When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

[Peej]

Re: When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

Obviously a "cheat" affects everyone differently. When I first restarted Atkins and was on this forum regularly, I did not cheat at all until I stalled for 8 weeks despite trying several different methods to break it. The only thing that got me out of the stall was a "cheat." I now very rarely come here because I know what I'm doing is no longer Atkins. I just came on today for some yummy recipes since my menu has gotten a bit boring as of late.

I will say though that it is certainly not for everyone. The second time I did a planned cheat, it lasted a few days longer than I had planned. It takes a lot more willpower than just staying on plan. Cravings come back and its easy to get lazy about getting back on track. If you can avoid cheating, you probably should. It will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

[LageNomAi]

Re: When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

People tend to recommend whatever it is they happen to do - and discourage what they don't - so the best means of determining whether a monthly off-plan day would work for you in Maintenance is to just try it. You will know two things immediately afterward: 1.) whether you can handle getting right back in the saddle the next day (it's a choice; I personally don't look at food as a narcotic - we're in charge), and whether it was worth it. It might not be for you. Best of luck in whatever you choose.

I completely agree with this. Personally, I could cheat for a day and get back on track (although I'd have a wicked carb hangover the next day), but many people couldn't do this, as you can see from the other posts. This really is a personal decision. I wish you all the best!

[not2late]

Re: When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

Perhaps because the food never did taste as good as we fantasize it to be & secondly by the 2nd day I am so sick of the 'regular' foods that I want to go back to 'my' food.

Just keep this in mind whenever a craving strikes......it was the "regular" food that got you fat in the first place and it will be the "regular" food that will get you fat again.

[dthomps]

Re: When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

WRLD,
When I did this diet the first time, I lost 60 lbs in 6 months. I cheated -- MAJORLY -- every 14 days, I allowed myself to have whatever I wanted. I found by the third or fourth "cheat day" that I didn't have much of a cheat. I might have one french fry (only to find it didn't taste as good as I expected), and a tiny piece of cake or whatever.
The first official cheat day, I had like a whole pizza, cake, donuts. You name it. I put it in my mouth.
In some ways, I think it helped my weight loss, because no matter what I deprived myself of, I knew there was a day coming soon where I could indulge. I also think it helps to shock your body occassionally. However, I always limited the cheating to one day, and get into ketosis fairly quickly. Usually 24 hours on plan, and I'm back.
This is my second time on Atkins. When I gained the weight back, it wasn't because I had a cheat day that didn't die, it was because I viewed the diet as a diet and not a way of life.
Now I know better. That said, I haven't had an official cheat day since I re-started in early June. Cheating makes me need a looooong nap, so if you do decide to cheat, plan to take an afternoon siesta.
Still don't know if I'll allow myself a cheat day at some point in the future. Keeping it as an option for myself has helped me not to feel deprived and has made it easier for me not to have that wedding cake or 4th of July ice cream bar.
Good luck to you, and if you decide to do it, make sure your will power is such that you can jump right back into the program.

[stephbob]

Re: When you have 2 years ahead of you....do you allow yourself 1 cheat day/month?

I'm going to answer honestly, since that's what you want!

I don't take planned cheat days. I used to, and it undid 1 year of hard work, and put me at a much higher weight than I was to begin with. It's taken 4 years to get back on track after numerous attempts of restarting. I'm finally doing it now, but it's been hard, and not worth it at all.

BUT, I still cheat from time to time. Not planned, but sometimes I cheat when I have no alternative in my eyes. Everyone's different, and so am I - I have never been able to go out to restaurants and eat anything - I've got so many allergies and foods I can't eat, Atkins or not, that sometimes if I'm stuck in a place where I really have nothing else to eat, I'll eat whatever I can, whether it follows plan or not.

I'm still losing weight, but the reason I'm still losing weight is that finally, after 4 years, I've learned my lesson - the novelty of cheating has worn off (if there ever was such a thing) and I am fully capable of cheating for one meal, or one day, and then being back on track without second thought to my cheating.

I would never, ever recommend it to anyone else - I was 10 lbs away from my goal 4 years ago, and if I'd just stuck to it, then I wouldn't have spent the last 4 years feeling miserable and being fatter than ever. BUT, on the other hand, part of the reason I cheated to begin with was because I realised there were far more important things to worry about (including my mental health and life) than my weight.

I'm probably not a good Atkins advocate, but at least I'm being honest lol