i planned a cheat on saturday. i had lost about 35-40 lbs. since 1-21-03 and kinda stalled out or levelled off. for about a month i stayed at the same weight so i had a cheat on saturday. i ate a hostess cupcake, a hostess twinkie, a banana split and some cheese potato chips. i know i know it sounds really bad.

i was surprised to have only shown a 1 lb. gain. but the next day - mothers day - i went right back to induction and i can tell i kinda restarted the motor. went right into noticeable ketosis, got yucky taste in my mouth again. it has been awhile since i had that taste -----YYYYuuuucccckkkk!

and the scale seems to be moving in the right direction - only a pound or two but it is only tuesday and the cheat was on saturday.

what really sucks is i really didnt enjoy the cheat!!!! my sugar cravings are practically non existent.

You took the words right outa my mouth.

Let me tell you that I am the weakest person when it comes to food. On Saturday, I went to Chili's and did great. Had chicken wings, a salad and steak. Mother's Day I went to a pancake house and didnt cheat at all, had an omelet, bacon and decaf coffee. Mind you, I usually have a huge stack of pancakes drenched in syrup myself. My family couldnt beleive what they were seeing. Later that day we had lunch at a seafood restaurant and I had the piping hot bread basket in front of me AND I DIDNT TOUCH IT. Last night I made my family homamad french fries, and brownies mmmm and didnt touch one. My goodness, I, along with a lot of other people are very serious about this. For the first time in my life I am determined to do something till the end. Now, don't take this the wrong way people.... Just because we don't cheat doesnt mean we dont like what we see or like what we hear. Some major binging I just read about left me a bit perplexed. I'm sure it left othrs feeling the same. I just feel that if I were to cheat, which I wont, I wouldnt really tell other dieters about it in detail.
Maybe say something like oh, I messed up and blah blah blah.

Again, I will repeat dont hate me because of this,I'm sorry to anyone who might be offended. This is not intended for the few extra carbs cheater its just that if youre gonna do the Atkins which contains a ton of fat, why would you go on a carb binge in such a way. The consequences are disasterous on the system. Yeah you'll detox and go back to square one.Maybe you have the time and money, cause this diet aint cheap. Okay, but I think if someone cheats on this particular diet , then they dont really care about it too much to begin with. Sorry so long, just my 2 cents.

PS: Just had to add that I'm talking about the induction dieters. Come on people 14 days is not that bad.

Wow, and here I thought I was bad for eating 1/2 a loaded baked potato. I was waiting till I got to my first goal to "splurge" but we were at San Francisco Steak House for Mothers Day. While the steak was so bad, the potato was sooo good. I finally moved it off to my daughters plate and watched her finish it.
I have got myself so psyched out on cheating that I am waiting for my goals to be met to have a "splurge" rather than cheat. I'm looking forward to my goals on more than one level this way. I am seeing such good results on the WOE, 32 pds down, 3 sizes smaller in pants and tops, and dresses. I still have a ways to go and am afraid if I start fudging it (litterally) I won't get to where I want to be. I applaud everyone's motivation and will power on this board it is a big help.

I do not understand the need to cheat...lol. There are so many low carb versions of stuff out there...everything from bread to chocolate and cheesecake, so where is the attraction to the carbs? Personally I think the low carb chocolates taste just as good as the regular chocolate...I couldn't tell the difference if I didn't know better.


L

us too, we went out for Mothers day, but since my children and i are all on atkins (the kids arent as strick or as neurotic as i am) i chose a restaurant that i could pig out and and still stay on track, so we went to the outback steakhouse.....ymmmmmm delish!!!! i had the 20 ounce porterhouse steak, lobster tail, cesear salad without the croutons, and the dressing on the side, and tons, and tons of water, well, i woke up the next day at the same wt, so it just goes to prove, that if u plan in advance, u can still go out and have a good time....oh and by the way a special kudos to those great folks at the outback steakhouse in white plains ny, the service on such a busy day was outstanding!!!!!!

