Your tricks to 'embrace' the pain of your lifestyle changes?
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TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »I think it's a real pain to weigh and measure every little thing, it takes me way longer to cook a meal now. I cook a lot of meals from scratch, so I'm not talking about just throwing some meat and veggies on a plate.
prep before...
I do the shopping once a week and when i come home i clean/cut/bag/freeze all my veggies/meat/fish and herbs and other food and write down on the bag how much it is.
Saves time, but i also think its a small burden to take to get and stay healthy and lose weight.
I don't do any of this but weighing all my ingredients really doesn't take much time. I made a macaroni casserole tonight for myself. "Pre-logged" all the ingredients I knew I'd want to use, then I chopped each one up and simply changed the weight on my app. I usually will keep the weight of a few ingredients in my head at a time before changing the weight. Might have added a minute or two to the entire process.0 -
It really does not seem painful to me to limit my carbs and sugars and exercise 30 minutes or more daily. Once you get in the habit it is easy.0
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I think she didn't mean physical pain as much as the figurative one of breaking the habit. My whole life I had lived by "when in doubt, eat". For comfort, out of boredom, because I was taught to never waste food, etc. I managed to keep my weight healthy until pregnancy, but it was one crash diet after another since I was 12 (so for 18 years). Losing weight is easy, especially with MFP, but changing life-long habits is not. OP raised an interesting topic, and I hope to see some opinions and ideas, rather than personal criticism.
My 2 cents:
I aim for a very slow loss rate, try to surround myself with positive people, and keep myself busy, so the week-ends are usually the hardest days in terms of self-control.
I noticed that having steak for breakfest keeps me very, very satisfied throughout the entire day. I'm running out of deer meat and starting to panick a little because I can't afford buying so much meat... Eggs and egg whites fried up with veggies also help a lot. It's very hard to make time for a good breakfast, but it's really helpful for me.0 -
What pain? DOMS? Are you talking about DOMS? Make sure you're getting enough potassium and water.
That's pretty much the only pain my lifestyle has caused me.0 -
I have such a tiny deficit, it's a pain to stick to it. . It's also a pain when I want something sweet after dinner and I can't because I've already hit my calories, so I either have it and go over or suffer and ignore my cravings.
I don't mind weighing my food, and I enjoy logging.0 -
TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »I think it's a real pain to weigh and measure every little thing, it takes me way longer to cook a meal now. I cook a lot of meals from scratch, so I'm not talking about just throwing some meat and veggies on a plate.
prep before...
I do the shopping once a week and when i come home i clean/cut/bag/freeze all my veggies/meat/fish and herbs and other food and write down on the bag how much it is.
Saves time, but i also think its a small burden to take to get and stay healthy and lose weight.
Thank you, that is a fantastic idea. I have to cook for my family and I serve every thing restaurant style. I tend to give my husband and kids most of the meat and short change myself. The meat is what keeps me full. I may still have to make their meal and my exact same meal but if I weigh it beforehand it will be so much easier. Most of the prep is the same anyway, just separate mine, I get it. Brilliant, Thank you
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SergeantSausage wrote: »Wait - There's supposed to be pain?
I'm doin' it wrong then, I guess.
That's about what I was thinking. I have been fine with my weight loss/weight maintenance journey. The only painful thing was to realize how much I was eating in order to gain weight.
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What pain? I am thankful that ife is good.
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I think it's a real pain to weigh and measure every little thing, it takes me way longer to cook a meal now. I cook a lot of meals from scratch, so I'm not talking about just throwing some meat and veggies on a plate.
It gets a lot easier once you have done it for a while. I cook everything from scratch too--it's doable.
Having a lot of measuring cups helps. So does having the appropriate-sized measuring scoop in containers. For example, I keep a 1/2 scoop in my oatmeal container as that is the serving size--voilà!0 -
I too have turned to tea! Try Good Earth's Wild Chaild if you like cinnamon or Bigelow's Vanilla Caramel which is more of a cappuccino-ish type tea. They are soothing, zero calorie, and I look forward to them every night before bed.0
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I am really enjoying the journey. Today is a rare exception. I was off for my run and looked to the left to wave at a biker passing by. Then, all of a sudden I found myself falling to the ground. Yes, I tripped on uneven sidewalk and busted both knees and scraped the palms of my hands as I slid on the sidewalk. Although, it hurt, I shook it off and ran as far as I could until the pain and swelling got in the way. I just walked the rest of the way. I think I am more upset about the interruption in my routine than the pain itself. Oh, well. I will survive. This is the second time this has happened at the same spot on the same sidewalk. They say, no pain, no gain.... I do not think this is what that means.
