I totally agree - if life is so bad that you have to eat junk to enjoy something, then there is a problem. I wonder if recovering alcoholics have to have a few drinks, or those who've given up smoking need their poison to give them a good time???

This way eating, isnt about deprivation or suffering. Its about eating healthily and you dont need junk to be happy

Jo xxx

I am both.

I'm contemplating the wine vs. food issue. In my mind it is different than 'eating' off plan, but in my body, I'm not sure. I've never 'fallen off the wagon' with alcohol before. I am more of a drinker these days than I was in a past life so I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

However, with that being said, no matter how long of a successful streak I have had on any of the numerous eating plans I have tried, they all ended with an 'event'. Thanksgiving, Christmas, vacation, etc. I always think 'I'll indulge and then I'll go right back to the plan" and somehow it never works...for me. Maybe for you it will be different. I think it IS as simple as just going right back to it...BUT it's easier said than done.

I wish you lots of luck no matter what you choose.

I see it this way. Alcohol is off plan, correct? If I was too drink too much, get wasted, once a year or so no one in their right mind would argue I am an alcoholic or suffer from alcoholism.

So why is it acceptable to argue that planning a cheat 6 months in advance is somehow related to a carb addiction?

It isn't. Yes, cheating invites trouble for some people but deciding you want to eat ice cream once after being more than half way to your goal weight isn't weakness and isn't addiction. If I fall off the wagon, you'll all be the first to hear about it. I'll let you confirm your suspicions. But don't call it an addiction if it isn't an addiction.

Alcohol isnt off plan, but if you had been an alcoholic and were recovering. Planning to get wasted in 6 months time WILL put you back on that slippery slope!!!

Thats how I would be if I had a cake.... and for what?? So that I could have a really good time??? Quite frankly, I dont think I could eat a cake now if I wanted to - too sweet and too stodgy.

As for it being an addiction?? It depends on your definition. But to me an addiction is a craving, a strong desire for something that you dont need simply because you like it. I'm the same with cigarettes. I dont need them - ever, but I sure as hell want them

Jo xxx

These days, my greatest motivation to not eat cakes, bread, ice cream, etc., and over-indulge in booze, is that my body, correctly, doesn't recognize it as food. That causes multiple stress and damage to my hardworking immune system whose job it is to protect me from whatever the hell it's wondering I just swallowed. Eventually, constantly putting the immune system to work like that results in it going haywire... and then follow the serious autoimmune diseases.

Believe me, my immune system was put to the test day in and day out from the moment I left home and started feeding myself. All my life I thought I was extremely healthy and believed that everyone has a bit of gas sometimes, bloating now and then, some skin rashes, a bit of indigestion, a few occasional aches and pains, whatever. But it's not normal. It's the result of the early wars that are going on inside our bodies when we eat carbage, before the really serious damage becomes obvious (diabetes, heart diseases, respiratory illnesses, cancers, to name but a few). I've had a few years of low carb now and I never, ever, have any of those symptoms any more - unless I've been stupid enough to take a bite of rubbish.

To be honest, I never gave any of that a thought for the longest time. I was just terrified of falling all the way down the slippery slope and never being able to climb back up. But now that I UNDERSTAND how wheat, grains generally, and sugar attack our bodies, the idea of purposely eating them to "have a good time" seems absurd.

I often look at things these days and ask myself "if I eat that, would my body recognize it as food". If the answer is "no", all temptation just fades away.

Checking in

Well, I certainly didn't make many friends in this thread. Regardless, I will again thank you all for the support. It is still appreciated. Someone did ask that I post back with the results. So I will.

I left plan from 10/18 by having IHOP pancakes in the morning in prep for the vacation the next day. At this time, my weight was 202 lbs. As already explained, we were attending a food and wine festival.

From that day till 10/27 I was off plan. Made no effort whatsoever to avoid glycemic foods or carbs in general.

Upon my return I weighed 216 lbs. It is important to note that I was off plan for 10 full days. The instant the p[lane landed at my home airport, I was back on plan. Almost all seems to be water weight. I am home less than a full week and I am down to 207 lbs. I would absolutely do this again. The set back in lbs was negligible and the fat is melting fast enough for me. I do not regret this nor do I feel it has created any issue with my desire to stay on plan. I look forward to continued weight loss with all of you as my Q and A team. You guys rock. You put the fear in me that it would be harder to return to plan that expected. That drove me to understand fully how important it would be to drop carbs cold turkey upon my return.

I for one am so glad you reported back with true results (rather than a short 'I told you so'). It is encouraging to know that it worked out well. I always struggle with not deviating from my chosen eating plan on vacation. I'm hoping that this year, since it will be almost a full year before vacation, that I'll be firmly locked in. I'm not only LCHF but also wheat free and I try to avoid most processed foods. In my minds eye, I can see me enjoying higher carbs on vacation while still avoiding the wheat and processed foods. I guess I'll have to make those choices when the time comes. It's always a challenge to balance perfection with reality (for me at least).
Happy that you did well and I hope your vacay was fabulous!!

