New AND I cheated! =(

[JackiBarenz]

Well.... I'm fairly new here.... not to the fight against fat though! I've been on every diet imaginable..... was diagnosed with Diabetes last July and went into some heavy denial, considering I'm only 30. I finally decided to get serious on June 1st, 2004 and did great up until last Friday. I've lost 16.5 lbs, but I went a little crazy and cheated for a whole week! I stopped exercising for the week also. Double whammy for me..... I decided that I felt better when I was eating correctly (lower blood sugar - imagine that!) so it was time for me to stop cheating. So today I am determined to start to eat right AND exercise once again. I'm doing the Power 90 DVD, and boy is it hard, but I know I need something that's going to be tough on me so I don't try to wimp out. It's not too hard though, just enough to make me sweat like a pig, and feel good about it about thirty minutes after I've cooled down!

Any tips for staying on the straight and not-so-narrow path??? lol

I have to say, that I am looking at this from the perspective I once read in a Bill Phillip's book (Body-For-Life Challenge). He said, "It's not about perfection, it's about consistency." And I think he has an excellent point. I just have to lug my backside back up on the horse and try again! I appreciate being able to read all the posts. I really helps me to know that I'm not alone in this struggle.

[Goddess]

welcome jacki! you're in for one of the goddess' famous (infamous?) no-failure/no-regrets speeches...LOL

first of all, you are still successful. you know why? because you're still HERE! as long as you're working on it and hanging in, you are a success and that's to be celebrated. every step forward is an accomplishment! this is hard and working on it is to be commended...

i seem to be hearing a twitch of all-or-nothing thinking in there as well, no? like "oh, well, i blew it today so what the heck i'll eat all this junk food and start again tomorrow" which turns into the next day which turns into a week which can turn into months and years...

you've got to let that go...possibly along with a crazed exercise ethic? i'm not sure....but if you start out with an exercise plan that is very difficult for you, you'll find yourself putting it off and avoiding it. now don't get me wrong. i'm not saying don't move! but don't start out with stuff that is so difficult that you hate doing it. anything you hate you're not going to keep up on, y'kno? i like the leslie sandstone's "walk away the pounds" and my belly dancing dvds, plus biking or even walking. see, i'm not an exercise diva, so i do what i can to make it easy and fun. because i know myself well enough to know i need to give myself every advantage! we all need to.

maybe i'm reading the situation wrong, but the vibes i'm getting breaks down to this...

you are enthused and you start your "diet", 100% plan compliance. you work out like you're training for the olympics (after NOT doing any kind of exercise for years) and depend on that good ol' "willpower" to keep you away from the high-carb snacks you have around the house for the rest of the family? and when you do slip as most of us are known to do on occassion, you say, oh well, screw it. or you chastise yourself and feel lousey, which makes you just want to eat more...

am i warm here?

i will assume i know what i'm talking about, as that is one of my hobbies! first of all, USE this experience to benefit you. what threw you off track? was it the easy access to a favorite high-carb food? stress? being tired? an arguement? a night out? look at what started the derailment and look for ways to address that next time without getting off-track!

and after you started the off-track time, how did you feel? was it as satisifying as you thought it would be? (my guess is NO, because it generally never is.) lock this info into your brain for the next time it comes up, 'cause it will!

find ways to support yourself in your environment. KNOW you hotspots and do everything you can to make it easy for you to stay on board. if the family doesn't like the absentasia of little debbies, oh well! this is serious business for you, especially with diabetes. this is like a LIFE or death issue, keeping up with your weight management and eating right.

here's the bottom line in my opinion: diets don't work as such. a diet is a temporary way of eating, rules-based, that's inflicted almost as an atonement for past eating sins...

now, this way of eating can help you lose weight, but you will only be able to stick with it if you develop the attitudes you need to do that. i'll all about the attitude, and know that it has been completely vital to my success. i owe lc and dr. atkins a lot, but without the mindset, i wouldn't have ever made it this far.

