[quottrethew]

I have. Several times, unfortunately. Most of the time I'm great, don't have any cravings. I average slightly more than 1lb losses on each of the days I'm on plan, but my cheat days/gains have decreased my average to about .85lbs (still not bad). On one hand I feel sort of bad because I know how much I want this. On another hand, some days the cravings (and around TOM, the hunger) has gotten so out of control that I caved. In the long run, I am on protocol 90% of the time, and I've lost about 30lbs now. But the other 10% has been so ridiculously hard for me. I keep wanting higher fat stuff-P3 foods, essentially. It hasn't helped that I still live with some family, and they eat pretty healthy but nowhere close to P2. It's just tough for me on some days. I don't stall from my cheats, I just go up the next day and the day after that it drops off, usually with a bit more, so I don't lose too much time on the cheats. I'm worried now that I will not be able to stabilize in P3 and will gain it all back. Can anyone relate? Or am I screwed at this point?

[arriplify]

I have eaten an extra Melba toast twice, and when I made my own Grissini breadsticks the smell of freshly-baked yeast bread in the house nearly drove me crazy and I ate some extras of those, too.

Interestingly, on the days I ate extra bread I also upped my protein intake and still stayed under 500 calories (usually by cutting out one fruit serving and sticking with very low calorie vegetables, like red lettuce) . I've done that on four different days now and each time the scale still went down the next day. Not sure why.

[beriarele]

I can relate, and you're not screwed. My first round I cheated a few times and ultimately it didn't make much of a difference. I still lost 40 pounds, and I was able to make some pretty significant permanent changes in my diet. Things like: I was finally able to kick my regular soda habit. If I drink soda these days its strictly diet. I tried a sip of regular soda and it was so sweet I near spat it out. I also was able to give up any desire I had for french fries. I have picked at one or two off my friends plates at restaurants because I *think* I want them but as soon as I eat one or two i realize they aren't satisfying. I haven't eaten a fast food hamburger since before I started my first round last April. So things have changed, but not enough. I think the cheating might have played into that.

With the diet you have to balance the thought of temporary vs. permanent. There are changes you obviously need to make that are permanent but at the same time if you tell yourself you can NEVER eat some of your favorite food then you'll drive yourself crazy and that is all you will crave. If you just remind yourself that P2 is temporary and you will get to eat your favorite foods in moderation again then it may help. I'm a firm believer that sometimes you do need a morale boost during the diet. I would rather have a little cheat here and there than build it up and end up binging. It's a personal opinion though, some people think nothing is worth cheating, and that works for them.

With all that said, I am a few days into my second round and I've just realized that Sunday is going to be super hard to stay on protocol and I have already accepted that I will cheat, but I will try to be good about it. My 30th birthday is Monday and I just found out that my friends are throwing me a (not so surprise) party. Its all happening out of town and I will have very little control over food. Sunday during the day is a spa day and there will be a chocolate fountain and lots of fruit. I have already promised myself I will stick to just the lower sugar fruits. Im not a chocoholic so I should be okay abstaining from the chocolate. I may, however, have a harder time turning down the wine! And with wine means I will need to have something more than fruit in my stomach, so that is where I see the main problem. However, its my birthday and I am going to enjoy it and relax and if I gain a pound, then I gain a pound. Not worrying about it too much is something I learned in my first round.

Ultimately I still lost more weight with my first round than I ever could have without it. This has been the only thing that worked and even 7 months after the diet I am still the same weight I was the last day of the diet. I didn't gain it all back. That really says something, so this round I am trying to stress out less.

[N9NACzws]

Thanks for the replies ladies! I sort of modified things for myself about mid-round. I no longer eat the fruit and never did the melbas, but I've upped my calories to 600 and basically doubled eat serving of meat. For the most part it has been great for me, and I think that's why my losses in general have been a bit higher. I almost feel like my body is wanting fats. I have been doing a daily vitamin and later on today I added an additional one (the dose is 2, but I've been taking only one). I am wondering if maybe the reason I'm craving things is that my body is missing some nutrients. In any event, I'm just going to keep on it for the end of the round. I feel like I've come too far to go back now, so I might as well finish it out as strong as I can. I know it's temporary, and now that I'm within a good striking distance of the end I'd like to think that I can stick with it to the end. But jeez, some of the time I feel like my body (or is it just my mind??) is fighting me the whole way.

[jhkjurter]

I am happy to say that I have hardly cheated in this round. My first round was terrible. I had pizza and wine. This round I've stuck to the protocol for the most part but the melba toast I've gone overboard on a couple times. There's something about starchy foods that's hard to eat just 4.

[Ferkilort]

I think that's why I have only used 2 melba toasts the entire time, and that was to make bread crumbs for meatballs. I associate them with crackers, and that makes me want cheese and dip. I don't know if I can eat JUST one.

The worst "cheat" I have done was the Applebees steak. It seemed to spark big losses, so I can't say it was a cheat, per se. But I am doing a short round (25-26 days of injections) instead of a long round, and I think it might be easier for me to say "Alright girl, you are close to the short rows; only 13 more days of injections" than it is to think about about still having a month to go

My H is having raisin toast right now, and it smells heavenly. OMG I could kill him.