I had the same experience. I went high carb over Christmas as I was on a family vacation. No carb cravings. None. I skipped desert most nights. We were on a vacation package where desert was free every night. I had the desert the second night for the only time and skipped the rest. I just wasn't into it.

I did gain about 1/2 pound a day. My weight came off as fast as it went on. No problems.

In defense of the forum there is a certain necessary paranoia required to stick to a diet. Some really do get carb cravings. The question is, how much paranoia is truly necessary? I think that is as much a YMMV thing as any other thing. There are a lot of people that start the diet and get derailed by just one night, say eating at a church function.

I'm not one of those people and I don't think you are either.

Keep calm and keto on.

I'm pretty lucky. Eating isn't a compulsive thing for me. Never was. I just didn't know any better than to eat carbs.

For people like you two, the "stay on your plan" theme put forth by many may come across as paranoia. But only because you don't respond the same way as I do to high GI carby food. If you did, then the consequences of cheating would be reality - not paranoia. Count yourselves lucky -- in that regard. Me - I would get carb cravings from fruit cake -- a food I truly detest. Until you know how you would respond, I guess a little caution would be prudent.

I read through all of these posts again to refresh my memory. I find it sad (but also not unexpected) that one person who seemed to advocate the occasional "cheat" appears to have fallen off the radar well short of goal. Now I don't know what happened, but I suspect it was one cheat too many. The stats for losing the weight and keeping it off are so dismal, IMO paranoia is the wrong choice of words. Thinking big picture, losing weight and keeping it off is not an easy thing to do. I don't consider myself paranoid -- I'd much rather think that what I have is a healthy respect for the measly 2% to 5% success rate that I have read about.

You've taken offense at the word paranoia. I like the phrase "necessary paranoia". It's kind of an oxymoron, which is entertaining to me, and it fits a lot of real life situations. It helps clarify a statement. It's opposite is unnecessary paranoia and I never inferred anyone here was like that.

I find it sad that we don't hear from lovinita very much anymore. Last we heard her doctor had diagnosed adrenal fatigue. I hope that wasn't it and I hope she's okay but there is such a thing as trying too hard. I'm glad that scrapgirl found a personal feature that makes her life a bit less stressful. This is a life long proposition and anything we learn about ourselves that makes it easier to devote more mental energy to life's other challenges is a good thing.

Keep calm and keto on!

OK - I can accept the two word term. I was focusing on "paranoid" -- and I just don't see that as an appropriate characterization of people who are attempting to diligently adhere to their chosen WOE. Now "Fear" -- that is a term I can identify with from my POV. I fear anything that may lead to a repeat of past mistakes.

About lovinita... yes - I do miss her and I hope she is not gone for long. She was such inspiration and helped me a great deal as I got started with this WOE. All the while, she had problems way beyond what most of us face. I sometimes feel bad that this WOE has become so easy for me when I know she struggled with hunger and fatigue so much. She tried so hard to figure out how to make this work. She accomplished a lot under much more difficult circumstances than what I faced. I hope she finds a solution, as she didn't deserve the hand she was dealt.

That's exactly the way I feel. I wish I knew her irl. I really want to help her. Such a joyful person deserves friends.

Whitecrane, just from reading the first page of this thread, it sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into the notion that it is okay to cheat for a whole week AND drink copious amounts of wine! IT IS NOT!!!!

I mean, REALLY!! You are reading between the lines and sending yourself the wrong message.

IT IS NOT OK to cheat for a week like this and drink a lot of wine! Are you serious?! Why did you even post a question / proposal like this if you are NOT serious about following a LC WOE?!

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

NO. The vibe is that no one here wants to hurt your feelings and be gut wrenching honest with you, BUT I WILL!

I have worked too hard to lose my weight and I've put a lot of effort into creating webpages that can help others learn too, plus a lot of time on this board learning, talking, educating myself, so I can educate others.........and I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOU FAIL EITHER!

You said you are only asking OUT OF CURIOSITY. Well, then you won't be too angry with me when I tell you the honest truth here, since your question is hypothetical, right? (Or is it really, since you say you will stay on induction UNTIL your holiday, and then...........quit so you can cheat a whole week and drink a ton of wine??)

So get with the program! By cheating a whole week and KNOWINGLY doing so, not are you only going to lose that weight you lost and gain it all back, but you are also going to lose whatever little amount of discipline you've acquired these past 4 weeks, AND you will lose the pride you felt, the advanced self esteem you felt for yourself at doing this for a month, you will lose your willpower, your drive, ambition to continue, all health benefits you've created for your body, and you will lose the desire to get back on the WOE so simply and easily as you seem to think you can! It's NOT that damn easy!

Now I don't even think I want to read pages 2, 3, 4, etc to see how this all ended because I feel I will just be too disappointed in the ending. :sad:

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Well, it looks like I am too late anyways, since Whitecrane is back and only gained 'water weight.'