Need Some HELP, Please!!!!

[prfctlildvl]

Hi all. It's been a little while since I've been here. I was doing very well on South Beach after coming to it from Atkins. I had lost about 32 lbs.

Then my dad got sick (he was diagnosed with acute leukemia 15 months ago) and he passed away on June 10th. During the five days prior to his passing away, I was living at the hospital. I didn't eat well (odd times, bad food) and I've let myself indulge a bit.

Now I haven't went totally hog wild - I've only gained back 2 lbs in two months or so but I've made it okay for myself to have sweets or carbs when I just felt icky. I didn't go overboard though. If I wanted chocolate, I'd eat a piece. Before I would have eaten the whole bar! If I wanted a piece of bread, I'd have it but I'd have pumpernickel or something like that. I did, if I'm being honest here, have a piece or two of white bread as it was a comfort food. My Dad and I used to have white toast with butter and peaut butter - we'd fold it in half and dunk it in our coffee. After the wake and funeral, it's what I really wanted to eat. I also haven't been exercising - I guess I've been in a funk.

Now I'm ready to get back to South Beach and give it my all again. I want to go back to phase 1 as I feel I've over indulged. If I do phase 1 again, will it work?

Any advice you all can give me will be greatly appreciated.

[luv2bike]

Hello! Please, I'd like to offer my condolences to you on the loss of your father. My mother passed away from colon cancer in February. I lived at the hospital for almost a month and I can identify with you. I think you've done incredibly well considering the stress you've been under. I only wish I would have done as well. I gained back most of the weight I had lost.

I haven't exercised either. I think it's a common response to grief. I think that if you feel you're ready to jump back into phase 1 that you should do it. I'm not sure you have to redo phase 1, but I'll leave that up to you. And, of course it will work. There's no magic limit to how many times you can start SB. It will work every time. It's a healthy way of eating and a way to control blood sugar levels.

I am trying to get back into SB, too, and I hope to be there by next week. I've been really, really bad for a really, really long time so I will be doing phase one. I'm also going to need to re-read the book and brush up on everything.

So, hang in there and we'll do this thing together.

[prfctlildvl]

Thank you. I also offer my sympathies to you on the loss of your Mother. It's a very painful part of life to experience and I think it's especially painful when they go through such a terrible battle with a disease.

I think only gaining back two pounds, with everything that has been going on in my life, is not that bad but I also know that this is how the weight slowly creeps back on and I don't want to go backwards. I want to continue to move forward.

I just wasn't sure if doing phase 1 would work a second time and if so, how well. I know that my fat burning needs to kick in again so I think phase 1 is what I want to do and have a fresh start.

I do owe a lot to both Atkins and South Beach. Previously, if I felt stress (or any emotion at all) I would have probably sat down and ate a whole bag of cookies or a whole bag of chips or something equally bad for me. Atkins and SB have made me more aware of what I put in my mouth and I feel like I have more control over what I eat. Lately if I had a craving, I'd eat whatever I was craving but just a bite or a piece, not the entire bag or serving.

SB especially taught me to make more sensible choices when it comes to food - whole grains instead of white starchy stuff so even when Dad was sick and I felt stressed, I would go for brown rice versus white rice or pumpernickel versus white bread. I felt in control and I learned a good lesson. I think I previously felt powerless when it came to my eating habits. Mind you, I was never a huge eater but I ate all wrong. I skipped most meals until supper and then I'd eat very late at night and I was a carb addict.

We both have a lot of weight to loose and I would love to offer you my support. If you ever feel like you're having an off day or need someone to talk to, please message me. I will get back to you ASAP. At times it seems like a long road but it's shorter when you're headed in the right direction!

[prfctlildvl]

Another pound gone today so now I'm only one pound away from my original weight loss.

I'm losing weight and not really trying - maybe my metabolism has kicked in because I'm hungry all the time now. Before I was never hungry so I skipped meals during the day and only ate late at night. My kids called me the camel because sometimes I'd go two days without eating anything and then eat all day and then go back to not eating. I never felt hungry but I also never felt full.

