I don't want to throw in the towel...any boost?

[Sunny_0ne]

Kathi, so GLAD to see you got past the blues.

Yes, we all do get them, but it feels so good the next morning when you know you stayed on track.

So here's to a wonderful Atkins day filled with all kinds of yummy, legal foods!

And kudus to you!!!!!!!!

[rajenki]

Great job Kathi!

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Originally Posted by Kathi22

Thanks everyone. I was really upset last night when a good friend of mine started pointing out all the negative deprivations - and she is very uninformed about Atkins. My DH wanted to go to a mexican place for a bite to eat and we all know this is all white flour! I missed that occasional mexican meal with nachos and started believing that I was depriving myself. But you know what, I am depriving myself more from happiness and an active lifestyle by being so over weight. I have been depriving myself from my mini goal to lose 66 pounds because I keep going off plan. I am not gaining anything from this - but weight!

good for you for getting right back on. i think we all have days like that - but look at your siggy - you've lost 40 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!! how INCREDIBLE is that!???? You, my friend, are absolutely FABULOUS for having lost 40 pounds! Do you really want to throw in the towel and gain it back?...I can almost guarantee that you will, if you go back to eating any other way...

i know - for me - i keep thinking about summer and ice cream...and how hard it'll be for me to stay away from the ice cream shops - and yes, i feel like i'm "depriving" myself - but at the same time - I then look at all the positives. You should do this - write down all the GOOD things you LOVE about doing atkins...for example - for me - all of this TOTALLY outweighs those negative feelings:

1. I've lost 14 pounds in 2.5 months. I think back that if I wouldn't have started atkins - and i'd have tried low fat diet "starting tomorrow" and more'n likely woulda GAINED weight instead...

2. I'm wearing my "skinny" jeans that I thought I'd NEVER EVER wear again (was in 17's now in 13's)...

3. While I may feel "deprived" about certain foods - there are other foods I'd never have DREAMED of eating on a low-fat diet - and these foods are INCREDIBLE!!! (real butter - full fat mayo - lots of olive oil - fattier meats - all the vegees I want without having to "weigh" or "measure" them...)

4. My grocery bill has gone WAY down now that I'm only buying whole foods and not junk.

5. I LOVE what I see in the mirror...

6. I KNOW that while it may take 1 pound a week - I WILL be 160 lbs again! the fact is that the way i'm eating is SO freakin' easy - and i'm NOT obsessing like i used to - that I FINALLY feel "normal" and i AM losing about 1 pound a week! Unlike being on a low-fat diet where it didn't work...

7. I know that atkins IS healthy. Our body NEEDS fat - NOT carbs. Grains and refined sugar wasn't even available until the 1900's and yet it's the 1900's when all the diseases we deal with EXPLODED!! Once low-fat diets became the "rage" and people stopped eating fat - what happened to society? Heart disease became the number 1 killer!

The list goes on and on and on. I know for me - I've already decided that there is just absolutely NO choice. I can NOT go back to the way I USED to eat - because look at where that got me. 197 pounds and a size 17. That's what eating bread and high carbs got me to. Do I REALLY want to go back there? NO!

You CAN do this. My suggestion is to go to Linda's Website and print off a bunch of new recipes (i made her coconut chicken last week and omg FABULOUS!!!)

You CAN do this and it IS worth it!!!!

[muzza]

well i used to have a notorious sweet tooth. go on chockalate and ice cream binges etc most of the time i ate these things i relised i didnt even enjoy them .and i used to get really weak and tired feeling in the afternoons before atkins .now im in my 4th week of extended induction and my biggest problem is trying to eat enough calories so i dont go into starvation mode .i mean i just dont get hunger like i used to b4 atkins i dont get weak in the afternoons anymore and i generally feel great [ stable ].i have the occasional off day where i think damn i gotta eat all this food etc because at my bodyweight of 151 kgs my bmr is about 2800 calories a day .so i dont wanna go much below that number .but i can see this woe is working i feel way better than i used to when i was full of caffeine 'sugar'and carbs.and to be honest eating that way for so many years scares me when i think what it does to your body and also social life etc.so just try to look at the longer term gains you will make on atkins for me im due to get married next may and i wanna look good in a suit again for my fiance think positive and change will happen . muz

[Kathi22]

Muz, Keriann, Sunnyone, and Rajenki - THANK YOU! I realy, really needed to read this. I was so reluctant to post something negative for support but that is why we are all here, and I sure am glad I did.

