Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

[edesros168]

Hey all, My wife and I started Atkins again about 6-7 weeks ago. In that time with excersise I have lost 28 total pounds. She has lost about 16. I feel great and am excited about losing about 30 more. Well her and I have been working real hard and this Monday (holiday) she wants a cheat day for the first time being on this diet. Now I mean cheating big...if we are gonna do it it's pancakes for breakfast with homefries and toast, pasta for dinner type of day...lol. Now aside from craving (I am very strong willed) not worrying about falling off the wagon or anything for one day. I want to know how this will affect us?? How long/big of a stall will thsi create and how much weight for 1 day of eating will thsi cause??

[SandyL2002]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Please don't do this.. I know you think you will be strong...and you just might...but a warning...you might not.. One bite leads to a whole day of bad for me..

[edesros168]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Oh I know the whole day will be bad that was the plan. Thats why I was curious how bad it would be? Dont worry about craving...I am very strong willed....

[Alexa]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Hey there,

I'm with Sandy - I would say don't do it!

I've done this sort of thing before and always thought I, like you, was strong willed. I was sure that after 153 days of no cheats I would be fine to get back on track when I cheated on holiday. I knew what I was about, I'd done it before, it hadn't been a problem. But in fact, that time, for some reason it was a problem and it took ages to get back on track and I felt terrible.

Even if you do manage to get back on track straightaway the next day you are setting up bad habits for the future, that might, when the excitement of losing all the weight has faded (which it does), bite you in the behind. It is far better to cut out the crap earlier on and keep it out - if it is a possibility it will always be there in your mind - a when you're down or bored or stalled in your weight loss and cheat may occur again. It is much easier to distance yourself from this sort of possibility - by drawing a line now.

Also if you are really going to go to town with this day off of the WOL - it is like bingeing - this is not healthy behaviour and doesn't help in the long term goal of maintaining a healthy weight. It doesn't help address underlying issues with food.

Sorry to rant but I have been where you are and I thought I was in control and you just never know.

Also, congrats to you and your wife on your great successes - that is a good amount of weight to lose in that time frame

[Promise]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

AND... i have heard that you can get Really Sick doing something like that! because your body is so Clean now... and then you throw all those Nasty Carby Foods back in there and your Body says WHAT??? i wouldnt do it if i was you... you might be sick for days.............

[SandyL2002]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Agree...once you taste that sugar and bread..its like you want more and more and more.. It might set you off a couple of weeks..it could be a couple of days..no one knows..

[hrgillespie]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

I can see what you want for an answer here so I'll give it to you ...........

You can fully expect to enjoy the foods while you are eating them and probably make your self extremely sick afterwards ...... your body is so clean from the sugar and refined foods that it buckles when you reintroduce them in such a binge like that.

You can also expect your scale to jump quite a bit for me a binge like that would probaly add about 5 lbs ..........

You will have to start back over on full induction and expect the same time frame it took you the first time plus perhaps a few extra days ....... it gets harder each time ...... you have to get back into Ketosis and then break those urges again ...........

DOn't forget the Induction flu because yes as you purge those things from your body once again it will happen too .........

Now all that said I have to completely Echo what everyone else has said ......... I am extremely strong too and I have cheated in the past and totally regretted it. It is just not worth it .......

Your body your choice though.

Good Luck

Heidi

[spirittalker]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Not to mention the stomach upset....OMG! Your body cannot process carbs like it used to so the gas and bloat and pain will be horrible. Even if you guys hop right back on the next day you could stall for a week or more AND possibly even put on a few pounds for it. Do yourselves a favor and have a legal celebration...spend a bit of money and buy some king crab legs or lobsters MMMMMM

[not2late]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Hey all, My wife and I started Atkins again about 6-7 weeks ago. In that time with excersise I have lost 28 total pounds. She has lost about 16. I feel great and am excited about losing about 30 more. Well her and I have been working real hard and this Monday (holiday) she wants a cheat day for the first time being on this diet. Now I mean cheating big...if we are gonna do it it's pancakes for breakfast with homefries and toast, pasta for dinner type of day...lol. Now aside from craving (I am very strong willed) not worrying about falling off the wagon or anything for one day. I want to know how this will affect us?? How long/big of a stall will thsi create and how much weight for 1 day of eating will thsi cause??

