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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 09:32
Whofan's Avatar
Whofan Whofan is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,550
 
Plan: Low Carb Primal
Stats: 170/135/135 Female 5ft.6in.
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: New York Metro area
Default Maintainers - I need your help

I don't know why, but I seem to be on the slippery slope.

Anyone who's read my posts knows that I consider grains the anti-Christ and sugar the root of all evil. I'll tell anyone who'll listen to me that eliminating them cured several chronic conditions and melted 35lbs off my stubborn post-menopausal body. I literally believed all this time that I wouldn't eat those things again even if somebody offered me substantial money to do so.

However, this whole week I've been nibbling every day on the office crapola. The first time in nearly 3 years I've touched this dreadful stuff. And last night I went to a French restaurant and when the waiter put a basket of fresh, crusty, bread in front of me, I didn't even hesitate......I ate a piece. Not for me the usual smug sneer and nonchalant wave of the hand symbolizing "take that poison off the table immediately". No. This time I allowed it to stay on the table, pulled the doughy center off a chunk, and slathered butter on the fresh, crunchy crust and put it in my mouth. All this, while my friend, who went low carb because of me, sat opposite with her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

This morning, with no appetite whatsoever, I went into the break room at work and put half a banana muffin in my mouth. For no reason.

I'm scared. I need help before the lbs pile on again and I become another sad statistic. I know some of you gained weight back after great success, but then took it off again. Please share how you got back if this happened to you during maintenance. Thanks!

Last edited by Whofan : Fri, Oct-25-13 at 09:39.
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 09:56
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,844
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

I have programmed myself so utterly to believe that gluten is absolute poison that I don't think I could have that happen, however, that isn't to say I don't occasionally fall prey to office crap, it just happens to be gluten-free office crap. The very best way to stop is to stop. I wish there were something that makes it easier, but there's a few days of having to rely on will-power and strategies to remove those things from view.

Maybe a little chant to repeat?
Quote:
"I must not eat carbs.
Carbs are the mind and body killer.
Carbs are the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face those carbs.
I will permit cravings to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the craving has gone there will be nothing......Only I will remain."

Shamelessly stolen from another popular book:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of candy [chips, pasta, etc],
I will fear no craving: For thou ketosis art with me;
Thy protein and thy fat, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a low carb table before me in the presence of mine cravings;
Thou annointest my head with coconut-oil; My cup runneth over with sparkling-water.

Sometimes just having a specific goal is really helpful. For me, I'm doing a short period of strict(er) paleo. That really helps me "not see" certain foods.
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 10:20
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Whofan
I don't know why, but I seem to be on the slippery slope.

Anyone who's read my posts knows that I consider grains the anti-Christ and sugar the root of all evil. I'll tell anyone who'll listen to me that eliminating them cured several chronic conditions and melted 35lbs off my stubborn post-menopausal body. I literally believed all this time that I wouldn't eat those things again even if somebody offered me substantial money to do so.

However, this whole week I've been nibbling every day on the office crapola. The first time in nearly 3 years I've touched this dreadful stuff. And last night I went to a French restaurant and when the waiter put a basket of fresh, crusty, bread in front of me, I didn't even hesitate......I ate a piece. Not for me the usual smug sneer and nonchalant wave of the hand symbolizing "take that poison off the table immediately". No. This time I allowed it to stay on the table, pulled the doughy center off a chunk, and slathered butter on the fresh, crunchy crust and put it in my mouth. All this, while my friend, who went low carb because of me, sat opposite with her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

This morning, with no appetite whatsoever, I went into the break room at work and put half a banana muffin in my mouth. For no reason.

I'm scared. I need help before the lbs pile on again and I become another sad statistic. I know some of you gained weight back after great success, but then took it off again. Please share how you got back if this happened to you during maintenance. Thanks!

OK, first, take a deep cleansing breath!
You may have just scared yourself into going back to the start. I put an article in my journal on this type of issue. I'd suggest that you commit to logging every morsel of food you put into your mouth for the next couple of weeks, in your journal for all to see.
Committing to writing it ALL down in public can have a big impact on what you end up putting in there.
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 10:24
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
Default

I'm not a maintainer - yet - still a loser, but I too have experienced the same thing. Now, I don't think gluten affects me in the same way it does many here, but still, carbs are NOT good for me. In general, I feel so much better without them, so WHY (sometimes) when presented with them, do I eat them? I wish I knew.

