Lollipops, Nachos and Bagels -- OH MY!

[Greeneggs&ham]

Hi everyone. I stumbled upon this forum earlier today after browsing the internet for diet motivation and seeing a link to this site on a YouTube video produced by Bowolf (sp?) showcasing his weight loss on Atkins.

I was first introduced to Atkins by a friend over a decade ago and had excellent early results but inevitably gave in to the anxiety of never again being able to enjoy my favorites like pizza, ice cream and premium lager. Although the weight loss was evident, my mood was improved, and my cravings for carbs was a distant memory, the thought of NEVER having something ate away at me.

As a result, my weight has slowly gone up (and up and up). I am currently at 270 pounds. The only time I weighed more was following my freshman year of college when I hit 285. At the time ('89), I had never heard of Atkins, instead using a strict SlimFast diet and exercise to get down to 215. I remained at 215 for a number of years mainly by taking long road bike trips each week to offset the pasta and bread.

Over the past couple of years I have returned to the vicious circle of yo-yo dieting with the small step forward followed by the inevitable two steps back. My greatest obstacle to weight loss is my bad attitude following any setback. I also have a very bad habit of binging after dinner which is not helped by the fact that I work 3-11 PM and come home to a quiet house with wife and children asleep. It seems like no matter how much I talk myself into going straight to bed when I get home, I find myself sitting in front of the computer with one hand in the [insert food container here] until I am too full to eat another bite. Even if I initially grab a handful of carrots, it inevitably starts a downward spiral. That habit leads to depression in the morning and the urge to skip breakfast in order to offset (however little) the previous night's error. Yes, I know that's the worst thing I can do, but I didn't say I was thinking rationally at this point!

To be honest, I believe I could lose weight steadily if I simply refrained from processed flour and sugar, indulging moderately in all the other forms of natural sugars (fruit, dairy, etc.). Unfortunately, even the aforementioned carrot or strawberry at night would lead me back to those yummy no-no treats I know hurt my results not to mention the simple problem of eating after dinner at all!

I suppose I am turning back to Atkins because, as a person with mild OCD, I believe I can limit myself to only Atkin's friendly items *IF* I continue to binge at night. While I recognize that the binging remains an issue (and will continue to seek out ways to overcome the bad habit), I figure at least the low/no carb items on Atkins will not hurt as much as the sugary/floury ones on no diet.

From what I've seen of these boards so far, the comraderie seems genuine and bountiful. The tools to succeed are all here for the taking, and I hope I can be one of the success stories when I'm finally back under 215!

Thanks for being my psychologist and "listening" to my ramblings. If you've made it this far you deserve a medal! I hope I can repay the favor over the coming months.

Eric

[*Lisa*]

Welcome to the board!

The board is a great place to hang out and share the journey.

You'll do great working that OCD

Best wishes!

[APanthesilia]

Welcome, Eric! You're right- the camaraderie here is genuine and bountiful! Glad you are joining! You can do it!

I was the same as you with still wanting to binge but thinking it was better to do it on friendly food- I fully intended to keep binging on this WOE but after I really started and was doing it right I didn't feel like I wanted to binge. And that feeling is a great one! I'm sure you'll get there! For now why don't you make a list of strategies that you can use to combat wanting to binge at night! Like instead of getting food during that time get a BIG bottle of water and sip on it- after you have finished it you probably won't be as tempted to eat because you'll be full of water! Also because it seems to me that you are probably just absent mindedly eating while sitting in front of your computer (I do that too- or in front of the TV or with a book...) it's not that it is really about the food at that point, it's just something else to do so sipping on a bottle of water would help with that too! Good luck! You can do it!

[sallyseachange]

Hi and welcome! Good to have you with us.

How about you get through a clean induction and then make the move to OWL (ongoing weight loss) pretty quick. If you have more food choices, you can focus on Atkins friendly substitutions (and there are some great ones). These might stop your evening binges. If you control your blood sugar swings, you'll be on the right track. Cravings will diminish.

For instance, when you get to the nut rung, you can make some awesome things with nut flours, which are nutritious and low carb and will serve as a substitution for floury items.

Just thoughts.

Post lots and keep us up to date as to your progress. We're here to help!

[billbazz]

Welcome
being off hours myself-- I read posts from others here on planning ways of induction..a week before I started the 14 days-- I started each day with a loose excercise program. during that week I also stocked up..planned each day's meals and even batched cooked a bit.I also obtained the 2002 DANDR (which is followed here) I am Still in Induction--and things are smooth and steady and the support and the motivation I recieve on this board is invaluable.
keep posting! and good luck

[Greeneggs&ham]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the constructive suggestions for getting underway!

This is day two and I think I have had more water in the past 36 hours than I had in the previous 3 months combined, but I'm giving the "water only Induction" a chance. If my bladder can handle it, I may consider Amy's idea of keeping the water bottle nearby after work.

I know last time I followed Atkins, I had such amazing results during Induction that I tried to stay at the uber-low carbohydrate level longer to keep the pounds coming off. I think that may have been part of the reason I didn't stick with it -- although I was losing the weight, I wasn't eating anything but meat which hurt the variety. If I can convince myself that a pound or two a week after Induction is OK, I may take Sally up on the nut flours as well!

As for Bill, it appears as if we are about on the same path with you being a week or so ahead of me. If I have the kind of success you're signature line shows, I will be a die-hard Atkin's follower for a while to go. I am making my long-range goal 210-215 pounds. I see you went with 200 which is fantastic, although if I ever see 200 I will *HAVE* to go the extra pound just for the ego boost of being "under" 200!

I have an old copy of Atkin's book, but if the majority here believe the newer edition is a must have, I'll check Amazon.

[billbazz]

We do share similar goals and we will both make it!

I am 6' and could go 10 more or so but went with my doc's goal and he will give me the go ahead after examination.

don't want to mis-lead you or anyone else about my loss so far..I was on Meds that caused water retention, I stopped them before starting induction..as you know with this diet it's impossible for the body to hold water, so it came flooding out first week..I was very sick and dizzy and headaches every day..worse has passed and things are proceeding as normal..might have even gained back a pound or 2 .tomorrow is the end of induction and wiegh in day.