Thank you, Lisa!!!

hi-
lots of great advice and all from hard won experience!

I have exercised for 35 years- running (5 years) or walking and weights. I think I would have been much sicker- probably diabetic- if I had not exercised. That said, I have not changed my workout since LC. I also think it has helped my skin and muscle tone.

For me, this whole journey is about health. I think my fat was a symptom of my body on a toxic low fat/high carb diet. Once I went Low Carb, my body felt 'normal' for the first time in 15 years. The weight came off- and I think that is all because my insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome normalized. I am very aware that this is managed by LC, and that if I went back to eating high carb I'd be sick again. So for me, this is how my body want s to be fed. This is just how I eat- this is for me and for a healthy life. My focus is what LC has given me- not what I am missing.

This site has been sooo helpful to me in this 7 year journey- support, info, accountability. I still visit daily and post lots- I don't talk about LC to many people and am pretty private, so here is a place I can share and just be me.
Thanks for the questions-
E

Werebear, Judynyc, and cnmLisa, thank you for your continued input! I don't know why more people aren't "picking your brains" to find out anything they can about your success. You are in the minority and have latched onto something that many other's don't know about or believe in or follow through with. Please help me if you see me make mistakes or stumble! I'm here every day to learn and do things differently...to be successful, to conquer this issue, to live long and strong...doing more than simply watching my children grow up. To actually be able to keep up with them! Thank you!

I'm starting a food jounal tomorrow...kind of scary. I guess the writing on the page won't lie, right? I'll be able to see what's going on without blaming it on my metabolism or a stall or whatever.

I've thought about adding more carbs, but I don't think I've gone about it well in the past. I think I've started adding in stuff that causes cravings just because I like it, thinking "I can handle the cravings this time around". I do the "this little bite won't hurt me" and it usually ends in a 30-60 carb binge. So, I've always felt like staying at or under 20 carbs is good for me. The problem is that like Judynyc correctly surmised, I tend to stall and feel like I have no energy at some point, usually after losing about 20 pounds. Then I go off and either maintain or regain. Then I start again at induction and so on. It's such a rut and not something I want to continue for the rest of my life. Tomorrow, I'm going to go searching through boxes to find my Atkins book. I've also been interested in learning more about SBD too. My OB/GYN who delivered my 16 month old recommends that plan and even follows it. She's fit and beautiful, so it must work for her! Thank you!

OK, since you've told me more about some of your your issues, I'll share with you why I choose SBD in the first place.
To be perfectly honest with you, all the counting on Atkins scared me. SBD just seemd like it'd be easier for me to follow. It was for me, much easier. We don't count carbs and we do practice portion control. I didn't just want to count carbs, I wanted to learn all about the foods. It'd help you to read my success story, just click on my 'success' button. SBD phase I starts you out at a higher level of carbs than Atkins Induction. If you eat all that it allows, it comes to about 60 grams a day. If you can borrow a copy of it from your local library, it'd help you to read the book too.

I used to hate logging my food and would never do it, even when I was told to do it. But when I had to beg a woman to be my OA sponsor, to literally save my life, she wouldn't accept me as a sponsee unless I did exactly what she told me to do. She had me tell her daily, what I had eaten. I had to do this ever single day...it was my accountability. I learned a powerful lesson doing that while I worked with her. I needed that accountability. So when I started out this time and joined this forum, I decided that my online journal here would be my like my sponsor and that I'd use it to log my food daily....for my accountability.
Feel free to go the first page of my journal and use the link on page 1 to my 1st journal to see all my food logs.

I lost most of my weight in 2003-2004 and since then have been maintaining at a good weight (even if it's a little higher than my ideal) since then. My maintenance isn't perfect, it's been up and down, good times, bad time. 2010 was particularly tough, I gained weight over the maintenance range I usually stay within and struggled with my food choices a lot.



I didn't start exercising until I'd lost most of the weight. What was interesting was that I literally fell in love with exercise once I found it. I tried running, and though it was drudgery at first, something I did because I thought I should, eventually I came to love it. A big part of my maintenance is driven by my need to stay fit so that I can run. I would be devastated to not be able to run and enjoy that.

Like Demi said, I don't think exercise is necessary for weight loss. I do think it's necessary for my enjoyment of life though. It helps keep my tendency to depression at bay, it makes me feel good, it gives me goals and motivation to keep myself as healthy as I can.

I read years ago that if people that were unfit could experience, just for a while, the pure joy of having a physically fit and healthy body that they would never have a problem with motivation to keep it that way. I believe that because that's how I feel. When my weight creeps up, it's not the tightening clothes that send me back to getting the weight under control, it's the way I feel extra winded when I run or how my times are slowing down or how the run just doesn't feel as good as it usually does.



Honestly, I don't think I had one of these either. I still don't know where the tenacity to stick with this came from, I'm just grateful it did.

Now, sticking with it has a lot to do with knowing how good it feels to be at a good weight (see above ) and not being willing to settle for anything less. I loved Demi's quote from Tom Venuto about how this is hard. It is. But it's worth it. That's what people don't get when they are mad that they can't enjoy french fries or chocolate like everyone else. The choice isn't between having french fries or not having them, the choice is between having french fries or having the life and body you want. If you ask someone if they want the fries, of course they do, but they aren't thinking of the consequences of those fries, only the enjoyment of the moment.



