Inspiration?

[Janus]

I returning to fold, and long break, and over 28lbs weight gain,

long road to go,

please can you share your inspirations, motivations,

what techniques do you use to fight, thwart :

1. cravings
2. lack of energy
3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix
4. thought of such a long way to go
5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves)
6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar

look forward to your replies

cheers

[chandltp]

1. cravings
2. lack of energy
3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix
4. thought of such a long way to go
5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves)
6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar


1. When I made the transition to low carb, I followed Atkin's approach of eating what I wanted to feel satiated. By eating enough I reduced cravings. I aimed for at least 60% fat, with a target of 80%. After a few weeks, cravings disappeared and I wanted to eat less.
2. I waited 2 weeks. It was winter so I didn't have the activity like I do in the summer.
3. Learn to disassociate food from comfort. If you admit you're not really hungry, it gets easier. Remember how you feel when you eat something that isn't part of your way of eating. If you still want to eat, find something on plan that you really enjoy.
4. Break it up into attainable goals. Instead of focusing on the 40 pounds you want to lose, set monthly goals.
5. If you keep your fat high enough, chances are it won't look that good to you. Ask your partner to restrict carb intake to work or time out with the friends. Don't have separate meals. Low carb tastes pretty good.
6. Exercise. Take a walk. After 20 minutes, the stress will be gone and you won't feel like eating garbage.

[livinright]

I returning to fold, and long break, and over 28lbs weight gain,

long road to go,

please can you share your inspirations, motivations,

what techniques do you use to fight, thwart :

1. cravings
2. lack of energy
3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix
4. thought of such a long way to go
5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves)
6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar

look forward to your replies

cheers

2:
I usually have more energy eating low carb. I hear salt can help with this tho.
4:
MINI GOALS! Focus on 5 or 10 pounds at a time. Celebrate all of the small wins. New size, number of days cheat free...
1, 3, 5 and 6:
I make sure I'm eating enough. Never let myself get too hungry. If you find the time between lunch and getting home to have dinner leaves you feeling starving, try to plan a snack an hour or two before to prevent this. It's way easier to make good choices when you don't feel famished.
I keep grab and go, or heat and eat foods handy at all times. (I keep beef sticks and nuts in my car and school bag, boiled eggs, salad fixins and planned leftovers in the frig)
Up the fat percentages.
If I'm craving sweets or carbs, I feed the craving a high fat and moderate protein meal/snack instead. I won't even give my craving a lowcarb sweet. Think of cravings as a tantrum throwing toddler. If you ignore it long enough, it'll realize it's not getting its way.
Journal writing. Online or on paper. If my stress is directed at a specific person, I write a vent letter and then delete or throw it away. It's a good way to get it out of my system.
Take a walk or workout.
Read the forums or find something else to keep your mind and hands busy.

5 again:
My first round of lowcarb and again this second time, I live with teenage human garbage trucks ;) There's no getting away from it.
My daughter who loves to bake, moved out. Then my 16 year old son started baking for himself. Even he can be respectful and supportive and keep his junk food away when he's finished.
Practice saying "NO" to yourself and others.
I do keep low carb food choices and high carb food choices in separate cabinets and freezers. Stuff in the frig that calls my name gets puts in the back of the top shelf. That way when I open the door, all I see are appropriate choices.
And this may sound silly, but I use to just sniff whatever they were eating sometimes. Half of the pleasure comes from smell. So I could enjoy the smell without tasting it.

[lterry913]

Very good advice above...welcome back and don't concentrate on what you can't have , focus on what you can have...Control is key and we have to be in control of what goes in our mouth...The control is empowering after you gain it.

[Whofan]

1. cravings - eliminate sugar and starch completely and they disappear quickly.
2. lack of energy - eat a teaspoon or two of salt every day to combat muscle fatigue and give your body time to make the enzymes necessary to transition to fat burning. The energy will return with a vengeance!
3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix. Eat something fatty. Avocado, a hunk of butter (I'm serious), a great big spoonful of coconut oil. Drink a couple glasses of water with it. And while you're doing all that, also be cooking a fatty meal to enjoy.
4. thought of such a long way to go. One piece of food at a time, one meal at a time. If you accept right at the beginning that this is a change of lifestyle forever it will be easier. Your body will lose weight in it's own timeframe not according to what you would like, but it WILL lose all the weight you want if you do your part.
5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves). If you mean they're snacking on carbage in front of you, ask them not to. If they won't, leave the room or eat and enjoy fatty foods in front of them. Never forget that they are not actually eating "food". They're eating drugs. If you mean regular meals, you can eat many of the same foods together, just don't eat the carby sides.
6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar. Walk, breathe, look for herbal supplements that reduce stress, drink water, eat fat instead of sugar, go to these forums, read. Give yourself at least 3 minutes before you reach for something sugary, you'll find the stress already easing. Then give it another 3 minutes, and so on until you can think about something else. The 3 minute rule works for many addictions, including smoking.

Good luck. You can do this!

[Janus]

Think of cravings as a tantrum throwing toddler

think this is good.

Use some NLP, mental visualisation, I may visualise my carvings as a caged demon, securely locked behind bars, and he aint getting out !

Journal writing. Online or on paper. If my stress is directed at a specific person, I write a vent letter and then delete or throw it away

great idea, i do keep a 'fat loss diary' keeping notes how I feel, ideas, plans

I think boredom is massive trigger for some people, watching TV can be trigger too,

using internet to keep motivation going is a must,

guys like this one :

Arthur Boorman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suTPns5cy_Q)

have lost 5lbs this week , great start,

I also take your point about small steps, is a big factor,

small steps (http://www.procrastinationstrategies.com/personal-kaizen.html)

[Elizellen]

:cheer: Great progress so far, Janus - keep up the good work! :thup:

[WereBear]

1. cravings - If you don't feed them, they will go away. HONEST. I walk right through the break room now, no matter what is in it. Because I don't feed my addiction. I don't give it power over me.