First of all, congrats on your losses.

Secondly, if you came to this board, thinking you'll get a lot of supportive threads telling you to go off the diet, enjoy yourselves, because rewarding yourselves with food is a terrific idea and it won't hurt your weight loss efforts one tiny bit, you're in for a big surprise.

Thirdly, how will a big sugar/carb load will effect your blood sugar? It depends on your bodies. You've been eating low carb for 6-7 weeks. Then you introduce a big load of carbs. You're bodies will react to those pancakes, homefries, toast and pasta just like a diabetic's body will react to a bag of candy---blood sugar will shoot up, pancreas will work over-time pushing out insulin, dropping your blood sugar quickly, resulting in blood sugar instability symptoms (see the book for the list of 49 symptoms).

Your bodies will convert those carbs to glucose, which it will use immediately for energy. Any glucose it doesn't use it will store as glycogen and body fat. And while your body is using this glucose, it's converting the protein and fat you've eaten with those high carb foods into glycogen and body fat. Depending on how much glycogen you store, it will take you 2-3 days to get back into ketosis.

[edesros168]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Well guys I must say, I was all set to jump off the wagon for a day but you are defenitly giving me second thoughts....I remember the last time I jumped off for a day years ago my stomach ached for a day...

[Richt]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Well guys I must say, I was all set to jump off the wagon for a day but you are defenitly giving me second thoughts....I remember the last time I jumped off for a day years ago my stomach ached for a day...

How come you have only posted 10 times in 3 years? You should post far more, I think you would get so much more out of it.

And many congratulations - 2 fold.

1) for your losses so far
2) for your positivity in your last post. A lot of people get all offended when we suggest that they dont have planned cheats. You have bucked that trend, all power to you.

Rich

[not2late]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

Well guys I must say, I was all set to jump off the wagon for a day but you are defenitly giving me second thoughts....I remember the last time I jumped off for a day years ago my stomach ached for a day...

So you've had prior experience---prior bad experience---in the past and you were seriously thinking of jumping off the diet again?

I don't know what phase of Atkins you all are in, but if you're languishing on Induction hoping it will get you to goal faster, you might want to move to On-Going Weight Loss Phase. Usually when people start planning "cheat days" it's because they're bored silly with their current diet (typically extended Induction) and are too scared to move to OWL because they think they'll stop losing weight if they eat 5 net carbs of broccoli in addition to their Induction menu.

[dreamof145]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

I agree with the advice the others have given you. You have made a committment to get healthy ~ you are doing a good job, the plan is working for you....so why would you want to even attempt to jeopardize your efforts?

I can only speak for myself, but nothing is worth taking away what I've worked so hard to achieve. Nothing and nobody. Food is not as important to me as what I've found emotionally and physically.

**Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.
Norman Vincent Peale

[Hudson]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

One of 3 things will happen
1. You will gain about 5-15 pounds in the one day to 3 weeks it takes you to get back on track and then you will continue to have success.
2. You will gain most all of what you have lost and then months or years later get back on track.
3. This will be the first step to giving up completely.

I've seen all 3.

[jimmyolsenblues]

Re: Advise: Wife wants a big cheat day after I lost 28 pounds??

please forgive my armchair pyschology.
But i have read and seen in relationships and family where people get uncomfortable or not as used to people who lose a lot of weight.
I get the comments...why do you still do this crazy diet? don't be silly one bite won't hurt? you are hurting my feelings cause i worked hard on this meal.
a lot people , how do I say this. are more comfortable with me at my fatest , then when I was in tip top shape. crazy it as it sounds, it true for me.