2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

[Georgiana]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

3rd day that i have been cheating im making a mess of it.Hopefully i will be back on track and logging my cheat free days like before.

Did you manage to get back on track, Sham?

I'm starting OVER. Today is my first day of a clean induction. No excuses for cheating for me. If it's not on induction I will not taste it! I'll move up the rungs if there is something I just have to have. Gonna do it right this time. Here's to Day 1....again.

Good for you to be following the rules and consider making the step to OWL. Don't be surprised if you don't lose so much as in your first 14 days though, because you don't have water to lose (on one hand) and many people slow down in weeks 3-4. Are you taking a multivitamin? And how often are you exercising?

Thanks for the invite Georgiana! I'm in! I'll start tomorrow after having an Atkins shake this morning!

Hi there, Liz! How is your first day going?

i cheated on saturday, after 7 weeks of being on plan i had a rough week last week going way over carbs and then saturday just ate everything could get hands on. Sunday was back to plan. so been cheat free for only 2 days now :S

Are you back in ketosis or still working to get there? By the way, for the future, you really don't want to go from low-carbing into a binge, because that binge might cause a temporary bout of diabetes-like effects on your body, with all the damage that involves on the cells. Here's a paper if you want to read more: Effects of carbohydrate restriction on the hypogly...[J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1976] - PubMed Result and a good book is Dr. Bernstein's "The Diabetes Solution".

So did you sit down to figure out what went wrong and how you can prevent this from happening in the future?

Day 3 - gritting teeth and sticking with it - I know it will be worth it in the end...but my goodness sticky and sweet things were calling my name today.

Sticky and sweet...... Sounds like my 3 year old nephew when eating ice cream.

[imagood1]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Day 7 for me again...

[liz45]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Day 3 - gritting teeth and sticking with it - I know it will be worth it in the end...but my goodness sticky and sweet things were calling my name today.

Keetje

Keetje, I understand completely! You're doing great, though! It'll pay off in the end! Dr. Atkins promises that the cravings will go away..I hope that's true!

[liz45]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Day 7 for me again...

Hi Carole! WTG on day 7! I have a quick question for ya. I saw you have a logo with "awards" or something listed as "June Challenges". What are those and where would I find them? That might give me new incentive. I bought myself some "stars stickers" that I plan to use to reward myself for drinking my water and exercise, etc. (Whatever it takes to give myself mini rewards for incentive!) Just wondered about your "awards". Thanks!

[Keetje]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Liz,

Thanks for the encouragement, I have been here before and know that once I get past about day five I shall be fine. Just one of those people who seems the get induction nasties.

Georgiana,

The idea of your nephew with his ice cream made me smile - I have two nephews (quite grown up now) and am a huge fan of nephews in general

Keetje

[happymomto4]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Good for you to be following the rules and consider making the step to OWL. Don't be surprised if you don't lose so much as in your first 14 days though, because you don't have water to lose (on one hand) and many people slow down in weeks 3-4. Are you taking a multivitamin? And how often are you exercising?

Thank you for the input and support! Yesterday was day 2 of a very clean induction. I felt better this morning than I have in a couple of weeks. Even just a bite of the wrong foods messes with how I sleep and how I feel in the morning! I'm hoping that the weight-loss won't slow down because I have started exercising an hour or more a day. Yes, I'm taking a multivitamin and fiber.

I was planning to stay in extended induction until I have lost half of the weight I need to lose. Is that too long to stay and keep losing? If I keep losing 3-4 lbs a week, I'll hit my halfway point in October and that will give me 8-9 months to move through OWL before reaching my goal weight.

I realize that the losses will slow down as I get closer to goal, but right now I have so much to lose, I'm pretty sure I can maintain this rate for a few more months.

Thanks again.

[sham]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Im back and really determined to stay cheat free after cheating so yes to all those who asked im back on track.Here it goes:

Day 1.

