'Round the Mountain AGAIN!!

[Thelma]

Lost around 30 lbs in 3 months on Atkins back in 98. It was absolutely great and so easy - I had never before managed to stay on a diet until after lunch.
But I was feeling so good about myself and had never been this skinny before (130 lbs, 5'9" - a size 5 was nice and comfortable), that I really did not need to watch what I ate any more. Yeah, right......

So over the course of 4 years I put my 30 back on and 10 extra. Not that I didn't try to fight. Must have been on Atkins about 40 times per year - usually from Monday to Friday in a good week. Inbetween I'd give up on it completely, and just ate instead.

Finally got to the point where I'd outgrown all my clothes - even some of the loose dresses. Down to 1 pair of shorts and the sweats I wore when pregnant (and the kid just turned 11), I decided to quit whining and start doing something - as in back on Atkins. Apparently I was desperate enough to stick with it this time - so far i'm doing good.

I started on May 13 weighing 172 lbs. I dropped 10 in the first week - and rewarded myself with wine - bad mistake, go back to 167. I've since finished the free box of Lemon Bars Atkins currently sends out for free with every order (had ordered the starter pack for added motivation) and stayed out of the wine cellar and am still not quite back to the 162 - but I'm working on it.

This time, I won't give in - I will get back into those old clothes and after I'm there, I WILL NOT allow myself to gain again.

[wbahn]

Greetings and welcome aboard!

I sure hope you succeed this time.

I suspect that you are still approaching Atkins as nothing more than a diet to be followed until you reach your goal and that the secret to long term success is to jumped back onto it at the first sign of weight gain. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, that will simply never work. And you have already demonstrated that it is all but guaranteed to not work for you.

Hey, I'm in the same boat. I made it to my goal not once, but twice and stayed there for a couple of years each time. But I never made permanent changes in the way I ate or lived and so I was a ticking timebomb of fat deposition just waiting to happen - and happen it inevitably did.

So you and I and most everyone else here have to make a fundamental change in our personalities and that involves getting out of the "diet" mentality and into the "way-of-life" mentality. I think I am getting pretty close to being there but I know I have a ways to go yet. I hope that you can start making the shift yourself as you once again work towards your goal.

[Wendye]

Hi and Welcome to the forum -- yours is an age old story - you will find many who can relate to it - me included.
How do those nasty lbs creep back on so insidiously!!!

Next time you want to reward yourself try a LC treat - a facial, some jewellery, a movie etc etc - it's easy if you think about it.

Bye for now and good luck :wave:

[Thelma]

Thanks for the welcomes.

I know what you're saying about diet vs. lifestyle. That's something i still need to work on. What I'm looking for - after I've reached my goal - is to find a good balance between eating what and maintaining my ideal weight - but I can see that that might easily lead to the on-again / off-again syndrom.

That's not the goal, but I think I have some attitude adjustments to go through, yet. I'm glad you said what you said, because I hadn't looked at my plan from that angle.

[Wendye]

No Thelma dont' worryabout the on-again / off-again syndrome
- I think once you are at your goal you can gradually increase your carbs to a level on maintainance- I'll drop by your journal when I have time - but go for it in the meantime!!! And when you do GET THERE - believe me there's stilll lots of support then!! It's just another beginning!!! :wave: