Advice please regarding control

[Ann2shoes]

Dear Lighter Life friends,

Reading the posts on here is so encouraging so can any of you give me some advice please?

I have lost 46lb so far and have been in control except for last week when I had a teaspoon of husband`s dinner every evening (he is on management). Also last night; Halloween, I could not resist a tiny piece of chocolate (treats for the kids really) and today I ate another small piece. That signals that I am out of control at present, or getting that way.

I am on week 16 and have about 7-10lbs to go. It doesn`t help that people keep saying `surely you haven`t got any more weight to lose?`when I know full well I have. Does anybody also agree that `being on the last lap`can be as hard as when you begin because by now I look reasonably ok and have dropped 3-4 dress sizes.

Advice and encouragement welcomed. You`re a fantastic lot of people.

[Russiandoll]

I suspect the last stone is going to be the most challenging for me Ann ... and I know many people struggle with those last few pounds so what you're experiencing is perfectly normal.

Do you have a plan on LL where you start reintroducing food when you approach your goal? If so, will you be starting that soon?

[chicken on a mission]

I found the development stage to be the hardest for a number of reasons:

I felt I was close to goal so it dragged
I was already slimmer than most of the UK population but avergae overweight wouldn't do for me
I was mentally in limbo land
I thought the counselling in the development stage was not to the same standards as the foundation or management
I was ready to start practising what I had learnt


As for you starting to feel out of control, this is the time where you really need to make sure that you complete your thought records and learn even more about yourself in preparation for management because you really have to draw on your self knowledge at that stage so the more work you do the better

Also, I could flip this round and say that only having a spoonful of hubby's meals shows a great deal of restraint and self control. Could you have just had a little pre LL?

Please try to give yourself a little more credit and a few strokes because you deserve them

[Shadow]

I am also in Development and can relate to what you are saying!

I've been revisiting some of my foundation book because lost of the same feelings are happening to me!

You say "I feel out of control" This is twisted thinking if you remember back to foundation. On a scale of 1 to 10, how out of control have you been if 1 is abstinance and 10 is completely out of control? I would say that if you have had a teaspoon of food a night and a small taste of chocolate, you are only at number 2 on the scale.

Finishing Foundation seems to be a common trigger for our Chatterbox's to start up again. We are getting lots of compliments and people telling us we don't need to lose any more, so it's understandable that we are getting confused at the moment. I think Chickens advice re writing thought records is very good advice! I also suggest that you think about what Ego State you are in at the moment and if you haven't covered it in your foundation group, ask your LLC to go over the Egograms counselling session with you.

I did one last week along with cutting out pics from magazines of trendy slim people and sticking this in my scrap book and it really helped.

Remind yourself what your SMART Goals are and update them if you need to.

Keep focused.....we can both see this through to the end! x

[Flopster]

I have just come out of development a few weeks earlier than I had planned to.

I was suffering from everything Shadow, Chicken and you had said but more because I had simply had enough, I am happy with my weight and my size (it was never my aim to be anything less than a size 14, I always said I would be happy with that).

I started doing what you were doing, a little nibble here and there, a slice of chicken and so on.

It got to the point where I was nibbling really every night and I decided that rather than let it get out of control, I would go into Management.

I would like to lose another stone (that is LIKE not WANT) and if I can achieve another stone at some point over the next three months by just being careful, then I will be very very happy. If I can't I am still very very happy!

I'm not saying my way is the best way - far from it - time will tell whether I will live to regret coming into Management a bit earlier than planned and it is very early days.

I just understand where you are coming from!

[Ann2shoes]

Dear Fellow LL`s,
Thank you for your advice, seems very sound to me. I will do my best to take it!
One thing that has helped since last week is that I don`t wan`t to feel the apprehension as I drive to LL as I did this week, it`s just not worth it. After all, I`ve tasted the food, know what it tastes like and don`t need to taste it again (I keep telling myself).
Anyway, I lost 3lbs so I feel very fortunate.
Thanks again.

[chicken on a mission]

The most vauable advice I can share with you is that the one week you don't want to go to your meeting is likely to be THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETING YOU WILL ATTEND.

If you hit that stage where you are dreading it then please make sure you go

As always, we LL'ers are here for you so lean on us if you need to

[carrot_tit]

Whenever i feel tempted orlike i'm going to break i get out my before photographs and that's usually enough to scare me into being good again