Even though I do see this as a WOE that is successful and working well for me, as for the WOL, I am thinking that there will surely be ocassions that I will not be so strict. I know it is a lifestyle change, but I dont have the intention that I will NEVER again eat an onion ring!!
Or a peice of key lime pie!

Both of these things are not available to me here in Luxembourg, but in the USA when I come during the summers for a visit I do look forward to them.

I will be going to a big family reunion (this summer) and my 25 year high school reunion (next summer) and I am not wanting to be a the sad sack on a diet!!

I have been very lucky in this WOE, I am losing extremely fast, I like the food, feel full, and have almost none of the side effects that I have read about. I have yet not had any temptations, other than one planned cheat for Valentines day.

Am I foolish to think that I can have some and still get right back on the plan? Or is the assumption that if you do indulge you will not be able to control yourself?

For me, if I DID indulge, it would be very hard for me to get back on track. I just don't think the taste of the high carb food is worth backtracking, know what I mean? For some, cheats don't do much to them...some lose. For me, I don't "cheat" because I've worked too hard to screw it all up now.

On maintanance you can occasionally endulge, Atkins just advises to have fiber and protien with carbs to minimize the impact. You might find though that once you reach maintananc, those high carb things just don't look good anymore. Most things now just seem to sweet for me, and I've found breaded items and bread just subtract form the flavor of dishes, not add to it.

I also find if I have soemthing sweet Iend up with nasty stomach ache, gas and other problems. I've learned that most things just aren't worth the discomfot and I shoudl avoid refined sugar when I can. (Funnily enough sugar these days almost effects me the same way sugar alcohols do, to a lesser degree)

I'm with KristyC - I never go off plan......simply because I know I can't handle it. Maintanance or not - sugar and flour are out forever.
This WOE has given me so much.....no food is worth feeling so good...

You will decide of course - this is just my perspective.....

I have had quite a few planned cheats and I've never had a problem getting back on track the next day. These planned cheats have helped me in the fact that once I start obsessing about one of my former favorite foods, I get it out of the way and I'm content for a couple of months. To say that I'll never eat freshly baked chocolate chip cookies again is ridiculous, but to endulge once every blue moon helps me keep my sanity. It's a matter of realizing that this is the way I eat now and to fall completely off the wagon permanently doesn't even cross my mind.

There are things that you can do just for today that would be agony if you had to think about doing them for a lifetime.

Take it one day at a time.

You have to figure out what's right for you. I personally have had one "cheat meal" each day of the weekend starting Saturday. I end on Sunday. I usually eat a Saturday and Sunday dinner Atkins free. I'm usually down a pd or two the next day. Just me. But I make sure I drink my water.....and I get right back on on Monday. I also work out (or try to) 5 days a week. You have to see what works for you. I refuse to be in bodage to food on either side. Overeating or deprivation. Some don't feel it's deprivation but when I'm at my friends' house for Sunday dinner and they've made Pot Roast and potatoes with green beans, I have a little of the potatoes. I don't feel like the potato is the enemy here, it's always been about my choices. God made those starchy vegetables and I don't think He ever intented for us to swear them off. It's all this highly processed, man made stuff that's the worst. I'd rather have a little bit of a potato than to have some of these "Low Carb" frankenfoods that only contribute to the bad habit mentality that got us fat in the first place. Now I do try to stay away from the sugars.
-When you cheated on Valentine's Day,what happened? Did you find it diffucult to come on back?

After having a few non-Atkins treats over the past five months, I've made a deal with myself. When I up my workouts to six days a week instead of the current three, I get to have one non-Atkins meal a month.

My doctor suggested I have one cheat meal per week, to keep my metabolism stoked. Or one cheat dessert. Just something to shake it up. So, I obsessed and obsessed over tortilla chips and salsa, and when the day came, I allowed myself a reasonable portion of the chips. Guess what? I was disappointed. They didn't taste that good. And I felt like I'd wasted a good cheat.

I have been doing this w.o.l. since Oct.03 and had one chear on xmass night when I ate 6 choclate sweets,one hour later I pucked my guts up !! I think that my body could no longer handle the rush of suger.I learned my lesson big time that night,and to this day I have not cheated once.There are times when I have too many carbs-mostly alcohol related but never ever what I now know to be junk foods.I had a phone call from a friend of mine also on Adkins last night in which she said she ate some homemade chips on Sat. night and the old feelings of being tired and sluggish came back withen 24 hours.It was quite a shock to her and a lesson well learnt.So to sum up I think cheating may be a risk to far for your body to have to deal with.

my thoughts: only you can decide what is best for you. it is your life, no one elses. i think that the best thing is for people to support you for making healthy changes in your life. you owe no one explanations or apologies. so good luck with things!

Yes, I sometimes have foods not on the list. I used to feel like i was cheating when i ate fresh pineapple, lol. I 've done this for 18 months & I don't think I'll have any problem doing it forever. Saturday night I did splurge at Macaronni Grill and had chocolate cake with chocolate ganache sauce. Yummy. Got that craving out of my system & went right back to my woe. I've learned to have things like that when I really want them & not beat myself up. I make sure to drink tons of water when I do & jump right back on Atkins the next day. The most I've ever gained is 2 lbs & it comes off the next day.Seems to work for me. Since I do splurge ocassionally I don't feel like I'm depriving myself. I'm so happy now, wearing a size 8, that I can't imagine ever getting into my old eating habits again. I have to say that reading this board for the last 6 months, for hours daily, is what kept me motivated. It also answered questions I never knew I had. Thanks everyone.

Like others have said, it seems really up to you. If you are able to have something off-program and then get right back to your WOE, then is really isn't so bad.

However, if you are the kind of person that one off program meal/dessert starts you on a larger off-program spiral, then maybe it is better not to go off or you may end up worse than when you started.

You know yourself better than we do. You might gauge your own reaction with how well you did Valentine's day. If that wasn't a problem, then maybe an occasional off-program food won't throw you off too much.

Bottom line - you've got to be able to live with this WOE, or you won't stick with it!

Hi,

I cheated around Christmas of last year and it wasn't until this week that I lost the last amount I had gained. I gained 16 lbs in teh matter of days beasue I went off. I don't recomend it.....it's tough to get back into a positive state after gaining back what you tried so hard to lose, just to have to lose it again. I've had to learn the hard way that sticking with it no matter what is the only way we will get to where we want to be as quickly as possible.

Lori