Thanks Puncezilla. Good for you for recommitting. I too have fallen off the dieting bandwagon, but as of this instant I am right back on. You're right of course - I feel absolutely lousy when I cheat - physically as well as emotionally. I called one of my BF's (long distance) and cried on her shoulder about some of the things in life I'm dealing with right now. I pourd out my heart about how I was self medicating with food, and how I felt so guilty about it. She also has a slight weight problem (about 30 lbs extra) but she said something to smarten me up. Eating does not make me guilty. I am not sinning, or condemning my soul to **** if I cheat. All I am doing is hurting my body. No major crimes are being committed against society. I need to accept my relationship with food, not fight against it. I will always need to eat, for the rest of my life in order to survive.- my only choice in the matter is what I chose to eat and how I let it affect me. A situaton cannot affect me. How I react to the situation is what affects the outcome. I need to make a healthy friendship with food. Feeling guilty is what leads to downward spirals and guilt feeds upon itself.
So after all that preaching, I am recommitting to myself and my program, and to my healthy relationship with the biggest lover in my life (beside dh of course) - food. Keeping my
- me putting my foot down on my unhealthy attitudes.

Where did everyone go? Did my little rant scare you away?

Hello?

If anyone is out thre, I hope you are having an excellent week and staying OP!

Hi Laura,
I guess you did scare them away! LOL
I am new here. I just started my third week on Atkins. Things are going well so far. But I've been on a zillion diets. Gotta make it work for the long haul this time.

I love the smilies that you use! I was reading the posts about how to put them in and had the same trouble the other did. I couldnt paste them in. But I have figured out that I needed to change the settings here, and now I can! Thanks for giving me the idea of doing it.

*peeks in and grins at Laura* I ain't skeered o' you!

I'm still here too, just had a buisy weekend.
Laura, good for you getting right back on track as well. I dont know why we let food have such power over us emotionaly. I also find myself using food to deal with stress, lonliness, boredome, and depression. its a hard thing to break free of. And the guilt sure doesnt do us any good.

Welcome bluebirdlu!

Glad to see everyone back!

BluebirdLu! You'll find absolutley amazing support on here. Everyone here is rooting for each other to be successful, and we all understand the dieting process of on again off again. If you are truly committed to yourself, this journey is absolutely possible! I can't take the credit for the smilies though, I love seeing them in everyone's posts, they make me smile.

I confess, Ive been MIA for a while. I lost my job last week, hence the depression, but I started a new one. I've been training pretty hard this week, since the lady I'm replacing is done on Friday - I have a lot to learn in a little time! The position is actually 2 jobs - I dispatch for a towing company, but I also do the paperwork for the automotive repair shop that the towing company is based out of. It's a pretty busy job. There is a wicked set of stairs which I've learned that I need to climb about 10 times a day - I try to get everything gathered up in order to make each trip up and down worth it. I can see my butt getting smaller already!

Well that's it for now - can't be late. I will check in again tonight at some point. I hope everyone is going fantastic.

Thanks for not abandoning this thread!

Congrats on the new Job! I'm glad you’re still with us. Stair climbing is awesome exercise.
I'm doing good, sticking to my plan. I recently joined a site called facebook, I have found a lot of old friends, from highschool and even elementary school are on there, and I love reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in years. But I am to embarrassed to post pics of myself, I have gained so much weight since they have seen me (not that I was ever really skinny). So I've been feeling a lot of shame and anger at myself. Why do I have to feel this way just because I’ve gained weight? They're my friends, they're not perfect either. I know I don’t judge them, and I know they are good people and wouldn't care about the weight gain, so why do I care so much. I shouldn’t let the extra weight make me so depressed and ashamed. I hide so no one can see me. I would love be able to go back to my home town to see some of them again, But am to ashamed of myself.
I am behind on my august goal as I have been having some trouble staying motivated, I don't see myself as being as fat as I am so when I see pictures of me I get very depressed.
I'm so glad I have you all to come whine to.

I hope you're all doing well.

Puncezilla - Whine away girlfriend, it's why we're here. I wish I had something useful to say to you. I completely understand what you mean about being embarrassed to show yourself to your old firends. I could give you the canned advice - "those who are truly your friends won't care what you look like, they will just be so glad to see you" and "they've all changed too, no one is perfect" etc., but you already know all this stuff. Right now, the most important thing is your well being and peace of mind.If you are truly too embarrassed to show yourself, don't. Try to use those feelings for something good. Use it as another point of motivation when you are lacking - but don't dwell on the negative side. Depression is very difficult to face. I hope you have a strong network of friends around you (not just 3fc) to help you get through this.

You said that pictures of yourself don't make you feel very good. I would like to suggest that maybe it's not you, but the camera/photographer. give yourself a new non-food reward - book an appointment with a professional photographer. Tell him you are looking for a picture that emphasizes your features, not your weight. Photographers have seen it all. They have little tricks of the trade to make you look your best. Don't get a glam shot - they look too forced and posed, and like you are trying to hide something - ask for a natural, funky style pose that emphasizes all your goodness. If you like the picture of yourself, use it. Examine it, and build yourself up with it. Get a new shot - same photographer - every 20 lbs. tell him what you loved or hated about the last shot. Just learn to start loving yourself. Sometimes we avoid looking at ourselves - in the mirror, or in bad pictures, but you have to understand that people see more than just the physical stuff when they look at you. Your personality colours how people see you - what looks like a wrinkle to you may look like a laugh line to someone else, who then starts to think about how funny and easy going you are, and remembers all the good memories about you - physical looks are very fleeting when you see someone. Don't beleive me? Find your best friend. Sure you know what she looks like, but when was the last time you spent time looking at her? Notice how you do it to other people - how easy it is to forget how they look, and how easy it is remember how you feel with them. Once you understand what you do when you see someone, remember that they do the exact same thing without realizing it. We only really judge someone based on physical attributes the first time we see them - strangers walking in the mall, being introduced to a new someone at a party etc. Don't post a pic until you find one that makes you happy to look at. Your friends at facebook will understand.

