Overcoming the Deprivation Mindset — Part 1

OK, I’ve been wanting to post about the damage and deceit of what’s called “The Deprivation Mindset”, but as usual I couldn’t stop with just a simple post.  So, I’ve had to break it down into a series so you, my readers, don’t get lost in another one of my long-winded posts.  So here we go with Part 1.

Feeling a Little Deprived ‘Cause You Can’t Have That Chocolate Covered Donut?

The first few days and weeks of a diet, even the first few months for some of us, are filled with excitement, motivation and optimism.  But as we lose a few pounds and become happier and healthier, there is sometimes a tendency for our excitement, motivation and optimism to fade.  It’s at this point that we are in danger of sabotaging ourselves by losing our focus, blurring our boundaries and getting sloppy with our newly learned, healthy, low-carb nutritional lifestyle.  This mindset, left unchecked, can quickly lead us right back down the road to our old destructive eating habits.

One of the underlying causes of this derailing behavior is the old, “I deserve it…it’s not fair…everybody else is eating it…I earned it…I feel so deprived” mindset.  This childish way of thinking, called the Deprivation Mindset, could just as easily and accurately be called the Failure Mindset, according to Dr. Stephen Gullo, author of The Thin Commandments Diet.  It is by our very own deceptive thoughts that we conceive such damaging notions, and by our very own self-deprecating words that we perpetuate and reinforce those thoughts until they give birth to compulsive, emotional, mindless over-eating!  It is a childish way of thinking that says, “any and all boundaries and guidelines are bad and unnecessary!” At times I’ve heard that child within me screaming and throwing a “fit”, demanding that I have anything and everything I want to eat…regardless of the consequences!  If you’ve ever struggled with weight control, then you’ve probably experienced the same “fits” from the “child within you” as well.

Don’t feel bad, because the fact is, dieting has always been associated with deprivation.  It’s kind of like a “virus” that infects you the minute you start dieting.  I actually hate the term “diet”, because it implies a temporary way of eating instead of a healthy nutritional lifestyle of weight control and maintenance.  And that “temporary way of losing a few pounds” is exactly what makes you feel deprived.  While you are stuck eating some tiny, despicable looking, detestable tasting “food-like-substance”, all your friends are eating as many of those luscious, delicious, tempting, sinful, sugary, carb-laden treats they care to stuff their face with.  Therefore, in your own mind, you feel deprived!  And that my friend is the “Deprivation Mindset” in a nutshell…or shall we say, “The Failure Mindset”?

“We all have power over the feeling of deprivation — the ability to control it, decrease it, even extinguish it — because the source of it begins and ends with you.”  ~~Dr. Stephen Gullo

Discovering this hidden way of destructive thinking, and knowing that I have the power to destroy it before it destroys me has been one of the most empowering strategies I have learned about successful weight control.  I can truthfully say that “a light really came on” when I read about this concept in Dr. Gullo’s book.  If you have the book you’ll find this topic as “The Eighth Thin Commandment: Stop Feeling Deprived”.

Overcoming the Deprivation Mindset — Part 2

Overcoming the Deprivation Mindset — Part 3

Overcoming the Deprivation Mindset — Part 4

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Willpower doesn’t work! Strategy does!

First of all, eating low-carb means you don’t go around hungry all the time, unlike low-fat/low-cal.  Matter of fact, eating to fullness is one of the keys to success of low-carb in contrast to calorie counting and portion control with so many other diets.  I can say that, for me personally, the satiety factor was one of the most appealing points of the low-carb nutritional lifestyle.  The one thing that stuck in my mind was when a friend who had been extremely successful with his low-carb weight loss told me, “this is the first diet I’ve ever done that hasn’t left me going around hungry all the time.”

Willpower, as related to dieting, implies that it is the power of one’s will that is the force used to resist eating restricted food and/or super-sized portions.  Now most of us know just how strong our dieting will, or resolve, is until hunger is gnawing at your backbone and we are standing face-to-face with the forbidden fruit.  It’s when that double chocolate donut is staring us down that we become weak-kneed and our will power goes out the window.  I’ve experienced it dozens of times and so have you.  And I am weary of the advice of the skinny folks who always get preachy with their “you just need to use a little willpower” line.  Fact is, plain and simple, I don’t have any willpower when it comes to sugary, carb-laden treats.

So, what’s the answer?  How do we win?  If willpower doesn’t work, then what does?

