Oh, sweetie - I read your post on the dailies and it made me so sad! I know you are disappointed with yourself but you have to stop beating yourself up over cheats! They happen - it is a fact and we all just need to share the pain, learn the lesson (of what is bothering us, triggered us, etc.), and move on!

I know that I am one to talk since I am not really following a good LC plan these days but I do know what you are going thru. When I was doing well and being OP all the time, I would have times that I fell off of the wagon. I don't remember what plan you are following but when I was having a hard time staying OP with atkins, I switched to the Hellers' plan cuz I could have some carbs at dinner then. Another thing I did (and I know this is not for everyone but when I was doing well and near goal, it worked for me) was I allowed one day a month as a 'free' day. It made it so much easier to stay OP if I could tell myself I would have the cheat food I wanted on my free day. When my free day came around I would eat some treats but amazingly I didn't pig out. It was all rather liberating.

You have been doing so well, Pooky and I know you will again. So what? You are human! Welcome to the human race!

Love ya,

Kel

Honey, you can't possibly know how much I respect you OR your honesty. I give you SO much credit.. I have gone thru much emotionally since Feb of this year....BUT YOU HAVE OPENED YOUR HEART UP!!

Pooky~~you have been honest with your struggles when some of us have not. YOU HANG IN THERE! And, as Kel said, you have done so well AND you will again. Just hang in there girl.

We're all here with you. Luv,

J

Pooky I will be honest with you although lately i have been doing good last winter i fell and fell hard. I will say that it was the hardest to get back OP. i ended up taking a thermalgenic to get me up and moving but that was after 4 months of binging(frosting bowls and all) so just make up your mind that you are ready. plan ahead your meals for a few days. make sure that you take inplenty of fat as that will help with the hunger and full feelings and decide that you will do it. chromium also will help with the cravings for carbs. do not take more than 400 mgs in one day. I also find that if it neat TOM and i am atleast emotional then i have lost it the battle is lost immediatly, i wait till it is here then i can get back OP easier.

Also know that what you have gained is water. so do not beat your self up over that.

we are here to help you up and get you back on the path.just hang on tight. and post your fod even if it is bad then you will have a better idea where and what time you fall. that does help.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I feel awful for you. I was the one cheating this week, we can only afford to have one a week! Remember my grocery store binge? Well, good intentions aside, I ate a LOT of that stuff. Now I HATE myself for doing it. I, too, gained back 2 pounds, after only losing 10. Talk about disappointing. The main thing is, I made a vow to myself that THIS time I was going to stick it out.

But, the show must go on. I jumped on here and announced for the whole world to see what I had done (so you're not really a junkie, they never want anyone to know!!) and waited for the responses to come back to me. This site is amazing, Pooky, you know a thousand people are going to pat you on the back and tell you it's okay to be human. We all make mistakes, the good part of that is that you learn something from them.

You are a wonderful, talented woman, and you will recover from this tiny setback. We have faith in you!!

Sherrie

Gee, Pooky, I could single-handedly bring on carb cravings among everyone here if I posted my menu's for the last week. Not even CLOSE to being OP.

Let it go.

Eat protein and don't let yourself get hungry!

It's probably water on the scale, anyhow.

love, dottie

You guys are awesome! I'm just crying here and feeling so supported--you guys just never cease to amaze me! Thanks for putting it all into perspective for me, I thought if I came clean with how I was feeling and what I had been doing it would help me to understand WHY I binge. I know that I am a carb addict--no two ways about it. I feel lousy, bloated, and have zone outs in my attention when I'm filling my face with carbs. But to me, there really is no other way to describe this feeling other than a drug addiction--except my "fix" is an icecream sundae or a bag of chips, or a piece of cake. What worries me the most is my behaviour ver going to Dairy Queen--I have never hidden food before in my life and now I am. I didn't want anyone to know I ate it, the problem is I know I ate it and it is something I can't change. I knew if I didn't come clean with you all, the likelyhood of it happening again is pretty strong. You guys are fantastic--I'm so glad you are all my friends becasue this would have been so hard to face all by myself.

So now that I have commiserated over my indescretions, I will go back OP and I will be OP no matter what it takes!

Thank you for always being there for me and just letting me yammer on and on when I need to let it all out, at least for me the hardest thing is admitting the truth, but I know that the truth will set me free!

You dear, dear loving and talented woman. You give tons of support to others on this board. Now give yourself a big hug because you are a great person! Remember you are only human, just like the rest of us.

Now, let's go from here.

(Shall I confess about my stashes of red licorice at the Fair Office? They are getting stale so not as tempting.)

Pooky,

This is day 6 back OP for me after a 4 1/2 day binge so I know how awful you're feeling. Drink lots of water and don't let yourself get too hungry. And don't beat yourself up! I'm one to talk since there isn't one bad name I haven't called myself or any negative remark that I haven't directed toward myself, but please don't do it to yourself. Take care.

Hugs,
Jennifer

Pooky! Love you to pieces! I used to always be a closet eater but then I came to realize that I have worth and that I am entitled to eat "whatever " in front of people. Normal people now and then eat ice cream. Since this past week has been a rough one for us all it is perfectly understandable that you and I and others have had a carbo loading day or two or three or......whatever!

Be as good to yourself as you would be to others and move on!

hugs and all that good stuff!
peach

..... just nibbled some not OP raisins! Some? More like 1/2 cup! Duh! I have been invaded by aliens!

Pooky I have claimed that this is an addiction for all of us. just pass a bown of chocolate frosting near my face and i will kill anybody who got between me and that. I have been known to hide food and get really angry when some one found it and it was all gone. so we have all done it. do not be ashamed. oh my this is like an AA meeting.

today is a new day. be ready

Raisns Ruth??? they are for the iron in your metal bra right???

I think it sort of is an AA meeting--but in this case it's a CA meeting--Carbohydrates Anonymous. At least I know if I'm honest here then it can always get better, right? Yesterday I did cheat again, but not as bad as the day before. I did have a PB & J and immediately after that I grabbed some cheese and a bottle of water and kept on eating my LC snack until the urge went. I may have nipped it in the bud from getting any worse.