Which is not to say that the cycle is unavoidable, or that it is predictable in terms of when it will strike, or how long it will last. When I vowed a month ago to get my shit together, I meant it. I thought I was pulling out of it. But events have conspired against me, including the nagging injury, the lack of confidence in my metabolism to respond to "good behaviour" eating, and the annual family weekend visit last week, which always stresses me out. My anxiety (and anxiety-eating) around this event plays out like that saying about the duration of a cold: three days coming, three days staying, three days leaving. That about sums it up. I got a lot of anxiety eating done in those nine days.
So, rather than sink into total desolation, which I rarely do anymore, thank goddess (i.e. thank me), I forged a plan. It is kind of a radical plan, for me, anyway, insofar as I've never tried this, and it goes against everything I think I know about myself as far as how I react to dietary restrictions. But I feel like I need to do something to kick my fat-ass metabolism off the couch and onto the treadmill. GET TO WORK, DAMN YOU!!
Soooo, I am giving Atkins a shot. I know, I know, diets don't work. But what I really need right now is a bit of encouragement. Some gee-dee results, ya know? I'm going to see if this whole ketosis thing really does work, and if my metabolism responds. I don't know how long I will do this. It's an experiment. I'm on Day 4 right now, and feeling okay. Don't find I miss the carbs or the sugar, but possibly (likely) that has something to do with the attempted carbicide (TM Brüno) over the past couple weeks.
This is all new to me, counting the carbs. It's kinda cool to have something new to focus on, and to eat different kinds of foods whilst trying to lose weight. It is keeping me VERY busy, reading up on how it works and keeping track of everything.
I'm not weighing myself until I've done two weeks of "Induction". Partly I just didn't want to know what the damage was - I couldn't face it. Partly I don't want to get discouraged if it takes a few days or weeks to get my body into this crazy fat-burning mode.
I will blog more about Atkins and how it works in future installments, for those of you who are interested.
Rock on, it's good to feel proactive again!
PS Physio seems to be working. I've been easing off the walking to and from work and doing some extra stretching and stuff. Have worked out the last three days in a row and am feeling no pain, knock on head. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
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Linny, dear girl, please get yourself a book called "Diet Evolution" by Dr. Gundry. Why would you listen to Pudgy-Guilt-Goddess on any plan? First, this is not a "diet" diet, it's a longevity eating plan...which my hubby (a tad older than moi) found and is living. He has always been slender and did not need to lose weight, and he's maintained his slender self. My youngest son, who definitely needed to drop some baby fat (he was 14 when he started it) lost 40 pounds in about 5 months. Okay, he's a teenager, and he's male so it won't work that fast for us, but read the book and look at the case studies.
ReplyDeleteIt's very much like Adkins, limited carbs yadda yadda, but it talks about all of the other benefits of eating that way...such as preserving your youthful self. And, it's a way of eating forever, not just when trying to lose, which then means you keep the blub off.
Please send this back to me so that I can be kicked in the butt to eat only as my hubby and son do!!!
Go Lindsay! You're the best!
ReplyDeleteI did the Atkins, lost 12lbs in two weeks, then ate a piece of bread and gained 15lbs. Anyone I know who has done it has lost lots of weight, then gained significantly more when they go back to "normal" eating. So be warned, you can never go off this diet! I would advise against continuing...
ReplyDeleteAll best wishes,
Your friend Barb-who-weighs-more-than-you
Kat, yes, I think you mentioned that book in an earlier comment. I'll take a look. I just bought the Atkins "New Diet Revolution" book yesterday. I read the first 5 chapters last night and I was like, okay, okay with the hard sell, I'm here already, I don't need further convincing. Get to the actual instructions!! Anyway, we shall see. I will watch for the other book too. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteAnon, no YOU'RE the best! (Uh, who are you? Nevermind, you're the best!)
Barb, yeeeeaaaaah. What can I say. Have to find out for myself, I think. What you said is pretty much what I anticipate, so I have no illusions here at least. I just really felt a need to shake things up. I can see already from reading the book that even when you get to maintenance, sugar and bread and pasta are still quite reduced. So, I don't know. I'm just tired of working my ass off at the gym and seeing no change on the scale.
