Help -- I cheated on P1 Day 3 :(
 

Ahhh I'm so mad at myself!! for an early afternoon snack I had about 7 shrimps and dipped them in SBD cocktail sauce (pureed red bell pepper, light sour cream, garlic) and felt incredibly nauseous about an hour or two later. I couldn't get it to go away and it felt like throwing up was very much a possibility. Here's where I cheated: I had a small bowl of cereal so that the carbs would settle my stomach. It worked pretty well but now I'm ridden with guilt because I was doing so well. Does this mean I have to start back up on Day 1?

Help!

If it were me, I would get back on track right now and wait till day 14 to decide. If after 2 weeks my cravings for sugar & carbs were still there I'd add a few more days.

I cheat a little,,, no sweat! a taste wont kill you but dont fall down into a binge. Brush the dust off your shoes and continue. We are making this diet into a lifestyle which part of it is learning self control and portions. Its not like you had an entire plate of french fries drowned in ketchup. Just keep going where you are and decide at day 14 if you are ready for Phase 2 or if you want a few more days at Phase 1. I am going to stay on Phase 1 for a couple extra days personally

Yikes, ok thanks!

Personally I think a clean Phase 1 does make a big difference, at least it did for me. A small bowl of cereal may or may not cause you problems. Is it a cereal that would be allowed on P2 or is it really sugary? This early on I'd probably restart the count but that's me.

There's definitely a range of opinions on how strict to be as you can see in other threads. It was important for me to really stick to the plan while I was losing and not experiment with off plan foods until I reached goal. Other people have different takes on it and have been equally successful. After being overweight or obese for most of my life I really needed a long stretch of eating on plan to clean both my body and my head so that I could make better choices for the rest of my life. As always YMMV (your mileage may vary!)

I would start over! But that is just me. It's only two weeks, but doing it completely OP is not only a huge achievement that you will be able to be proud of, but also a key part of the plan.

I'd restart too. If it is going to cause you mental anguish and guilt, 3 days is totally worth it. mentally, for me, it helps to know with certainty that I had a very clean Ph1!

You could call it adding a few days on at the end. Sometimes wording makes a difference but that could also "just be me".

I would add 3 days to the end if you can manage it. I know it made a difference for me and it felt good to complete a phase. It may be the most difficult one but remember that it is the shortest one too.

Thanks for putting it into better perspective everyone!