[OhMyDogs]

So, tomorrow is my "back on track" date.

Not in a "Oh I will start my diet tomorrow" way though, tomorrow has been the planned start date for 5 or so days now. But in the mean while, I find myself in "last supper" mode. I am eating anything and everything my heart desires. It's pretty sad LOL. I am actually looking forward to getting back on track, and while I am not looking forward to that initial period, where you feel like you're "not allowed" anything good, I remember feeling SO much better and energetic after a couple of weeks on plan, and THAT I am looking forward to.

I have no clue how I managed to let myself fall off plan, but I figure, I managed to quit smoking and stay quit (for almost 1.5 years now) while my husband continued to smoke, so I KNOW I can do this!

Did anyone else go through a "last supper" phase before getting on track?

[Blueberries]

Why not start today, right now?

[theox]

Hi OhMyDogs! Good to see you back, and congrats on 1.5 smoke-free years! I've done the "Last Supper" thing sometimes right before starting again. I still it do occasionally, but I've gotten better about it over time though - eating less junk before restarting and restarting earlier. I think for me it's been a combination of practicing restarting, learning how to cook tasty, healthy, satisfying meals for myself, and losing my taste for the types and amounts of food I used to eat.

[OhMyDogs]

Because I don't want to. I am mentally prepared to start tomorrow, and tomorrow I will start. 12 hours isn't going to make much of a difference in how much I lose, but it's going to make a difference in my mental approach to losing weight.

I have personally done the "give up something forever" thing before, and I know that for ME, setting and sticking to the time line is important for my success.

[Gabe]

Before I started my plan, I went to Culver's. I had a double bacon butter burger, a large order of onion rings (with ranch dressing!), a caramel shake, and a custard sundae (I think it was hot fudge, whipped cream, and strawberries on vanilla). Then, at home, I had a bunch of cheetos, because, let's face it, I love those things. Probably finished off the last of the bag.

The next day, I was on to a banana and yogurt, sigh. It's not sad, though; it's almost like mourning. You're mourning your old habits, which will help ease the transition into new ones.

[cherrypie]

I totally do that. I also do the "I've blown it, better eat all I can before I climb back on the wagon" thing too

[OhMyDogs]

theox

Thank you! I think for me, it part of retraining my taste buds to enjoy healthy food. My kids are kind of picky, my husband is a (diabetic) carb junkie, and eating healthier was just a lot of work. That being said, I am done with being fat, and I am done with feeling yucky and unenergized. My job requires me to walk about 5-6 miles a day (at least), and I would like to feel GOOD while doing it.

I have bought myself a couple of dresses that are plenty too small for me, as motivation (lol not to mention, they were summer stock, on clearance for $1), and have put them away. When I find a stupidly good deal, I pick up a little something and tuck in away in the bag with the others, and they will be sitting there, waiting for me and taunting me!

[OhMyDogs]

Ahhh, nice to know I am not alone! LOL

[carter]

A tactic that has worked for me is to think "not today" instead of "never again."

It's very rare for me to encounter a truly unique eating opportunity, something I will never get another chance to eat. Treats from a favorite bakery in my neighborhood, stuffing myself silly on some kind of food I love, even the dirty martinis I used to enjoy several times a week - none of these things have to be out of my life forever. There will always be another opportunity to enjoy them. So instead of facing my plan with a mentality of "woe is me, I can never enjoy these delights again!" I try to remind myself that there will be other chances. "Not today." That's all I have to do - one day, one choice at a time.

To give a specific example, I had dinner at a neighbor's house the other night. For dessert she served ice cream. The ice cream looked really good - super-premium ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter swirled in. I love ice cream - but as delicious as this ice cream looked, it wasn't all that special. It was a store-bought container of a common brand. I've eaten super premium ice cream before and will likely eat it again some day. I could say "hm, not today" without feeling sorry for myself.

Another shift in mentality that might help you: you say you are dreading the feeling that you are "not allowed anything good" on your plan. It has been helpful - no, it has been essential - to me to find delicious, flavorful food that is on my plan. It's simply not true that you are "not allowed anything good." Certainly you will, most of the time, have to avoid or resist some things that are appealing to you. But it is completely false to think that the whole universe of foods that are delicious is now out of bounds for you.

