One Cheat day?

[Somer05]

I'm out of the induction phase and onto the OWL. My question is, is it ok to have a "cheat meal" once a week? I can't imagaine a life without enchiladas and pizza. In an earlier post I asked about switching to Weight Watchers, but I'm thinking I may just stick with Atkins. I just want to be able to know if I'll ever be able to eat my favorite foods again

[timetoride5150]

Re: One Cheat day?

I know so soon into eating Atkins your first thoughts are about cheating. You crave your old favorite foods and think "oh, eating them one day won't do any harm". Thats my mentality entering this as well.
Over the past year I basically would do atkins for a week or two to drop like, 10 pounds if I had to look extra nice for an event, and then go back to eating tons of carbs after.
It really wasn't healthy and made me overall just unhappy because half the time I would be heavy and then the other half i'de be really hungry but skinnier.
So then I tried just having a cheat day once a week and found that in that one day i'de gain like, 6 pounds and it'd take me nearly a week to get back to what I was at previous to the cheat day. Only by then, it'd be time for another cheat day and it was another unhealthy, on going process.

This is the first time i've gone almost completely cheat free for a long period of time. I'm nearly at 4 months of steady, strict atkins eating. I've followed the rungs and have safely arrived at my goal weight. It was tough to say no to the foods I loved so dearly before, but now i barely miss them. Mostly it's because i've found substitutes to make that almost nearly satisfy my cravings. Also, by doing the cheats I could only eat around 15-20 carbs a day other wise i'de start gaining weight. By following the diet the right way, I now have around 50 carbs a day!

So long story short, I learned cheating isn't worth it. I mean, it's just food. I know you miss it but wouldn't you rather look and feel great about yourself then just have a slice of pizza that you'll forget about tomorrow and regretfully be a few pounds heavier?

Good luck! Hope I helped.

[philliha]

Re: One Cheat day?

Check out the recipe forum. There are tons of substitute foods that can help satisfy your desire for those favorite foods. (Crustless pizza is soooo good).

This forum is full of success stories--and those that have been successful at losing the weight and keeping it off are those who are most strict about following the WOL closely and not thinking of it as a diet that you can modify and follow most of the time. That has been proof enough to me that if I want to be successful, I should follow their advice.

[Somer05]

Re: One Cheat day?

Thanks. I'm kinda in the same ball park as you--I'm at 137 right now (I started at 146), and want to get down to 110 by the beginning of June. I don't know how possible that is, but I'm trying. It wasn't so bad the first two weeks, but now the cravings are REALLY starting to kick in.

[Sherri]

Re: One Cheat day?

Linda's site http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html
You can still have your favorite meals, only Atkins friendly. You can prepare them fresh in your own kitchen.
Sherri

[kate58]

Re: One Cheat day?

If you stick with it you'll be amazed how the cravings go and how little you even want the food you once couldn't live without. It's not even that you get used to not having them, you simply don't want them any more. I was never a great pizza lover, but I thought that giving up pasta and rice and potato and bread was more than I could bear.

Bread especially was my thing, I made my own and just loved it. Now it doesn't tempt me at all and I don't care about pasta and potato. This to me would have been entirely unbelievable a short time ago, but it's true. And I know too that once I get to maintenance they are things I can reintroduce with caution if I wish. I'm not waiting in eagar anticipation of that or anything though - I just don't particularly care about these things anymore.

Once you are at maintenance you could probably make your own pizza using a wholemeal base, but to be honest there is just no way in heck that you can look at the typical bought pizza and consider it a healthy thing to eat, it's just not healthy food and is never going to be different no matter what diet you are on or way of eating you choose.

[OzLover]

Re: One Cheat day?

Believe me it isn't worth cheating...not even for one meal. I just recently gained 4.4# due to a week of occasional "one meal"cheats, & a few bottles of wine. This week I've lost 1# & unfortunately TOM is lurking.

In the long run you are better off to follow this way of eating per Dr. Atkins...he knew what he was talking about. In the 2002 version of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution he addresses this issue with many more. Read up...knowledge is power!!

[jsj0305]

Re: One Cheat day?

I could not have said any of that better myself.

I was/am the 'one day won't hurt' kinda girl and honestly..one day probbaly won't hurt. It will set you back a week or so, and then it's back to business. The problem is the mentality. The being able to talk ourselves into cheating, telling ourselves it will be okay. Because in realityy, we won't be. I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. And when I found Atkins, I would go from 180ish to 160 and then blow back up and lose myself again. This time I got down to 155 and let myself get back to 167 and I said enough. It's not worth it. It's just food. Something some person or machine threw together for you to eat. They don't care about what it does to you. They make their money off of your crazings. Off of us thinking we have to have these things. We don't. There are so many better alternatives... and we aren't left feeling bloated and nasty afterwards.

I know you can let go of those foods that ultimately got you to this point. You can find so many great recipes..like others have mentioned..and you won't be missing breads at all.

I know you can do this, we all can do this. Just remember that the way you feel about yourself and how healthy you are is way more important than the taste of a particular food.

