I had already mentioned in a previous post that I planned on cheating whenever there was pizza available. Well, last night I didn't eat my chicken breast and snow peas and ate three huge, salty pieces of meat lovers pizza instead.

Instead of savoring every bite, I could only think that this didn't taste as good as I remembered. And now I'm off plan. So I realize now that I don't need "cheat" foods yet.

Maybe on down the line when I've been on this diet longer I will feel like something off plan. But I think I'll be sticking OP for a while now.

Lesson learned. On to a new day.

Glad you learned a lesson. Don't be too hard on yourself just get right back on the wagon. I have cheated a couple times and I agree, the food doesn't taste as good as I remembered it did. Then I think, this is how I got fat in the first place and it really doesn't taste as good!

I'm glad you realized that and got right back on the wagon! Isn't it strange how those foods that we just LOVED taste different now that our systems have all the 'bad' stuff out of them?

I think because the plan is strict that any normal person is going to cheat a little at some point...the key is to get back on plan and keep chugging along. Good job little eddie for getting back on plan!

This plan has truely made me realize that I eat for all of the wrong reasons. Now that my meals aren't near as "exciting" I am not near as hungry as I was before. I am starting to realize that those hunger pains were more cravings than anything else. This journey is more of a mental thing than anything else.

I completely agree about this plan being a mental thing. The MRC people have gotten inside my head (sounds like a bad horror flick). But I really feel like I'm changing my whole attitude and way of thinking. I realize now that I was really polluting my body with sodium, preservatives, and saturated fat. No wonder I couldn't lose weight before, all I was consuming were processed foods and chemicals that my body can't metabolize properly. I realize that the foods I shouldn't eat are rare treats-not daily fare.

I have noticed that I don't really crave things, but if it's around I might indulge out of boredom or because "a little is ok" or whatever sort of justification I can come up with. After a few of these "treats" I have found the same to be true, it just wasn't that good... If I am craving sweets I drink one of the sweeter HNS and that helps a lot. I have not had that many off prog things, but I am not loosing as fast as I would like. I am dreading a plateau in my future and hope I have the strength to get through it.
Good luck all!

Soooo true! I was at a friend's bday party on Saturday night and ended up having a piece of Pizza Hut thin and crispy supreme...my all time favorite. Ya know, it was good, but it was greasy and my stomach hurt afterwards....and I knew that I had gone off plan and was disappointed in myself, which was far worse than walking away from the pizza would have been. That's how we learn though and seeing the consequences, etc...well, it helps us make better choices next time.

I've noticed too that it now seems that when I go to the grocery store, I shop the perimeter of the store instead of going up and down all the aisles, LOL.

Lori

I think it's really interesting how some things I used to love just aren't that good to me anymore. There have been two or three times since I've started MRC that I've eaten something that I used to think was sooo good and suddenly it wasn't. So weird. Definitely makes me think differently about cheating.

That;s a great lesson to learn!!

good for you! I know that feeling, when you realize that some of the foods you couldn't live without aren't as amazing as you once thought. On the plus side, you also find that foods you once thought as bland or gross begin to taste wonderful (I would have never eaten a gardenburger and liked it before- now I can't get enough)!

I feel the same way about cucumbers!!!

Wow... sounds like I am not alone here... we went to Fla Saturday to see family, had a little get together. Food was definitely not on plan and didn't want to offend my very elderly and physically challenged grandparents who had spent many hours if not days preparing lunch by not eating their food so I just did my best. OK, so the sweet potato casserole, probably could hve left off but it is a true fave - only had 1 "tablespoon" size spoonful. Everything else was on-plan, avoided the bread etc. And then... dessert rolled out and it was a blueberry cobbler with icecream, Lord knows this is a favorite. Well, I fell for it and cheated, like really really cheated for the 1st time on this plan. I haven't had sugar in 3 mo and I ate every bite of my serving. It was good, really good and I had no shame while eating it but again, not necessarily worth it in hindsight. Now it's going to take 3 days to get back into fat burning mode. To top it off, on the way home I figured I had already "messed up the day", I know, we're not supposed to think like that but for some reason I had decided I wasn't done yet so I had a biscuit at dinner (yes the whole thing) and a pack of reeses peanut butter cups as well. Ugghhhh... that made me feel bad "mentally" afterwards, realizing I did this. I started Sunday fresh, ate totally on plan, Today as well. I am still struggling with sugar cravings today, it's going to take a few days to get that out of my system I guess. Anyways, I pray I did not do too much damage. I didn't lose anything last week and hope this week goes better. Take care everyone!

i had one day where i said screw it and ended up eating chicken marsala at a little italian place. i still had my salad with the olive oil and vinegar and when i ate the bread out of the bread bowl i pulled the buttery top off and just ate the fluffy part. that cost me about a week so i'm hoping i didn't just do a repeat this weekend. i was just so damn hungry! i ate my whole salad and since there was no fruit i did the same thing with the roll again only they had hot olive oil with garlic and pepper in it so i dipped a couple bites in that.. mmmmmmm i figured olive oil and seasonings are on plan right? lol.. i can justify ANYTHING. but after i ate EVERY BITE of the salad i was STILL hungry and my BF's mother had ordered veggie pizza.. they hand toss the crust *my fave* and it's not greasy at all so i had one HUGE piece and just ate the cheese and olives and other veggies off the top. i left most of the crust *except the fluffy part at the back* and all in all don't think it was really THAT off plan but i felt guilty about the exquisite bread. we'll see tmw if it fubar'd me or not. *sigh*

i was losing very slowly up until a few weeks ago when i started having a weekly cheat. something simple like ONE mini reese cup or ONE Hershey kiss out of the candy bowl at work. i also have had a cup of coffee on occasion with splenda and coffeemate.. now there's like NOTHING in the powdered coffeemate if you read the label so i don't see what's so damn bad about it but whatever. since i started doing that i've made 3 or 4 lbs a week but i've also been on the plan for quite some time and might have just been mildly platueing and just came off it hard and fast. i also quite measuring everything and if i'm still hungry feeling i'll eat more than the portion on veggies. if i feel like i need something to munch before bed, i'll eat veggies. i'm not into starvation and torture for vanity. that's another reason i'm quitting at the end of this 17 weeks *next month* regardless where i am because i'm healthier than i was and i've reached the end of my willpower or i wldn't be cheating the way i have been. i'll do it for a couple months a year off the paperwork when i'm done and take a few years to get where i want or if i find myself creeping up i can jump back on for a month or two every year as my own form of maintenance. *shrug* i applaud ANYONE who's been on this plan more than a few months and stuck to it for the most part because it's FREAKING HARD and i cld stand to lose another 50 from where i am right now and i'm not going to even attempt it! i should get another 10 or 15 before i'm done with this round but i won't ever do it for this long of time ever again.

Connie,

I can completely relate! My 17 wks end on June 8th and I have been going back and forth if I should continue another 10 to 17 weeks to get to goal...I did purchase the full package to maintenance, if I purchase more weeks now I truly won't be very successful as I have a week long trip to Chicago starting June 13 and will be leaving for the summer to go oversees for 6 weeks - where I definitely will have challenges staying on plan. So I just thought I will take it easy over the summer and keep on plan with selected cheats and begin MRC in August.. I am just so afraid the weight will start to creep even though I am running three days a week!