking strictly to the plan (except for tonight, for the first time in like 3 weeks of no results, I had a bit of sugar-free chocolate). But I swear, some days I get on the scale and see that I've GAINED, not lost!!! I realize you should only weigh once a week, but even so, nothing's changed in the last week. I'm feeling depressed and angry.

Someone wrote that if you stick it out for a month something should start happening. It's hard for me to trust that I will have the same experience.

In the past, I would see the weight melt away and that encouraged me to keep going. I don't have that positive reinforcement now so I'm finding it really hard to motivate myself to stick to it. HELP!!!!

[MrsBrittney]

I'm the QUEEN of halfassing Atkins, or doing it strict for about a week then giving up, blaming it all on poor results. And I know it works and I know where I could try harder.

Another thought for the above poster, whats your water intake? You could also be clinging to water weight (hence raising scale).

I suggest trying it another week but taking all your measurements: neck, wrist, chest, tummy, hips, thigh, calf, etc. Thats where it will show.

[jammiemarie24]

As I heard someone else say on here and I agree...I think when weve done it b4 our body is like...oh I know that trick, and its resistant...but if you keep going eventually it realizes this is the way it is...and it starts to work again...and I agree. The more we go on and off the more resistant our bodies become...but give it one good clean month and see what happens...also are you exercizing...I think that helps.

My body was trying to be resistant (because this is my 2nd time on atkins)...so I started exercizing, and drinking tons of water, and it is really helping.

I wish you the best! You can do it...just tell that body...your going to lose weight, and commit yourself to it!

[spazzyhilo]

I know it can be easy to lose faith especially when you not only see the scale not moving down but it moving up. THE SCALE IS EVIL! It often lies and it can't be trusted. The tape measurer though is a better friend as it is more accurate and I know for me that even when I didn't lose any pounds I still lost inches!

Try to get through a cheat free 2 week induction period. Make sure to take your measurements as well as weighing. Drink your water, take your vitamins, and stick to the plan! If you need any support at all come to this board! Thats what we are here for

[almondina]

Thank you so much for your encouraging and caring response! Today is a new day, and hopefully I can shrug off the cheat and keep going. In a way, I am more motivated than ever to try whatever it takes to do this, which is why it hurts when I feel like nothing's happening despite my best efforts.

I think I'll take your advice and not weigh every day. In the past, however, stopping weighing was a sort of "kiss of death", where the rationalizations would start piling up and before I knew it I'd gone completely off course. I know the scale is evil, and I resent that on any given day it can dictate my mood, how I feel about myself, my life, the world. There's something kinda really sick about this (and something to bring up with my therapist tomorrow).

I wrote elsewhere that in reality, I only need to lose about .5 kg a week, that's a little over a pound a week, in order to reach my goal by the end of August. I have no reason to rush this process. I really believe that if I can incorporate weighing myself once a week and relying on measurements as well, I will be much better off.

Anyhow, thanks so much for your encouragement. I'll be back and keep you posted on how my day goes.

Peace.

[dreamof145]

One thing that I know works is to make a written out plan. Just like you would if you were writing up your itenerary for work or for vacation. I used a journal for my thoughts and my measurements and then I also had a day planner for my foods, exercises and such. This really worked for me. I still use the journal daily and have my plans typed up and in envelopes so if I go somewhere out of my comfortzone (home, work)...then I whip one out and refresh my memory.

Write it out, have motivational messages to yourself at the bottom of each page. Remember the events that made you stray and write out a new improved plan as to what you'll do if/when those issues come back and then take new actions. Instead of eating pizza with your friends...make a few Atkins friendly pizzas and freeze. So when someone orders theirs, you take out your own and join them. If friends ask you to go out to dinner, call ahead and find out whats on the menu. Take out your carb-counter and figure up what you'll eat before hand and then don't read the menu when you get to the establishment. Make your plans for succeeding and you'll be surprised how reading your goals each day imprints in your mind the new way of life. Have a visual (photo or memory) of what your goal is. Go to goal. Don't look back at past failures, we all have them. Keep going and get active here so you have people to be accountable to. We want you to succeed...You can do it.