Thread: 5 days away from quitting! Depressed!

Hi Patty, Keep your chin up!!You live where the sun shines, enjoy it and your family. Remember: there's always gonna be someone who looks worse in a swimsuit than you(me for one ) Keep vanity in its place don't let it ruin your life, like Summer was saying your kids will grow up soooo fast you need to enjoy them at all costs.(my little girl is going to be 7 in April,and so grown up) And if Atkins isn't working or you don't like it, there are other healthy lower carb plans out there, maybe one of them would suit you better. I did it for several months and found it wasn't structured enough for me,and I wasn't comfy with all the fat, not to mention I lost 20 lb and gained back 10 . I tried South Beach and have lost some, but had a hard time sticking with it, so I'm gonna try the Zone thing and see what happens. The thing with this WOL is nothing is written in stone, you can try a variety of things, and find what works best for you. Oh by the way we are your friends, not a bunch of strangers, we've all "been there", and if ya need us we are here!!{{hugs}}

Hey Miss Patty,

Happy Saturday to you. Wow, Summer let you have it girl! I'm NEVER crossing that woman! LOL I have to say though that I agree with a lot of what she had to say. Don't get me wrong, I'm JUST as guilty as you are. Many is the time I've missed out on a fun time with my family because I felt too fat to participate, be it water skiing, or surfing, or anything requiring skimpy clothing. I KNOW how hard it is but just try to keep your size in perspective and remind yourself that, like Summer said, when you're on your death bed you're definitely not going to lamenting about not getting a few more pounds off that summer when you were 37 and your son was almost 2. Just try to shift a little more focus onto enjoying your life WHILE you lose weight. These two things CAN coexist you know! Ha ha.

We sound like we are on a VERY parallel path. We both do things very similarly and have both had a lot of success losing weight and been frustruated, more recently, by failure. We're used to being able to, with much pain, drop all our weight using nothing but willpower and we're both definitely hitting that post-35 metabolic slow down. If you're like me your exercise induced muscle mass has imparted a short delay in what hits other women somewhat earlier. I am assured by others more experienced than myself that losing weight after 35 is MUCH more difficult and that there's no changing it. Let's face it - we're not 16 anymore and I, for one, CANNOT lose weight via caloric restriction anymore. You are, most likely, right behind me in that. You don't want to whack your metabolism like I did. Quit that starvation while you still have the chance! It leads to the horrible frustration of eating your usual low cal menu and less yet getting nowhere NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU DO IT. Argh! They say treadmill time is the slowest in the galaxy but a lot of us are here to say that starvation time is slower. It sucks big time!!! I'm sure a lot of people on this board are nodding their heads to that one. Don't do it to yourself. As for your current WOE you know as well as I do that even on a very low calorie diet it sometimes takes more than 2 weeks before you get that first sudden drop. Simmer down girl. We've got 4 months of hard dieting ahead of us before the beach weather hits. Notice this marine layer? Get used to it. It lasts from May until mid-July. Brrr. Oh course this has been an odd, El Nino type winter so don't quote me on that.

To address your comments/questions: I lost 5.5 lbs between this Monday and this Friday - not overall. Overall I've lost 8 lbs since starting induction. I think I'll do induction for about 3 weeks and then increase carbs as advised. Dr. Atkins says you can do it longer but I got scared off by the warnings about carb intolerance. I don't need that too!

Sounds like we weigh ourselves the same way, you're working out again (great!), you're water looks good. The only things I can mention is to be sure to count the Splenda (congrats on the switch) carbs in your jello and Diet Rite (I got that too, it's pretty good). I count 3 for Diet Rites. Remember - you're supposed to limit Splenda's to 3 carbs per day when on induction. I'm not too clear about that limit holding when you move on to OWL. The only thing I would urge you to do is get those test strips. They'll serve to prove what you already know - that you're in ketosis - and instill a lot more confidence into your program. Also, I look forward to testing every day and seeing that pink glow that confirms that I'm burning fat. It motivates me to go another day. Maybe it'll have the same effect on you. The experienced LC'ers don't need 'em but I think we newbies do. You even said yourself that when you used 'em last time you lost 8 lbs. Hmmm.

