Help! I'm out of control!

[Nominefili]

I was doing sooo good. Then someone convinced me that it wouldn't be so bad to have some candy halloween, next were the pretzels, then the cheetoh's (no pun intended!) and now I'm out of control! Ate a bagel sandwich this morning... I feel like an addict having a relapse.

My dad is a recovering alcoholic, and I know that in AA when someone has a relapse and decides to quit their behavior, they are given a new start-over chip. I need one of those!

I know it's as simple as, "go back to your meat fast" but i'm finding it really really hard to do that. Why is it that I know how bad this stuff is for me but it's like I'm not even making decisions for myself anymore. So I decided to post my confession here. I have faith you guys will help me get back on track. Be brutal if necessary, I need to hear it.

[StephStu]

Relax! Just start back on whatever plan you were on, and go from there. We slip because we're human. The candy just kicked off those cravings, is all. The holidays is a hard time for low carbing. I'm going to have the same problem after Christmas, because my sons are coming, and I'm going to eat whatever I want. No doubt, I'd be back on Atkins Induction after to take off that extra weight I gained back.

[tempted_by_food]

I myself have been going of the rails 1st I was busy and stopped exercising, then stopped taking my vitamins, and then stopped logging my foods then went off plan I felt like everything was out of control and I knew exactly where I went wrong, then it clicked, I have come this far and I wasnt going to let my weightloss todate be in vein and end up going back to a high carb lifestyle and piling back on the lbs, brush yourself down and get back O P and within a few days you be feeling great and in control again, we are allowed to slip up now and then dont be too hard on yourself, you have held your hands up and now its time to start fresh best of luck!

[Joy-FL]

Originally Posted by Nominefili

I know it's as simple as, "go back to your meat fast" but i'm finding it really really hard to do that.

Make yourself some on-plan food to keep at hand. It's a heckuva lot easier to choose lowcarb if you groggily open the fridge in the morning and see a steak sitting there. If you really really can't handle doing LC that day for some reason, well, steak is still healthier than Cheetohs. But I think if you arrange the proper default behavior for yourself, it'll work out.

You've been doing great, so, you know it works! Keep the faith!

[peanutte]

I know it's as simple as, "go back to your meat fast" but i'm finding it really really hard to do that.

There's no reason for you to feel like you have to go back to a meat fast. Go back to your Atkins and pick up where you left off. You aren't back at square one, and you don't "lose" all the days you had been on plan. Just get back on-plan. You can eat at Induction levels for a few days to get your bearings if you want to. This isn't "starting over"--it's getting back to what you were doing before your slip.

It all started with the Halloween candy. Looking back can you see that you could have stopped after one piece and said "No more"? You'd been not eating candy on your plan, which obviously means you are capable of not eating it. I suspect you let yourself go into a "cheat panic" where you told yourself "Oh crap, since this is off-plan, I'd better go ahead and eat a bunch MORE off-plan stuff while I have the chance!"

Are you going to remember this next time so you can just say no in the first place?

Just get back to where you were.

[Beezle]

This happens to me every time I get 10 pounds below my current set point. I believe some chemical in my brain gets depleted and I start to feel deprived or starved or put upon or something. And I say "just one little thing to make me feel better." But the one little thing doesn't stop until my weight is right back at my set point. Then that feeling of emptiness and deprivation dissipates and I'm able to stop the junk food and try again.

I don't have an answer for you. I think you will probably continue to eat until you feel filled, then you'll be comfortable, then you'll want to try again. Try to stop yourself before that, while it's still hard to do. I think you have to be uncomfortable to make big changes.

What got me through today while I was at work and wanting something from the vending machine was the thought "what's going to be different tomorrow?" I'll want something tomorrow too. I always want something at work becasue it's boring and I'd rather be somewhere else feeling something else. Eating some peanuts now will make me feel better now, but it won't make me not face the same situation tomorrow. If I give in now, I'll be in this same cycle for who knows how long. BUT if I say no, and stick to my plan, within a few days or a few weeks ketosis will kick back in and new habits will form.

Embrace being uncomfortable. Ride it out. And you'll slowly feel better and get back on track. That's my advice.

[peanutte]

I believe some chemical in my brain gets depleted and I start to feel deprived or starved or put upon or something. And I say "just one little thing to make me feel better." But the one little thing doesn't stop until my weight is right back at my set point. Then that feeling of emptiness and deprivation dissipates and I'm able to stop the junk food and try again.

I can't speak to your personal experience, Beez, but I strongly suspect it is emotional/mental when this sort of thing happens to most people. You know you're not actually deprived of anything junk food has to offer, nutritionally, so it doesn't make sense that "your body" is driving you to replenish itself with that stuff. It's your mind, wanting something. That's my opinion, and I suggest she remind herself of what works--what has helped her lose 55 pounds already (which, CONGRATULATIONS!)--and get back to it immediately. She's not a failure, but she doesn't need to keep giving those urges any more power.