I am on day 2 of induction and I feel great. I really think the going off and on plan is what gave me the blues - because my mindset is 100% back now. I have lost 40 pounds, and 2 weeks ago it was 47 so I know first hand how fast the weight can come back on. Granted, I had a female dilemma the day I weighed so I think I really gained back 4 pounds and not 7 - but it doesn't matter. The bottom line is, I gained some back that fast and I have to spend the next week or so taking it back off. !!!!

I NEVER want to gain the 40 back. I made a promise to a friend and to myself that when I am in maintenance, the minute I go up 5 pounds I have to come back. And this little promise, doesn't go into effect for another 111 pound loss; so I have a long way to go. Just 8 months ago, I was 40 pounds heavier and that is definitely better then mexican, pizza, fries, or ice cream (my favorite carb and sugar filled downfalls!!) So again, thank you to all of you. I feel fantastic again.

[Georgiana]

Great attitude, Kathi. And you should never be afraid to post on the board.

Now that you told us what your favorite carb/sugar-filled foods are, we should look at the positive side of things -- what are your favorite Induction-friendly foods? When I visit my parents, my mom makes grilled fish with butter, lemon juice, garlic and dill. It's by far my fav.

[Kathi22]

Originally Posted by Georgiana

Now that you told us what your favorite carb/sugar-filled foods are, we should look at the positive side of things -- what are your favorite Induction-friendly foods? When I visit my parents, my mom makes grilled fish with butter, lemon juice, garlic and dill. It's by far my fav.

Oh that sounds yummy! I love crab legs, steak, crisp pepperoni and melted cheese, pork chops, and bacon. Friday is my seafood night where I usually make scallop scampi and have some crab legs - no meat on Fridays for me. I get really excited lol.

[Georgiana]

Kathi, were you a supporting member 5 minutes ago? Maybe I'm just getting old. :P

I love seafood. I spent a summer in Baltimore and tasted some really delicious seafood recipes. Yummy.

Being excited about it is the way to go! I'm high on Atkins too.

[rajenki]

When I was gearing up to get back to eating low carb, I also focused on eating the foods I loved on plan and what I was going to enjoy again that I otherwise don't make. When I'm eating poorly, I NEVER make butter-basted chicken, or bacon, or bacon cheeseburgers, and now I crave them!

You should also look at ways to substitute the foods you miss so that you don't feel deprived. For me, my Mexican substitute is Taco Salad. Sure...I can't sit at a restaraunt and down a basket of chips and salsa like I used to, but I love, love, LOVE my taco salad! For pizza it used to be pizza burgers, but I made cauliflower crust pizza friday and it was fantastic! That's my new sub! There are recipes for LC Icecream in the Atkins book I had from 1992 (which I've loaned to a friend, otherwise I'd post it for you). I get my "desert fix" off of sugar free crustless cheesecake (for now...I'm sure I'll eventually get tired of this but plan on making pumpkin pie next) and my biggest "miss" is Macaroni and cheese with hotdogs...which I fake now with cauliflower and frankly think I might actually like it more. Cauliflower, by the way, would not EVER be in my grocery cart in the past...now it's a staple.

Your doing great! Congrats on Day 2!

[Kathi22]

No Georgiana, I wasn't a supporting member until today. Thought I would give back to a site that has really helped me.

I agree Rajenki, in the past I would never get excited over my low carb snack - and I forgot to add my jalepeno peppers sliced in half, topped with cream cheese and bacon then in the oven to a nice crisp. Now, I get hungry for them daily. As of today, I am over the crappy cravings!