Oh! I just thought of one more thing. On your "cheese" post I checked out your averages (I do the same thing with the daily percentage breakdowns and then weekly averages). I've been having great success with MUCH higher fat intake. Since I'm still in induction I've been averaging 75%+ on the fat, my carbs are almost always under 3%. Just for a hoot try slightly lowering your carbs (don't forget about counting those sweeteners) and up your fat intake. I know it's VERY counter intuitive but it's working like gangbusters on me so maybe it'll work for you too. Read that study about high fat diets again. It makes more sense when you do. I don't think you can eat this way forever but it can't hurt healthy people like us for just a couple of weeks. It seems like the more fatty, crappy foods I scarf down the thinner I get. You'll notice you eat less because all the fat makes you feel satisfied much longer. My calories didn't go up at all consequently. Kielbasa, bacon, heck I'm even eating cream cheese and losing weight! It's truly amazing. I hope the good doctor is right about cholesterol levels going down and not up! :-

So get your sticks and stick with it chicka. We're old so we're fat. It's the way nature and McDonalds intended it to be but we have the tools to fight back and show our butts who's in charge. Let me know when you start losing. It shouldn't be long now.

P.S. - if you're looking to lose 40 lbs wouldn't the 3.5 lbs you've already lost constitute almost 10% of the weight you need to lose? Not bad, don't you think?

IBON4it, what a great "lecture" and /or pep talk!!! Patti has a great ally in you!!!

The interesting thing about dietary fat is that it impacts our insulin levels 0-5%. Protein impacts it about 50% and carbs impact it 100%. So when you think about the biochemicals of this whole process, it just makes sense that we will lose weight eating MORE fat. And I couldn't be happier than a pig in a poke about it. How I love my cream cheese, sour cream, cream, cheese. And the other interesting thing about all this is that when we get our insulin under control, our cholesterol gets under contol, provided we cut out the TRANS FATS completely. Those are the BAD fats. I avoid anything with trans fats, hydrogenated anything. If is says hydrogenated oil of any kind on the label, I put it right back. I refuse to encourage food manufacturers to keep using that poison. So........the moral of the story is, don't be afraid of fats, just trans fats.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I have a goal of a certain weight by a certain point in time. And I am not making any progress toward it <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

All I can say is this "Get in line, honey!"

I think you're exactly right. If this isn't working for you, then you need to move on.

Different strokes for different folks and perhaps this just isn't your thing. No use dragging it out and making your life miserable

Howdy All,

Barb makes a good point about how fats don't affect our insulin levels the way protein and carbs do. And I agree 100% about trans fats. I tried to avoid them before LC eating just for health reasons. That stuff is artery clogging goo. Thanks Barb!

Patty, make sure you count the fiber. It's a good thing that allows you to eat much more. Just subtract the fiber content of a food from the total carbs. The remainder is what you count - and it's not cheating! You see fiber cannot be digested so your body cannot absord the carbs in fiber. It's just that simple. It's physically impossible. If you cannot absorb the carbs, they sure as heck can't count! I just went out to dinner to Chili's. I had their knife and fork fajitas (just okay). The menu said they had 17 carbs. High, right? The menu also said they had 10 grams of fiber so while I actually consumed 17 grams of carbs my body will only digest of 7 of them. Voila! Free carbs.

I agree with Marcie Lynn that if something is not working for you you should always be willing to be flexible enough to rethink it, but I don't think you've given this WOE enough time yet. As an experienced dieter you know that it sometimes takes a while before you see that first big drop on the scale. The first week of any diet is throw away because you're learning and adjusting. Plus you've been on your period. You're just now bringing in the exercise which you really should have been doing from day 1. You're changing your diet to incorporate the lastest technology. In other words, you're still fine tuning your program. You have to give it a couple of weeks to work after you figure out what you're doing. You believe in the science so just get those test strips so you can prove to yourself that you are doing everything right and then be patient. It's gonna happen. Keep us posted.

