Got off the train for a month, bout to hop back on

[edman09]

Just thought I'd post because I've been feeling a little guilty. Have been home for the holidays and on break from college for about a month, and I tried to keep up Atkins carb levels for awhile but just couldn't do it. Why, you may ask? Here's an example. Yesterday my mom went to the grocery store and bought the following: cookies, break & bake cookies, donuts, pringles, and some deli ham. So it's been tough. I was buying my own groceries for awhile, but we go out to eat so much that I was wasting a lot. So for the past three weeks or so I've kind of just been eating as few carbs as possible, but cheating quite a bit. It doesn't bother me too much because I'm assuming I gained probably 5 or 10 pounds at most, which isn't the end of the world. And to be honest, three weeks of eating a little pizza and cookies is probably worth it.

But anyway, on Sunday I'm getting back on the train. Heading back to school, where I cook 90% of the meals I eat and rarely eat out. (Mostly because it's just too expensive when steak is the only low carb option on the menu.) Before the break I was down to 195 from 230 and very happy about it. The plan for now is to go on induction for two weeks and then weigh in. From there it's back to the grind. Heading to Iceland the end of March and hoping to get down to 185 by then because we'll be spending a lot of time in spas and at hot springs.

The reality is I didn't take this break too seriously because I figure it's better to gain a few pounds and not stress out too much than to try to be so strict about it. A little break from the diet (especially when I am very, very strict while at school) isn't going to hurt me much, I'm assuming. My metabolism is very responsive to the way I eat; in fact, during my freshman year of college I somehow lost 20 pounds without really even noticing. Still to this day I'm not completely sure what happened. Tape worm maybe? Haha, who knows.

So I'm not totally sure what the point of this post is. I guess just introducing myself and laying it all out on the table. Would love to hear some input from those who have gone off the lifestyle for a few weeks and then gotten back on, how things went, etc. I've seen a lot of posts from second timers, but seems like most people go off the lifestyle for over a year so not sure how that would equate to my situation.

Anyway, glad to be here. I read so much on this site as I was beginning Atkins, and it's always been such an inspiration. You guys are so helpful, more than anything else really. So thanks for that. And hope to be posting more in the future.

[liv]

Glad to hear from you. Last year I travelled abroad to visit family for a while and because I was staying in their house I did not keep low carb and did go off Atkins for those 3 weeks. I was actually sad and I would have preferred to not do it. I did come back 5 lb heavier and went back to induction and have had losses since.

To me having hung around here for a while and chatted with a lot of people and read their stories, my experience is that the majority of people who fall off do NOT get back on. It is very hard to take a break and then get back on. Most people just slide further and further and all the weight they had taken off just comes back. It is mental thing. I just saw that happen now over the holidays - many people decided that Thanksgiving it was OK to slide only to find that once they allowed themselves to slide they could not get back on it. They tried. Many of the pre christmas posters are not back. Some came back to say "I have started again" Just to find out it is not that easy and just dissappear again. It makes me sad.

[Tooder]

Welcome back on the train!!