Cheat Rewards

[Sarah_Bruhn]

It’s your health and your journey, do what works for you but you will find is very diffrent compared to other ways of eating. Cheating isn’t appealing to me anymore since starting keto because honestly keto food is the best and carbage isn’t as tasty as i used to believe and the carb hang over is not worth it.
Making a keto treat could be a reward I suppose but the keto wellness will likely be enough.

[decreebass]

One HUGE concern
What did you do w the other 1/3 package of Oreos ?
Why stop at 2/3’s
Haha

I basically ate my fill - when I didn’t want anymore, I’d close the package and put it in the bag of stuff to be taken to work and placed on the common table in the break room. But yeah, I do go all out; I figure if I cheat completely with no regrets, there’ll be no lingering wants or regrets and, again, the stuff leaves my house first chance so there’s no temptation/ability to have a moment of weakness during the week. I do have a can of Reddi Whip at the ready, though, so if I’m feeling it, I’ll indulge in a couple mouthfulls of that; but it’s like 1g sugar per, so no harm in that once or twice a day.

[Sarah_Bruhn]

whatever works

[Magsymaybe]

I think it’s brilliant that you are able to do that. I admire your willpower to be able to stop and then get rid of any leftovers. One of the things that keeps me on the straight and narrow is fear! I fear that first slice of bread. I love all varieties of bread. Would I be able to stop? Would I be able to stop at one bar of chocolate? I don’t know and I’m too scared to try. So good luck to you.

[Sleepymotherof3]

I do the same, carb up once a week on whatever I want.
Still losing weight, just slower.
If I had to give up carbs completely then I wouldn’t stick to it.
I think the ‘why would you ever cheat’ mentality puts some people off as not everyone has to be strict 100%.

[decreebass]

Agreed. While I do realize (and preach) that keto is not something you can half-ass - that is, have moderate carbs and still high fat daily - I also have realized it still works beautifully if you 100% it 95% of the time if that makes sense. That is, strict keto 95% or more of the time and let loose for a couple hours every week or so. Sometimes less often, of course, and think the closest I’ve ever done was had a cheat day on Sunday and then one again on Friday; but that was only once. In any case, it works. The reason why it works, I feel, is that during this cheat (and I’m well aware how cringe-worthy the term “cheat” is, but anything else would simply be a euphemism and you’d know what I was talking about anyway) you’re still having WAY less of the SAD than you would if you were not keto - and to boot, there’s no going back once you’re keto and learn how your body works and your hormones and all that. We’ve taken the red pill - so rather than getting bored or losing sight of the goal, I allow myself a conscious straying from the path every now and again. Who knows? Maybe someday the research will show that this is the ideal way to do it; keep the pancreas guessing lol!

[PaulL]

Does this principle also work with allergies? I mean, would staying away from nuts and shellfish 95% of the time make it possible to have them the other 5%?

[LeCheffre]

First, as others have said, treating food as a reward is part of what got us to where we needed drastic lifestyle redesign in the first place. So, I do not really think having off plan meals or days tied to progress is really productive behavior. It’s much more reinforcing broken behavior, rather than replacing it.

Second, I have off plan meals about 1-2 a month. They are for dates with the wife, company, work parties, and the like. Times when the occasion and social participation is tied up with treats. I don’t do this for every date with the wife, but for special occasions (V-day, B-Days, Anniversary) or every office function (I didn’t with the recent pot luck). I was never diabetic, so I don’t have quite the same concern over limbs and vision that some folks who were might.

Third, the key is the value. Looking at your day, it seems the coconut mushroom is the only worthwhile cheat. I’m not saying have one every time you hit a goal. I’m not saying have one every time you hit a major goal. I’m saying if something of high value is available, and you weigh out the emotional/social/whatever benefit against the cost to progress, then a meal off plan might be worth your while. My wife’s blackberry pie was such a cost benefit analysis. Great pie, really fresh blackberries, we made a whole cheat meal for her friend from work to come over for. I over ate. I had reflux and a wave of rediscovered physical pain. I’m not sure if that was carbing up or overindulgence or both. I think the combination. I was miserable. But man, I enjoyed making the meal. I have one planned for next week, as a sweet corn that I am very fond of is coming into season. So, will make that, it will be the cheat meal, and that will be the value.

Ultimately, you have to consider your goals against your costs. I think everyone does that, and comes to different conclusions about whether to have an off plan meal or not.

[LeCheffre]

False equivalence. Immediate breathing difficulties that lead to fatality is nowhere near the same as monthly carb indulgence.

[Tetter3plr]

Love this post!!! I am one of the minorities on this subject too. I indulge once a week, im still loosing and I’m still feeling great! Whatever works for each us, we are all different and no one is right or wrong.

[Q66]

I’m 11 weeks into keto and 47lbs down and my biggest “cheats” were a dozen strawberries one day, and two pieces of sushi another time.

One of my biggest concerns is my first binge/cheat day. So far, it has been surprisingly easy to stay disciplined. I’d prefer to keep it as keto as I can and not do anything that will trigger me and get me out of the good habits I’ve developed. I’m not sure how easy it will to get back to keto.