Strategy, strategy, strategy!  Just like in real estate it’s location, location, location.  I can’t emphasize STRATEGY enough!  It can’t be said enough and most of all it can’t be practiced enough.  Strategy has helped me to win over many a donut.  And strategy will help you to win over the foods that tempt you the most.  So, what is this strategy thing Former Donut Junkie?  I’m glad you asked.

First of all, you already have a low-carb plan.  That plan is either Atkins, Protein Power, South Beach or some other flavor or variation of low-carb.  The plan is basically the science behind what makes low-carb work accompanied by a “list of legal foods”.  It’s imperative to know what foods are permissible if you are to succeed.  And most of us have the “list” memorized just like we memorized our multiplication tables in elementary school.  It’s not the “list” that’s the problem.  It’s the “how-to” stick to that “list” that throws most of us a curve.  Strategy is that “how-to”.  You have a plan, now you need a strategy to implement that plan.  Actually, we need several strategies.  Let’s talk about a few.

Search & Destroy! The first strategy is to search your house for ALL the foods that are not on your “list of legal foods” and destroy them.  Well, you could give them away.  But the Search & Destroy just sounds a bit more militant and that’s what it’s going to take to win.  At any rate, getting rid of ALL the tempting foods will remove them from your sight and you won’t need any willpower to resist them, cause they won’t be there to talk to ya!

Make a Grocery List! And stick to it!  Don’t go to the grocery store just to “look around”, especially when you initially start low-carbing.  In other words, you’re removing the temptation by not even looking at it.  And if you haven’t noticed, on low-carb you will rarely ever go down the “inner aisles” of your super-market.  You’ll be much healthier if you stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store.  Vegetables, meat and dairy — whole, real foods!  Now isn’t that simple?  And it’ll keep you out of a lot of trouble too.

Plan Ahead! OK, this is a big one!  As a super-carber I was so used to just picking up whatever “food-like-substance” I wanted and shoving it down my throat — totally impulsive and emotional eating.  That will NOT work with low-carb.  You’ve got to PLAN!  What I mean is that you’ve got to decide not only what you’re going to eat today, but for the next few days, so you can buy it and have it on hand.  If it’s frozen, you need to lay it out to thaw.  You’re trying to prevent going to the kitchen and looking around for “something” you can eat.  Cook ahead of time.  Have it prepared or have it ready to prepare.  And you can even keep low-carb snacks on hand just in case you get caught in a situation where you need a little something to eat until you get your meal prepared.  You get the idea.

Don’t Party Hungry! We all worry about what will be served in social situations — especially parties and dinners.  Most of the time we have a pretty good idea if there will be enough low-carb food there to survive on.  If I have the slightest inkling that there won’t be, I just simply eat before I go.  I’d rather fill up on some good burgers or steak beforehand and not face the temptation of the sugary, carb-laden treats.  It’s amazing how repulsive cake can look if you’re full of good low-carb food.  And all the time, your friends will be going around wondering how you can have that kind of willpower.  Secretly, you’ll know it’s not willpower at all…it’s strategy!

Get Some Support! It’s unlikely that you’ll find a lot of folks in your world who will celebrate your new low-carb nutritional lifestyle.  What you will find is the world seems to be filled with naysayers.  What to do?  Join an online low-carb support forum.  I don’t know of any better than Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Discussion.  You’ll find it’s friendly atmosphere is only exceeded by all the helpful folks who will be more than happy to answer your questions, encourage and inspire you.  I can’t say enough about the importance of this strategy that I have previously blogged about.

Conclusion. OK, there’s five strategies to get you started.  There’s lots more that you can come up with on your own and I encourage you to do so.  You’ll find that the more strategies you have, the easier is the road to success.  Let me know in the comments below what strategies you use that have proven effective.  I look forward to hearing from you.

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Blogs I’m Reading

I thought it might be of some interest to my readers as to what low-carb oriented blogs I read on a regular basis.  I recently posted Blog Reading Made Easier which is a little post about Google Reader and Bloglines.  They’re both a great way to automate updates to your blogs and save you the time and hassle of checking each one individually.

Dr. Jonny Bowden’s Blog — great blog posts from a fantastic low-carb author.  I’ve read his “Living the Low Carb Life” and “150 Healthiest Foods on Earth” and recommend both of them.  He has other books released since them, so check him out.

Fat Girl on Atkins — chronicles of a 28 year old woman and her weight loss journey.  Trina is also the Atlanta Low-Carb Examiner and writes some excellent posts.

