Refocus

Initially the title of this article may seem as if it runs contrary to your common sense. After all, we all hate to struggle. Dealing with difficulties in life can be scary, frustrating and exhausting. No one looks forward to going through one of life's rough patches, but we should. I haven't mastered this yet, but I'm certainly trying. I'm trying to embrace the challenges I face in my life rather than curse them. The reason for this is simple.

Many of us have found ourselves returning to low carb eating after a...um..."pause." Yeah. Pause! We may get distracted, sidetracked, or overwhelmed with life, and our best intentions may slip away. Sometimes, all we need is a fresh idea or two to get back on track again. So we asked some low carbers and experts for their best ideas for getting back in the swing of healthy, low-carb eating. Maybe one of these ideas will help you.

I'm a Low Carb evangelist, no doubt about it. I love promoting LC because I'd like to give others the same gift I've gotten. As a side effect of my LC ministry (snort!), I'm often told by folks that they've "tried the Low Carb thing once, but it didn't work." I've noticed a number of common mistakes or misunderstandings that consistently cause problems for people. Learn the pitfalls and you can effectively avoid 'em.

I read a post on Dr. Mike's blog about of friend of his that got off track with her low carbing for a while, and how she found her way back. If you haven't read it, it's well worth the time: Meditating in the Garden of Self-Loathing. It has the ring of recognizability to many folks, I suspect.

Goddess talks about the outcome of "just a little won't hurt" mantra on her own weightloss journey. (Hint: It did.)

Cheat days? Reward Meals? Time off-plan? Are these strategies a part of successful Low Carbing? Some people think so; others don't. Before you make up your mind, consider the bigger picture in terms of your long-term goals.

It's not uncommon to hear folks coming back to Low Carb (or any "dieting" program) to start off by swearing it's "the last time." Not surprisingly, your old pal Goddess has a couple of thoughts on this line of thinking.

(I'll do better next time with the audio, which is a bit heavy on background noise here. And I promise next time, you'll see a lot less of the top of my head. Har! )

If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re looking to lose a couple pounds. Or more. And that being the case, there’s also a very high likelihood this isn’t your first trip around the weight-control block. (That sounds weird, huh? “Weight-control block.” Har!) But back to the point. We lose, we gain; we lose, we gain. It’s a yo-yo cycle for many.

People, having “fallen off the wagon” as it’s called, get stuck into certain, predictable lines of thinking. There are certain lines of thought that lead you from merrily low-carbing one day to "falling off that wagon" the next day. But while we’re at it, why do we call it that anyway? That makes no sense whatsoever.

You've fallen and you're not sure if you want to get up, huh? Listen. Everyone who has struggled with weight has had those days. Maybe you have been eating junk for a day (or three...or thirty), whatever. You're tired of thinking about everything you put in your mouth, and you ask yourself if maybe life wasn't so bad when your biggest food worry was not running out of pop-tarts and Oreos?

If you're about ready to give up, it might help to read this:

1. Write down the carb content of everything you put into your mouth.

Frustration and depression seem to be running rampant and I just want to take a moment and send HUGS out to everyone who is feeling low.

Please know that we have ALL been where you are. We have ALL felt the frustration of the scale not moving.

We have all been disappointed in ourselves for giving in to seemingly senseless cheats.

And we have ALL wondered at some point if this is really the WOL (way of life) for us.

I made a statement in one of the discussions the other day, without realizing that it described a fairly significant milestone in this way of eating. What I said was that when you find yourself saying ' I don't eat that', instead of 'I can't eat that', you're there. You've attained some kind of low carb zen. Since most of you have known me only since I've been in maintenance, I want you to know that my first steps on this journey were much rockier than you might have guessed.

LCE is pleased to present Guest Author, Graeme Street.

The alarm clock goes off every morning for me at about 6:00 a.m. Before I even get up my mind is already swimming with thoughts and ideas of what lies ahead for the day.

by Kate Street

Having been failed by every other diet out there, you decided to try the low-carb approach that Dr. Atkins and others have been bragging about. I mean hey, a few thousand cattle farmers can't be wrong! The first week you probably lost anywhere between 2 to 10 pounds, and thereafter you most likely dropped 1 to 3 pounds each week. You're thrilled with your results and you?re thinking, "Wow, this is easy!"

Don't give up making new beginnings. No matter how many times you've tried and failed. No matter how many "good intentions" have become paving stones on the road to your own personal hell. No matter how much it hurts. I've been there, and felt the pain of having to start over again. I know what its like to be so afraid to try one more time that you'd rather give up. That's what this story is all about. For those of you who are looking towards the new year with dread rather than hope, this one's for you!

Anchors are powerful objects, but their very function poses a conundrum for those who use them. Employed correctly, anchors provide stability and strength against the strongest tides. But there are times when those same anchors can hinder the progress and compromise the safety of the very ship they mean to protect. A fierce storm will pummel an anchored ship to bits if steps are not taken to free the craft. In moments such as these, the captain of said ship must make the difficult but crucial decision to cut loose his anchors.