How do you keep from cheating?

[lewshus]

I find it really hard not to cheat on the weekend especially. During the week my schedule is pretty regimented...breakfast and lunch at work and dinner at home. Somehow the routine of going to work keeps me from cheating, I don't know why, it just does.
However, when the weekend comes I want to eat everything I shouldn't.

I was just wondering what you guys do to help you not cheat.

[joylorene]

Well I have been messing with this since last May and it is almost a year now and I finally got "Serious" in February. I realized that days come and go if I stick to plan or not and if I had stopped cheating last year I'd be at my goal by now enjoying my new life!!!! So I just keep a calendar posted on my fridge of all the upcoming events that I don't want to be fat for and remind myself that the days are ticking down. But I was you to a T my weekends were all out parties with beer then the munchies and I'd loose weight all week just to regain it all back from the weekend and I figured that I was tired of this - I was like a rat on a wheel not getting anywhere so I just figured all that stuff will still be around when I'm 60lbs lighter so it can wait. Hope this helps.

[FatFreeMe]

Im pretty new to LC'ing myself. I think you should look at the reasons why you cheat. If You're hungry, grab a LC snack. If you get in the doldrums, try a new recipe. If you're going out with friends, and they are all eating chips etc., is there a LC choice around? Otherwise, I have had NO CHEATING the last TWO weekends. I've just made up my mind its a no-no and all it will do I prolong my 'NEW ME' from emerging. I'd like to be able to tell you it will get better.. but.... only if *you* make it better.
Also, maybe try and keep yourself busy. Maybe you could spend more time at the gym.. as a suggestion. Or, here, its getting pretty nice, and I've been trying to spend time outside.

[ndurance1]

One big key to sticking to it is to be sure you EAT well. I have been able to eat like a horse (Low Carb), and I find that what folks say is true - if you have plenty of fat in your diet it is very satiating. I am making sure too to ensure that I HAVE CARBS in my diet. I eat some salads, some veggies, and all. Low Glycemic veggies. I also understand that calorie counts begin to be a factor as you get into the lower weight ranges, close to goal - so I am not saying that works for everybody in every situation.

After you have eaten well (low carb), and you still feel cravings... you need to identify the emotional triggers for eating, if any. Is it something your body is truely craving, and if so, why? Are you going off plan at all - then you are playing in a minefield (I think). You might well have cravings. If you are getting too out-there with Low Carb (lots of Low Carb sweets, candies, cookies, pancakes, etc - maybe you are overdoing even those, for induction or OWL levels).

If it is just a bad habit - as in I LIKE TO EAT CHIPS AND DIP, or ICE CREAM, etc, and have been doing it so long it feels wierd not to ...then I think you need to counter your thoughts with re-enforcing thoughts. A little SELF Hypnosis. I tell myself that if I get off plan, even a little, then I am setting myself backwards, losing ground, and going to have to train the body all over again in induction and low carb metablosim of my fat. Get it back into the groove. Don't want to do it, it is too painful to think of going back through all this all over again. You gotta go heavy into the visualization and thinking it all through. Realize that this is important to you and go through the reasons. See yourself at goal. Visualize success and getting over the obstacles. Use positive self talk - don't defeat yourself with a negative attitude. The longer you go, the stronger you are. The more committed, the more able to go the distance.

Like I said - I'm pulling for you! Make sure you are eating well on low carb! Don't short-change yourself. You should be looking forward to good eating every time you sit down. This should not be suffering. Get some good ribeyes, and use lots of cheese and make sure you are getting lots of flavor in your diet - so you don't feel deprived and like you are missing anything.

Guess maybe you know all this. But if not, hope something I said helps ya. Keep on keeping on!!!

[MizKitty]

I used to have trouble with cheating (would you define cheating as losing 150 pounds and then putting it all back on not once, but TWICE?)
Then I became diabetic. That cured it. Ask yourself if you want to go down that road.

[BaronE]

I'm just the opposite, I find it easier on the weekends than when I work. At work there's always stuff around to tempt me. I just refuse to let anything pass my lips that's not on program.

[lewshus]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the replies and positive reinforcement...believe me I needed it. I guess I just need to start keeping busier on the weekends.

