You seem strong enough.

[cut]

Yeah, but the thing is that you were under quite a lot of stress.  Shoot,
sometimes I'm off the bandwagon for no reason; at least you had a valid
reason.

Stress sucks, no doubt about it.. ((((Duffy)))))

As always YMMV and this is JMO
Jeanne Type 2  Diagnosed 05/28/02
194/164/120

[...]

Yeah....I expect things to be exactly the same for me. My demons will never
leave...I might suppress them, but I'll carry them always..they are mine and
a part of me....and I must always be ready, willing, and alert enough to
deal with them.

Hang in there Duffy. You're the master of you.

Sort of like an Alcoholic - take things one day or even on hour at a
time.....

I've been there and done that - don't let it get to ya.  Recognize it, which
you've already done, and move on....

Sandy K

The wonderful thing about your experience, Duffy, is that you KNOW you can
stop yourself before you go too far.  That's the key to success IMHO;
knowing how to recognize the signs and stop yourself BEFORE you exceed
moderation.

I'm proud of you.  I'm impressed that you are so giving, too.  Your family
is fortunate to have you.

~Carol Ann
www.lowcarblosers.com ~ Home of the Monthly Weightloss Challenge

this sounds like disordered eating.  yes, i know "carb addict" is a popular
label on this board, but secretive, guilty eating screams of binge or
compulsive eating disorders to me.
have you considered talking to a therapist about the feelings you have when
you eat?  the feelings you have that "make" you eat that way?

i'm a compulsive overeater, and while i find that low carbing helps a lot
with cravings, it doesn't touch the major issues around why i overeat..
think for a while about why you overeat (or eat "bad" foods).  think about
the emotions you have, and what you expect to get out of the food.  do you
eat to fill an emotional void (this is what i do)?  do you eat to
"normalize" your emotions (i do this too)?  do you eat to cover up an
emotion you're not ready to deal with?

many people ease their emotional pain with food.  i think that's one of the
main sources of obesity in the US.  well, that and "super sized" portions.

congrats on getting back on track.  and i hope you feel better.

-kelly

i know how u feel i have been struggling the last few days, i was doing good
all week and then friday night my scheduale at work changed and things went
down hill until today when i got back on track. I have been having massive
withdrawls. but i am doing better then i have all week. the main thing to
rememeber is that u got back on track and didn't give up completly. I was
told by someone once and it always sticks with me when I am having a hard
time. it goes like this

"you have not failed until you have given up completly......."

started lcing March 17 2004
weight watchers March 15 2003 goal weight reached 125 Sept  11/03
regain to 137lbs new goal 110 lbs 5'4 inches tall
goal for the last part of the month to get under 130lbs again. 3lbs away
from that goal.
Angie

"

Well, you got through it and you're back on track.  Good for
you!  Having been through my parents' deaths and my SO's
mother's death and impending father's death, all taken care
of in their later years by just us two, I can say that one
recurring thought always got me through - someday I'm gonna
be old, too.

Marsha/Ohio

I hear you, its shocking that the hardwiring is still there even if
you haven't flipped the switch in a long time.

Try to keep in mind that being successful is not always about being
perfect, its about correcting your mistakes as quickly as possible and
learning from them.

Thank you everyone for your kind replies. And thank you to the few
people with the not so kind replies.

I made it through yesterday without a hitch. As I mentioned, I used
the Duffy List system....a rather simplistic approach to squelch
out-of-control eating. The night before, I make a list of foods that I
can eat for the following day. I try to make the list broad enough
that it covers several possibilities, like going out to a restaurant,
having a quick snack, etc. Anyway, if a food isn't on the list, I
can't eat it. Period. Once the list is finalized, there are no
write-ins.

Yesterday I met my friend Paula for lunch at Subway and had a great
Spinach and Chicken salad (both of those were on the list). Dinner was
also made up of approved substances. I worked out over at the Fire
Department. I went to bed feeling more like myself.

Today the sugar craving demon is still calling, but the voices are
somewhat quieter. I know that by the weekend the demon will be gone
again.

For me, the most important issue of my diet journey comes down to
control. If I can control my eating, I am much happier. (The better
body is a great by-product.) I realize that when my life gets out of
control, food is the first place I turn for comfort. In turn, I hate
myself for eating stuff that isn't good for me and that makes me fat.
The awful feeling of standing with my hand in the Lay's bag of potato
chips and feeling powerless to stop, followed by a wave of
self-revulsion, is just too destructive. And of course, the reign of
eating does nothing to improve the situation that drove me to eat in
the first place.

Duffy's downward spiral can be controlled. Call it the Duffy List
System, call it Just Say No, call it Don't Say Yes, call it anything
you want. For me, at least, I understand that I can't control the
situations around me but I can control the way I deal with them and
stuffing my face just isn't an effective solution.

I hope that sharing my experience strikes a chord in someone here. If
not, maybe you're the lucky one. Because people who tie on a feedbag
in response to tough times are the ones who are going to have to fight
that urge over and over again. But folks, I am living proof that we
can fight it and win.

Duffy
182/now 126 (will weigh on Monday)
since 12-01-01

*That* is the wonderful bit about your experience, getting back on the
wagon so fast.

Induction sucks, the withdrawal sucks, you feel miserable, no one
wants to go through it, it's so eaay to procrastinate another day,
another week, another month... I mean, you know you'll go back to
low-carb *eventually*, but maybe after this doughnut, after the
holidays, after, after, after...

How many posts do we see here where the poster lost some huge amount
of weight, fell off the wagon, and gained it all back before getting
back to it?  Getting back to it after a 2-lb gain sure as hell beats
getting back to it after a 20-lb gain or worse.

The great thing about this story is how you figured out what wasn't
working for you, and came up with a plan to get back on the path.
Very inspirational!

Thanks for taking the time to share this experience with us.  There
does seem to be a current of binging and/or "the Hell with it"
off-plan eating going around the NG right now...must be the equinox!

T.