Diabetes Talking » Diabetes » what if you cheat?
what if you cheat?
Question:
Well that WAS the way I lived prior to 3/21/02. I suppose it could be worse….at least I’m addicted to fruit and not drugs…or is food a drug??? Hmmmm.
Yes – food is a drug. Carbohydrates are my drug of choice. I’d like nothing better than to sit down and eat a couple of apples, an orange, and a bowl of peaches. If I did, I’d be soon looking for a couple of slices of bread, a few more slices of bread, some donuts, an apple to cleanse my palette, and oh what the heck how much damage can a few jelly beans do? Get my drift? Lynne http://ca.geocities.com/swimqueen1ca/Lynne.html
Response:
I ‘do’ know that feeling ‘free’ from food and constant cravings if a blessing to me each and every day. It still never ceases to amaze me!:-)
i must agree with this! even though my weight loss is quite slow, i have never felt better in my adult life! — read and post, rosie "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today." Chinese Proverb
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I question that all the time. Carol Ann, For me, I realized that the emotional eating was really more my body chemistry then my ‘emotions’ talking. Since LC, and since my waves of blood sugar surges are behind me, I no longer have to use food for emotional reasons. I’m wondering, if I ever really ‘needed’ to or if my being in control now is more a function of the marvelous effect of LC?? It’s a question I think about often. I ‘do’ know that feeling ‘free’ from food and constant cravings if a blessing to me each and every day. It still never ceases to amaze me!:-) Shona
Response:
the MOST important thing to do about "cheating" and eating carbs, IMO, is to figure out why your doing it.
Yup, I think this is very important, both the psychological and physiological pieces. Heck, if we were never tempted and we never cheated, this whole thing would be a no-brainer and we wouldn’t all need the newsgroup. As far as the physiology goes, I typed "carbohydrates serotonin" into Google and found this (http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0515.html): <<< Here’s a brief explanation of the mechanism behind the effect of food on serotonin levels: after consumption of a carbohydrate-rich meal, the hormone insulin is secreted, which causes a lowering of the blood levels of most amino acids (the building blocks of protein), with the exception of tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin. When there are high blood levels of tryptophan in relation to other amino acids, it enters the brain at a higher rate, thus synthesizing more serotonin. To make matters more interesting, tryptophan is present in many protein-rich foods, which have been found to prevent serotonin production. So, you can see how intricate and complex this system is. The writer goes on to recommend that people who are having trouble falling asleep may want to eat some carbs at bedtime, as serotonin can make you relaxed and sleepy. Now it makes more sense to me that I often want something sweet around bedtime. For me, psychological reasons to cheat seem to always involve either an attempt to lift my mood or a social effort to fit in, or some mixture of the two. There’s one kind of trouble I can get into if I’m not careful. If the WOE isn’t working well enough, either because I’m cheating or because I’ve missed some important part of it (the most recent being to drink enough water), then I start to lose faith in it. Either it just doesn’t work, the thinking goes, or I’m just not a strong enough person to do it right. Either way, the incentive to stick with it gets weak, and I start cheating more. I’ve been pretty successful at stopping myself before I go too far down this path. "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today."
That is a beautiful quote. Karma in a nutshell. I like that a lot. Thank you. – Will 263/255/180
Response:
Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day?
