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

[wrldcitizen]

Hi! For all stalwarts please do not get your knickers in a twist. I promise I do not lack discipline & mean no harm.

I just need to know how you all got through 2-3 years of dieting and what you did about cravings?

Here is the thing. I have been doing my weight loss for a year.

I have another year to go if not 1 1/2 year and if I have a craving ...currently it is spinach pizza.....and if I have reached a mini goal, can I allow myself a cheat day?

It is just that...If I do allow myself 1 cheat day....say monthly...I think it needs to be part of a strategy where I have a plan and I am in control and not some out of control binge.

So if I do allow myself a cheat day once a month...then:

How long before my body will re-enter ketosis?

How many days before I lose the weight of the day and get back on track?

Any tips on minimizing the side effects?

Thanks!!!!

[liv]

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

You can make spinach pizza right now.
Make a cauliflower crust - it is amazing and tastes very yummy. Put some spinach on it and off you go. You are focussing on foods like it is a big deprivation thing. It is not. Except for absolute straing sugar and straight starch there are a lot of things you CAN do. It is not about deprivation it is about opportunity.
(Stopping posting so I can get my knickers out of the twist )

[susan423]

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

I allow a cheat day every now and then. But what I do is search within myself as to whether it's worth it or not. I never come here for permission (I won't get it) or a confesion( won't get simpathy).
It's a very personal thing among yourself.

[imagood1]

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

We aren't here for permission or sympathy for a decision to cheat -- sorry, that won't get your weight off.....If you give yourself a cheat day you have to live with it not us....it's a personal decision. Look at the number of people on the second time around club who had a cheat day that ended up lasting more than a day.

Like Liv said you can make a cauliflower crust pizza now, or if you don't have a problem with cheese you can use queso (mexican) cheese to make a crust -- check out TJ's pizza crust recipe. There is no reason to cheat when you can figure a way to eat what your cravings are -- there are many intelligent people who have come before us who did the hard work of figuring out recipes that are eatible and actuallly taste good.


How long will it take to get your body back in keotsis ... I don't know - my body isn't like yours. Last weekend I was in a slight car accident ended up in the hospital overnight and by the time things got back to normal for me I had ended up 7 pounds heavier - I went back to induction foods this week to get back in keotsis -- will get on the scale tomorrow morning to see how I've done and will move back to Rung 3 when I know I'm back in keotsis.

My tip to minimize the effect of a cheat -- D O N ' T

[SugarFreeSheila]

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.

[funky-guitar-babe-9]

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

As others have said, try not to cheat - you never know, it may seem like "just one little moment", but may well last a lot longer - before you know it you've gained, and then gained some more, and then some more, and you feel like you may as well just chuck it and give up.
Of course, you may not, and it may well help you stay in control for the rest of the time.
At the end of the day, no-one else can tell you what you should do - it's a decision you need to make for yourself. You've already lost, what, 50lbs? Personally, I would stay stick with it, don't cheat, and try the substitute foods to help your cravings without harming your weight loss.
Whatever you do, best of luck with the losing!

[msanjelpie]

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

Why not just head to a pizza place, order a spinach pizza and eat the top part only - leave the crust on the plate... ? You might gain a lb, but it won't knock you out of ketosis since what you are eating is legal...

[not2late]

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

Hi! For all stalwarts please do not get your knickers in a twist. I promise I do not lack discipline & mean no harm.

I just need to know how you all got through 2-3 years of dieting and what you did about cravings?

It depended on the craving. I got rid of my sweet tooth early, so that didn't pester me. In terms of cravings for starchy carbs, that pretty much went away too. Granted it was around, but as I moved through OWL Phase, it diminished to the point that by the time I could eat potatoes, rice and pasta, I really didn't have the desire to eat them. And when I did, they didn't taste as good as I had remembered.

Here is the thing. I have been doing my weight loss for a year.

What phase are you in? If you stuck to Induction Phase, maybe it's time for you to move to OWL Phase. If you are in OWL Phase, what rung are you in and what is your CCLL (or if you haven't found it yet, how many carbs are you eating daily?)

I have another year to go if not 1 1/2 year and if I have a craving ...currently it is spinach pizza.....and if I have reached a mini goal, can I allow myself a cheat day?

Rewarding yourself with food is a bad habit to get into or to perpetuate. Some of us got fat because we developed bad food habits over the years.

Again, what phase of the diet are you in? Grains are acceptable during OWL Phase. In fact, had I wanted I could have had a slice of thin crust pizza daily once I got to the Grains Rung because my CCLL was high enough to accomodate that slice and because the ingredients to that slice were perfectly legal for OWL Phase.

It is just that...If I do allow myself 1 cheat day....say monthly...I think it needs to be part of a strategy where I have a plan and I am in control and not some out of control binge.

So if I do allow myself a cheat day once a month...then:

How long before my body will re-enter ketosis?

How many days before I lose the weight of the day and get back on track?

Any tips on minimizing the side effects?

Thanks!!!![/QUOTE]

There's no way anyone can predict for you how long it will take for you to get on track after a binge. Based on the experiences of people on ADBB, that amount of time can be anywhere from 1 day to 4 years.

Letting food control you is a bad habit too.

But whatever you decide to do, good luck to you.

[Greeneggs&ham]

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

Look at the number of people on the second time around club who had a cheat day that ended up lasting more than a day.

I took a cheat day last November. After making it through several holidays, children's birthdays, vacations, camping trips, and Halloween without falling, I decided that I "deserved" a treat just like every other "normal" person on this planet. What harm would it really be to enjoy a day of guilt free indulgence in a pizza, some ice cream, or even just a big bowl of frosted mini wheats?

