[samanthajosmom_12]

i am really doing very good with my low carbing. i am getting bored i guess. I cannot exercise right now until 8/1/04 due to hernia operation. i eat very good ! better now then before. i feel great! my back does not ache very much, my knees feel great from losing the weight (i have 20 more lbs to go) to my new goal weight. starting weight 218/current wt180/goal 160 or 165. i went to dinner at ryans and did really good there for low carbing. i go there 1x a week and stay in my plan!!! we went to get pics taken at sears today. i wanted to go to jc penny 's though but sears were open . we then went to the movies and my 3 and a half yr old was with us so i got for them a meduim extra butter popcorn and before i realized it i ate almost the whole thing my self!!! i blew it totallly ! now when i weight my self i am going to freak out!!!! i need to quit weighing everyday ! i am afraid that i am going to gain all this back and more so! i have done so good so far and do not want to gain it back. how do you keep in control or how do you get back in control after you blow it? i am going to see if i can start exercising - i have to get my doctors approval though. if i go back to the atkins induction part for 4 weeks would that be a good idea? i need to do something to get motavated again. sue- i also would like to be able to get down maybe in weight to a 155lbs but 160 or 165 is okay for now. sue

[hippiechic]

Hi there!! I just wanted to say hello, and say that I think everyone has the same problem with control and motivation, for me I dont restrict myself too much, I am not on a low carb diet but I am doing low calorie-low fat. I keep my calorie range from between 1200-1400 a day, I started at the end of april and have so far lost twenty pounds..... I have not been perfect through this journey by a long shot, what seems to be working for me is that I eat what I am supposed to a majority of the time and i have one or two "free" meals a week (nothing too crazy, maybe a bigger breakfast on sunday with family, or go out for dinner Sat, night.) And sometimes I crave bad things, so i will indulge but I only eat a little of what ever it may be, like if I have sweet tooth and my boyfriend is eating something naughty like a piece of pie or something i take a couple bites and the craving goes away..... most of all I dont beat myself up too much when I do blow it, because it just makes me more upset which makes me want to eat more. I have yet to stop losing or gain any weight since I began, so i think I am doing ok......good luck on your weight loss!!!

[funniegrrl]

The problem with low-carb diets is that they instill in you this idea that you have to be perfect, and that if you don't follow the plan perfectly -- i.e., you eat some simple carbohydrates -- you're a complete failure and you have to start again at ground zero.

For successful weight loss and long-term maintenance, it's really important that you find a plan that you feel you can live with for the rest of your life. When you approach this as a change in lifestyle rather than a "diet", you start seeing things in a different life. In the context of your entire life, is a bag of popcorn a big deal? No. But, in terms of the next day or the next week, it can loom pretty large, especially if you are on a restrictive plan than paints all foods as GOOD or BAD.

So, try to take your lapse in stride, and realize that you didn't "blow it" but just made a bad choice at one particular time. Try to keep that long-term perspective and get back to your plan the next meal.

And, yes, weighing every day can be a problem if it affects you negatively. Our weight fluctuates naturally on a daily basis, even if we have been "perfect." Until you can view a daily weighing with a calm, objective, unemotional eye, it's best to restrict your weighings to once per week or less. Whatever strategies and tools you employ, always ask yourself, "Does it help, or does it hurt?" If it doesn't help ... DROP IT.