All I can offer you is some optimism. I've been eating LC for ten years in December and I've been strict and not-so-strict. But my fundamental belief is that low carb is a better way for me to eat. I have my bouts with more carbs, once as long as 10 weeks, but I always come back, and once I'm back consistently on the program, I lose any weight I've gained and often more.

I guess what I'm saying in a convoluted way is that eating a piece of bread does not have to be the beginning of a dive into carbs. I do believe that some are absolutely addicted to carbs just as an alcoholic is, and I think it can be useful to think of yourself as such when eating on program. But if you have slipped off, it is more useful to think that you CAN control it. You will find out now.

I often wonder what is at the heart of why we do slip when we've had such good success. Is it leptin? Are we programmed to put on weight in the winter to help us survive? I wish I knew the answers.

All the best to you. I know you believe in the benefits of Low Carb and have been such a good promoter of such. You WILL get through this and back on track.
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  #5   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 11:29
Whofan's Avatar
Whofan Whofan is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,550
 
Plan: Low Carb Primal
Stats: 170/135/135 Female 5ft.6in.
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: New York Metro area
Default

Nancy, Judy, and Liz: Your comments have already been helpful (and funny, Nancy). I'm a bit calmer now - although I went back to the break room and had the other half of the muffin. I already knew it would be overcooked and tasteless like the half I ate earlier. But I took it anyway.

Judy's suggestion to put everything I eat in my oh-so-public journal made my blood run cold. The shame and humiliation, not to mention hypocrisy, as someone who has always come down pretty hard on the one-slice-of-pizza-won't-hurt crowd. Yikes.

I believe Liz's comments on finding a USEFUL way of thinking is very relevant. I am certainly an addict, but if I don't think that I can control this slide I will be lost.

Slinking over to the journal with tail between legs.
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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 11:50
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Whofan
Nancy, Judy, and Liz: Your comments have already been helpful (and funny, Nancy). I'm a bit calmer now - although I went back to the break room and had the other half of the muffin. I already knew it would be overcooked and tasteless like the half I ate earlier. But I took it anyway.

Judy's suggestion to put everything I eat in my oh-so-public journal made my blood run cold. The shame and humiliation, not to mention hypocrisy, as someone who has always come down pretty hard on the one-slice-of-pizza-won't-hurt crowd. Yikes.

I believe Liz's comments on finding a USEFUL way of thinking is very relevant. I am certainly an addict, but if I don't think that I can control this slide I will be lost.

Slinking over to the journal with tail between legs.

Look, the long haul makes this a slippery slope as we get into a way of eating that can be boring at times. We get lulled into a false sense of security and then we go off.
BUT, at the same time, I too have had a bit of crust and butter at a restaurant.....and an occasional muffin......but that is where it ends for me as my fear of gaining my weight back is much bigger than my desire for those floury foods.

You came here and asked for help...that is HUGE!! Good for you!
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 13:06
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,844
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

I think we grow a little over-confident and think we can challenge ourselves with "one little one", because we've tripped, fallen, and gotten up every other time. Then one time you trip, fall, and you can't get up.

I repeat this over and over. I have friends that put out bowls of M&M's when we play games together. The mental dialogue is:

Before: "One handful, that's all."

During: "Hmm... I seem to be binge eating. I have identified this behavior rationally. I can stop now, right?"
50 M&M's later: "Let's just stop thinking about it."
100 M&M's later: "Maybe I should offer my blood up as sweetener to my friend having his coffee."
1000 M&M's later: "The bowl is empty. Now I can stop!"

So, if I'm smart I stop myself at "Before" because after that, there is no stopping. 75% of the time I do stop myself, which is the good news.
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  #8   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 14:09
livinright livinright is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,023
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 264/158/125 Female 64inches
BF:
Progress: 76%
Location: Florence, KY
Default

Whofan, congrats on reaching out in the early stages of this slide. It took me almost 4 years and 95 pounds to get myself back on track. You do NOT want to do that.
Using your journal to record every bite will definitely make you think about what you're putting in your mouth.
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  #9   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 14:23
Plinge Plinge is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,136
 
Plan: No factory-processed food
Stats: 230/147/147 Male 5' 10"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: UK
Default

One thing I would urge is that you do not mentally buy into the idea that there is a slippery slope. Rather than accepting that one thing must lead to another, it might be better to manage each event individually, not as part of an inevitable sequence. The reason I say this is that we know part of what happens when we start eating our weight back up the scale is that somehow we give in to the idea that once we make some small misteps we might as well throw in the towel. It is not a conscious decision but an instinct; I have been there before often enough after diets, and I used to think there was no answer--you just accept it and allow the slope to carry you. The trouble with thinking there is a slope is that in real life, if we are on a real slippery slope of, say, mud, there really is nothing we can do once we start sliding--we just have to lie back, because we cannot fight gravity. But I think this is really not a matter of a physical slippery slope but of a mental switching off.

