the Belgian Chocolate problem

[boggins]

My OH has been in Brussels for a few days with work, something that's never happened before nor will again. He said he'll bring me back some chocolate, and I sort of said no, yes, don't, oh go on, and he wants to get them as a kind of "sorry" gift because he's been away, so it was doubly hard to talk him out of it.

My question is, I simply don't know what is worse- eating the lot in one go, or limiting myself (trying to limit myself...) to one a week or something. Note that I did tell him a SMALL pack, like those packs of four seashell things you can get.

In a way I think I'd feel better just downing the lot and then getting straight back on track. "Cheating" every week feels somehow worse.

Does anyone else have "cheat" or "treat" days? If you know there's going to be temptation, do you find it better to just go for it and get it over and done with, or try for a bit of restraint?

Thing is, I've this terrible feeling that I won't enjoy them very much. I find now that if I do stray and have a bit of something carby, it's just really not that great, a bit of a disappointment. Plus sugar now produces a wild swing in my mood. But....Belgian chocolate! Four Belgian choccies aren't going to ruin everything, are they? Or are they?!

 

[boggins]

PS What a lovely dilemma to have!

 

[CornishPixie]

Why don't you just pick one out of the box and let everyone else eat them? Take a while picking, make sure you have the best one then you're not missing out on the rest. Then you have 1 choccie which is unlikely to wildly throw you out of ketosis x

 

[boggins]

Sounds easy...bet it isn't! I will have a go, thank you. This may involve handing the box back to OH and telling him to hide it!

 

[CornishPixie]

Haha, you'll be fine! It is just chocolate after all! (can't believe I just said that)

Enjoy xx

 

[Cazzie26]

To be honest, from reading your post, I think if you eat them you will regret it massively. Don't get me wrong, I am not judging anyone for falling off the wagon every now and again (have done so frequently!) but if you are this indecisive about it, those chocolates would have to be utterly A-MA-ZING to make it worth it. I doubt they will be and you will end up kicking yourself for potentially sacrificing a week's weight loss for a couple of chocolates. I tihnk it is easy to judge what a "treat" is based on what we USED to think was a treat in our pre-atikins, sugar addict days. If you don't want it, don't eat it and am quite sure your OH will understand. If you do truly want it, ENJOY! XX

 

[Kat1e]

I think i would go with the have one as a treat (after a nice legal meal to keep your insulin balanced and not late at night!) - really taste and enjoy it and then have tons of water. Ideally have when guests are there - hand out to all. I think leaving them round the house waiting.....is probably a dangerous mistake

 

[-FJ-]

Could they not get you a low sugar version?

Ie, polyol city!?

 

[boggins]

Too late, he's already back with them. Thankfully they are most dark chocolates, but since when is 36 inch-square pieces of chocolate a "small" packet?! He bought himself a small bag of them and me a huge box! Arrrgh!

Well, I had one of the 77% cacao squares last night, and it was alright but nothing special, so I am confident I can keep myself to only one or two a week.

36 squares though. Eejit. He means well!

 

[Kat1e]

Seriously think one or two a week could be an issue for you - take a look at sticky about cheating on atkins. Unfortunately if the choocies do throw you out of ketosis and takes 2/3 days to get back in then you risk cravings, weight stalling or even gain over multiple weeks

 

[boggins]

:cry:B...b..but it's CHOCOLATE!

I will see, you may be right. Quite a fun experiment, no?

Right now I'm just going nowhere because of hormones, again. Every month like clockwork everything grinds to a halt on the scale whether I'm "good" or not.

 

[ajj1965]

If it were me I'd know what I should do... What I actually would do is gaze virtuously and plaintively at them for several days and then one night, late at night - when all resolutions of goodness are distant memories - I would scoff the lot in one fell swoop, then probably raid the kitchen for a myriad of other bad things (since I'd be in 'sod it' mood) and the next day I'd be wracked with guilt and back on the wagon and I'd be regretting it for the three days it took me to get back into ketosis and then, honestly, when I was back on the wagon again the guilt would disipate like early morning fog and I'd remember my bad little blowout with some small satisfaction.
But hopefully you aren't me... LOL

 

[boggins]

:8855:

That's EXACTLY what I did on my birthday, just after I started low carbing. Massive sugar binge, I mean huge. I am mortified at the amount of sugar I necked in one evening.

Thankfully I don't seem to have cravings for chocolate. Sometimes for something sweet, but I usually do a kind of thick cream/cocoa powder/Splenda concoction which works. Tip: almond butter is a good addition to the mix, peanut butter definitely isn't, unless you like things nauseatingly rich.

