Angsting about fat and thinking low-fat, yet trying to be low carb. Drove me nuts.

I'm rereading Dr. Atkins book and reminding myself once more of why it worked for me and realizing why I plateaued so badly.

Even on previous LC diets I succumbed to other peoples' advice (on this & other boards) that reducing fat/cals was the way to get beyond a stall. It just lead to feelings of deprivation & binging & regaining. This time I decided to keep my fat at ~65% and eat 1700 cals throughout my diet & maintenance (so I never had to adjust from diet to maintenance). I also started researching food allergies/intolerances & found what works for me (after 35 years of diet failures & never maintaining for more than a week or two; it has now been 4 months).

I was where you are 1 year ago - so your goal is certainly achievable with this anti-lowfat attitude. Best wishes!

This is really good advice!

I've found that the more I try to restrict fat cals, the higher my overall calories are. I know that doesn't make sense, but if I just allow myself that butter on my veggies or that dab of mayo in my tuna - I'm much more satisfied, and somehow this leads to a lower overall intake. When I tried lowering my fat calories, I was constantly hungry and ended up overeating on the protein. I also found it much harder to stick to plan...ended up cheating too often.

To keep this thread alive I will add my biggest mistakes:

1) Alcohol - I thought that as long as I counted the carbs it was ok - what's this "moderation" thing anyway????????????
2) Frankenfoods - a bar is not a meal
3) Calories - eating too many of them - see #1
4) Treats - a portion is not a platterful or a whole recipe
5) Eating every 4-5 hours even if I wasn't hungry - now I eat only when I am hungry.
6) Clean your plate club - I have since shredded my membership card - full is full, even if there's food left over
7) Emotional eating - still working on this but it's better
8) Eating because it was "time" - breakfast time, lunch time, dinner time, or because someone ELSE was eating!

What I did right:

1) Veggies - I love salads and have learned to love other veggies
2) Embracing fat - letting go of the LF mentality
3) Not listening to people who think LC is deadly
4) Research - it's a life long learning process. Read everything
5) Water - 3-4 litres every day, more if it's hot or if I am working out
6) Exercise - maybe not as much as I should, but more than I used to LOL
7) Not being an expert - I've been at this a long time but still learn something new every time I come here
8) Speaking of "coming here" - I come here almost every day
9) Learning to cook


Best of luck everyone, we can ALL learn from each other no matter how long we've been here.

Julie

It is so true that fat is happifying! If I am hungry it's because I need protein and fat, once I have them hunger is banished for many long hours.

As I look back over the last 5 years I have learned the following.

1. My way of eating healthy doesn't have to be like another person's way. My low carbing will not be the same as anothers.
You really have to listen to yourself and no excuses.

I flirted with AS, SA, eggs, cheese, milk, soy and found out that I can't eat them... I feel ill. So if you can. Feel fortunate as for me I don't think of it as something I can't eat more like those things make me sick!

2. Closeness with your friends and family doesn't mean you have to blow your way of eating and staying low carb can be easy if you bring something you can eat to share. Trust me, no one notices if you don't eat the bun or the potatoes. I used to blow my way of eating every Friday (friend gaming night) before believing this.

Examples of things I bring: Cream cheese, spinach and artichoke dip, Assorted finger veggies: mini carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, zuccini slices, celery, green (red, orange, yellow) bell pepper slices.. etc. People love that I bring veggies for they are often the missing dish when people get together for potlucks.

3. Speaking of veggies, EAT Them first to get your carbs then say potatoes, rice, fruit etc. I don't have the later without having at least three servings of veggies. I remember on low fat diets I hardly ate veggies at all. One thing I did learn for myself. Raw veggies are yummy and easy to port around.
(Yes I know some are no carbs but this is for those who are low carb)

4. I added this one for it is so true. I used to be a person who got prepared food often to save me time. Unfortunately it didn't save me unwanted carbs and calories. For me the more pure the food source the better my body feels.
I love my store for you can get chopped red onion, green peppers, or other vegges. I keep them, garlic, and minced tomatoes (ok they are in jar with olive oil) so when I need more for my meal I just toss them in.
I now limit my diet soda and coffee (no not cut them all out but only have one a day) As well as AS's.