Fear and Loathing in the Kitchen — Tracy Bradley writes some thought provoking posts about the low-carb world and has some super links to a plethora of other low-carb resources.

Healthy Low-Carb Living Blog –  Blogger, low-carb writer and photographer Amy Dungan posts about low-carb new, recipes and low-carb life in general.  She is also the St. Louis Low-Carb Examiner.

Hold The Toast Press — If you’ve been doing low-carb for very long at all then you know the name Dana Carpender.  Dana has published some of the best low-carb cookbooks out there.  She occasionally posts some of her recipes on her blog and some other insightful news you can use.

Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Blog — So far as I’m concerned Jimmy Moore is the king of low-carb blogging!  He produces more interviews, reviews and low-carb news than any other blogger I know of.  He also does podcasts, writes for Examiner.com and has the friendly and informative Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Discussion Forum.

Low Carb New England — Alex the blogger has realized great success with the low-carb lifestyle not only in weight loss but in overall improved health.  He has a vision to help spread the low-carb good news and help others succeed.  He has several great recipes.

Low-Carb for You — The writer of this low-carb blog, Stargazey, has some helpful and informative posts discussing the science behind the low-carb lifestyle.

Low-Carbing and General Health News — Author Jennifer Eloff, who has written 3 national best-selling cookbooks and several other books, has a great blog in which she shares some of her recipes and has some great posts about the low-carb lifestyle as well.  She’s a great asset to the low-carb community.

Mary Dan Eades, M.D. — Mary Dan and her husband Michael Eades are writers of the best selling “Protein Power”.   Her blog covers science and nutrition as well as low-carb foods and products.

Health & Nutrition by Michael R. Eades, M.D. –  Dr. Michael Eades is the other half of the “Protein Power” book and plan.  He has excellent posts breaking down technical medical and nutrition research, studies and data into language most of us can understand.  I love his writing style.

The Lighter Side of Low-Carb — Self described as “Low Carb With an Attitude (Because We’re All Cheeky Monkeys Trying for a Little Less Cheek)”.  Blog author Cleochatra is sure to keep you in stitches with her own style of humor as she shares recipes, low-carb news and just tidbits about life in general.  She is also a National Low-Carb Examiner.

The Steaks are High — Blogger Kate Welch provides recipes, restaurant tips, low-carb lifestyle articles and research and data info.

Welcome to My Low-Carb Kitchen — Vikki shares her own personal successes, failures, and life lessons as well as low-carb recipes and tips.  She has a very nice personalized writing style and is a real encourager.

Weight of the Evidence — Regina Wilshire is an outstanding blogger who provides her readers with “timely evidence from scientifice studies that supports healthy habits, along with musings, thoughts and other things from various sources.”

Well, there’s my little BlogRoll.  It’s not nearly an inclusive list of low-carb blogs but it’s what I’m reading now.  One neat thing is that when you visit these blogs I’ve mentioned is that you’ll find a horde of links to even more low-carb blogs and resources.

And if you know of an outstanding blog you think I should be reading, then by all means feel free to leave me a recommendation in your comments.

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Sugar’s Sweet Kiss of Death!

Sugar’s Sweet Kiss of Death!

 

For some it’s bread, for others it’s potatoes,

for some it’s pasta, for others it’s rice,

but for me it was SUGAR, sweet SUGAR!

 

SUGAR in any form, SUGAR by any name,

SUGAR in any shape, SUGAR at any time,

I loved her every sweet touch to these waiting lips.

 

I awoke thinking of SUGAR and how I could get my first fix.

My plans for the day revolved around SUGAR and her soothing kiss.

Secretly we often met, for food eaten in secret is sweet indeed.

 

Sweet SUGAR…she came to me when I was but a child,

causing me to smack my little baby lips,

and cry and scream until she kissed me again and again.

 

SUGAR was the only one who could make me feel so good,

when the world went sour, SUGAR was always there,

to pick me up, kiss my lips and make things all sweet again.

 

Cakes and pies, candy and chocolate,

donuts and coffee rolls, fritters and éclairs,

muffins and pastries, SUGAR was queen!

 

I bowed and responded to her every beckon call,

as tightly she held me in her grips,

begging again and again for SUGAR’s next kiss to my waiting lips.

 

Sweet deception, sweet lies, so sweet they all seemed,

little did I know SUGAR would lead me down the path,

to sweet surrender, sweet captivity, sweet bondage.