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SergeantSausage wrote: »Wait - There's supposed to be pain?
I'm doin' it wrong then, I guess.SergeantSausage wrote: »I think a lot of people just don't get that for some of us there's an over production of a hormone driving our hunger. Some of us are just hungrier than others. It doesn't matter that the deficit is tiny, that I'm careful to eat regularly and eat filling things, I could permanently eat a very hearty meal. Even an hour after just eating one.
There have been studied into this and for some of us it's physically harder.
You are not a special snowflake.
We ALL deal with hunger.
These two comments are contradictory. In the first comment, you said hunger wasn't painful for you. That's great. Good for you. But OP says it's painful for her.
In the second comment, you said that we all deal with hunger, implying that your physical sensations from diet and exercise are exactly the same as OP's.
So which is it? Are you and OP different people who experience sensations like "hunger" differently? Or are you exactly the same, and either you are lying when you say it's not painful, or she is lying when she says it is?
Some people just don't have much appetite, and some people are hungry all the time. So yes, we all get hungry from time to time. But no, not everyone has to experience hunger and deliberately try to ignore it, just to keep a normal body type. Just check out the "trying to gain weight" forums. Or maybe they're lying, too.0 -
sophomorelove wrote: »I think she didn't mean physical pain as much as the figurative one of breaking the habit. My whole life I had lived by "when in doubt, eat". For comfort, out of boredom, because I was taught to never waste food, etc. I managed to keep my weight healthy until pregnancy, but it was one crash diet after another since I was 12 (so for 18 years). Losing weight is easy, especially with MFP, but changing life-long habits is not. OP raised an interesting topic, and I hope to see some opinions and ideas, rather than personal criticism.......
I still think the biggest issue here is that people have completely unrealistic expectations where it comes to these things. People want immediate gratification...they just want to wake up one day and be healthy and fit and whatnot...they fail to really realize the process. Failure to realize the process is what causes this "pain."
When you understand that not only is this a process...but that the betterment of one's self is a life long process...this "pain" ceases. People just want to do a 180* overnight and be "done"...what they aren't realizing is that they are never done.
When you realize the process you realize freedom...you realize that it's ok to take baby steps...you realize that you're never going to be 100% perfect...you realize that it's ok to stumble and fall and get yourself back up again...you realize that the goal is simply to be a little better today than you were yesterday and to sleep well in the knowledge that you will crush it again tomorrow.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »sophomorelove wrote: »I think she didn't mean physical pain as much as the figurative one of breaking the habit. My whole life I had lived by "when in doubt, eat". For comfort, out of boredom, because I was taught to never waste food, etc. I managed to keep my weight healthy until pregnancy, but it was one crash diet after another since I was 12 (so for 18 years). Losing weight is easy, especially with MFP, but changing life-long habits is not. OP raised an interesting topic, and I hope to see some opinions and ideas, rather than personal criticism.......
I still think the biggest issue here is that people have completely unrealistic expectations where it comes to these things. People want immediate gratification...they just want to wake up one day and be healthy and fit and whatnot...they fail to really realize the process. Failure to realize the process is what causes this "pain."
When you understand that not only is this a process...but that the betterment of one's self is a life long process...this "pain" ceases. People just want to do a 180* overnight and be "done"...what they aren't realizing is that they are never done.
When you realize the process you realize freedom...you realize that it's ok to take baby steps...you realize that you're never going to be 100% perfect...you realize that it's ok to stumble and fall and get yourself back up again...you realize that the goal is simply to be a little better today than you were yesterday and to sleep well in the knowledge that you will crush it again tomorrow.
People are impatient. And a lot think that they can fix ( get fit and healthy) in a short time. It took years to "destroy" it but now they want to be oke again....NOW!
lol
I just sit back and enjoy my ride. Don't see my life style change as a diet.. In general i went back to my old life style that i lived before for 20 / 30 years. Only i had to be ignorant after an injury and mad what happened to me so in some time i forgot how important my way of living was for me.
But back And hopping around woottttt
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sophomorelove wrote: »Losing weight is easy, especially with MFP, but changing life-long habits is not. OP raised an interesting topic, and I hope to see some opinions and ideas, rather than personal criticism.
