When and how you diet is always a mental game, no more so then when you take on the rigorous challenge of a low-carb diet while surrounded by skinny Midwest carb-loving folks as I am...
Getting into the game: Pregame decisions
There is strategy in thinking of when to start and undertake a low-carb weight loss diet.
First, find a time that has minimal distractions. Holidays are horrible, vacations are villainous.
This time around, for example, I chose the day after our live-in guest from Paris left town, because I knew that during his stay we would be out and about and trying different foods and it could be difficult to limit myself.
Further, August was scheduled to be a quiet month for us with no big parties, trips or plans in the works. Perfect for focusing on the diet without undue distractions that steer you off course or make you jealous enough to stop dieting.
I think at least two weeks without distractions is important, but perhaps it is more like 3 or 4 weeks. After my first week, we held a morning birthday celebration in Golden Gate State Park. Wonderful scenery, mountains and setting but tough to watch everyone eat carb surprise and potatoes followed by cake.
Give yourself distance and time, distance and time!
First half of play
Stay busy. This is critical to not thinking about food until the first week is over and you really stop worrying about food. Basically, it takes a week to get past the frantic nature of always figuring out your next low-carb adventure, and three to four weeks to retrain your habits not to want to reach for junk food all the time. It's good training!
At the beginning, realize your body will be feeling weird physically and mentally. Physically you will feel odd losses of energy that tend to go away quickly. Digestion swings wildly on the back end, if you will.
But that's not the problem. Mentally you almost feel a bit deprimé (depressed). My theory is that your body craves carbs and old habits, so partially forces this mood to try and get you to eat carbs.
The big issue is that you go through the thinking that you are being deprived, because you were bad or defective or something. You start to think a candy bar is a right, not just a corporate gimmick, and you are deprived.
You need to remind yourself that being thinner and having control over whether you eat carbs is your true right. Cold french fries? Don't need 'em. Another candy bar that just spikes my blood sugar and makes me feel bad? Pass.
As I said above, it takes 3-4 weeks to retrain bad habits out of you and when you go off the diet you'll be happy you did! Finally you can eat carbs, but you'll definitely be smarter about choosing "good" and "bad" carbs, seeing them for what they are.
French baguette with Nutella and a banana in the morning? Glorious!
Bag of stale Doritos? Limp and greasy french fries? Uhhh, glutonous.
Second half of play
Weeks 2-4 are the easier ones by far. Keep in mind that if you have a bad day in terms of carbs just get past it, don't give up, and you'll quickly be losing pounds again.
So far I have lost 10 pounds in, lessee, 14 days! Pretty massive weight loss, so it'll slow significantly. Besides, I might be cheating on the scale a bit, hopping to one foot or the other to jimmy the max weight loss ;-)
Weight loss expectation guidelines
o End of week 1: you should see 1-5 pounds lost, as your body gets into weight loss mode.
o End of week 2: an addition 3-5 pounds lost.
o Weeks 3-5: Depends on how much you have to lose. When you start getting slimmed down, the weight loss tends to slow a bit.
o After 2-3 weeks: Note... sometimes, if you lose a lot of weight one week, you'll see a 3-4 day "consolidation" period of no weight loss. Usually that means you were on the scale at a different time of day or perhaps you had too many carbs one day or whatever. Don't worry, it's normal.
My Atkins' Tip Series
Atkins Diary I: why
Atkins Diary II: the menu
Atkins Diary III: Diet Secrets
Atkins Diary IV: More Secrets!
Atkins Diary V: Cartoon
Atkins Diary VI: Mental Game
Atkins Diary VII: The Lighter side (humor)
Vitamin Supplements
Atkins Diary VIII: Final Tips
Atkins: Followup
By the way, it's now March 2005... and I've kept off the weight, so that's good. As I've said, I usually just need a jumpstart back into better eating and exercise habits and Atkins did exactly what I'd hoped.
Posted by BilFish at August 17, 2004 07:02 AM