Special thanks to Ndurance1, that was truly uplifting and inspirational.

[meierdjm]

I agree with you MizKitty.

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and got some blood work done and found out I have prediabetes. That scared me enough to get focused on the task at hand.

Danny

[Greenwitch]

I'm fairly new to this round but what is keeping me honest right now isn't the initial rush of a 'new diet' but the actual desire to LIVE. I had to wake up and be honest with myself. I can't live like this into an active old age. Heck, I can barely be active now at this weight. My blood pressure is up, I'm diabetic, my body was in pain, this is NOT LIVING. Not ego, not what people think, not looking 'hot', nothing like that matters. What matters is that I feel ROTTEN and I do NOT like my life at this weight. Period. I know it sounds harsh but that's how I feel about my weight. I have a great life but it could be better. Since I've LC'd this round for the last week, my body aches have disappeared thanks to what must be a gluten/carb reaction I have. My blood sugar is NORMAL already. I feel physically good already and that alone is keeping me on the straight and narrow. I have to look at eating like this as my medication for LIFE.

If you have cravings or urges, stop if you can and think IS IT WORTH IT? Physical cravings are one thing, but psychological cravings are another. I'm an emotional person (gee, can you tell?) and eat when I'm upset, happy, bored, celebrating, reflective, you name it. Mood food is great. Now I just have to choose differently in order to live. My choice is live or die. I think I'll celebrate life and live.

Like I said, I know it sounds harsh, but this reality is what I am trying to focus on. Food has no power. It's simply food. YOU have the power. You don't need to give in. It's not worth the yucky feelings.

Bev :wave:

[2007]

I use to be the same way, that is, the weekends would get me every time on all those other diets, but not the Atkins lifestyle. I don't have that problem anymore now. I chalk it up to being able to actually eat on Atkins, cooking all these great low-carb recipes getting to have my cake and candy and eat it too as I make my own low-carb chocolate truffles and chocolate cake whenever the mood strikes and I don't have to worry about sugar alcohols or any other wierd ingredient they may throw in those store bought low-carb candy bars. Most times I don't get much of it 'cause the family eats it up before I can but being able to have Cheeseburgers, Deep Dish Pizza Bake, taco salads with my own homemade taco seasonings one of my many favorites, I guess, I just focus on all the wonderful things that I can have instead of what I can't have and even then you can always find a good subsitute for just about everything. I guess you just gotta really want it bad enough. I mean you're already getting past the biggest hurdle in dieting and that's actually being able to eat and eating very well I might add. Loving to cook helps a lot too. I find that I don't care to much for eating out anymore 'cause I don't know what there putting in that stuff (unless it's El Pollo Loco or Baja Fresh), plus I just prefer my own cooking anyway and I can control what's in it.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r238/AussieTPP/Animated%20Stuff/3cf61eba-1.gif
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of you heart ~Psalms 37:4

[Mandra]

#1 (most important) I decided not to.

#2 I joined the Master of My Domain challenge to keep me accountable.

#3 I make sure I don't go hungry.

#4 I plan in advance to make sure I have allowable food with me or available at all times.

#5 I ask myself if I want to prolong being fat by yet another day.

#6 If I'm caught short I look for alternatives (pizza? okay, but no crust) ( McDonalds? no, I'll run to the store and get some feta-stuffed jalapenos (my latest "vice")

[j13]

#1 (most important) I decided not to.

This is absolutely the key.

The thing about cheating on low carb is that (if you're doing right) it's completely unnecessary. Like the man said, "if you're hungry, eat!" So if you're cheating - especially after getting rid of the induction flu - you're doing it for non-biological reasons. Emotional, psychological, whatever - that's what it is. Especially when you're just starting, you can stuff yourself with low carb foods and still lose weight. So eat, don't cheat. If you cheat, think about what it is emotionally and psychologically you're getting out of cheating, and work on *that*.

And one other thing - this also applies to when you're "in a pinch." In America, there's always a supermarket close by stocked with precooked and unprepared low carb foods and green vegetables. You NEVER HAVE to eat badly. You CHOOSE to eat badly. Own your decisions. Even if you eat badly, say "I am choosing to do this." Do not say "I am breaking down. I am cheating." AGAINST WHO?? When you "cheat," you are only fighting *yourself*. There is no outside force to cheat against. Make a decision and own it.

