some response i got for that one( thank you very much all)
i definetly want to rethink my strategy with the "once-a-month" cheatday.
such good advice should not be wasted, and i knew all the things you told before i just didnt want to acknowledge them. i feel kind of sad though because allthough my cravings are not that bad, i really looked foreward to eating that box of high quality chocolade my husband bought me for valentines day ( he didnt know i was going on atkins) and some white bread and danish ( yeah well , im a dane and we like our danish. *LOL*) but i can hear your all telling me that its not a good idea and i value this homepage and the vast amount of experience that is gathered here to much to not follow your advice.
the thing is for me it worked like someone posted in a thread about alcohol adiction. dont tell yourself you can never have it. take it a day at a time!
and thats what i did. and now i feel all depressed because the real story is that if i want to loose weight and keep it of i really CANT have it for the rest off my life. since i know this i cant cheat my own brain telling it that maybe tommorow you can get it, when the truth is i never can.
i hope you know what i mean and have some advice for me on how to think about all this.
and thank you again for being out there for me with your support and god advice.'mylle

wauw what a response i got for that one. thank you so much for your good advice

i really enjoy being in this forum and you are all very supportive and thank you so very much for that but right now i feel a bit of a downer coming on.

Once your off introduction you can make up some Coconut Oil Chocolate Bark and you can look in the Recipes for some Mock Danish. Best thing you won't be cheating so you don't have to tell your tastebuds they will never ever have chocolate or a danish again. Cause you will but you just need to wait until after the introduction phase.

In my opinion and others may disagree, planned cheats should be saved for much later on in the program (when you get to maintenance). Jill

Good luck, I dont think any cheat foods would be worth going through the induction flu again!! Thats what keeps me from cheating, just the memory.

From us? I don't understand....

It is VERY difficult to consider that you'll NEVER be able to have your fave foods again; this was one reason that I made the decision to "eat moderately" for about 4 months. It was fine ata first, but sloooowly, the balance shifted and the gains began.

Listen, take a peek at ElleH's success story. One thing that struck me as similar to my line of thinking this time around was the effort to create susbstitutes for our high- carb favorites.

Have you been to KevinPA's journal? Have you seen the yummy goodies he cooks up-- all very low carb and taste- tested by his family? Have you been to sugarfreesheila.com? The recipe index of this forum? Look for recipes that suit the rung you're on currently, and try 'em out-- you'll love them!
Yum! Sure, it takes a bit more effort to find the ingredients and make the dishes, but so what? You'll not have compromised your WOE.

And that's really what has to click, you know-- that this is a WOE, and, given whatever your personal tendencies are, you have to do this to suit your lifestyle. You have done great so far, but are 65 pounds from your goal. Which do you want more-- 140 or some junk food?

I agree with DrH-- cheat days best serve those close to or at goal, IMO. Otherwise they can be a slippery slope. I'm past my initial goal and won't even consider a cheat day-- I feel too good and still want to lose 7 pounds eventually. I remember first hand how out of control the cyle of craving and bingeing can be, and would hate for you to learn the lesson the way I did: it was miserable!

So, about those cheatdays: think hard.

hi, i'm new. what's DANDR??

nevermind. now i know. i told you i was new!!

Uh-oh...

Nice recovery!

Mylle, it took me losing and regaining 150 pounds not once, but twice, and then getting diabetes, for me to finally accept that. I hope that doesn't have to happen to you.
It's hard, and it feels unfair, since we live in a food culture. But hey, who said life was fair? It's easy to feel sorry for ourselves and think "I'm the only person who doesn't get to eat whatever they want"... but lots of people don't get to. Celiacs. Lactose intolerant. Peanut/food allergies. And of course, diabetics. (which this WOE will help you avoid ever becoming, BTW). The list goes on and on.
It does feel like a real loss though. Sometimes I feel like I could use grief counseling in my struggle for acceptance! On the other hand, 13lb is right, there's lots of delicious alternate things we can learn to cook.
There's a thread going on in the TDC folder discussing the issue of getting over food obsession and figuring out who we are after that, you might find useful:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=325514

Which edition of DANDR have you got? What is the Chapter it is under as I cant find the words 'reversal' anywhere in my PDF version of DANDR and page 218 of my paper DANDR 2002 has nothing resembling this concept.

Yes, that is is my 2002 blue book, too, the reversal diet. He also talks about the Heller's CAD mini-binge (which is NOT what it is on CAD), so I tend not to take either one too seriously. It's one of the few things about the book that I outright reject...


Anyway I was thinking about something today, and I just have to say it. I don't know how else to say it, so I'm just going to say it.

*THIS ISN'T DIRECTED AT ANY ONE PERSON...IT'S JUST MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER*

I'm very concerned about this idea of planning cheats. Especially during the weight loss phase, but even after that. What is says to me is that the person is not viewing these items that they wish to cheat with as poison and very unhealthy foods. These foods are largely responsible for the predicament of the American Obese, of which I was one! The reason I was not successful before in my many attempts to keep weight off is because I still desired these foods...I had NOT accepted the fact that they ARE VERY BAD! Now I have. I'm making the assumption that no one is planning these cheats with brown rice or lentils, but instead with pasta, refined breads, chips/snack foods or sweets. If I'm wrong, then please tell me, but I'm pretty sure I'm not. I've been there! You wouldn't eat rat poison or dog poop, would you? Why would want to eat something that could lead to diabetes or obesity or any of a host of other diseases?

I also see the desire to "cheat" as the inability to accept delayed gratification or conversely the desire for instant gratification. What's wrong with waiting until the appropriate time to try some natural, more wholesome choices? On Atkins, you are allowed to cautiously introduce almost all carbohydrates, with the exception of sugar and refined foods, but it must be done in a certain way, very slowly and over time.

I have finally come to the place where accept that certain foods are off limits to me FOREVER if I want to be healthy and maintain a good weight. Even Dr A says that if you are a sugar addict that even the occasional slice of wedding cake or birthday cake should be deposited on someone else's plate! If that's not strong enough warning, I don't know what is. As he suggested, I have sought out substitutes for those foods that caused me problems...if I can't find a substitute, then it has to go.

So there, I've said it. I'm not trying to be mean or harsh. I've ridden the yo-yo for so long (half my 42 years) that I feel I have enough experience with this whole "planned cheat" thing where I can comment on the dangers of it, both as a mind-set and the practice of it. If you can get it to work for you then great, I guess, but just be aware that these planned cheats are not part of Dr A's advice for your lifelong success on his plan!

I'm not off the yo-yo yet! I'm just hoping that this time, with my completely changed mindset and practice of my WOE, I will be a success 1, 2 and 10 and 40 years from now.

Good luck to us all!

as far as i'm concerned with all of this, there are so many foods available to me that are delicious and satisfying and would be considered severely sinful to the "normal" world (like red meat, pork rinds, mayo, chicken skins) that if i'm going to cheat, then i'm going to do it using food that fits within the low-carb guidelines. or more to the point, since i've kept myself at induction-level carbs since last july, my cheat foods come from higher up the carb ladders... things like nuts and berries or more cheese and heavy cream or veggies with higher carb counts. sugar and flour are simply not in my food vocabulary anymore.