How bad could a week of cheating be? (Atkins)
 

Hi everyone, first I want to clarify that I have not cheated. I'm begining my 4th week on phase 1 induction and I'm doing great. I've lost about 18 lbs already. Also, I am finding that I can live on induction.

Now this is a long way off, so please understand I am only asking out of curiosity. In October, I'm going on Vacation and do not want to deprive myself of ice cream / junk food / breads etc... Basically, the things we should never eat. I'm going to stay on induction from now till then, and will not have a problem returning to induction imediatly afterwards. My will power is pretty good. Hence I am 'planning' this cheat weak.

How much damage will this do? Will I gain water weight that will shed quickly in 1-2 weeks? Or will I gain back everything I lost from now till then?

Just curious. I apreciate all your input.

I greatly dislike the term "cheat." It's making choices. Most of the time here one chooses to eat meat and non-starchy vegetables and fruits and eggs and fats. Sometimes one chooses to eat cake, ice cream or chips. Own the choice. Sure you can resist stuff like that--you just choose when not to resist.

By then you may find that you have lost the desire to eat "junk food" or that it just doesn't taste the way you remember. Your taste buds may be re-educated! :)

I know everyone is different....but if I eat something on the "old menu" it does major damage on my will to succeed for days. It sucks me back into the mindset of "oh I'll just have a taste of this, or a bite of that. It's so very hard to get back on track not to mention how "hungry" you feel for the next few days. Pick something from the "new menu" you can indulge on, why sabotage your success? Going on a holiday isn't about eating, its about enjoying an exciting new place or revisiting a favorite place.

Do you feel "deprived" right now? Would not eating bread and ice cream on your holiday make it less fun and exciting?

I wonder if there is any way to search the forum for the hundreds, if not thousands of people who started LC, were doing well, then decided they just had to have a "cheat day/meal" because of some impending holiday or celebration, and were never heard from again.

This is not dealing with some kind of credit/debit system, like the gospel of calorie counting, which has been proven wrong anyway. You don't keep carbs low just because "less good, more bad" and make it up the next day if you slip. This is about harnessing and understanding the very complex biological system that is your body. What are the long-term issues with going off plan? Nobody can answer that for YOU. Because what is fine for one person, will completely derail another. Educating yourself (and there is no end to books, videos, podcasts, etc) as to not just what to do but why, and what exactly is going on in your body, for better or worse.

If I eat off-plan I may not gain noticeably from that particular food/meal. But I inevitably pay in one way or another, be it sacrificing mental clarity, feeling like crap physically, or just plain putting my foot on the edge of that slippery slope.

You know that for sure? You're 100% ready to risk it? You have gone off a low carb plan before, plunging headfirst into bread and ice cream, and KNOW you will be fine? I guess the big question here would then be why you feel junk food is necessary for an enjoyable vacation, and why you see that as an OK frame of mind, and not a problem? Don't you WANT to be free from slavery to food?

For me, cheating is the same as a recovering alcoholic having a drink. or someone who's given up smoking having a packet of cigarettes. It just wouldnt work for me

Jo xxx

What is this "deprived?" I dip pork rinds in whipped cream. I have low carb cheesecake. When I'm feeling really naughty, I'll make a pancake with protein powder and eat it with an ounce or two of butter. Except for the whipped cream, I don't do these every day... but you can be pretty decadent and still low carb.

When I do eat something off-plan, it's generally disappointing. Doesn't taste as good as I remember. And often makes me feel like crud. This makes it easy for me to get back on-plan, which is fine, but also means there's not much point of going off plan in the first place.

That is exactly how every drastic regain has ever happened to me. Planned cheat and then I can't stop. I'm a recovering carb addict. I eat a trigger food and the madness gets hold of me and doesn't let me go until I've gained it all back. Lost 50, gained it back. Lost 35, gained it back. Lost 15, gained it back. This time I've lost 11 so far and I've learned my lesson.

A week is time enough to reinstate all the bad habits you've worked so hard to lose. It usually takes me no more than a day or 2 to be gone-baby-gone.

That's just my experience. For me, I want to be healthy and thinner more than I want candy, potatoes, Doritos, and pasta.

Take what we have to say, let it mull, and make your choice closer to October. But do remember our advice, because we've been in the trenches and we know what happens. Best of luck, whatever you choose.

Perhaps I should have mentioned I'm going to a wine festival.?

From what I'm hearing as long as I STOP afterwards, I will resume weight loss and get back down to normal.

Precisely, and I think "Damn, that wasn't worth it."

I'm generally a responsible person, but on holiday I want to have 'more than a few' drinks with my friends.

Wine is one matter. Ice cream, breads and junk? That's something else entirely. Am I just ignorant of the wine-tasting world? It seems like a non sequitur argument.

Same here. Which is why I stay away from those trigger foods. It's a really weird feeling to walk past the potato chips (#1 trigger food) at the mini-mart and no longer feel the pull. But I've got a good memory of what happens if I try to eat "just one." And it ain't pretty. :nono:

Ok. The vibe I'm getting here is that this I simply need to be careful and return to Atkins afterwards.