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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Oct-13-17, 14:08
cincygal cincygal is offline
New Member
Posts: 7
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 385.4/375/200 Female 68 inches
BF:
Progress:
Default So Frustrated.

Hi everyone.
I have been eating low carb since June of last year and have lost around 147 pounds. From the beginning, I had no trouble sticking to my eating plan and it all seemed so easy. But suddenly, within the last two or three months, it seems I have lost all of my willpower. I am still sticking to low-carb food and haven't eaten anything I shouldn't, but I am now overeating and grazing on low carb food. I haven't lost any weight lately because I can't stick to my eating plan long enough to lose. I am so frustrated! I don't know how I was able to do so well all of this time and now can't seem to stick with the amounts I should be eating. It's almost like someone turned a switch off and I have lost all incentive/willingness to control my eating. The evening seems to be the biggest problem. I'm pretty sure there is an emotional reason for this as I certainly don't feel I am eating out of hunger. I'm just grateful I haven't started gaining but I need to get this under control. I would appreciate any input/suggestions. Thanks!
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Oct-13-17, 14:35
thud123's Avatar
thud123 thud123 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 7,422
 
Plan: P:E=>1 (Q3-22)
Stats: 168/100/82 Male 182cm
BF:
Progress: 79%
Default

take your time and be patient, maintain what you are doing now as your holding the line and perhaps see what happens before you eat when you are not hungry. If you find that, see what happens before that. Being calm and kind to yourself might help you see what's going on.

Good on your for eating the right stuff while you figure it out.

other than that I have no advice. Our minds are our own, each different but all built basically the same.
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Oct-13-17, 15:24
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

So what is your current weight? I remember reading others post about hunger being more of an issue the closer you got to your goal weight. It wasn't a problem when I had a lot to lose, but I did notice an uptick in hunger as I got closer to 200 pounds. Staying tight on the diet became harder, but I eventually reach 190 pounds and called it done. I considered myself in maintenance.

That was a little over a year ago. I've stayed low carb, but I did lighten up on my carb limits and I added back a few more whole foods that were a little higher in carbs. Lets just say that there has not been a lot of maintenance in my maintenance. I go up a few pounds, then tighten up the diet to lose what I gained. Even that is not going to plan. Weight creep set in and over my 13 months of maintenance I've managed to put 25 to 25 pounds back on. That was not the maintenance plan.

I have been struggling for quite some time now - just as you described in your post. I often eat too much of my OP food and I just can't find the consistency that I enjoyed for most of my weight loss journey. I let snacking after dinner and between meals work its way back into my diet. I can put away an entire bag of pork rinds in one sitting. Today I fell like I'm getting back on the right track, but I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I wish that I could tell you that it was X, Y, and Z - but I'm still working on the problem. Here are some of the things that I'm doing to try and right the ship on my WOE:

I joined the 90 Day good habits workshop on this thread to work on some things that I know are causing me problems. The commitment to that challenge is a help in and of itself. Here is what I chose to work on:

I lowered my carb limit back to what I did while I was losing (less than 30 net carbs).

I am trying my best not to snack after dinner.

I am tracking my food again. Ballpark guess-timates of what I was eating in carbs and calories was not working out well

and finally

I decided to move some of my OP foods into timeout for a while. Foods that I was having trouble limiting are off of my plate for a while (and some of them likely should become of-plan if I am smart enough to accept that as the truth) Most of these were foods that were higher in carbs and/or calories... things like 90% dark chocolate, peanuts & cashews, nut butter, LC protein/Atkins bars, etc. These foods became a problem in maintenance. They SHOULD be OK as a rare treat but I was treating myself to them nearly everyday. Discipline was going out the window.

I also have to admit that sweetness is a problem for me. LC sweet things promote a more, more, more desire within me. Sticking to the plan is harder when I consume them. So I am trying to cut back on sugar free sweeteners.

So, I guess what I am saying is that I understand your frustration. I am right there with you. We may not be doing this thing right anymore -- or at least not as right as we once did. BUT we are still doing it. That is a big deal. So my advice is to not beat yourself up for what you did yesterday. Keep working at it. Try your best to figure out what you need to do to succeed. We are all unique individuals with our own sets of problems. You've done great so far. Stay on it and you will find your weight loss zone again. That is my plan, too. I want to get this last 20 pounds back off again.

P.S. Start a journal here and stay active on this site. Making some LC buddies for support is a big help. I'm not sure that I'd be where I am today without the support I've received on this forum. I wish you the best if getting to where you want to go.

Last edited by khrussva : Fri, Oct-13-17 at 15:29.
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Oct-13-17, 15:27
mojolissa's Avatar
mojolissa mojolissa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,494
 
Plan: DDF, Fung
Stats: 247/209/199 Female 66.5"
BF:kickin it
Progress: 79%
Location: Michigan
Default

I had the same problem for years. I was unable to lose any more weight and I grew frustrated and gave up. Big mistake! Gained it all back and more. The nighttime eating does have something to do with the increase in insulin during the evening. Check out Dr. Fung and intermittent fasting. It changed my life! So much good information.
Welcome to the forum
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Oct-24-17, 13:46
TiredFedUP's Avatar
TiredFedUP TiredFedUP is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 910
 
Plan: currently at <50g carb/d
Stats: 208/203.1/136 Female 5ft 9.5in
BF:
Progress: 7%
Location: France
Default

Hi. I'm right with you. Can you be easy on yourself and maybe make a plan for the next evening period? Plan a pre-meal walk. Start your meal with 3 glass of water and a huge salad. Then 3 more glasses of water after the meal and than another walk. Pick up the telephone and call someone who will chat your ear off. Any to make the time go by enjoyably, but not always by mouth-stimulation. There are other sources of pleasure and satisfaction, we just have to go find them.