My biggest mistake is...eating the "serving sizes" of the legal "treats"... 5 or maybe 10 times a day

Which then turns into ... the awesome fresh loaf of bread my mom made, that would go so well with the jar of jam in the fridge...and once the fridge was opened, found the leftover fettuccine my husband brought home from his supper last night... which would go so well with some more of that fresh bread my mom made and some home made garlic toast...and a nice glass of coke would top it off so well becuase the sauce was chalky. But because I wanted the coke cold I took a frosty mug out of the freezer and discovered the chunky almond ice cream..........and on and on and on it goes.......oh when will I ever learn

SF Jello! I love SF jello, it's become a staple in my diet. How am I suppose to live without it???

Just when I thought I was doing so well.

What are you telling me??? SF Jello isn't OK???? I tried finding the original post - assuming it was here - but gave up - thread is too long.

If Jello isn't OK - please tell me why!

Thanks!!!!!!!

how about seeing something and saying to myself..I will have to try that when I am done with my diet...this is for life not a diet ...it does not help that I am a grocery casher..*sigh*

The SF jello problem is related to eating too much of it, because it's made with aspartame, which causes a lot of people to stall.

Also, a lot of them said they ate it with whipped cream - and eating too much of that, far too often, can also cause a stall.


Now, having said that, there are things you have to consider:

If you're eating SF jello (with or w/out whipped cream), are you having problems with your weight loss stalling?

If not, no problem then!

If you start to have a stall, it's worth cutting it out to see of that helps.

If you end up having to cut out the SF jello, as an alternate to the commercially available SF jello, you could use knox unflavored gelatine, with unsweetened KoolAid -and your choice of splenda, saccharin, or stevia to sweeten it. (No I don't have an exact recipe or know the proportions - you would have to figure sweetener equivalent amounts to use from the packages of knox and koolaid - unless there happens to be a recipe on this site somewhere)

SF/0 Carb Jello is GREAT for me..

It's a life savor and I have never had a problem w/it..

Same goes for SF Jello Puddins..

Everyone is different, but I'm glad they don't make me stall.

Especially when on induction when ya don't have too many choices.

The biggest milestone for me was setting my goal too high. No criticism intended, but I see a lot of people who are starting off at more than 250lbs who want to get down to 120 or 130 as their goal. For me, my goal (of 175) is so far away (205lbs from start), that I don't bother to keep that goal in my profile. If I look at such a daunting number, I will stagger quickly. My goals are always realistic. I can say "hey, 25lbs isn't much", and when I reach that goal, move it back some more. It's nice to see visible progress.

I also know that I cannot have certain foods in the house. If I have LC ice cream bars, or SF Jello, a can of whipped cream, or SF LC chocolate, I will sit there and eat them until they're gone. I can eat a whole 2lb can of nuts in a day without noticing. I do not have self control, which is why I started at 380lbs. I'm aware of this, and getting to the point that I could acknowledge it is when I started to lose weight.

This is not a diet to me. I will not ever be one of those people who can get to goal and then slowly carb back up and be OK. I like to eat. I like food. I like a lot of food. I can graze all day, and then eat a huge 4 course meal. If I want to ever get anywhere near a normal weight, it is going to be with the help of LC. This way of eating has taken away my desire to constantly shovel food into my mouth at all hours of the day.

I cannot plan cheat days. If I do, my cheat day will turn into a cheat marathon week, and I will gain back in 5 or 6 days what I lost in a month. Pizza Friday night ends up with left-overs Saturday morning, which turns into Chinese for dinner Saturday night, and waffles and syrup with chocolate milk on Sunday, ice cream for lunch, and then McDonald's to top it all off Sunday night. Cheats do me no good!

Most importantly, I am able to look at the scale and not nearly cry. I can say to my mother and my fiance, "I'm down to 324lbs" and not cringe. I have accepted that I have a weight problem, that everyone else who can see me is aware of it, and that now that I have confronted it I can work on it.

Muse - Great hair cut, and oh my she didn't say that did she, pretty face! Your so right about the goal thing I need to slowwwww down and go for those 5 lb goals instead of, I want it all NOW thinking - thanks.

Thank you. I whacked off 26 inches