As I'm writing this, I am realizing a lot of this myself. Not 20 minutes ago, I was trying to convince my husband that I should 'come off' for the weekend as Saturday is my son's birthday party and Sunday is Easter.

We can stay strong together.

[spazzyhilo]

Re: One Cheat day?

Try not to think of it as food you cant have ever but as food you cant have yet. I love love love oranges but as I'm only on the nut rung I cant have them, yet.

The thing I've learned about atkins is that EVERYTHING can be modified. I know there is a recipe out there for Biker Goddess Pizza. I haven't tried it yet but it looks delicious.

Enchiladas is another thing you will need to modify. When you are on the grains rung your body may be able to handle whole wheat tortillas but in the meantime just make the insides. Most enchiladas consist of meat & cheese & veggies. Find a good sauce that has no sugar in it and is legal, or make your own, and there ya go.

Atkins is supposed to be a slower weight loss way of eating. Try not to rush it. Take the time to get to know what foods your body can handle and which ones they cant. Also keep in mind that you didn't gain the weight in a day - it wont be lost in a day.

[chunk!]

Re: One Cheat day?

there are a few things i thought i would miss on atkins, but you can make virtually anything low-carb.

make an enchilada without the tortilla! i know it sounds bizarre but it will taste generally the same, because i swear enchiladas are totally about the amazing enchilada sauce. you can do the same with pizza...

in fact, i make things like quiche and pumpkin pie without the crusts all the time and they are amazing. and, i know i'm eating healthy.

the other thing is... pizza and enchiladas really aren't that fantastic for you to begin with. i think one has to really get into the mindset to determine what good/bad foods are - atkins (and any other weight loss program) isn't just about eating healthy to lose weight, it's about eating healthy to BE HEALTHY! it's really hard... but perhaps weight watchers would be better for you if you really cannot live without crust/breads. personally, i can feel that my body reacts poorly to simple carbohydrates, breads, sugars... they make me sluggish, i don't feel full, and i feel like i can recreate anything (including MILKSHAKES and YOGURT) i really liked in my bad-food days, except low-carb friendly.

this was long. don't give up just yet, because i purely support atkins as the #1 eating plan for SOME BODY TYPES. maybe it's not the right diet for you, but give it a longer shot.

[FatBottomGirl]

Re: One Cheat day?

In the end it really boils down to what is more important to you... the enchiladas and pizza OR feeling comforatable in your own skin and liking the way you look in the mirror ~ only you can answer that. As with any lifestyle change there are certain things that may have to be eliminated (even if its just for a time).. Nothing I have read has said you will NEVER get to eat the items again.. you will --- just within moderation & sparingly -- remember they got you to this point in the first place.. That being said - unfortunately you will find out that certain foods do not react well with your body type and you may have to permanently eliminate (some its nuts, other alcohol, etc)... you just need to move up the rungs one step at a time until you know what works well for you.

The problem with cheat days is that you start out by limiting it to one day - then you hadn't planned ahead for another day so you had to cheat, then there's the girls night out, birthday party, etc... another cheat so before you know it your whole week becomes a cheat and you are back to square one - being unhappy with the way you look and feel and not knowing what to do about it.

Good luck - I hope you will stick with it... there are soo many people on this board that have been successful and probably have been where you are now. You ought to spend some time reading their journals about their experiences it might help you..

[Maxine]

Re: One Cheat day?

There's a reason you asked for advice and for very good reasons, great advice was given to you. It is easy to cheat, but it does set you up for failure. We are each in control of what we eat. Sometimes it's just easier to just follow the crowd. I was like that too. I put everyone and everything in front of me and I suffered from it. I made a decision in December '07 that '08 was going to be about me. My family is not suffering and I'm still getting everything done, but I made myself a priority. I didn't recognize the person in the mirror anymore and I know that if I give in, I may never have the discipline to take care of the weight issue. It requires soul searching and defining what you want out of this. My goal is to lose weight and gain control of this part of my life. I don't want to ever be in this situation again. Life is too short so it's worth it to me to forge ahead so that I may have a healthier, happier life. Being heavy no matter by how much - pretty much stinks. Everyone has slips now and then but I think it is rare to have a planned cheat day.

I wish you great success. This is the place for encouragement and support - AND honesty.

[snap]

Re: One Cheat day?

I gotta chime in here. I did Atkins a few years ago. I lost right around 70 pounds. Then, I got into that mentality of a little bit of this and that won't hurt me. I fell into that trap and let me tell ya, I regret it tremendously. I gained back everything that I lost. So, here I am again. What I learned from that experience is that this is not some quick fiix diet. This really is a total and complete lifestyle change. Now I find that I don't miss those forbidden things at all. Just stick to the plan and you will reach your goal. In the end that will mean a heck of a lot more to you than eating a slice a pizza.

[JenLynn]

Re: One Cheat day?

I cheated once after inducation......I posted about how crappy I felt. Never did it again and don't really miss it. I even have three kids and a husband who don't follow this WOL, and I still do ok not wanting things. JMO.