2-3 days for me to get back on track.

That said, my wandering away from the basics (nuts, peanut butter and red wine) are what cause me to come to a screeching halt.

If I play, I pay.

I don't know that I look at it this way. Rather, I look at the bare, raw reality: When I'm *not* LCing, I'm already so permabloated and so sick and so tired and so depressed and so foggy and with such bad BG readings and high cholesterol that "pigging out" a bit more one day can't possibly make those things worse than they already are, at least not overnight.

When I'm high-carbing...I don't gain three or four pounds after a binge. The gain, and the bloating and the general body sickness and the pre-diabetic blood tests that make my doctor want me to go on drugs and the scary-high triglycerides that make my doctor want me to go on drugs are already there. How much worse could they all get over a period of maybe 8 hours, than that? As for the weight, while high-carbing, this will only go up gradually (and very, very, very consistently) from here, from now until forever...rather than a 3-lb. "overnight" "Oh no!" gain.

So, erm, yeah. Atkins is unforgiving that way... On Atkins or other LCing, you're so healthy 99% of the time that being sick in the middle of it following a binge REALLY stands out, whereas the other way, for many of us, we're so constantly sick and water-retentive that who's to notice a little more between midnight and 7AM???

That's been my experience, anyway. YMMV.

What do you do for a TOM cheat?
or should i say TOM uncontrollable attack?

i had 9 pieces of chocolate yesterday and ate a burger w/ bun and fries. today i allowed just a wee bit and had some chocolate and a few nuts... that was it and didnt even finish my lunch.

im in week 4 but back on track now thankfully.

Does the TOM get better? i have endometriosis and i REALLY want the LC diet to improve my health. i am sick and tired of the pain and the low energy.

great thread by the way

Many people do experience an improvement in their ToM symptoms after a few months of lowcarbing. Here's hoping you do too!!

I was considerably less binge-y last cycle (my first on LC) and I'm coming up to another one (sorry for the info, folks!) and am considerably less binge-y this time, too.

I do want tons more red meat. But I always want tons more red meat at this time. It's not psychological as even months that I've been "off," I had the meat cravings before I got my little surprise.

Okay. Carry on.

For TOM, I just try to spend alot of time out in the barn or away from my wife to give her the space.

I keep Cool Whip in the fridge at all times. It's my defense against the dark arts. When I feel a true "sweet" craving coming on and it feels out of control, I eat about 2T of it (4 carbs) and it's killed instantly. Maybe it's the creaminess, the texture, whatever, but it works. It makes me feel like I'm overindulging, but I stay in ketosis all day. The Dreamfields pasta is really good, too. I cut the portion in half, though because I'm really sensitive to the carbage. So, if I half(halve?) it and mix it with veggies and, say, grilled chicken, it's awesome. I've also found that not letting myself get really hungry is key, no matter what day of the month it is. I have focused on more of the fat whenever I want something and I'm very satiated afterwards. Cake and cake-like things are my kryptonite, so I run away from them as fast as I can!

It used to take a few days to bounce back from a 'Cheat'.. I haven't slipped up since I restarted... I guess since I am getting older, I am also getting wiser I don't like the way I feel when I eat off plan, so I am not planning on doing it anytime soon.. But I used to cheat every weekend, just one meal, and the weight fell off like mad... it never did that again since I have been out of my 20's