Patty, it's great to hear you don't have Candida. That's awesome.

Here's the Jello Recipe:
1 pkt unflavored gelatin (I find Knox is the best)
1/2 packet of Kool-aid (your favorite flavor)-a whole packet is waaaaay too strong.
2/3 cup + 1 tsp. Pourable Splenda
1 cup boiling water
1 cup COLD water
Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water until there are no lumps left. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly. Pour that into another bowl in case there were any lumps of gelatin stuck to the sides of the original bowl. Refrigerate overnight. (what was so awful about the recipe you made? Maybe we can tweak it a bit)

It's good you got Laura Richard's book (I assume)

The newer version of Atkins is much better. The old one is outdated.

Why on earth would you ignore net carbs? Fiber in no way impacts insulin levels. If you are not counting fiber against your carbs, your body almost certainly thinks it's starving and will NOT give up any fat reserves. NO ONE EVER GOT FAT BY EATING TOO MANY LC VEGGIES (or fiber for that matter)!!!!!!!!!!

1500 calories sounds doable. Your body probably won't think it's starving at that level. BTW, have you tried spreading this out into 5-6 smaller meals? Some people find that they lose faster if they "graze" all day, just with smaller portions.

Remember, weight training will add more lean muscle which is denser than fat, but takes up less space AND burns more fat. You may not show a weigh LOSS while weight training, but your clothes should certainly get looser. Aerobic type work will not add lean muscle and will help burn more calories. (Can't remember, did you take your measurements? If not, I would do so NOW)

HTH,

Whew, Patty! I sm exhausted reading some of your posts! Ya know, what though? You are dping just fine. Personally, I think you can, and probably should, eat unlimited legal veggies, limit your cheese and keep up the exercise. I think you may have worked over your metabolism after 20 years of yp-yo dieting, so it may just take it a little while to get readjusted. June 1 is still a ways away - so, grasshopper, relax and enjoy the journey. I read what you said about this being a race for you, and believe me, sister, every one of us in this board knows exactly what you mean. (Here it comes...) BUT, for us to persist in such a "race" with ourselves means that we are placing an incredibly unfair burden and expectation on ourselves. Not good. I deserve better treatment than that. So, I stick with the plan and thank my lucky stars for every benefit, no matter how long in coming, I see.

Sometimes it is hard to change a belief that is deeply engrained. Like the belief that low calorie/low fat is a healthy, smart way to eat. Reports are coming in that eating this way long term not only stops working but 40 year old women are showing bone density tests that look like an 80yr old woman's. Without enough fat and protein the body doens't absorb all the micronutrients and such you need.

Our bodies are so well made and resilient that the bad results of abusing our bodies may take years to become evident. That's why in the past diabetes didn't show up till late 30's early 40's.

Health is not just physical but mental, emotional, and psychological. I would agree with your DH that you need to address these issues also. A very useful tool in my opinion is Dr Phil's 7 keys book that deals with healing feelings, and recognizing harmful self-talk with effective ways to correct this deadly habit. Your body image is NOT the same as self image. You sound like you don't know the difference. I 'hear' that you don't like yourself enough and gain your value by what other people think of you when they see your outer appearance.

I was resistant to the idea that I could eat green veggies without limit. I decided to be open minded and give it a try and guess what? My weight loss accelerated. My understanding is not only does the fiber not count but the body has to work harder to digest high fiber veggies which accelerates the bodys metabolism.

You have experience with losing weight in a way that requires being hungry and exercising mucho self control. You don't have experience with LCE. Listen to those who do have experience. If what you are doing isn't working, then try to do what the veterans have to say.

