I've lurked on this website and forum but rarely post. However, I do enjoy all of the information that I can receive from reading. There is so much helpful stuff on this site. It has been a life saver!!!
Anyway, since I had my daughter 7 years ago I keep losing and re-gaining the same 15 pounds! Ugh! And it's as if I never learn! Every time I begin again with Atkins or general low carb I lose the weight without much effort and always feel better. Then I start to feel resentful because I can't have the potato salad on July 4th or the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving or some ice cream with friends at the pool, etc. etc. And then I fall off the wagon, eat some carbs and then I decide, hey I can just do Weight Watchers and eat "whatever I want" and still loose or maintain. Well...then on the 7th or 8th day of that program I find that I'm starving and going out of my mind thinking of food all day long! I begin planning what to eat the entire day beginning at 7 a.m. That is not any fun way to live, imo.
What I've found with low-carb eating is that I have more energy, have better moods, am more motivated to exercise, never feel bloated, sleep better and my hair is even shinier. Friends and family even comment to me that I have a "glow" about me when I'm on this eating plan. So what's my problem? Why do I still have cravings? They are not physical cravings, but more of a mental thing really. And it doesn't help that friends,family and co workers are constantly bad mouthing Atkins ( they don't understand it fully ) and offering me carbs! And I have little will power, sad to say. With Atkins, I'm not actually hungry, I KNOW it's mental. Even though my belly isn't hungry, the ice cream still looks good! LOL Any advice? By the way, I am back to Atkins. I've been back on plan since Memorial Day and have lost my weight, but so many times I've considered cheating. I think I might possibly just be bored with my food options. I'm not a very good cook and what I'm good at preparing usually involves pasta ( bad). I've browsed threads on this site and other sites and gotten some good inspiring low carb recipes, but once again I'm not that talented in the kitchen. I also have a child and I work and my family doesn't eat low carb, so I don't have a lot of time to prepare two meals each night. Any comments and advice is more than welcome. Thank you!!