Hopefully never. I've lost and regained significant amounts of weights a few times before this. When I lost this weight in 2004, I kept reminding myself of the past times when I'd let it return. I kept up a vigilance knowing that most dieters regain all the weight within five years. I knew I'd been one of those dieters before and could easily be one of those dieters again. I kept my eye on the 5 year prize. When I hit 5 years of maintenance, I finally thought, yes, I've done it. I'm there. And it's been this year, my 6th, after hitting that milestone, that I've had my worst struggles in maintenance. I let down my vigilance and started to think that I could get away with more leeway because I was safe now after five years of maintenance. When I regained more than 10 lbs in 2010, I realized I'm not safe. At any time I could regain all that weight all over again. I have to stay vigilant. I've said that to people before and they have expressed that they find the sentiment depressing, that weight will always be an issue. I don't find it depressing, I find it just to be truth like the fact that my eyes are blue and I have thick calves. Better to deal in reality and make it work than to hold out for a fantasy that can't ever come true.

Werebear, Judynyc, and cnmLisa, thank you for your continued input! I don't know why more people aren't "picking your brains" to find out anything they can about your success. You are in the minority and have latched onto something that many other's don't know about or believe in or follow through with. Please help me if you see me make mistakes or stumble! I'm here every day to learn and do things differently...to be successful, to conquer this issue, to live long and strong...doing more than simply watching my children grow up. To actually be able to keep up with them! Thank you!

To be perfectly honest....I think many people don't want to hear the reality of what it takes to lose the weight. They haven't reached the point yet where they've taken their heads out of the sand and are ready to face the reality stone cold in the face. They want to fool themselves into thinking that they can find success by dabbling. Dabbling isn't going to get it. It takes strength and fortitude to carry on day in and day out--for years, not just for 3 weeks, 7 weeks, until you've hit goal....but even after you hit goal it's still a daily struggle--you have to think about it daily. You just can't hit goal and say, "OK, I'm done now" Also I find that indiviuals have to come to a point where the pain of staying the same has become greater than the pain of change. Losing weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard. The truth makes many people uncomfortable--they just don't want to hear it. That's OK if that's how you want to live. It's not OK if you're on a weight loss journey. IMO a successful weight loss journey takes truth and self discovery. This makes many people uncomfortable. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

I'm starting a food jounal tomorrow...kind of scary. I guess the writing on the page won't lie, right? I'll be able to see what's going on without blaming it on my metabolism or a stall or whatever.
A food journal is one of the most important tools you can use in your weigh loss journal. You can't deny it if it's staring you in the face in black and white. TRUTH ALERT. Like Judy and many others I have kept a MY PLAN journal for years (off and on). The past almost 2 years I have been consistent. It's enabled me to go back in prime weight loss mode to see what I doing, to look back and find out when and where and on what the carb creeping back started...I just went back thru it not to long ago because I was having some issues--what I saw historically was that I was eating past my CCM particularly of foods higher at the top of the carb ladder. You can't deny what's in black and white.

I've thought about adding more carbs, but I don't think I've gone about it well in the past. I think I've started adding in stuff that causes cravings just because I like it, thinking "I can handle the cravings this time around". I do the "this little bite won't hurt me" and it usually ends in a 30-60 carb binge. So, I've always felt like staying at or under 20 carbs is good for me. The problem is that like Judynyc correctly surmised, I tend to stall and feel like I have no energy at some point, usually after losing about 20 pounds. Then I go off and either maintain or regain. Then I start again at induction and so on. It's such a rut and not something I want to continue for the rest of my life.
Now is the time to get out your book and follow OWL slowly and as written. A proper OWL takes TIME and PATIENCE. PERIOD. I feel if you don't invest the time in OWL, you're doomed to the cycle that you keep repeating. You know what they say about insanity.....repeating the same thing over and over and getting the same results. Atkins wrote the carb ladder for a reason.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go searching through boxes to find my Atkins book. I've also been interested in learning more about SBD too. My OB/GYN who delivered my 16 month old recommends that plan and even follows it. She's fit and beautiful, so it must work for her! Thank you!
Follow your Atkins if you like. Follow SB if you like. It really doesn't matter. By the time you get to maintenance, they both pretty much look the same. I would say this though...if you have issues with cravings (which you said that you did in the past when adding foods in) I would follow Atkins and OWL--OWL is a much more systematic way of determining what foods you can tolerate and what foods will be problematic.

We're here to help you whenever you need it. YOU just have to be willing.

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

It's not been ongoing for me. I try and do it when I can, but my back and other things have come in the way of me being regular with it. I wish I was able to do more, but I end up worse off.


I'm NOT going back. I give myself a 3lb window - any more is too far, any less can be caused by anything...if I get to 3lbs above my "usual" weight, it's back to basics. This keeps me honest with myself, and keeps me mindful about what I am eating.


