I keep cheating, Gaining, Feeling Guilty!

[Ready2Lose]

So I've been on the "hcg diet" for about 19 days now. Since day 1, I keep cheating, telling myself that I won't do it again! My cheats aren't major binges but usually a cookie, chips, toast, few bites of rice/pasta....basically, whatever my husband/family is eating, I take a few bites of it. It's soooooo hard to control. I've only lost 6 lbs in these 19 days coz I keep going up and down with the weight. I keep telling myself I won't do it tomorrow, but again the cycle continues. What should I do? Should I stop the diet? I need to lose atleast 30 lbs. It doesn't help that I'm sick of the diet food anyways! Please help!

[MOMMYONAMISSION]

Hey ready, what foods are you eating? I know the first time I did this diet I kept cheating because my food was so plain and gross. Finally on my 3 try I did my reading and research to find yummy p2 approved meals. I use coconut oil to cook all my foods on p2. You can even have 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg on p2. If you feel deprived your going to cheat. Oh and one thing I found out you can eat on p2 is cottage cheese! Yum yum! Good luck on your journey! You can do this

[muffles]

I know it's hard to stay on plan when you are still making and serving all the other food, but you need to decided to stick to your plan. Try doing something else at the tricky times, drink some water, brush your teeth, chew sugarfree gum when prepping and serving their food , keep your vege or fruit to have when they are having it , fill up on herbal teas or diet drinks. You can do it!

[Ready2Lose]

Thanks for your replies y'all. I try variations of my p2 foods, make chilli, mix veggies, make mince patties, eggs, etc. It's not that the food isn't good, it's just getting boring for me. Especially, when I have to make other delicious meals for the family.
Mommy, I tried using coconut oil a couple of times to fry an egg or chicken and it made me gain a lb next day, both times Do you stabilize well using it on p2?
I don't drink enough water either, I never have, I hate water, even when I put lemon, stevia, crystal light, whatever in it! I know that must be one of the big reasons. I do drink green tea 3-4 times a day though.

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by MOMMYONAMISSION

Hey ready, what foods are you eating? I know the first time I did this diet I kept cheating because my food was so plain and gross. Finally on my 3 try I did my reading and research to find yummy p2 approved meals. I use coconut oil to cook all my foods on p2. You can even have 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg on p2. If you feel deprived your going to cheat. Oh and one thing I found out you can eat on p2 is cottage cheese! Yum yum! Good luck on your journey! You can do this

Yes, but do NOT eat or cook with coconut oil on P2. No oils are allowed---even the healthy ones!!! Please do not eat/cook with coconut oil on P2!!!!!! This protocol is a low fat one and therefore, Dr S wants us to have no extra fat in anything.

I agree that the P2 foods are hopelessly boring. I have done this umpeen times and they are still boring. I mean chicken breast can taste only so-so with no butter or oil or cheese on it, IMO. The only way to soldier on is to have an iron will. I have 4 kids and a DH that I have to cook for. In fact, I just made chocolate chip cookies for them last night. It was the hardest thing to not snack on those, but I did it. I was determined to make it to the 120s. You don't have to do THAT, but definitely do not put yourself in harms way when cooking for the family. Cook things you have to minimally look after--casserole in the oven you just let cook, meat in the crockpot, and so on. I get my DD to help with the mac and cheese she so desperately loves to eat that way I can minimize the time I am cooking it.

And if all else fails, you can quit! I stopped my pellets earlier last week because I WAS cheating every single day. It wasn't worth my time or the money for the wasted pellets and "my food" to do them and eat wrong. I took a break over Christmas and got right back on them 12/26. I am doing well with only 2 VLCDs behind me and 5.4 lbs lost

You can do this!!! If I can, than anyone can.

[LaraSuzz]

This meal was a go to and I ate it every day on P2... I ate fruits for lunch and then dinner 200g chicken sauteed in pam and then tossed in Franks Red Hot on top of a bed of greens. fruit after
water with lemon and splenda (lemonade)
Green tea iced
coke zero

[muffles]

Have you considered making food for the family that you find boring or less appealing ? I can make rice and never feel tempted but if i make them potato wedges i want them, so it only happens when I am feeling strong.

And if all else fails, you can quit! I stopped my pellets earlier last week because I WAS cheating every single day. It wasn't worth my time or the money for the wasted pellets and "my food" to do them and eat wrong. I took a break over Christmas and got right back on them 12/26. I am doing well with only 2 VLCDs behind me and 5.4 lbs lost

Think about this. It's not good for your soul to cheat/feel guilty/fail/cheat feel guilty. If you really can't do it right now, stop, try something else and come back to this when you are ready.

[Ready2Lose]

Yeah, I guess I gotta get strong willed, which is gonna be hard. And yes, I've tried cooking less appealing meals for the family, but I still take a bite or two...sad, I know. I love rice and my family eats rice almost everyday so there's no escaping that. I even tried the miracle rice instead but still couldn't stop myself from taking a few bites of the "real" rice
I was going to quit and come back but I can't even guarantee myself that I won't cheat later, ya know? I just wish there was a way to get locked up in room and only be given p2 foods to eat for 40 days, seriously!

[Kateenie]

Originally Posted by Ready2Lose

Yeah, I guess I gotta get strong willed, which is gonna be hard. And yes, I've tried cooking less appealing meals for the family, but I still take a bite or two...sad, I know. I love rice and my family eats rice almost everyday so there's no escaping that. I even tried the miracle rice instead but still couldn't stop myself from taking a few bites of the "real" rice
I was going to quit and come back but I can't even guarantee myself that I won't cheat later, ya know? I just wish there was a way to get locked up in room and only be given p2 foods to eat for 40 days, seriously!