 

Sweet SUGAR, I never knew she had plans so evil,

intentions to harm, thoughts to destroy,

a strategy to take my life…one bite at a time.

 

My movement slowed, as my body was bulging and aching.

One minute I was moody blue, the next I was in a rage.

My insides were now trembling and my hands were shaking.

 

Oh, where are you Queen SUGAR? I need you now more than ever!

I beg you Sweet Queen, just one more kiss to calm me and keep me!

I’m dying for your sweetness, the touch of your sweet lips!

 

I now see clearly your evil schemes…Liar of Liars!

A thief and a robber…that’s who you really are!

Your power is gone…you deceiver…you schemer!

 

Never again shall you hold me in your throes!

Never again shall you touch my lips and broaden my hips!

Listen to me Queen SUGAR…Let me tell something to you!

 

You can take your Evil Kiss of Death, Queen SUGAR…

Bend over, grab your ankles, and put your head between your legs…

‘Cause you can kiss your sweet @$$ goodbye!  For I am SOOOO done with you!

 

– Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie, August 4, 2007

 

Former Donut Junkie Endorses Krystal 4 Carb Breakfast Scrambler!

I’ve talked about how I go out for breakfast most mornings at The Krystal. A little fast-food chain similar to White Castle. They have a 4-Carb Scrambler that I eat every morning, which is simply 2 scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese and 2 sausage patties. And of course I have a couple of cups of Krystal coffee.

I blogged a review of the Krystal 4-Carb Scrambler recently and just this week Krystal picked up on it and now has it posted on the Krystalist, their company blog. Former Donut Junkie Endorses Krystal’s 4 Carb Breakfast Scrambler.

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Lies! The Whole Truth!

Lies!  They’re everywhere we turn.  But the worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves!  And Trina Summers, the Atlanta Low-Carb Examiner, has just recently wrote an excellent article entitled, “Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself Before You Believe Yourself!” I highly encourage you to check it out.  It’s short, sweet and to the point.  But it really gets ya’ to thinking about how honest we are with ourselves sometimes.  I love reading and talking about the emotional facet of low-carbing.  And that’s the whole truth!

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Krystal, My Low-Carb Breakfast Friend!

Since I gave up Dunkin’ Donuts better than a year-and-a-half ago, I had to find me another place to hang out for breakfast. I am a breakfast person and I love going out for breakfast. I tried Hardees, but for some strange reason, I’m just not crazy about their Low-Carb bowl. I think it’s the fake tasting bacon bits that I have an aversion for. And their coffee is, well, more accurately described as a ‘coffee-like-substance’. I do like my coffee in the mornings, but I can get coffee better than this at the gas station, and that ain’t sayin’ much.

Enter KRYSTAL! You know, the fast food joint with the little square burgers, little being the keyword. Little on the burger, big on the bread! One little Krystal burger has 17g of carbs! Wow! Well anyhow, I discovered their 4 Carb Scrambler in July 2007 and I’ve been going there at least 3 to 5 days a week ever since. And their coffee is pretty good as well, especially when it’s fresh. It has that unique ‘nutty’ little flavor to it while it’s hot and fresh.  Krystal is one of the best kept secrets for breakfast so far as I’m concerned, especially for low-carbers.

The 4 Carb Scrambler comes in a little bowl, with 2 scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese, then topped with either a couple of sausage patties or a nice little pile of bacon. The 4 Carb Scrambler with coffee is only $3.81 [tax included]. What a deal for a cheap breakfast on the go!

And just look at the nutrition breakdown. What a great way to start the day.

Bacon Scrambler [5.5 oz] — 370 calories, 29g fat, 4g carbs, 1g fiber and 24g protein.
Sausage Scrambler [7.5 oz] — 600 calories, 51g fat, 3g carbs, 2g fiber and 32g protein.

One of these things easily keeps me going strong until after noon. You may not have a Krystal in your area, but if you do, I highly recommend stopping by and giving their 4 Carb Scrambler a whirl. They’re one of the few fast food joints with a low-carb item on their menu.

And, if you don’t like the Scrambler, they’ll cook you a custom breakfast. They will fry or scramble you some eggs, with some bacon or sausage.  Just tell ‘em to “Hold the toast!”

