What keeps you from cheating?

[cleochatra]

It's an easy question to ask now, sitting here, while our blood sugars are stable, life is moving along swimmingtastically and there is not a pizza delivery man anywhere in sight tempting you with his wares.

Do you establish the pattern of eating before it happens?

Do you say to yourself, "I'm mad and I deserve this...wait... getting mad and eating doesn't help, but going for a run will make me feel better"?

How do you stop a cheat before it happens?

Have you ever caught yourself right before the event as you were moving the food to your mouth and then had that moment of clarity and threw it in the trash or out the window?

Share your tips for keeping yourself on the straight-and-narrow.

What methods work for you?

[Isabeau]

Well, I'm one of those people that hasn't cheated since I started this woe (wow, it's been a year!). I've been overweight pretty much all of my life with stints of dieting and slimness inbetween. The only thing that keeps me from not cheating is that at 42 years of age, I NEVER want to be fat and repeat the yo-yo weight thing again. With Atkins, I won't. Strange, but true.

[iwillbethin]

Keeps me from cheating...hmmm....That i have come this far. Why would i wanna blow it for a measly 2 seconds or 5 seconds of chocolate or whatever!

[not2late]

I hate the Induction Phase because it is very strict. Granted I did stay on Induction for 4 months partially because I have a lot of weight to lose and partially because I wanted the weight off as quickly as possible, but after I moved onto OWL with its food variety, I never looked back.

It was a relief for me to know that I could eat extra carbs and different kinds of carby foods, like fruit, without stressing out how it would affect my weight loss. It's been great that I don't have to worry that there won't be any Induction-legal food I can eat at dinner parties, picnics, restaurants. I don't find myself nearly as worried as I was during Induction.

That's my motivation for not falling off the wagon: I hate Induction and I never want to find myself back there because I chose to go on a food binge and ate things I shouldn't.

[rybread]

I also haven't cheated since I started. Why? Two reasons.

[a] I was fat and miserable long enough, thank you. There's nothing - no food in the world - that could make me go back there again.

[b] I don't want to be sick. I know eating those foods will throw me into carb ****. I'm pre-diabetic, so there's the blood sugar aspect, but then there's also just knowing that I'll be in gastrointestinal distress for a couple of days, and that was something I was incredibly happy to finally leave behind when I started this WOE. Again - there's nothing out there that could make me want to go back to that again.

Of course, the other things are the health benefits, etc, but the immediate thoughts are those.

[cruiser gal]

What keeps me from cheating are alot of things:
1. I feel good about the way I look now!

2. I love receiving compliments from people!

3. I am healthier now than I have been in over 20 years!

4. I love the clothes I am now able to buy and wear!

5. I can do things I have never been able to do before, like jogging!

6. I can easily go on a scale now without cringing!

The list goes on and on, but the most important thing is that I think now before I put anything into my mouth, cause its just NOT WORTH the cheat, to make me fat again! Why would I want to jeopardize that with a second of gratification while eating a chocolate bar? I keep remembering how hard I have been trying for the last 7 months, and then I no longer feel that I have to cheat!!!

[theredhead]

It boils down to a form of fear for me. I've never fallen off the wagon or intentionally cheated because I'm so afraid it would be the end of me. I love Atkins and intend to eat this way for the rest of my life. I don't want to sabatage that. It would never be worth it!

[lbiessen]

I can't say I know. Sometimes I'm motivated to keep this a way of life, sometimes stress gets me and I just go out and eat pizza. The first year, I never cheated once, the closer I got to my goal, I would cheat alittle (like add alittle rice) to my plate on Sunday's, then that was the end of the cheat. The last year since I was at my goal, I'm sad to say, I do good for a while then I cheat for several days - putting on 2-5 pounds then I get back inline. I know this isn't good for me or my body, but its a weak point I haven't learn how to handle yet. I cook for 4-8 people (depending on how many of the kids come come for dinner) so its hard. If you have rice and corn cooked and your having a weak moment, its hard to turn down. Most the time I can do ok, but HELP I'm weak. I do notice when I cheat, I feel bad physically for a couple of days, this does motivate me to get back on track.

[Elsie150]

I'm with Laurie on this one. FEAR! Fear of losing control if I do cheat. Fear of never being able to gain control back. Fear of not succeeding at this. Fear of being fat forever if I don't succeed. Just plain old fear.

I know that if I do not get this right and fail that I will give up and become really depressed. I don't want to be fat anymore. I am 41 years old...it is time to stop playing games with my body and get healthy..no more yo-yo dieting. This is my chance to do it and do it right...for me, for my family I can't mess it up!!

[floydgirl]

The first thing I do is keep a picture of myself at 220 lbs. posted right on my fridge. Anytime I open that fridge door up, I see my old self. I don't want to go back there.

Find out what triggers you to cheat, then plan ahead. An example -- for me, there are certain times of the day that I just want to eat, even if I'm not hungry. When I come home from work, I am starving, and dinner isn't ready yet, I want to do some mindless munching. I find that if I have something to eat at work shortly before I leave for the day, I am much less likely to search for food when I get home. Another time is when I'm sitting in front of the TV, I always want to eat. So, I don't watch TV, I go for a walk instead and then go right to bed.

Journaling is a great way to find what your triggers are. I highly recommend it.