Arg, i'm a bit frustrated with myself. I was doing so well! I had completed 9 days of the south beach diet (2 minor hiccups along the way) but then I just snapped and got so sick of eating the diet food and ate a bunch of cookies. Perhaps I thought that eating healthy meant I would never be allowed to have some desserts again and I didn't want that. At any rate I messed up the next day, and the next and now i'm completely off it.

Now I guess i'm trying to eat healthier, but i'm not really on any diet, nor am I calorie counting. Eggs for breakfast, soup or salad for lunch, etc. What's worst is I feel like I let people down, my husband was doing a good job in actually working with me (he wasn't too thrilled at first). Does this happen to lots of you, or for the most part do you stick with it all the way through?

I would imagine that just about everybody has fallen off the wagon at some point, whether it's eating too much or the wrong thing, or not doing their exercise routine.

Just get yourself back on it. If South Beach doesn't work well for your lifestyle or eating preferences, find a plan that you can live with. Good luck.

Definitely find something you can live with long term. I do calorie counting because it offers me the most flexibility, as in no "forbidden foods." And I find that the biggest issue is just remembering that the weight loss timeline is not divided into times of failure and success. We all eat things we probably shouldn't. But the next time we get an opportunity to eat something, we are faced with an opportunity to redeem ourselves. If we go forward, we don't get stuck in one spot. Weight loss is simply one good decision after another. If you consistently make good decisions, you can see progress. Just one small step at a time. Even people climbing Everest stop and sleep now and then. Just get back on the wagon. It drives away slowly, and there is still time to catch it before it leaves. Don't give up! You can do it!

Two thoughts:

* I try really hard not to let myself think thoughts like "I can never have _____ again." That leads straight to "woe is me" thinking, and giving in to temptations to go off-plan. Instead, I just try to take one choice at a time, and say "not today" instead of "never again." This helps me focus on my goal, and pass up temptations most of the time. That is all that is required - not perfection, just consistency.

* On that note, if you do slip up and eat off plan - and trust me, most of us do - the best thing you can do for yourself is get right back on plan with the very next bite of food, the very next eating opportunity. Try not to let yourself think "well, I messed up, so I may as well go nuts and start over tomorrow/Monday/after my birthday," etc. A slip now and then won't derail your progress if you don't let it snowball.

You can do this! Good luck and good strength.

I think what you're doing now is a much better plan. Like others have said, if it isn't something you can do long term, it isn't going to work. A few weeks from now if you haven't lost, just count your cals for a few days to see where you're at. All things in moderation! You shouldn't be suffering!

From being a person who was on the SBD at one point and now off of it...i can say two things:

1) If your only eating eggs for breaky...your not being creative enough..cause there are lots of amazing recipes out there for low carb diets...just got to search and experiment with them..some are good..some are ...not so good..

2) Everyone is human and i think as part of being human, we need to allow ourselves to fall down..BUT and this is a big BUT..we also need to learn how to get back up afterward.. I used to be the type of person who would go off my diet and cheat...and the one day or one meal cheat would turn into a few weeks worth of cheats before even trying again..and thats how you gain all your weight lost, back again...So cut yourself some slack...recognize that in this life there are times where that doughnut may call your name and maybe at that time..you can allow yourself a little pleasure in life...but just remember..to get back on again right after...

I think all of us have been there in terms of cheating and everything else you speak of. You are not alone in this diet world..If a different plan is what you need..then do it..but if SBD is what you need ...then do it..!! You can do this!

i do calorie counting now with a minor emphasis on low wheat and low sugar

i used to do Weight Watchers and although i was eating healthy, i was So Freaking Hungry(!!) all the time that i only made it one month on it and gave up and just....ate lol

I can't do SBD. It makes me act crazy and want to eat every carb I can get my hands on in a big giant binge.

This happen to everybody when they feel deprived on a diet. Eventually they binge. There are studies about this.

You definitely need to find a plan you can live with long term. Maybe SBD isn't the plan for you. Weight Watchers is nice because they are no forbidden foods, you just watch your portions.

Whatever you do, start eating healthy again today. And know that it is okay to eat some sweets and you will still lose weight. You can eat cookies and cake and you will eat it again so make peace with it. I think that depriving ourselves and then binging makes us worse off than if we just accepted sweets as part of life and ate a few and really enjoyed them.

It's not cheating or falling off the wagon. It's being human and making choices about food. I read one nutritionist who said she eats 90% of her food for her body and 10% for her soul. I think that's a good way to operate.

I love this. I think I may make it my new motto. Lately, I've been feeling like a bit of a failure because I've been eating things just because they taste good. Maybe if I can get get that behavior down to just a small percentage of my eating, I'll do better.

And like everyone else has said, just stick with it. Every day is a new opportunity to succeed.

I've never followed the South Beach but I know the first 2 weeks are pretty restricted and for me it takes alot of will power to cut the carbs out so much. So maybe the first phase isn't for you? I think the rest of the diet is pretty good and well rounded/healthy.

I have one of the south beach cookbooks... there are some healthy sweet treats in it, like I make black bean brownies from it that are really good and I believe there were some forms of cookies. So get creative and try making different things and finding substitutes for your favorite foods or what you are craving.

have you thought trying WW Core?(sft) Sanme thing as sbd but theres no low carb phase.

Well the MAIN thing that keeps ME from having slip-ups or out of control cravings is I cook ALL my own meals--the foods that got me 100 pounds heavier than I am now were pizza, burgers, burritos, quesidillas....I have NEVER stopped eating ANY of those--I make tortilla pizzas w/ low fat cheese and turkey pepperoni--Bacon cheese burgers with 95% lean beef and turkey bacon--There are SO many DELICIOUS swaps that can be made--and I am VERY carb as well as FAT concious. I'm one of those people who LOVE food to the point that I HAVE to LOVE what I eat. However I have not been able to develop a recepie for fat-free carb-free chocolate cheese cake! haha!!! Once in awhile I DO treat myself to the SUPER indulgent foods--there isn't ANY food I LOVE that I will never eat again--

I havent felt deprived of GOOD enjoyable food in A LOOONNNGGG time.....I just started spending MORE and MORE time cooking and perfecting and monitoring EVERY ingredient I used in EVERY dish--recording ALL the calories, carbs and fat....Taking time out to cook JUST for ME was the best gift I have EVER given myself!!!