occasional "cheats"

[mary]

Re: occasional "cheats"

Pink, I'm glad it worked for you that you could hop right back on the wagon. I know there are many people who can have an occasional cheat with little to no ill effect. Then there are folks like me who are all or nothing. If I cheat, I go down that slippery slope so fast you'd never know I was once on top of the slope. Fortunately I now know myself well enough to know that I can't cheat - at all.

[PinkBikini]

Re: occasional "cheats"

It's funny to see this thread revived nearly 2 months later. Ha!

Since then I've found that as I increase my carbs on OWL the cheats would easily push me over the limits and make it more difficult to 1) stop cheating and 2) get the wt back off. It was very frustrating. The best way to "cheat" right now is to stick to plan and keep working my way up the rungs. Every 2 weeks is loaded with new treats- dairy, nuts and nutty desserts... it's been fabulous. Unfortunately my weight loss has slowed to about a half pound/week as of late... very frustrating.

All the best to those getting through the holidays! Stay strong

[IrishSarahHB]

Re: occasional "cheats"

I am usually good about cheating .. If i do eat something that is not Low Carb .. i try very hard to just leave it at that ...Like all day yesterday i was trying to avoid the candy that is everywhere in my office .. i did and then i went home had my low carb dinner and then i ended up eatting a peanutbutter cup ... i left it at that .. ate nothing more that was bad for me ...but the point it that i didnt turn my peanut butter cup induldgent into a binge..... i dont recomend doing this at all ... I have eatten something low carb in the past and ended up binging .. so again i think if you do end up eatting something bad .. then just LEAVE IT AT THAT !! dont think your whole diet is ruined nad you should just keep eatting bad ...

[susan423]

Re: occasional "cheats"

Speaking from MUCH experience...cheating here & there leads to everywhere.

However, I do have one bit of advice that I've combined from other weight loss programs into this. First off, if you "cheat"...and feel like you're TRULY guilty of a sin, then it's gonna make you feel worse, and generally, I'm a comfort food eater, so basically, I'll polish off that "snitch" just because I'm now feeling guilty about doing something bad, and might as well make it worth my while. So, I've learned to consider it "eating off the diet". Cheating means you blew it. Eating off the diet means you intentionally plan to eat something that isn't within your guidelines. You have no intentions of making it a staple in your diet. You know you'll need to make up for it. You've CHOSEN to eat off the diet, NOT that you've cheated. That helps me "get back on the wagon" much quicker, because cheating to me, goes from one snitch, to one meal, to one day, to one weekend, and pretty soon, I'm looking for the next holiday to declare my re-start day! LOL!

Next, is if you decide to eat something off the diet...for goodness sake, ENJOY it. If you're going to do it - don't woof it down with guilt. Make a concious decision IF IT IS WORTH the work it will take to undo what you're about to eat. And if you've chosen to do it....SAVOR EVERY BITE. If you spend TIME enjoying what you ate, it will be worth while. If you chock it down in 3 seconds, your taste buds haven't had a chance to enjoy it & will probably be asking for more.

That's just my 2 cents. It's a lifelong journey for me, still trying to learn to do it right.

Finally, Advice we can all use! Thank you. This is what I do when I cheat. No guilt. Only happy tastebuds. I'm one of the lucky ones that can hop right back on the wagon and a small weight gain and a bit of a stall don't bother me a bit.

[lucylou3208]

Re: occasional "cheats"

I agree with the person up thread that it is a concious decision to indulge in something that is not on the plan. And I also agree that it can be a slippery slope. For example, I do my weigh ins on Friday mornings. Last Friday, I went out to lunch with some co-workers. I had steak and veggies for lunch, maybe 2 tbsp of mashed potatoes, since they were on the plate (didn't know they would be) and then had 3-4 bites of a chocolate dessert. I didn't feel bad, and for dinner, had nothing but protein. Saturday, ate protein, but Sunday, went to a bridal shower, had protein for breakfast, they had salads, mostly pasta at the party, so I just stuck with veggies and water. But I did have have piece of cake (which was really good), then ate protein for dinner. I won't know my losses for the week until Friday, but I have totally stuck to the plan since Sunday. I average about a pound a week, which I am sure if I totally stuck to plan, and didn't have the vodka/club sodas on occasion, I would see a quicker weight loss occur. I guess the moral of my story is that yes, a slippery slope can occur, but you have to get into the right mind set to get back to basics, and when you have the occasional treat (this week, too many in my opinion) enjoy it, but don't let it take hold of you.

[julirama723]

Re: occasional "cheats"

Why some of you eating JUST protein after eating carby treats? That isn't Atkins. Eat your veggies, regardless. Skipping out on the MANDATORY foods of Atkins will not help offset a cheat or off-limit food. And, anyway, too much protein converts to glucose, which ultimately converts to FAT in your body.

[lucylou3208]

Re: occasional "cheats"

I guess I should have made my reply more clear. I ate protein with some veggies, just not as many as I normally would. I don't advocate what I did, I make my own choices, and haven't fallen off track since Sunday.

[julirama723]

Re: occasional "cheats"

That's fine. I just wanted to make sure that those reading the thread (and who are thinking about off-plan choices) know that they shouldn't skip their veggies!