Cheat meal/days, anyone?

Vnm77

Does anyone here believe in cheat days/meals while on the low carb? This means indulging in your most craved food once a week or so? And still have successful wt loss?

TheVimFuego

I prefer to think of my way of eating (and living ... don't waste time with excessive exercise, etc) as a framework.

Which is a roundabout way of saying I cheat everyday I do it mindfully though.

I have some (a little) premium ice cream to end the day and I'm not shy of a glass or two of red wine to follow it

Regarding deliberating having a higher carb day, I don't usually but if I did then it wouldn't bother me. A afternoon/night on the real ale? Enjoy, be sociable, and get back to the plan the next day, been there, done that

I fundamentally don't believe that sugar, grains, legumes and processed food are good for my health generally, never mind weight management so I don't see them as treats to be cheated on.

Everyone has their own idea of treats though so work them in and stay sane.

zynx1234

I am not real successful in the weight loss part so I am not the best to answer that part of the question but I occasionally cheat... and its not meal for me... but say a dish that I want. I want it and I shall have it. I am not thinking of it as cheating at all.

For example, last night I fried some homemade pinto beans in a big old scoop of bacon fat for dinner from my family. Then I added cheese to the top. So I had that and a couple of warm corn tortillas for dinner. Way more carbs that I usually eat especially when I look at the rest of the filled with Spinach/Tomatoes/Eggplant... but it was so good. It wasn't a piece of chocolate cake or a doughnut. But it was way high in carbs and I am not sad or regretful. How often I cheat or eat excess carbs depends on really whats for dinner but it might be once a week or two.. I guess

And if I restrict too much ugh... it makes me all angry and stuff..

mycatbutters

I think it depends on what your carb intake is and what you eat off plan. I can have a side dish of something and it doesn't really effect me but dessert and more than one thing off plan sets me back a bit.

Since I am in serious weight loss mode I am really trying to break bad habits. I went a month on plan and had a bad off day. Then two weeks with just a side dish off plan.

I have a few ideas in my mind what's worth it to 'cheat' for. For example, if I was invited to my favorite costly steakhouse, I would have their bread. If I was to go to a party with a homemade cake I would have a sensible piece. This helps me not eat sandwich bread or store bought sweets. I'm saving myself for the good stuff. I'm hoping with this retraining I'll be able to introduce higher carb, healthier foods without falling back to the constant unhealthy takeout and junk that I ate everyday.

kvalmera

I hear varied opinions on cheat meals/days. I always keep an open mind about them because this is life and there will be occasions we will celebrate and let's face it, no one ever said "Let's run a mile to celebrate"!!!!

You have to find balance and what works for you. It will be trial and error until you learn that. I am faced with temptations on a daily basis, the biggest being my job. I work in the ER and staff is always bringing pizza, cookies, cake, etc. Every time someone leaves, they throw a party and we have a lot of travel nurses so yeah... lots of food!! I have scraped the toppings off pizza, ate a pinch or two of cake if I wanted to taste it. Just to taste it, get that craving met and move on. Is it hard, yes because I want to slap up a huge piece but I simply don't. It's just learning MY BALANCE.

Life is all around you, temptations will always be there but so will successes... just find your balance!

gnr123

Well to lose the initial weight I went on the dukins diet and lost around 7lbs in 2 and a half week but I literally stuck to it religiously..Bare minimum carb and fat intake, just protein protein protein.
After the 2 and a half week I started allowing myself treats every day so I would eat for eg
x3 egg white & cottaqe cheese omlette-Breakfast
Tin of tuna-Snack
Chicken breast with hot and spicy seasoning with cottage cheese and chive in the middle-Lunch
Carb free jelly- Snack
Smoked haddock with x2 scrambled egg whites - dinner

But I also found myself eating maybe a 150ml tub of ben and jerrys ice cream, or a chocolate bar along side the above for around 2 week I was eating well apart from my daily treat and for me it didn't effect my weight loss scheme..

