Hey vets - I know I've been scarce around these parts for a while...I took a bit of a "pause" this summer, being able to maintain within about 10 pounds of my sig weight.

It's been alternately frustrating and freeing - I couldn't quite understand why I let myself go off, but when I gave myself permission to just maintain, it seemed easier. In the interim, I spent some time doing an intensive journaling/soul-searching exercise, and today marks the "new day" - not just for my WOE, but for other things in my life too.

There are some things I have learned this summer that I can share:

1. When you have a LOT to lose, a break every 20 months or so is good for the soul.

2. Even though I wasn't in OWL, I was still more low carb than not, proving that this has become a way of life, not just a diet.

3. Life is truly a spiral - we go back to the lessons/problems we encountered before, although they may not be as bad or take different shapes. I was better prepared for what I faced this time around, but it was proof that I'm not "done", just because I tackled them before. The thing I kept "hearing" during these last few months was go deeper, which was a clue to me that I needed to not just fix the surface, but work through some of the thought processes that got me there.

4. Through it all, there was great support from here...no one EVER scolded me or looked down their nose at me for pausing.

5. It REALLY is a matter of being ready. Only YOU know when you're ready to start/re-start. It happens in an instant.

So....here I go! My goal is to get back to sig weight by 4-October (my birthday), and under 200 by Thanksgiving (my 2-year Atkinsversary).

WAAAHOOOO!

Emelia

"We can only learn to love by loving." - Iris Murdoch, Irish writer
294/208/174 since 25-Nov-01

Emelia,
So much of what you just said are conclusions that I have also come too. Congratulations for starting a new day, and thanks for writing down and putting into words the things that I have also determined. Good luck on "OUR" continued journey.

Judy

180/145.5/138
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Only YOU know when you're ready to start/re-start. It happens in an instant.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I believe this is Sooooooooo True..

Good Luck!!
((hugs))

Old age ain't no place for sissies.

-Bette Davis-..
215/181/160

Amen, sister. When I went through that first "pause" from this WOL, I felt guilty. Now that I've been doing this over 5 years, I've gone through several of those pauses, this last one being a very long pause (7 months, to be exact). It's only when I truly think of this as a WOL that I realize that I didn't "fall off my diet" because it isn't a diet. I agree with you...sometimes we just need a break, and that's good for the body and soul. And Number 5 is dead-on...it really, really does happen in an instant and no amount of prompting or prodding from anyone else is gonna make a difference. You just "know" when it's right to re-start, and then you just do it.

Thanks for posting this. I needed to hear it.

April
352 / 205 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

WOW Emelia! Thanks for the great post. My situation (pause) is similiar to what you have described. Even though I paused for a month I always felt the need to check in on these boards. Knowing that I would only receive positive support here.
Today is my first day back! I haven't set any goals yet but that's my next step.

I always find your posts to be helpful and this one is especially insightful. I think you hit on something that will be useful to me - that meeting challenges in the past is not a guarantee of future success. I should be mentally and emotionally prepared to grapple again with various issues. And, that what worked in the past will not always be the best choice in the present circumstance. Thus, it's good to be open to finding new solutions to older problems.

FWIW, over the decades my prior weight loss efforts had varying degrees of longer term success. I've discovered that maintenance is as challenging for me, or even more challenging, than ongoing weight loss.

