after you cheat
 

First of all, forgive yourself. You made a mistake. Guilt causes no weight loss at all. Guilt can (and often does) lead us to more comfort eating or self-punishing eating. The guilt, in other words, is worse for you than the food you ate.

Many of us are addicted to the brain chemical cocktail that high carbs (especially eaten alone) give us ... we're addicted to the foods we're allergic to ... we're addicted to eating for comfort, solace, to numb pain, to punish our mothers, and a hundred other emotional reasons ... and we're habituated to old familiar habits, too, like eating popcorn at movies. This can be helpful to remember.

None of that makes us "bad." Food has no moral component. If you're a good person in the rest of your life, don't rob banks or beat children or the like, no amount of overeating food could possibly make you "bad."

Once you've dumped your guilt and gotten calm, figure out why you made the mistake. (What triggered it? An event? A smell? A sight? Spending time with someone who stresses you out? A fight with your teenager? A painful memory?)

Brainstorm how to deal with the same situation next time. Write down this plan.

Apply one or two of those ideas next time the same situation arises.

If those don't work, add to your list and try other approaches to this particular trigger.

Remember, you can't "blow the diet" because this isn't a diet but a permanent way of eating. Part of a WOE is finding strategies for dealing with challenging situations. As long as you are learning something from this experience, you're still moving forward.

If the cheats seem to become chronic, you simply can't stop, it's tearing you up inside ... then think about finding a local OA (Overeaters Anonymous) meeting. Their website is here

Falling by the wayside......
 

Thanks for this very sensible message about cheating and getting it back together. We went away this weekend, and having had some very frustrating experiences traveling, I thought, "what the hekc, I'll be moderate." I can't really say I binged, but I can definitely say I feel hung-over this morning, and it would have been easier than I might think to have stayed low-carb. I was doing really well, and I need to start experiencing things without self-destructive eating and to realize that I can still have a good time. Damn. I am an addict indeed.......

re: after you cheat
 

Wow! I am so happy to find this forum! I too went away last weekend for several days and did really well until the last two days. I was at my mother's 75 b-day party and only ate the whipped cream frosting and a few strawberries off the strawberry shortcake. That was ok in terms of how it effected me. But the next day I drank a beer AND had a piece of cheesecake! I can't tell you how grumpy and hungover I felt the next morning!! :mad: I haven't felt like that in over 2 months!!. Then it was 11 hours of traveling, dealing with trying to find protein in airports, munching on snacks I had packed (jerkey, pepperoni and cheese, mac nuts). Here it is almost a week later, and I still don't feel that great. I was feeling sooooooooo good before this trip! My mood is stabilized but I still have cravings and feel FAT! Don't know if I actually gained weight. How long will it take before I feel better? Do I actually have to go back to induction to aleviate this? Any suggestions?
Thanks for being there evryone! :(

Thank you for posting this message.....I have done so well with this WOE, but recently I made a mistake and ate the noodle outside of a pan-fried dumpling. Once I did it, I thought (unreasonabley) "Oh no, i have just ruined everything.....the past two months of LC has been erased"....when in actuality, it did not negatively effect my recent weight loss accomplishments. In other words, a moment of weakness does not negate everything. As long as you control yourself, and get your wits about you, stop the problem, all is fine. To everyone that is low-carbing......do your best to be tried and true to this WOL, but in those rare occassions when you "fall off the wagon".. be sure to get right back on. Do not allow yourself to get caught up in that out of control state. This WOL has given me such a power......I feel so in control of my life now that I am in control of the way I eat.

An honest mistake....
 

