I have just ended my 3rd week and am doing great on this plan. Down 20.2 lbs already! I have been 100% OP the whole time and it is definitely paying off. I am thinking that I could maybe treat myself to a piece of pizza at the end of 4 weeks OP. I have been rewarding myself with non-food items but I have been craving pizza for the past 2 weeks and I think if I have a date when I can have a piece it will keep me motivated. What do you all think??

Do you want the honest answer?

Don't do it.

This is a no-cheat diet. Mentally and physically you are going to set yourself back unnecessarily if you allow yourself a cheat. Also, food rewards are just bad news psychologically - especially in the beginning of a diet (and one month is still beginning!!) Food is fuel. Just like gas for your car. Give it more importance than that, and you and the food will be fighting for control of your choices somewhere along the way.

There is also a really good thread (if I find the link I will post it here) called the Real Cost of Cheating that would be worth reading.

Ultimately, you have to weigh the pros and the cons of it and decide for yourself if it's REALLY worth it - but I can tell you that NO food or drink was worth me spending even ONE HOUR longer on this diet than I needed to. I have been through parties, big social events, monthly TOM cravings, the works and never once cheated. I am about to phase off and can honestly say that it was worth staying 100% OP every single day to the end.

Here's that post I mentioned:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...l-protein.html

thanks for your honest opinion. I will definitely check out the article!

NO, No. no! I "treated" myself to a little break in mid- October and here I am, 4 and a half months later trying to regain momentum (and lose the 25 pounds I put on). I was motivated, doing well,and in the zone. One "cheat" is how the "mentality" starts -- and you have to do week one all over again! Not worth it for a piece of pizza

Some people have found low carb pizza kits on line so check the "alternatives" thread if you really need 'za. there has to be a better IP way than Dominoes!

Don't plan to cheat -- plan to succeed! Stick with the "non-food" rewards!

Focus on where you want to be, not what you want right now. Pizza may be good for the five minutes it takes to eat it but youll put yourself through misery to get back on track for the week after your indulgence. Not to meantion one cheat meal usually leads to a cheat day and so on and so forth. Learn to not reward yourself with food, trust me. Youll get to maintenance in no time and will LOVE it! Just stick to it

Someone once told me "you are not a dog, so don't reward yourself with food". I second and third what scorbett and ip34 say. I am on week 3, and strangely I also have been craving pizza, even dreamed of it. But that's where the pizza will stay. In my dreams.

Don't do it. A "food" treat like pizza is just returning to a bad habit. It is not worth it.

That is a new "classic" line- I'm gonna use it! LOL The smiley is me panting at the pizza treat.... but then I just say

Great comments so far.
I just want to add that we are learning how to behave DIFFERENTLY. If I want to keep the weight off, there will be foods and behaviors I will not be returning to. And one of them is "giving in" to cravings. If I cave every time I have a craving, I might as well quit this diet and head back to 260+. I'm learning to respond differently and this will take me into maintenance STRONG.
The cravings will go away when you stop allowing them to resonate in your brain. Find a suitable replacement (portabella with "pizza sauce" & toppings. You can make "pizza" stuffed portabellas. We MUST learn to love different foods.
We must learn to love foods that will love us back, rather than make us miserable. It isn't the first piece of pizza that will hurt, its all the others you'll let in once you let go of the "I'm not cheating" mindset.

As a replacement, you could try making pizza using the cauliflower crust. The recipe is somewhere in the recipe threads but I'm not on my computer right now so it's a little hard for me to search for.

There are ways to get through this without cheating and it is an important part of the journey.

Get the protidiet (or maybe they are protithin) pizzas. small but helps with that urge.

What about making a pizza crust with the crepe mix, WF tomato basil sauce or an olive oil/garlic base with, if you must a tiny bit of cheese, veggies and or protein. Cheese is not allowed but will not take you out of ketosis. Stay strong!

I agree with the others that food shouldn't be a reward. I've also just finished my 3rd week of IP completely 100% OP and honestly cheating isn't even crossing my mind. I too used to love pizza and actually have a box of leftovers sitting in my fridge that my stepdaughter and her friend got two days ago. Every time I open the fridge it's a reminder of how well I'm doing and how I'm never going back there.

This is why I haven't been tempted, I am afraid if I do.... it will be downhill from there.

There are some great Cauliflower crust pizza recipes out there, I make those (with no cheese in the crust) when I am craving some pizza! Not 100% the same because no cheese but it helps!