I did go to my doctor's to have my metabolism and thyroid checked. My doctor said my metabolism had pretty much stopped working so I wasn't burning anything. He said it was probably from years of very bad eating habits.

[luv2bike]

Congrats on losing enough to get back where you started before messing up. I've still got a way to go. But I am losing. I noticed this morning that clothes that use to be too tight are now almost loose on me!

I still haven't found my bathroom scales yet. Not that I'm tearing the place apart trying to find them either. I think they're evil and better off left alone. Some people really pay too much attention to them in my opinion.

OMG! I can't believe the way you use to eat! Your blood sugar levels must have been on a real roller coaster ride back then. You know that you've got to eat your 3 meals and two snacks now, don't you? And don't forget the fiber. Fiber digests slower, makes you feel full longer, helps keep you regular, and a whole lot of other beneficial stuff.

Do you have a journal yet? I suggest starting one. I have one if you ever want to drop by.

Keep going!

[prfctlildvl]

I am one pound lighter than when I went off the wagon! I also did a new ticker and found that I've moved my BMI enought to go from morbidly obese to obese. I know it doesn't seem like much (I'm still obese) but I know it means I'm on the road to a healthier me.

I saw what five pounds of fat looks like (pretty darn gross) and I've already shed almost 7 of them from my body.

I am struggling a bit with the fact that I have so much weight to shed so anyone that's lost over 100 pounds and has some words of wisdom to impart on what seems like a never ending journey - please send them my way. The goal seems so hard to reach from where I am right now.

I've seen people on tv that have lost 30 lbs and they look different - you can see the weight loss but I don't see it in myself. My clothes are loose but I don't see the change in my face, etc.

Oh well - guess you can't have it all (at least not all at once) LOL so I'll be happy with any step that keeps me moving in the right direction!

[Theonlyway1]

Prfctlildvl - So sorry to hear about your father.

Congratulations on the weight you have lost so far! I am in the morbidly obese range and look forward to the day when I will be in the "normal" range. I have a really long way to go.

I've seen people on tv that have lost 30 lbs and they look different - you can see the weight loss but I don't see it in myself. My clothes are loose but I don't see the change in my face, etc.

I know exactly what you mean. Usually When I first start losing weight It's not hard for me to loose (probably alot of water) 20 lbs which on a smaller person can make a drastic change on myself you can't even tell. I usually will last on a diet for about 1 month then I get discouraged at the long road ahead and just give up. Not This Time! I am making this my WOE. I am just getting used to it and hoping as I go along it will become eaiser.

[Tiny T]

I've lost 100 lbs....(before) HERE WAS MY DOWNFALL...

I reached my 100 lb. weight loss goal and guess what I did? I WENT OUT TO EAT TO CELEBRATE!!!!.....DUMMY!

That's all it takes to get those cravings, hunger, munchies, etc. back for the foods that are so bad for us...so my #1 suggestion in the weight loss battle?

DON'T EVER CELEBRATE WITH FOOD! Instead, buy yourself a new outfit, a new book, a new CD, or something you've always wanted! Splurge with that stuff instead of the food... I am still plunking away at these pounds I've gained back...I heard you taking about not "seeing" results...I didn't think I saw any until a friend brought me an OLD fat picture of myself...WOW...I took that picture and hung it on my fridge....and there's one on my wall right in front of my desk at work....whenever I think about cheating, I look at those pictures...and so...here I am...still plunking away ever so slowly...I know it can be done and I can't believe I let myself go like that again...I swore I would NEVER go back to the "Old" way of eating.

If you do cheat and think it's hopeless, just remember, you have to get right back on it instead of getting depressed about it, cause that just makes you eat even more! And before you know it, your right ack where you started and you will feel as though the battle of the buldge will never end....quite depressing....so keep the faith what ever you do and remember...there is no doubt the SBD works...it's your own willpower that you need to keep in check!...keep up all the good work so far and keep in touch as well!....

[luv2bike]

Good words of wisdom.