[Georgiana]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Thank you for the input and support! Yesterday was day 2 of a very clean induction. I felt better this morning than I have in a couple of weeks. Even just a bite of the wrong foods messes with how I sleep and how I feel in the morning! I'm hoping that the weight-loss won't slow down because I have started exercising an hour or more a day. Yes, I'm taking a multivitamin and fiber.

Good for you! I've been sleeping better too since I started Atkins. Better and less. Which is pretty nice because it gives me time to do all sort of other things in that extra time in which I'm awake.

You might be retaining a bit of water now that you began exercising consistently. Things should adjust relatively fast. When I changed my exercise routine (went from exercising with 10 lbs weights to about 60 lbs) I gained 5-6 lbs in 2 days and it took me about 10 days to get rid of that water weight. Make sure you take body measurements, because they are a better indicator of fat loss---the scale is pretty dumb and can't differentiate between muscle, fat and water weight.

I was planning to stay in extended induction until I have lost half of the weight I need to lose. Is that too long to stay and keep losing? If I keep losing 3-4 lbs a week, I'll hit my halfway point in October and that will give me 8-9 months to move through OWL before reaching my goal weight.

No, I don't think it's too long. Induction can be safely followed for 6 months or more. But if your answer to those four questions in Chapter 13 changes before you reach that halfway point, then it is better to move to OWL earlier to avoid cheating because of, for example, food boredom. But if you're okay with the foods and you keep losing, then staying in Induction longer is fine.

I realize that the losses will slow down as I get closer to goal, but right now I have so much to lose, I'm pretty sure I can maintain this rate for a few more months.

Did you see your doctor before starting Atkins? I guess what I'm asking is whether you had a blood test done to see if you are deficient in any vitamins/minerals. Sometimes we need things which are not found in that multivitamin (e.g. iron, extra potassium) and only your doctor can tell if that's the case for you. Weight loss can slow down or stop because of these deficiencies, especially during Induction when it's difficult to get all the necessary nutrients from food.

[Georgiana]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Nice to see you back, Sham.

----

Looks like people believe I'm either poor or starving. Or both. I was having tuna salad and celery sticks for lunch, and the lady who has the office across the hallway saw me in the kitchen preparing my meal and asked if that's all I'm eating. Grrr... There were like 5-6 oz of tuna mixed with mayo and a pretty big bunch of celery sticks! Anyway... We also have a conference taking place this week and this lady is the one responsible with the food part. She was in the kitchen moving around some trays of sandwiches, cookies, apples and bananas. So after she asked me if I'm not gonna starve by eating only that for lunch, she gave me a small plate of cookies. For energy, ya' know...

Good thing I have office mates who are not low carbing.
They didn't mind eating the cookies.

[focus83]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

i have people at work that always offer around cakes, biscuits and sweets, just wave them way that part is easy when im busy at work its when im at home bored thats the problem.

day 4 so far so good i think im still in ketosis.

[EW78]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

I hope you don't mind that I am jumping in. I have been getting to day 4-5 several times and then falling off plan. So today is Day 1 and I accept this challenge!

[Keetje]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

EW, good luck with the challenge.

As for me, am now on Day 4 - clean as a whistle...its quite an effort, I have to say, but am in ketosis and am looking forward to meeting up with the scales on Sunday to see if I have shifted a few pounds.

Keetje

[focus83]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

day 5 today so far so good, can i just ask if you sway for a day do you go back to induction or just continue on as normal with whatever rung you are on? thanks

[Taksioi]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Hello everyone,

I just joined and it was pointed out this was a good way to help keep myself accountable by posting here daily. This is technically day 0/1 for me so I'll start counting the cheat-free days after getting through today!

I've got so much to lose and there is no better way to do it than one cheat-free day at a time..

[happymomto4]

Re: 2009 Staying Cheat Free Challenge

Finished day 3 cheat-free yesterday. I feel new power and conviction this time. Cheating only sabotages my own hard work. Not sure what I was thinking before. I feel GOOD when I stay away from the foods that everyone else in the family can eat because I need to eat this way to be healthy.