I agree with this. I haven't been hungry at all, and I mostly have enjoyed the process and definitely agree with the person who said she felt empowered and happy--compared with feeling powerless or angry at myself or out of control, it's great. I also really enjoy being more active and fit and (most of the time) enjoy exercise (although I just blew off a treadmill opportunity, since some things still don't seem that fun).
That said, it's still possible to feel tired of it or burnt out or that I want to not have to worry about it. I don't get to eat everything I want to (I mean, there's nothing I can't eat, but that doesn't mean I can eat everything I want to in the amounts I sometimes would like). I also can't use food the way I used to, to drown bad feelings (although that never worked and is a relief, really, if hard at times). It's all a trade-off--I mean, the fact I can't eat all the food I might enjoy is rather like how I can't buy everything I might like to own without being irresponsible or stop washing the dishes because I don't feel like it or, perhaps, it's better compared to the fact I can't fly, a sad limitation imposed by nature that I can't eat as many calories as I'd like and remain slim--but that doesn't mean it's not difficult sometimes.
One thing that helps make the tradeoff easier for me is making fitness into a hobby. Exercise is the obvious part, and screwing around on MFP, but also cooking (playing around with lower calorie ways to cook or eat) and going to the green market, stuff like that. When I first started this I'd often be able to transform thoughts about eating or food to ones about menu planning or cooking something that fit my plan in a way that was helpful.
I also agree that thinking of it as a lifelong process, as continual self improvement and not something that should hurry up and be done is really helpful to one's frame of mind. And so if one day is less than perfect, well, that's life.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »Wait - There's supposed to be pain?
I'm doin' it wrong then, I guess.SergeantSausage wrote: »I think a lot of people just don't get that for some of us there's an over production of a hormone driving our hunger. Some of us are just hungrier than others. It doesn't matter that the deficit is tiny, that I'm careful to eat regularly and eat filling things, I could permanently eat a very hearty meal. Even an hour after just eating one.
There have been studied into this and for some of us it's physically harder.
You are not a special snowflake.
We ALL deal with hunger.
These two comments are contradictory. In the first comment, you said hunger wasn't painful for you. That's great. Good for you. But OP says it's painful for her.
In the second comment, you said that we all deal with hunger, implying that your physical sensations from diet and exercise are exactly the same as OP's.
So which is it? Are you and OP different people who experience sensations like "hunger" differently? Or are you exactly the same, and either you are lying when you say it's not painful, or she is lying when she says it is?
Some people just don't have much appetite, and some people are hungry all the time. So yes, we all get hungry from time to time. But no, not everyone has to experience hunger and deliberately try to ignore it, just to keep a normal body type. Just check out the "trying to gain weight" forums. Or maybe they're lying, too.
Everyone feels hungry. It's a signal in our bodies. I felt hungry when I was overweight.
BUt I pretty much never feel hungry outside of normal before-meals hunger. I haven't had to ignore hunger either - I eat once I have access to food.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »I think a lot of people just don't get that for some of us there's an over production of a hormone driving our hunger. Some of us are just hungrier than others. It doesn't matter that the deficit is tiny, that I'm careful to eat regularly and eat filling things, I could permanently eat a very hearty meal. Even an hour after just eating one.
There have been studied into this and for some of us it's physically harder.
You are not a special snowflake.
We ALL deal with hunger.
Actually, I'm hoping that none of us personally deal with hunger or real bona fide "hunger pains."
What we all deal with is appetite. Sometimes it's not even appetite, it's just a habit of boredom or other emotional stimulus. Habits can be hard to break, to be sure, but a little unanswered urge to snack never killed anyone.
Best "how to deal with it?" advice -- identify your habit triggers and start finding new and healthy responses to them. Do you reflexively feel the urge to snack when watching TV? Start knitting or sewing or building with Lego in front of the TV. Do you crave sweets when you're lonely? Respond to loneliness by sitting down and writing a letter or call up an old friend just to say hi. Know yourself. Be mindful about your habits. Making new ones isn't completely effortless, but it's worthwhile and definitely achievable...and easier to do once you've started. Waiting and keeping the bad habit in place only makes it more entrenched and harder to break in the end.0 -
Sorry, but this isn't what I would consider painful.0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »Sorry, but this isn't what I would consider painful.
lol this hehe
I see pain totally different, but like i said little annoyances ( which i take it gladly with the progress i am making)
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Thanks for the responses everyone.
I feel hungry after eating, and that's with eating lots of fat, protein etc. I eat 2 boiled eggs per day to help curb the hunger.
