Great write-up ... thanks for sharing that

John


"am" wrote in message
s.com...
I'm a newbie to posting, so... a quick introduction: hi, my name is Alan
and
I am a low-carber...
I started low-carbing in mid Nov 03 at 251 pounds, been reading this group
since then, current weight 214 pounds. I'm male, 33 years old, 5' 11"
tall,
further specs on request.
I have a few ideas about cheating that I thought I'd share in hope that
someone will find them helpful.
I've never been successful at not cheating (though I've come a *lot*
closer
on low-carb than I ever did on low-fat). I've managed to lose weight
anyway.
I try to follow some rules for cheating. I hope this doesn't sound
preachy,
I assure you I'm a sinful cheater who should be in the pew, not the pulpit


The 4 Rules of Cheating
1. It's not cheating. A diet is just the way that you choose to eat, and
if
you choose to put hot chips in your mouth, then they are part of your
diet.
Don't feel bad about the choices you make, or make different choices.
I think the reason this rule works is because it helps prevents one
high-carb choice from spiralling into a week-long binge. I remember, back
in
my low-fat days, feeling so bad about a high-fat choice that I would lose
the will to continue eating low-fat. Either that or I would use it as an
excuse to indulge in as much high-fat food as I could before the 'good'
part
of me got back in control. Nowadays though, five minutes after a high-carb
choice I'm back on the low-carb bandwagon (when I'm not breaking my own
rules, that is).

2. Try to overheat rather than meltdown. Making a high-carb choice needn't
mean a loss of control. There's no need to gorge (hey, you'll be cheating
again soon, no need to eat everything on the menu right now...). A rule of
thumb that works for me is this: if a stranger wouldn't blink an eye at
the
quantity I'm eating, then it's probably OK for a cheat. Also, stick to
your
low-carb plan where it makes no difference - still order a *diet* Coke, if
you drink a glass of water with every meal, drink one with your cheat meal
etc.

3. Not too often. Choose your own frequency. The frequency that works for
me
is less than once a week. By which I mean never more than once a week, and
if I'm doing it *every* week then it's too often.

4. Exercise. This one works for me. I do 30 minutes on the exercise bike
every day. As soon as the weight bench gets here (it's on the way now!)
I'm
going to start weight training and HIIT cardio. For the last few weeks
I've
been trying to ease myself into HIIT with a couple of 1 minute sprints in
my
30 minutes. This is called SHIIT ('Somewhat High Intensity...'). Oops, I'm
rambling...
Exercise is magic. These days I jump on the scales the morning after a
cheat
and find that my weight has gone *down*. I attribute that to exercise,
since
it used to move in the opposite direction... Also, when I jump on the bike
after cheating I feel like I'm burning off the consequences of my choice.
It
'resets' you psychologically (I find reading this group also resets me
psychologically).

I'm not saying that not cheating at all is not better. I imagine you'll
lose
faster if you can do it. Also... by calling it 'cheating' when I don't
think
that it is, I'm trying to do the same thing as those who insist on *not*
calling it cheating, which is to defuse the word, to rob it of its power,
so
no need to call me on that

This is just my experience of course. Everyone is different, so you might
be
too...
HTH,
Alan
(251/214/165)

P.S. I'm a bit long-winded. Didn't need to be told that, hey?