-j.

[joylorene]

This is absolutely the key.


You NEVER HAVE to eat badly. You CHOOSE to eat badly. Own your decisions. Even if you eat badly, say "I am choosing to do this." Do not say "I am breaking down. I am cheating." AGAINST WHO?? When you "cheat," you are only fighting *yourself*. There is no outside force to cheat against. Make a decision and own it.

-j.

WOW thanks! I'm posting this one on my fridge and keeping a copy in my purse - very helpful

[karrier]

PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN.........

just remember
Success is the product of many correct choices

Keep this handy. It has helped me tremendously.

I have copies by my fridge .... my computer ... and anywhere else I regularly go. (car, bathroom etc)

[toofat2]

I was just wondering what you guys do to help you not cheat.

I eat, just like Atkins says. That way I am not hungry or deprived and I can pass up the temptations.

That and the fact that it is so hard to pick myself up after I fall.

[2cute4u_04]

i ask myself why do i want to lose the weight.. then i step away from the cookie (or whatever it may be)

[SRabbit]

I think of this as a lifestyle, not a diet....that way I look for acceptable foods instead of things that don't work for a low carb lifestyle.

I make a mock danish if I want something sweet, or eat raspberries with cream and splenda--or both together! Both on plan and both delicious!! I eat some beef jerky if I want something chewy and salty...

And if I really want candy or somesuch, I buy an Atkins bar and eat that.

So I stay on plan and am successful--I started on Jan 26th and I've lost 29 lbs., and I don't feel deprived or the need to "cheat"---that just doesn't fit in with how I view this whole experience.....

Good Luck!!

[Cissie_12]

To be honest with you all I have to do is strip down and look at myself in the mirror. Seriously, that keeps me faithful!

[NixCarbos]

Whenever I feel like a cheat is coming on I think to myself "This will taste great for the short term but I know how awful I feel after wards (emotionally) and I get so depressed and angry after I cheat".

I weigh the pros and cons.

I also keep a picture of my face on the fridge with a cutout (realistic looking goal) for myself pasted overtop my old body of what I want to look like. I have to face it every time I am in the kitchen.

I also keep a list of affirmations as to why I am doing this and changing my lifestyle posted onto the fridge. I read them second thing every single morning.

I also keep a pair of my pants I want to fit into on top of my dresser (or in any accessible place for you).

In other words I keep a lot of reminders for myself around the house as to why I am changing my lifestyle.

[diemde]

I think j13 nailed it. I don't believe in the term cheat as applied to diet. We make choices, plain & simple.

Sometimes we choose foods to eat without consciously making a decision, which leads to making poor choices. In my opinion, the key is to retrain ourselves to be aware of our actions so that we can consciously make a decision about what we are eating. Recognizing and owning choices in everything we do in life is uplifting. It allows us to have the control, rather than giving our control away.

The times in the past where I made poor choices with foods were when I felt I didn't have control in other areas of my life. Feeling like I've lost control in one area, such as finances, or when close friends or family are ill, tend to make me feel helpless and my thought processing shuts down. I go on automatic pilot if you will, and my automatic pilot is broken from years of eating poorly. So, I try never to go on automatic pilot. I'm hoping that after years and years of eating a low carb way of life that my automatic pilot might get fixed, but for now, I'm not counting on it.

[Dogbert199]

Force of will. Besides that, I'm not all that hungry anymore and if I AM hungry, I eat something that's allowed.

[stacy0912]

cheat=diet, by using those words it makes people still be in the diet frame of mind. i'm even guilty of saying those words recently, well a lot recently. which confirms that i'm still not 100 percent in the way of life mind frame yet. i have made huge strides that when i did go off six times in jan. and feb. i didn't feel guilty or beat myself up about it and went right back on plan the following day. but like dianne said when going off for one day on a way of life it's a choice, not a cheat. so maybe i'm finally headed in the right direction.

a great snack for me when i want something rich and sweet is take 1 tsp of peanut butter, 1 square of lindt's 85 percent bar, 1 pad of butter and microwave it until melted...it is so sinfully rich. i'm going to make it again today and freeze it and make candy out of it. about 2.5 carbs for that one serving so not too bad.

