We were invited to have dinner with some Italian friends this past weekend. I decided to throw it to the wind, got up Monday and had gained 3 pounds. Immediately I went straight back to induction to get it off as quickly as possible. What do you do after you've had a day like that to make sure you don't get too far off? Any tricks you've learned along the way?

hi-
I never "throw it to the wind". On my plan I can have any kinds of carbs once a day, so I might "overcarb" but I have protein and veggies with the meal. I am so afraid of going off plan that I don't - I allow myself to be more "flexible" sometimes but I don't go off.
I hope some Atkins people chime in too-
because I don't know what you did to "throw" it.

You did the most important thing, IMHO- you went right back to your plan!!
E

Hi Sherry.

When I read your second sentence I actually shuddered. I'll be in my second year of lc soon and can't imagine throwing it to the wind. It's too much of a risk; what if I couldn't get back? There are people on these forums who went off plan for years because of one piece of pie, and regained all their weight of course.

Even now, I remember clearly the horrors of living with constant cravings and being unable to stop eating until I fell asleep late into the night, bloated and exhausted, and very very sad. So, to answer your question, my only trick is to eat as cleanly as possible all the time. I'm human and I slip, of course, but I'll never make a conscious decision to throw it to the wind, not even for one meal. Thank goodness you were able to get back on the horse the next day.

First of all, we don't gain 3 lbs of fat overnight.
That is water weight and you did the very best thing to get it back down, which is to go back to your beginning.

How do you define "throw it to the wind"?
We each need to devise strategies for those times when there is food that we wouldn't otherwise eat.

For me, any white flour is a serious problem. I tend to avoid it even when out to dinner. But if I must, I will allow myself a very small amount and stick to my '3 bite rule' for those times.
I actually keep my starches way down. I allow myself to have some white potato once in a while but not more than once a month. Same with white rice(think sushi ).

Just get back at it. The water weight will go in a day or two.

Judy, What I meant by that is I decided to go ahead and have a small portion of the pasta first. I decided I could try it and then go back to eating clean the next day. When dessert was served, I went for the cannolis. I ended up having four! They were small, but it had been three months since I had sugar. So when I said "throw it to the wind," I meant I decided to have the treats and not worry about it.

Congrats for getting back on the wagon. Remember, it's not messing up that makes you a failure, it's giving up.

OK, thanks for answering my question.
So, a bit of pasta first, no bread?
It seems to me that you do need to make a rule for yourself going in for next time.
Even though the cannolis were small, its the behavior of having 4 of them that concerns me for you. This is where the '3 bite rule' would come in handy for you to apply. I got that idea from the South Beach Diet book and its really been helpful for me to apply it when needed.

But you did worry about it when you got on the scale the next day, right?

Yes, you did great by getting right back to induction. 3 days and all that water weight will be gone.

I didn't have any bread. You know, I was expecting that I would gain three pounds. In Dr. Atkins' 1972 book, he said if you cheat and have carbs, expect to gain three pounds the next day. He was right. He recommends that if you you're going to do that, lose down to three pounds under your goal weight and then you'll be on track the next day. I actually thought I would be able to resist, so when I went I wasn't prepared.

You did very well to look at what you ate and how you'd deal with it after. Life is going to throw all of us these kinds of curves. Its how we chose to deal with them in the moment and after that matters most, to keep our well earned weight loss intact.
This is actually what maintenance is all about.

Hi Sherry01,

Well first of all well done for getting straight back on plan. That's something that some people don't manage to do but you did so good for you.

You've had some good advice from many of the others in the forum already and now you've experienced what it is like to fall off the wagon albeit temporarily.

Perhaps the best advice I can give you is how to avoid that problem in the first place.

The first thing to do is tell your host about what you eat as that way they can at least accommodate much of your preferred way of eating. Whilst that may be a little bit of a challenge with Italian food, it is certainly not impossible.

I have Italian friends that love cooking for me simply because it is a challenge for them to produce food that isn't high in carbohydrates, doesn't rely on pasta as its main ingredient and still has that authentic Italian flavor. It's got to the point now where there is almost a competition between three of them as to who can remain the most authentically Italian yet still deliver something nutritious and tasty that's not high on carbs. You might understand I am doing nothing to dissuade them from this quest and enjoying the fruits of their labors one hundred percent.

If you are invited to a restaurant on the other hand, again one of the easiest things to do is to find out which one ahead of time and try and get hold of their menu so that you can look through it and see what is suitable.

I've also found a call-through to the manager saying that you are invited to eat there with friends but you have this dietary restriction and simply ask them if there's anything they can do to help. Again you will often find that people are too willing to do so.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Thanks Mark. Good ideas. I like the thought of talking to the manager of a restaurant.
Judy, Thanks for your support. You were right. Three days and the weight is back off.

Sherry

Excellent!

I saw this thread and thought I add my two sense, even though it is a tad bit old.

Over easter just right after I started doing the LC for the First time. I was invited to my mother in laws. I asked my hubby what would we be having because I can't eat the usual rolls/potatoes/corn/peas/ham with brown surgar.

So he asked his mom and then asked me what i like.

I told him I bring up some green beans with me and eat those while they had asparagas(which I didn't know at the time), rolls, and ham.

She was kind enough to leave off the brown sugar.

My Personal feeling is while I don't want to offend people or make it difficult for them. I have no qualms in saying I am on a special diet for my weight and diabetes. Basically I am allergic to carbs. I have certain dietary restrictions. What are you planning to have and do you have any problems with my bringing my own food or veggies?

I have thought about it and if it really would be a problem, I just eat before and sit at the table and drink some water and enjoy everyones company while they ate.

For instance, this year's easter again, my hubby and his mother had lemon morang pie. I helped my mother-in-law server it cause her hands aren't too good.

I sat watched them eat it, and they were fine with it.

I knew if I took a bite that I would go on a carb merry go round that I didn't wish to be on.

And frankly since I started the LC with Dr. Bernsein's plan the only time I have craved anything was right before my period. And that was for tomato sauce and salt.