Like most people, I am very disciplined with respect to somethings and very impulsive with respect to others.

In addition to the problems most of us on these forums have with being raised on the high-carb mantra, I suspect that most of us (myself included) have poor impulse control when it comes to food - particularly sweets and the like.

The first few days or weeks of a diet are generally not a problem. You are pumped and motivated. But as time wears on the ability to resist the tempation to grab just one candy bar at the filling station or have one donut at the office on Friday with everyone else becomes irresistable. And then one thing leads to another.

So how about building up your ability to control your urges? The ideal time to do this is during those first few real successful weeks. That way your mind associates firm impulse control with happiness in a Pavolvian way.

This is what I have been doing - and learning a bit about myself in the process:

I pick something I want to do and make it immediately available - say buy a book that I have been looking forward to reading (I am an avid hard sci-fi reader) and placing it near my bed (which is where I do most of my pleasure reading). But I tell myself that I am not going to start reading it until I reach a certain weight - a weight that is only a few days off.

I found that this is extremely hard. I keep picking it up and telling myself that it doesn't matter whether I wait or not. But it does matter. I tell myself that if I can't postpone a little reading for just a couple of days how the hell am I going to refuse the donuts on Friday? So far I have resisted the temptation and it seems to be getting easier each time.

So my theory is this - get in the habit of denying yourself little things for small amounts of time for all kinds of reasons great and small. This builds up your ability to tell yourself NO and abide by it.

Deny yourself any TV until the laundry is done. Deny yourself a movie until all of the Thank You cards from Christmas are mailed. But be sure that you want to watch TV NOW and that you want to go to a movie NOW. It rather defeats the purpose to, in January, deny yourself a trip to Tahiti for Christmas until you shovel the snow off the sidewalk. But also be sure that the goals are attainable.

I think this ability will help me in many more areas than just weight loss.

Quote"Deny yourself any TV until the laundry is done. Deny yourself a movie until all of the Thank You cards from Christmas are mailed. But be sure that you want to watch TV NOW and that you want to go to a movie NOW. It rather defeats the purpose to, in January, deny yourself a trip to Tahiti for Christmas until you shovel the snow off the sidewalk. But also be sure that the goals are attainable.unquote"

I think its a great idea...only different...by that I mean, I REWARD myself with TV after the Laundry is done, I REWARD myself with a movie..etc..I also REWARD myself... for just getting through the day sometimes; that way I always have a positive energy flow and positive reinforcement. In creating a LC lifestyle, the decision of success has been made. Once you have done your research and being into si-fi you must know research, you realize there is really no other way to eat that is both healthy, and enjoyable.
say one day you woke up and decided to be a vegan..now, I have a great deal of respect for vegans, but I could never be one, anyway, you read, and study and go on message boards to gather data and sift through information extrapolating what works for you out of the vast amounts of knowledge you find.

its the same with low carb, try switching to this lifestyle to feel better and get your health in control, then the weight loss will happen as its supposed to happen, all without worrying if you will have to strength on Friday (which is at least a day away) to turn down a donut. By Friday you will have done enough research to know that a donut is pure poison and it would never even cross your mind to eat one. By Friday you will have started to figure out if you should go total Atkins or other program. I started like most, wanting to lose weight, and then the light dawned, after months of taking supplements, weigh-ins that brought tears, plateaus, trying one plateau breaking trick after another, frustrations that brought me and my wallet to a breaking point,
I GOT IT...It just sort of clicked for me. do your research, it will for you too.
Best
Jane