So, I think it's probably a wise tactic to include a few stops along the way to practice maintenance-style eating patterns.

~~~Teelbee

"remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic."

174 (Mar. 2002 highest weight)
164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/135.5/137-134

Wise words, Em.

I do think it may be possible to lose weight "once" and never have an issue again--I just don't know anyone who has ever done it.

The reasons we have used food as we have in the past don't disappear with the pounds. The changes we need to make, the lessons we need to learn--well, they will keep returning in one form or another, giving us, over and over, the chance to grow.

172/108/108
Zone since 4/98

Emilia,

Thank you for the insightful post. I had my pause through July and August. Last Wednesday I just "decided" to get back to my LC plan. I can't explain why Wednesday was different from any other day before. It really just happened in an instant. I was still visiting the board and posting. I don't think I could ever totally abandon LC. I still made decent choices during my pause but I did allow myself certain indulgences that I will not list right now. It is enough to say that I had what I wanted at that time and now I am happily LCing once again . Emelia - I believe that you will be able to meet both the goals you have set for yourself and we will be here cheering you on!!!!

I don't usually set a date to reach a weight goal, but I'm gonna give it a try just now. My mini goal is 190 and I hope to attain that by November 1st.

Now, having said that, I'm already playing mind games here. Gads. What's up with that? I'm thinking stuff like: "Okay. If I start losing at a faster rate, that means I can eat some carby foods and still reach my goal by November 1st." And this: "What if I don't lose it by November 1st? I will have failed! WAA!" This is why I don't set weight goals.

Ignore this post, folks. I've got major issues. Please tell me I'm not totally bonkers.

Whatever...wish me luck on the November 1st goal.

April
352 / 205 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

You are NOT bonkers...about this, anyway!

Just kidding. I fear sometimes that setting date goals is counterintuitive, but I need something to reach for right now.

April, I KNOW that if we keep each other honest and encouraged, we can make our goals! We did it before, we can do it again.

Love!

Emelia

"We can only learn to love by loving." - Iris Murdoch, Irish writer
294/208/174 since 25-Nov-01

I completely see your point about the "two-edged sword" aspect of having date goals. But, I feel that setting a goal actually helped me.

I tend to procrastinate. It's a real issue for me of late.

So, I set a very achievable weight goal date based on losing just 2.5 pounds per month. Otherwise, I was kind of in a holding pattern and dithering around. I was gaining and losing the same 2 to 4 pounds for about 3 months.

Watching my progress on the DietPower charts vs. my goal was helpful, too. It helped me see just how much impact my food plan deviations really have when it's shown in relation to my goal.

Thus, I'm less likely to underestimate the impact of eating higher carb foods or overeating. I might still make the choice to do it occasionally, but I have a better idea of what the "cost" is in recovery time. Now that I have a better idea of the "cost", I make those choices less often.

~~~Teelbee

"remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic."

174 (Mar. 2002 highest weight)
164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/135.5/137-134

Hey, Emelia...if you lose 14 pounds by November 25th, that'll make 100 pounds gone on your two-year anniversary date. I'm not trying to set a goal here for you, I just realized how MUCH DANG WEIGHT you've lost, girl!!!

WOO HOO!

April
352 / 205 / 180
5'10", large frame, size 13 shoe
www.geocities.com/aprilreinhardt

Emelia,
Thank you so much for putting some things into perspective for me. Compared to some on these boards I am a relative newbie. LC since 6/1/03. I have followed Atkins almost to the letter and have lost pretty steadily. Happy? You bet. But it has been sooo intense. Case in point is how much time I spend cruising around the LC message boards. In a sense my eating habits are still controlling my life!

After reading your post I bagan to reflect that maybe a bit of time on maintenance and then return to OWL would, if nothing else, prove to myself that I am in control and perhaps let me relax a little. Take a deep breath, so to speak.

Thanks again,
Rave
232/199/13?

Nice to see you back girl! Our normal girls have been MIA I should say guys too! Nice to see you back on the program!

MONICA

April,

On your advice, I have reworked my goal, and I do think 193.5 is doable by 25th November! Why NOT go for 100 pounds in two years?

Rave, I'd be hesitant to go to a trial maintenance QUITE so early in the process. I will tell you (and April can back me up on this) that at about the 3 month mark, I was TOTALLY obsessed. That's probably a good thing. Really. Just make sure the obsession is about getting healthy, and eventually it won't seem such a burden...you'll hit the "zen" of this way of eating.

And yes, deep breaths are vital. Take them when you need to!

Monica, I'm glad to be around again! Thanks!

Emelia

"We can only learn to love by loving." - Iris Murdoch, Irish writer
294/208/174 since 25-Nov-01