So the thing is maybe to do all you can to talk to yourself--in narratives that will get you through temptation. I have written about how my main issue has been putting too much on my plate. My way around it has been to note the times when that tends to happen and to have ready-made narratives at the back of my mind to get me through those moments. Basically, I explain to myself that the amount of fat and protein in my food will satisfy me within fifteen minutes and leave me back in full control--so this stops me serving/taking the extra food ... it just takes me across a dangerous gap in which appetite can create dysfunctional choices. Your case is different, but I suggest maybe you go think back through those incidents when you have taken/served yourself the carb crap and then build a narrative to resort to when those moments come up again. For example, if you have a place at work where this stuff is available, start talking to yourself before you even go to that place and as you enter it. If there is a time in a restaurant when the temptation comes up, have a mental system ready to defend yourself against it, cued by the dangerous trigger. We are all different, but if it were me I would be talking myself through the advantages and healthiness of my preferred dietary choices. Maybe I would be picturing the next time I have the chance to eat appropriately and then girding myself to wait the small amount of time until that reward. So, there might be a cupcake on the table at work; but as I approach it I would be picturing my dinner at home in an hour and a half.

My comments may not be useful in your case, but I do think our internal narratives are important and that they can be pre-constructed to fall back on in an emergency. Best of luck. The fact you are talking about it here means you are not giving in to this flashback behaviour.

Last edited by Plinge : Fri, Oct-25-13 at 14:28.
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 14:39
Plinge Plinge is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,136
 
Plan: No factory-processed food
Stats: 230/147/147 Male 5' 10"
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: UK
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Whofan
And last night I went to a French restaurant and when the waiter put a basket of fresh, crusty, bread in front of me, I didn't even hesitate......I ate a piece. Not for me the usual smug sneer and nonchalant wave of the hand symbolizing "take that poison off the table immediately". No. This time I allowed it to stay on the table, pulled the doughy center off a chunk, and slathered butter on the fresh, crunchy crust and put it in my mouth. All this, while my friend, who went low carb because of me, sat opposite with her eyes bulging out of their sockets.



Was this before your meal? I always wondered why restaurants often offer bread rolls at the beginning of meals. I used to think it might stop people ordering so much food. But now that I know how carbs can make us want to eat more, I realise that these rolls are a way by which restaurants manipulate us into overconsuming; just as the peanuts and crisps in pubs make us drink more. When those rolls are offered, we have to have a planned defence ready, because, basically, a restaurant is a warzone.
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 15:59
Caroxx's Avatar
Caroxx Caroxx is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 781
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 238.0/238.0/170 Female 5"3"
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Default

Every time I read a new (or new to me) thread on this site, I am super impressed with the insight, wisdom and support given through the comments. I've "known" about LC since 2008, but only since mid-May have I actually lived it. And I found this place around the same time - this site has been a huge motivating and learning factor in all that. Thank you all so much!
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Oct-25-13, 17:08
Whofan's Avatar
Whofan Whofan is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,550
 
Plan: Low Carb Primal
Stats: 170/135/135 Female 5ft.6in.
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: New York Metro area
Default

Plinge, your comments about internal narrative reminded me that I used to do exactly that in the weight loss stage. I'd walk into the break room with my head already crammed with thoughts about the disgustingness of the "food" in there and the harm it would do me. Because of that I wasn't tempted at all. I'd just reach into the fridge for my meat or veggies and walk out of the room unscathed. Somewhere along the line I stopped the internal narrative, got over-confident I guess. So it's good to be reminded of this little trick and to start using it again.

Yes, the bread came as soon as we sat down. You are right, of course, that it's a ploy to make us hungrier. Bread and alcohol are a restaurateur's best friends.

Caroxx: I know exactly what you mean about the support and insights here. It's absolutely invaluable. I could never have got this far without it.
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