there is no "can't have" and "can have" to me. i "can" eat whatever i want. but if i choose to eat poptarts, my behind is gonna know about it! i like the consequences of my choice to eat lc better. a slip here and there is not going to impact you overall UNLESS it fuels an extended carb fest. it's the choices you make most often that come home to roost, good or bad.

and every time you see something you want, it's a choice. try to keep in in persepctive. can you do something else for 15 minutes? 'cause if you can make yourself wait 15 minutes, you may not want it anymore. can you have a healthier food instead? that can keep you going. can you call a friend, take a walk, watch a show, take a bath, knit a sweater? i don't care what you do, but try to do something first!

YOU CAN do this, if you choose to. it is ALL about choices and making choices that support your long-term goals. but speaking as somebody who has done very well with lc (if i do say so myself, and i DO...lol)-this is a complete change of your lifestyle, it's not temporary. diet's are temporary. this is a way of eating and way of life! so if it's gonna work for you, you darn well better find a comfortable way to incorporate it into your life in a way you can live with. after a while, it becomes more natural.

it's not always easy, but MAN, is it worth it!

much love to you!

oh, and from my personal site, here's a few suggestions for staying on track...

[kimjmj]

Welcome Jacki! Ditto everything Goddess said. Just remember it's a way of life, and life comes with it's ups and downs. And just like my great-grandma Mary always said, "Can't means won't". You can do this!!

[reneed70]

Welcome and just chime on in whenever the moods strikes ya. We seem to be a friendly and supportive bunch here so we will help ya out when ya think you can't do it anymore.
Good luck on your weight loss journey!
Renee

[gilley79]

welcome to the board... just wanted to tell you that I and many of us on here were just the same as you... i my self could rember me sitting on here saying ot people.. "i cheated" ...

Then i realized it wasnt that i cheated but i was not being true to my self.. I was the one who wanted to loose the weight.. i was the one who chose this WOL (way of life) If i wanted to loose the weight i needed to stick to it...
may i add this was in the beging of january of 2004... and i am now 44 lbs lighter..and still going... i truly dont see my self ever decideding to go away from this WOL... beacuse i can pretty much everything i want... it might not be as convient to eat when out n about but when in doubt.. order salad.. that is what my hubby always tells me laugh...

If you put your mind to it you can do it... and when you realy start rolling you will be happier and healthier.. when i realy get my head in the "zone" i realy start rolling ya know realy writeing every thing down... eating clean.. ect..

I hope you the best and keep talkin on here will realy help you keep your head streight.. GOOD LUCK!

[LCandrea]

Originally Posted by JackiBarenz

Any tips for staying on the straight and not-so-narrow path??? ...I appreciate being able to read all the posts. I really helps me to know that I'm not alone in this struggle.

Sounds like you answered your own question...

[Seesko]

My advice is to get back on plan asap. Don't wait two months like I did. Recognize that you are human and we all make mistakes and go back to it.

[Coloradochic75]

I 2ND WHAT WAS STATED BY SEESKO. THE SOONER YOU ARE BACK ON TRACK THE BETTER. DON'T PUT IT OFF, TELLING YOURSELF I WILL START ON MONDAY, OR AFTER THE 4TH OF JULY, OR WHEN IT IS THE 15TH OF THE MONTH. YES THOSE ARE ALL EXCUSES I HAVE USED IN THE PAST, TO PROLONG MY HEALTHY WAY OF EATING. ALTHOUGH I HAVE ONLY BEEN A LOW CARBER FOR 1 1/2 MONTHS OR SO, I HAVE ALSO CHEATED. 2 TIMES. BUT THAT HASN'T STOPPED ME FROM CONTINUING THE LOW CARB LIFE STYLE. WE ARE HUMAN. WE MAKE BAD CHOICES AT TIMES. WE MAKE GOOD ONES TOO. JUST CHALK IT IN THE, "DAMN, I WON'T DO THAT AGAIN!" CATAGORY(sp)
good luck!!!!!!