But after a treat per day it wasn't long before I slipped back to my old habits of eating what I want..So I no longer have a treat/cheat day buy I still won't let this restrict me if I am going out for drinks and fancy a pizza at the end of the night I figure as a one off it's not the end of the world.

ZipperJJ

I try to stay in ketosis so for ME having one planned thing weekly is a bad habit to fall in to.

However, I don't sweat it if I want to go off plan for a bit. I was just sick for a week and I went off plan cuz it was just easier for me. I've got 150 lbs to lose (well, now "just" 90) so I'm not racing towards it. Giving myself 2 years.

I can totally see myself being more lax in the future once I've met my goal, and am not needing to be a 24/7 fat-burning machine. I'll probably be more like Vim and eat what I want when I want it - just make myself want it less!

I wouldn't call it cheating though - just eating

mstorvik

I notice that when I cheat, I end up binging and craving all the bad foods again. So I don't cheat unless I have to - like a really special occasion, or if I am traveling and want to try all the local foods.

Marll

I do cheat at times, but it's never planned ahead as something to look forward to, that would drive me nuts.

An example was that I was invited to a friend's last night for dinner. He cooked some spicy asian chicken dish and served it over rice. He made portions for my wife and I with almond flour since my wife has a gluten allergy, so overall I didn't feel bad about eating the rice. Not really planned, and I don't normally do it, but figured I'd be back to normal today, so didn't sweat it.

I also occasinally have a beer.

Overall though I've found anytime that I eat something like pizza (which hasn't been for a long while now) it NEVER tastes that good (I prefer cauliflower pizza crust now) and I pay for it with bloating, gas and other unpleasantness. Overall it's just not worth it. And since I'm on a plateau, I'm not really keen on giving my body any additional excuses to not loose any more weight.

angelcurry130

I don't really consider it cheating...more of a reward. Or at least something within my limits. If I absolutely MUST have icecream, I'll have a no-sugar added or low-carb icecream or popscicle. And even then, probably half a serving. Really, really want pizza? I can either make a pizza casserole, or use low-carb bread options (i make flaxmeal bread that i keep in the freezer) and make my own. And I don't sweat going over by one or two carbs. If I can keep within my goals and still get away with VERY SMALL indulgences, it doesn't feel like cheating. In fact, I feel less of a need to binge when I already know I can have something.

tenkilos1

I find if I do go off plan Like I did last Friday night-sad occasion, had to have my 18yr old cat euthanased (not sure about that spelling) Husband and I came home very emotional and drank a couple of bottles of wine between us- this led to bad choices in food! Well just jumped back quick on Sat-very low carb for a couple of days and I'm back in ketosis I think any one going off plan who is in a low carb diet -meaning in ketosis, needs to get back quickly b4 the cravings and hunger starts or they will find it harder.

Vnm77

Thanks for the feedback, folks! I feel so much healthier doing the low carb thing, but I STILL struggle with high-carb cravings!!! But, it looks like regular cheat days/meals would NOT be a good solution to this problem especially since it might throw me off track. Some ideas I've hears so far is taking some chewable-fruit flavored Vit C tabs, or drinking some herbal tea. So, if you have any secrets for dealing with this, post them!

zynx1234

My only advice for Carb Wtihdrawl is to keep going and bite down real hard and get through it. Its like detoxing from heroine... I think..... It took me like 3 weeks

purple_tux1

I'm jumping in a bit late, but yeah, I do 'cheat' once in a while. The first couple weeks, I had a bit of pasta just because this was a big part of my diet. Once in a while I'll have a bagel if I really want it, but most days I stick to the plan. When my DD had her birthday party, I sampled a bit of the food, because otherwise I would have fone mad from doing all that work and not getting to taste the food. Just had little tastes of everything though.

And yes, I am losing weight. For me, it's important to have that flexibility.