Started Atkins one week ago today and have felt so good. No more 'naps', no hunger, staying well within the induction guidelines without a problem. So today I went to visit a family member and she offered me a soda. I have been drinking one cup of coffee daily and then ice water the rest of the time so I thought a soda sounded good. She ALWAYS has diet soda. She brought a glass of ice and soda and since it was hot I just chugged it down in a short time while we talked. About ten minutes later I broke out in an immense sweat. I knew immediately it had to be sugar. Asked her if that was regular soda and she said yes, she had ran out of diet and her daughter brought home regular:-( So I looked up the carbs and there they are in big glaring numbers 41 carb per can. I really feel guilty but it was not a cheat by design. Glad I found this post and hopefully I will just move past it and go on. I have no desire to cheat and it blows my mind that this happened. Hopefully it won't affect my overall intake this week. I wound up with 54 carb total today:-(
Merry (NOT)

It's also helpful to remember that even when I "cheat" (I just started LC'ing, so I'm not an old pro by any means yet!) - I am still consuming a <i>fraction</i> of the carbs I did before I started and that's a good thing!

So Merry, even 54 in one day is a drop in the bucket compared to how many you once consumed - and that's an accomplishment, not anything to feel bad about!

This is a wonderful thread - nice to hear I'm not "alone" out there and others have the same thoughts & feelings after a slip-up. :)

Merry, I cheated today (Aug 3). Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The serving is 1/2 cup, and there's 4 servings per container. It was sooooo good, I just couldn't stop at a 1/2 cup.....are they CRAZY???? There was nothing to trigger me wanting the ice cream. I just had a taste for it! I think I can handle the plateau for punishment. :bash:

I'm gonna really stick to the lifestyle change of being low-carb this time (I can't tell you how many times I've started Atkins or Somersize, cheat, then never go back to low-carbing). This time I have my fridge stocked will all kinds of LC stuff. But the most important thing IS getting back on the wagon. That's why I'm still overweight!!!! I don't wanna keep repeating this cycle!

It's that TOM & I'm craving carbs
 

I cheated over this past weekend & the scale hadn't budged in 2 weeks , the first 2 weeks I lost 10 pounds ,now the I'm not losing any thing I've must have hit a plataue. I got off the Induction after the first 2 weeks. I thought I was going to go nuts ,there's nothing to eat. So I stoped & the loss also stoped. Is this common, will the lost start back up after TOM or do I have to go back to Induction phase again. :cry:

Josie

If you follow the logic of the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet, a cyclical infusion of carbs will not cause fat gain and might break a stall. This is especially true if you are exercising/weight lifting.
For example, if you have a so-called free day every now and then, and don't extend it past one day or so, and follow up with some decent exercise, it just might do a body good.

I was reading about weight lifters on another site who do a "carb-up" on the weekends and then low-carb all week. They seem to do fine with this. I'm assuming that is with some intense workouts as well. One guy gave a list of foods he ate in one day...get this..
18,000 calories
5 pounds of smarties (candy)
8 protein shakes
whole bunch of chicken and so on....
basically he ate a ton of carbs but then in two days he was back down to original weight. :p

I wonder after getting down to the weight I want to be if I could do the "carb-up" on weekend as long as I'm working out. :confused:

i carbed binge for 4 straight days i feeelll sooo fat and depressed..i dunno what made me do it probably becoz of my period triggering cravings that happens all the time...i dunno how to start again tomorrow coz i know im gonna feel miserable and start all over again....darn :(

If I told you that I had done this, you would probably give me a big hug and say' You aren't a failure till you give up!' and make me a cup of decaff tea.
Which is what you need to say to yourself.

And then say 'I'm only 20lbs overweight, for goodness sake, with all the pressures I am under, and the period thing making it hard every month. The world is so full of gorgeous carbs and I am only 20 lbs overweight? I must be tough!!'

And have a better time next month

Hey your goals are simular to mine
 

NicoleB,
:wave: I know how you feel, I had the same problem at first, it will pass. Try a herbal supplement called Gynemena Slyvestre (least I think that's how it's spelled) it helps w/ sugar cravings. I'm also addicted to sugar it really helps me even at that TOM.
Just cut down to 20 grams of carbs a day & exersize 5 days a week. Drink lots of water. Your weight will drop pretty fast & you won't feel bloated & fat. I droped 10 pounds during my 2 weeks of Induction ,which I heard was rare because I really didn't have a whole lot to lose. I only stayed on the Induction for 2 weeks because my resistance is low, and I didn't have that much more to go & Dr. Atkins says to take the last 10 slow, plus I thought I wanted more varity in my diet. But if you don't drop that fast at first don't let it get you down, I heard most will lose around 8 pounds & they may have more to lose then 20 pounds.
And we are all here for you & everyone eles who needs the encouragement.
:cheer:

Josie

And another thing
 

You may get close or even drop 10 pounds of fat & think that all you need to do now is to tone up. I might just lose 5 pounds & change my mind. Right now I am happy w/ my legs & arms I just want my belly to be flat as a pancake, I still have a little fat there in my lower abs, but I'm sure it will go away. Than I know that I have reached my goal ,I am more concern about that now than I am about my weight.