Then, there is something deeper there that HCG isn't going to fix. You have an emotional attachment to food (most of us here DO) and maybe you need to dig a little deeper emotionally to figure out why you are cheating. It is nothing to be ashamed of - we are all dealing with it at various stages. Heck, my VERY unpopular opinion is that many here are just as addicted to the HCG diet as they are to food!!

My point is that until you are ready (whatever that means for you), this diet and any other one is going to fail. We don't know what your issues in particular are, but they are there. Figure that out, and it will help immensely.

I think HCG brings out food addictions and emotional eating right to the surface and some of us just aren't ready to deal with that. I read Weight Loss Apocalypse and also watched the youtube videos associated with it and that really helped, but has made me stay away from these boards because I now recognize the active addictions that are going on here and the enabling that goes along with that. It helps to have boards like these, but sometimes I have to step away because I feel bad/sad/whatever when I see people so obviously struggling with those addictions, while thinking losing weight is going to fix it.

[Ready2Lose]

Kateenie: Thanks for your reply. How do you really recognize your emotional issues? I very well could be an emotional eater. Before HCG, I used to eat when happy, sad, whatever. So, I'm assuming it's emotional, but how does one actually fix it? Please don't tell me it'll require therapy or meds

[Kateenie]

Originally Posted by Ready2Lose

Kateenie: Thanks for your reply. How do you really recognize your emotional issues? I very well could be an emotional eater. Before HCG, I used to eat when happy, sad, whatever. So, I'm assuming it's emotional, but how does one actually fix it? Please don't tell me it'll require therapy or meds

You tell me, and we will both know LOL!! I don't have an answer. I tried counseling, but my counselor was morbidly obese and I just couldn't take advice about my unhealthy relationship with food from somebody who obviously didn't have a healthy relationship with food.

I haven't worked through everything yet, but basically I just ask myself what I'm "feeling" when I want to eat without hunger. Most of the time I don't have an answer, so I force myself to just sit there and wait it out.....if I'm not hungry, I don't eat. It is uncomfortable, stressful, horrible....but, I have brought some issues to the surface. Then, I have to deal with them, forgive, forget, whatever. I'm not fixed yet, but eating/dieting isn't the answer either!

The important step I had to take was to stop "blaming" my overeating on something - stress, job, mad at DH, a celebration, telling myself I deserved it or earned it somehow. WE ARE ABUSING our bodies and justifying it by owning up to it. We need to stop. Eat when you are truly hungry, stop when you aren't. Don't eat again until you are hungry, but ENJOY what you are eating. It isn't my daughter's fault I ate off plan just because she was sick and wanted Ramen. I did not have to eat that, I LET myself eat off plan.

Again, your issues are yours. I don't have the answers, but I'm sure looking for them and I won't find them at the bottom of a plate of cookies!

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by Kateenie

Then, there is something deeper there that HCG isn't going to fix. You have an emotional attachment to food (most of us here DO) and maybe you need to dig a little deeper emotionally to figure out why you are cheating. It is nothing to be ashamed of - we are all dealing with it at various stages. Heck, my VERY unpopular opinion is that many here are just as addicted to the HCG diet as they are to food!!

My point is that until you are ready (whatever that means for you), this diet and any other one is going to fail. We don't know what your issues in particular are, but they are there. Figure that out, and it will help immensely.

I think HCG brings out food addictions and emotional eating right to the surface and some of us just aren't ready to deal with that. I read Weight Loss Apocalypse and also watched the youtube videos associated with it and that really helped, but has made me stay away from these boards because I now recognize the active addictions that are going on here and the enabling that goes along with that. It helps to have boards like these, but sometimes I have to step away because I feel bad/sad/whatever when I see people so obviously struggling with those addictions, while thinking losing weight is going to fix it.

Yes, this is it exactly!! When I first started the hcg years ago, I promised myself I would not use hcg as a crutch and guess what has happened?? Yup, I use it as a crutch. I have NOT learned how to NOT use food as my escape. The one thing I simply cannot do, or maybe I don't want to. I don't know. I am not at that point yet to simply stop eating--it is my one addiction that is hard to break. Once anyone finds out....I am all ears. I need to know the answer to that one and have been searching for 3 years

[buttah]

Kateenie, I so know what you are talking about. I very often have to take these boards with a grain of salt, because do see "another kind of addiction" here. I understand it, believe me. But I really feel like I've turned a corner (especially in my nine weeks between rounds) in how approach food, especially in "high risk" situations like dinners out, special occasions, holidays and vacations. And the biggest "risk" - emotional upheaval in one's life. If we can maintain losses through ALL of those things, we're in good shape.

The funny thing is, not everyone wants to hear that. They want to feel they've "earned" the right to over do it at this or that special event, and if they merely acknowledge and "own" moments of over indulgence (which is just that - OVER indulgence)... all will be well because there is always another round.

My goal is not to over indulge. There is a way to enjoy life without doing so.

That said, I know it will be a struggle, possibly forever - like any addict will tell you, they still have the addiction.

In a way, I'm glad I'm paying for my rounds through clinic. That means I don't look on them lightly. It's more than a matter of cracking open a bottle I have stashed away for a rainy day (which I sort of liken to saving your fat clothes!)

But really... what do I know? Just thinking out loud. I hope I haven't offended anyone.

[deanajane]

Originally Posted by buttah

It's more than a matter of cracking open a bottle I have stashed away for a rainy day (which I sort of liken to saving your fat clothes!)

Ouch, that hit home. (Not offended) but it hit home. No matter how many times i "diet". I'm always afraid to remove my fat clothes from the house. I think reality for me sets in and i feel like sooner or later i will be back on the bandwagon of my love/hate relationship with food.

But i won't stop trying to find the right answer on how I can eat ONLY when I'm truely hungry and stop when I'm full.