What makes you "slip"?
 

:q: Share with us why you think you slip, if you do or did. In other words, why did you start eating carbs again, even once?

I'll start the ball rolling:

I was not convinced that sugar was poison to me, so I was susceptible to just have it "this time." Of course, that led to "next time" and weight gain. I think that idea started all my slips. :agree:

Also, I was stubbornly opposed to giving up nuts (a major weight loss staller for me), so I would give it up for a while, then read something low carb or Paleo and think, "nuts are good for me." Well, I finally gave in and decided to follow the Westman Diet. I don't miss nuts at all, and the thought of eating any refined sugar makes me ill. I have also given up all fruit and don't miss it. Amazing!

Your turn! :wave:

HI Casey! :wave:

Great question! I think if we reflect on WHY we have "slipped"or "fallen off" in the past, we are less likely to repeat.

I have had this happen for a few different reasons. First, I was on vacation and didn't want to feel like i was "missing out on the Fun Food"...I didn't want to not be "part of the celebration of life and friendship" that is "vacation eating" and a sense of "I deserve it".

The only other time I wavered, was on a different trip and there was basically NOTHING for me to eat (middle of nowhere and no shops to go to...) and I was SO HUNGRY! SO, I ate some hot pecan carmel bread... It was a triple combination of major temptation, no on-plan choices, and being super hungry.

I have since made a renewed and complete commitment to myself to GO HUNGRY before I'll touch another crumb of carbcrap. :)

I don't really slip on carbs, but I do slip by not eating enough of my present macronutrients. That happens when I get overwhelmed with busyness, or when I'm not feeling well mostly.

Good point. Our metabolism needs to burn, and when we don't eat, that hurts us as well, maybe even just as much if it screws up our metabolism's ability to function consistently.

I "slip" when I get over hungry and don't have anything for a fast grab.

I don't really slip up. Every now and then if I don't see a loss for a while I'll have a small "cheat" meal to speed up my metabolism and it works. Only thing is last time I had one of these "cheat" meals I got sick and now any kinds of carbs make me feel sick to my stomach. Now I'm just craving bacon and pork rinds with sour cream which I can't have until next month when I move back to the States. Pork of any kind is illegal here in Pakistan.

THanks for a great reminder to pre-plan!

I find that I don't feel well at all with any kind of refined carbs, so a cheat meal for me would be to eat brown rice, carrots, pineapple and the like. One would think this would be ok, but it tends to start up my cravings, which I now avoid like the plague (because it IS my plague!).

My weakness would probably be lying to myself about how easy it will be to just hop back on the wagon. That lie comes in various forms. "You can just have a little bit like a normal person, and then tough it out." "You're in maintenance; what's a little junk food?" "Today's the last day of work before layoff, so you can have a treat as a goodbye and be strict while you're at home." "Hey, it's (vacation/holiday/a birthday/ an anniversary/a super moon/some other excuse, etc), you can take a break and get back to business later."

NOT.

Ain't that the truth! :lol:

I've been going through a phase of coming to terms with "carb creep." Maybe it's partly due to getting older, the summer season, or other changes in my life, but I had to realize that I simply can't handle anything more than VLC or I'll gain weight and, especially, experience joint pain and other unpleasant symptoms that limit my energy.

I used to think if it didn't trigger cravings that I'd be OK, but I just can't handle some things that weren't a problem before. I had to let go of chocolate, which a lot of people can tolerate and I was OK with it for while too, choosing dark chocolate (not sugar-free though), checking carb counts, etc. I thought fruit was occasionally all right, it didn't give me cravings, or organic potatoes. All those things aren't OK for me anymore, I really think it's just how my metabolism is changing and I need to honor that.

And finally I know this isn't always possible but I really try to not be around sugary or carby foods. I even avoid aisles at the grocery store. I know I need to abstain but I don't feel invulnerable to "slipping" if temptation is in my way. Trying to find strength in knowing my weakness, if that makes sense.

I've only "slipped" once in almost 17 months and here's my story:

Let’s face it, we can give ourselves “permission” to go off plan for a multitude of reasons. I didn’t say they were good reasons. Brings to mind the Thanksgiving Fiasco of 2013 -- where I gave myself permission to go off plan whilst the DD and the DSIL were visiting over the holidays. I had 3 days of reverting back to “Fat Jo” and her destructive eating behavior and gained 9 pounds!!! Holy HANNAH, it took me 6 days to lose those 9 pounds! I felt so stupid that I had given myself permission with the guarantee that I would go back to eating clean right afterwards -- which I did, Thank God! Why did I give myself permission? Well, I had lost 105 pound by then. Seems like a good reason, looking back now, it was so stupid!! But LESSON LEARNED -- the hard way! I've been 100% to plan with that one and only fiasco because I understand now that I am a recovering morbidly obese carb addict.

Wishing all of us continued success in our personal LC WOE journeys!

That's one thing I forget. I do need to honor that it is changing. At 60, I feel like 40 in good shape, but the reality is that carbs, even those that are nutrient dense like sweet potatoes just don't work for me. Thanks for the reminder!

Thanks Just Jo. What a great story and awesome reminder. I need to be grateful that all the turkey skin and grease that my other family members leave can go safely into my mouth with a big smile!

I think we slip because we are human. If we are not supposed to have something it becomes important, at least to me. Then you get a taste and your carb tooth rears it's ugly head. It's best not to even have that one bite