This is my 2nd time trying Adkins. The first time I failed. The second time I decided to do everything by the book. Take supplements, drink water, eat to satisfaction of protein, fats, limit cheese and always eat the veggies every day. After the 2 weeks when you add back coffee, or diet soda you will know by the headache or scale jump if these are or are not a problem. Being solidly in ketosis then you can eat all the green veggies w/out counting and use your carbs for cream, splenda, nuts, whatever.

Again, though, I think your biggest issue is the self image one. Wellness is not one dimensional. Take this in the spirit it is meant.


Best Wishes,
Kerry

Everyone has given you a lot of good advice. One thing that I don't think has been answered was your question about coffee.

First, I don't drink it because I am avoiding caffeine because it makes me too nervous. But I have heard from other people on the boards who have not had it effect their weight loss. Thus I really beleive it is a your milage may vary issue (YMMV).

Beyond that, just don't be afraid of leagal veggies. They are your ideal sourse of carbs.

Kerry, well said!!!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by paladin:
Everyone has given you a lot of good advice. One thing that I don't think has been answered was your question about coffee.

First, I don't drink it because I am avoiding caffeine because it makes me too nervous. But I have heard from other people on the boards who have not had it effect their weight loss. Thus I really beleive it is a your milage may vary issue (YMMV).

Beyond that, just don't be afraid of leagal veggies. They are your ideal sourse of carbs. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just as to support YMMV point on coffee. I drink about 48 oz. of coffee a day. I couldn't live without it and don't intend to find out if I could. I have lost 80 some pounds since July eating this way, with just loads of cream, butter, mayo and yes COFFEE as well as Diet Pepsi. So if you listen to convential wisdom, I'll drop dead tomorrow...at least if I do, I'll feel great! Beats the way I felt eating sugar, bread, potatoes and other socially approved foods.

Good luck, and give this WOE a chance!

i even drank coffee a couple times during induction ...
it all depends on your individual body. you may not need to give it up (caffeine). experiment w/ other changes/"tweaks" before trying to take out the coffee. (since you seem really set on keeping it in your eating plan.)

i cannot emphasize enough ... EAT YOUR VEGGIES. eat lots and lots and lots!

I am a good example of the health risks posed by low fat/low cal diets. I am 40 now but developed stress fractures in both tibias at the age of 38. It is my understanding that this was due to reduced bone density caused by long term underabsorbtion of nutrients instigated by malnutrition. Since I kept a diet journal I can easily see that this was due to severely restricted caloric intake over a long period of time (&lt;900/day for over a year). Shortly after becoming injured my low cal menu stopped inducing weight loss since I was no longer coupling it with intense daily exercise. Within 2 months of increasing my calories and resting so I could heal I gained back every ounce it'd taken me over a year of daily sweat and starvation to lose. Bad trip. Hope low carb eating proves to be much more successful over the long term. So far, so good. I'm on day 14 of a planned 21 day induction. I've gone over by a carb or two a couple of days but otherwise doing just fine. As of today's two week weigh in I have lost a total of 7.5 lbs and 4.25" overall. Not overly impressive when compared to the first two weeks of a low cal starvation diet but, then again, I'm not starving! Losing weight without going hungry is a GIGANTIC revelation to me. The book said it would work and it did. In fact, according to "New Diet Revolution" by losing 7.5 lbs in two weeks I find that I am not metabolically resistant as I thought but, in fact, somewhat better than metabolically average. I am very happy and relieved that I have found a way to lose so painlessly. Just hope it keeps going in the right direction as I increase carbs and fine tune.

And IBON, Don't forget, some of that weight you lost before was bone and muscle. That's NOT my idea of ideal weight loss. As I've said before, maybe in this post or another, our bodies are perfectly willing to sacrifice bone and muscle to give our organs what they need to survive. Organs require a tremendous amount of calcium to function. So while a person CAN lose weight on a low cal, low fat regimen, they sacrifice their health in so many ways.