I’ll tell you something right now because this is what happened to me. For about 10 months when I first started Atkins I was doing really well. I lost 45 pounds, was starting to feel really good physically and mentally, had lots of energy and then somewhere around Thanksgiving 2000 I started to cheat. Oh it was little things at first..a cookie here, a sandwich there and gradually it graduated into eating whole bags of chips and returning to my former WOE. Well I regained that 45 pounds I lost as well as adding extra to it and everything else positive about being on low carb vanished too as the weight crept back on. Now because of the weight I regained I am having worse pains in my legs then I ever had before, walking is difficult on my *best* days and I even find it hard to get out of bed in the mornings. If you have been doing well for a week then why screw up all the positive stuff you have done for yourself with low carbing by going back to your old WOE? What’s more important to you? That cookie (or those 2 or 3 or the look you will get by your soon to be hubby when you walk down the aisle on your wedding day looking trimmer and beautiful? And I’ll bet you’ll feel extremely proud of yourself for *not* cheating on that aisle walk too. Could there be something you are eating that is triggering these cheats in you as well? I have recently learned myself that artificial sweeteners of any kind (even Splenda) set off my cravings like there is no tomorrow. I drink nothing but plain water now and tea. Perhaps it is something you need to look into. Best wishes for your wedding and future marriage. Miss Jaime (Hamilton Ontario Canada) ***The basic low carb is enough plainly cooked meat/fish/eggs/poultry to take away your hunger, plenty of oils to get adequate nutrition and calories and plenty of green, leafy vegetables, and water****
Response:
(lucyo) writes: Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day?
To answer your question, you carry on. But to answer the question you didn’t ask, IE, "why am I cheating after I think I’m doing so well?" is a little harder. I think it means thorough and accurate food logs. Anything that’s not meat/fish/poultry/eggs, green leafy vegetables, oils, and water is suspect. Start with artificial sweeteners or anything that tastes sweet. Look for hidden carbs. Look for carb substitutes like protein powders and bars and drinks and mixes. Look at desserts. Look at dairy. If you experiment carefully you might be able to find the culprit. .. Bridget M. CAD 2/94 LC 7/01 SC-LC 3/02 Celiac & Diabetes T2 3/02
Response:
I question that all the time. Carol Ann,
For me, I realized that the emotional eating was really more my body chemistry then my ‘emotions’ talking. Since LC, and since my waves of blood sugar surges are behind me, I no longer have to use food for emotional reasons. I’m wondering, if I ever really ‘needed’ to or if my being in control now is more a function of the marvelous effect of LC?? It’s a question I think about often. I ‘do’ know that feeling ‘free’ from food and constant cravings if a blessing to me each and every day. It still never ceases to amaze me!:-) Shona
Response:
You would think that a person who gives up cigarettes (January 1, 2001 thank g_d!) could easily give up sugar, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Hi, my name is Carol Ann and I’m a sugar and carb addict. There, they say that’s the first step…now onto step two……. LOL!!! ~Carol Ann in Atlanta Visit me on My Weightloss Journey: www.bestinatlanta.com/weightloss.html! Height: 5′ 3" Goal: 160/152/130 by July 4th "Dream" Goal: 120 by 12/21/02 My 40th birthday! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Food is absolutely a drug. And sugars are one of the strongest ones. They illicit all kinds body responses, not the least of which are seritonin and INSULIN. Both are hormones/drugs. Most people enjoy the high sweets (fruit included) give them and that is why many people actually go through withdrawl (like my wife) when they start LC’ing. LC lets us control our bodies, instead of our food. Once we get past our addictions then it feels really good to be incharge of ourselves. It is a great feeling. I question that all the time. I get a feeling that I just can’t take a deeeeeeep breath without fruits and veggies. My body feels as if it’s lacking something. Here’s a typical day of bingeing for me: LARGE bowl of linguini with red clam sauce OR large cheese pizza, 2 bags of microwave popcorn, 3 – 6 apples, 1 grapefruit, 3 oranges, 5 – 6 ears of white corn, huge salad, 4 – 6 plums, 2 – 3 nectarines, large bunch of of Carol Ann. Well that WAS the way I lived prior to 3/21/02. I suppose it could be worse….at least I’m addicted to fruit and not drugs…or is food a drug??? Hmmmm. ~Carol Ann in Atlanta Visit me on My Weightloss Journey:
