I really need your advice. first ill give you a back ground and tell you what i did last night. So i am nearly 11months out. ive lost approx 115 pounds to date. i really have not cheated one bit for 11 months. minus holidays ill allow myself to have a lil cake or pie. other than that there has been NO cheating. wel i got a fill about a week ago. it was great at first cause i went from being able to eat a lot to like nothing. i lost some weight already (cause i had plateaued for like 3 months) and i felt back on track. till last night. it started off with having bread at dinner. i have not eaten bread since my surgery. i didnt just have alil i had mostly all bread for dinner. the chicken kept getting stuck. then i got home and was like i already cheated im gonna continue. to cheat. i ate ice cream. Cookies. and chocolate. i dont feel guilt but i feel sad like i prolly gained 5 pounds last night. Today i am back on track im not gonna do that again. i cant believe i binged.

HERES MY QUESTION. do you allow yourself one cheat day? maybe once a week? or how often??, should i do this so that when i have a cheat day i dont binge? and when i have this cheat day should it consist of just my normal routine and one extra special snack for the day? thanks guys!

I am so glad to hear you are back on track. Good for you not allowing the one "binge" to totally derail you. You have done so well!

As far as cheat days et... personally, I don't do them. I am sticking hard core to the rules of the band. Just what works for me. What works for you may be different. It's possible that if you let yourself have a little bit of a treat once in a while (maybe once every 2 weeks or month) you won't binge.

You have accomplished so much! Keep up the great work!

I have to agree with vlp. I'd stick to every couple weeks or months. Even though I'm newly banded, I've learned over the years with dieting that I end up on a slippery slope of goodies and snacks and then I never want to stop. That's where cheat days once a week can easily turn into cheat moments daily and then the calories add up big time. You sound like you have done so awesome so far, so totally keep it up!!:thumbup:

sometimes i cheat, but i do it in small portion size. depends on what it is.an after i do i go straight to my exercise bike an workout.i know it do not justify it but thats just me.

If you are a little too tight, you will find yourself preferring slider foods. They are easy to binge on, because they go through and don't make you feel so full. I don't have binge days per se, but I do have days where I do a little too much snacking. I feel guilty about it and then start over doing better the next day. I am consistently losing a pound a week, so I think I am okay so far. Maybe you should just swear off of slider foods, and then maybe when you do over do it, it won't take as big a toll....... Hugs!!!

I would recommend giving up the idea of "cheating." Becdause the band is a lifestyle, the only cheating you can do is eating around the band. I'm not saying not to follow the guidelines-- 3 meals or whatever, Protein first, chew well, stop when you're full. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for treats now and then. When you stop making certain foods "bad," they lose their naughty-appeal and the we are less likely to binge on them. If I tell myself I can never have bread again, I'm going to think about bread all the time and when I finally do have some, I might binge.

I guess we all have to find what works for us.. but in all my years of dieting (which I have given up!) the big things I have learned is to eat food that tastes good to me (and it's amazing what I've eaten during a diet that I thought was NOT good), and don't put any food on the "never eat" list. Those two rules keep me from going over to the dark side (binge-ing).

I plan any food that I am going to eat that is not on my regularly scheduled program, I tell myself, I have been good all week, I did my exercises, I ate good quality foods in proper proportions so on Sunday I am going to go to the frozen custard place and get 1 small frozen custard and I am going to savor every bite. Then I get the enjoyment of looking forward to it, I don't have any guilt for eating it, and I make sure it is the best thing I can think of. I didn't get fat by having 1 treat on Sunday night, I got fat by having a half gallon tub of ice cream (that really didn't taste that good) in the freezer and just getting some randomly. So my advice, make a treat, a treat and limit it to a particular time and enjoy it.

In my opinion and experience, being super restrictive with my diet (and by diet I mean food intake) causes binging. Everyone is different and everyone has to figure out how to have a treat without overdoing. I pretty much eat what I want, but all in moderation. I don't necessarily do it everyday, but if I want it I have it. I'm two years out so I know what I can have and how it will affect me. I'm comfortable with it; however, there are some things I stay away from no matter what because they are trigger foods for me and I know I can't stop. That doesn't seem to bother me because when I don't eat them, I don't want them. I can't eat anything bready because it starts the binging. It is a physiological reaction akin to a drug for me. I start and I go absolutely crazy and eat everything in site. So I don't do that at all. I do allow myself chocolate or other dessert items in moderation. I consider this a lifestyle change and I don't "diet", but that works for me. I have to have treats or it drives me crazy. Besides life is just no fun without treats from time to time. :thumbup: Good luck!