It was the chips that really got me. That was what I wanted the most. I have not been able to find anything that really replaces chips. Yeah - I tried the Crunchers (man are they expensive!) and pork rinds. But what I really wanted was chips and dip. But, you know what? it didn't taste that good any more! I didn't totally gorge myself. I had a few of one kind, then a few of another, then I put them away! LOL

And - I did only have half a bear claw and one donut hole with brunch. The rest of the stuff was not that bad. But one donut hole? I could have never stopped at one in the past.

So, while I do understand what a lot of you are saying, I just don't feel that is me. I wanted to do this. I think I almost needed to do this, just to see what would happen. I found that things didn't taste as good as I remembered and that the results on the scale were a real bummer.

So - I can guarantee you I will not be doing it again anytime soon. The next big temptation will be the Fourth of July. We do the 4th big where I live and that spinach dip with french bread is soooo yum LOL

Since we are talking about "not offending anyone", I will add my 2 cents. When you have spent your entire life addicted to carbs, it is the hardest habit to break. People say "oh, grow up-it's just food!". Well, have you ever tried to say that to an alcoholic? For some people it truely is an ADDICTION that takes years to get over. So if anyone else out there finds that carbs are their nemesis- I APPLAUD YOU for doing this diet. Sometimes it feels like an alcoholic intervention, you have this thing that makes you feel good, even though deep down you KNOW it is detremental to your body and mind, but you are doing just fine thank you...and someone comes along and YANKS that thing away from you (even if that someone is yourself trying to break the addiction)...well let me tell you it is the hardest thing to deal with. So again, anyone who struggles like I do GOOD JOB and a PAT ON THE BACK for each and every 24 hours that you stick to this WOE no matter what level you are at.

Let's all be supportive of each other and allow each one to come along at their own pace, even if you may or may not understand where they are at.

Together we can do it!

i do not feel guilty for the cheat i planned on saturday. i think cheating occasionally helps more than hurts.

i find that MENTALLY i want those bad carbs but when i actually cheat and eat those bad carbs i dont really want them physically. cheating occasionally has shown me that the desire is all in my head and it proves why the diet works. and reinforces that i didnt really want all of those bad carbs anyway.

and REMEMBER this WOE is supposed to be forever and to think that you will never again eat bad carbs is not REALISTIC>

so if and when you cheat - permit yourself to do it - do not torture yourself over it - especially if it is only an occasional thing.

since starting this plan i have found freedom i did not believe i could ever have - i am now in control of my weight and i am allowed to be really strict when needed and cheat when i want. i know with this plan i can tweak what needs to be tweaked and get results. so why should i feel bad for any cheat i do??? i shouldnt - i have been extremely overweight for my height i have gone to FAT CAMP's as a kid and have felt generally guilty for my size my whole life now with this plan i refuse to feel guilty any longer for the occasional cheat or for anything i eat anymore. i know that my carb intake will fluctuate and it is completely in my control. and because i am in control i have never felt better about myself. cause i am doing it - i am losing weight - 35-40 lbs. have gone down 4 sizes - and i refuse to feel guilty for the occasional cheat. when i do cheat i do not find that i get carb cravings - maybe i am just lucky about that but i doubt that - i think i hAVE been on the program long enough to have really suppressed my physical carb addiction

but enough guilt for hte overweight person - we have made ourselves feel horribly depressed and guilty for years thinking if only we ate LOW FAT and starved ourselves we would not be overweight. and i am personally pissed off that i tortured myself all of these years and it was the diet that was wrong not ME and i now that i know the truth i REFUSE to feel guilty about how i eat.

AMEN!

Jedswife, sorry if you may have thought I was reffering to you if that was the case. I wasnt. I was reffering to and earlier post so sorry for the misunderstanding.

