Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - My Experience with Cheating

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skweezzy

I haven't been around this board much, because I've just been so ashamed. I've decided to come clean, and share my experience with a cheat/binge... Bear with me, please.

So... I had a planned long weekend in Vegas... I left Friday, October 29th, and returned Monday, November 1st. Before the trip, I had already decided that I was going to eat what I wanted while in Vegas... I mean, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?? Well. NOT to my surprise, I found it difficult to get back on the low-carb track come Tuesday. I kept saying, "oh... what's another meal?" and "oh... what's another day?"... and... "before I get back to atkins... let me sneak in this or that etc."... it turned ugly!!

I'm talking serious binges here. Burger King. Cheese Steaks. FRENCH FRIES. Ice cream. Indian Food. Sushi. Pancakes. I mean... I lost it.

But here's the weird thing... None of it was that good!! All the foods I THOUGHT I wanted left me... well... not only feeling gross, but left me feeling somehow disappointed. The guilt was out of control, and maybe that played a role in my "satisfaction" after stuffing my face... But I just can't help but think that the forbidden foods were just WAY better in my mind than in my mouth. I really need to remember that when I crave again.

Well. To make a long story shorter... I got back on track this Monday, the 8th, after 9 days of MAJOR grubbing on all sorts of CRAP. I faced the scale this morning... after having been afraid of acknowledging what damage I've done. Much to my surprise, the scale said I only gained one pound. Thank God.

So. Here's the moral of the story. Don't cheat. It's not worth the guilt, the loss of self-esteem, the loss of pride in what you've accomplished. It's not worth the gas, the bloating, the weight gain. It's not worth that disgusting feeling of guilt and loser-dom. It's not worth the gigantic effort it takes to get back on track... It's just not worth it. It's just food. It's not love, or life, or joy. Just Food. And I never want to lose control to food ever again.

OMG, I don't remember posting my confession!!

Seriously, I did the EXACT same thing you did (unfortunately at home, not in Vegas

) AND on the same dates -- what's with that?? I blew it starting on the 29th (DS3's huge birthday party, coming down with a cold, only 4 hours sleep...) and continued thru Halloween ("what's the point in trying to get back on track with all the candy around?"

) and ended up staying off for 9 WHOLE DAYS!!! I just got back on plan on Sunday (so I'm starting Day 4).

I swear, it's the same story -- I binged like crazy and didn't enjoy 90+% of it and the guilt ruined the rest of it

I sure wish I could say the same as you re: the amount of weight gained!! I gained 4-5 lbs, but I'm hoping most of that was water. I've already lost 2 lbs of it, but it sure wasn't worth it!