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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 08:03
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default Fellow re-starters: the Peril of Shame

I'm in recovery from Covid-19 (No, I didn't get sick--I just fell into despair). Jim Beam and tortilla chips cost me about 25lbs. As of the end of August, I'm back on plan and back at LCE.

From my bookshelf, I take down my original inspiration for doing what works for me: Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution (paperback, 1973) On a bookmarked, underlined page (270) Dr. Atkins says this:

In my own experience, the commonest cause of failure in weight control is a very specific response that goes something like this: "I went off my diet. I gained a little weight. And I was ashamed." There's something about being ashamed that prevents one from making a new start.

This is the one emotion that must be guarded against at all cost. There is no room ever to be ashamed over your past actions.

Just put the past away. All we can do is deal with the present....


Shame, and its companions Denial and Self-Pity, add a burden to weight management that's hard to overcome.

My bits of hard-earned learning (sometimes abandoned) are:
--Keep up with your journal. Awareness is strength.
--Stay on this Forum. Research, encouragement, friendly accountability.

My journey is marked by the peak weight in my stats: 195. That was in 1996, when I launched my "50 at 50" challenge. I did it (not with lowcarb--but the hard way, with calorie counting and massive exercise). Thanks to lowcarb, beginning in about 2002, I've never been up there again--but close, too close for comfort.

Being "ashamed" of the fact that I have never conquered my yo-yo tendency doesn't obliterate my power to come back again and again to what I know. My history of posts here preaches back to me how I can sustain my best self.

Thanks for being here! Best wishes to all of us!
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 08:58
wbahn's Avatar
wbahn wbahn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,651
 
Plan: Atkins-ish, post-WLS
Stats: 408.0/288.0/168.0 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Southern Colorado, USA
Default

For me, shame was never a part of it. Despair, yes. I could be ashamed of what I've let happen to me and, if anything, it was a motivator to do something about it. But what would stop me would be the sense of despair that came when I would make progress for a few months and then see it disappear in just a couple of days. It wasn't shame that made me go, "What's the point?".
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 09:32
Bangle Bangle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 358
 
Plan: Atkins, Dr. Westman
Stats: 267/167/145 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 82%
Default

I too gained 15-20 pounds during the covid isolation, but finally realized what I was doing and got back on plan. I have lost most of that weight I gained and will soon be back to where I was when covid forced us to isolate.

Don't despair. Look at this as an opportunity to concentrate on yourself. You are right about keeping a log - it helps tremendously. I have been recording what I eat each day along with my weight and any health issues I have. It is VERY useful to look back at what I weighed on a certain date and what I was eating.

Anyway, welcome back to the plan. I think your goals are right on point and will help you reach your goal.

Best of luck!
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 10:06
jessdamess's Avatar
jessdamess jessdamess is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,904
 
Plan: Keto
Stats: 252/172/165 Female 69.25 inches
BF:
Progress: 92%
Location: Northeast TN
Default

Oh hon. I gained 15lb in quarantine due to despair over the effects of Covid on my family and community, and I've been "tryin" to get it off for almost a year now. But I keep falling back into the new bad habits I adopted. It's time for me to stop being a punk and making excuses. Including dropping the vodka. Maybe we can help each other?
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 11:15
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

After a life-time of yo-yo dieting, and a Decade on Low Carb...Stay at Home was also time to reevaluate how effective this way of eating really was for my health. After the first few months of 2020, I was back to eating very low carb and exercising a lot as I do every summer, but no weight loss. There was no shame, but finally an honest review of my symptoms and possible nutritional solutions. Ted Naiman has many great memes but I finally took this one to heart….

Do not go "on a diet". Start eating now, the way you are going to eat forever.

My success story was posted today:

https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=484995

https://optimisingnutrition.com/jul...driven-fasting/

Last edited by JEY100 : Mon, Sep-06-21 at 03:16.
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, Sep-05-21, 15:32
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

This last year has been a trial for everyone. So you are in good company. I gave up the shame blame when Dr Atkins made it clear these carbs have a biochemical affect on the brain called addiction. We can only keep trying to knock these bad food choices aside as the immediate world around us keeps putting crap in our path. It's challenging to stick to the low carb way of eating.

