Need accountability....or a muzzle
juliegayleh
Posts: 25 Member
Here I am getting back on track yet again. 2 years ago lost 40 lbs with low carb eating and exercise. Gained all back. This past Jan started keto and IF. List 20. Gained back. I made my son tater tots and ate a huge handful before I could think and then woke up this morning craving a bagel. And ate one. And a cookie. And I am diabetic.
I feel like there is something more than lack of will power. I feel like an addict.
I love the way I feel low carb. I got off insulin. My eye sight improved aches and pains gone. Hair and skin felt healthier. Increased confidence.
I hate the way I feel now.
Just bought The Obesity Code and will start reading as soon as I get home.
I feel like there is something more than lack of will power. I feel like an addict.
I love the way I feel low carb. I got off insulin. My eye sight improved aches and pains gone. Hair and skin felt healthier. Increased confidence.
I hate the way I feel now.
Just bought The Obesity Code and will start reading as soon as I get home.
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Replies
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Carb/sugar addiction is a real thing.
But the best way to kick a habit is to not have stuff like that, to hand.
And (I hate to sound harsh) but if you're buying and feeding your son that stuff - aren't you kind of priming him for the same problems?
My daughter (who has also decided to go LCHF) has a 7-year-old son, and she has cut right back on his carbs. He no longer has starchy snacks, Instead, she prepares him his favourite nibbles, which includes prawns in mayo, sashimi salmon, hummus and carrot sticks, cottage cheese and olives, and home-made oven-baked chicken strips, and pork crackling.
My H has lost three stone (42lbs) since March of this year, and he is no longer diabetic type 2. He's completely off his meds, and looks -and feels - great.
C'mon, @juliegayleh.... You can do this.
You've done it before.
Kick the bad habits, and get real.
This is not just weight, you're messing with.
This is your health and your life.
And, come to that, your son's.5 -
I took the "it's an addiction" mentality to kick my sugar habit and I think that's why it worked so well for me.
Any time I thought about eating something I shouldn't, I literally reminded myself that it's not food. It's a drug. I know it's a stretch and a bit insulting to those that have battled drug addiction but I needed to approach it that way so that I could beat it.
I also had inspiration in others struggles. My daughter was a fairly recently diagnosed T1D and everything seemed like it was harder for her. My niece is a recovered drug addict that had been released from prison not long before I started keto and she came home so empowered and happy with her recovery and ready to begin a new life. My dad was battling cancer and had a hard time even eating a minimal amount of food every day because everything tasted so bad from the chemo. But he gulped down at least one meal a day to try to stay strong.
By comparison, my struggle simply not eating crap food seemed embarrassingly easy. And I got mad at myself for being so weak! And I used that anger to kick my own *kitten* into shape!
If they could do what they needed to in order to become healthy, then I could most certainly eat an egg or bacon instead of candy!!!
And you can too!
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You have to want healthy and weight loss/maintenance more than you want tater tots, bagels and cookies. Daily.3
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Yes @AlexandraCarlyle . That is what I need. There are too ma y people in my life who allow me to make excuses. The everything in moderation folks And it may work for them but clearly not for me. And you are right. Why set my son up for future health problems. (Also researching dietary changes to help his behavior and anxiety). It will take more planning on my part but if I only offer cauli rots and other healthy options eventually he will eat them... hopefully.
@Sunny_Bunny_ thank you for sharing your experience I think that approach may work for me. Every time I go to take a bite of cupcake I should telling myself that I am literally, slowly killing myself.4 -
juliegayleh wrote: »Yes @AlexandraCarlyle . That is what I need. There are too ma y people in my life who allow me to make excuses. The everything in moderation folks And it may work for them but clearly not for me. And you are right. Why set my son up for future health problems. (Also researching dietary changes to help his behavior and anxiety). It will take more planning on my part but if I only offer cauli rots and other healthy options eventually he will eat them... hopefully.
Determine what kinds of flavours he likes. Experiment. See if cheese will help him, or if he enjoys it. make things pleasantly savoury...
You know him best.
I had no idea he had behavioural and anxiety issues.... what kind of things do you think he would benefit from?
If it's any comfort, and he could eat salads, the plantago weed (!) (common field or garden plantain) is amazing in its beneficial properties.... I drink it last thing at night now, and it's very soothing....1 -
Also, there are a few threads here that might help getting your son involved and his buy in to the process. You don't say how old he is, but getting him involved in the process of selecting and preparing meals makes him more invested in and willing to try some things, just in general. While it will take time, no matter the age, it can happen, especially if it presented more as an adventure and not as punishment.
Let him pick a new food or new recipe to try once a week. You can present him with 2-3 acceptable (to you) recipes, if there are too many options. Look into healthier versions of his favorite foods. Keto pizza was readily embraced at my house. Maria Emmerich (mariamindbodyhealth.com) has some great conversions. Even for special occasion foods like S'Mores in keto version (yes, a graham cracker, a marshmallow, and a chocolate bar, all homemade...and keto friendly for the occasional camping trip, etc.). Things like that are not for every day, and so are worth some effort.
