I've always wondered if there are any guidelines or better ways to 'cheat' so as to minimize the symptoms of having carbs? 99.9% of the time I am totally dedicated to this way of lifestyle, , but everyone knows that there will be exceptional times when you will have that special strawberry/rhubarb custard Pie, because Aunt MAggie from England made it just for you and it reminds you of your childhood visits and she is so old that it may be the last one she makes. Or, like when I visit my home, in Newfoundland once every couple of years and my Dad makes salt fish and Brewis (hard Bread) and It so reminds me of my culture and the cod is almost extinct and it is so good, so I will eat it.

I've just wondered if other than limiting the amounts, there is any way to flush those carbs out of your system: lots of water, exercise, eating them with nothing else, on any empty stomach, late at night, early morning?I know this is totally sacrilegous, but its a fact for me,. There will be rare times when I will cheat, so if there is anyway to sort of control the cheat, I'd like to know.

For all the wonderful things about this WOE, the most difficult for me is giving up cultural or nostalgic foods. While I am creating my own traditions and my kids will have different food connections, food is a big part of the human experience. I can make homemade bread just like my Mom made and everyone loves it. She was so proud of what a bread maker she was and since she has passed away, me making and enjoying her bread recipe was a way to remember her. And all Newfoundlanders eat are Potatoes! In this WOE I am allowed next to none of the foods that I grew up on. All of my comfort foods are iilegal. I am sure everyone has these challenges and while I think the benefits are worth it, I still think it is OK to admit that you miss these things. Wow, this post is long. I'll stop now. I'd love to hear anyyone's ideas about all this! Lois

Can't advise about the cheating aspect but do have those special nostalgia foods... some I'm sure you can relate too.. ..remember every Saturday Mom would be up early making homemade beans with molasses...brown bread to die for...pies..coconut cream...and her specialties butterscotch and mincemeat (mincemeat usually made from moose or deermeat) with of course a little rum added ...every spring it is fresh salmon, new potatoes and fiddleheads that I crave...have not touched any of the above except the salmon and fiddleheads which seem to be fairly LC...Mom did make me a mincemeat pie for Christmas which I couldn't resist however I'm back on track and dedicated to this WOE...B



Fiddleheads

All that sounds so good. Salmon & fiddleheads are very low carb! I'm drooling. We have to forgive ourselves for cheats like Mom's mincemeat pie!

I don't do it regularly, but I occasionally eat small quantities of nostalgic foods on special occasions. For example, I could not go through Thanksgiving without eating a little pumpkin pie. However, I decided it was really the pumpkin that I was nostalgic for, not the crust, so I ate only the inside of the pie

For me, the important thing is to plan in advance what I am doing and make sure that there are lots of lowcarb foods available at the same time. That way, I don't have any problems controlling the quantity of the high carb food I eat. Also, I think that having lots of protein and fat in your system helps mitigate the effect of eating carbs on your blood sugar. At Thanksgiving, I filled up on turkey and vegetables, so that when the pumpkin pie came around I was satisfied with a small piece.

Exercise is always a good thing for burning up extra carbs. I took a walk Thanksgiving morning and a long walk the day after Thanksgiving. Despite having some pumpkin pie, as well as some squash that had molasses in it, I did not gain any weight.

The really dangerous cheats are the unplanned ones when you are very hungry. An occasional (occasional does not mean once a week!) planned cheat on a special occasion (birthday or holiday) can probably be incorporated into your eating plan. However, each person is unique, so you'll have to determine for yourself if eating even a few extra carbs creates cravings and therefore problems for you.

You're right, I do not feel guilty at all about planned cheats because I am still in control. But if I just happen to eat a brownie for no special reason, then I am so mad at myself. Thanks guys!

I've got a tip that has worked ok for me so far. I've lost 40 pounds since last September, and have had a little chocolate or sweets most days (after the first couple weeks when I was super-strict).

What has worked for me was making sure that any carb "cheat" was eaten late at night, soon before I would go to bed and brush my teeth. If I ate a piece of chocolate at noon, It would make me want to binge all day. I save that sort of stuff for last thing at night, and that's not an issue. Of course I can't have too much, because calories are ultimately the bottom line. BTW, I make sure to buy the most concentrated, flavorful chocolates I can get so a little goes a long way - to me, half an ounce of Lindt's best is better than 3 oz of sugary, watery Hershey's chocolate.

Carbs make me hungry, so I avoid them during the day because they will make me want to overeat. But if my calories for the day are in the weight-losing zone, it doesn't matter to me what form my last snack of the night is.

Note that I'm following my own custom synthesis of atkins/zone that works for me. What I've been doing might totally screw up others.

Interesting. I don't pay attention to calories at all, but having carbs at night to avoid cravings makes sense. I have a severe chocolate weakness. I like good quality, semi sweet dark chocolate. Like you, If I am gonna cheat, it will be something really good.

I would like to suggest that if you're going to indulge in carbs, that you do so like a once-a-day CALP reward meal: try not to go overboard, and eat them, along with your meal, within one hour. Have protein, fat and good veggies for 'balance'. If you want MORE carby treats, go back for more protein, veggies and fat, too. Think: BALANCE.

I was going to suggest the same thing as Teri. My best planned cheat was on Thanksgiving where I ate just a bit of stuffing and mashed potatoes and less than legal veggie casseroles, but started off with a salad and also ate a good amount of turkey, etc. and ate it all within an hour.

Didn't affect me very much that way.

As you go along with this WOE, you'll probably come to a point where you can enjoy the memories, be with the people and not have to eat the food.

Until then, if you do it, really enjoy it without the shadow of guilt behind you!

One thing to watch for is one bite leading to a thousand and the cravings you may experience over the next few days. That's my only word of caution.

Karen

I've seen this business about eating a meal within an hour, and I've always wondered what it was about. I don't remember seeing it in Atkins. I am a *very* slow eater, and like to make my special weekend meals with my DH into a sort of event, and don't want to rush through. Am I sabotaging myself? Whats the science behind this hour thing?

thanks for any info!

kiwi

It's not from Atkins, it's from CALP. Like most LC plans, it's based on insulin control. If you have a look through the CALP Forum here, you'll find lots of information on it. There is also a review of it in "Which low-carb plan is right for me?" to the right of the page.

Karen