Getting back to 199. Under 200 was a HUGE milestone. The closest I had ever gotten prior was 212. Now I've just plain come too far to go back. I know what I had to do to get here, and I don't want to do it again. It's easier to maintain than to start over. my 3lb rule has kept me in line. I haven't maintained a long time compared to the others (only since May), but I've been successful so far. I gave away all my old clothes as I dropped sizes. This has truly been a lifestyle change this time.

Enomarb, thank you. I agree with you. It feels like the more I gain, the more I gain. Does that make sense? The more out of "Whack" my body gets, the easier I gain weight. For me, I've had to start thinking more about the health aspect of losing weight. I'm only 30, but I live in Japan, and quite frankly, 70 year old people get around better than I did at 260lbs. It was and still is humiliating. I don't want to live this way anymore. I want to feel better and stronger. So....I'm going to add planned exercise to my already active lifestyle. No one drives much here!

ValerieL, I was thinking about your post when I went out with my husband last night. We already had a light dinner at home, but he was in the mood for a particular Raman shop...noodles, noodles, noodles. I really do like it a lot, but I remembered about you saying that you don't think about what you can't have, but rather, about the body you want to have. I think I was good company for my husband and really enjoyed the time out with him. I also had no guilt when I went to bed because I chose to have the body that I want, rather than the noodles. Thank you.

krystalr, I have dropped almost two sizes now and I packed them away. Waiting to find someone who can actually wear them...here in Japan, an 8 or a 10 is still considered plus size....so....you can't even find a size 18 without special ordering them. But, I'll get rid of them, nonetheless. I'm done with being a size 18. I'm not going back. I don't even want to be prepared to get back in that size, 'cause I'm not going to!

cnmLisa, you're so right! I was thinking about what you said about why people are not asking you all more questions about your success and journey. Many times people don't want the answers, just like we sometimes don't want to weigh ourselves after a long time of eating off plan...because it hurts. The truth really does, sometimes. But, it's only through truth and self-discovery that we are ever going to get the success that we all need to experience. I'm here, everyday, because I need to change what I've been doing! It's obvious that I haven't been able to do it on my own. Therefore, I need any and every bit of help I can get from you all. Sometimes that means that I need someone to confront my incorrect information or negative behavior. I don't think that anyone who is here and seriously trying to lose weight needs their hand held! We need to be set straight by people who have been where we are and have walked this journey successfully. We need your help! I was reading in Judynyc's success story and she wrote that sometimes people just want someone to hold their hand, but really what they need is a push in the right direction (something like that). Anyway, it seems like you maintainers all feel that way, to some extent. So, bring it on! I'm ready for it and wanting it! The pain of being so big and unhealthy greatly outweighs (pardon the pun) the pain of change.

That is a fantastic realization. The one thing we can't maintain is an unrealistic fantasy world.

A person has to be one of those marathon bicycle racers to have endless carbs AND a fit body. Then there's the endless bicycle racing. So, as cmnLisa likes to say, Pick your hard

There is a lot of good advice in this thread, but what she says here is what helped me the most! I started my food journal early in and eventually began using fitday. When I lost a good amount of weight, definitely got well below 200, I started the carb ladder. It was HARD, but pushing my way through got me to goal and doing it that way helped me maintain my weight for several years because I knew what and how much I could eat. I learned that I could have a lot more carbs than I thought I would be able to, if I was careful where the carbs were coming from (for instance cantaloupe rather than grapes). It is VERY important to work your plan and not just keep in the strictest weight loss phase indefinitely.

Looking forward to hearing more from others!

Thank you!!

I'm surprised how differently certain carbs do work on me; I can any fruit I like without getting knocked off plan with cravings or other problems; but I've discovered that half those carbs in any form of wheat is a killer; bloat, hunger, cravings.

That's why I've gone a "little bit Paleo" regarding grains. But I seem to do okay with cheese and fruit, and if you made me choose... I'd choose that way.

freckles, shortly after your post about "where" your carbs come from, I made the connection that fruit juice is an absolute "no,no" for me. I can have one sip of juice and it turns into an all out binge of juice and bread and everything else naughty. However, I can have a small amount of oatmeal or even 1/4 a cup of rice and do just fine. In fact, I had a serving of either of those for each meal when I was pregnant and only gained 23 and 29 pounds with my pregnancies and felt great with tons of energy (well...tons of energy for a pregnant lady!). No cravings or anything from it. Now...wheat is another story, but still doesn't seem to trigger the frenzied cravings that juice does for me. Also, I can eat a slice or two of an apple and I'm fine, which is kind of odd to me. Thank you for your input!

Yes, juice is a tough one for most of us. I have found though, that when I dilute into my water and use it for flavoring, that I don't have a problem with it.
I just bought a small bottle of pomegranite/kiwi juice and its been so nice to use it to flavor my water and seltzer.
Now wheat is a whole other story! The first time I ate it when I was adding stuff back in, it left me very hungry and I ate the whole day after eating the wheat cereal for breakfast. That told me enough to not do it again.
While I'm not gluten free, I do avoid eating pure wheat most of the time.

A good way to eat an apple is to have it with a fat, like peanut butter, to slow down the digestion of the sugars.