I agree that its difficult at times, Alliecat, and even though I havent struggled my whole life with this problem, I have struggled with it for 10 good years now and If anyone had ever read my posts or my profile they will see that I am addicted to food. I may not be as heavy as some people here but for my 5 foot frame , I'm considered Obese. I think that the vast majority of us are overly consumed with the thought of food on a day to day basis. Its not just the carbs alone or the sweets. I, earlier was reffering to all the details of a binge I had read about. Now, I can understand anyone binging. I would especially understand it from a veteran low carb dieter that has put 100% of themselves and need a reward. I just dont see the point in screwing up so soon into the game you know. I wont mention the name because I dont want to be a dartboard for the rest of my life even though I probably have a few people that think that way already. I was just speaking from the heart. When I had those pancakes in front of me on Mothers Day, I didnt even think twice about it. By the way pancakes are my favorite food. I did though feel like crying, really, and almost did. So I guess I was going thru the motions once again when I read about someone taking "a piece of this, then taking another, oh, and by the way then I had this too". It tore thru me like a knife.
I have failed at every diet or better yet every diet has failed me. This is the first good one and will be my last. So beleive me when I say that I understand and we are all in this together whether we have 30 or 200 pounds to loose. I just see people running in the dugout for a quick break while others are still playing on the field." We may not be dieting in groups but we are all dieting.

Like they say "You Can't Win The Game If You Quit Playing".

By the way if I ever cheat in the future, my plan is to do it with a box of Krispy Cream donuts. The big one, So I'll give you guys all the gory details, okay. LOL That's all, hope it clears up my feelings on my earlier post, I never meant to offend anyone. Just felt lousy at the time. Sorry this post is so long, again.-Terry

canDYAPPLE

i didnt take it personally.

i just dont want to feel guilty anymore and i dont. it is not our fault that the medical community has insisted this WOE is bad for you etc. they told us all of our lives if we only eat less, eat low fat we would not be overweight. and me like a dummy fell for it.

then i started hearing things about atkins. i started seeing people who were doing it and they were losing and not starving to death. then i heard about the last study that came out in 2001-2002?? that showed that the plan worked and was not bad for your health.

so i got the book (actually already had it - so really read the book) - figured out i better do a little research to be sure to do it right. and oh my gosh! i have never gotten results like this in the same amount of time. and i am completely satisfied with what i eat. i know on this plan if i cheat whether by accident or design i can just watch my carbs the next day and keep going.

i guess it is not that the fact that you could have a cheat if you wanted. it knowing that this is for a lifetime and i can live with it. i know that when my kid has a birthday party and i have a piece of real birthday cake i have not completely sabotaged my WOE only my day. if i'm smart i would not have eaten any other carbs that day and it turns out maybe it wasnt that bad of a cheat. and the next day i just keep chugging along. low carbing for life. but i am realistic i know there will be those days of slight carb overload but this is forever why feel sooo bad over what in a lifetime of eating low carb is nothing.

trust me i was a FAT KID all of my life and i have always felt the stigma of it. like i said ive been to fat camp as a kid, i did behavior modification, i did richard simmons, i did the cabbage soup diet all diets in fact, i did the diet pills (the really bad ones), i starved and ate nothing but lettuce and nothing really worked or if it did it was only temporary and not something i could do for the rest of my life. AND ALL THAT TIME I WAS TOLD IT WAS MY FAULT, I HAD NO WILL POWER. YOU REMEMBER THAT DONT YOU - ALL YOU NEED IS WILL POWER TO LOSE WEIGHT.

dont get me wrong i am really not filled with contempt for these idiots who perpetuated this idea - nobody likes to admit they are wrong. but fat people have always been made to feel bad - that they should have been able to control themselves - and now look how things are changing - thats why when people find out your doing atkins they continue the lie - "you know thats good for you" etc etc. i am really starting to believe it scares people to see us losing weight. i dont know it must screw up how they think of themselves. I CAN TELL YOU THIS SINCE LOSING 35-40 LBS IN 4 MONTHS PEOPLE ARE TREATING ME DIFFERENTLY NOW. IT IS REALLY SAD CAUSE I AM STILL THE SAME PERSON. BUT I DO GET MORE ATTENTION NOW. IT IS AS IF I WASNT REALLY THERE TO PEOPLE BEFORE BECAUSE I WAS OVERWEIGHT (STILL AM BUT NOT NEAR AS BAD)

WHEN WILL NATURALLY THIN PEOPLE GET IT! WE FAT PEOPLE OR (FORMALLY FAT PEOPLE) ARE OK! NO MATTER WHAT WE LOOK LIKE! AND IF YOU ARE THREATENED BY MY LOSING WEIGHT - GOOD - CAUSE I AM DOING SOMETHING ABOUT MY LIFE - WHAT ARE THEY DOING ABOUT THEIRS??

