are you guys really happy with the healthier life style? or how do you keep up?
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Everyday is a challenge. Everyday I wake up in the morning excited that I'll get home from work and jump on the elliptical and burn some calories. Come mid afternoon, i'll e trying to find excuses not to exercise. Once I get home, I fight with my mind everytime to force myself to JUST DO IT. I do feel great after doing it, and I personally thank GOD for helping me make the right choice for that day. As for food, I'm eating clean most days. I pack my lunch to work so I won't find excuses to eat out and go out of control. Do I miss junk food? Yes I do. Do I avoid it totally? No. I allow myself to have 1 cheat day a week, but I ensure I don't go above the calorie count. So yes, everyday is a challenge. But i've been on here for 43 days and counting.
Food should never be torture, or difficult. Find things that are good for you, that are filling, that also taste good to you. If you're forcing yourself to do this, you won't stick with it, you won't make that change you want. Not in a real way, not long term.
The last thing anyone should have is a difficult or unhealthy relationship with food. Don't try to be so perfect, that's not a formula for long term success.0 -
I honestly do prefer this healthier lifestyle. My body feels the difference with better fuel to run it. I'm loving my activities such as hiking and cycling outdoors. They're fun, and a way to explore and I couldn't have done so much walking and cycling eating cookies and potato chips. My muscles are strong now and they allow me to do the activities I love for long distances. I do indulge in desserts sometimes but usually now when I want something sweet I turn to a few dates, which have many nutrients.0
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Yes, I am really happy with my healthier life style. How do I keep up? By setting new goals and realizing more NSV's... for example, just eating my share. Hunger is a real issue for a lot of people. I just need to eat my share. Overall mental health. Don't need the sugar rush up/plummet down feeling. Being able to default to nutrition that keeps me stable and able to work and enjoy life is important to me.0
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what works very well for me is a) doing 16:8, b) having a tasty and predictable diet and c) using low calorie sweets.
i really love those big portions i get from eating only 2 meals a day.0 -
Okay firstly: RECowgill, now I am craving chicken fillets and ranch. All of those plates looked DELICIOUS.
Secondly: yes, I really do enjoy my healthier lifestyle. I was never really overweight (heaviest in recent years while not being pregnant or within a few months PP was about 130lbs at 5'2), but I FEEL so much better. I'm sure the amount of water I drink nowadays has a lot to do with that honestly. I also learned that I really enjoy healthy foods and running - something I never thought I would like, because I'm asthmatic. So even if I could eat unlimited junk, I wouldn't. My body and brain just feel so much better when I treat them nicely.0 -
If I want an entire chocolate bar, I will fit it into my day. I'll probably be a bit hungry that day if I ate the bar in the early part of the day, but I can make it fit into my day.
That's the problem for me... 6 days out of 7, I just can't 'be a bit hungry'. My hunger makes me weak and sick until I eat something. The last two days have been a breeze, I've been hungry yes but I couldn't care less, it wasn't bothering me really and it was no problem to wait two hours to eat something... and it was super easy to fit a piece of cheesecake in my day - heck I should be able to keep a 300 deficit tonight. I even kept a 600 deficit yesterday, and it was easy too (I ate 1900 extra calories this week end, so trying to make up for it).
But those days are few and fat between... The rest of the time, like this week end, I'm like a bottomless pit. If I eat anything with 'empty calories', even in moderation, it's going to be a real struggle to stay under my calories.
Bloody hormones.
If my carbs are over 40% (in other words, I'm low on protein and fat) I get hungry. When I was at a deficit with those macros, I also couldn't lose.
Skip the cheesecake and eat more protein and fat (satisfying) and fewer carbs (lots of calories that go fast into your bloodstream and cause insulin spikes and then low blood sugar that makes you hungry).
Stop trying to fit high calorie snacks into your day and eat something else. Then have a SMALL delicious snack like a Linzor truffle (60 calories) or a cookie or a 1/4 cup of ice cream.0 -
"I am one of those "lucky" ones that I never really put on much weight no matter how much I eat."
There is no such person. Either this or you are a magic fairy.
This is not true. I am a compulsive over eater, and for all of my life up until I was in my 30s and had my kids, I ate all I wanted of whatever I wanted. I did not put on weight, and I ate a LOT of fat and sugar. Even during my pregnancies I hardly put on any weight, even though I continued to eat all the stuff I thought I shouldn't have. It is a metabolism thing, and mine changed after having kids and going on some medications.
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If I want an entire chocolate bar, I will fit it into my day. I'll probably be a bit hungry that day if I ate the bar in the early part of the day, but I can make it fit into my day.
