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-   -   before you cheat (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=45378)

razzle Wed, May-22-02 13:48

before you cheat
 
Are you planning a cheat?

First, ask yourself...what are you really hungry for? If it's an emotional hunger (you're hungering for company, a hug, a good cry, privacy, relaxation, a nap, etc.), try to feed that hunger before feeding your craving. 12-step programs use the HALT reminder: "Am I hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?" Don't feed the wrong need.

If it is a hunger for food, feed it with protein, fat, and salad.

Drink a tall glass of water. Make yourself a pot of soothing herbal tea.

Tried those? Karen and Wa'il often give this suggestion: think through the whole experiment of your cheat before you do it. Most people only imagine through to putting the food in their mouths. But move the film forward--imagine the cheat being over in ten minutes and the food gone, barely remembered, the guilt afterwards, how you'll feel when you step on the scale the next morning, a week or two of strict before you see the same low weight again.

If none of these approaches work, and you decide to choose to cheat, consider using the "it's better to" approach:

* It's better to eat a CAD-type meal than to eat sugar or flour alone. Have a large salad or large serving of LC cooked veggies, have a large protein serving, and then your single serving of sweet or bread or potato. This helps lessen the insulin surge from the cheat.

* For many people, it's better to wait until the end of the day to cheat. A cheat early in the day puts the blood sugar swings into motion, and few people can limit their cheating for the rest of the day after that first one.

* If you're hungry for a sweet, it's better to eat strawberries with whipped cream than a slice of cake, better to eat three slices of a sugar-free cheesecake than one slice of one made with sugar

* If you're hungry for fries, it's better to make one small red potato tossed in olive oil into oven fries than to buy fast food fries.

* If you are going to eat a candy bar, it's better to eat one than three, better to eat three than ten.

* If you're fighting off cravings from yesterday's cheat, it's better to quit sooner rather than later. Remember, in 1-4 days, the cravings will be gone again if you don't keep feeding them

* It's better to eat consciously and enjoy it than to wolf something down with guilt

* For chronic emotional eaters, it's better to eat in public than to sneak away and eat in private

hymntonink Mon, May-27-02 08:25

Wow thank you razzle, what you said really helps. I have been having cravings since a bout with summer sausage and coinciding with my TOM. I haven't given in to them but I have been looking for LC desserts I can try even while on induction of sorts. I am craving fruit really, berries to be exact. I really want a berry LC shake. But I'm trying very hard not to. I have had some protein or a regular meal in place of what I really want. But the cravings are there and I'm assuming as you said it will take 1-4 days to get over them. I had the sausage almost 2 days ago. But thanks again for your advice/inspiration.

Kirsten

Karen Mon, May-27-02 11:14

Kirsten,

You may want to try tuna salad with lots of mayonnaise and see how it makes you feel.

Karen

j. mcadams Wed, Jun-12-02 13:03

Razzle, funny you should bring this to our attention about carvings. I watched Oprah yesterday and Dr. Phil was on there talking about why we cannot reach our goals and it is not because we have no will power, but something deeper. After giving much consideration to what Dr. Phil had said I think he maybe right. I am going to look a bit further into this. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your post. joan

orchidday Mon, Sep-09-02 12:32

Thanks for the inspiration Razzle. I am going to print that out and post it up! Great reminders for me! Cindi

mischa Mon, Oct-21-02 11:10

Great advise
 
Hi Razzle,

I just found your posting now and printed it out...in case one of those moments will overcome me.

Thanks for writing this down, I know it will help me out before I will make a wrong decision.

Mischa

hmbnovotny Tue, Jun-03-03 15:54

I realize this is a post from a year ago, but I am totally freaking out today - I do not know why - this is the start of my second week of induction and I totally want to cheat. I would love to share a little sherbert cup with my daughter - even just a bite.... But, I know in the infancy of my new WOL with Atkins/LC, it would be disatrous. Your post was awesome and exactly what I needed to read. I am going to go make some tuna salad and wrap it in a lettuce leaf.

You are awesome!
Holly

kathie w Tue, Jul-22-03 03:11

thanks for all the cool suggestions...so positive...

If we have to "cheat", it IS important to put it in proper perspective...it's better to eat one candy bar than three!!! I had a Hershey bar this weekend. I ate 1/2 of it Saturday night, and the other 1/2 on Sunday...I didn't enjoy the chocolate much, but loved the almonds! My tastes are changing...but interestingly, I didn't feel out of control...and my weight went down over the weekend, too.

Then I ask myself, would my weight have gone down a little more if I hadn't indulged? (since June 23, I hadn't had potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, snack chips, tortillas, or anything sweetened with sugar - so, putting this Hershey bar in proper perspective, I can forgive myself.)

I don't want to fail. It will be a long time before I have another Hershey bar. But the almonds? Definitely!!!
Kathie

britony Sun, Jul-27-03 11:12

Have any of you found that when you eat sweets after a long time without them that they don't seem to taste as good as they used to? I had this experience while eating chocolate. As I was eating it I thought, this just isn't worth it. But I still could not stop until the bar was gone, after the first bite, I was lost. How ridiculous IS that?

kathie w Sun, Jul-27-03 15:22

I felt like that eating the Hershey bar...normally I would have choked it down in one sitting, but I waited...I should have flushed it, because when I woke up in that motel room that had no coffee pot--and saw that Hershey bar staring right at me...

jaybird Sat, Aug-09-03 22:40

You know, today I cheated by drinking pepsi. Yuck, it wasn't that great. It is interesting, usually I would chug it down, but it lasted me like 2 hours. Well, I really liked the suggestion here about what to do when I feel like cheating again. Wished I would have read it 2 hours ago, lol!

kathie w Sat, Aug-09-03 23:51

You know, most of us Americans have been raised nourishing our sweet tooth...practically everything we eat can be (and often is) served with sugar...I adore sweet and sour pork and lemon chicken...our catsup and steak sauce are loaded with sugar...we've gone through times when we eat candy and drink sodas every single day...it's no wonder we have felt almost numb to the sweetness...

Interestingly, when you LC, a little sweet "cheat" goes a very long way...like nursing that Pepsi...it's almost like drinking syrup...reminds me of glucose tolerance test I took once (Planned Parenthood made me take it to get birth control pills after age 35--of all things!) - I had to drink this thick, heavy, gloopy syrup and I couldn't finish all they wanted me to drink...I finally told them, "no more!" I couldn't swallow any more without gagging...

That's almost what it's like now to have a sweet - it's overwhelming---I opened a can of Lipton's Brisk lemon iced tea the other day--I was so thirsty and thought I'd try it ('cause I love it!) - well, I couldn't get past about 4-5 oz. of it, and it's still sitting, opened and waiting, in the fridge...today I picked it up, took a tiny sip, shook my head, and placed it back in the fridge. (I never throw anything out until it turns green or curdles!)

which reminds me, does anyone know when it's time to throw out leftover tofu that's been opened? I was going to use some today, and it was kind of slimy and discolored around the edges...I tossed it.

addictmeHM Sun, May-02-04 19:39

Great advice Razzle. I printed this as well. ;)

Vanity3 Sun, May-02-04 19:52

RAZZLE, that is great encouragement. I try to keep in mind that cheating is not worth the set back. I like losing weight too much!

JessieBlue Tue, Jun-08-04 18:49

Hi!
I thought that this was such a GREAT thread it should be near the top!
I know summer is here and I want ICE CREAM like never before!

I also and printing off the list of things to do and putting it on my fridge too!

thanks for taking the time to ask the ?? and to answer it too!


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