www.bestinatlanta.com/weightloss.html! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Height: 5′ 3" Goal: 160/152/130 by July 4th "Dream" Goal: 120 by 12/21/02 My 40th birthday! the MOST important thing to do about "cheating" and eating carbs, IMO, is to figure out why your doing it. are you craving this stuff? is it possible that you are triggering these cravings with something you think is LEGAL, but really isn’t? — read and post, rosie "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today." Chinese Proverb Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
Lucy, I don’t think there’s a person here who hasn’t given into to temptation at least once or twice (or a hundred times). I think we can can all relate to your starting out the day with the best best intentions and then reaching for a cookie or other hi-carb snack. However, IMHO, for the plan to work for you, you are going to have to take the responsibility for what goes into your mouth. This entails a few things. First, identify when you go "sour" (in your case, sugary.) Seriously, when and why do reach for a cookie? Is it because you get too hungry, you get bored or is is an emotional response? If you’re not sure, keep a journal handy and jot down what and when you eat for a few days. Once you’ve indentified the reason, you’re ready to face the demon head on. If it’s blind hunger that is forcing you to go carb hunting, plan for it and have plenty of low-carb stuff on hand. If it’s boredom or emotional issues, well, that’s another story. You’ll need to examine those issues and deal with them on a case-by-case basis. When you feel the urge to eat something, get up, get a glass of water, make a cup of herbal tea or, if you can, take a walk. Don’t go on a hunt for "legal treats" right now. Get used to life without sweet stuff for a while. Just my opinion, but learning that there’s like without a sweet taste in your mouth makes the whole WOE much easier. Take it one minute, two minutes, five minutes at a time. Sharp hunger pangs generally subside if you just ignore them for a bit. I don’t know you, so maybe this isn’t fair. You tell me. I’m thinking that with the wedding coming up and all, maybe you don’t have the energy to devote to losing weight. After all, anyone who’s been successful here will tell you that even losing weight on the LC WOE is a full-time job. If so, no problem. The WOE will be be around forever and, most likely, so will this NG! Finally, please consider that a fall off the wagon is not a license to go crazy for the rest of the day! What I mean by this is: if you slip up and eat three cookies at lunch, you’re only hurting yourself if you then dive headfirst into the ice cream carton. First, your body is going to say "WHOA." More importantly, such behavior sets up a failure and punishment routine and resulting self-loathing that is really hard to recover from. So, if you mess up and eat something that’s not on your plan, say "Whoops" and then go right back on the plan. Period. BTW, you mentioned, low fat, low carb. Try eating a little more fat and maybe you won’t be hungry for sweets. Just a thought. I know that I’m kind of a hardliner. I’ve had to learn the hard way that being tough is the only thing that works for me. Duffy 180/143/135
Response:
Food is absolutely a drug. And sugars are one of the strongest ones. They illicit all kinds body responses, not the least of which are seritonin and INSULIN. Both are hormones/drugs. Most people enjoy the high sweets (fruit included) give them and that is why many people actually go through withdrawl (like my wife) when they start LC’ing. LC lets us control our bodies, instead of our food. Once we get past our addictions then it feels really good to be incharge of ourselves. It is a great feeling.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I question that all the time. I get a feeling that I just can’t take a deeeeeeep breath without fruits and veggies. My body feels as if it’s lacking something. Here’s a typical day of bingeing for me: LARGE bowl of linguini with red clam sauce OR large cheese pizza, 2 bags of microwave popcorn, 3 – 6 apples, 1 grapefruit, 3 oranges, 5 – 6 ears of white corn, huge salad, 4 – 6 plums, 2 – 3 nectarines, large bunch of Carol Ann. Well that WAS the way I lived prior to 3/21/02. I suppose it could be worse….at least I’m addicted to fruit and not drugs…or is food a drug??? Hmmmm. ~Carol Ann in Atlanta Visit me on My Weightloss Journey: www.bestinatlanta.com/weightloss.html! Height: 5′ 3" Goal: 160/152/130 by July 4th "Dream" Goal: 120 by 12/21/02 My 40th birthday! the MOST important thing to do about "cheating" and eating carbs, IMO, is to figure out why your doing it. are you craving this stuff? is it possible that you are triggering these cravings with something you think is LEGAL, but really isn’t? — read and post, rosie "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today." Chinese Proverb Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
