I truly dislike Cheaters!

When (if?) you cheat it is important to go back to phase one to reset your pancreas again rather than jumping to a later phase.

Is that ALL you have to say?... Im sorry you decided to post that. We "cheaters" frankly don't care of your opinion. But thanks for the dislike. Cheers.

Hi Skurzy! Our height and weight loss goals are almost identical! How did the cheat day go? I haven't cheated yet, but would definitely do it for a very special occasion if necessary. Starting in the summer is very difficult, and if having 1 cheat day will help you get through, then I say go for it. But, I would definitely stay OP for a week afterwards. My only concern with a cheat day is that I'll have high cravings for my cheat food and will have a hard time getting back OP. Has it been okay for you getting back on track?

Hi Jenny Lauren!

Im excited that we are pretty much the same. I started on July 3rd, and so far hhave lost 13 lbs, which I dont think is too bad for not working out! I cheated my first time on July 19th and 20th. It was an all out cheat, and that week I gained .2(WI was one day after my cheat), but the following week I was OP and only ate chicken and fish, and I lost 4.4 lbs. So really I dont think my cheat slowed me down that much at all.

BUT for this cheat, it actually turned into a Cheat Weekend. Truthfully, i felt pretty good, almost too good about my weight loss up till that point,and I felt i deserved it, since I was almost at my goal. I figured, I can just work out for the rest of the weight. Well its Tuesday, and was OP for half the day yesterday, then caved in for a Club Sandwich and left over birthday cake.. So ysterday was shot as well. Today ive been OP 100%... and plan to give it another week and give it a hard 9 days OP starting today. So I had a 4 day cheat. I think it's OK (for me... im not encouraging it.. but I dont regret what I did.. just made the choice and accepting it). Maybe I wont loose anything this week, but thats ok, because i ate like a starving piggy. I guess we will see what happens next weigh in. Which will be next week (two weeks after cheat).. as see how bad my cheat really effected me... and then I think ill phase off.. and maybe start back up during the school semester... WHO KNOWS though.. i keep changing my mind everyday.

Anyways, lets keep each other posted on our weight loss journey!.. tell me about your success so far!

The hard part of cheating is stopping it! Once you get out of ketosis then you are hungry again!

I had phased off, but was on vacation the past 2 weeks. After eating everything and anything I am up 5 pounds and feel very bloated!

I am back on phase 1 until those 5 pounds go away and I am back at my goal weight.

I continued my exercise routine the whole time. Although I think exercise is great, I don't think it helps very much with weight loss...

At the end of Aug., my hub and I took our girls for a weekend of shopping- I went off IP for two days and ate what i wanted. Upon returning, I went right back into the phase 1 protocol. I weighed in today and lost 8.8 lbs.-the highest loss to date for me and i have been on IP since june!!

As soon as you cheat once, it just makes it that much easier to do it again, maybe for longer the second time, and then if you "get away" with it on the scale, it makes it even easier, and so on...it's a vicious cycle. And let's face it, there's a reason we're all here doing this program...if we knew everything and had it all figured out, we wouldn't need IP, and in the end, you're only cheating yourself.

Special occasions like weddings or Christmas or vacations...those may warrant cheating, and then getting back on Phase 1 the very next day. But to just plan a cheat, or multiple cheats, you're sabotaging yourself, and for IP to really work the way it's supposed to, you need to do all of the phases in order for the amount of time recommended, so why not just wait until you get to Phase 4/Maintenance when you DO get one "cheat" day a week to eat whatever you want, however much of it you want?

I know it's hard since temptation is everywhere, and I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, just sayin'. Maybe starting an "I feel like I wanna cheat and I need someone to stop me!" thread would work?

I have not had any "planned" cheat days so far, but worth considering...at some point.