Will power! Don't eat it, make one at home for after dinner. You can do it!

I tried some coleslaw at a restaurant the other day....WAY sweeter than I remembered it being. Couldn't eat it.

cathy120861 wrote: »

i am sure i will be in the minority here, but i think you are being really smart. you have planned in advance what your cheat will be, so you wont just go wild eating everything in sight. now, plan in advance what your next day's menu will be, so you dont even have to think about it -- you just go right back to your healthy eating. (make sure you have everything that you need for healthy eating already in the house or easily available).

Nobody is perfect every minute of every day for the rest of their lives. The winners are the ones who get right back on track without missing a beat.

While I still generally lean toward the "don't bother, it's not worth it" side, I do agree with this. If you've decided that you're going to have it, then just pick right back up where you left off.

I'm of the opinion that there's no such thing as "cheats," only decisions. You decide from one day to the next what you're going to eat or not eat.

That said, I do recommend sticking to the ice cream. The fat counteracts the sugary taste. Cakey desserts don't really have that and end up sickening sweet tasting. I learned that the hard way a couple of weeks ago.

I broke down and had a piece of homemade cheesecake at work today. It was good, but I only had a small (half of anyone else's) and had a hard time with finishing it. Its not as hard as you may think after you've cut a lot of it out. The only reason I ate this today was because I had decided I was going to allow myself to occasionally have this particular person's cakes. They rarely show up and are very well done. But now I need the antacids.

WillCams wrote: »

What about learning to make those treats a different way. Like frozen fruits blended for icecream. You can add a frozen banana or frozen avocado for creaminess. You might be pleasantly surprised. I made this for my kids thinking, ohh this is healthy and they rushed in and yammed it down and called it icecream. So now I play around with different fruit and also veg and they still call it icecream. I make cupcakes using almond butter instead of flour and sometimes add raw cacao powder for my chocolate fix. Try looking at grain free cooking and you may find things you can use as a substitute for treats without the guilt. Also you can try a little molasses but go slowly as it is an acquired taste for some

Using molasses is also a bit of an art. Different kinds have different flavor strengths, and if you're not careful, you can overwhelm the other flavors.

"Milkshakes" made with whole milk, cream, and frozen fruit (or fresh fruit and a few ice cubes) makes for a far more rich and filling treat, too.

And I agree with the grain free cooking sites for alternatives. http://satisfyingeats.com/recipes/ is an awesome place to find grain-free recipes. I don't generally do "substitutes," but I happened upon it while looking for recipes for things for my sister and I to eat at my family's Christmas gathering (such gatherings are when I concede to substitutes, especially when it's food for others). Found an awesome cinnamon bread recipe that I made into egg nog bread pudding (not sugar free, but dairy and grain free).

Jakiepaper wrote: »

Also, I'm afraid I'm going to feel really bad physically afterward.

Do not be afraid but hope that you do feel really bad physically afterwards as I did. That reinforced to my brain and body not to eat carbs like that again.

You've planned ahead - that is the BEST approach to take. Allow yourself to enjoy your treat and get right back on the horse with the next meal. Maybe you will find you don't even want to finish the treat you have planned. A couple bites of ice cream and a bite of cupcake may be all you want if you've been away from those things for a while as you may find yourself shocked at the sweetness now.

I've been low-carb for six weeks now, and I celebrated my birthday last week with not just cheesecake, but *fried* cheesecake on a stick. Surprise! It was too much--too sweet, too rich. I ate less than half. I didn't feel bad the next day, and I didn't revert to terrible habits. I didn't even gain weight.

Planning ahead is a great idea. I used to think that if I got the privilege to eat out or eat at a social event, it was okay to treat myself "just this once." The problem was that "just this once" was happening three or four times a week. (We apparently are very social!)

Now I eat before I go to events, I prepare my own delicious, fatty meal for potlucks that all the other ladies comment "oh this will ruin my figure" or "this must have sooo much fat in it." (Why yes, yes it does.)

I'm really shocked that the sugar cravings have disappeared because I have a history of slavery to sweets... But I can walk into Howard's Donuts now and walk out without a bite.

So, one evening won't kill you. Enjoy it, live not in fear but in preparation and joy. Above all, don't loathe yourself for decisions you made in the past. If you sense yourself falling into old habits, just pick yourself up, brush away the past, and decide to start fresh right this minute (NOT tomorrow!) Self-joy can be a huge motivator.

Good luck!

@octobubbles I'd love to hear the Strawberry Fat Bomb recipe. I made one up with cocoa powder and cinnamon, but it has a net carb impact higher than some... I have a lemon one I mostly like. And Cream Cheese Clouds, that's my horizons so far.

That and my jello fat bombs I almost forgot about! Need to make more tonight.