Uh, no I don’t work for Krystal, nor am I associated with them in any way, other than to be a fan of their low-carb breakfast scrambler. However, when I find something that helps me to stay on plan, I like to share it with all my low-carb friends.

P.S. – I almost forgot to tell you all how I eat my Scrambler.  I remove the two sausage patties, leaving the cheese covered eggs in the little bowl.  I then sprinkle some black pepper on the cheesy eggs, squirt a little single serving package of yellow mustard on that, then for the real flavor dowse it all with some Tabasco Habanero Sauce.  I then put one sausage patty back on the cheesy eggs and dig in.  When I finish with that I eat the other sausage patty by itself.  Then I normally drink two cups of Krystal coffee.  Breakfast over!!!

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

You Can’t Change What You Can Tolerate!

You can’t change what you can tolerate! Yes, you read that right.  What a bold statement.  When you first read those seven words your immediate response was more than likely an emphatic, “Oh yes I can!”  That was certainly my response the first time someone spoke it to me as a reply to one of my very own personal Mini-Whine-Fests concerning a less than miserable job situation.  Their pungently blunt, but well deserved tidbit of sage advice immediately set my mind awhirl trying to come up with forty-eleven reasons why I could indeed change my situation, if I wanted to, and prove them wrong.  Little did I know that was indeed the intent of their piercingly revealing statement.  It was just what the doctor ordered and served as the catalyst to start the decision making process that eventually led me to change jobs.

So how does that relate to the low-carb nutritional lifestyle?  I’m glad you asked.  A few years after the job change I realized I was at my highest lifetime weight, approaching the three hundred pound mark with lightning speed.  My ankles and feet ached, I was short of breath, had severe acid reflux, blood pressure problems, sleep apnea and all the other fun stuff associated with being what is affectionately known as being morbidly obese.  In addition to the medical problems, I had to squeeze myself into a restaurant booth, could barely tie my own shoes, was running out of ‘fat clothes’ for the umpteenth time and to add insult to injury I discovered I had nearly eaten myself out of a job!  See, I’ve been a plumber for twenty-five plus years and you know that plumbers have to be able to get into some ridiculously tight spaces to work on plumbing.  I quickly came to realize that one of the unwritten cardinal rules of plumbing is to always install plumbing in places that immediately induces fits of rage and anger along with the mumbling of unspeakable four letter words.  Matter of fact, there was no such thing as cursing until plumbing was invented!

So, my lightning fast mind suddenly recalled that bold and radical statement, “You can’t change what you can tolerate!” I realized that I had indeed reached the intolerance point.  I could no longer tolerate the misery and all it’s company associated with the less than satisfying notion of seeing a BIG 3 as the first number of my triple digit weight.  That’s when one of my best friends introduced me to the low-carb nutritional lifestyle for the first time in my life.  He was “doing Atkins” and had already lost forty-five pounds, but what really impressed me was when he told me, “this is the first time I’ve ever lost weight without having to go hungry all the time.” I immediately went out and bought the book, “Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution”, and read it in only a few short days.  My life shall forever be changed.  Low-carb just works for me!  And if you give it a fair chance, it will most likely work for you too.

So, what’s the moral of yet another long winded FDJ rant?  Allow me to answer that with a question or three.  What can you no longer tolerate?  Medical conditions and symptoms, aches and pains, embarrassment and humiliation?  Wanna’ change them?  You can!  Forget the damning mindset that says “things are just the way they’re meant to be.” No!  Things are the way we allow them to be!  You heard me right, I said “things are the way we allow them to be!” And when you come to the point you can no longer tolerate the pain and misery, YOU CAN change them!  That’s right, there is hope for your situation, no matter how bleak it may seem.  But you are the one who has to take action.

Maybe you’ve been struggling with weight problems and eating disorders and you’ve been secretly reading this and other low-carb blogs just wondering if this stuff really works.  Let me tell you, it works…IF you work it!  Just like anything else in life, it requires work, and I’m not going to tell you otherwise.  But it’s worth it!  You’re worth it!  Your family is worth it!  Your life is worth it!  And, enough of the lame excuse that “I’ve tried dieting before and it didn’t work!” I’ve tried lots of things in life that didn’t work the first time or the second time or the fifth time, but I kept trying until I found what did work, and you have too.  You always pass failure on the way to success! So, get up, dust your bad self off, put your foot down and scream out, “I can’t tolerate this anymore!” You’ve just taken your first step to victory!

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie

Do You Plan to Keep Your “FAT” Clothes…or…Trash ‘Em?