That's the problem for me... 6 days out of 7, I just can't 'be a bit hungry'. My hunger makes me weak and sick until I eat something. The last two days have been a breeze, I've been hungry yes but I couldn't care less, it wasn't bothering me really and it was no problem to wait two hours to eat something... and it was super easy to fit a piece of cheesecake in my day - heck I should be able to keep a 300 deficit tonight. I even kept a 600 deficit yesterday, and it was easy too (I ate 1900 extra calories this week end, so trying to make up for it).
But those days are few and fat between... The rest of the time, like this week end, I'm like a bottomless pit. If I eat anything with 'empty calories', even in moderation, it's going to be a real struggle to stay under my calories.
Bloody hormones.
At least in Sept. and start of October, you were regularly a few hundred below your calorie goal. You said you do TDEE-20%, so you should be eating your full goal. This would honestly probably help with the hunger issue. Especially if you're finding it to be a pattern where you keep switching between being short and then being above your goal.
Also, I find that eating a good macro balance for breakfast and lunch (or first half of the day at least) keeps me from being too hungry even with 6+ hours between meals. I can eat the rest of my carbs at night and not feel all that hungry. I see that your ratios are not always very equal for certain meals during the day, so that could be influencing things. Your breakfast tends to be higher in carbs. I find that for myself, even if my carbs and protein are balanced, if fat is low I will likely be hungry. So I aim to eat a lot of protein and fat in the morning. I've yet to figure out if the same type of balance is needed at lunch too, and if evening should mostly be reserved for minor remaining protein and primarily carbs.
All this being said, when I say "hungry" I mean that slight feeling of maybe wanting to eat. Like if you drink something it could easily go away. If I am so hungry that I wind up being sick, then obviously it means I need to eat, so I would eat.
No, my goal is my TDEE. I switched to that a couple months ago, just trying to keep a deficit when possible to lose my last couple pounds. There are just weeks (typically before my period) when I'm starving. This week has been amazing though, it's been very easy to keep a deficit most days, even though I've been up way too early and not getting enough sleep. I just wish it would last.
If my carbs are over 40% (in other words, I'm low on protein and fat) I get hungry. When I was at a deficit with those macros, I also couldn't lose.
Skip the cheesecake and eat more protein and fat (satisfying) and fewer carbs (lots of calories that go fast into your bloodstream and cause insulin spikes and then low blood sugar that makes you hungry).
Stop trying to fit high calorie snacks into your day and eat something else. Then have a SMALL delicious snack like a Linzor truffle (60 calories) or a cookie or a 1/4 cup of ice cream.
I'm under 40% carb pretty much every day. For what it's worth, the day I ate that cheesecake, I was pretty much full all day - I'm quite sure actually that the only reason I ended up hungry after dinner is because I didn't have any complex carbs, and just fish and veggies...
And I almost never have high calorie snacks (except when we go out to eat and I get dessert, or when I end up binging on cookies, obviously). But even if I don't have any treat on the 'hungry' days, it makes no difference whatsoever... I still get hungry. This week I haven't really eaten differently yet I haven't had any issue at all (haven't even been craving sweets much at all either). I'm telling you, it's hormones.0 -
basically it sounds like you have a food addiction, which most of us do.
you say you dont want to have a little of the tasty indulgent thing, you want all of it.
sounds similar to a drinker, they dont want a couple sips or one drink they want 5. same concept.
it is not going to be pleasant changing life long habits, if it was we wouldn't be her today.
do i enjoy having one or 2 cookies instead of 10 or 15. does it feel the same as eating a whole sleeve, then sitting on the couch in a sugar blissful coma no! of course it doesnt.
but its something we have to do. with most of us here we can psychically see the damage its doing to our lives by the extra weight we have, you have only the slow internal damage so you cant see it with your eyes.
just like a smoker or a drinker you have to be ready to do it for your health. and it doesn't have to be drastic baby steps.0 -
I am happier with the benefits of my healthier lifestyle than I am when I eat bad food. My husband and I were at a point where we ate fast food like 5 days a week and were barely active. Not only does it feel good to get out and go for walks and go to the gym rather than stay at home all the time, but eating healthier has saved us money, given me more confidence and energy, and has already made me happier with my body. These are all good things! Don't get me wrong, I still love fast food and junk food and I chocolate bars and Doritos are still so tempting, but we're having fun exploring homemade meals and finding healthy options that are delicious as well.
Of course, if I'm really jonesing for something I'll get a single portion bag of it or we'll share a chocolate bar, but that's only happened two or three times since August, so we're doing well.