I hope this helps you. PLease keep up all the good work. Please remeber to love yourself and who you are - remember, you are more than just a reflection in a mirror or picture.
My thoughts and love go with you.

Thanks Laura, I know you’re right. sometimes I just get in these little black moods. I know other people who are heavier than me that I love, and I think they’re beautiful, so I shouldn’t hate myself for the same reason. My sister is a photographer so I'm going to ask her to take some pics of me and DH next time she is here. and hopefully in a few months I will feel confident enough to go visit my friends.
I think you are adorable be the way, and obviously a wonderful person.

I've been away for quite a while - some of it was vacation, the rest of it just plain old feeling down. I'm sorry if I left you hanging.
I am still interested in a daily check in, if you are.

Puncezilla - I just read your last post - thank you very much. It makes me feel good to know that maybe I can help someone else feel better about themselves.

Well, I hope someone is still here.

Hi Laura, I'm glad your back!
I just got back yesterday, from three weeks of visiting with family out of town. I havent weighed myself yet but I'm sure I'v gained. I'v been very bad with my eating. So I'm starting over once again. My body is so sick off all the junk I'v been eating. I'll be going shoppping for my induction foods tonight, so I'll be ready to go tomorrow. I havent caught up yet with all the new threads. stick around Laura I missed you.

Puncezilla - I missed you too. I hope you didn't do too much damage to yourself. I also hope you enjoyed the heck out of your vacation.

I've posted my Sept goal as a loss of 8 lbs. Time to get serious again.
I'm finding it very difficult to stay on induction - I know it's easier after the first two days, but I'm having trouble getting past even 1 day.
Oh well, I'll just keep plugging away.

Yess, first few days are so hard! I wasn't 100% yet yesterday, kind'a easing my way into it. I did go for a 45min walk though, I'm thinking about trying to run for a few minutes at a time durring my walks to get my heart rate up.
I gained about 6 lbs over my holiday, binging on carbs and junk. back to 199lbs this morning. I dont know why I do this to myself. I have such a hard time staying focused and jump at any excuse to go off plan.
So Im having trouble setting a sept. goal (I didnt make my Aug. goal, and have been pretty depressed about it) I think I'll just concentrate on staying OP for the whole month. And getting more exercise.

Hiya Puncie & laura!

I've sooo been where you two seem to be on the committment to lc wol . . . I'd always think - oh, I've got to plan better - or get some "clean" proteins in the cupboard b4 I can "really do it."

Not sure wasssuuup with this time around for me . . . I had NONE of the basics in the cupboard and no burning bushes to enlighten and show me the way - - just stumbled my way back here and stumbled back into the wol that I KNOW makes me feel the best I can feel, ya know?

One thought that has helped me this time around was that "aud - you can eat until you are full - no matter how MUCH that takes - IF it's OP" - I have stuffed myself at gas stations with pork rinds & sour cream - salami's - pepperoni's - pickled eggs - you name it! I've fried whole packs of bacon and 6 scrambled eggs - I've eaten two eggplants sautteed in butter with provolone & parmesan - ANYTHING just to see if I would still LOSE with this way of thinking.

And I have.

(Stay tuned for my lipid panels next week! LOL!)

Guess what I'm saying here in a roundabout rambling way is that both of you sound kind of like you feel "restricted" when you say you're having probs staying committed or making it thru one day of Induction.

The difference for me when I felt like that - was to change my way of looking at the issue and giving myself permission to EAT EAT EAT! Ya know? To not look at it as deprivation - but as a wol that allows me to eat crazy junk at gas stations (this phase doesn't last long BTW!) - or 2nd and 3rd helpings of yummy Eggplat Parmesan or Pork Steaks etc . . . and the weight STILL falls off. And the energy level STILL skyrockets.

With this skyrocketing energy - I'm able to keep up with the exercise challenges - coming here helps so much too - especially with my water intake friends that remind me to get that water going.

Hope my experiences help - just jumped in here 'cause I hate to "hear" you sound down! You can do this . . . really.

Aud - Thanks very much for your insight. You're right, I lose sight of the fact that I can EAT - I keep concentrating on the stuff I "can't" have.

Puncezilla - 6 lbs is very recoverable. BTW, you have set a Sept goal - staying OP - very commendable. I have learned that goals don't necessarily have to be pound related! I actually think your goal will be more difficult than mine - I'm not putting any limits as to how I lose the 8 lbs.

I think someone is out to get me - I've been trying to exercise the last little while - when I got back from vacation I started to ride my bike into work again - would you believe the first day I lost a pedal?! It flew straight out in front of the bike, so of course I ran it over. Very embarrassing to call my work (towing company) and ask them for a "tow" in. They laughed for a long time about having to tow in a bicycle. At least they didn't charge me! Once they stopped laughing, one of the mechanics was able to fix it for me. So, for the long weekend I had plans on walking every day - would you believe I broke a toe yesterday? Very painful - so I guess instead of walking, I'll bike ride instead - at least then I can baby my toes.
I was invited to go swimming today - I think I'll pass - with my luck I'll get sucked into drain or something!

Hope everyone is doing well. Talk at you tomorrow!