I’ve been doing this Atkins low carb stuff for nearly a decade now. I’m stuck at present in a familiar pattern: I do good, then not so good, then better, then worse – and my weight bobs around a particular number.
It’s about the time for me to relax – not the diet, but my expectations.
It’s the expectations that cause us to fail far more often than the diet itself. In the past in times like this I’ve taken the ‘fail each day’ approach: I wake up knowing I’ll probably screw up, give it my best shot, then either I screw up the day or don’t.
You might say I am being negative, but actually this approach reduces negativity in a strange way. Someone once said: “It is impossible for an optimist to be pleasantly surprised.”
True dat. If I screw up, I’ve cushioned the blow. If I have a good day I am more pleased than if I had simply expected it as a foregone conclusion. I find this approach works for me.
“Just Do It.” Might work for other people or for sneaker advertising but if you have a less than stellar record of being successful at things, persistence can often make up for a deeply ingrained talent for screwing up.
Can ‘natural-born screwups’ lose weight? I have.
I had a decent day yesterday and hope to have a good day today. I’m going to set myself up with foods that I hope will help me succeed today.
And if I don’t succeed? There’s always tomorrow to try again. Perhaps try different low carb foods, or eating at different times. I keep experimenting and see what happens. For example, I’ve been eating way too much low carb bread, which I love but I find stalls me. I finished up the last slice yesterday and hope to avoid buying more. Perhaps I’d be smart to buy some iceberg lettuce, which can act as a container for food like bread does.
I’ll keep at it, trying this and that until I find my groove.
Low Carb Confidential 
I’ve always felt that low carb bread is an oxymoron.
‘Oxymoron’ is a *perfect* way to describe the stuff.
There’s two types of ‘low carb crap food’ in my opinion:
1. Low carb crap – Spam, pork rinds and deli meats are examples. None of these have the gut to even try to make a health claim.
2. Low carb fakes – Atkins bars, low carb bread and zero-calorie jellies are examples. They pretend to be something they aren’t.
I’ve used both. They come in very handy, for me, as a transition away from high carb foods and junk food in general. They ‘ease me in’ to a way of healthier eating, a level of perfection I never attain because I like junk – even low carb junk – too much.
I love pork rinds!
I am very suspicious of stuff like Atkin’s bars and “low-carb” wraps and bread. In my experience they cause cravings and make me feel slightly ill after eating them. Also I eat Atkin’s bars like regular chocolate bars… so that is a problem.
The Atkins Shakes worked quite well for me. I lost my original weight using them multiple times a day and they filled me up. The bars worked OK – I could eat too many. Regardless, if you are coming off a 20-year junk food kick, these things are great to help you make that transition.
Also: I don’t want you to think I have anything against pork rinds – I have 10 bags in the garage – I am just saying I don’t know whether fried pork skins are all that good for your long-term health.
But I like ’em and don’t worry about it too much.