In general, can you concentrate on 1 night and how to get through it?
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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Oct-27-17, 08:38
kathleen24 kathleen24 is offline
Monday came.
Posts: 4,418
 
Plan: my own
Stats: 275/228.6/155 Female 5'4"
BF:ummm . . . ?
Progress: 39%
Default

Hi Cincygal,

I'm looking at the same issues myself. I've hit the initial goal weight that I set for myself, but still want to lose some more weight. Earlier on this journey, I initially dropped about 50 pounds almost effortlessly, and then sat-sat-sat for about a year and a half around 220-225. Much as I wanted to lose more, I didn't push it. Past experience has taught me that `plateau busting', for me, was a quick ticket to a regain. And I was so grateful to be under 240 for the first time in years that I felt pretty good about that. Getting under 200 seemed like a distant dream, and there was so much more I could do at my new weight than I could before. I also felt that the longer I stayed around that weight, the more it became the new norm instead of my previous higher setpoint.

Then stress and complacency converged, and I found myself at 232. That was my moment of truth, and I stopped eating the crap foods and started eating out of hunger instead of habit or stimulus/availability. This time my body was ready, and over the last seven months about 70 pounds rolled off pretty effortlessly.

When I got to around 160, the rate of loss suddenly slowed down, and I'm only dropping around a pound every week or two. But things are firming up. I'm not convinced that I'm gaining muscle at a replacement rate, but I think my cells are adjusting and letting things go, because I am tightening up.

I'm also eating a little bit more this week. Technically on plan, but not planned, if you will. Someone brought in sandwich makings to share at work a few days ago, so I had a bowl of bacon and avocado to add to my regular salad. My body wasn't used to the bacon, and I ate it out of appetite, not hunger, and could feel the difference it made to me. I made a lovely stew over the weekends, chock-full of stuff that's good for me, but now I'm eating a portion of that along with the rest of the things I eat. I'm not worried about the changes, but I am watchful.

As before, I'm determined to listen to the wisdom of the body this time. It wants to sit at 154 for a year or so? Everyone who's posted in this thread gets it, knows how much harder it is to be heavier. So I'm appreciating being at this weight, trying to learn to see myself as smaller, and looking around for wisdom and experience of others regarding body image, maintenance, adjustment.

Instead of waiting for life to begin at 132, I celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. And by that, mostly I mean I notice. I notice how I move, how I look, how I dress, how I can do things with ease that once were a struggle. I move with poise, suppleness, fluidity. Sometimes I feel like my head is just floating like a balloon, it's so easy to move. I ran up the stairs at my house a few days ago. I.ran.up.the.stairs. It's probably been seven years since I last did that.

I dealt with disability for several years, at one point being unable to even negotiate the stairs for about three months. Then I went up and down on my bottom, one laborious step at a time. Then one-step-step, one-step-step like a toddler just learning. And now I just fly.

I pay attention to these things because I want to own them. I want them to become the new norm, something I've claimed so that I own them. I don't want to get into a mode where I'm willing to surrender them because I never quite wrapped my head around feeling like this.

I also look for the things that make me happy and do them daily. For me, that's swimming and music and being relaxed and happy in my home. I need that as a way of releasing the frustration and petty annoyances that we all encounter. Twenty minutes in the pool, and like clockwork, the stress eases and I am smiling again. Forty minutes and I'm euphoric; an hour and I can take on anything.

Same with the music. I play every day. Even if it's at the end of the day and I'm ready to head for bed, I remember that I made myself that promise. Sometimes I'm so tired it's only for ten minutes or so, but sometimes I play a lot longer because I don't feel tired anymore.

Evenings are a weak time for me, as well. So when I get home, I deal with the evening chores: feeding or starting a fire, feeding the cats, cleaning their boxes. Sometimes I find myself opening the frig just to see if there's a party going on. Then I remember that I have the option of a cup of tea, and I head upstairs. I've got a little tea-spot in my bedroom, a low dresser with an electric tea kettle, tea, sweetener, a container of lemon slices. I make myself a big mug and by the time I drink that I'm ready to brush my teeth, wash my face, and then the desire to eat is a speck in the rear-view mirror.

Wins build on wins. Nothing succeeds like success; nothing fails like failure. We turn our lives around by one shaky decision at a time. We keep trying, failing, trying again until something clicks. And then later we can look back in gratitude and wonder and say I did that. I changed my life. It's really real this time.

So. Is today your day? You're the only one who can answer that question.

ETA Are you keeping up with clothing-size changes? I think that can help. As stuff gets too big, move it along. Give it away. Go to the thrift store and buy things that fit you now and in which you feel good.

You can buy high-end (read well-made, supportive) new-with-tags bras on ebay for a fraction of what they cost in stores. A well-fitting bra makes a big difference in how your clothes fit and in how you feel. And your sizes there will change quickly, so keeping up with that helps. Also, you can find unusual sizes there that might not be easy to find in a local store. Get out the measuring tape, use an online bra-size calculator, and go bra-shopping in the evenings instead of eating.

Unpack those boxes of clothes you promised yourself you'd wear again. Pamper yourself in any other ways you appreciate. And as said above, be patient and kind with yourself. This change is huge. Support yourself as best you can through this. Learn daily.

I just realized yesterday that I'm practically at the weight that my driver's license says I am--funny! Find your own things like that to keep your spirits up during this journey.

Last edited by kathleen24 : Fri, Oct-27-17 at 09:02.
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