UNBREADED: Cheat and Feel Empowered

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cheat and Feel Empowered

Tracey and I spend a lot of time discussing how other low-carbers love to act like they never make mistakes. Before I knew anything about the diet, I once asked the most popular Belly Fat Cure blogger how she's handled her need/desire to "cheat" on the plan.

Her response? "I've never cheated."

My response? "LIAR!"

Now, kidding aside, I really do believe there's a possibility that this woman has stuck to her diet all along. On a plan like the Belly Fat Cure, you're allowed enough savory carbs that chips, pasta, and even bread are all acceptable.

But Tracey and I crave sugary baked goods! Cupcakes! Cookies! Ice cream! And lots of them! Most of me truly does believe that my body is better off without sugar, but part of me doesn't want to live life without it.

My way of dealing with it is to let myself have what I want when I need to but to remind myself how much better life is without it the next day. On Friday night, for instance, I could have brought along a low-carb protein shake or meal replacement bar to my recently-married friend's get-together, but I knew there was no way I was going to be able to pass up pizza, Doritos (my favourite!), chicken wings, homemade banana pudding with Nilla wafers, and the top layer of their wedding cake.

So I just ate it. All of it and as much as I wanted of it. I didn't make myself feel guilty about it, and I had a much better time at the party because I wasn't putting pressure on myself to "perform" the way the diet wants me to.

But the next day, I went right back to eating low-carb. And yesterday, three days later, I was down 4.2 pounds.

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Bachelor Girl · 762 weeks ago

You made a great point here - the world is filled with all sorts of fluffy, sugary, frosting-on-top treats that aren't good for us, and while we should definitely eat them in (strict) moderation, there's no reason to avoid them as they though were iced with the hanta virus.

4 replies · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

Complete avoidance was my method the first time I tried low-carb, and while I was successful beyond my wildest dreams, there were nights when I kicked and screamed because the only dessert I was allowing myself was sugar-free Jell-o. I kept telling myself that it was making me a stronger person, but I think it was just making me an unhappier person.

It's super-heartening to me these days to see people eating 120 carbs a day on the Belly Fat Cure and still losing weight. I wish I would've known that was possible then.

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Tracey · 762 weeks ago

Seriously! I felt the same way when we read The Glycemic Load Diet, and I realized there were foods I was CRAVING (like black beans) that weren't going to severely spike my blood sugar event though they were higher in carbs than I thought I should have.

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Tracey · 762 weeks ago

event = even, of course.

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

Too bad that whole a-handful-of-jelly-beans-is-totally-okay thing never worked for me. That's a great example of being better off with a stricter diet. Thinking a handful of jelly beans was okay led me to thinking a handful of M&Ms was okay.

We're so much smarter this time around.

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Alfagirl · 762 weeks ago

Incidentally, I also heard that there was an office party earlier that day in which ice cream sandwiches were made with pop tarts. I guess if you're going to go indulge, you might as well let loose for one whole day. It seems like many people have been successful with Weight Watchers and what you describe sounds pretty similar. Nothing is completely off limits, but you decide what you want, and if you want sugary goodness, then you compensate by being extra good later and eating veggies or other healthy things as well.

1 reply · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

Tracey and I also talk a lot about whether you should get all of your cheating out in one day or cheat as you feel the need. I did go the whole-hog route on Friday, starting with the Pop-Tart ice cream sandwiches. I told myself I was only going to have a bite, because it's been a good 15 years since I've had a Pop-Tart (I can't believe my parents actually used to let me eat those!), but then I remembered what I'd be eating at Ash's and figured I might as well give myself a whole one so I don't feel the need to have another for 15 more years.

You're right about compensation. It's all about compensation.

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naturally44 18p · 762 weeks ago

Oh I wish, I wish, I wish!! If it weren't for the diabetes I'd be saying "Hey-throw a chip and slice of pizza my way!" Having diabetes is the ONLY reason I don't, slash that, can't cheat (sigh). A high spike does me in & the feeling is just awful. I suppose that's a good thing - keeps me in check, but still...nothing beats mcdonalds french fries... I don't care what anybody says!

Congrats on the 4.2 loss-and ya, I'm jealous!!

1 reply · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

I did think about diabetics as I wrote this, because I realize that cheating for you can be a matter of life and death. Sometimes I actually think it'd be good for me if a doctor told me I had to stop eating sugar, but I know how hard it is to find suitable low-carb fare when I'm not cooking for myself, and I hate to think how much more you have to worry about it. I hope you can have at least a couple of fries.

I'm really enjoying your blogs, and I'm really proud of your husband, knowing how hard it is to eat low-carb in the city.

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Tracey · 762 weeks ago

I totally agree with this, and yet I still have a hard time putting it into practice. I don't know how much of it is from the physical cravings I get after eating sugary & starchy foods and how much of it is psychological, but it's just really difficult to stop with just one bad meal, or even just one bad day of eating. It's so easy to stretch it into a little more, and a little more still when the cravings kick in and my brain thinks I need to get my hands on AS MUCH BAD FOOD AS POSSIBLE before I go back to being good. That all-or-nothing thinking gets me every time.

