LOLOL, yep, tweaking or "enhancing" is the key. That's just another way of saying, "substituting." It truly is the key.

I just spoke with my step-daughter on the phone yesterday, who spent some time in the ER. The diagnosis was Gastroenteritis with the beginnings of some ulcers. She wasn't happy with the doctors' advice on dietary changes, so she called me, her "Doctor Barb". (LOL) She knew she would get some sound advice from me on what to do to change her diet (which I have been telling her for years) but now maybe she's ready to listen. I told her to ditch ALL the refined carbs and sugar. She's apparently been drinking a ton of Red Bull (ew, ick, evil, nasty) and was told to cut out the caffeine. I said to her that she is going to have to wean herself off the caffeine or she will feel like her head is going to explode. She's not a real big meat eater, but I told her she's going to have to find a way to sneak that source of protein into her diet. I also told her to eat good, green veggies. (She doesn't like either) But maybe she's desperate enough to do it now. She doesn't have a weight problem yet (although she did as a teenager) but her health is horrendous and she has 3 young children to be healthy for. She doesn't seem to have the ability to listen very well (which I blame on a Candida overgrowth problem and unbelievable sugar consumption) so I don't know if she will take my advice. If she's ready, maybe she will.

I think as with "hitting bottom" we can do that with our food choices too. We have to want to change bad enough to do something about it sometimes. I got to that point 2.5 years ago. I changed my mindset from "I can't have that" to "I DON'T eat that anymore." It was a lightbulb moment. And I haven't looked back since. Food choices IS a choice. We have to eat to survive, but we can make wiser choices. We have to set aside the excuses we make why we eat the way we do. Excuses don't cut it. You either do or you don't. Plain and simple. We can't beat ourselves up when we make a bad choice. We simply have to pick ourselves up and get back on the road. This food-choice-change is a journey. And we have to figure out for ourselves what works. And when you find something that works, you stick with it. And when we change for the better, why go back to the way it was?

I got my blood test results back the other day on my cholesterol and the numbers were GREAT!!! My BP is good, my glucose is good. The doctor told me to keep doing what I'm doing. (I thought..........COOL, I can eat all that naughty fat I have been eating!!!!) So no deprivation here!!!!! It's funny, when I think back to the way I used to eat, I would half-heartedly "watch the fat" and it did nothing but make me fat!!! HA!!!! Now I'm at a comfortable weight and I eat all the fat I want. (I just avoid hydrogenates!!!) And I'll tell ya, fat is very satisfying to the appetite. You just don't get hungry when you have a little fatty stuff in your diet. It really sticks to your ribs.

Gerry, I hope our chats here help you out. You have to figure out how to do this for YOURSELF, but we sure are here to help you on that journey. Hang in there.

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I am still here. I have gained more weight and reading the support notes over and over, I know I am in control, and I am the only one who can do this. I am going to do it. I have started logging my food intake onto FITDAY.com. It gives me a good look at how I need to change my food groups. I def take into way too many carbs.
I will not give up until I reach my goal

:jump: Great motivation! I really think that logging in our food helps keep us accountable.

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Gerry, it's GREAT you are back!!!!!! I hope you've found the motivation this time to stick with it. I really believe once you find the "easy" things to do and the right substitutions, you won't find yourself feeling deprived.......which opens a whole nother can of psychological worms. I just had a talk today with my DD#2 (who's lost 50# now, WOOHOO!!!) about how when you purge your house of naughty, tempting stuff and bring in allowed stuff, it makes it soooooooo much easier.

Hang in there!!!!! You can DO IT!!!!!!!!

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I didn't read the whole thread, but are you actually following a specific diet (Atkins, South Beach, etc.), or are you just trying to do low carb? What worked for me is this: I bought the South Beach book and read it cover to cover. I looked through the meal plans and decided what to cook and what I didn't really like (for instance, my system does not tolerate broccoli). I then cleaned out my fridge and cupboard and did a big shopping trip to make sure I had all the right stuff in the house. Then I finally started the diet.

While reading the SBD book, I saw one of the testimonials that matched me exactly, except for age. I decided that I WAS that guy and threw my faith at the diet. If it failed, it would be the diet and not me.

So I followed the meal plans as closely as possible. I gave up control of everything I ate to the diet. Once I stopped making the decisions and handed them over to another entity, it turned out to be pretty easy for me to stick with it. Because I handed it over to the diet, if it didn't work it wasn't bad decisions on my part, it was the diet itself. I guess once the decisions were limited by the book I didn't feel tempted to eat bad stuff.

Also, I learned that planning what I was eating a day ahead of time, usually just after dinner, it helped a lot. Then I was relatively satisfied and I could make good, sensible choices. I'd pack my snacks and lunch for the next day, and plan breakfast and dinner. Then when it came time to decide what to have for a given meal, I already knew; the choice was already there.

I lost 70 lb. in 6 months. Unfortunately, I got away from that discipline and gained about half of it back. But on Jan 1 I started with the same philosophy and so far it seems to be working- I'm losing more than a pound a day right now in Phase I of the SBD.

I guess by making the decisions when I was least likely to be tempted, I was able to stay with my day-by-day meal plans and stick to the diet. Maybe that will help you.