I guess I’m too stubborn to give up these hard earned gains. Finally, my stubbornness is going to do me some good.

[PaulL]

False equivalence.

Aw, shucks. I was afraid someone would see through that! Drat!

[decreebass]

I’m glad you have a good sense of humor about it, because I did an eye-roll that was so huge it kind of hurt when I read your comment

Anyway, PaulL, I totally respect your opinion on things and you obviously contribute much to this site - I guess this is just one area where we will have to agree to disagree, and that’s perfectly okay.

treating food as a reward is part of what got us to where we needed drastic lifestyle redesign in the first place.

I don’t wholly agree with this; for me, it was just negligence and indulgence - not connected to any sort of reward system. And even now, cheating, for me, is not about a reward for doing well; it’s more of just a treat. Furthermore, regarding - as you mention - goals, when you’ve already more than reached your weight-loss goals, a healthy and happy lifestyle is perfectly sustainable.

I think a lot of people here try to convince themselves that just because they’re keto, they no longer have ANY sweet tooth and that carbs are disgusting and unappetizing. Maybe I’m the only one who still enjoys the way they taste, despite knowing that a lifestyle full of them all the time is not very healthy. I’m not suggesting I crave them all the time, or really crave them ever anymore, but sometimes you just smell fresh-baked cookies or whatever and it’s appetizing: If I were not keto, I’d simply go have some, in addition to whatever else I was eating for the day and go about my life, maybe end up with diabetes. If I was strict keto, unwilling to bend even a little every now and again, I feel like I would have to convince myself that it didn’t smell good or use some other mental gymnastics to deny my physiological reactions to the scent. But with my system, it’s like, “Cool; noted. Maybe I’ll have some of that on my free day,” as I continue my 95% of the time keto/IF regimen.

Lastly, there’s no temptation; there’s no self-control involved. There’s no fear of falling off the wagon - when you have what you want for that short time (or even whole day) and get rid of stuff afterward, either give away or throw away, then there’s no remnants to “tempt.” But more importantly, as I said, when you do as much research as many of us do here, there is no going back. Even if you go back, you’re always going to know how what you’re putting into your body on a daily basis is hurting you. I guarantee there’s not a single smoker nowadays who’s oblivious to the damage they’re doing to themselves. Essentially, as I’ve said, learning about all the science behind keto is taking the proverbial red pill - there really is no true going back to ignorance.

I enjoy this discussion. I know I’m in the minority here, but this is a potential stumbling block for people. And again, I’m in no way suggesting this is the right method for everyone, and if someone is convinced they don’t have the discipline to cheat and immediately get back on the keto horse, then I don’t know what to tell them. But I really do appreciate everyone’s opinions about this stuff. This is a really great site!

And now, re my post, the obligatory “YMMV”

EDIT: Just a quick calculation - if I have a free window of, say, 2 hours, then that means I’m strict keto/IF for 99% of the week. Even if I give myself an entirely full free day (hasn’t happened yet), then I’m still strict keto/IF for 86% of the week. I used the initial 95% figure just as a guestimate, but I undershot, apparently lol!

[LeCheffre]

That’s entirely fair. I write a lot of commentary based on the average user of the forum or my personal experience. I can handle a couple of carb excursions with minimal consequence a month. If we do a compliance matrix, with 2 off plan meals in a month, out of roughly 19 meals a week (I tend to eat two meals a day on the weekend, and three during the week), that works to 74/76 on plan. That’s 97% compliance where I come from, without resorting to counting sleeping hours or non-meal hours as an accounting trick. That works for me. I don’t really plan it out, but I plan my return to plan, which is generally figuring out disposal of the high carb food if I have it around the house. In the instance of the mac and cheese and pie, most of it was sent home with wife’s friend from work, who is a skinny as a rail 23 yo man. The rest was wife’s, who is not on my plan anymore :_(

Mileage varies for everyone, and if you’re at goal, you obviously have room to play with things and figure out what your mileage will actually be. I’m pretty close to goal, at least scale wise, so I don’t feel my approach needs much tweaking.

That said, food as a reward seems like a recipe for failure, particularly for the more disordered eater.

[decreebass]

That’s 97% compliance where I come from, without resorting to counting sleeping hours or non-meal hours as an accounting trick.

I see what you’re getting at - The only caveat I would add is that due to regulation of hormones through fasting and meal timing, as well as exercise, I do count every hour. I wouldn’t call it an “accounting trick” so much as a holistic approach , but I appreciate your views, and in the end, we’re basically at the same spot.

[mtncntrykid]

I haven’t “rewarded” myself since starting keto but am planning to after I break this fast. It is huckleberry season here and my favorite deseart has always been huckleberry cobbler. Picked a bunch last weekend and going to indulge soon. Hope it taste as good as it used to?

[Sleepymotherof3]

I keep my carbs in a basket which is sealed in a bag and stored in a fridge!
I take a little of each thing, a sort of pick n mix. I like to have a selection so getting rid of it each week wouldn’t work as well for me.
Yesterday a colleague brought in chocolate biscuits, I brought some home and have stored them ready for the weekend when I will add them to my carbs. For me this delaying and not denying just makes it so sustainable.