Do you ever have a "planned cheat"? I am going to my brothers wedding this weekend and have been planning on having a "free day" where I am not going to worry about what I'm eating. Not planning on going crazy, just not obsessing about whether food is low carb or not. Plan to get right back on plan on Monday - most likely by doing induction phase again. Has anyone else done this? How hard was it to get back on plan? How badly did it set you back?

Thanks for any input.

...Hi....I have had one *planned* cheat since I started....what I found was that I didnt eat near what I thought I would, HighCarb just didnt *taste* the same....plus I found myself instinctly loading up on LoCarb stuff...drink tons of water that day, and the next and be prepared for bloating, maybe some bathroom issues(am trying to say it in a nice way... )....plus some cravings may return....While it wont be something I will do on a regular basis, I liked the control I had....One thing though, its funny how the mind works...gave myself permission then drove myself and my BF nuts when we went to the grocery store...cause I would keep looking at the carbs..and grabber lower carb things...anyways...Enjoy ...Be Prepared before,during and after and get right back on!!!!

p.s...Interesting side note...my BF is in the Marine Corps...(he is out in the field this week) while he was going through his MREs (meals ready to eat)...they included a nut/raisin trail mix, after doing the math it only had 3 carbs for the package (only had peanuts, walnuts, almonds, raisins and filberts).... ...guess who got it??!!!....*hehehehe*....

I occasionally do a planned cheat, but I have never done a "free day." For me, a planned cheat means something along the lines of deciding that I am going to a wedding and I will stick to lowcarb options except that I will have a small piece of wedding cake. I have done this several times in the nine months I have been low carbing. I would be scared to try a free day -- I think it could really cause cravings. Have you considered a more limited planned cheat? For example, you could decide you will eat one thing you really like that is not lowcarb, but avoid everything else. In my opinion, you are doing really well right now and the risk of derailing yourself by a big cheat is probably fairly high.

Hi liz175,

I've done a 'free day'. A few things to remember.

The amount of carbs does matter so one potato is better than two.

Don't over eat. if you can't keep the carbs down, don't overload on calories.

Expect some side effects. Maybe hot sweats and cravings when you go back onto low carbs.

you may put on as much as 4lbs - but most of uit will be water. it'll take about a week on an induction type regime to get back to normal.

If you can do some brisk exercise the next day it'll help to burn off the carbs you've stored.

Good luck - if nothing else look upon it as an educational experience.

Robert

Here are a couple of threads on the topic you may find helpful:


Atkins on cheating


Planned cheats

My personal advice: do not cheat too early on in your journey, if at all. Falling off the wagon is much easier than climbing back on.