Yeah, THAT! LOL

I allow myself to have about the same 'triple threat three' pounds. LOL See.that's funny and foreign to me even now. I generally pick one MEAL a week to 'indulge' in 'decadent food'. Like my 'substitutions' are still in place well. If I want chocolate THAT freakin' bad, I'll go out and get almonds and grind them or I'll take almond meal and nuts and butter and make the 'crust' and then have sugar free chocolate pudding innards. Yep, I'll have like 1/4 of that darn pie..because it's sugar free, it's not hitting me as hard and if I have it after a protein meal..I'm good.

I do that about once a week but I, personally have cheesecake, or something I've 'created' or Jody's Pumpkin Bake, or whatever. And I might have it TWICE (two servings) of if. But I rarely eat like that beyond just my 'treat' and then I have plenty of water too. I can do that, go up 3 pounds (even 5 at my 'stage of the game') and then kick it within four days..right back down. So, you could say I 'fluctuate on purpose' five pounds a week. LOL

But when I'm 'doing my thing' during the week that is NOT that meal? I'm pretty much fat, meat and mashed caulitators, and spinach and salad. Yep. Throw some bacon, eggs and mayo in all that with a nice helping of cheese, and I'm good to go. For Life.

I have read this thread with interest and am enjoying learning the varied views of those far more experienced than I am, still in my third week of induction (I miss counted 'net carbs' so am doing it properly for a further week).

I am trying to see how to put all this into my own life and wonder if I may change the direction slightly and ask for some thoughts...

I'm currently loving this WOE, the varied food, I'm not hungry, I'm not bored, I have energy and no sugar swings, I am exploring and feel that committing to this would be no great sacrifice... BUT!

As a vegetarian (I'm not debating this on this post, its my belief - can we visit that another time?) and a pilot, my lifestyle is going to be very difficult indeed. At the moment I can cook for myself and take prepared food to work, but when I move on to medium and long haul cabin food and eating out will be a necessity on trips of several days. Not to mention normal restaurants and dinner parties where being veggie is awkward enough. I even imagine my partner's family, they are Iraqi and rice is central to their cuisine.

I see all these things as beyond my control, much more so than a meat eater. I can commit to it for life, when I can choose...

I wonder if explaining it on medical terms would make me sound less fussy, but I'm actually pretty healthy so it would be a fabrication.

Emy: there is a vegetarian low carbers thread right here.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=109

Hopefully you'll find the support and ideas you need there. I can see how you'll be facing some unusual challenges but if this w.o.e. works for your health, for your weight, and for your happiness I don't doubt you'll eventually find solutions around those challenges rather than give all that up.

Good luck!

Yep...eating this way one day at a time....

This WOE IS sustainable.

Judy NYC is the most successful maintainer I know...so her advice is "golden".

Ive been doing this since 1995..I originally lost 109 # to 137 but raised my goal as I entered my 50's to 148.

The truth is a permanent change in thinking and behaving is essential to keeping the wt off...This cannot be just a diet with the goal being to go back to what we did before..
Ive been on the boards on and off since 2003?....It is disheartening to see people lose a tremendous amount of wt then regain and more....I have noticed that it involves a choice here..a choice there that eventually moves back to the old way of eating.. My regains have involved 3 things...not weighing regularly, slacking on my exercise and making bad food choices, then another then another.

This time I kept it to 12 lbs...not great but not horrific...3# would have been so much easier..

For me I know I can maintain this WOE but I have to correct the mistake I made before which was not moving up the latter. I stayed in induction, lost 40 pounds then ate the "normal way". Not this time.

I'm going to do my best to limit wheat indifinetely.
I'm going to do my best to weigh myself every week indefinetly.
I'm going to do my best to continue exercising a few days a week indefinetely.

Absotutin'lutey I plan to be on this for life. I stupidly got off it once and it took me 12 years, 100 extra pounds, and multiple health issues to come back. All that wasted time!!!

I am so metabolically resistant now that my weight has been stalled for NINE months --it would be so easy to give up. But I will not, ever because I feel 1000% better and I never want to feel that bad again--I fully expected to die.

Some day I hope to enjoy an occasional scoop of ice cream, but bread, pasta, cookies, cake, or sugar? NEVER AGAIN!!!

i'm not interested in going back to my old way of eating. i don't crave the same things anymore and i find this way of eating is simple. i'm constantly asked why i don't have a little of this and a little of that... no. for everything there is a healthier replacement and i don't miss my old ways... salt group and sugar group. vegetables are what?! oh and plenty of beer to wash down the pizza. never again. real food is awesome!

YES!

I have no intention of ever joining the ranks of metiocrity buying into the "lets have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast!" propaganda. The restaurants and the food manufacturers have invested plenty of money in every fat cell I have, and now the med companies and docs also have a grand bet they will be getting even more for every time I go in there and find another "symptom" they can treat that begets another symptom. When I really, really feel I must partake of carbage, I just have a teensy weensy bite and tell myself. "been there, did it."

Or I decide if using my "cheat card" is worth it. I made little blank business cards stored in my purse, one for for every week. I have enough for several months. In between each card I slipped in one or two little cheat sheets (same size) for every week. Those are my allowed cheats. Once use one, I put it to the back of the deck like monopoly chance cards, and my cheats are used up for that week. I intermittently have either one cheat or two per week over the spread of those several weeks worth of cards. Most weeks I get only one cheat I can spend. If my kids are doing Taco Bell (my favorite,) I can use my cheat.--Then my carb "slumming" is done for the week. When I reach the last week in my collection I will start them over. It keeps me on track and with a mind set that I can do this forever yet never feel deprived or left out.

Taco Bell, the potato and wheat industry got too many of my days, weeks and months as it is. The rest of my life, my health and figure are mine! I shall stay right here!

Unless I do something silly like fast for five days, I don't seem to have much appetite for carbohydrate anymore. So yes, probably.

In general, yes. In specifics, I'm changing those somewhat as I go along. I'm adding a few more veggies. I'm eating a very small amount of dairy but very limited. I'm also changing my supplements a little bit.

I think I will continue to fine tune what I'm doing, but basically the idea of a no-grain, no-sugar, no-starches diet is not something I find "negotiable".

Definitely a way of life. It has to be!!! I was recently on vacation and in situations where goodies were around. I stumbled. I gained 5 pounds in 6 days eating what I wanted...and feeling physically bloated and terrible.

I got right back into LC as soon as I got back. I've now lost those 5 pounds in less than a week, thank God. I feel good again!!! Yes, it is a way of life and I must make it that way forever. I'm finding in my LC day to day life that people are uncomfortable when you are eating healthy and they aren't. Everyone wants to have a party of food and pig out. I had a girl at work come right out and challenge me to eating this way and how bad it is for you. Ok, chickie. You do your eating and I'll do mine and we'll see what happens when you and the rest of the high carb people end up with diabetes.

Stepping off the soap box. Next.

hi all, the only sweets i allow is one sugar free jello and a few nuts on top. that seems to be enough of a treat. someday, i want to try the sugar free, crustless cheesecake and i will when ive lost all i need to. i think this is easy to stick with, its kind of like when i quit smoking, you have to come to a point where you just cant stand all the symptoms of your various addictions....like, not tying your shoes, getting on your hands and knees to get out of the tub, quit shopping for clothes cause you look like crap in all of them, so tired you can barely make it up the stairs...not fun! everyone hang in there...

I certainly hope to eat the way I do now forever: no potatoes, rice, bread, noodles, legumes, sweets, etc. I don't feel deprived at all! In fact, totally lost my taste for food and now I realize there are so many other things to do in life besides stuff my face