I have been doing this now for 5 1/2 weeks and I cannot say I have never cheated. It has not been alot but I have had a few slip ups. My weight loss has pretty much stayed the same for the last 2 weeks and I am very frustrated going on 3 weeks and the scales have not moved. I am thinking that maybe those very small cheats have really hurt me. Even though my cheats did not amount to a whole anything. It was just a couple of bites. Mostly things like my sons ice cream was melting all over the place at the zoo yesterday and of course being a mom I cleaned it up for him and in the process probably hurt my weight loss.

Unfortunately those little bites here and there do add up. The "one little bite will not hurt me" theory is what got me to my unhappy weight. I would say I do not cheat, but everyone has a different definition of what "cheating" is. My bad habits are overindulging on low carb choc and drinking rum and diet cokes. I will not consider taking even one bite of ice cream, bread whatever..it would just make me want more.

Remarkably enough there are lots of people here that do not sway from the plan. Its actually quite impressive and inspiring. But I'm more like you with a 2 year old I have to feed and tend to take a nibble or 2 of her food while feeding her. I have gotten on track for the past few days and don't even lick the spoon at night after I give her her ice cream. Good luck to you!

I am on day eleven and have not swayed from the atkins plan....I am down 8 pounds total as of this morning

First I think the idea of cheat and the word cheat are not helpful. To not only lose weight but to maintain the loss, we need to have a WOE, a WOL, not a diet. How can you cheat on a WOL? You make choices and you live with the results of those choices.

I have not "cheated" in that I have not deliberately eaten a high carb food because I craved it. However, I have eaten a few high or higher carb foods because of circumstances. When I am eating at someone's home, I do not pick out all the high carb items from a salad so I have eaten orange segments and chinese noodles in a salad (the amount was very small). I also at a small service of a casserole that I knew had bread as an ingredient. My highest carb choice was to eat a serving of squash casserole at Boston Market. I had 1/2 at the restaurant and the other 1/2 the next day. I ordered it before I realized it had bread and some sweetener in it and decided after I had it on my plate that I wasn't going to throw it away. The good news is that it did not start any cravings for other high carb foods.

I eat quite a few nuts and I frequently do not count my carbs daily. I also eat a lot of cheese, vegetables, and low carb sweets. I made the choices to keep myself satisfied and I am content with my results.

I have lost 15 pounds in two months and it has been painless. Everyone is different and each of us must learn how we can live with this WOE in comfort. I have found substitutes for the foods which were my downfall pre-Atkins and I enjoy them. I do not eat many foods (including ice cream) completely as I am not certain I could stop if I started eating them again (addiction problem).

Don't bother comparing youself to others. Learn what works for you. Commit yourself to a WOE that you can be comfortable with. Stop thinking in terms of "cheating" and if you do choose a high carb food, really enjoy it and then get back to eating according to your WOE. Life is too short to obsess about food and weight.

I don't "cheat" at anything....except my Atkins ;-)

Don't cheat a lot, and regret when I do cheat, but I'm fooling myself if I think I won't continue to cheat as my WOL

I have not cheated. I have a lot of reasons for not cheating - my health is the largest issue. I am also in a rush to get pregnant and have only 1 month more to lose weight before the pregnancy (IVF).

My mother in law admits to cheating and she is surprised that she is no longer losing weight. I am not surprised.

I have slowly found *wonder* foods that have saved my arse. One place is www.deepdiscountnutrition.com in Las Vegas. Their bread and bagels are OUT OF THIS WORLD. The bread is one carb each and the bagels are 2.5 carbs each - these are so good that I will never buy regular bread again.

I love your responses. Especially yours asalvato. I think your response is appropriate in the way it is not a cheat. I do need to look at this as way of life and eating. Not a temporary thing. I have not done any binge eating since I have started Atkins and have not really had the urge too. Although I do like nibbles and such of some higher carb foods. But the important thing I think is too stay in control and not regret it.

4 weeks - no cheat, I'm to scared !! Seriously.

I haven't "cheated" yet, either. I have been on it for one month now. Valid points have been made that slip-ups may occur because this is a WOL, not a diet.

This is my 11th day of induction, and haven't "cheated" yet. My goal was to have a really clean 14-day induction, and then see whether I wanted to stay with that level or maybe give myself a few more carbs to play with on OWL.

I should note, though, that this is my 3rd time on Atkins and the first two I cheated my way right off of the WOE altogether! Maybe the 3rd time is a charm for me?

Well, six months gone and I haven't 'cheated'....no, I'm no , far from it. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who managed to kill every carb craving during induction.
Besides, for me this is for life - I can't 'cheat' on myself....

I save my "cheats" for other type of ocassions.............

Alina

I've been on Atkins since May and have never had a high carb cheat of any type. The closest thing is I would have occasional OWL foods on induction, mostly before I relized some of them weren't allowed. Almost all my cravings are gone, and sweet htings smell nausiating now. I may have a small treat in the way of a sweet drink on my birthday, but by then I'll be at goal (I hope) and it will be ok by the plan. I don't think eating ameal of high carbs can really jump start things, to me that's people trying to come up with an excuse to not stick to the plan. I do think higher carb things can be eaten on occasion and in moderation, you just have to plan for it and adjust the rest of your day accordingly. In any eating plan or life style moderation is the key if you want results.

I slipped up on my 2nd week of induction and just hoped right back on the wagon. I am almost cheat free for a month. I have no intentions of cheating and I have no cravings.

I have been on Atkins for 37 days and have not cheated. I also am one of the ones that haven't lost much either in this amount of time, but I REFUSE to give up!

I don't have any cravings for the pasta, breads, sweets so I just keep thinking that one day this weight will fall off. I guess with all of the problems I have (PCOS, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes II) my body is very resistant and wants to hold onto this fat. But NO NO NO I won't let it happen. I don't care if this takes me a year to lose 30 pounds, I will do it!!

Ahhhh, thanks for letting me vent.

"T"