So I'm not sure if this will count as a future cheat or not, but I'm not sure where to post this on the other threads... I don't have my ounce of skim milk with coffee - I have found that I can do without it. What I would like to do is have a single slice of fat-free american cheese in place of this. The difference is the cheese has 20 extra calories and about .4 more carbs (yes point four) Maybe not everyday, unless it doesn't diminish my progress. As of this morning, the beginning of my day 11, I am down 11.5 pounds... Any thoughts?

I say try it. What is usually the impact is the added fat so try to get a low fat or reduced fat cheese. In limited use I don't see it changes anything.

You will be surprised. Your body will probably do well. If you have the carbs, know you will go out of ketosis and need a few days to get back in. The day after your IKEA day, eat a very strict phase 1 with NO restricted or occasional veggies and, given how long you have been on this already, I expect your body can handle the one time break from the plan.

I usually do ok with chinese. If it is a buffet, get the green salad they usually offer, get plenty of veggies and simple NO SAUCED items. Take a protein drink and a bottle of water just in case you can get an unsauced protein on the buffet and then drink it in the car on the way home. Call the buffet ahead of time and ask if they have any steamed veggies or dishes made without sauces. Some of them will. Be careful because many of the buffets us MSG or free glutamate. It will cause you to retain some extra water so, drink extra fluids that afternoon/evening.

AWESOME!! sounds like a great day!

I usually do ok with chinese. If it is a buffet, get the green salad they usually offer, get plenty of veggies and simple NO SAUCED items. Take a protein drink and a bottle of water just in case you can get an unsauced protein on the buffet and then drink it in the car on the way home. Call the buffet ahead of time and ask if they have any steamed veggies or dishes made without sauces. Some of them will. Be careful because many of the buffets us MSG or free glutamate. It will cause you to retain some extra water so, drink extra fluids that afternoon/evening.

Thanks Carla !

I have been there before but it has been quite some time. I checked online and they don't have a menu listed but I did find a phone # so I may try that. I remember that they had crab legs and shrimp. I also remember really liking a lemon pepper chicken. It wasn't really a sauce more of a rub or something but I guess the sauces and stuff will have sugar? I'm going to do the best that I can and be very careful. Even if I 'have to' eat a whole plate of crabs legs with no sauce Thanks for your suggestions - will do ! Cheers

Argggg. Went completly crazy last sunday, doing bootcamp since and still not in ketosis! THIS IS NOT FUNNY ! I swear I'll never cheat again !

I'm not feeling weak or craving something, but ketostix show nothing (i was always bright pink before) and I didn't loose anything since sunday. WI for this week is 0 and I'm not happy

Yeah, but I'm going to try to keep the carbs under control. Meatballs, fish, cheese. And I'm sure I'll get a bunch of carbs. I've warned my coach, and she says be ready to come out of ketosis and then be ready for the transition as I go back on plan and get back into ketosis. I'm sure I'll go through the same cranky 3 days i did the last time. I'm a third of the way to my goal. I don't expect that this will be a major setback. I guess I'll find out how bad it is to cheat, eh?

So I cheated big time, and I'm paying the price. Of course, I'm going to say it was worth it. I think I learned as much by cheating as I've learned from being on the program for a while.

Obviously, when you're on the program for a while you pick up a few things like how good vegetables are on their own, without butter and other fatty sauces to cover their flavor. How to be creative in the kitchen. How to make the most of a limited variety of edible items.

By cheating I discovered some things I'll add to my regular diet when I'm on phase 4. I also learned that really sugary foods aren't that appealing anymore, at least not in quantity. And I relearned that eating too much can hurt.

That said, the bread was fantastic. And the desserts were tasty. And shocking my body made me super tired and incredibly dehydrated. I should be back in ketosis, though. I'll test later when I get home from work and can use my strips. All told, the cheating probably was not worth the hassle of popping out and trying to get back into ketosis. Back on the plan!

So I went away for Father's Day weekend. I have been hungry, weak and grumpy pretty much every day for the last 3 weeks (since I have been on IP) but have never cheated. My coach upped me to 4 packets because of the weakness and that helped some - mostly on days that I am just at my desk. We were camping after 2 really long days of teaching a workshop where I am on stage for 8 hours a day and travelling as well. I got half way through the first day of camping and was so hungry and weak...and then I ate whatever I could get my hands on. I litteraly felt like I was starving. I felt so much better for about an hour. Then I started to feel worse - headache, body aches, my stomach hurt but I ate SERIOUS Carbs. Now I am trying to get back on track and today has been hard. I wish I knew why I was so hungry all the time. I can't even take a walk because I am so tired and weak everyday. I am struggling with spending the rest of the summer like this. Should I go up to 5 packets for a while? What about restricted foods? I seriously feel like I need more calories. I am lightheaded every time I stand up and just generally feel like ick - okay, today is a very icky day, but I just don't feel great most days! I am not worried about the weekend - I am going to have to deal with food the rest of my life and I am sure I will endulge again and will pick myself back up and get right back to losing weight but could use some advice. I wish I had just eated 6 packets a day instead of the other garbage but I didn't have that many with me! This seems to work for everyone else - so I feel ridiculous that it isn't making me feel good.