Josie

JOsie,
thanks! ill try to look for that supplement...ryt now im not yet Lcing....too many darn excuses bt ill be startin this weekemd jsut preparin myself again for it! :o

NicoleB.
 

:wave: That's fine. I think that it's easier after that TOM , Most people don't recommend starting a diet at that time because of pms.

Good luck
Josie

thanks.....uh does anybody here use anti-asthmatic drugs???does it cause a stall in induction???

Just wondering if "cheating" with a sweet (rice krispy square) will throw off the checmical reaction with Low Carb dieting totally... is this like having an entire day of high carbs?

I am still having a difficult time with droping ANY weight... I have tried to be honest with my carb count, but after doing fitday I discovered that my average is 30g a day rather than the 20g - is this why I am not successful??

I have read a few other threads with people saying that they get up in the middle of the night and eat sweets or cereal - I use to do this almost EVERY single night.... eat a bag of oreos - yes I said BAG or tub of ice cream - with peanut butter! I was thinking I was getting control over this, but last night I woke up from a deep sleep, stumbled into the kitchen and practically inhaled the rice krispy square in one bite! Oh, how I could have eaten them all. Now I am wondering if I did the harm with one sweet as I would have done with them all??

Does it take another 3 to 4 days to get back into Keto? I was in it for a while, but not all the way, the stick was just a sorta bright pink (never purple).

I have been a yo yo dieter all my life... even did the phen phen (lost a LOT of weight then) but I think that messed up my chemical a great deal - sertone levels, etc.

I drink plenty of water, but I don't exercise much - except for the running around town with my two kids :)

Guess what! You're still ok!

My daughter refuses to do this diet with the rest of the family, and we don't want to force her, but she wants snacks every day with her lunch at school. If I don't regulate which snacks, she eats things that are horribly high-carb.

In my search for low-carb "normal" snacks that she might like, I discovered that rice krispie bars are among the lowest carb sweet snacks a kid might like. If I remember correctly, once you remove the fiber, they're well under 20 carbs.

If you eat sensibly the rest of the day, there's probably no harm done at all.

I had a slip too after 3 1/2 weeks
 

I feel back in control....but I did go off the deep end.
1. I was tired
2. I felt nausous
3. I was with someone who can stress me out
4. I had wine last night :o
5. I was exposed to too much Valentine candy!!

I ate 5 chocolate kisses, 8 chocolate hearts, Large M&M McDonalds "McFlurry", 5 potatoe chips, 1 egg plant roletine -sp..., 1/2 cup of chocolate milk and two breaded meatballs. I'm sipping green tea now and it's over.

No need to tell anyone here my stomach hurts & is bloated but the worst of it is I am feeling that anxiety again caused by worry about my choloesterol level and the health of my heart.

Thank God tomorrow's a new day! :roll: :spin: :daze:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS MESSAGE. AFTER 20 DAYS OF INDUCTION TODAY I CHEATED. BUT AFTER READING WHAT YOU WROTE, I DON'T FEEL SO GUILTY ANYMORE. I GUESS WE ARE HUMAN AND WE DO MAKE MISTAKES. IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!
:roll: THANKS AGAIN :roll:

Hey Frey: That is great new about the Rice Crispy treats!.....I expected them to be off the charts in carbs......I am glad as it is my daughter's favorite snack for school and I have a huge box in the closet...I can feel less guilty about! (giving her) I also started sneaking in her lunch box some blue/strawberries and a a banana and she been loving them!