[SRabbit]

I'm enjoying reading this thread-----a lot of us here have "dieted" on and off a great portion of our lives, I bet, and yet here we are needing to lose weight so something has to change in some of the ways we approach eating.

I really agree that this is not a "diet" but a lifestyle, that's how I approach it, so there are no cheats--that word doesn't fit--you're cheating your lifestyle? It really is what choice you make, a food that works and helps you get to goal or a food that is going to possibly stall you or put some pounds back on?

If you think you want it bad enough, you are going to CHOOSE to eat it, regardless or in spite of the consequences. If you want it, but prefer staying on plan and the results you might see on the scale in the morning if you don't eat it, you are still CHOOSING. Everthing we put or don't put in our mouths is a choice, no one shoves it in while we're tied down!!!

So I excitedly and with full knowledge of what it means embrace and choose a low carb way of life!!!!

[Greenwitch]

I had an interesting talk with dh about my approach this time around. The bottom line is that right now (before starting) I'm at a dangerous point in my life. Internally I believe everyone gets to that "uh-oh" point where you know that you either have to look after yourself or you're simply going to die. I mean, really, there's no alternative. Smarten up or die, either fast or slow. My past attempts at 'dieting' were because I wanted to look better. Bottom line. I wanted to look better and like how I looked. Now, I want to live. That's the big difference. I think it's what has put me in the frame of mind of one-day-at-a-time and looking at each meal as medication, not entertainment. Over time I will lose weight. Period. I have brought my blood sugar down already, my head is clearer and my energy is up. Thinking deeper and further on that note, I have taken a step away from the grave. Every pound I lose is another step away from an early grave. It may read like a big exaggeration but I really am so sick and tired of being sick and tired and wondering heck, if I feel this rotten now, how will I feel when I'm 65? Will I be able to lug this body around when I'm old? Will I live to be old? I have an aunt who was about 400lbs when she died of a heart attack at 70. An amazing amazing woman who unfortunately lived her life LITERALLY sitting at a table in her home. She missed out on so much and was pitied.

Anyway, the idea of "cheating" is like saying you're a good person but some days you're not a good person. It's an guilt ridden word we should throw away. If I have a day when I have slightly more carbs than normal, hey, that's fine. It's ONE MEAL not an entire lifetime.

Think of this, too. If you were diagnosed as a diabetic you would have to make changes to ensure you LIVE, right? I am pre-diabetic and I am choosing to live like a diabetic and to make the choices a diabetic would to live.

If you look at choices realistically and weigh them, you'll realize that you have power over cravings and any situation you're in where the food is so darned tempting your head is spinning.

Food is supposed to nourish us, not entertain us or make us FEEL anything. It's there to keep you alive (though haveyou had my dh's cooking? You'd question its safety. LOL!) and healthy and that's it.

When you take the emotion and the impact of 'yummy' out of the equation and look at food as the neutral party involved in either helping you live or helping you die, it's pretty easy to drop the idea of cheating or 'being good'.

[mmf503]

The biggest way I avoid cheating is to make sure I have legal foods on hand. The only time I have been tempted to cheat since I restarted 2 months ago was when I let myself get too hungry and I started to dream about how great it would be to just order a pizza.

[2bfreemari]

I've avoided cheating this time by understanding why I cheated in the first place--and it wasn't because I like food as I once believed.

I have lost and regained 30 pounds two times while low carbing. Each time it started with a few cheats that just grew and grew over time until they became a regular way of eating.

This time I have succeeded longer without cheating because I've been digging deep within to see why I overate in the first place. No WOE or diet works unless we first understand what made us go off the deep end to begin with. Some people gradually work on those issues without really being aware of it. Some of us have to intentionally sit down and figure out why we don't care about ourselves to the degree that we just let our health and ability to enjoy life go disappear. I thought the overeating was mostly about loving food, having bad habits and overeating during stressful times, but really it is deeper then that--which reallly makes it all much simpler.