That’s a great question. What if you did cheat just a little bit? From experience, I can tell you that it’s not worth it. But because we’re all human it’s bound to happen especially when celebrating.

May is an exciting month, there are so many celebrations, Mother’s Day, First Communions, Graduations and of course Birthday’s. We received a lot of phone calls this week, and we heard a lot of the same questions over and over again. What do I do if I cheated? My weight loss has stopped, what do I do? I’m hungry, why? I’ve gained and I only had a little cheat.

We are halfway through May and while there are a lot of celebrating days left this month, since Memorial Day is right around the corner. Let’s hope that a little cheating doesn’t become a habit, but if you find yourself in a position that you have cheated just a little bit, here is what to do.

• No need to start over again.
• Go right back to low calorie regime the next day.
• Continue with all your water

Your weight loss could be halted for days if you cheated, so don’t be surprised.  Depending on what you ate, and how sensitive your body is to sugar levels (BSL’s), don’t be surprised on how your body reacts, it is not a punishment but a reaction to your old habits.

We get so many calls from everyone about feeling hungry after they cheat.  What they don’t realize is that as high as blood sugars were raised during the cheat, the body will compensate in a drop at the same level.  To clarify, if the BSL’s go above normal by 10 points they drop below normal by 10 points.  So don’t be surprised if two days after a cheat, you are dying for extra breadsticks and you can’t help yourself and want to grab a few.

The last point is how the “tiny cheats” have an impact on weight loss (or lack of).  We can never predict how a cheat will affect progress, and because so many of you (including me) really don’t know our bodies that well, you can’t predict it either.  Does the extra sodium cause retention of fluids?

Does sugar affect you beyond what you thought?  Could you be dairy or gluten sensitive? Maybe you were not paying attention to how felt, because you thought the aches and pains were from age and weight gain.

Please don’t assume it was no big deal, or it wasn’t that much.  Sometimes people are really upset about the way it affects them, and then they feel cheated by the program.  The program works as long as you work with it.  

In the end, I say to all of you who are on this weight loss journey,  get your big girl thong on and DO THIS!  Don’t mess around, put your head down and walk until you reach your goal! If you are stuck you need to reach out now, don’t wait 5 (five) days.

And please know that I sincerely care about your success and how you are feeling.  I was in your shoes for 22 years and I will never forget how it feels to be in the position to have to lose weight.

You can do this!  

Happy Losing,

Nan