Monica -- so good to see your face again. I'm glad to hear you have had great success in keeping the weight off and getting back in shape. I remember watching your before and after pics and the amazing changes you made.

Great to see you again (well sort of -- you know what I mean -- not so great we're both still here, but great to see you anyway! LOL)

Monica!

Oh my I have been seriously MIA lately. Im struggling so bad right now. I need to find a way to break my emotiinal eating cycle because im doing FREAKING terrible.Im not giving up im just needing to whine a little more lol.
Congrats everyone on your accomplishments! Super inspiring.

KillerKandy - I totally understand the emotional eating part. I struggle too but I find the Beck Lifestyle book is helpful. I even have the audiobook that I can listen to when I'm driving. It helps to keep me focused and to have these responses I can say to myself in times like when the little kid in me wants to just eat the chocolate. I'm still a work in progress when it comes to those things..... but we can do it! I'm so thankful for this forum - it certainly helps and inspires to keep us going!

Ditto what tvizz said! I was also going to mention the Beck Diet books. I actually bought the Diet Solution workbook and found it to be very helpful. Have the audio book on my iTunes for frequent "re-listening" as needed. There is a lot about the cognitive behavioral aspect that has helped me look at my emotional eating and how I handle it. I read through my response cards every day, and keep them out where I can see them.

WOW - you guys are amazing! I love all the positive attitudes while restarting and struggling. It's not easy to get your mind into the "I can do this" mode but I have every faith that all of you can.

Just wanted you to know you have a cheering squad!

Hi, I'm working to be back OP myself. I started off in mid-Jan at 207 and with a focus on getting my eating for nourishment in check for health since I was 39 and not getting any younger. I did pretty well, down to 173 now, but since Easter my eating has been off track. I'm still in phase 1 and had a goal to get to 150. My plan is to get back OP, I'm using alternatives, and stop cheating myself out of meeting my personal goal. I think the danger for me was with celebrating my loss as if it was a victory and not for what it really is, lifetime changes for sustainment. Anyway, I'm back, I'm refocused and going to make it happen. I find reading others stories helps me and gives me inspiration to do this, for me and for my fabulous 40s!

Nothing wrong at all with celebrating your losses as victories... perhaps where a problem might lie is in using food as reward/celebration... other non caloric celebrations might include a new nail polish (or getting a manicure/pedi/facial for a major milestone), buy yourself 1 perfect rose & keep it on your desk in a lovely vase to remind you, download some new music or a good book, sign up for an interesting community college course you might enjoy like photography or learning a craft, go to a poetry reading, theatre event, concert, take a long bubble bath with candles and soothing music. Lots of other things to reward ourselves with - you can do it, go ahead and celebrate your successes - even when you get to maintenance - consciously celebrate keeping an even keel monthly . You go, girl!

Liana

You can do this! Staying in ketoses is key to having the "wow this is not too bad" spans of time. Trust me, I have been in your shoes, I had tried many times to restart and just struggled. Something that helped me with emotional eating originally was to recognize it (you have that down) at the time I was going to cave, I found something else to do. Give the dog a bath, wash the car, walk, drink water with lemon in it, do summersaults in the back yard just as a outlet. You can do it!
Ps: whine/vent anytime. Feel free! This is a SUPPORT group

Ditto that with your words of wisdom. So nice to have you here for support!

Hello Ladies, Im so happy to have found this thread and I remember some of you from before. I had lost 76 lbs in 2012 and regained, not all of it but a good 50+ for all the same reasons everyone else has, me mostly just thinking I could eat. Anyway I am happy to say I re-commited the day after Easter 4-23-2014 and have lost 27 lbs, feeling so good on IP again, only this time doing it all myself w alternitives and looking to loose 32 more and happy to see Im not alone.

Thanks for posting the pics! I like the progress shots -- should figure out how to do that myself I guess....