i was wondering if anyone else seems to have this problem.... i lose a couple of pounds, start looking good, and then i cheat.. and lately i wonder if it's a subconcious thing to keep myself big... it's like i get down to a certain weight and my mind says.. uh-oh, getting cute again, can't let this happen... it's so darn frustrating.. i just don't get it...

220/213/120

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porcelain

ya know, I"m having the same problem. I've lost 40lbs and now i'm starting to cheat more and more. I know i shouldnt because i'm not done losing yet. I dont think its because I dont want to look good (well, i already do and it doesnt bother me one bit!) but more so for the fact that I still get the idea in my head that when you get down to that certain ideal weight that you can eat anything you want. I know thats oh so very wrong and something that I'll have to work on but it still doesnt curb the cheating. Any advice would be nice for us!! thanks!

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"Things are only as important as I want them to be"

I've had the same stinking problem all my life

I think with me it's an over confident thing.

"I'm doing so well, one bite of this won't hurt."

"It'll be ok if I don't exercise just this once."

Then suddenly I'm totally off track again. I'm kinda going through that period now. I'm going to stop it in its tracks though and start induction again. I've been doing Atkins since 06/03 and lately I've found myself going a bit astray

I agree with the fear thing too. It's been about 18 years since I've been able to shop in a "non-plus size" store. And although I'm a long way from there, I'm kind of afraid of my "thin self". There is a fear deep down inside that when I reach my goal I'll still be unhappy with myself. I know its purely psychological, but it's so hard not to give in.

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Melanie

Atkins Since 07/03
310/252.5/135

I was having that problem a few weeks ago...thinking well, I'm down 30 so it won't hurt....then I was up 3! I'm actually scared to see what I'll look like thin b/c it's been since I was in 7th grade that I've been anywhere under 150. I don't even know what my features will look like thin,

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Brandy
Started 1/4/2004 215-160
Restarted 11/14/2005 175
175/169/130

Sneezy,

I know what you mean. I wore a juniors size 12 dress to my senior prom. I thought I was soooooooo fat. At 252 lbs. I can't wait to get back into that dress (I still have it!). I will wear it proudly -- Hope my boss doesn't think I'm too overdressed for the office

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Melanie

Atkins Since 07/03
310/252.5/135

I'm so glad this post is here!! I've been feeling so down lately, since Sunday actually. I've been having the same problem. I'd lost around 30 lbs. and suddenly I'm telling myself, "you've been doing so well, this or that won't hurt". Well, it's Thursday and I haven't stopped eating off plan. i'm not bingeing, which is good I guess, but I had clam chowder and a salad for lunch, and barbque chicken and boiled eggs for breakfast. It's these little cheats (flour and potatoes in the chowder, honey in the bbq sauce) that are killing me. Plus, all week, when the alarm goes off at 5:45am, I've turned it off and gone back to sleep, saying i'll work out "tomorrow"! Well, it's Thursday and I have done no exercizing this week!! Am I shouting?!? Someone help me please???

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Cherub
304/302/170
5'9"
Started Atkins 01/04/04

Melly,

Who CARES what your boss thinks! Wear it with a big smile - you deserve it!

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Remember I Cor. 13 - charity never faileth.

Cherub....does this explain why you haven't posted in our private message thread?!?! You can do it girl...pull yourself up by the bootstraps and start right now! Go for a little walk, at least it's a start. Drink extra water. Make the recommitment to this WOL...but you have to dig within yourself to do it.

I myself don't sabotage myself out of self-confidence of what I've accomplished...mine is more the fear of the unknown. I've known all my life what it's like to be the fat kid/woman and how to deal with the stares, comments and ridicule. But I have no clue how to deal with being thin and the attention that may come with it. I'm scared as hell of what life might be like thin...but it's a chance I'm willing to take a fear I will overcome.

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Currently Pregnant and expecting bundle of joy the week before Christmas

I have been in the same boat as all you guys. When I first lost about 15 lbs - that's all it took - I had guys asking for my phone number. Also, I'm a front desk receptionist and guys would come in my office and ask for my phone #. And it literally scared me. I'd think to myself 'okay. if guys are asking for my phone number now, and I'm still overweight - I just can't imagine what will happen when I reach my goal weight.' I'd get into that thinking mode, and bam! I'd gain 2 or 3 lbs. After a couple of weeks, I realized what I was doing to myself and immediately stopped and went on to lose a total of 57 lbs so far...

Also, I use to do the same thing as you. I'd lose 5 or 6 lbs and then eat the Big Mac Meal supersized with 3 choc chip cookies on the side! And then of course, it becomes a habit. You cheat once, then you do it again, then you do it again - until you're cheating every single day and you're back into your old eating habits.