I am doing IIFYM and am cutting 20-25%. I used to average 2300 calories a day (I'm 5'10, 27 y.o. female, and 197 lbs). On bad days I'd hit 2500 but rarely more than that unless I went to the Cheesecake Factory (once every five years).
I'm now eating 1800 and my energy levels have taken a serious hit. I think I'm supposed to just live with this but that is why I have come on here for commiseration and advice.
I also exercise and love the feeling of DOMs. I rest up, drink tonnes of water and can't wait to get back out there. My problem is I probably don't exercise enough. I only bike 15 miles a week (to and from school) and walk to the grocery store twice (5 miles per week). I haven't felt DOMs since doing P90x.0 -
I love the tea thing!
I'm currently cutting so the suck is real...and I'm embracing it. I also have a husband whose eating habits and workout habits are literally the exact opposite of mine. I find inner strength in myself by watching motivational videos on YouTube when it gets too hard. And more recently my husband has been more supportive of my eating. He He will try to eat his pizza and stuff when I'm at the gym or not around. I have to make this about ME and MY choices because this overall is about me and my goals. I try not to get mad at him when I'm eating chicken and he's eating chinese. We have different goals so I can't be mad at him. It can be really hard smelling some of the things I really want sometimes, but I just think to myself "saturday night if I've done well, I will eat anything I want"..and that seems to really help.0 -
And the hunger thing I totally understand. Sometimes you are GOING to be hungry. It's knowing the difference between hunger you can "fend off" and the kind that makes you nauseous. If I start to feel sick I'll eat even if it's over cals for the day. My body responds better. Sometimes if you have an extra hard work-out your body needs a little extra. But if you're just a bit hungry, it's OKAY. I had to start regularly spacing my meals and eat at the same times each day. It helps me think "in 30 minutes it's meal time" and I can generally wait. Plus my body will get hungry at the same times each day now0
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sansaeverdeen wrote: »Thanks for the responses everyone.
I feel hungry after eating, and that's with eating lots of fat, protein etc. I eat 2 boiled eggs per day to help curb the hunger.
I am doing IIFYM and am cutting 20-25%. I used to average 2300 calories a day (I'm 5'10, 27 y.o. female, and 197 lbs). On bad days I'd hit 2500 but rarely more than that unless I went to the Cheesecake Factory (once every five years).
I'm now eating 1800 and my energy levels have taken a serious hit. I think I'm supposed to just live with this but that is why I have come on here for commiseration and advice.
I also exercise and love the feeling of DOMs. I rest up, drink tonnes of water and can't wait to get back out there. My problem is I probably don't exercise enough. I only bike 15 miles a week (to and from school) and walk to the grocery store twice (5 miles per week). I haven't felt DOMs since doing P90x.
If you're still super hungry, then why don't you reduce your cut to 15%? Your weight loss will be slower, but you'll have more calories to play with.0 -
As a general rule I don't do things I find painful or don't like. Does dieting get tedious and boring? Yes, yes it does, and when that happens I stop and take breaks. Sometimes a week, some times a month, sometimes all winter (cough) and that's whatever. Eating less isn't a huge thing (and if I find myself truly hungry I eat, goal be damned)
Nothing about this has to be painful or so rigid it stresses you out.0 -
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The only time this was "painful" for me was when I wasn't doing it right...cutting out fats then carbs etc.
Since I started lifting and IIFYM it's all good...
I feel if you truely follow IIFYM and set your macros correctly based on you (not some generic number) you won't be hungry and DOMS aren't necessary either...I haven't had DOMS in months of lifting....
Now that I am at maitenance and have been for 6-8months it's even better.0 -
bump0
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When I used to crash diet in the past, yea that was rough, painful I wouldn't go that far except for making everyone around me miserable until I decided to quit.
Once I decided that I wouldn't make drastic changes to everything in my life all at once, found eating patterns that worked for me. I hate eating breakfast always have, figuring out this time I didn't have to was a huge help same with the multiple meals all day, I can't do that, give me 1-2 large meals and I'm happy. For exercise, I found stuff that I enjoy doing, DVDs get boring real quick, but long bike rides are fun. If it was painful or miserable I would have quit 2 years ago, keeping it simple it's all pretty easy.0 -
The negativity toward the original post is so disappointing. People share their feelings on here for support. Saying things like "I don't have any pain" is not helpful. OF COURSE people are going to experience pain or discomfort when they are making changes in their lifestyle.0
This discussion has been closed.
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