I know there are some of us who purposely go off plan for various reasons. ( Please no food police telling me not to, that is NOT what this thread is for!) My question is this:

I have heard "I was on Atkins, but when I lost my weight, I went back to eating the other stuff and gained it all back."

I guess I have been on this for so long, that I can't BARE to be off for one day, maybe two without FEELING the major effects of stomach pains, swelling, etc...

Do you feel it too or do you have to fight to go back on?

Yes, I went off for about 4 months, starting when my kitchen was torn up for remodeling. It was okay at first, but then I started getting sick ... terrible heartburn and esophageal reflux.

Although the remodeling was finished by the end of September, I was then in the throes of major cravings and just living on Pepcid. It took until this month for me finally to get back on track.

Thankfully, after a week of strict lc, the stomach problems seem to be gone.

Oh yes! I definitely feel it too. I can add a higher carb dish on occasion and not suffer from it, but if I were to go a whole day off plan, I know I'd suffer for it, and the suffering would be gastric pain! I think I've lost my ability to process a lot of carbs at one go.

Luckily, I have no huge desire to eat a lot of high carb "stuff", so I have no regrets ... it sure makes maintenance a lot easier!! Also, at this stage, I CAN seem to handle an occasional high carb treat (read lemon meringue pie!) without consequences -- WOOHOO -- the best of both worlds!!!

PS: ... Kisal, welcome back!!!

typically the only thing that tempts me to go off plan is dessert, and the more chocolatey, ooey gooey goodness the better!

i can eat a few bites of tortilla chips or a taste of bread (which is icky, by the way) or gravies made with flour or somesuch, and be ok. and by ok i mean i don't have uncontrollable cravings and go off the deep end. i've never had an entire day off plan, and i think i'm actually scared to do that. i ate a piece of bread the other day and i swear i have "wheat belly" now. i look bloaty but my weight has not fluctuated by more than 5 pounds in the past year or so.

i know full well what i'm doing, and what i'm gonna feel like after (which, honestly, is not horribly bad so far). i alway think about my insulin spikes and what my sugar eating is doing to my innards (thanks to this forum lol), and that inspires me to go back to my nummy salads and increase my water intake.

[QUOTE=glendarc]Oh yes! I definitely feel it too. I can add a higher carb dish on occasion and not suffer from it, but if I were to go a whole day off plan, I know I'd suffer for it, and the suffering would be gastric pain! I think I've lost my ability to process a lot of carbs at one go.[QUOTE]

Plus, bloating, lethargy, headache...

I find it's just easier to stay on plan than to try to get back on.

i forgot to mention: i feel guilty and a little anxious. silly, if you ask me. but it seems to keep me on plan more than justifying going OFF.

I've only had a few off-plan meals. No off-plan days yet, and there won't be any if I can help it. Even one off-plan meal gives me esophageal reflux at night. It isn't pleasant to wake up in the morning with your throat burning.

Hi Sheila ...I have gone off plan on purpose before but always seem to have trouble getting right back on once I do. I guess the reason Atkins has worked for me in the past is because of the strict carb limitations while on induction. I tend to stay on Induction just because of my own lack of willpower. I need that strictness. I have gone off program after a slip and taken literally months to get back on. Each time I go off, whether by accident or on purpose, I gain weight. Then I feel like crap and end up binging on more carbs out of depression. The only real side effect I have when I am off program is swelling in my ankles from all the water retention. And sometimes I feel sleepy after I eat. There isn't any sort of reflux or headaches or anything like that. Maybe if I did have that stuff, I would be less prone to go off the plan. I am hoping at some point to eventually get to OWL/maintainence w/o having to worry about messing up.

I often go off plan... I just can't find the willpower.

I find it more difficult to get back on plan than going off

Getting rid of my addiction/love for all things carby certainly wont be cured overnight, it could take months, maybe even years... it's a constant daily battle for me.

i do eat off plan on occasion. typically it's planned and one meal. if that's all, i usually don't have any repercussions. but if i go another day, by the 3rd day i'm noticing - wheezing, rosacea flair-ups, neuropathic pain in my feet, and just a general feeling of yuckiness. so i try to stick with the one meal rule and make it as infrequent as possible. i hope you do well with your off-plan meal and get right back on track!

I don't go off plan that much anymore. When I first started in the summer I had a planned cheat meal about every 3 weeks. That one meal really did help me get off the high carb, I would be all excited and plan to eat something I had been craving, then it wouldn't really be that good at all. I stopped that after 2 months. The last off plan food I had was on TG I only had a sliver of oreo pie and about 2 cups grape soda. I had heartburn all night, then I woke up feeling like a caravan of 18 wheelers had run me over during the night. I felt groggy and achy for 2 days, even though I was back on plan first thing day after TG. This isn't going to happen to me on Christmas, I'm making a good plan to not eat any carby junk. I think now that TG was actually a really good day for me, because I learned alot about my body. I have no business eating sugar an high carb stuff. That 5 second good mouth sensation isn't worth 2 days of misery. Shelia I love your hair!

I NEVER thought I'd be saying this - after I "go off plan" for a meal or whatever, I feel so miserable! I get bloated, crampy, tired and just all over icky. None of which is even worth whatever it was that I ate. I have yet to come across a food that tasted good enough to me now, to make any of that worth it.

I was out with some family last night and landed myself in a Chinese restaurant (2 against 1 - majority won!) and Chinese used to be my biggest weakness, this particular restaurant in fact (buffet style) but I found that I really didn't find any of the food all that appetizing. I ate a couple small portions and paid the price for it. Couldn't wait for it to run it's course through my body and LEAVE!

Needless to say, I was quite happy to have my mushroom and cheese omelet this morning!

Glad to know I am not alone, and feeling really relieved that I am not the only one with physical distress as well. Rethinking partaking in the Christmas crap (food).

Thank you!! I DO TOO!!!! My husband isn't as fond of it as everyone else. He says my kneck looks to skinny, and it makes my head look to big LOL! MEN!

i'm ready for a new 'do but the hubster is not thrilled with my idea because it would be short. oh well. my mom told me last summer that since i lost so much weight my teeth look bigger. so our new joke is how i have chiclet teeth.