(I realize this would not be the case if I would just stop bingeing all the time. I think having a brand new program to adhere to gives me the psychological push to get in the groove.)
Anyway, thanks for weighing more than me.
xo!!!
My ex husband did Atkins and lost a lot of weight. (He gained it all back, of course, when he went off of it). I know several other people who had dramatic weight loss on the diet as well. My feeling is that it's a good way to kick start a less drastic & more permanent weight loss program.
ReplyDeleteCutting carbs & adding protein definitely helps curb the munchies. You may want to find some fiber additive; the diet can cause constipation.
Good luck lady!
Well, if you're going to do the Atkins, keep in mind that a vodka and diet coke has ZERO carbs! So often I would have that as my main meal, and then perhaps a large bowl of melted cheese later in the evening.
ReplyDeleteI may not have been following the book as closely as I should have been...
Barb xo
Theresa, I am thinking along the same lines - something to kick start me, and then maybe gradually re-introduce some carbs and go back to the healthy, balanced eating coupled with my fitness plan. That's what I'm thinking, anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs for the fibre, believe it or not (or you might recall from when your ex was on it), the program sternly recommends that you derive 12-15 grams of your 20 carb grams a day from green vegetables. So I've been eating nice big salads (with chicken and avocado and -- unbelievable -- non-diet Caesar salad dressing) for lunch and veggies -- can this be real? -- sautéed in butter. It's fun (so far). Pipes are all regular so far too.
Barb, no offense to Anonymous up there, but you're the best! Holy shit vodka and DC for dinner with a bowl of melted cheese as a chaser. You crack me up. No alcohol during induction, but once I figure this shit out, let's have "dinner" together.
It took me forever to get over here, but you know I've been cheering your efforts from the start...you'll get through this rough patch. I'm stocking up on DDP for the fall...I miss you! ==3
ReplyDeleteI blame that Qat/Dawg. He still has bad nosh habits.
ReplyDeletewatercolours, oh you don't fool me. You've been here all along. I revel in knowing that. And in knowing that Diet Dr. Pepper contains no carbs.
ReplyDelete0-qutie, oh, that Qat! He's just doing what comes unnaturally. Anyway, even when he took awf last week for California, I continued to eat my way into The Pit. It would be easy to blame him, but this is all on me.
PS I miss you
I did not lose much weight duing induction, about 6 pounds...which still isn't bad. I did, however, once tailoring it to MY needs, enjoy 15 years of eating my fill without weight gain, not one pound, and with incredibly wonderful clinical #s. As I said earlier, I used the same idea as the Simmons' Deal-A-Meal but made my own cards with my own food choices, so it did, indeed, become a lifetime plan. Once a week I'd use all of that day's carbs on any dessert I wanted :) ANY. Hmmm. Can't find my B ID...harrumph...
ReplyDeleteHang in there. Changing your behaviors is tough.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's so tough just to keep going in the right direction! For me Atkins is just to drastic, but I have found losing all the starchy food a very useful approach in combination with working out and eating in a balanced way. (I avoided pasta, potatoes, cereal, rice, bread etc.)Back when I was in WW I only allowed a starchy treat once a week, and I got a couple of bagels on the trip home from my weigh-in.
ReplyDeleteI swear losing weight is about 85% mental/emotional! Keep going sista!
Anon... are you Kat? Or are you a nice, friendly, somewhat shy newcomer? If the latter, HI! Welcome. Rest assured that anything embarrassing you say here will most certainly be upstaged by something I have said or will say very soon. (You do say, "as I said earlier"... I wish this stupid blog was searchable. I went looking for the comment. Argh.)
ReplyDeleteWell anyway. Fifteen years of eating what you wanted with no weight gain! NICE! I struggle with the binge eating disorder business, so I'm not too good at sticking with programs. One thing about doing Atkins, I've discovered this week, is that the scientific FACT of needing to stick to such a low carb count every day has precluded me from cheating. If the whole point of this thing is to shift my metabolism from glucose-burning to fat-burning, I can't just sneak in extra carbs here and there, the way I could with calories. Interesting. (So far, anyway.)
