Off the Wagon

[MandaGoober]

:crying: I have officially fallen off the wagon. For about a week I've been dangling off, but now I'm off and watching it drive away. In the past week, I've eaten pizza, a pint of ben and jerry's, french fries, crackers, grilled cheese, garlic bread, and instant oatmeal. I need desperately to get back on it, but I'm bored with the South Beach that I've been following. I'm planning on picking up DANDR on the way home today, and I'm hoping that that will be just enough change of pace for me, even on induction, which will be needed to rid myself of the 4 pounds I've gained in the past week, and to detox my body from the carbs. I know a lot of people move from Atkins to SBD, but has anyone gone the other way? Also, any tips for induction are greatly welcomed.
Thank you!

[Goddess]

Manda-People go back and forth between different plans all the time, depending on what's working for them and/or what they think will work for them. My understanding, though, is that Atkins is probably more restrictive than South Beach, so I'm not sure how the change will feel for you. All you can do is try it.

I also find it helps me a lot to try different recipes, either that I've found on the web, from a LC cookbook, or that i've invented myself! No motivation to go off-plan when you love what you're eating on-plan.

Don't spend any more energy worrying about what you have or haven't done regarding the proverbial wagon, since that doesn't contribute to your desire fulfillment, after all. Just focus on what you want now and start moving in that direction, and the rest will start falling into place.

Peace out.

Good luck

[MandaGoober]

I bought DANDR on Thursday and started Atkins induction on Friday. I slipped a little over the weekend (had corn on the cob last night), but as of this morning I've lost the 5 pounds I gained on my week "off." I'm through the cravings and the headaches, and don't feel all that hungry. Altough, I am SICK of salads already. I've been eating them for lunch, about a cup and a half of lettuce, a cup of veggies (cukes, peppers, beans, etc.) and topped with boiled egg, chicken, cheese and bacon bits. I top it with ceasar dressing that only has 1 carb per serving. Today as I was eating my lunch, I was getting naseous. I could only stomach about half of it. Tonight I will cook up some turkey/spinach meatballs (I'll have to post the recipe) and prep some veggies to eat by themselves. That will keep me happy for a few days. Does anyone else get sick of salad, and what do you do to make up for it?

[CushieButterfield]

I know how you felt getting off plan. I've been off since I got sick about a weeke and a half ago. Had a bowl of captain crunch for breakfast and a big mac extra value meal for lunch/supper. The only thin gkeeping me from gaining weight is the fact that I'm not eating enough to make that happen. So you definitely are not alone.

I can't even stand the thought of a vegetable right now. I've got to break that pretty fast or ruin my good cholestrol.

[CarolynInTexas]

lot of different kinds of salads,

Taco salads,
Chef Salads
Greek Salads
sometimes I make a greek salad, and add some sliced strawberries, and use a balsamic vinegarette....

you can add lots of different raw veggies to your salads, cukes, califlower, broccoli, zuccini,
add other things like olives, artichoke hearts,
different cheesee, cheddar, swiss, feta,
different meats....
get the idea...
make it a variety of salads, instead of eating the same thing each day.

Tuna - mix your tuna and use lettuce leaves to make a wrap with it...
egg salad---
chicken or shrimp salad....

the ideas are endless, don't get stuck in a rut....
c

[MandaGoober]

Thanks for the suggestions. Tomorrow I'll cook up some taco meat for salads. I have no problem with everything that goes into salad, except lettuce. For some reason, I feel sick if I eat it more than once or twice a week. I've tried all different kinds of lettuce too, but I just get sick of it so easily.
Last night I slipped really badly. I was cleaing out the freezer, throwing away the lo-carb ice cream remnants and Smart Ones I had left over from my WW days, and I found a stash of chocolate chip cookie dough. There were about 6 cookies worth, and I ate them all, raw. I feel like crap this morning, so I guess I'm learning my lesson. Today will be rough, because now I have to detox all over again. Ggrrr. But I'll keep plugging away. I need to be as good as possible because we're going on vacation in 2 weeks, and while I'll be careful, I'd rather not think too much about my food while I'm there. But I'll have to continue another 2 weeks of induction after that.

[QueenMama]

Some people have a hard time digesting lettuce. Have you tried different kinds of lettuce? Or raw spinach? If lettuce bothers you too much, perhaps you can just eat the other veggies, like cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, jicama, etc, chopped with dressing. Or just raw with a dip. There's nothing saying that you have to eat lettuce, it's just an extremely low carb food with lots of fiber.

[Goddess]

Manda-

I would encourage you to eat the vegetables that you like best. While salad is very healthy and Dr. A. mentions it specifically, there seems little to be gained from forcing yourself to eat something that doesn't agree with you. If you're going to change how you eat, it's most important that it's both healthy and pleasant. Anything that's not pleasant will be temporary.

If I may, I'd also suggest that you not consider yourself "good" or "bad" based on food choices. It's a hard habit to break, I know, but I've found it helps so much to take the moral component out of eating behaviors. The better you feel about yourself all the time, the easier it is to make helpful choices.

While that dough wasn't "bad", you found that eating it didn't make you feel good physically either, so perhaps next time, you'll make a different choice. If you've been eating on plan a while, you also probably won't go through a full detox period like you did at first getting the sugar out of your system. Normally you'll just feel crummy for a few hours, maybe retain a bit of water for a day or so, and hopefully, take that knowledge with you next time you're cleaning out the fridge or whatever.

I'm also not sure why you feel you'll need to do a full two weeks of induction after your vacation. Induction is (in my opinion) best used to get your losses going and get your body into fat-burning mode. Try not to use it as a sort of punishment or pennance for eating off-plan. Even if you need to get back on track, it may well take a week or less to get going again when you get back.

Good luck and have fun on your vacation.

[Zurichman]

Since I'm the newbie here I don't see tomatoes on the low carb diet are they high or am I'm just missing it as I luv them in salads.

TKS
Zman

[spride]

"Since I'm the newbie here I don't see tomatoes on the low carb diet are they high or am I'm just missing it as I luv them in salads.
Zman"

In moderation. It's a fruit and it's certainly not for induction, but remember induction is only a short period of the diet, while WOE is for the rest of your life.


Manda - What kind of lettuce are you eating? I, myself, am fond of Romaine and not Iceberg. It occurs to me if I ate the same exact think 3 days straight, I'd look at it pretty queasily on day four.

While it's true that I tend to eat salads for lunch. They are greatly varied and many times left-overs are interspersed between salad days.

mmm... Steak Fajita Salads. Cobb Salads, Chicken Caesar Salad (just no bread crumbs )

there's a lot of low carb ways to do lunch. Salad is just one of the easier healthier ones. Occasionally, a nice plate of bacon and eggs will do just fine

Just make sure you eat some healthy vegetables with dinner (eggplant, squash, zucchini, broccoli, spinach...)

[Kimberly I]

Manda, I am chimming in here a little late but I just wanted to share that I can relate to getting bored with certain foods. Usually eggs and salads. Sometimes it gets to the point where I just gag and can even eat them. So when that happens I remind myself that my body is telling me that I need to try some new different recipes. It could mean cooked warm vegetables with salt, butter, pepper, melted cheese or parmesean cheese. I sometimes go to Maggies cereal when this happens because that is a comfort food for me. For me I just need to quit eating the same things every day. If I have variety with my food choices and my exercise my body ALWAYS responds in a positive way.
Change your choices up a little and get your body back into a fat burning mode. ****GOOD LUCK ****