If you need help coming up with flavorful food ideas, many people on this board will be full of suggestions. I won't make this post any longer than it already is by telling you mine, but if you ask, I'll be happy to go on at great length about how I make the most of my meals, making them thoroughly flavorful, delicious, and on plan.

I've lost more than 110 pounds without giving up the pleasure and enjoyment of food. Lots of other people here have done similar. You can do it too - you just have to stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop feeling like "not this time" is the same as "never again", and open your mind to the idea that there is such a thing as low-calorie, delicious, tempting, flavorful food you can enjoy every single day.

[OhMyDogs]

Actually carter, I don't really feel sorry for myself. I know it may sound that way, but that's not the case. I just blanched up 3 entire bunches of asparagus, so that I could put them in the freezer. I LOVE asparagus, but I always eat it with cheese sauce, which is one thing I will need to learn to either cut down on, or do without.

See, I have been planning on using Chris Powell's carb cycling method, which is MUCH more restrictive than when I was calorie counting. I bought the book, got a bunch of the ingredients, and realized "omg I can't even have cream in my coffee every day". Now, he's had such AMAZING results with his clients, that I would really like to give it a try still, but in the event that I can not succeed on his plan, I will fall back to calorie counting, like I did before (and had success).

Part of the reason I had success with calorie counting was because I could choose to have some of whatever I wanted, I just had leave calories for it. I am nervous of this newer restrictive plan, and part of me wonders "if calorie counting worked before, why change?". But again, he's had so much success with Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, I can't help but think that maybe he's on to something.

[DrivenByAmbition]

Not really because I try not to limit myself and allow myself to eat what I want every once in a while like Japanese. Yumm. I usually show a gain for three days and then it's back off and the some.

[carter]

OhMyDogs, I was just going by what you said in your post. I don't know who Chris Powell is or what his method might be. But I got from your post that starting off with something that restrictive was so intimidating that it was causing you to put off starting and keep stuffing yourself as though you'll never be allowed to enjoy eating again. That doesn't strike me as a productive way of thinking, so I suggested a different way.

That said, if I over-read your post, I apologize for reading it wrongly. Weight loss is all about trade-offs - we give up some things we wish we could do in exchange for getting closer to the bodies we want. And for each of us, the balancing point of those trade-offs comes out in a different place. I wish you good luck and good strength, whatever plan you choose

[LW12]

I think most dieters have done the "Last Supper" thing at one time or another. For me, and I'm just speaking for myself, I have used the "Last Supper" mentality as an excuse to pig out. Again, I can only speak for myself because we're all different in our approach, but it made starting the diet harder.
At the moment I am calorie counting & trying to maintain a low fat diet. We will see how well it works for me after a few weeks of weigh ins.

[OhMyDogs]

Carter I agree it's certainly about trade offs. There is a price for everything, the price for being thin is giving up, or limiting some of the foods that are tasty, but not biologically important. Honestly Chris Powell's plan is not by any means so restrictive that it put me off starting. I mean, it IS restrictive, but that's not the reason I "put off" starting back on track. I did what I did when I quit smoking, I picked a day, and that is my "quit day". No excuses, no fighting, it's the day I get back to getting healthy. I find it better to have a day that changes things, it is easier for me to get my brain used to the idea of change.

LW12, I personally am using it as an excuse to eat anything and everything I love. Not pigging out per se, as I am not eating MORE of it than I would of a healthy food, but it's all baaaaad for me! lol

[linJber]

OhMyDogs - I think we've all had a "last supper." I also agree that setting a specific date can actually be a good thing. Change starts on that day - no excuses.

I have't read Chris Powell's book, but I did watch most of his weight loss makeovers on TV last fall. If I read your post about his carb cycling correctly, though, you don't give up cream in your coffee EVERY day, just SOME days, right? So that falls right into Carter's theory of "not today." I also believe that one choice at a time is the best way to do this for the rest of our lives. And while I've often said that one bad choice isn't a reason to continue making bad choices for even the rest of the day, I appreciate your eating everything you want today because tomorrow is a day of change.

I will hit 1 year next week. These 51 weeks have been a tremendous learning experience. Mostly, I learned I can make huge changes without making huge sacrifices. Healthy food is good food. It's just a matter of choice. Good luck to you. I know you'll do this.

Lin