Had taco salad (with no chips), but had cake and ice cream, it was soooo good. :-)

I know I will pay for it maybe not tomorrow but sometime this week, I'm sure to gain.

Please tell me it's gonna be ok :-)

You'll be fine! Enjoy your splurge, and get back OP tomorrow. Life goes on, and there's no reason you can't have a treat once in a while - better to enjoy it than feel guilty.

This is a serious suggestion: don't use words like "yumtastic" and "naughty" to describe going off plan. It makes going off plan sound like an 8 year old breaking the rules, getting a thrill from the forbidden and then a crash of guilt in the aftermath. There is a problem with that: when an 8 year old breaks the rules, everything becomes "all better" and it magically goes away when mom forgives them--which is exactly what you are asking us to do.

I am having trouble articulating exactly what I mean here, but basically I think it suggests an unhealthy relationship with food. You aren't looking for confirmation this won't make you gain weight--how could we know that?--but whether or not this makes you a bad person. You want everyone to say "no, you're still a good person". Let me tell you something: even if you ate 6000 calories a day and weighed 500 pounds, you'd still be a good person. What you eat doesn't determine your worth. It's just food.

In my opinion and in my experience, a little cake and ice cream every once in a while does a body good. As long as you enjoy it and move on to make right choices, it's okay!

I had an off plan day yesterday as well! And, I'm OK with it!

I went to the gym first, worked out (even though I usually take Sat as a rest day) Made sure to eat a big salad before our "girls night of ice cream and cookies"

My boys were all gone, it was just me and my daughter, so she wanted ice cream. I bought her regular ice cream, me those yummy skinny cow ice cream sammies. I did have a few cookies, and maybe a Reeses, but it was worth it.

One day is not going to derail me, or pack the 60 pounds back on me.

Well of course it's going to be okay, although I'm not actually sure what you mean by okay. You very well may see a gain or a stall in your weight loss, but you knew that full well when you made the decision to eat ice cream and cake.

You haven't blown anything, if that's what you mean. It was just a slight side step. But you do have to keep these episodes to a minimum if you want to see steady results. For me the key to consistently staying on plan, is planning. I may not be eating ice cream and cake that often, but I eat other great foods, foods that taste phenomenal and are phenomenal for me. I get the pleasure - without the guilt. A win/win situation.

You're going to be okay! I think giving in every now and then is much better than letting it all build up, because that's what can set you off the rails permanently.

After 5 months of being absolutely, rigidly, completely on plan (with the exception of 2 bites of a crepe on my BIRTHDAY), I went off the rails 2 weeks ago and ate everything in sight while I was on a cruise for a week. I came back 8 lbs bloated. Don't be me!!

p.s. We're both shorties! Yay!

Oh goody. I was looking for a post just like this. You see I was looking for an excuse to go eat a Blizzard at Dairy Queen...only 920 calories for a Medium of my favorite...(YIKES) I was really wanting to stay on plan, but now that I see so many telling you it's okay to splurge whenever you want, and not to feel giulty, and that we are just, (overweight) humans...I'm going for it. Thanks for the great advice. I knew I could count on some good old eating support!

I agree with Shmead that you might want to take this opportunity to think about your attitude towards meals that you consider off-plan. Maybe you should incorporate occasional special meals into your plan. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a plan that allows these meals on a limited basis. To incorporate meals like these into your plan you want to have some idea ahead of time as to how often you can manage it and the bounds without stalling your weight loss. That comes with experience.

It's probably best to avoid dwelling on them in either a positive (yumtastic) or negative (naughty) manner. They are just a part of the plan (assuming you can work treat meals into your plan).

You can only decide if you are going to be "ok" or not. So I will ask you, will you be ok? If yes, then you certainly will be!

I agree with Shmead & YoyoMa. Glorifying food, to me, is a bit "ew." I'm seriously not into romanticizing something that I've worked so hard to wean myself from. But that's just me and what keeps me on track. Not right or wrong, I just know my own weaknesses and strengths right now. In fact, I actually have some deep seeded resents toward what my addictions, vices and comfort foods were. I know that I have developed a problem with "just one," or a "little bit," so if I have even a simple tiny taste of my poisons' where I am at right now in my loss, you all might not see me for a few weeks or months. I cannot flirt with disaster at this point. The glue that holds me together is still drying.

Get back on plan (if that was off plan and not part of a scheduled treat) and keep on keeping on.

But do think about what Schmead and others have said. Considering yourself "good" or "bad" based on what you eat moves it into the moral realm. IMHO it doesn't really belong there and can set you up for some disordered thinking.

My situation is different because I have binge eating disorder, but I'm putting it out there for perspective. I don't grasp the concept of enjoying a slender slice of pie with the tiniest dollop of whipped cream. I want the whole pie, the tub of ice cream, and much, much more. Therefore, I abstain from foods that are processed and sugary, my "trigger foods."

I sometimes think I miss certain foods, but I remind myself of the misery of eating an entire box of donuts with a pizza chaser on a Friday nights.

The only splurges I allow myself are trips to the grocery store for expensive produce. Or to the department store to buy a new top.

Great summation of how I feel. You nailed it.

Well... you need to decide if you really WANT to be told that going off plan is okay and that you'll be fine. Because the reality is that the more you go OFF plan the LESS okay it really will be and before you know it there is NO plan and you are back to square one.

so... I'm not going to tell you it's okay. Because I wouldn't want someone to tell ME that it's okay. Being told it's okay got me to almost 400 pounds.

Put the cake down. Step away from the ice cream. Move forward with your brand new wonderful slim and healthful to be self. You'll never regret it.