(sorry if i sound rough - i am just kinda blunt - but am not aiming this at anyone here)

Here's the real question, in my opinion,
Are you cheating because you want the food or are you cheating because the food is part of the warm fuzzy feelings you have from the experience?
Such as the baby's birthday, are you eating the cake because you want the cake or because it's part of the whole "birthday experience"?

Food is so tangled up in our emotions that sometime we don't really believe the good feelings can happen without eating.

I'm not saying I'm perfect, I think anyone who is perfect is probably dead and in their grave.

It is possible to have the happy times WITHOUT the bad food. I would suggest just taking a minute to think what you REALLY want. And when the occasion arises that you honestly think the food is an important part, then go for it without guilt. Make the next meal clean and move on.

im a big fat cheater myself... i planned to cheat this week and really really done it up... but back on induction for me in the morning, and to be honest with you i dont feel a bit guilty about cheating! b/c i know that im gonna be doing this WOE for life... and hey .. to be rather honest with you.. im human im a carbaholic.. and i know that cheating isnt that "great" for you ... but i feel like if you plan it and do it in a reasonable manner then, you can cheat once in a while as long as you dont make a habit of it.

Again, Jedswife, I didnt respond to disrespect anyones struggle to loose. I was refering to a lack of interest for others feelings. You know that I just realized I made such a fuss over what? Other people cheating? I have to disagree with you on one point though, I don't think that the overweight person is expected to be in control, on the contrary, they are expected to constantly be out of control. Just yesterday, my brother in law, sceptical and very overweight, came over and told me that I was going to have a hard time on the Atkins. I told him it was awesome and he laughed. He reminded me of my love for food and yes I admitted that I love food but that it's not my main priority anymore, I am hypoglycemic by the way, and he just went on to say that it's impossible for me to change. As you can see, I do agree that some just don't understand. So screw them, we don't need their negativity.

Its understandable for somone to cheat on this plan. I'd be stupid to say that for the rest of my life I wont eat bread. Only then would I be lying to myself. But 2 weeks on induction are serious and it pissed me off,(sorry) to hear that someone else (another newbie) had already binged and bragged about it. I have learned a lesson from the Atkins book and I respect it tremendously. That lesson is that this is a smart way of life..... I will keep this way of life for as long as I live... I WILL add carbs and treats from time to time. I will not deprive myself.... But under no circumstances will I come in here, to tell all my friends and fellow members that I just had a cheat when they are struggling so hard to stay true to themselves. As, I always say, we're in this together. I do respect how the overweight feel because i am considered Obese myself. Like I said I'm just trying to make a point. Some people get it and others just don't! It's not about being overweight it's about respecting other's feelings.

Jedswife, You may have posted something about your cheat , but I really wasnt refering to you, you have been on this for a while and deserve a treat. Your post just happened to be in the middle of it. I know you already heard this, but I just wanted to make sure you know. You're so lucky... you're thinner than me.

Terry

candyapple forgive me saying so but your brother in law is a jealous jerk. why do people insist on being so rude? doesnt that kind of attitude just drive you nuts. i dont think i would ever have the nerve to actually say that someone's face. he had to know it would hurt your feelings. (or he is the eternal stupid man - sorry guys)

and candyapply you and i are about the same size (now that i've lost some) but i am on some kind of weird weight loss/gain loop - i keep losing and gaining the same 3 -4 lbs. i guess this is a mini stall.