Wow, another ad-hom thrown at me for stating a simple fact. That I went back to my plan. Was I bragging? No. But please by all means tell me more of this tremendous "will power" that I apparently posses yet, never claimed to posses. In fact, I did not use the phrase "will power" once in the entire thread. Unfortunately, since it's all anyone wants to talk about (despite being irrelevant) from this point forward I have to use the phrase.

!-----This is the original post.-----!

A majority of the replies I received are off topic banter about will power (something I never asked about, in any form). I asked what the actual physical effects of cheating are. I did not ask what psychological effects cheating would have on me. The idea any of you would claim to know how it would effect my mind is nonsensical rhetoric. Everyone is different.

This was not a request for any of you to endorse my lifestyle, or give coaching advice in any form. At NO point did I brag about having superior emotional control than any of you. The 'strawman' posts I've gotten from some of you are completely ridiculous, and reflect absolutely horrible reading comprehension on your behalf, as if you read a completely different thread but replied to this one anyway.

Molly B, you would do better to try actually reading some of my posts instead of projecting what you think / wish I said onto them. The point of fact being, I did not ask for your "opinions on LOSING weight" - I asked what you knew about the physical effects of a week of cheating. Those of you with good enough reading skills to comprehend this (something I asked for in plain English) actually responded with concise simply and correct answers.

You can believe anything you want.


You can believe anything you want. I'd just prefer to not read such drivel from you, and that the thread stay on topic. You see, this isn't a disagreement of opinion. You're just incorrect. - wholly wrong. You're only entitled to one set of facts, Molly B. And in this case the fact is that I didn't ask about the physiological effects of what cheating is allegedly likely to cause, which is the only thing most of you care to discuss around here.

I'd take a photo of myself on a scale to show you I already dropped the weight, but if I proved a point someone would get offended and say I'm bragging about having will power - something I haven't actually done or said. But that's fine. It really doesn't matter what I type here - you're all going to project your own ideas onto the post anyway with things I never said. .

Well, maybe people see this as you claiming great will power because for them, it would take great will power to get back on track after a 14 day diet holiday.



Hunh? You can disagree with the physiology, but how is that off-topic to the title of this thread--"How bad could a week of cheating be? (Atkins) Maybe some people are taking the view that taking time off from the diet can lead to going off the diet permanently and getting into trouble that way, and that this is universal, when really it's only very, very common. So it doesn't apply to you individually. No need to post a picture of you weighing yourself, I'll take your word. Lots of people do cyclic ketogenic diets on a regular basis, do carb-ups on the weekend and go back on keto during the week.

Maybe people on both sides of the debate should stop being so personal.

Did you type physiological instead of psychological? In the case that's what you did mean, I won't change what I said about it being on-topic. The two are inseparable.

edited for spelling

Maybe Molly's post was a bit over the top. But I'm sure I'm not the only person offended by your use of the word drivel.

I think I'm in love with you haha. You've said things that have been on my mind since I joined this board almost a year ago. Not everyone is as judgmental as some people have come across on this thread. Some of us are ok

I look forward to reading more of your honesty

I don't have a dog in this fight...just enjoying the banter at this point, but to be fair, you did actually use the words will power in the original post. Just sayin'

And I hope none of you take it personally. But the discussion degraded to the point where that's what much of the thread has become. "Drivel" was an appropriate word. Seriously, browse the thread. Look at the ad-homs that have been tossed at me.

Whitecrane, You asked for knowledge and facts, there really aren't any. Everyone reacts to changes in diet, cheats, cycling, etc. in very different ways. The only fact is what you see on the scale, and if you have a blood glucose tester with you to see what eating higher carbs does to your blood sugar.

You got opinions, most based on experience, because that's all we really have available on the topic.

Glad you were able to step off plan and step back on.

Whitecrane--Maybe I'm offended... but I'm not taking it personally. I'm not self aware enough to know whether your general criticism of where this thread has gone applies to me.

One thing I'll throw in--how a person responds to food can depend on the condition going in. At this point in your weight-loss, things may be different than they will be later on. Bear with me, I think this might actually be on topic.

teaser back story

I was barely obese at 190 pounds about a decade ago. Doing low carb brought me down to 165-170 range without any real effort on my part. That puts me down to barely overweight. I've gotten that down to around 155 pounds a couple of times.

Something I've notice when I hit that weight--I tend to binge on certain foods. They're still low carb--nuts and peanuts, cheese. At 170 pounds, these are easy foods to control. At 155 they trigger binges. Earlier this year I learned that if I ate more ketogenically, a little less protein, I could nibble on those foods without triggering a binge.

I think there is a positive message in this thread, under all the muck, about paying attention to how food affects the individual. I'm just throwing out that how the individual is affected can change with current vs. previous level of body fat as well.

I really don't think people are being mean here, not intentionally. More along the lines of cautionary tales and speaking from our own experience. Because we all know it's true that some people can "get away" with things we KNOW we can't handle. Just shopping at the supermarket last night, noticing a lot of thin people stocking up on breads, pastries, etc. in their carts.

But the "flashing yellow lights" maybe come from the knowledge we have that there may come a point of no return. Sure you can slip, slide, cheat, "indulge" and maybe not gain a lot of weight or have serious bad effects. Yet that doesn't mean your whole system isn't being affected and that there might be complications down the line -- where it gets much harder.

Maybe 10 years ago I was eating whatever I wanted, gained some weight of course but I was conditioned to being "bigger" than normal. Had some weird health issues but I seemed to get over them or they'd wax and wane.

But then -- things got so much more serious. The rumblings were there but I was too ignorant of what was going on to pay attention.

I think what I'm trying to say is -- if you can make better choices through your mind or willpower, based on what you now know, then it's wise to work with that. Because there may come a point when your body just can't handle the carbage and cycles of physiological imbalance anymore, and weight gain is just one of the unhappy results.

"Cheating" just isn't an option anymore if I want to preserve my health, balance, strength, and sanity.

People aren't being mean at all, just commenting on their experiences as well as that of the many we have seen *vanish* after a declaration of cheating. But when you desperately want something to be true, a certain level of cognitive dissonance will set in I guess.

So much sense being spoken here. Pity the OP sees it as drivel, but hopefully other new low carbers who lurk are recognizing useful information out of the discussion.

I'm not sure if this will help or not but I feel compelled to say that the OP asked a question and very little respect was shown. Many of the responses were at best unhelpful if not dismissive or worse. It's doubtful any lurker would want to ask a question after reading this thread.

I'm unsubscribing from this thread. Peace out.

i understand your dilemma. i am going on a trip to australia after thanksgiving. i have my thanksgiving dinner planned out for a friend and me. it will be all low carb. but going to australia, and i don't want to break my low carb, but my daughter who lives there, is already talking about foods not even on my diet. including fudge. i keep telling her i can make low carb cheesecake for me. she just don't understand. she feels that it should be a special treat. its gonna take all my energy to stay on low carb. and i know if i go off of it, i will be mad and take it out on everyone else, when really i am mad at myself for being weak. its gonna be a long 2 and a half weeks in australia and convincing her, no fudge. and yes, i love fudge. when i want sweets though i have a fat bomb or low carb cheesecake. last night, after not losing no weight for awhile, i made low fat cheesecake to keep from being tempted by carb foods. vacation can be hard when there are other people wanting to treat you the best they know how, which can mean carbs......