Five days off plan and oh the damage

(Jennibc) #1

So we were out of town for about 11 days. Six of those days I was able to eat on plan because we were camping, but five of those days involved hotel stays and being on the road. Since we were in a few different parts of the country I decided to partake in the local cuisine. That was a mistake. Only five days off plan - four beers, potatoes twice, bread three times, pasta once, sweets twice and drum roll, a gain of 8 pounds. Seriously, that’s how reactive I am to those things. I am coming on here to tell about it so that I get my butt back in gear. There’s something very useful in declaring that I am going back on plan. So witnesses, I am going back on plan!

This is why I like to weigh myself daily. I am so reactive that at the first show of the gain, I would have stopped myself, but without the daily reminder of how quickly it could come back, I figured why not and had a philly cheesesteak in philly and pasta in Boston’s north end and fish and chips in New England…

(Scott) #2

I think I am the only person on the planet that orders a philly cheese steak without the bun.

('Jackie P') #3

Aww! Don’t panic too much. Remember when you started and lost 8lbs (or whatever) in the first week? That was your glycogen store and the accompanying fluid. Now you have replenished your glycogen store and, I can’t remember exactly, but I think it’s 1 unit of glycogen to 8 units of water! So be strict and your glycogen stores will empty again!
Happy holiday!

(hottie turned hag) #4

Ergh. That just blows. :expressionless:

You know it’s fluid though; no way you gained fat that fast. I gain much fluid if I eat even too much veg.

I hate to draw extra attention to myself so I order it as is and just leave the bun, easier I think. Ditto burgers.

(Scott) #5

I like to freak people out by ordering fatty crazy stuff with no bun. It’s fun to see them wonder “what kind of crazy diet is this”

(Jennibc) #6

I am not panicking so much as I just feel I need to check in so that I have the wherewithal to go through sugar withdrawal again. I got back late Friday night but then had to drive my son to a college tour a few hours away on Sunday. As we headed back yesterday late afternoon, we stopped at the pecan shop that we love and I partook in the free samples of chocolate covered pecans. This of course means that the sugar monster is back and I need to tame it. I have been doing great for well over a year and now I am going to have to white knuckle it again to tame the cravings.

Also, I WISH I could lose eight pounds that quickly. It has never come off quickly for me. The most I’ve ever lost in a week is about 4.5. So I guarantee some of that is going to take a wile. My guess is that it will be gone by September.

(Scott) #7

I’m new to Keto. I started following it (ie online Keto recipes) and doing a 20:4 IF for a couple weeks then started a 14-day water fast. Actually, I just ended my fast today!

I go on holiday this Friday so I wanted to break the fast a few days before I go.

I’m a little worried about how eating on holiday will affect me but, as we’re staying in a “self-catering” rental, I can/will control what I eat. Having said that, I’m sure I’ll be going out to eat with family on several occasions.

While I’m new to Keto/extended fasting, I do figure I’ll gain some water weight and hopefully not too much (if any!) fat but, no matter what I weigh when I return, I plan to go back to IF/Keto and maybe sprinkle in the odd extended fast like 5-day ones here and there.

I do think (barring any medical reasons to avoid certain foods) that enjoying some “naughty” foods on occasion is OK. As long as we get back to the program, all should be good.

Right?

You’ll be fine I’m sure. :slight_smile:

(hottie turned hag) #8

Slipping really does trigger cravings and binges. Just ask me and @Ilana_Rose :unamused:

(mole person) #9

I’m the same. I’ll lose two to four lbs quickly and the rest takes the better part of a month of strictness.

I’m just coming of a big fail myself. Interestingly, mine started with an 11 day camping trip as well. My diet was fine but I started veering off carnivore on that trip. I had a bit of coconut oil and cocao in my coffee, a bit of tomato and onion in my sauces, some ghee to fry up my fish in, and a nut butter and seed paste that I’d brought for my husband. Although I didn’t gain any weight on the trip this laxness led to more when I got home. I convinced myself that after three months without a single cheat a small McDonald’s ice cream fudge sundae would be fine. After that I was done for a week. More sundaes and other keto-ish treats followed. I’m just now getting control back but to prevent it taking a month to get back to my maintenance I’m trying to mix in some fat fasts.

(Scott) #10

Yeah, no need to panic. Start back on plan and give yourself a boost by getting some exercise to burn off any glucose left hanging around.

(John) #11

It was a good learning experience that will serve you well for the remainder of your life. At least you caught it before it turned into a long slide.

Probably restocked some of your glycogen supply, along with the water that goes with it. That will probably come back off pretty quickly once you are back on track.

(Katie) #12

Fasting can fix this quickly. It will bring you back into ketosis the fastest way too.

I have only been confronted with those choices once since starting keto… since it was only 2 days (Friday night till Monday). I fasted thru it.

Drank water, and begged off food. I found as long as you are of good cheer, laughing and having a good time…no one actually cares that you didn’t eat… best of all…no one much even noticed after the first acknowledgement. I didn’t make any further comments about it either.

Maybe you could try every other day while on vacation? Keeps you mostly on track till you are back?

Still, even after that gain…think how good it will feel when you see it gone once again!! And, when it is long in the past…you won’t have the weight but you will have the memories,

(Patrick L Anderson) #13

Nope, I regularly order it that way from the vendor that’s out in front of my local Lowes. I think he feels sorry for me because he always piles on twice as much meat and cheese than a normal sandwich would have. No complaints from me and I always tip.:yum:

(Joey) #14

Ha! :wink: I’ve found that asking for burgers/sandwiches without the bun confuses everyone and the order often gets messed up. So instead, I just pitch the bun and eat all the good stuff inside … BONUS: I feel like I’ve done a public service by removing just one more carb-stuffed bun from the nation’s food chain.

(hottie turned hag) #15

Sweet!! :grinning:

(George) #16

Ah don’t you hate it? I’m super sensitive to stuff too.

Last time I drank alcohol in May and had a serving of rice the following day, I retained 10 lbs of water weight for a week.

This past weekend though I had a huge slice of pie and half slice of regular cheesecake, plus some hashbrowns and 3 pieces of toast the next day (which I felt so guilty for). I decided to fast till dinner last night. I didn’t weight myself yesterday, but today the scale only showed less than a pound gained (what a relief) from my Saturday morning weight, before all the nonsense eating took place.

(Jennibc) #17

I have tried fasting in the past. It’s too much stress on my body (triggers fibromyalgia symptoms which I’ve been free from for about three years so not going back to that!). I typically do IF of 16 hours and that is about as long as I can go without causing too much physical stress.

I will be fine though. It will just take a little longer than if I were able to fast.

(carol mclintock) #18

I had a bad week recently and it scared me just how much reaction there was - weight gain (which is still bouncing up and down 2 weeks later, but I think a lot of that is stress) but more worrying was the fact that my HBa1C shot right back up to pre-diabetic levels.

Good luck with the white knuckle, you know you can do this! Sometimes, it takes a week off to remind me how much better everything is when on track.

(Cheryl Meyers) #19

Same here – tried at the local McD’s to order without the bun, but it just confuses them so much. I just toss the buns. They are made of cardboard, anyway, right? :wink:

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #20

I witness your declaration!