Last week (after re-gaining 25 of 50 pounds lost) I decided that my cheat "day" should end. As others agree, I think most times we find the cheat wasn't worth it after committed. Turns out the grass isn't ever as green as it appears on the other side of the fence.

I've tried both cauliflower and pork rinds for replacement crust on pizza recipes. While not the exact same thing as flour dough, both worked for the satisfaction of having had a "slice" of pizza. (If the toppings include a pork product like pepperoni, the pork rind crust is good enough for the entire carb-loving family!)

I recommend looking back in your life to recall how YOU have handled a cheat in the past. I know some people can eat one bad item and jump right back on the wagon before it rolls past with minimal harm. I know many, many more people who mean well, but their "spinach pizza" turns into a free fall from which they are unable to recover until real damage is done.

Best of luck in your willpower negotiations!

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

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

so many responses
just like someone else said - it's a personal thing - you won't get permission to do so here - everyone here is here to pursuade you to stay on track and NOT deter.
but it's definitely a personal choice.

while I personally try to eat only whole non-processed foods 99.9% of the time - and I've been doing this for 7 months now - a few weeks ago when I was on vacation - I had full fat chocolate peanut butter ice cream at Cedar Point - and ohmyfreakingosh was it DELICIOUS! I also had a HUGE roast beef sandwich (which was like 30 slices of roast beef with two very small pieces of rye bread) at a deli in Cleveland. But that was all I allowed myself and ate low-carb everywhere else we went - because THAT is my life now. I allowed myself those two treats and moved on - kept going with everything I've learned up til now - and for me it was no problem getting back "on track"...and I thankfully didn't gain (actually lost a pound when I got home from vacation!) BUT I also did feel the cravings coming on and I knew that if I'd have continued down the carbohydrate path - it woulda been baaaad.

I had my treats - and moved on.

Do I allow this once a month? Heck no. This was seriously ONCE in the past 7 months!

Now - I'm also turning 30 next month and have already decided that I get one MEAL that night when we go out that I'm going to enjoy - and I'll leave it at that.

but - for me - and this is just my own very PERSONAL opinion FOR ME - as far as the "cheating" thing goes...I try not to look at it as cheating - I try not to look as foods as "bad"...I know what my body needs in order to stay healthy and thin/fit - I eat those things every day because that's who I've become as far as my eating lifestyle goes and decide when - on the "once in a blue moon" occasions on whether or not to have a few more carbs than I normally would allow.

You say you've been "dieting" now for a year and have another year to go...are you going to STOP eating healthy in a year? This should be your lifestyle now - and whether or not you want to have a "treat" once in a blue moon - again is up to YOU - but you should also know that having that one treat will not SHOULD not make you give up this healthy lifestyle you've come to know and love.

I love the way I eat now because #1 it's easy and #2 it keeps me thin. I don't feel "deprived" on it and can usually find good substitutes for foods I miss...NOW - on that same hand though - I also personally don't feel like I should go through life always telling myself I'll absolutely NEVER have something ever again - because that's no way to live. IF I can work it in to my lifestyle then I know it'll work out - but if not - if I KNOW it's something that'd make me binge - I try to find an alternative.
But if you know that you're the kind of person that will start a carb binge from ONE food (such as your pizza) then find an alternative...

google "low-carb pizza crusts" - there's TONS of them out there.

Whatever you do - I wish you luck!

[wrldcitizen]

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

THANK YOU ALL for your hard & true words!

In the past year, the times I have had a 'full on - unhealthy' meal very rarely - June 15th was perhaps the only for my hubby's birthday weekend.

I usually have been able to satisfy a craving and then I am back on my healthy diet with full force.

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.

So first of all I am going to stay on my current course and if & when I do decide very intentionally to go off track it will be for that 1 meal - not for the day. I also am dropping the idea of monthly cheating........all your emails have helped keeping me motivated and on course.

PS: I am currently on OWL rung 1 eating 25 net carbs. I have lost 9 lbs since I started Atkins June 25th so I am thrilled. I will start on Rung 2 end of next week.

Have a great weekend

[JulieB]

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

My biggest concern with your questions isn't that you plan to cheat...it is what Keriann mentioned about the time-limit on your diet. What is the point of going thru all of this if you don't plan to maintain for life? This WOE doesn't end when you reach goal - that's when the really hard part starts! I have a long way to go until goal - but I KNOW that I will be 'doing Atkins' forever. I've yo-yo'd enough in the last 25 years - NOT doing that again!!

[IrishIrish]

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

Nope. I don't cheat. And getting my knickers in a twist was not the objective ... wearing smaller knickers was.

Sounds like you have decided you are going to allow a cheat so why would you ask us "old stalwarts"? Rhetorical only, I don't want an answer.

[ttdriver]

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

If you have to ask, you already know the answer.

Betty

[wrldcitizen]

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

Hi! Obviously the 'don't get your knickers in a twist has not worked' because some of you guys sound upset!

So I knew I was opening a can of worms with this one and obviously my previous reply has not helped calming the waters. So maybe this will......


I have NO INTENTION what so ever to go back to my old ways or my old weight.

I have every intention to adopt this new way of life FOR LIFE.

I will be staying on course - you guys have done your job admirably - like true friends - giving me the truth v/s what I want to hear. Thanks for that.

However, no matter what my question on ADBB and no matter how upset it makes you, PLEASE do not doubt my sincerity or determination.

Thankfully, providence has gifted me amply with both.

So please let us put these embers to rest.