everything atkins forums

Playing Mental Volleyball

Don't believe in "forbidden foods". You need to eat foods that you like if you're going to stick with a healthy eating program, and an occasional LC treat will help keep you from feeling deprived. But one lapse can be the beginning of a series of lapses, and before you know it, you've given up.



You know the reasons why you shouldn't get off track, but it's all-too-easy to counter them with excuses. It's like a game of mental volleyball, where you're hitting the pros and cons back and forth in your head. The key to winning that game:
learn to use inhibiting statements.

Blocking the urge

An inhibiting statement helps to block that impulse or urge to eat more than you should. On the other hand, a releasing statement gives you permission to lapse.

This example illustrates how inhibiting and releasing statements work:

Problem: As you pass the bakery and smell that terrific aroma, you spot the most delicious-looking éclairs you've ever seen.

Releasing: "That's the most amazing éclair I've ever seen. I've got to have one!"
Inhibiting: "Why do I need that éclair? I'm not even hungry."

Releasing: "But how can I pass up that great-looking éclair?"
Inhibiting: "But I don't even like éclairs that much."

Releasing: "If I wait to pre-plan for this éclair, it will probably be gone."
Inhibiting: "I really want to lose weight and eating the éclair will only delay it.
Releasing: "Oh, just this once."
Inhibiting: "I will look better, feel better and act better with weight loss and I'm determined to do all I can to keep losing. Now, let's go to the theater and buy those concert tickets. That performance should be really good.

Result: When you finish with an inhibiting statement, you can walk by the bakery and get your mind on other things. If you finish with a releasing statement, you'll eat one or more éclairs from the bakery.

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_________________
Started Atkin's - January 9th/04


279.5/190.75/175.0
88.75 lbs down
first goal - 205lbs - April 2/09
Onederland hit..April 23/09
second goal - 193lbs

I wish a big banner of this could come up every time we log onto this web site. Think of the heartaches it could stop. So many people log on here after falling off the wagon and telling us how this happened to them.

_________________
Linda

234.5/*219.2/212/149 (Low was 168.5) 64, 5"1"
DH 221/*211/205/?? 66, 5'10"
* As of 7/1/2011, we first started 8/23/03

"What would Jimmy Buffet Do?"
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