WHY did you quit?

[ronfraz]

The main thing for me is failure to plan ahead. I do best when I've made meals ahead of time and I know what my snacks will be in advance. If I rely on eating out at the cafeteria at work or any other restaurant, or I'm out of snacks, then my discipline wavers.

As of now (my second go-around) the most troublesome time is the weekend because I have so much stuff going on. I just have to think ahead and success will come.

[Msu_Mom]

I read the SB book and tried to start the change in 2006 right after the birth of my son. Despite nursing him and fearing the whole ketone thing with my milk supply. Without a doubt I quit because during day one and two I felt sick...like literally ill. I had no idea it was normal to feel gross and possibly have an upset stomach even to be repulsed by the sight of meat or food at all for that matter...so I gave up.

I have since realized that my eating habits up until re-starting the SB life change were slowly killing me. I couldn't stand the guilt of eating (sometimes binging) on nothing but sugars and carb rich foods for years...decades. I felt like I had just abused another helpless person or something...now realizing that worse than that I was abusing my own body...something I could totally prevent and yet I wasn't. The weight loss this time is awesome but better than that is knowing that I'm giving my body exactly what it needs to do it's job and be in the best health it can be!!! Love THAT feeling!!!

[RedRox]

I read the SB book and tried to start the change in 2006 right after the birth of my son. Despite nursing him and fearing the whole ketone thing with my milk supply. Without a doubt I quit because during day one and two I felt sick...like literally ill. I had no idea it was normal to feel gross and possibly have an upset stomach even to be repulsed by the sight of meat or food at all for that matter...so I gave up.

Well no that isn't really normal and should not be part of the expectation set of starting SB. (Atkins yes, SB no.) These are symptoms of ketosis which can be largely mitigated or eliminated in P1 with the appropriate use of all the available carb sources that are there within the guidelines of the program. Add to that nursing moms shouldn't start in P1, but only in P2 per Dr. A, then it was likely an implementation issue and choice, not a program design issue. If you ditch his menus in the book and follow the foods lists and the menu planning guidelines released by the official site and available within this forum, and make the choices to consume as many P1 carbs as possible given the guidelines, then you can likely avoid 90% of the symptoms you felt the first time. ATMO.

[LuckyDawger23]

My main reason for falling off... WORK. My work hours have me eating lunch at 4pm and dinner at 10 or 11pm at night. That plus work-related stress and eating out= gaining a nice 10-15 pounds.

I've had to go back to COOKING and packing my lunch. Much better.

[asenath74]

I quit because I became pregnant and could barely keep anything down. I craved bread and chicken nuggets. Vegetables repulsed me and if my dh cooked eggs in the house I had to open all the windows because I couldn't stand the smell lol. A million excuses all pertaining to pregnancy - exhaustion, cravings, etc. I lost 40 lbs in 8 weeks and felt great. Now it's 6 yrs later and I've had 2 more children. I need to be healthy for myself and for them. So I'm back on, am in phase 2 and am down 22 lbs.

[spaceychik]

I read all the posts of this topic and I really relate. I did SB when the 1st book first came out and I lost 8 lbs. in Ph.1, and then we went on vacation, and I didn't stick to it. Of course, I didn't lose any more, but kept trying that summer to go back on Ph.1, but I didn't stick with it more that a day. When I first went on it, I weighed about 165, then down to 157 and finally I am now 185. I've lost 10 this time. It really makes me mad that I did this to myself. I got down to a size 10 (134) in 1996 from doing the Hilton Head Met. diet, and it was really low cal. and exercising 2X a day. I lost 30 lbs. in 4 mon. but I only kept it off 2 years. So, I got back up to 168 or 174 and went on WW. Then joined ediets and lost about 10 lbs. and so on. I've just yo-yo ed since. But now I have sleep apnea, restless legs, arthritis, high cholesterol, and acid reflux. I'm a mess and I blame weight gain. I know how to eat well, but I binge.

[bettieboop]

I'm with you, Lucky. I usually work "second shift" and when I get home I head for the fridge. Spacey, it's so hard to eat out, I haven't gotten into the mindset of sticking to the right choices. And restaurants are geared to feeding us more than what we should be eating anyway. We don't bring home leftovers due to the fact my oldest living at home is so allergic to most foods. So you sit there and try to eat it all. I do order 1/2 servings when it's possible.

I do feel like I am motivated, I've stayed on the board, both lurking and actually posting. I even posted when I had pepparoni pizza for breakfast and lunch.

Plus, I am on my feet all day, so the last thing I want to do either in the morning before work or after work at night is get on my treadmill.

I quit smoking cold turkey over two years ago. I don't understand why eating right is so difficult.

Tomorrow is a new day.

[spaceychik]

Oh man!! All of these posts are me too!!!! This is my 2nd time on SB. 1st time was in 2003. Lost 10 and then didn't lose and got pissed and gained back 10 plus 30!!! I can't do that again.

[spaceychik]

I did SB when the book first came out in 2003(?) At that time I lost 8 lbs. in Ph. 1, and then went on to Ph.2, but didn't lose any more weight, so, I quit and went back to binging and eating junk food. My weight steadily rose to 195 (from 154). I've tried other plans and always fall off. I decided to try SB again, and I was determined I would be really careful, esp. when entering Ph.2. I lost 10 from April till now(July 31) That's it. I have gotten discouraged and frustrated and have had binges since and eaten forbidden foods like desserts now and then. I gained back 4 lbs. but lost that and am now back to the original 10. I am considering quitting again and trying to just put something together myself. SB just seems too scientific for me and there are too many rules and nuances, esp. with going onto Ph.2. My main hurdle is binge eating. My stomach is cramping from not enough fiber in just a limited amount of carbs. I'm not talking about bad carbs, but rather whole grains. I haven't stayed at Ph.1 although I did attempt to go back to it last week, but I cheated. I cheated with milkshakes. This morning I kind of freed myself. I had an Arnold's thin bagel and a T. of hummus with half a small cantalope (the big cheat). I do feel fuller than with eggs and V-8 or eggs and veggies. I don't want to eat sugar or white stuff, but I don't want to abandon good fruits that I love or whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice. I think I need it. Maybe what I need to follow is Ph.3 even though I'm no where near my goal weight.

[Kimboroni]

I don't want to abandon good fruits that I love or whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice. I think I need it. Maybe what I need to follow is Ph.3 even though I'm no where near my goal weight.

Phase 2 allows for all of those. P2 and p3 are pretty much the same thing, except that in p3 you're not trying to lose weight anymore, so you can treat yourself ever so slightly more often. Stop trying for perfection in p1 and the transition to p2, and just make p2 work. It's plain old healthy eating.

[spaceychik]

Thanks, Kimboroni! I feel better from what you said. Really! Today I'm going to just relax and eat healthy on Ph.2.