No shame in that.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Sep-07-21, 10:01
TammyD's Avatar
TammyD TammyD is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 505
 
Plan: Gluten-free/Low Carb/IF
Stats: 250/220/175 Female 5'8"
BF:?
Progress: 40%
Location: Dartmouth Nova Scotia
Default

I have many emotions around my tendency to YO YO and I’ve not been on a good downward swing in a long time. Here’s to never giving up! Starting over so many times is a testament to positivity and we should see it that way if we can.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Sep-07-21, 16:30
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,602
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

For me, it was low carb cheesecake.

I put on the “COVID 15” and have lost about half. Turns out, it was probably the almond crust as much as anything else!

Had some health setbacks that are due to experimenting with tolerances. And I have none for certain food categories. Which is good to know.

Every time I come back… I come back better. That’s how I know I’ve learned.
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, Sep-08-21, 03:46
Benay's Avatar
Benay Benay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 876
 
Plan: Protein Power/Atkins
Stats: 250/167/175 Female 5 feet 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 111%
Location: Prescott, Arizona, USA
Default

Every so often I have to remind myself why I live a low-carb lifestyle

I fall off the wagon and eat some form of grain - breads, corn on the cob/corn tortillas

I pile on the pounds from fluid retention
feel miserable

then back to low carb again
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Sep-10-21, 11:01
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

There's a certain headspace you have to be in, to be ready to make changes to yourself to improve your life -- whatever form those changes may take. (Diet -- meaning what we eat, not "trying to lose weight" -- being one of those areas of potential change.)

And shame is definitely the enemy of positive action for self-improvement. (For one thing, shame tells us we're not worth it, so what's the point of making that effort?)
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  #11   ^
Old Sat, Sep-11-21, 04:52
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,602
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiterateGr
And shame is definitely the enemy of positive action for self-improvement. (For one thing, shame tells us we're not worth it, so what's the point of making that effort?)


Exactly. We now know it's NOT about willpower, or lack of moral fiber, or laziness. I know the site has seen many posts of people begging for "motivation" but please, every single one of us has plenty of motivation!

It's just that spending so much time and stress and effort, only to not get any good results, wears a person down.
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  #12   ^
Old Sat, Sep-11-21, 07:36
bkloots's Avatar
bkloots bkloots is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 10,147
 
Plan: LC--Atkins
Stats: 195/162/150 Female 62in
BF:
Progress: 73%
Location: Kansas City, MO
Default

Happy to see everyone chiming in here. Two comments in particular resonated with me:

--What we're doing isn't a "diet." It's simply the way we eat. Fortunately, I have almost two decades of memory and habit along those lines, so current restoration of my WOE is no surprise.
--You have to be in the right "head space." This re-start has happened to me a number of times. Each time, I had to wait for--wish for--the Awakening: that feeling of resolve that makes the effort unfold, well, effortlessly. I can't make it happen! But I know it does.

Doing all right right now. Hanging out here, keeping records, focusing on the good stuff.
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  #13   ^
Old Mon, Sep-13-21, 22:19
CMCM's Avatar
CMCM CMCM is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,264
 
Plan: Keto / Atkins VLC
Stats: 173/148.6/135 Female 5'6"
BF:23.9
Progress: 64%
Location: N. Calif. Sierra Nevadas
Default

2020 was bad for me too. I didn't pay any attention to my diet, I never weighed myself because eventually I was afraid to see the damage, I didn't exercise, and I ate a ton of comfort food that was really bad food for me.....namely, sugar sugar sugar , dairy, and also gluten containing foods. I'm talking Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia out the ying yang, cupcakes, donuts, chips, wine and mixed drinks in restaurants, blah blah blah, the list is long. It was embarrassingly bad. By the end of the 2020, I was getting really out of control.