Personally, I've learned to love zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash. Pretty much any "first" veggie can be spiralized, etc. There are swaps for Tater Tots (made with radish - it cooks out the "bite" or cauliflower or even things like jicama, etc.)
Also, acknowledge to yourself that the food industry intentionally makes foods as addictive as possible since they want you to purchase more of them and eat more, etc., they add chemicals or sugar/salt to make them taste better, and the balance of fat and carbs and sugar and salt literally makes the foods addictive little mouth bombs. While, as was indicated above, that this is not to be compared to actual drug withdrawals, the chemicals involved are similar, just to a lesser degree - it is still overwhelming and all-encompassing when you're in the moment. The difference being, for me, is that I could quit a drug and never be exposed again, theoretically. But we have to face down our food demons all the time... Sugar withdrawal is a real thing. Serotonin will drop with the dropped consumption. If your body has difficulties converting and using it, mood will drop. Amino acids might be needed temporarily...
Also, since you are a diabetic, look into insulin resistance. It creates a starvation syndrome within overeating... It's kind of hard to explain. Basically, you get hungry, you start smelling your food, you take your first bite. Body releases a rush of insulin to accept the incoming glucose. However, the body either can't find the insulin (transports the glucose into cells), the cells refuse the insulin/glucose combo, or there is simply more glucose in the bloodstream than the insulin can handle. Insulin hanging around without glucose will actually signal your body to eat more to use it it. But if your body can't find or use the insulin, and the glucose stays in the blood stream, your body will keep making insulin and you will keep getting hungrier. And then the scary part starts. The body says, Oh, look at all that insulin. There is more food coming, so let's get all this glucose out of the way and go store it as body fat... But you've eaten all your calories. But your body screams at you that its starving...and yet your body got NONE of the nutrients out of the stored calories, you got literally fatter with fat storage...yet you still feel like you are starving and your body is undernourished.
THIS ^^^ is why it feels impossible to break the carb cycle specifically, and yet why it is the most important thing you can do for yourself...
I have to write out the worse case scenario or create the stories in my head, etc., to get through sometimes...
You've gotten a lot of great advice here...good luck. Once you finally break through a bit, it'll be scary, how much you can see all these things in action...but it will be oddly refreshing to feel "in charge" of you again, instead of your body forcing you to do things that make no sense to you rationally...8 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »juliegayleh wrote: »Yes @AlexandraCarlyle . That is what I need. There are too ma y people in my life who allow me to make excuses. The everything in moderation folks And it may work for them but clearly not for me. And you are right. Why set my son up for future health problems. (Also researching dietary changes to help his behavior and anxiety). It will take more planning on my part but if I only offer cauli rots and other healthy options eventually he will eat them... hopefully.
Determine what kinds of flavours he likes. Experiment. See if cheese will help him, or if he enjoys it. make things pleasantly savoury...
You know him best.
I had no idea he had behavioural and anxiety issues.... what kind of things do you think he would benefit from?
If it's any comfort, and he could eat salads, the plantago weed (!) (common field or garden plantain) is amazing in its beneficial properties.... I drink it last thing at night now, and it's very soothing....
Getting rid of dyes, sugars, and artificial preservatives etc., can really help the body manage itself better by not interfering with the natural processes for mood management. It won't "cure" anything, but it definitely doesn't hurt to get trigger foods out of the diet. They'll often be the hardest to make him quit eating, as they create a powerful need in the body, usually related to gut and other bodily bacteria that thrive on the things worst for him and make his illnesses worse.6 -
Great couple of posts, @KnitOrMiss....
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@KnitOrMiss . Thank you for taking the time. There is a lot to digest there. My son is 13 but developmentally much younger. He is at this weird but cool stage where he is testing the waters as a teen one moment and having a toddler like tantrum the next. I know I am not doing a good job explaining but I wouldn't trade a minute of it
Pizza was the first thing I experimented with. He tolerated fathead; hated cauli; and wouldn't even try the chicken crust. I looked up a bunch of FB groups today for low carb kids and have started collecting recipes. Tonight he ate an entire container of hummus because he wouldn't touch the cheese steak salad. It will be a process.1 -
I said i needed accountability so o will probably use this thread for that for a few days to keep it real. Lol3
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@juliegayleh There are some people, like you said, who are "everything in moderation" folks and there's people who are "it's all or nothing" folks. I'm part of the "it's all or nothing" group, unfortunately. Quest bars are a trigger food for me. Same with low carb breads/sugar free cookies. I can't have just one. I have tried... again and again. Why fight your will power? Why put yourself in that predicament of "One won't hurt, I'll just have one."
Take it all out of the house. Or put it in an off limits cabinet. My hubby needs his sugar free cookies and cereals and treats, and he has a special cabinet just for him. I don't open it. I don't know what exists in there and life is better for me that way lol3 -
juliegayleh wrote: »@KnitOrMiss . Thank you for taking the time. There is a lot to digest there. My son is 13 but developmentally much younger. He is at this weird but cool stage where he is testing the waters as a teen one moment and having a toddler like tantrum the next. I know I am not doing a good job explaining but I wouldn't trade a minute of it
Pizza was the first thing I experimented with. He tolerated fathead; hated cauli; and wouldn't even try the chicken crust. I looked up a bunch of FB groups today for low carb kids and have started collecting recipes. Tonight he ate an entire container of hummus because he wouldn't touch the cheese steak salad. It will be a process.