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cincysweetheart wrote: »
But do I like it? I like the results. I like feeling healthier. I like that I don't get the carb crashes after every meal where I just want to take a nap (ftr: I am not a low carber, I just choose complex carbs that don't have that spike and crash effect). I like that I can feel full and satisfied without having to snack constantly. And your tastes will change over time so that you actually DO prefer the healthier stuff. I tried a few sips of soda a few weeks ago and couldn't drink anymore. It just tasted nasty to me… like chemicals or something. And will power is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. For instance, today I was able to pass up free cupcakes (that looked amazing, btw) and ice cream. Neither one caused me a great deal of stress or disappointment or feelings of deprivation.
I like that. It comes pretty close to the way I look at things.
I hit my goal weight a few months ago after losing 40 pounds. I thought about losing more, then I thought about bulking. I was going back and forth then finally decided to just maintain where I was at. Yesterday I reset my goal to lose another 10 lbs, or whatever it takes to get rid of the last bit of excess fat. When I get to the point that I can see my abs, I'll reverse direction and start bulking. In short, I don't think I'll ever go into maintenance mode. Improving is a lot more fun and challenging.
When I first started trying to lose weight and paid more attention to the nutritional value of what I was putting in my mouth, I struggled to learn to like fruits and veggies and to give up things that were doing me no good like soda or sugar with my coffee. I've since adapted. I now like fruits and veggies. I've also changed the way I look at food. Before I used to try to decide what I had a taste for, and eat whatever I found appealing. Now I look at caloric and macro values and plan my meals accordingly. Weekdays are easy since I tend to eat pretty much the same thing every day. I normally wing it on the weekends and usually have a much tougher time keeping calories under control and rarely hit my macro goals. But on a weekly basis it all works out.
To answer the original question, yes, I'm happy. Keeping an eye on what I'm eating is a small price to pay for the rewards I've been getting.0 -
Yes, I'm happy. But I'm also not depriving myself of anything completely. I also have days when I cut loose.0
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I really, really, really like fast food. This is difficult for me.
I don't dislike living a healthy lifestyle, but I crave red meat all. The. Time. I hardly ever cooked. I would just grab a nice big piece of meat on a bun. I get at least 100 grams of protein a day, but it isn't what I really want.
I love Bacon, sausage, and burgers.
I like all types of pasta. A plate full of it.
I like pizza!!!!
This is very difficult for me, but I'm hoping I'm strong enough to sustain and to keep making these necessary changes to improve my health and to reach my goals.0 -
I DO NOT LIKE THE HEALTHIER LIFE STYLE . I love the results of the healthier lifestyle.
Because I love the results of the healthier lifestyle more than I dislike the healthier lifestyle.. I choose to keep up and I do keep up. I fall off the wagon sometimes but I get back up.
If I had the option, then yes….I would rather have 10 cookies and 6 scoops of ice cream that only 2. There is no pleasure or joy in having to moderate. I want the option to eat the whole cake and not just a slice. Because I like the results, I only eat a slice…every now and then I eat the whole cake
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ttcbelieve wrote: »I DO NOT LIKE THE HEALTHIER LIFE STYLE . I love the results of the healthier lifestyle.
Because I love the results of the healthier lifestyle more than I dislike the healthier lifestyle.. I choose to keep up and I do keep up. I fall off the wagon sometimes but I get back up.
If I had the option, then yes….I would rather have 10 cookies and 6 scoops of ice cream that only 2. There is no pleasure or joy in having to moderate. I want the option to eat the whole cake and not just a slice. Because I like the results, I only eat a slice…every now and then I eat the whole cake
Hehe this!0 -
i really love all the rituals. i feel like every day has so many moments when i get to actually appreciate those moments, now that i am living with more awareness. I find it to be very rewarding in a way that really really really appeals to my love of traditions, rituals and progress. AND KITS. anything that comes in a kit, i am all about it :P0
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I am happy with the results of my healthy & fit lifestyle but no I am not happy. I miss the days of being able to eat bread, pasta, rice & all the deserts & alcohol I wanted!0
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Hunger is such a fascinating thing. I used to get that hormonal hunger - where I just -had- to eat, and there was no resisting it. Then I got sick, and needed antibiotics and it just... went away. Now I have days where I just don't bother eating breakfast or lunch - I have a cup of tea and go back to work. My husband and I joke that my life is ruled by a billion single-celled organisms, and after the flagyl and cipro elections (and possibly the kimchi coup), the new ruling class is in favor of weight loss.
