1) get control of your head. You can't eat everything you want and also not
be fat. You have to decide which one you really want to do. I know it is
hard, but having a love affair with food will make things very difficult.
try to beat it down.

2) start paying attention to how much you're eating, not just carbs. decide
that not matter what, you won't let your weight creep more than 5 lbs over
where you want to be (well, you must be realistic about this - 127 may just
be too little for you. Why not compromise at 135 with 140 being your "i'm
going to quit eating now" point.) Seriously, don't ever let yourself think
that you won't have to struggle to not be fat. That is the plight of a
formerly fat person, sadly.

3) look at your workout program. What are you doing? Perhaps it's time to
revise it - notch up the intensity. Add some real muscle mass to boost your
BMR.

4) you know exactly what will happen if you quit. think long and hard about
that -- try to visualize yourself naked while in front of a mirror. Yep, do
that every morning....

5) quit lurking. hanging out here will help you keep your focus. keeping
focus is very important, believe it or not.

Linda wrote:
:: I've been lurking here for quite a while, and have gotten much
:: support and information from this group (thank you!) But now I've
:: reached the end of my rope and need some advice, and I thought some
:: of you might be able to give me some words of wisdom.
::
:: I started low-carbing in May 2002, one year ahead of my wedding, at
:: the weight of 152 (I am 5'6"). By my wedding date, I was 25 pounds
:: lighter, at 127 (yay!) On my two-week honeymoon in Tahiti, I put on
:: 14 pounds (yikes!), 7 pounds of which I was able to take off the
:: first week back.
::
:: Since then (one year and four months) I have been basically taking
:: one step forward and two steps back. During my pre-wedding weight
:: loss, I was pretty much keeping around 30-40 carbs a day. Almost a
:: year ago I cut back to 20 grams a day, and rarely go over that.
:: Once every couple of months, either on a business trip or a weekend
:: getaway, I eat whatever I want, gain about 4 pounds, and then over
:: the next few weeks lose about 3 of them, so I've been slowly going
:: backwards. I am now at 142. Even when I go for months at a time
:: staying faithfully at 20 grams or less, I can't lose anything, and
:: often gain.
::
:: I feel so frustrated, and deprived and angry at passing up the food I
:: really want to eat, exercising 3 times a week, following all the
:: rules, and still.I gained two pounds this week! What the heck is
:: that all about? I eat meat, cheese, salad, and that's about it.
:: I'm ready to chuck it all, but I'm afraid to because if I gain
:: weight staying at 20 carbs a day, what's going to happen if I quit?
:: I don't want to be one of those statistics that gain back everything
:: they lose and then some.
::
:: Can anybody out there give me any advice?
::
:: Thank you in advance,
:: Linda