Hubby and I had several events this weekend we wanted to participate in fully and not worry about the diet (one was a gourmet cooking class we won at an auction). We've done so well for the last 6+ weeks and made the conscious decision to do this starting dinner Saturday and ending dinner Sunday.

While we enjoyed the day...now, I am mad at myself for even going off my plan. Not, as I would in the past, because I wasn't prepared or hadn't planned it. But rather because I HAD planned it, and wish I hadn't. Nothing I ate made it worth it. It feels weird because for so long I feel like food was the center of happy things for me (big italian familes tend to bring that out in people ).

What I realized is, that now that I am in control of my eating and eating for the health, rather than to be social or "feel" a certain way.

I guess I learned a good lesson - I LOVE the way I feel eating this way! It isn't that i feel deprived....it's that I have chosen not to have these things and they are for good reason.

Today I feel sluggish, and moody. And I can't wait until ketosis kicks back in...and never mind that the scale says I gained 3 pounds

My body taught me a lesson...and I have to be sure I listen and remember Nice to have the reminder before Easter! Chances are greater that I won't give in to the Cadbury Creme Eggs and Peeps Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

This is so true. I have in the past planned weekends off, etc, and it NEVER has been worth it to me. I still do it occasionally, but I always end up wondering why I even tried it. Feels way too good to be on this WOL.

I have found by now ( after trying a lot, lol) that cheats are so not worth how I feel afterwards. Eating LC makes me feel better than any full blown cheat ever tastes. Now that's not to say that I won't have an occasional slice of pizza or some sushi or a decadent dersert once in a blue moon.... but now I control it... it does not control me. Good lesson learned for us all, lol... keep up the great work!!!

I'm going to take your lesson to heart. I'm heading out on a 7 day Disney cruise with my kids on Friday. Originally I thought I'd stay mostly on plan with an occasional splurge. But the more I think about it, I think I'll just stay on plan. I can't tell you how happy I've felt these last couple of weeks with not only the way I look but the way I feel. It's been awesome going shopping for clothes and being able to purchase single digit sizes (well there is nothing ever pleasant about bathing suit shopping but that's another story!) I know this is cliche but nothing tastes as good as looking good feels so I'll just pass on the deserts and junk food. As long as I can find meat and veggies, I'm going to be just fine.

If I plan a cheat day, I am screwing myself. I will talk myself into eating more junk and prolonging going back on the diet or woe .....so avoid like the plague cuz I can't control myself

mjhoss, read and re-read what you wrote in your first post and remember it the next time you even think about straying...
it's just not worth it. agreed!
get back on that horse and don't ever try to fall off again!
remember.... nothing feels better than being svelte.

BF and I planned a cheat day, pizza and a peanutbutter parfait from Dairy Queen....ugh. The pizza didn't taste as good as I remembered, I didn't eat, nor even want the crust. As for the ice cream, major bloating and it was sickening sweet. Didn't even finish it. It just wasn't worth it.
I'm still tweaking here and there and am getting frustrated, but still attempting to find what is keeping me at a standstill.
If I get to 144, it seems the next day, I'm back up 2lbs. So, onward with the tweaking until I find what works and where I'm messing up. Going to give up heavy cream in my coffee, see if that helps. ...sigh....I just wish I would "KNOW" what works for me already. I will eventually.

You didn't plan a "cheat"! It is such a negative word...lose it from your vocabulary! You just decided to eat "off-plan". You chose to have a "carb day", you weighed the consequences(no pun intended) in advance. There's nothing to feel guilty about. Most of us have done it for one reason or another. The important thing is getting back to your WOE and feeling good about it. Vacations are nice, but it always feels good to "get home".
I don't mean to rant, it's just that I hate that word and how it makes good people feel bad.

I love that! cuz it's true..... if I decide to eat a slice of pizza I am thinking about how many carbs I have already had that day and if it's next to none I will eat a slice, or 2 ...lol... and in my mind I think OK.. I am having a slightly higher carb day ( makes me feel better to think of it that way, lol).

i so agree with you. it's just not worth it.
the feelings and mood swings afterwards just don't make it worth it. good that you figured this out, right away..
when i stray, my arthritis comes back and i can hardly walk.. it's just not worth it to me... ^5!

No no no NO NO to cheat days for me. I don't dare. And then I spend most of the next week getting back to where I was BEFORE the cheat day. And to say nothing of the issues raised in my temptation centers by eating forbidden foods.

Once I get myself into a state of no cravings and no hunger, I do not want to compromise that. I'm so tired of being in a state of yo-yoing due to cheats, I no longer have any desire to do that.

ON this a year and a half, and I still have cravings. Though I have my own theories as to why I have a "carb up" day, but the point is, we are NOT all geared the same way.

To the original poster ~ just take notes! Next time figure out the pro's and cons. The good thing about planning to eat off plan is that you can weigh our your decision. I do that. I PLAN when I am going off, and it makes going back on that much easier. YMMV, there are some though who when they go off, it takes months even years for them to go back on.

I had planned a "carb day" a few weeks ago because we had expensive tickets to a wine festival. As the time drew closer, I got really nervous. I ended up eating a perfectly legal dinner, having some wine but sticking with dry red, and the only thing I did have that was out of what I usually eat was 2 Stella Artois at the hotel bar after. I didn't even come out of ketosis. And I felt better than any pasta dinner and crappy dessert.

Well it sounds like you learned something new about yourself. That's great news! I too prefer to stay on plan. Cheating is not really satisfying. Totally opposite of my attitude on low cal/low fat.

I have had a couple of meals that would be considered off plan. I live in Kazakhstan and we celebrate Nauryz which is Persian New Year. I was invited by my local friends to a special luncheon which was a table full of local delicacies which are only prepared for this day. I had a few bites of each to show respect to my hostess. I kept the eating to under an hour. So I guess I had a "reward" meal of sorts. It did not derail me. I was able to return to plan at the next meal.