What got me through today while I was at work and wanting something from the vending machine was the thought "what's going to be different tomorrow?" I'll want something tomorrow too. I always want something at work becasue it's boring and I'd rather be somewhere else feeling something else. Eating some peanuts now will make me feel better now, but it won't make me not face the same situation tomorrow. If I give in now, I'll be in this same cycle for who knows how long. BUT if I say no, and stick to my plan, within a few days or a few weeks ketosis will kick back in and new habits will form.

YES to all of this!

[flatferenghi]

we have all been in that spot before. if i had a dime for every re-induction...well, u get the point. re-examine your reasons for wanting to lose weight. decide which plan is right for you. if u cannot get back to strict re-induction, then try cutting back gradually on the carbs (especially the bad carbs). I am assuming with a siggy like nominefili, that your faith is important to you. Try tapping into that. These are suggestions. I woke up on a Mon (10/19/09) feeling that everything was all right. I can do this. it was as simple as that. no advance warning. it comes to different people in different ways. I am certain that the lightbulb will go on again sooner, and not later. Love & Profits: FLATFERENGHI

[way2fluffy]

You can do this.
What peanutte said.
Arm yourself for the battle by setting up your environment for success. What is your most beloved LC food? Is it a thick juicy cooked to perfection steak? Then wrap your mind around that 'reward' for going back to the WOE that works.
Log on to Linda Sue's site and look at all that wonderful food you CAN eat. I'll bet there are MANY MANY items that you like more than candy carp.
How is that carbage sitting with you now??? Feel bad??? Remember how good you felt about 1 month into low carb, remember how GOOD it feels to be 55 POUNDS LIGHTER!!!!!!<--bravo by the way.
I'm setting here munching on some crisp bacon.....this is a diet???
You are slipping down the slope of holiday "i might as well wait till after New Year to restart" garbage thinking......look around the corner and decide...
Will it be 55 + pounds gone to start 2010?
Or will it be" Oh carp I have to lose that XX number of pounds all over again in 2010?"
Grab hold of the support here and PULL!
We are rooting for YOU!

[Beezle]

This song is also inspiring me today. Maybe you'll like it. It evokes images of the tortoise and the hare. We all know how that analogy applies to weight loss. I know links are illegal. Don't CARE!

YouTube - Fiona Apple- Extraordinary Machine

My favorite part is:
I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb,
But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so
I can't stop changing all the time

[Neil47]

Originally Posted by Nominefili

I was doing sooo good. Then someone convinced me that it wouldn't be so bad to have some candy halloween, next were the pretzels, then the cheetoh's (no pun intended!) and now I'm out of control! Ate a bagel sandwich this morning... I feel like an addict having a relapse.

My dad is a recovering alcoholic, and I know that in AA when someone has a relapse and decides to quit their behavior, they are given a new start-over chip. I need one of those!

I know it's as simple as, "go back to your meat fast" but i'm finding it really really hard to do that. Why is it that I know how bad this stuff is for me but it's like I'm not even making decisions for myself anymore. So I decided to post my confession here. I have faith you guys will help me get back on track. Be brutal if necessary, I need to hear it.

It can be hard at many times to go off the right plan but you have to stay focused on your personal goals and by doing so gives you a much better fram of mind about yourself.

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by Nominefili

I was doing sooo good. Then someone convinced me that it wouldn't be so bad to have some candy halloween, next were the pretzels, then the cheetoh's (no pun intended!) and now I'm out of control! Ate a bagel sandwich this morning... I feel like an addict having a relapse.

My dad is a recovering alcoholic, and I know that in AA when someone has a relapse and decides to quit their behavior, they are given a new start-over chip. I need one of those!

I know it's as simple as, "go back to your meat fast" but i'm finding it really really hard to do that. Why is it that I know how bad this stuff is for me but it's like I'm not even making decisions for myself anymore. So I decided to post my confession here. I have faith you guys will help me get back on track. Be brutal if necessary, I need to hear it.

Same thing happens to me. That's exactly why I tell people it's like playing with fire when you toy with the foods that made you fat. I wish I could flip a switch for you, but the truth is you have to do it for yourself. Now you know what not to do. There's a reason Dr. Atkins called it the kiss of death. That's exactly what it is.

[Snickerdoolers]

Loved that song!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[momof9]

when i go off i think of how gross i feel and how great i felt on low carb. i also make my favorite low carb meals. then i look forward to going back on. i would not recommend the fasting to get back on...you will hate it and want the carbs back. remember the first day is not so hard but the 2nd day is harder for some reason...remember you did it before you can do it again...don't waste your hard earned loss for this.

[Nominefili]

Thanks everyone for your responses! Just thought I'd give an update. I've been back on plan for a few days now and I've lost all of what I gained during my unfortunate relapse. Thanks so much for your support!