2. lack of energy - How long does this go on? Your body has to crank up the fat burning machinery. Eating LOTS of good fats helps this process along, along with plenty of salt and plenty of sleep.

3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix - You need another stress buster, because this one isn't working! I've been there... the problem with a handful of junk food crammed into our mouths is that "the fix" only lasts for about 5 seconds. Then we need another one. And another... Until we feel lousy. Some "fix"!

If I "fixed" my car or my computer that way, I'd never get anything done!

What helped me was not concentrating on that 5 seconds. I made myself remember the whole thing... the feelings of helplessness and torment when I listened to the tiny part of my brain screaming for junk food... and the way I felt afterward, sick all over! AND the way I felt trying on my clothes in the morning, deciding between restricting and uncomfortable, or baggy and defeated.

4. thought of such a long way to go - THIS is such a mental trap. Because even before you have lost all the weight, you feel so much better, you are learning so many new things, you are committing to a better way of life all around. This kind of thinking is DIET thinking: once the weight is gone, I'll go back to "normal."

I refused to accept that my "normal" was feeling tired and sick and depressed and bloated and unable to fit into my clothes.

5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves) - The entire world does this. Ask for their help as a lover and a friend.

6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar -- Oh, I know. But this "cure" creates a lot more problems than it solves. If you are like most people, the problem is really that you've never gotten ANOTHER coping strategy, even as this one keeps showing that it doesn't work.

I'll bet the core problem is that you are trying to do the impossible! One of my stress tricks is to ask myself:

What part of this stress is coming from me trying to do the impossible?

We can't change that lousy boss: we can change our jobs or our attitudes.

We can't shorten a long commute: we can get books or podcasts to listen to, we can try carpooling or alternate transport, we can change our job or our homes.

We cannot expect respect from the disrespectful: but we can decide their opinion is not worth listening to. (They hate that! Another de-stressing bonus :)

Every single time I have a stress problem... it turns out that I had decided ignoring the problem was the easiest way to solve it. Denial seems easier because that's something that is entirely in our control. But we make that decision not realizing just how much mental, physical, and emotional energy this burns up. It can leave us NO energy for anything else in our lives.

This is so often the problem we eat to smother. And as you have realized... this doesn't work.

[livinright]

[/QUOTE]What part of this stress is coming from me trying to do the impossible?[QUOTE]

I'd say that's about 75% of my stress. And I never thought to ask myself this question! Thanks WereBear :)

[Elizellen]

What a wise post, WereBear! :thup:

[Janus]

We cannot expect respect from the disrespectful: but we can decide their opinion is not worth listening to.

some good info there werebear

I always advise, tune the 'noisy' people out, the ones that wind you up through your day, whether work or play,

think of turning dial on radio, and de-tuning from their frequency,

1. cravings - am now taking glutamine - does seem to be helping, and good for anxiety too, as it precursor to GABA
2. lack ok energy - can feel energy rising already as lost 5lbs, early days
3. long day at work - I return to work tomorrow - so we be test for me
4. long journey - small steps, remember what pound of fat looks like
5. partner eating carb food - think is best to preempt - like tonight chili is on menu, but, I said no rice for me, you can have some
6. stress - emmm, this is the biggy for me as said, chose healthy low carb fix if needed, or, take vit-c, magnesium (mother natures valium ). Meditation, visualisation

[Janus]

pound of fat =

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad139/Jagdpanther7/Email/quotes-about-weight-loss.jpg (http://s929.photobucket.com/user/Jagdpanther7/media/Email/quotes-about-weight-loss.jpg.html)

[Janus]

thanks guys/girls for all replies , for me this bullet point list determines my success

[mviesprite]

what techniques do you use to fight, thwart :


I am late to the party as usual but what great replies, Whofan and Werebear.
I am listening too - and adding my own two cents for what its worth...

1. cravings - true. they do leave rather quickly. It did take awhile to stop wanting the birthday cake or other crap people bring in to work all the time. I too can walk past the cake/pie/donuts and sort of picture them as inanimate objects, like a dish full of crayons or nails or something.
2. lack of energy - I am still working on this one, but exercising -5 days a week is helping.
3. long hard day at work, and you feel like huge sugar , carb fix - I make sure I have the yummiest LC snack/food I can find on hand. Sometimes its a pc of bacon that I save til my ride home. It takes a lot of time to cook so much but its worth it to not be caught off guard without anything to eat. In a pinch you could get a lettuce-wrapped burger minus the ketchup with extra pickles and mayo at a fast food place.
4. thought of such a long way to go - I've found sooo much help in joining the challenges...the 7 days clean eating challenge in particular has me very mindful of what I put in my mouth and having to post that, not wanting to start over again on a new round. I am two months now and not fallen off yet. There are also weigh ins which also help me stay on track.
5. partner eating carb rich food in front of you ( not doing low carb themselves) Honestly I don't know how people in mixed relationships, LOL LC and non LC do it. I would ask them too, not to eat junk in front of me, and yes, just eat what you want at BLD, informing them first a good idea, like you said.
6. stress - the big one for me, stress makes me turn to sugar
I have taken to taking a St Johns Wort before work lately, it helps. I have my yummy LC food which I really look forward to at lunch, and I definitely close that work "door" in my mind the second I walk out the door for the day. Again, exercising - really helps me shake off stress.

Hope this helps too.
Kat