I cheated yesterday.
With some alcohol to loosen my guard, and M&M and croissants to tempt me, I found myself indulging for the first time since I started induction December 31.
I see some people – as well as myself at times – that use one cheat as an excuse to admit defeat and just resign themselves to being fat and miserable.
I’ve discovered a few tricks that I use to prevent that from occurring – to isolate the cheat as a one-time thing and get on with it.
- Stating your intentions. This is risky, but telling people you are losing weight and will continue to do so helps keep you on track. I did this the first-go-round of weight loss on low carb, and I did it this time as well.
- Examine how you feel. When I’ve done induction for over two weeks, carbs make me sick. I had a stomach ache, felt bloated, my joints ached, and I had severe heartburn. Take my weight out of the equation – and I just feel much better when I’m living low carb.
- Take the long view. You don’t lose weight by eating right for one day – and you don’t gain weight by eating wrong one day. It’s takes a lot of days to do either. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again, as the old song says.
- Don’t forget the Big Mo. If you’ve been doing induction for a week or more, the worst has passed. You’ve gone too far and gained too much to give up now. It’s like earning a dollar then trading it for a dime – it’s not worth it.
- Look at what you ate. Was it something worth cheating over or was it stale M&Ms left over from Halloween? Talk about trading a dollar for a dime!
- Don’t beat yourself up. You might have to have a heart-to-heart with the part of yourself that gave in, but trash-talking yourself leaves you feeling battered and powerless – and you’re not.
Reflecting on the above can turn a negative into a positive and strengthen your resolve over the long term.
There’s no reason to give up because of setbacks – nothing worthwhile is ever accomplished without them.
Low Carb Confidential 