December 28 I reached a tipping point with gluten and perhaps sugar and dairy as well, and suddenly got very sick from having eaten so much of it (celiac). I was sick pretty much all of January recovering from that and getting slowly better as I immediately cut off all gluten and dairy, beginning about mid January as I tried to improve my health. Meanwhile, I'd gone up as high as 157 (from a previous low of about 138-140). Then in mid March DH and I started a very serious Atkins '72 eating plan (A72 has always worked best of all) and also committed to going to the gym a lot to work on all the flab.

For reasons I can't totally figure out, THIS was the time it has worked really well (the best in 20 years of efforts) and I haven't pooped out on the diet even at the 6 month mark where I am now, still going strong and now this has become habit. I was forced to stop eating the bad stuff by my health, and everything just fell into place with A72. My sugar and junk cravings totally disappeared after 2 or 3 weeks and have never come back so that is no longer a challenge, thank goodness. Despite eating very carefully and not succumbing to any junk cheating, weight loss has been slow but steady but this time I refused to let the slow pace discourage me. I'm now down 18 lbs from the 152 I started at in mid March. That averages out to just 3 lbs a month and .75 lb per week. Not impressive but it adds up.

I'm also pleased that I've kept up the steady workouts....3 to 4 times a week mostly is what I've managed. I just did my 74th workout on Saturday. This is major for me, because I don't think I've ever done more than 25 or 30 workouts in a YEAR before despite having a gym membership continuously for the last 25 years. So 74 workouts in 6 months is fantastic for me! So I have a new and revamped "diet" and workouts are now part of my life. This diet is how I eat now, I don't really think of it as a weight loss mechanism that I would eventually abandon for different eating.

So COVID was a bad thing for weight, I put on weight and and messed up my health, but it also provided a chance to really work on weight loss in a serious way. Fortunately, my gym has always been open so I could always get to the gym, that definitely helped. I don't believe exercise makes you lose weight all on its own, but I've seen that in combination with the right diet, it definitely HELPS. I seem to fluctuate up a bit in weight when I'm unable to exercise for a few days.

Another good thing is that COVID got us out of our very bad habit of eating out too much. We have no interest in that at all any more....waste of money, and you eat all the wrong things. Also, we haven't had any alcohol at all for 6 months and don't miss it!

Last edited by CMCM : Mon, Sep-13-21 at 23:49.
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  #14   ^
Old Tue, Sep-14-21, 04:16
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,602
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CMCM
Another good thing is that COVID got us out of our very bad habit of eating out too much. We have no interest in that at all any more....waste of money, and you eat all the wrong things. Also, we haven't had any alcohol at all for 6 months and don't miss it!


My own eating plan is not one restaurants cater to; I think most of us are the same way!
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-21, 06:56
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CMCM
I'm talking Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia out the ying yang


If premium pints of ice cream are one of your go-to comfort foods, and you're not satisfied with home-made...

...check out Rebel. Albertson's & Safeway both carry it (and Target), or you can order online in a pinch.

First ingredient on the label is "cream", it tastes rich & luxurious like Haagen Daaz or Ben & Jerry's, and is -- for ice cream -- very low carb.

(BTW, went shopping the other day at a place that doesn't carry Rebel, but carries Halo Top Keto. First ingredient? Skim milk. And they've added so much corn fiber & gums that it doesn't actually melt, it just gets warm... gross.

UNLIKE that, Rebel is basically the ice cream I'd make at home only... better.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by from their Cherry Chip ice cream
Ingredients: Ingredients: Cream, Water, Erythritol, Sour Cherries, Chocolate Flakes (Coconut Oil, Cocoa, Erythritol, Sunflower Lecithin, Salt, Dutched Cocoa, Vanilla Extract, Monk Fruit), Vegetable Glycerin, Egg Yolks, Chicory Root Fiber, Milk Protein Isolate, Natural Cherry Flavor, Peruvian Carob Gum, Guar Gum, Salt, Citric Acid, Monk Fruit, Carob Gum


I'm not saying "keep this stocked in your freezer".

I'm saying, "If you know this is something you sometimes crave.... here's a much better option"
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