Thanks for the tidbit! ;)
Marg :wave:

I fell of the wagon
 

Well ,after 9 months of being so good with this woe I for what ever reason have been so out of control .I know what I need to do and Im going to do it ,Im just so mad at my self for this but like you say just go foward and dont look back .I just hope I can continue with the wonderfull weight loss I had going before,I hope this doesnt stall me for a long period .Any suggestions would be great .Traci :( p.s I cheated for the last three days

Re: to Doug H.
 

Your comments on a one day binge were encouraging. I binged yesterday at the Outback and ate cheese fries. I also had a salad with honey mustard dressing. You can imagine my shock when I showed a 5lb. gain. I just finished induction and had lost 10 lbs. in 13 days. What the heck happened?!~!! I'm not sure, but I know one thing's for sure, I'll be hitting the gym soon and counting those carbs more strictly than ever! -Steph :help:

i did practically the same thing steph345 did. only cheated on the weekend and still eat carbs like i used to before atkins and had a 4-5 lb gain. which just proves that when you eat those carbs they are immediately stored as fat by your body. that just proves atkins is right.

consider your flub and mine a scientific experiment to prove atkins theory is correct and then do like me and go back to induction and keep on trucking.

O.K. I was doing great today, until I ate a (small) carb o lite bar.
Bummer!

Breakfast 2 eggs
2 tsp cream
1 tsp grated cheese
1 coffee, 1 tsp cream, 1 splenda
4.5 carbs

Lunch 1/4 c. broccoli
6 oz. white meat chicken
1 c. mixed greens
2 c. celery - snack
1 tsp. dressing italian
1/2 diet coke
3.5 carbs

Dinner 6 oz. taco meat
lettece, 2 tsp tomato, 2 tbsp cheese, hot sauce
1/8 c. squash (yellow)
Snack 1 stick beef jerky
4 carbs

Carb O Lite Bar ? Is it 1.3 grams of carbs (small bar) to count?

Hey there arizonafly

I have a lot of male and female friends that are bodybuilders and some that just have great workout routines, and if you are planning on trying something like that you would be able to carb up on weekends and still loose or maitain your weight loss. You have to remember the more muscle you build the faster you burn fat and if you have a very intense program your body requires Carbs as energy to push even harder. If you speak to a body builder most of them will tell you that they do eat a lot of pasta rice and other high carb foods for energy and size, and about six weeks before competition they cut out all carbs to lean out completely.

After You Cheat
 

Hi, everybody, my name is Grace, and I am an Carb-addict. There, I've said it. Reading some of your replies has made me feel better, knowing that I'm not alone. I feel so weak when I cheat. And it's ALWAYS something emotional that triggers the cravings. Once I've had that first taste of sugar, the emotional reason turns physical. I have to have more. I want to stop, but it's like I can't, I can't stop until my stomach feels full, bloated, and achey. It sounds disgusting and that's just how I feel afterward. Disgusted with myself and regretting every single piece of cookie, cake or icecream that I just finished shoving in my mouth. :eek: The next morning, I have no energy, and I can barely look at my self. I gotta stop this behavior, for it will surely be my downfall. Since starting my weight loss last June, I've lost over 70 pounds! I look great, but emotionally, I think I still need an overhaul. Any advice from you wise people out there? I could really use it.

thanks for the inspiring words
 

Do not allow yourself to get caught up in that out of control state. This WOL has given me such a power......I feel so in control of my life now that I am in control of the way I eat. [/B][/QUOTE]

I found this very inspiring, and that thought alone, more than the weight loss even, is what is keeping me on track. Realsing the effects of carb overload as a punishment rather than a reward to myself, is really changing my outlook on this. That said, I have to drink wine at the weekend!!

Hello everyone!! I just love this site!!!! :D

Guess I'm not doing as bad as I thought! I had a bad day about a week into the induction phase and got up and ate a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter!

I felt so bad that I drug the old Lifecycle up out of the dark, dank storage room and cleaned it up and starting using it again....vigorously!!!!

I've found some pretty good recipes on this site that keep me from cheating, but I'm missing the texture of crunchy food! I'm a Triscuits and cheese addict and really miss them!!!!