If you cheat… You just keep on you going and cut your carbs for the rest of the day. It will probably take you 2-4 days to recover your ongoing weight loss after your indescretions, but you just get back on the horse and keep going. However keep in mind, if you have another indescretion before the 2-4 days are up you will have to wait another 2-4 days again… Thus if you do it frequently enough you will NEVER loose weight.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
I question that all the time. I get a feeling that I just can’t take a deeeeeeep breath without fruits and veggies. My body feels as if it’s lacking something. Here’s a typical day of bingeing for me: LARGE bowl of linguini with red clam sauce OR large cheese pizza, 2 bags of microwave popcorn, 3 – 6 apples, 1 grapefruit, 3 oranges, 5 – 6 ears of white corn, huge salad, 4 – 6 plums, 2 – 3 nectarines, large bunch of Carol Ann. Well that WAS the way I lived prior to 3/21/02. I suppose it could be worse….at least I’m addicted to fruit and not drugs…or is food a drug??? Hmmmm. ~Carol Ann in Atlanta Visit me on My Weightloss Journey: www.bestinatlanta.com/weightloss.html! Height: 5′ 3" Goal: 160/152/130 by July 4th "Dream" Goal: 120 by 12/21/02 My 40th birthday!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – the MOST important thing to do about "cheating" and eating carbs, IMO, is to figure out why your doing it. are you craving this stuff? is it possible that you are triggering these cravings with something you think is LEGAL, but really isn’t? — read and post, rosie "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today." Chinese Proverb Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
It’s strange how our addictions to sugar can consume us! I don’t seem to be having a problem giving up the candy bars, ice cream, cakes, cookies and hard candy. My weakness is fruit. I believe it’s the same basic craving, though. Sugar is sugar and I crave the sweet, juicy flavor of fresh fruit. I guess I’m on day 1 of the 2 – 4 recovery due to the large bowl of fruit from yesterday. ~Carol Ann in Atlanta Visit me on My Weightloss Journey: www.bestinatlanta.com/weightloss.html! Height: 5′ 3" Goal: 160/152/130 by July 4th "Dream" Goal: 120 by 12/21/02 My 40th birthday!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
Dean is right– regular cheats mean no weight loss. I would skip the jello and just have the steak w/ green salad. See if you can get some carb-free or LC dessert items- maybe the jello at lunchtime if that’s your weak time of day. Maybe some splenda sweetened syrups (like DaVinci or Torani) and make a good sweet coffee drink. The real trick is getting yourself off of any sweet addiction in its entirety- maybe go a whole week w/ no sweets, just straight clean protein and veggies. Hard, but might break that sweet addiction cycle. I have watched many ppl lose w/ this WOE and stop w/ regular cheating. Keep your goal front and center. Good luck!! — Phyllis 185/155/133? April goal 153 Good cookie recipes and other desserts at this location: http://www.camacdonald.com/lc/LowCarbohydrateCooking-Recipes.htm – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!
Response:
the MOST important thing to do about "cheating" and eating carbs, IMO, is to figure out why your doing it. are you craving this stuff? is it possible that you are triggering these cravings with something you think is LEGAL, but really isn’t? — read and post, rosie "The best time to plant a tree… was twenty years ago. The second best time, is today." Chinese Proverb
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Silly question, but I often find myself, after doing so well for a week or so, I cheat – I will eat a few cookies or a bowl of icecream. The question is, what if I have been doing so well that morning, but at lunchtime, i have a cookie – ( or2 or 3!) or some other carb-laden foodtype, what do I eat for the rest of the day – Do I simply carry right on with the olive oil and steak and jello&cream? or should I generally keep it low fat/low carb as possible for the rest of the day? Lucy Ny-NY Atkins: 180-162-VG!-but then-185!-presently: 170- hopefully: 150 for my wedding day! arghhhh!