I am on week 4 on Atkins. Its going great, i like it. i can see why it works and that the typical American diet is horrible unless you are one of those superhumans who can eat whatever and see no change. I am not one of those people.

But...is it just me..or does anyone else get really discouraged by the amount of "restarting stories" that they hear and read.

Don't read this wrong.... I am very glad that people get back on the horse after falling off. but i can't help but wonder, if so many people go off, gain weight back, then have to restart....is this the right diet for them?

I don't think my body or mind could handle that stress.

I don't feel that i will be one of these people, so i'm not really worried about it happening to me.... the whole thing just strikes me as odd. I can easily think of a dozen people who i know who have - at some point - tried Atkins, lost weight, went off plan, gained weight and never went back on.

ya know... i just read like 30th posts in this forum that say the same thing. sorry... not even sure this is the right place for it. i just wanted to voice my feeling.

It is worrying but unless you walk a mile in their shoes its very hard to understand why.

For most of us restarters its more than about the way we eat. It's about self confidence, life and self worth way before following the plan.

I never stopped eating low-carb the majority of the time I was away, I was just dumb enough to think that I could drink alcohol again ("straight shots of liquor don't have carbs, it's totally okay!!" Uh, not when it involves 8 or 10 at a time every night for two years). With people who fall off, and this goes for any way of eating, not just LC--"oh, one bite is okay." "I have to keep (crap food) in the house for (husband/kids) or else they'll scream," that sort of thing is very common. To be fair, I've never seen anyone on this forum who's returned that got down to their goal weight and had everything come back and bring friends. I also think stalls are discouraging and a lot of people resist when others suggest that maybe they should try cutting out this food or that food even if it's LC. They just think "screw it, this doesn't work, may as well haul out the Twinkies." I don't know who said it originally but it's very true--on any way of eating, if you try to duplicate the way you used to eat, you will fail. A cure for cancer and world peace could be achieved if people put the same effort into that as they do in finding a low-carb dupe of pasta or a vegan replica of meatloaf. I fell into the substitute trap early on myself.

We each are on our own journey. For some, it'll take many starts before they get it. I can safely say that it was that way for me for many, many years.... So, I try not to judge others.

When people get that this is not just about losing weight but about eating in a healthy way for life to keep it off, then it all gets much easier. It did for me.

i hear you, and i'm not judging - hopefully it doesn't sound that way. It just seems really frustrating.

I tried to quit smoking a hundred times, up until the last time two and a half years ago. Not much different really. Sugar can be an addiction.

People tend to leave an abusive spouse say... seven times? before they actually go and "make it stick".

...I'd never stop encouraging them to make the healthy choice for them. Sometimes, it just takes longer.

Change, even beneficial change, is scary and new and uncharted territory and it often falls under "better the devil we know than the devil we don't".

And besides, it's just extra chances for encouraging someone to reach for their goals and hang on tight...

Awesome JudyNYC!
I am totally making this my motto!

CAN be? For the most part, it is one. It's really that simple.

I mean, fact is, for some people, it will be about lifestyle, for some, it will be about emotional issues, but I suspect the majority of people are truly addicted to the carbs. It's just too obvious that there are some physiological changes that go on when you consume refined carbs and junk.

Straight up, the reason low carbing works for me is that you are in the best position to go "cold turkey" on harmful carbs. But that does not change a thing about the fact that I still have a unhealthy relationship with food and that triggers can lead me to make bad choices.

I have spent most of my adult life focusing on addiction- either BEING an addict, or trying to figure out why I was one. I was a drug addict. I mean a REAL addict. I pawned my mother's wedding ring when I was 20 years old. Uh huh. Pretty messed up, huh?

I have said it before, but it must be said again. I think people really think "food addiction" is some sort of excuse or something not to be taken seriously. I quit heroin. I quit crack. I still struggle with carbs. With illicit substances, it's pretty easy just to submerge yourself in a better lifestyle; start hanging out with normal people, stop going to bad neighborhoods. With carbs, it's just MUCH harder. It's ingrained in our culture. Some people can deal with junk in moderation with no problem. Our social lives revolve around it. It can be really hard to avoid triggers at all times.

So, yes, it can be very disheartening to read about "restarts." It's easy to start thinking that this is really impossible. But, really? You're never going to be one of the lucky ones if you give up. I haven't reached my goal. I've fallen off the wagon. But better to be half way there than back at the beginning, and better to be back at the beginning than even heavier and unhealthier. And better to be restarting than resigning yourself to heavier and unhealthier forever.

Well said!
Never, ever give up hope that you can beat this. Because you will never know if this time will be your time!!

Judy, I wish there was a like button for your post!

I did fall of the wagon once. The second time I started low carbing I lost the weight and kept it off.

Don't judge people if they break their diets (or other goals). Hopefully with their added experience, more motivation and discipline they will be able to succeed.

I think there is a rough patch after about a couple of weeks of the diet that is hard to get past, and that probably trips a lot of people up if they haven't given up altogether at the start.

My initial success with lowcarb in the 80's was counteracted by the prevailing 'wisdom' regarding diet and lifestyle. I gradually fell off the wagon and have had to start all over again in the full knowledge that this is the only thing that really works for my health. It is easy to go astray, given the world we live in, so like others here, I have sympathy for those other re-starters in the lowcarb community.

This forum has been a spectacular help to me. Thanks everyone!

Just this week, an old friend came to stay. At breakfast she looked Absolutely Horrified when I put cream in my coffee. She said "What's THAT?" so I said it's cream would you like some in your coffee? No cream, but she did have two rounds of toast with marmalade. She's tiny and healthy, so it's difficult to say PUT DOWN THE MARMALADE AND TOAST given her evident good health. But I stuck to my guns even with the disapproving looks!

Judy - Love that 'poster'! It is definitely where I am at these days.