So far I've only had that one square and have barely thought about the others. I've no idea where this newfound saintliness has some from, but long may it continue! :innocent0002:

I am slightly panicking about Christmas. Same thing, I can't decide whether to be 100% good or let it go a bit. EVERYTHING I used to do for Christmas is naughty. I'd have croissants and Bucks Fizz for breakfast (I'm not a big drinker, and certainly not in the mornings, but it's a family tradition!), then Xmas tea, with stuffing, and flour-thickened gravy, and roasties, then a mince pie with brandy butter. Then more sugary alcohol- advocaat and sloe gin.

Hmmm....I wonder where all my excess fat came from? :hmm:

I think I might make a low carb trifle, and the Xmas meal can at least be modified, but the rest of it's a wash out. Flavoured water and sprouts.

 

[CornishPixie]

Boggins I made a great trifle the other day, obvsiously sf jelly in the bottom then made another layer where I blended the remaining jelly into cream cheese to make a "cheesecake" layer then whipped cream! So nice! Maybe flavour the cream with some cinnamon perhaps for a Christmas vibe?

You can definitely get through Christmas without all that stuff! It's just food and you can't give it more importance than your own goals. All that stuff you can buy once your at goal maybe, but personally if there is a meal/event coming up which u can't avoid I try to ask myself if it's something I can buy or make myself, if yes then I won't have it. It's common stuff and way down the ladder on immediate need.

Think of everything you can have, smoked salmon and eggs for breakfast with great coffee. Lots of meat, cauli cheese and pigs in blankets for main!

Ok, now I'm hungry lol! Think of how smug you'll feel coming out of christmas pounds down when everyone else is feeling the festive weight in January xx

 

[ClaireCat]

Well I'd be the worst influence ever. I'd have told myself I wasnt eating the chocolate, then I'd have eventually decided that if I eat them all in 30mins then its ok! lol!

And Christmas, for me, will be a complete and utter binge, that will probably last until the 3rd or 4th of January! I'm cooking this year and I have rather grand carby plans! lol!

 

[CornishPixie]

Love it Clairecat! Am just sat reading a cookery book on the train of lots of sugary treats to make for everyone as gifts! Have turned into such a feeder. I think if I was planning a Christmas blip it would go on Christmas pud with clotted cream and a glass of red wine. Not fussed on mince pies or chrimbo cake, but love chrimbo pud!

 

[ajj1965]

Boggins I made a great trifle the other day, obvsiously sf jelly in the bottom then made another layer where I blended the remaining jelly into cream cheese to make a "cheesecake" layer then whipped cream!

Desperately wanting something sweet but trying to be virtuous last week I decided to make a Rhubarb cheesecake. It 'looked' like cheesecake when I'd baked it but tasted weirdly like a rhubarb-flavoured omlette. A couple of days later my husband opened the microwave and found the tub of cream cheese that I'd completely forgotten to add to my cheesecake recipie

 

[ClaireCat]

Desperately wanting something sweet but trying to be virtuous last week I decided to make a Rhubarb cheesecake. It 'looked' like cheesecake when I'd baked it but tasted weirdly like a rhubarb-flavoured omlette. A couple of days later my husband opened the microwave and found the tub of cream cheese that I'd completely forgotten to add to my cheesecake recipie

PMSL!!!!

 

[boggins]

Ha ha! Excellent cheesecake story! Reminds me of once when I was a kid attempting to make a cake and forgetting the flour. I mean, really? Dopey mare.

Kat1e....guess what I just did? Ate a whole bunch of that Belgian chocolate! Noooooo! TOTM started, quite painful and I felt bad. Total comfort eating.

But get this- this morning, the scales were not registering anything different from last week. 8 chocolate squares later I had a guilty look again, and I've miraculously lost 3 pounds.

I do like having cheap, hard to read scales. They're so forgiving!

I'll run a little more than usual tomorrow, swim a little faster on Monday, and ask the OH to hide the chocolates until TOTM is over. They'd sat untouched all week prior to today!

Luckily I do find it funny more than anything else. Not the end of the world. Of course it doesn't help that I'd just read the post about "your body after a carb binge" on the Mark's Daily Apple website, and am now feeling bad for my poor old pancreas and liver dealing with all the sugar. I'm also going to a concert at Llandaff Cathedral tonight, not something I've ever done before, and you can be sure the combination of beautiful live singing + TOTM hormones + sugar crash will mean I'll start crying in the middle of it like a loon. Oh dear.

 

[anna55]

this thread is cracking me up with laughter, thank you, what a tonic! xx