Help!

[ccook002]

After a great first week, with a five lb weight loss, I cheated last night and I feel just terrible. I gave my daughter permission to bake some chocolate chip cookies while I was at work yesterday. In the middle of the night last night, I got up, and ate two of them. Later, I got up and had two more. I was a terrible nighttime eater and it is one of the things I desperately need to change. I had been good for a week and a half, eating only some celery with peanut butter while I read before bed. Whats worse, I weighed 217 before I went to bed, and 219 this morning! How can that be? They were not quarter lb cookies. I know my weight will fluctuate, but I am so discouraged. I need to get back on track today like it never happened, but I scared me. I am helpless at night over that stuff. I am fine all day, I can resist anything, and stay on plan with no problems. But at night, I am a different animal. I quit drinking 22 yrs ago and have been sober since 10/16/86 and this is so similar. I did not want the cookie, did not intend to eat the cookie, but did anyway. Powerlessness. I need some help/advice/kicks in the butt. I don’t want to give up again and this is just the point where I would do so. Hope to hear from you guys. My AOL name is victoria101686 if anyone wants to im me directly. Cheryl

[Judynyc]

Hi Cheryl,

It happens to all of us so try to not to feel so badly, forgive yourself and move on....never, ever give up!! :agree:

Maybe a good idea for you would be to make copies of the food lists and meal plan charts and hang them on your fridge so that they are very visible in your kitchen. I can't have cookies in my home or I will go after them too....we have to know ourselves. Also, for the next few weeks as you get stronger into the plan, how about your daughter hold off on making any more cookies. Why tempt yourself at this time, ya know?

I have a hard time walking past the bagel stores around here as the smell just sends me into "I wanna bagel" thinking.....I've had to train my mind to turn that off!! This has been a key to my long term success. Learning to manage my internal dialog. :idea:

Also, if you get up to eat in the night, how about figuring out a late night snack that is legal and will make you happy.

On the +2lbs over night, its just water weight and will be gone in a day or 2....so don't worry. :agree:

Congrats on your 22 yrs of sobriety!! Now you will become abstinent from sugar and white flour too. :cool: .....as these are both substances we use to alter ourselves.

[LadyBelle]

You've only been on the plan for one week. In time it will get easier to resist temptations, honestly. If you manage to stick to the plan for a while with no cheats, then the first time you have a strawberry it will almost be too sweet. The idea of a chocolate chip cookie might actually make your stomach ache a touch at the thought of so much sweetness.

What really helped me was the recipe site on this forum. When I would be tempted by a cheesecake slice, I would tell myself I could make it at home not only low carb, but much better tasting. If it was something like a chocolate chip cookie, I would start planning in my head what ingredients would make that possible low carb. Sometimes I would follow through and make the item, but many times the craving would pass after a time and I would forget about it.

For South Beach there are many sites with recipes and a few cookbooks have been released with a wide variety of recipes. Once you start experimenting in the kitchen and realizing how good you can eat while still feeling so healthy old habits seem to melt away and be forgotten. Eating really is a habit more then anything these days.

Don't beat yourself up over one indiscretion. The worst thing you could do is get my bad habit where I rationalize "Well I already ruined today so I may as well pig out and just start again tomorrow" Get back on track as fast as you can or you could end up undoing a lot of hard work. Trust someone who has gained back too much weight because of rationalizing and getting lax. It would be like an alcoholic saying "Well I had some wine in this dish without fully realizing it, so I may as well go on a bender and go back to being sober tomorrow."

[marybell]

Don't be so hard on yourself. Sometimes you stumble, but as long as you are going in the right direction you are going to be fine.

I know what you mean about powerlessness. I have often felt that way, especially at the movies with the popcorn. I find that if I really have to be chewing on something, I take several packs of sugar free gum with me and chew like mad during the parts of the movie where I would normally be shoving popcorn in by the handful. My thought is, I provide myself with an alternative activity to replace the one I don't want to do.

If you don't want the cookie, make a plan ahead of time so that next time a food is calling your name, you can pass it up for your "planned" indulgence. Keep some sugar free fudge pops or something like that in the freezer.

At my house, it's just me and my 15 year old son, so I simply don't allow non-SB food into the house anymore. I used to be a binge eater, but now if I'm tempted to gorge myself, it's going to be on cheese and nuts. LOL!

You only ate 4 cookies!

My only question is, did you leave any, or were there only 4 left? True powerlessness would dictate that you inhaled all that there were. You might not be as powerless as you think you are.......