OK, here’s a question I’ve been thinking about lately since I’m down three pant sizes after fifteen months of low-carb.  As you continue to “shrink” in size as you low-carb do you plan to forever ditch what most of us call our “FAT” clothes, or will you hang onto them “just in case”? There seem to be several different ways of approaching this question after seeing some of the answers expressed on the LLVLC Discussion Forum.  So, I wanted to get some feedback from my blog readers.

There are some who say that they are forever sick of being fat and wearing “fat” clothes and never, ever want to see them again, so they’ve decided to give them to GoodWill or someone else who can use them.  This approach also adds an element of essentially “burning the bridge” to regaining the weight.  Their theory is that if I don’t have the clothes to “expand into” it will serve as an economic deterrent to regaining the weight.  That’s valid thinking and would certainly help us to think harder and longer if we do start to regain some weight.  When our pants get too tight to button without laying down on the bed, will that be motivation enough to get back on plan or will we be tempted to buy more clothes that “fit” again?  For me, that happened earlier this year when I got off plan for a couple of months.  Pants got tight enough that I decided, I’m not undoing what I’ve worked so hard for, so I got back on plan.  And at that point I still had my “fat” clothes in the closet.  Do I plan to get rid of them?  Well, you’ll just have to stay tuned!

In addition to the economic deterrent of “trashing your fat clothes”, I believe we build some confidence by getting rid of them.  Confidence in your new low-carb nutritional lifestyle. Did you notice that word lifestyle was emphasized?  That’s for a reason.  If you are serious about making low-carb a lifestyle, that is you plan on living it for the rest of your life, then I’d say, “trash ‘em”!  You’re convinced it works for you and you love the foods, so why not build your confidence by making the call to GoodWill or someone else who could really use them?  And then you could replace that empty space in your closet with some really nice looking, well fitting clothes that you really love to wear.  And at the same time you’d be helping others by giving your old clothes away.

On the other hand, if you’re considering low-carb as just another diet, like all the others you’ve tried over the years, then I think I’d hang onto my “fat” clothes.  Why, you ask?  Because of the mindset that says, “I always gain my weight back when I go back to eating the way I did before.”  Duh!  Of course we do!  The type of diet is not important here, it’s the fact that “you can NEVER go back”! That’s right, you can’t go back to doing the same thing that made you “fat” to start with and expect to keep the weight off.  It ain’t gonna’ happen!

“To get what you’ve NEVER had, you must do what you’ve NEVER done!!!” ~~Anonymous

Now understand I’m not slamming anybody here, no matter what you decide to do.  We’re still gonna’ be friends if you trash your clothes or keep ‘em.  It don’t make a rip to me.  But probing questions like these make good ways of examining ourself to see what our true mindset is about our weight loss.  Is it just a way of losing a few pounds or have I really and truly adopted low-carb as a lifestyle?  Some serious food for thought, huh?

Is keeping your “fat” clothes a setup for failure?  Is it a “Golden Parachute”?  Only you can answer those questions!  I will say that for me, it certainly makes it easier to say, “oh I’ll just get my next bigger size back out and wear them a couple of days until I get back on plan.”  In all honesty, when I’ve done that, I’ve never gotten back on plan until I gained all my weight back, plus a few more pounds for good measure.  So, keeping them is not the best alternative, at least for me.

But there are cases that keeping some of them might be a good idea.  Someone brought up a good point how that one’s weight can bounce up and down and you need a little wiggle room.  Now that doesn’t justify keeping several sizes larger, if you’ve lost lots of weight.  It might mean keeping one size larger once you’ve reached goal.  This is especially true with women approaching perimenopause, because as one woman said, “there is nothing more unpredictable than the change of life.” Now obviously, as a man I’m not speaking from experience on this one, so cut me a little slack here, as I’m only repeating what I’ve heard!

I’m sure there are perfectly other good reasons to keep some of the clothes you wore prior to your weight loss.  I’m not intending this post to be my own narrow minded, dogmatic view of this subject.  I’m hoping to generate some discussion as you comment and share your thoughts on what you might do.  There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.  I look forward to hearing from you!

P.S. — I can tell you this much.  Whatever I do, I plan on keeping one of my “fattest” pants and shirts so I can take a look at them occasionally and see just how far I’ve come.  And to realize that I don’t EVER want to go back there!

There Really is Life Without Donuts!

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie