anyone ever screw up and it helped?

[CoachW44]

So I started Atkins 1/15/7 and with the exception of a few beers I have not cheeted. Friday I I had made my Lissy's easter basket up and was fine... but then a Cadburry egg and 4 giant handfulls of Dark Chocolate M&M's (like a fat guy eating popcorn) went right down the hatch, I drank 20 oz of water and guild and expected a large weight gain the next morning. I ended up losing 1.6 lbs... I figured it was just delayed... nope, I lost another half pound last night. I have now officially lost exactly 40 lbs.

any explanation for my Diet Chocolate? I'm certainly not going to try it again, but I wondered if anyone else has had that happen?

40 lbs since 1/15, not bad for 10 weeks!

[Sheepie]

I'm not that lucky, but it seems like everytime my dh cheats, he loses more weight. He thinks an occasional cheat is actually helpful and for him it seems to be. I have no explanation for it!

[julirama723]

It's not the CHEATING that helps. That hurts progress, because *usually* one bite leads to an all-out binge, or a slide down the slippery slope into carbdom.

Adding extra carbs will sometimes jumpstart weightloss. That's why the pros are always telling people to move to OWL, get it? Extra carbs mean less fat to burn--if your weightloss has been stalled, sometimes it's because you're consuming just a bit too much fat. The fat you're consuming is burned off, but not the fat on your body. Adding a few more carbs (like 5g of veggies, or moving up a rung, something healthy) shifts that balance, and your body can burn more of it's own fat, rather than consumed fat.

Cheats are not helpful. Cheats don't do anything but start bad habits and put a person into dangerous territory. The best thing to do is add 5g more of LEGAL foods or move up a rung.

[Sheepie]

I'm glad to know that there's a reasonable explanation for it. It's pretty annoying!

[Scooterjam]

Coach,

Here is the only explanation and advice I can offer. Julie is 100% dead on target. I made it through Thanksgiving without incident. I'm a baker, I baked 20 diffent kinds of cookies at around Christmas. No cheating. I made a huge Gingerbread House in a competition. No cheating. I was in no way going to lose site of my goal!! I'd worked way to hard. Heck I was all over my wife because she bought me salad mix with carrots in it. All that sugar, are you kidding me!!! Not in my mouth!!!

I did all that. And Christmas came. I decided, that as a 'reward' (we'll call it reward, it was more like 'punishment') I thought, I'll have 1 gingerbread cookie, heck, I'll even eat it without the icing. Granted, I'd done well, I'd lost almost 65 pounds living this way. 1 cookie wasn't gonna kill me.

I ate that. Then decided, okay, wow, I lost a pound Christmas day. Here's your new reward Scooter, from Christmas until New Years Day, you can have what you want. No worries, I'll just restart induction, no problem. What's a pound or 2. Chex Mix, Cookies, Fudge, Candy, Bread, Bread. I got on the scales around January 4th or 5th....(mind you I said the 1st), wow, I only gained about 4 pounds. Sweet.

Next came Cinnabon's (I made them homemade for the family) Made some Muffins, Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Chip, Pudding Centers, and oh yes, I had to try at least 1 of each. I can handle this. No problem. Then I one night I was starving for Chocolate, looking in the cabinets, wow, a bag of milk chocolate baking chips, I'll measure out a 1/2 cup. Another 1/2 cup. Next night it was a cup. Then there wasn't much left, hey everybody, lets do ice cream sundays'......hey I thought you said Sundays......what the heck, a banana split won't kill me.....it's my life, okay.

Then I moved onto Ben & Jerry's. Not every night. No that'd be just wrong. (I actually was thinking this way my friend.) Just 2 - 3 times a week.
Fast forward to Valentines Day. I went to the local Kroger (grocery store) wow......Whitman's Sampler.......half off!! 2 Pounder ones...!!!

Valentines day I bought 2 of those. One for my wife, and one for me. I decided this would be may last all out Carb fest. In 2 hours, besides the awesome dinner I made, I don't even remember what was, I had stopped at McDonalds for a last Fry or two, oh yeah and an apple pie. They were only a $1.00. I think I had 3 of those throughout the day. I finished the 2 pounds of chocolate (I believe the carb count was in the 1,000's), that night I spent most of time on or around the toilet barfing my guts up.....non-stop.

That monday I got on the scale. (Granted this is after being so sick all night). 14 pounds. 14 pounds. 14 pounds. 14 pounds, how the **** did that happen!!

I came back here to the board, made a post 'Guess who's back - Scooter'.

I was welcomed like the prodigal son returning. These people here are the absolute best.

Now after reading this, I hope it will help you understand where the 'just one bite - obviously handfuls of m&m being crammed into your mouth don't even sound like just one bite' can show you where you could end up.

Don't make the same mistake I made. I've lost the 14 pounds plus 6 since I came back in February. I post as much as I can, I welcome the new folks, I start a roll call every morning in the Second Time Around Club, everybody sings me praises ofhow good I am, you know what, if it wasn't for other members here who truly (and I mean 'truly') care......I wouldn't be where I am right now.

So please take it to the heart Coach. Yes, 1 bite can end up in disaster.

Okay. I'll step down from the soapbox. I just thought I should share that with you!

Take care, and remember Life is Good!

[WarOnTypeII]

All I know from reading years and years of fitness and diet and nutrition stuff, the body adapts.

This adaptive nature of the body is what causes stalls in many things. Strength training, muscle training, etc.. etc..

The answer to these stalls ... 'mix things up'.

Variety.

My story echoes the story of Scooter. Time and time again I'd do well on an Atkins plan or low carb plan variation and then reward myself with a big shock ..... albeit months later .... when my pants don't fit anymore and I need to dig out the "fat guy" pants or go buy some more.


God how I hate doing that.


Anyway, I'm not surprised that a little "cheat" knocked your system for a loop a bit and shook things up a bit. I think and trust Julierama is spot on with her assessment.

If I remember correctly Dr. Atkins mentions addiction to refined carbs and sugars and much of OWL is to find out what other things we might have an addiction to.

I know I'm addicted to sugar and it's been my experience that addiction is a cunning foe. It not only hits the body and physiological system but also the mind.

I look at it like a con artist. Luring you in, solely with your own desires and wants and before you know it .... voila you're caught in a web of your own lies and deceit. Lying and deceiving yourself. That's what happened to me. "Oh one weekend won't hurt". Then "Hey I'm doing okay, I don't need Atkins or anything I'll just .... " And the cycle of cravings and mind (expletives) starts and feeds on itself. Then those 42's start getting tight and you're like Scoot said .... "How in the (bleep)".

A planned excursion back into the bad stuff, like two days a month, might be beneficial and it might not be beneficial. I don't know. What I do know is that for the time being I'm in no condition to plan one be it good or bad for me. Mostly
because I'm nowhere near close to even a mini-goal.

In the end, William said it best "To thine own self be true". If you can moderate and indulge in some sweets or refined carbs for a period and then get back on track, more power to you. As for me, it's turning out that the answer to the "how in the bleep" question is .....

A planned excursion for a day or two that lasts several months or maybe even longer.


Good luck and congrats on being honest with yourself and the board. Maybe with the board I can accomplish a cycle off of Atkins once I hit goal, I don't know. But I know left to my own devices and without the material here all I hear is .....

"Ahh one more won't hurt".

[ValidRouge]

Speaking of being lured in....

This cycle happens to me with coffee. Coffee is my arch nemesis. It is the ADDICTION I traded for my nicotine addiction in July. I NEVER drank coffee until I quit smoking and traded one addiction for another.

Anyway, I *KNOW* coffee causes me issues. But my mind will start to lure me. I'll cave and drink a cup and get a reward the next day on the scale (remember, coffee is a diuretic). So, then I drink another, get another whoosh on the scale (at this point I'm dehydrated--that's why I'm seeing results on the scale). Then another and another, by this time I'm getting the munchies from the caffeine (remember, even decafe has some caffeine...and in large quantities we are getting quite a jolt) and consuming LOTS of calories. Also because of the caffeine, now I'm having low blood sugar responses and the cravings for SWEET start. The scale starts to go up, FAST. It's a scary cycle...and it shows me just how precarious my new found thinness is.

Someone wrote in another post here about what is concerning is how this stuff gets us to DISHONOR our OWN wishes/intentions/goals.

I mean, how pathetic am I that COFFEE of all things can cause me to dishonor all the promises I made to myself that day????

[misplaced southerner]

MEN!!! only men can eat chocolate and STILL LOSE! i would have been up 10 pounds!!!! ok, just kidding but ain't that the truth? i feel sorry for all my gal pals who have a significant other doing this WITH them...we are running 10 steps behind the fellas!

and scooter...i just love ya.....you are kinda like the dr. phil of atkins....(well julie you did great too!) gotta tell it like it is.

oh my.....just curious if the police are still lurking! (JUST KIDDING!)
no more chocolate....sugar is poison you know!

[AllieCat0817]

Originally Posted by Scooterjam

Coach,

Here is the only explanation and advice I can offer. Julie is 100% dead on target. I made it through Thanksgiving without incident. I'm a baker, I baked 20 diffent kinds of cookies at around Christmas. No cheating. I made a huge Gingerbread House in a competition. No cheating. I was in no way going to lose site of my goal!! I'd worked way to hard. Heck I was all over my wife because she bought me salad mix with carrots in it. All that sugar, are you kidding me!!! Not in my mouth!!!

I did all that. And Christmas came. I decided, that as a 'reward' (we'll call it reward, it was more like 'punishment') I thought, I'll have 1 gingerbread cookie, heck, I'll even eat it without the icing. Granted, I'd done well, I'd lost almost 65 pounds living this way. 1 cookie wasn't gonna kill me.

I ate that. Then decided, okay, wow, I lost a pound Christmas day. Here's your new reward Scooter, from Christmas until New Years Day, you can have what you want. No worries, I'll just restart induction, no problem. What's a pound or 2. Chex Mix, Cookies, Fudge, Candy, Bread, Bread. I got on the scales around January 4th or 5th....(mind you I said the 1st), wow, I only gained about 4 pounds. Sweet.

Next came Cinnabon's (I made them homemade for the family) Made some Muffins, Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Chip, Pudding Centers, and oh yes, I had to try at least 1 of each. I can handle this. No problem. Then I one night I was starving for Chocolate, looking in the cabinets, wow, a bag of milk chocolate baking chips, I'll measure out a 1/2 cup. Another 1/2 cup. Next night it was a cup. Then there wasn't much left, hey everybody, lets do ice cream sundays'......hey I thought you said Sundays......what the heck, a banana split won't kill me.....it's my life, okay.

Then I moved onto Ben & Jerry's. Not every night. No that'd be just wrong. (I actually was thinking this way my friend.) Just 2 - 3 times a week.
Fast forward to Valentines Day. I went to the local Kroger (grocery store) wow......Whitman's Sampler.......half off!! 2 Pounder ones...!!!

Valentines day I bought 2 of those. One for my wife, and one for me. I decided this would be may last all out Carb fest. In 2 hours, besides the awesome dinner I made, I don't even remember what was, I had stopped at McDonalds for a last Fry or two, oh yeah and an apple pie. They were only a $1.00. I think I had 3 of those throughout the day. I finished the 2 pounds of chocolate (I believe the carb count was in the 1,000's), that night I spent most of time on or around the toilet barfing my guts up.....non-stop.

That monday I got on the scale. (Granted this is after being so sick all night). 14 pounds. 14 pounds. 14 pounds. 14 pounds, how the **** did that happen!!

I came back here to the board, made a post 'Guess who's back - Scooter'.

I was welcomed like the prodigal son returning. These people here are the absolute best.

Now after reading this, I hope it will help you understand where the 'just one bite - obviously handfuls of m&m being crammed into your mouth don't even sound like just one bite' can show you where you could end up.

Don't make the same mistake I made. I've lost the 14 pounds plus 6 since I came back in February. I post as much as I can, I welcome the new folks, I start a roll call every morning in the Second Time Around Club, everybody sings me praises ofhow good I am, you know what, if it wasn't for other members here who truly (and I mean 'truly') care......I wouldn't be where I am right now.

So please take it to the heart Coach. Yes, 1 bite can end up in disaster.

Okay. I'll step down from the soapbox. I just thought I should share that with you!

Take care, and remember Life is Good!

Beautifully written!

[turnpup]

Originally Posted by misplaced southerner

MEN!!! only men can eat chocolate and STILL LOSE! i would have been up 10 pounds!!!! ok, just kidding but ain't that the truth? i feel sorry for all my gal pals who have a significant other doing this WITH them...we are running 10 steps behind the fellas!

YES! My husband has lost about 20 pounds to my measly 6 AND HE ISN'T EVEN ON THE DIET!!! He's just vicariously losing because I'm not eating sugar (and therefore not buying cookies, candy, etc.). He's still eating sandwiches, chips and the like, but is losing at a pace I'd kill for. Guess what else? He doesn't exercise AT ALL, and I do. It's not right, I tell you.

Back to topic, I agree with all those who have chimed in about just one cheat leading to many, many more. Same here. I figured when I got pregnant I could stay on the plan for the most part. But I decided to cheat a few times first, just to get through the first trimester. Boy do I regret it! I absolutely cannnot do that, ever again! Now I've got an extra 46 pounds to lose that really needn't have ever come back, pregnancy or not. It's 100% my eating and cheating.