Morning chickies!
I have a confession to make, I cheated last night This week has been HORRIBLE for me, huge fight in my family back home (which no one told me about until my brother got kicked out of the house), Huge paper that was stressing me out, TOM, My best friend is getting sent to Iraq, I will not be able to afford to fly to see her before she leaves, and the fact I am officially broke because I have to pay my tuition and rent and the place I worked at closed. So my roommate, her marine boyfriend and his 2 marine friends took me to Cold Stone Creamery (best ice cream ever). I will admit, it felt REAL good to cheat after the week I have been having. Woke up this morning and weighed myself...still managed to lose 1.5 lbs. Now i hadn't weighed myself in like 2 days, but still...How could I eat something SO FULL of sugar (trust me, it had strawberry ice cream, strawberry's, graham cracker crust and caramel) and still lose weight?
It felt good last night to cheat, but now I feel like a pregnant cow. Any other stress relievers I can do instead of turning to ice cream? The gym USUALLY works to relieve stress, especially kickboxing, but it was an especially hard week, and I don't want to turn to ice cream everytime.
HELP ME!

Don't be too hard on yourself, you are having a stressful time right know. You could have had a whole tub of ice cream or worse. Just pick up from the ice cream and keep
up the good work you have had a great lose so far. I am sending you a big hug hope that helps.

I've seen the same thing where I lose weight the morning after a big cheat but it seems to catch up a day or two later. It does sound like you are having a very stressful situation right now but it would be best if you found another way to deal with it. Or next time, get some sugar free ice cream with lots of strawberries. I try to keep a good selection of fruit at home and often have it with SF pudding when I want something sweet. I'm assuming you are in phase 2 so the fruit is okay.

Exercise really is what helps me the most when I am stressed but I wonder if you really were craving a group get together.

Stardust, sorry for the hard week. Just use this time and help it to help you keep from cheating in the future. Though the ice cream may have tasted good and the ability to just eat without thinking might have felt good for the moment, feeling like a "pregnant cow" (which you are NOT) isn't worth it. Remember that next time so you're not tempted. How about going out and playing some video games to release the stress? What about challenging your roommate (or her BF!) to one of those dance competition games? Go for a walk, a hike, a bike ride. Going to the gym helps. Journaling is great...and if you journal on 3FC, others can read and respond to what you write, which is really encouraging, IMHO. : Vent to a friend, post and vent here! Take a bubblebath, start a craft project, immerse yourself in a good book. There are tons of things you can do...go swing on a swing, fly a kite, color in a coloring book, offer to babysit a friend's kids, run barefoot through the grass, do a crossword puzzle, pray, meditate, scream at the sky. You can get through this without an unhealthy reliance on food. I think, for most of us, that's the biggest battle, and the most important one. Food has never actually helped us...if we really think about it. Have you ever read a SARK book? They are FABULOUS...great thing to read and get your inner strength bolstered.

Regarding the loss in spite of a cheat...there are tons of reasons. Truthfully, what you think you'd like to hear is that a cheat every once in a while won't spoil your weight loss. It might not. But for most of us, the reason we have to lose weight in the first place is that we don't manage small indiscretions well. They become big ones, quickly. It's better to focus on other things you can do and leave those cheats behind. Many of us have thought, "Oh, if I lost weight after eating ____, then I can probably get away with eating _______ today..." and found that it didn't work at all! Don't fall into that trap. Pick up and move on and find some healthy ways to deal with this. You can do it!

So sorry to hear about all that's going on. You'll be in my prayers, stardust!

It takes 2-3 days, and sometimes up to a week for the weight to show up on your scale, I don't know why.. infact it makes no sense to me. But I have heard that from an old Weight Watchers leader, and then again elsewhere. I'd say take the weight loss and keep on going.. as Laurie said, one cheat can lead to something else.. which takes you completely off plan. I can definitely vouch for that!

-Aimee

Sorry you're having a rough time right now.

You know what works for me every time: the peanut butter cup. It's a partially nuked sugar free fudgsicle, 1tbsp peanut butter, 1tbsp fat free cool whip, all mixed up. YUM! Try it. Good luck and just remember that yukky feeling after cheating when you're tempted next time! That works for me too!

Thank you ladies. I knew I could count on you guys. It caught up with me, I gained 2 lbs yesterday.
Also, another stressful situation happened. My car died on the way home from the gym (at 7:30 at night)...I waited for a tow-truck for 3 and a half hours in the GHETTO at night. It was NOT the most pleasant experience. They don't know whats wrong with my car, but they suspect it would just be cheaper to get a new car. How wonderful right? I know God never gives us more than we can handle, but hes pushing my limits right now.
But thank you ladies again for the encouragement and HONESTY. You are such wonderful motivation!

So sorry about all that is going on in your life right now. Sending some your way. Also don't forget the are watching over you. I think sometimes that God lets us get to the limit because we start feeling a little independent at times.