@juliegayleh - While my daughter didn't go through that, many of her friends and their siblings have had developmental delays, and we've either spent time in their homes or they have in ours, so I'm at least indirectly familiar. Although, my daughter had an intense hatred of peas from a can - something about the texture was absolute torture for her - it was amazing once we decided to try frozen ones - she could tolerate them...
I absolutely LOVE that you're embracing the experience. That alone has to reduce some of the chaotic stress of having children, period, much less those who don't follow alone on medical charts/expectations to the letter!
I love, too, that you're on the boards for low carb kids. And hummus is a great whole food with healthier carbs, so I'm all over that being a great compromise! There is a whole lot of nutrition packed into hummus. Watch for texture issues in general, with new foods. You may find that he loves something like Mississippi Roast (google for recipe, but basically it's a 3-5 pound chuck roast, salt/pepper to taste, 1 packet ranch seasoning, 1 packet au jus gravy mix, 1 stick of butter, and 5 or so pepperoncini to preference - doesn't make it spicy AT ALL - just adds dimension to the "gravy flavor.") because it falls apart, but may not like steak as much because there is a LOT of chewing!
It also does not hurt to revisit a food every month or two. They say it can take as much as 52 separate times of trying a food before developing a taste for or enjoyment of a new food!
P.S. You can tell him that I am SOOOO with him. I hated the couple variations on the cauli-crusts I tried... It was barely edible cold, and my fiance thought we should have used it as a trash liner instead of attempting to consume it. LOL I know some folks who instead of using the chunk chicken to make a crust pound the chicken flat and cook the pizza toppings on that, if he would eat chicken smothered in cheese and stuff that isn't...all but pureed...0 -
LolaDeeDaisy23 wrote: »@juliegayleh There are some people, like you said, who are "everything in moderation" folks and there's people who are "it's all or nothing" folks. I'm part of the "it's all or nothing" group, unfortunately. Quest bars are a trigger food for me. Same with low carb breads/sugar free cookies. I can't have just one. I have tried... again and again. Why fight your will power? Why put yourself in that predicament of "One won't hurt, I'll just have one."
Take it all out of the house. Or put it in an off limits cabinet. My hubby needs his sugar free cookies and cereals and treats, and he has a special cabinet just for him. I don't open it. I don't know what exists in there and life is better for me that way lol
I call that cabinet the "NOT YOURS Cabinet." It belongs to the kids and getting in it would be taking from them. Nevermind that they shouldn't be eating that crap anyway, but they do have limits. Small amounts, weekends only. But the psychology of it works for me.0 -
My fiance has a couch-side table, a dedicated shelf in the pantry, and a dedicated shelf in the fridge. Those are like wormholes. They don't even exist in my lovely alternate universe! Oh, and a hidden basket of snacky things, too... It's so OUT of my universe, I forgot about it. LOL1
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@juliegayleh it was going off sugar and all forms of all grains (cold turkey was the only way I could get off of these carbs) nearly three years that fully resolved my face poking of carbs day and night. Not sure if that if that would work for you.
A friend that leads AA classes was trying to get our Sunday School class to better understand AA and how it works. It was the chapter on Denial that was the 2x4 whack over the head that caused me to realize I was just another Addict in Denial. Because of family history of alcohol and other addictions I thought I was home free from addictions only to then realized I had wrecked my health from 40 years of Carb Abuse.4 -
Hahaha! The muzzle might really simplify it all.
My daily weigh ins, logging, and checking in here whenever I can helps me most in the accountability department.
When I'm succeeding, it adds to my sense of accomplishment and connection; and when I'm struggling it helps me feel less alone and still part of a group of awesome people who are seeking a better life. I have survived many good and bad patches over the past two years on MyFitnessPal. Still alive and kicking!
Truly amazing what I learn and how I benefit daily from being an active part of this community - especially coming from such an isolated and lonely past. I took my first timid steps out of that trap via my friends and actions on this site. I love what I find here every day.
Really, it just blows me away.2 -
@elize7 - knowing me, I'd figure out a straw system and probably not even realize it.
And I agree, I've learned more from the people here in the last 5-7 years than in the entire rest of my life combined...1 -
Thanks everyone!! Took a few days to plan. Off today and going to grocery. I think I need to include my son as much has possible to help him make good choices and also so I don't have the junk there as temptation.
Starting very simple for weekend. Breakfasts will be keto pancakes (fruit and SF syrup for kiddo) dinners are low carb chicken nuggets, (Trying caulitots again because I love them), mini fat head pizza with salad; and veggie picked chili. Lunches are salads and left overs with additional options for him (hummus/ peanut butter/fruit)
So that's it. Once we get to Sunday u will plan for next week.1 -
@juliegayleh sounds like you are off to a good start. I am nearly 3 years into this WOE and still tweaking but find I am doing it subconsciously more and more.0