The motivation for me to keep going was my co workers and my church famiily. They would tell me how good I was starting to look and that kept me going...and my pastor - who has the most gorgeous wife - would tell me how beautiful I was starting to look - and I would think to myself 'oh, my gosh! He's got the most gorgeous wife and he's telling ME that I'm beautiful?'...and that kept me motivated as well...so support from friends, family, relatives, co workers is always good to have. Some people at my work call me skinny mini now -and even though I have 24 lbs to go, rumor has it that some people think I'm already too thin. I know better!

And for me, nothing felt better than being able to shop in the regular clothes section. That was something I looked forward to when I started losing the weight.

Also, instead of focusing on the weight loss - focus on the vision of who you are...that will make a difference. It has for me.

And then have these questions to consider: is there anything you would like to do in your life but your weight has prevented you from doing it? And if you were at your goal weight today, what kind of things would you be doing today? Ponder those two questions...those can always be motivators as well...

And sometimes, even when I don't feel like exercising, I do it anyway...'cuz if you miss one day, then you'll miss the next, and the next and the next...etc...so no matter how I feel, exercise is always a part of my routine. I take one day off to rest but usually will go on a leisurely 15 minute walk...so it's still a little exercise but it's relaxing exercise...

Even though I'm married now, I still have guys that try to flirt with me or make comments to me. And sometimes that scares me but I don't put weight on anymore 'cuz of it. I just ignore them but relish in the fact that I'm stil noticed.

Don't be afraid of your thin self. You're beautiful now, and you'll be beautiful then as well - with a slimmer body!

Sheyla

I think the fear of being thin is a common one. So many people only know how to interact with others as an overweight person. The fat serves as a "protection" from having to deal with certain situations. It's easy to be afraid of it. Thinking realistically may help--being thin isn't going to solve all of our problems. Being thin isn't going to mean that we HAVE TO be a different person. We're the same people we were, better or worse, only our eating habits have changed.

Many women who were sexually assaulted or abused when they were younger may not want to deal with looking attractive to men again because it brings up fears. Hopefully if that's the case with anyone here, you'll get the counseling you need to help accept your thinner self. It's hard enough to lose weight without sabotaging ourselves.

Myself, I'm looking forward to the wolf whistles. I love my husband, but attention makes a person feel good.

I think many of us do this self-sabotage thing but there's more than a single reason. For me I know how many diets I've been on. I have lost over 500 pounds in the past 25 years. But maintaining a loss is something I do very very badly. So the slower I go getting to my goal will mean I'll be in that feeling good about myself mindset that comes with losing weight steadily. When weight is piling on my self image suffers horribly. I know on an intellectual level that I now possess the knowledge (thanks largely to this site) and the means (low carb for life) to successfully maintain my desired weight. But subconsciously I think I have a serious fear that I will fail like I've failed every other time. Given a choice between staying as I am, 50 pounds overweight, or losing weight fast and then gaining it back, I'd prefer to stay right where I am.

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my blog

I'm not afraid of being thin, but i sure am curious. I have always been the "chubby" one. When i was growing up i use to fantasize about how i would look thin. I have a thin cousin whom my family members always compare me too as an encouragment to lose weight because shes very pretty, and was always 50 lbs lighter than me (They thought i was beautiful too, but they had ignorant ways of expressing it since they never had weight issues, i forgive them).

Now she's only 25 lbs lighter than me since i've lost 25 lbs! and the more i loose, the more i feel that i don't look like her, i just look like a better version of me! Anyway i'm not afraid of loosing, just darn curious!

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Started 3/20/03 thru 9/2003
Restarted 1/2/04, this time i will finish what i started.

180-154-140

Great thread! During the past couple of weeks, I've been sabotaging my plan too. So odd...I love the way I look/feel on this WOE but for some reason, hiding in the shell I've created for so long is comforting. I'm up for breaking the shell. No more sabotage!

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Hi there everyone! This post moved me. I think, for me, the extra weight has been my "insulation" from the BAD GUYS over the years. I was thin and attractive in my teens and 20's and had some pretty bad experiences. I think the extra weight protected me from "them", you know?

Every time I've ever made an attempted to shed the excess weight, I'd fail at it - ALWAYS sabotaged myself. THIS time, however, my goal is not vanity, but health. And I have chosen the CORRECT path to health this time (yeah, Dr. Atkins! )

Just my 2 cents - the ramblings of a HAPPY WOMAN!

Peace and love to all!

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Suzanne (Atkins - 1/9/04)
195/168/145

In my case it tends to be a sense of false security. Last week I finally got a woosh after seriously getting back on track I was down to my lowest weight ytd of 235. I had been stuck on 240 for a month. That day despite feeling great I allowed to buy a bag of candy in the store. Needless to say I finished the whole bag off by the end of the day. It was as if my mind was giving me a little reward yet the worst possible kind. As you can imagine I handed the Woosh straight back and now I am at 240 again.The next day becomes more difficult as your resistance has been broken and you tend to become slack again. It is really hard keeping totally focused and disciplined even when you know you look and feel soooo much better.

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262/238/170
Started Adkins 01/05/04