HELP!

I was so BAD this weekend. Urgh. Back super strict tomorrow morning and no more cheating!

Sorry to hear you are struggling - but I'm just wondering if you are taking in enough water, salt and the potassium, etc? I found once or twice during my first 2 weeks that I would get light headed at times. I would then mix a 1/8th of a tsp of sea salt in a couple of swallows of water and down it. I would feel better almost immediately. Also, the water intake really takes away the hunger if you are drinking the right amount. Also, the salad is unlimited so make sure you take advantage of that. The first while I was going through at least 3 romaine hearts a day....now that I'm on week four that amount is waaaay down. But I was used to eating copious amounts of food before and it took awhile for my stomach/mind to get used to eating less.

Hope this helps you ! Keep trying - you CAN do this !

Thanks Emma Jayne! I am starting a form of bootcamp today. 5 very low carb packets (one every 2.5 hours) and only the lowest carb veggies to see if I can kick myself quickly deep into ketosis. I am going to measure my salt and oil carefully to make sure I am getting the right amounts as well. I always measure water and get LOTS! Usually 12 glasses. I am optomisitic. I saw my doctor last night and she really helped! Perhaps this will really kick start things and I will have a big weight loss week! Fingers crossed!

alright, I had that really crappy slender wine which I couldn't drink so what happend was that after throwing it out I HAD to taste some wine that was yummy so ended up having exactly one oz of red wine. So my cheat = one oz of red wine. I had lots of tomatoes too due to salsa intake but it was very yummy.

I know what you mean and I have been there for the past couple of days. yesterday I was so week in the morning that after going up on flight of stairs I almost fainted, had to call my partner to come and get my coffee mug from me so it wouldn't spill. EVEN HE offered me a mini twix, my blood pressure was soooooo low. I pulled through by laying down for a while, having some sald and kept going but I was in the comfort of my home, let alone camping! You'll be fine, trust me.

just found this thread~i saw the one carla originally made and hadn't been back bc no cheats, but i will visit often just to keep up with everyone.

carla and ellie, now why in the world would you wonder "where erin is" on the cheating thread???

today was day #1 of super restricted boot camp for a week. no high carb packets(including my fav chocolate drink mix), no bars, no chili(aghh!), no pancakes(double aghh!!).

trying to freak my body out again like i did the first couple of weeks. it seems to think i'm starving on my 600 calorie diet these days, hmmm, it amazes me how NOT HUNGRY a human being can be only consuming 600-700 cals a day. ketostix still show trace-have for 2-3 weeks now. i'm feeling super sorry for myself lately and thinking i should just go eat a fried chicken sandwich(not a burger gal) and fries with a gallon of ketchup. maybe then i'll lose :P waaah waaaah waaaah

we asked where you were cause we had missed you

don't feel sorry for yourself, you have done great and gush I really wish I had a copy of every post of yours where you went through this hon. Easier said than done BUT you have been here before, I know you have and it has always ended on a good note. IF 3 pounds is true, why don't you just pretend that you hadn't lost it to begin with. I really don't think its true and I think even if true its just the glycogen reserve building back up and not fat coming back.

thanks ellie i'm a worrier by nature and i'm honestly just getting pissed from not seeing results. i am also a huge cheap *** that hates spending money, especially when i'm paying and not losing like my coach has promised i would. can't blame her though, she's the best boss i've ever had and a great coach-you're right, i'll just act like it was never lost and be excited when i weigh in and lose 5(hopefully!)

ok, my first real cheating. a martini (no vermouth, just gin over ice), 2 mini pretzels (nibbled for absolutely as long as I could stand) and a bite of a friend's risotto.

This may not seem like much to some people, but as someone who grew up Catholic , guilt is our ever present friend!

I am under this HUGE work crisis, so if this pushes me out of ketosis, general chaos will ensue....

doubt it will rocky, i'd kill for a vodka martini right about now-with a HUGE green olive

so tell me, how was the risotto?

i grew up episcopalian, i like to call it "diet catholic"-guilt keeps us on track i like to think