The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Tawanda]

I get such a kick out of reading this thread and all the teasing that you guys are doing back and forth.

As for Easter dinner.......plan ahead and make sure there will be program compliant foods available. My personal experience and also from reading about many, many, many people who go off program for "a special day, special vacation, special meal......" that it is heck (and I'm being nice in using the word heck) if not impossible to get back to being program compliant.

Go through the journals...go through the site and read old journals or threads....look for how many people mention that they are doing a planned off program meal, vacation, cheat (I'm tired of sticking to program, I've done so well and I'm sick of eating this food) and then see if those people have had success in continuing on the site or if they've disappeared------or in my case, I snivel and whine constantly about how darn hard it is to stick to program.

There are some who have NO problem with getting back onto program but the majority who have had a cheat meal or day or whatever......they struggle. I do not understand why it happens.....but my 2 cents (okay, so I've gone on long enough that this is more like 2 dollars worth of unsolicited advice) is to NOT tempt fate. If you are on program, compliant, doing well and you want to continue to be this successful........do NOT TEMPT FATE by going off program.

End of G'ma Tawanda's suggestions, rant, unsolicited advice (promise!).

[lifelovinaries]

ok, now it's my turn to add my 2 cents! Although i had planned to eat off plan on both Thanksgiving and Christmas (jumped right back on plan afterwards), i have to agree with Tawanda. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take it from a re re re starter, it is not always easy to get back on and stick to plan once you have swayed. I dont even know how i did it this time or what made this time different but why play russian roulette? I also must admit that Thanksgiving was MUCH easier than Christmas. Although i was compliant right after the Christmas meal, i think it was a little tougher than Thanksgiving. I also must add that i COMPLETELY controlled what i ate BOTH times. I remember approaching the holidays, i was completely stressed at how i was going to deal with them. I finally decided to stop stressing and plan. But i can't say it enuff...I don't recommend it. T is right, if you have the chance to read thru some journals, you will find that once some fell off, they never returned (at least not immediately). Good luck with your decision.

[DogMa]

I'm one of the very, very few who were able to go off plan for a meal or a day, or even longer, and get right back to business afterward. I even benefited from it.

That said, I would NOT recommend it to others, given how many people seem to struggle mightily afterward.

[AmazonQueen]

When you do go off for 1 day, I suspect you might gain something, but when you start back up the next day do you get the loss in the same way as the initial 1st week or does it just pickup where you leave off?

[DogMa]

Everyone's different, and I really don't want to give tips on this, since it's not at all advisable. I was a special case, because I had a terrible time losing and would stall constantly - and for weeks at a time - no matter how compliant I was. But I had - and still have - some pretty severe metabolism issues.

[lifelovinaries]

When you do go off for 1 day, I suspect you might gain something, but when you start back up the next day do you get the loss in the same way as the initial 1st week or does it just pickup where you leave off?

personal experience here~ Thanksgiving, i ended up dropping 2.5 for that week and Christmas, it took almost 2 weeks for me to recognize a loss. So, I don't think it's a matter of your body being happy about the additional calories and stuff and giving you a good loss the following week. I think on average, most will pick up where they left off ~ maybe even a little slower to start. If you are trying to justify going off plan for Easter, i don't think you are going to find THAT justification here. You have many of us that have happened to go off for whatever reason (planned or unplanned) and some that fight to get back on but i don't think you are going to find ANY that will recommend it to anyone else because we KNOW the struggle. Not even for 1 day. Just keep in mind, it is easier to stay OP than to restart. This has GOT to be one of the truest statements ever made.

[AmazonQueen]

Thanks guys for the responses. I'm not trying to justify going off plan just want to know what happens when you do, thanks again!

[katieb920]

DO NOT DO IT

I went off last easter, and it took me 2 1/2 months to get back on program. It is the worst feeling

[rodeomom]

Ok folks - if AQ wants to go off plan and make it that much easier for me to win the money, well then, I say "Let her"!

But seriously, it is not wise to even consider going off plan for any reason. I had to due to my ankle surgery and have been playing heck trying to get back on ever since. Consider, too, that I had been 100% compliant for 3 full months prior to that and was having great success.

You can enjoy a lean and green with many of the traditional (at least in my house) Easter meal foods. Or you can try some new recipes, like mashed cauliflower (VERY GOOD) to be able to enjoy a family holiday meal.

In the end - it is your decision to do what you need to do for you - HOWEVER, don't cry when I win the money and you don't cause you had to have Easter Dinner!

[rodeomom]

When you do go off for 1 day, I suspect you might gain something, but when you start back up the next day do you get the loss in the same way as the initial 1st week or does it just pickup where you leave off?

Typically - once you kick yourself out of ketosis, you start back at square one and have to go through the 3 or so days to get back on track.

[DogMa]

Besides, there will be other Easters. And, like all holidays, isn't it really more about family and being together (not to mention the whole resurrection thing, if you're Christian or Catholic or whatever - which you must be, if you're celebrating Easter, right?), rather than about the food?

(But strictly from a ketosis standpoint ... if you eat carbs but do it within about an hour and then stop again, you'll limit their effect on your blood sugar and generally you will NOT have to start all over to get back into ketosis. It's a key part of the Protein Power and Carbohydrate Addicts plans, and Atkins talks about it in his books, as well.)

[AmazonQueen]

Actually I'm Agnostic, we do the Easter bunny thing for our kids and we have everyone over and of course there will be BAD food. And just so everyone can rest assured I have not strayed or decided to go off plan, I just wanted to know what everyone has experienced when they did!

[DogMa]

OK, well, in that case it's about getting together with family. Try to make that the emphasis instead of the foods, and just do what you can to be sure there are healthful options available. My guess is you won't be the only one eating the good-for-you stuff.

It really isn't worth it for 99.9 percent of the people who try it. Although I have to say, I didn't go off plan to enjoy a holiday meal or something like that. I generally had very controlled off-plan meals that were designed to address a specific problem I had losing weight.

[rodeomom]

Actually I'm Agnostic, we do the Easter bunny thing for our kids and we have everyone over and of course there will be BAD food. And just so everyone can rest assured I have not strayed or decided to go off plan, I just wanted to know what everyone has experienced when they did!

You are wise to ask such questions!!! Being well informed is very important ! Your question may well have been on someone else's mind and perhaps they were too embarrassed to ask. Remember what we have been told over and over again -- "There are no stupid questions except those that are not asked."

[AmazonQueen]

Thanks Rodeo! For a while here I thought I was gonna be grounded or something cuz I asked the wrong thing lol