Can't be perfect

[Quayette]

I'm 4 months into this lifestyle. And although I believe everything in the Starch Solution to be true, I have not been perfect (oily chips, processed nuts, birthday cake and a slice of pizza). I try not to punish myself and keep on doing my best.
Does these kind of temptations go away? How do you deal with guilt, cravings and "bad days"? Does your willpower become stronger? Do you allow yourselves some cheating from time to time?
Have you seen weightloss results even if you don't do it 100%? Have you seen health improvement even though you fall of the wagon?

[kirkj]

Boy, I don't know. I've been eating this way for about five years and vegan for two years before that. I've eaten a few chips at parties etc over that time, but chips were never something I loved so I don't miss them. I had a fork of my partner's birthday cake a couple days ago, but again, I was never crazy about cake. I am not tempted by meat or dairy and it's been long enough that they now both smell gross.

I mostly miss baked sweets and I have learned to never let myself have them because it is very difficult or impossible for me to limit how much I end up eating. I stay away from bread for the same reason, it's too easy to eat half the loaf. Even compliant treats can be risky for me. If I have one black bean brownie, I want to have five.

One of the things I most like about eating this way is I am finished with the dieting madness. My BMI has been between 21.5 and 22 for 5 years and my weight was never that stable or low. The trade off is that I have completely given up things I used to love like peanut butter, and virtually given up less calorie dense things I really enjoy like bread.

[Willijan]

I'm sure weightloss results would vary from person to person depending on how much you have to lose and how much you cheat. In my case, I started between 127 and 130 lbs about 5 years ago, and now am down to 110 to 111, BMI right around 19.

In my case, I didn't think of what I did as cheating, but just getting accustomed to the diet. Giving up small amounts of oil took a few months, until I had gotten the hang of what I liked that I could cook, instead of occasionally buying frozen vegan meals with oil. After that, for several years I ate McDougall and Forks Over Knives recipes for cakes several times a day, every day. I reduced the sugar, sodium and fat in those recipes right from the first.

If I had continued eating those desserts that often, I think it is unlikely I would ever have gotten near 110 lbs. And I never ate animal products. Also, I ate more high fat plant foods the first year or two, but now I eat very little of any of those. It really doesn't bother me to do without the unhealthy foods. I am perfectly happy without them. When I drive past the pizza shop in my small town, it sounds good. But I don't really want any. I'd rather go home and eat starches, no oil.

I think the paragraphs above describe how I learned to comply better with the healthiest version of the diet. I am still working on getting my sodium down, although it is much, much lower. I do still have desserts every day as often as I want (2-3 times), but those desserts are baked apple oatmeal and baked blueberry oatmeal. I don't comply with the rules easily unless I always have dessert available.

So, my opinion is, you shouldn't think badly of yourself if you have a slip-up. But if you want the benefits of the diet, you must work hard not to have those slip-ups. What happened to me is my tastes gradually changed. But that probably won't happen if you go off plan often.

For me, I love not ever having to think about whether it is okay to eat what I am eating. That is a big deal to me, and worth working for. Also, I love being slender. I hated my body ever since the teen years, and I wasn't even fat. I feel so comfortable in my skin now.

[LadySybil]

I'm three months in, and I find that my cravings are directly related to what I'm eating. A few weeks ago, I had a very stressful time with a parent in their hospital, and I was eating a lot of white pasta (quick and comforting). Suddenly, I was hungry all the time and craving sugar. I got back onto veggies and whole grains, and I'm really satiated and have no desire to snack. Don't focus on "perfect," focus on what food makes you feel good, and let that crowd the other stuff out.