Anyone cheat and make IP their own?

  • I saw the thread about never cheating and being 100% compliant. I feel kind of guilty but I have been cheating and I have been losing. I show a trace of ketosis, feel great, and my tweaks seem to be working.

    I have been having my body fat measured. At my last weigh in I lost body fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle. I was afraid of losing muscle (and hair).

    It started because I wasn't able to make connections with my coach for the last 2 weeks (disappointing!). I have been forced to rely on alternatives and have found some really good ones. Anyway, I was scheduled to see my coach before vacation. She was going to give me an action plan. That didn't happen. So, I got EAS shakes and detour bars and went kinda Atkin's like. Now I am back home and I still am not 100% IP but I am losing. It is working so, I am going to keep doing it my way. I also exercise.

    Anyone else?
  • I am starting on Monday using strictly alternative products. I also work out 5+ days a week currently and cannot commit to zero exercise... I will decrease it to 3 days a week and lower my intensity though.

    I hope I see the awesome results like you are having... way to go!
  • But what do you mean by "cheat". The things you listed are alternative products, not a cheat. Did you have other things too?
  • A couple of other things Patns. I wasn't sure about mentioning them.
    1. I exercise
    2. Eat a few nuts with sea salt
    3. Eat a few olives
    4. Sometimes I don't get all of the vegetables
    5. I use 4 packets (because of exercise)
    6. Some days I don't have any restricted and other days I have two
    7. I allow myself one diet soda a day

    Thank you Mom3bugs. I need to change my ticker. I have lost a bit more. You will do great! I think giving our pancreas is the key. As long as I stay in ketosis I think I am giving it a rest. Good luck to you!
  • I use totally alternate products as well. I also:

    1. Eat cooked onions and peppers a few times a week
    2. Exercise 2-4 times a week
    3. Have a hard-boiled egg with my lunch salad sometimes (still on phase 1)
    4. I have two full cups of coffee each morning with sugar-free liquid creamer and splenda

    I've averaged about three pounds a week. Sure, I'd probably lose weight faster if I didn't do these things. But bending the rules a bit helps me stay on track. If I didn't allow these few cheats, I'd probably end up cheating more.
  • Ladyrayado, I agree. There is a part of me that says just do it without cheating so I can speed it up and get to goal. The other part of me says that I am doing pretty darn good. I am not perfect, but I haven't ate with this much control, for this long, ever. My loses are consistent enough for me.

    YOU are doing great! You are almost at your goal weight!
  • It seems like the more someone "Cheats" they find ways to say that maybe IP is better if we tweek it here and there and that cheats aren't so bad... no they are bad, you are not learning from this diet if you have to cheat to do it. It also makes cheating seem okay for the new people and really this is a support group but what are you saying if you don't follow the rules?
    This is all I have to add:

    Hi all, this is a flyer that was givin to me in my start up packet. It has really helped me, and I hope it will help one of you reading it that didn't get it when they started. Amy
    The Real Costs of Cheating on the Idea Protein Program By Tom Ferguson
    I was on the Ideal Program about a year ago. From December 1, 2006 to March 1, 2007 I lost 50+ Lbs. That was pretty amazing, but I could have done better.

    How could I have done better? By not cheating, that's how. Oh, I didn't cheat big, but I still cheated. I didn't think it was a big deal, because I was still eating so much better than I did in the past. But I wasn't 100% compliant with the diet, so I was cheating. The thing is, I was only cheating myself.

    So, is it ok to cheat? That depends. You have to answer that question for yourself. Before you can answer that question, you have to understand the real costs of cheating.

    If you cheat one day on the diet, you might think to yourself, 'I've lost a day on the diet, but that isn't so bad.” Not true. First of all, you lost that day, but you also lost the “momentum” of the progress you made up to that point. If you get back on track immediately, then you will take at least one more day of compliance to get back to where you were before you cheated. It's like climbing a hill on a bicycle. If you stop pedaling for a period of time, you're going to roll backward. You will have lost ground, and it will take an equal period of time, or more, to gain back the ground you lost. So, one day of cheating, will cost you at least two days. In that week, instead of 7 days of progress, you will have only 5. Think about it.

    Next, if you cheat a little on the Ideal Program you will still lose weight. That's a good thing, right? Well, yes and no. Yes because your objective is to lose weight, and that's good. But when you cheat, your pancreas has to work overtime again. Remember, weight loss is one of our goals, but equally important is to get our bodies functioning in a healthy state, and a healthy pancreas is essential to that.

    From a psychological viewpoint, if you cheat and still make progress, you may think it is ok to cheat since there were no consequences. Next time it will be easier to cheat again, and perhaps you will cheat for two days instead of one. But there are consequences. You didn't make as much progress as you could have.

    On the other side of the argument, if you absolutely have to have that one day of cheating as a “reward” or you can't stay on the Ideal Program, well the obvious choice is to cheat.

    So, is it ok to cheat? You'll have to make the decision for yourself. Think about it and weigh the consequences. Just remember: when you cheat, you're not cheating anyone but yourself.
  • Quote: Ladyrayado, I agree. There is a part of me that says just do it without cheating so I can speed it up and get to goal. The other part of me says that I am doing pretty darn good. I am not perfect, but I haven't ate with this much control, for this long, ever. My loses are consistent enough for me.

    YOU are doing great! You are almost at your goal weight!
    Thanks so much, Gina! I agree, I am not at all perfect. I know myself and I know my history with dieting. If I stick 100% to a program, by the 3rd week I'm taking extra bites, little cheats and nibbles here and there. It goes straight downhill from there and before I know it, I'm back at the beginning, or even heavier than I started. Like all diets, you have to make it work for you. I don't cheat with anything major - its not like I'm having pasta or mashed potatoes twice a week. I've struck a balance with those few little things that make dieting easier, and thus easier to follow, for me. And its working.

    And, 2RIDEROLLERCOAST I'm not advocating cheating at all. Everyone has to make that decision on their own. I'm just saying I'm ok with ME doing it, its the decision I've made and I can live with.

    Gina, you are so close to your goal! Keep it up!