Copyright
© 2004, Jim Stone
The
Low Carb Way
I
want you to imagine that you've been low-
carbing for just a week. And, though it was
hard at first, you got through the hard part.
But carbs still tempt you at times.
So
now you find yourself at a big family dinner.
They have quite a spread laid out in front
of you. There is turkey and there are veggies.
That's the good news. But there are also sweet
potatoes, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and
waiting in the other room are pumpkin and
dutch apple pies.
You
haven't said anything to anyone in your family
(except your sister) about your diet. In fact
you're worried what your family would think
if they found out.
You
plan to just take a little of everything,
and load up on the turkey and veggies, and
try to look normal, pushing the food around
on your plate inconspicuously.
Then
your sister says, "Vivian is doing a
low carb diet -- like that Atkins thing."
A sudden hush falls over the room. Then they
start in. Isn't that dangerous? All that fat
-- your cholesterol will go through the roof.
<first>, you're not really doing that,
are you? Here, have some more mashed potatoes.
To
prove you're not crazy you have a bite of
mashed potatoes. Then, after dinner, when
dessert comes, you have "just a sliver"
of pie.
You
think you did all right, but the carbs start
to do their dirty work. You start to fixate
on the pie. You can't get it out of your mind.
When
no one's looking, you sneak another piece
into your hand, and make your way outside
with it. You stand in the corner of the garage
with your pie, like a teenager sneaking a
cigarette. You chow down, and have a moment
of desperate satisfaction. You spend the rest
of the night plotting how to get more pie.
You
tell yourself it's over. You're off the wagon.
It will be very difficult to break the addiction
again. Maybe it's not worth it. You're just
doomed to be overweight, and that's that.
-------------------------------------------------
What
just happened here?
-------------------------------------------------
So,
what just happened here?
Well,
let's look at a little bit of human motivation
theory. We all have three big sources of motivation
for our actions. These sources can cooperate,
or conflict with one another.
First,
we have our ANIMAL URGES. In the days when
fruit was scarce and seasonal, it paid to
gorge when one ran across a fruit tree. By
gorging on carbs our ancestors could quickly
store a few pounds for the coming winter.
This was very good, and often meant the difference
between surviving and not.
So
part of our animal nature is to have a sweet
tooth -- an urge to eat carbohydrates. And
especially, once we've eaten some, to positively
gorge ourselves on them. But now carbs are
superabundant. That useful urge now leads
us to pack on the pounds week after week --
not just in the late Summer.
Second,
there are our SOCIAL INFLUENCES. We are, like
it or not, influenced by the opinions of others.
We don't typically like to do things that
will bring objections from those we care most
about. This is often good, but, depending
on what opinions our friends and families
have toward low carb diets, this social sensitivity
can spell disaster for our diets.
Third,
there is our RATIONAL SELF. We all have the
ability to decide what's best for us, somewhat
independently of our animal urges and the
social influences around us.
Now,
friend, since you subscribe to a low-carb
newsletter, it's a good guess that your rational
self has decided that a low-carb diet is the
way for you to eat.
But
your animal self still craves carbs, and will
gorge on them if given free reign. It's a
battle, but you can win it.
But
the battle becomes even more difficult when
the social influences around you are against
you. When it's your rational self against
the world -- AND the animal within -- it can
be too much to bear.
-------------------------------------------------
So
what can you do?
-------------------------------------------------
So what can you do?
There
are three main plans for action. I want to
focus on just one plan for action in this
article. One way to avoid the scene that opened
this article is to work on getting the social
influences in your life squarely behind you.
And there are many ways to do this. Here are
two biggies:
1.
You can educate your family and friends, and
request that they support you. This might
be difficult, but I've found the following
line to be deadly effective --
"I
want to lose some weight, and I'm convinced
that this diet will help me reach my goals.
I CAN COUNT ON YOU FOR SUPPORT, CAN'T I?"
There's
something about the wording of this request
that will make your friend or family member
say "yes". It's something about
the positive, assumed, statement, followed
by the negative question. I don't know why
it works, but it's deadly effective, like
I said. I've never had anyone refuse me when
I use this line.
2.
Get some new low carb friends. This was the
key step that led me to finally succeed on
my low carb diet. If you can get your social
influence going the way your brain says you
should go, then you have the ammunition you
need to do battle against your animal cravings.
The
internet has made finding low carb friends
easier than ever. Go to Google and type in
"low carb forum" and find a group
that seems like it has the kind of friendly
and supportive people that would best match
your personality. Join the forum (find a free
one) and start participating.
It
sounds so simple, but for many people this
is truly the key to staying on a low carb
diet. If you haven't participated in a low
carb forum before, you might be profoundly
struck by the difference it makes to your
success. It's also fun to have friends who
share your goals.
Alternately,
you can try to find a "real world"
support group. You can get a start by visiting
Google, and typing in "low carb support
group [your city]".
In
summary, don't fight the animal alone. And
especially, don't fight the animal AND the
whole world at the same time. Get some low
carb friends. It can truly be the difference
between success and failure.
Jim
Stone writes about low carb nutrition and
human motivation. You can read more of his
articles by visting http://www.the-low-carb-way.com
or you can sign up for his monthly newsletter
at http://www.the-low-carb-way.com/coffee.php