3 replies · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

YES. The all-or-nothing mindset is something we have to overcome together. I really think reading about the Belly Fat Cure has helped me, because it makes me feel like there's nothing I can't have. If I want to, I can go to McDonald's, and I can have a small fry, and I can even have a packet of ketchup. When you know you can have it, it doesn't seem nearly as desirable. I think that's really helped me with my I-already-had-pizza-so-I'd-better-get-some-ice-cream-in-while-I-have-the-chance thoughts.

Of course, I'm riding the losing-way-more-weight-than-I-should-be wave. We'll see how I feel in another 3 months of low-carbing. Remind me of this.

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Tracey · 762 weeks ago

It's so interesting how different we are, and it's important for us to figure out what works best for us as individuals. I totally wish that the thought of being allowed to have everything in small amounts helped me, but I think it just causes me more problems. The idea of eating only a little bit of my favorite carb-laden foods MAKES ME CRAZY. For some reason, for me, part of the joy of eating junk lies in eating it in really large amounts and in the combination I'm used to, and it feels completely unsatisfying if I have to stop when I'm still craving more. Knowing I can have a small order of fries does nothing for me, because there's no way I'm enjoying those fries unless they're accompanied by a matching McDonald's burger or two, or some chicken nuggets, and a Coke. Having them with anything else or by themselves ruins the experience.

This most likely means that I should be identifying these "trigger foods" that make me want to gorge on large amounts of terrible things and avoiding them like the plague, but that's easier said than done. Is it possible to move somewhere where there is no McDonald's?

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

No, no, it is not. If NYC has McDonald's, everywhere has McDonald's.

I wonder if other people have the same problem you do with the amounts and combinations. I got full last night on kebabs and hummus and felt guilty about it–that's how motivated to lose weight I am at the moment. Maybe you don't hate yourself enough yet?

Clearly, you should blog about this tonight.

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Jaimie · 762 weeks ago

Awesome!! Can we be best friends?! :) Seriously, I'm so happy to find someone else who believes this way. I don't think you should ever deprive yourself. My next time I get off plan is going to be my friend's wedding in 3 weeks. That way I have a goal to work towards and a "reward" if you will. But I also agree with Tracey, that once I give in a little, I end up doing it the whole entire day. So my challenge is to find the balance.

1 reply · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

Diet blog BFFs! (I couldn't believe it when you called yourself 5 months pregnant, by the way. You are BEAUTIFUL. But I digress.)

Funnily enough, it was your post that made me write this, as you might realize. I totally agree that when I pig out, I feel like crap the next day. But I also feel like, "Oh, man, I need to remember how this feels for next time," and hopefully I'll learn from the experience.

Tracey and I always say, "I'm going to be good until such-and-such event," and we never last that long, but it's good to have a goal to remind yourself of when you want to give in two days in a row, right?

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caropal · 762 weeks ago

When I was on Atkins in high school, there was a lot of pizza around. So I would eat the cheese and the pepperoni, all proud of myself, and throw away the crust. And then do the same thing again.

(How the hell did I poop on that diet??? I didn't eat that many vegetables!)

But I still have a very distinct memory of once, during an SAT prep class, walking towards the trash can, leaning over it, and SHOVING THE ENTIRE CRUST INTO MY MOUTH. This was not just the back rim of the slice - this was the ENTIRE slice, and I fit it completely into my mouth in one go.

Banning bread from my diet made me pretty desperate, and after I had finished with Atkins (and had lost 30 pounds), I vowed never to do that again. But, that's me - carbs are something I absolutely cannot give up and be happy in my diet. So I just try to eat as many/much fruit, vegetables, and fiber as possible, and I don't worry about the other stuff (because, if I worry, I become obsessive. Hooray, focused anxiety!).

This became a really long comment. I just wanted to tell you that I once stuffed an entire slice of pizza crust into my mouth at once. I still find that pretty amazing.

2 replies · active 762 weeks ago

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plumpdumpling 64p · 762 weeks ago

Ohhhhh, Atkins in high school. That sounds miserable. But at least the rest of the country was on it, too, and you had low-carb options at every restaurant. Tracey and I totally poo-pooed it at the time it was popular and didn't bother to read up on the idea until one of my friends lost (and kept off) 80 pounds on it years later.

I feel torn about banning foods from my diet, because on one hand, I have TOTALLY DONE what you did. Okay, maybe not a whole piece at once, but I have definitely choked down a brownie or two when no one was looking out of desperation for sugar. I'd much rather tell myself that having some carbs is okay when I want them than to later totally binge on them. But on the other hand, if I tell myself fruit is okay, I end up drinking fruit-flavored margaritas like it's the same thing.

This time around on low-carb, I'm doing as many vegetables as possible and trying not to fall into the pizza-toppings-for-dinner-every-night-because-they're-so-easy-and-delicious trap. Now with that image of you in mind.

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Tracey · 762 weeks ago

I almost can't imagine trying to tackle low-carbing at a time in your life when EVERY event involves pizza, soda, chips, and candy. And there's no way pizza toppings are filling enough when they make you split a large with three friends.

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Ash · 761 weeks ago

I feel bad that I just now read this post. Now I feel like any comment I might have has already been said. My only comment is: I think I've gained 10 lbs since the wedding. I'm too scared to weigh myself. And I'm going on a cruise tomorrow.. I might have to go low-carb pretty intensely after this...

UNBREADED

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cheat and Feel Empowered

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