I struggled for awhile when I started losing weight because the junk food called to me, and then didn't satisfy. I ruthlessly replaced my old junk food with things that did satisfy. If I'm not happy with a single serving - I'm unlikely to buy it again, because no amount will really make me happy.0 -
It will change with time! When you ween yourself off the sugar and carbs, your body stops craving them! It becomes less of a challenge to eat healthy, it becomes natural.0
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I don't really miss breathing hard at the top of the stairs and not having much energy0
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Working out is a blessing to me. True I may not always feel like it, but it's something that my body loves and it benefits me greatly. I eat within my macros and the type of meals I eat are still fun and enjoyable so there's not alot of craving for the "bad things". And heck, when I feel like partaking in some fun and comfort foods that aren't exactly nutrient dense or the best option, I do so. Its not an every day or even an every week thing. The trick here is to create a healtheir version of a lifestyle you can stick to for life. That way, the desire to "cheat", "wild out" or "binge" isn't hanging over you. Enjoy what you eat, enjoy how you workout, enjoy your healthier lifestyle.0
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I don't really miss breathing hard at the top of the stairs and not having much energy
This! And I don't miss the horror of getting ready for a night out and desperately trying to find something in the wardrobe that fits, having to pretend I really didn't want to wear jeans and that its not because I can't get them to do up!
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I try to see maintenance as a range not a specific number. Like most have said - every day is a challenge and you need to keep learning all the time. I originally thought I would never eat junk/fast food again. I like pizza and the odd piece of junk food, so I include it occasionally. I find it easier to stay on track if I eat sensibly but within daily limits. The odd lapse is not going result me in me re-gaining the 70lbs that I have lost. I like exercise and try to do something every day - maybe kettle bells, a long walk, gym workout, gardening or power walk. just helps if you can add 200 cals to eat back later ;-)0
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Well, NO!!, I WANT WHISKEY, WINE and CHOCOLATE all the time.0
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I'm happy with my healthier lifestyle because I see the results of my hard work, I feel better, look better, etc. There's no greater feeling than the natural rush you get when you finish a good work out, when you try on clothes and they fit, when people are complimenting how great you look, when you have natural energy to go out and do active things instead of feeling blah....0
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Well, no, I don't enjoy working out and measuring portions and eating healthy and everything, let's be honest. And the guy who took pictures of stuff he eats.... that's how I *used* to eat, and it made me fat! Breaded fried filets, my God, what I wouldn't give to be able to get away with that. Breaded things are no. more than one portion/filet of anything at all is no. more than one slice of cheese is no. It's actually pretty grim if I think about it, which I try not to do. But I'm female, short, middle aged, and hypothyroid so I have two options. 1. suck it up and live with the food restriction and the workouts, but be pretty and have good bloodwork and be able to get nice clothes or 2. Eat what I want but keep forever expanding, let my blood sugar go crazy, and have nothing cute to wear. I decided Option 1 was better especially since I won't become diabetic that way. It's like going to work, doing taxes, and all the rest of that BS; you just suck it up because doing otherwise ends up being a LOT worse! lol0
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Yeah...eating healthfully doesn't have to be boring...food doesn't have to be tasteless and blah...too many people have a very narrow view of what actually constitutes "healthy" foods and thus they corner themselves into that little box that only allows for dry salads and celery sticks..complete nonsense.
Also, working out and kicking *kitten* is fun...who doesn't like kicking *kitten*?0 -
and I think I would sell what's left of my soul for a satisfying portion size of pasta, but... well, that way lies fat. so it's off the table. I don't buy it. it doesn't exist. If there's an up side other than not being fat, I save a LOT of money on groceries.0
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You may find you're happier once your life is no longer controlled by food. But as you say, you have a lot of changes to make. Don't make them all at once. Small steps, small changes. You need to find a balance you can live with long-term.
Include some treats. Work on portion control. Work on adding in healthy foods you like (find some fruits and vegetables you like, or ways to add them to your diet to increase nutrition and control hunger). You don't need to eat kale or lima beans. Find exercise you like, and do a little more of it.
You can do this.0 -
The bad thing for me was I used to eat any thing I wanted with very little to no water, or healthy foods. That was in my youth now with the change of life I can't eat what ever I want and look "cute" anymore. I used to exercise in my 20' and 30's from March until it got cold here in October etc. but now at almost 50 I have to exercise all year. I've grown to enjoy exercise but eating healthy I'm forcing myself to do it. Eating carrots and cottage cheese from breakfast is not my idea of food that I want but now I do it. I'm a very pretty lady and truthfully I want to stay that way as long as I can. I want to wear sexy clothes and look good for my age. So yes I used to eat a whole container of ice cream at a time but now I don't bring it into the house. Only certain items I'd binge on , on a very limited basis. I used to buy ice cream only three times a year. I just had celery, ice water and cottage cheese for lunch with one apple but I wear a size 8 right now and proud of it. I'm on here to get back to a size 6 or 4. You have to do it for yourself though.. I want to look good only for me.0
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