Todd! How awesome. Can I make a confession? When I saw the email that said you'd commented on my blog, I was a little worried you'd say something to the effect of "diets don't work", as you said once before (rightly so). I knew when I decided to do Atkins, and blog about it, that there'd be a lot of people chiming in with their experiences on the program, or people they know, etc, and how it ultimately does not work, and blah blah, yeah, I KNOW. So I've been feeling a little bit defensive for the last couple days, even though I know my people are all supporters who regularly bring the linnylove. I'm just trying to figure stuff out, now as then. And I so appreciate your empathy and encouragement.
Rusteh! To be sure, it is a constant mental and emotional struggle. In fact, if I could just relax a bit and accept myself better, I might finally find out what my natural body weight is. I think I will always be a little bit chubby (gah! hate that word) or round or whatever. When you find out at age 6 that you are already outside of the weight range for your age, unless your parents have been feeding you neurotically (mine didn't), there's a good chance you may just be naturally a little bit heavier.
Whatever.
When I come out of this, my aim will be to keep the sugar and the refined carbs to a minimum. (I had already been doing some work in this area, but got sidetracked by... myself...)
How can reducing starchy stuff and carbs - especially refined and processed carbs - not be a good thing? I don't remember - isn't that the main thrust of Adkins? Or is it protein (allowed) only ... is that the deal?
ReplyDeletePS -- a couple of years ago I lost a bunch of weight cutting out most everything for a few months. I especially cut fast food and easy carbs. Here's one key to how I did it: I drank 12 to 16 oz. of kombucha whenever I needed an energy or 'spiritual' boost. A lot of this diet stuff is about what's in your heart, or spirit. Kombucha has a little magic in it. You've gotta believe in magic ... it's real.
Federico
Good, good whole wheat FREDDIE! How awesome to hear from the Austin beau! Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, the main thrust of Atkins is to get people off carbohydrates that consist of sugar and flour and such. During the initial phase, most of the nominal carbs you consume are supposed to come from green vegetables. Basically, most of your calories come from protein and blessed, blessed fat.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the first person to mention kombucha. (Actually, you are the second; I had to Google it a couple weeks ago.) I heard it tastes like ass. Magic Ass! My good friend Chico Mazaltoff has a bunch of Vancouver friends in a band called Magic Ass. I wonder if they drink a lot of kombucha.
Anon is Zedly. I am a binger. I just got so used to binging by the rules that it didn't matter. I also learned how to binge. I knew the cookie thing would be an issue, so I kept cookies and cookie dough frozen, but I'd make oatmeal cookies with added flax and fiber and with half fake brown sugar. For me, things like baklava, made with more nuts and less gooey, were still tooooo sweet to handle much of once i'd kicked the sweet thing. Thing was....I really didn't want sweets. That NEED totally went away or a small sweet with a salty olive side was, all of a sudden, very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteMy sandwich wraps are 7grams of carbs with 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. I don't think that's suffering... and i adore deviled eggs...BLTs..chicken salad with greeeeen olives :)
Since lobster is 3.50 a pound right now, it seems a good time for me to get back into the grooooove :)
Zebedebedebubby
binge-ing? hunh...
ReplyDeleteOh dear. How did I let this comment languish for 4 days. Sorry Zeddy. I think when it comes to this epic struggle that so many of us deal with, it's all about finding something that works for you. I suppose that's sort of stating the obvious. But sometimes we get tripped up by reports or studies by folks who are very smart and know a lot about behavioural tendencies and trends and provide helpful prescriptions for many but not all.
ReplyDeleteFor a few years, I was able to maintain my weight at around 130-135, which I felt okay at (will always want to be 10 pounds less than I am, even at a happy and healthy weight, I suspect). I maintained, and at the same time I continued with what I coined "controlled bingeing", the way some addictions counsellors and researchers refer to "controlled drinking". Not all addictions have to be eschewed completely.
PS I think there's an "e" in there, but it does look weird.