What's the first thing you cut out to help in weight loss

13

Replies

  • fkwan
    fkwan Posts: 28 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm not one of those "eat everything in moderation" peeps of mfp. I don't really eat bread or pasta (unless it's homemade) when I'm cutting, or maintaining. Doesn't fit well. I just put everything I'd want in a sandwich or taco on a salad.

    Yeah. No bread, desserts, high carb fruits (I miss bananas), no added sugar. Tonight I'm scraping the stuff off a pizza and mixing it with salad. Worked like a charm for 26 pounds so far.
  • LilyBlight
    LilyBlight Posts: 3 Member
    edited December 2015
    I cut out soda and other sugary drinks, and avoid drinking calories in general. I avoid simple carbs. I learned to say no most of the time when other people offer me snacks, desserts, sweets, or to make me a cocktail or something. I also cut out eating when I'm really not hungry.

    I think more important than anything, exercising portion control is helping me get used to eating as much as my body needs and no more.

    Edit: I had also temporarily given up some higher-glycemic fruits. I'm strategically working some of those back into my diet in appropriate portions now but still prefer fruits that are less sugary.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    fkwan wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm not one of those "eat everything in moderation" peeps of mfp. I don't really eat bread or pasta (unless it's homemade) when I'm cutting, or maintaining. Doesn't fit well. I just put everything I'd want in a sandwich or taco on a salad.

    Yeah. No bread, desserts, high carb fruits (I miss bananas), no added sugar. Tonight I'm scraping the stuff off a pizza and mixing it with salad. Worked like a charm for 26 pounds so far.



    Yeah I don't eat much fruit either. I have no problem with sugar actually, I would rather just have two oreos rather than one banana. I actually eat about 500 calories of dessert every night too.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    The low-hanging fruit - alcohol, junk food, and added sugar. It makes for a pretty un-fun diet, but once I've lost ten or fifteen pounds it takes me a few years to put it back on just eating normally, so a few months of pain is worth it.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    The low-hanging fruit - alcohol, junk food, and added sugar. It makes for a pretty un-fun diet, but once I've lost ten or fifteen pounds it takes me a few years to put it back on just eating normally, so a few months of pain is worth it.

    But...then you put it back on? Why not just include it, use a food scale and log? Then you might not put it back on because you've learned how much you can have to maintain/lose weight. Sorry, that confuses me.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    The low-hanging fruit - alcohol, junk food, and added sugar. It makes for a pretty un-fun diet, but once I've lost ten or fifteen pounds it takes me a few years to put it back on just eating normally, so a few months of pain is worth it.

    But...then you put it back on? Why not just include it, use a food scale and log? Then you might not put it back on because you've learned how much you can have to maintain/lose weight. Sorry, that confuses me.

    Because a weight variation of ten pounds over a number of years is not going to affect my health, my wardrobe, my self-image, or anything else. It's simply not that big a deal. On the other hand, the same number of years spent slaving over a food scale and incessant logging would probably put me in a mental hospital.

    I might feel differently if I had to scratch and claw and white-knuckle my food intake for every pound I lose, but I don't. I also lift weights, and building muscle requires me to eat over maintenance from time to time. I'm over 45, I'm well into the normal range of BMI, and - most importantly - I'm aware that it's impossible to accurately and precisely count either calories in or calories out, so I choose not to drive myself nuts doing something with almost no benefit to me.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Soda. I never liked it anyway.
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
    Soda....or as we call it here "pop"

    I know it's a hot button for many whether it affects cravings but I can't deny that when I cut it my cravings are non existent. Maybe it's the increase in water or the decrease in chems. Who knows. Either way it's way easier sticking to a plan if I cut it. I may have one here and there but overall I try to go without.

    The rest all goes in moderation. I still enjoy "fun" foods but it's the frequency and quantity that changes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The first thing I did was look at my portions relative to recommended servings...and fixed that. The second thing I did was look at how much oil I was using for cooking...I love to cook and was loading everything up with oil and butter. I quickly discovered that any dish I make is equally as good with far less oil/butter than I was using. The third thing I did was dropping soda from my diet for the most part...I'd rather fit in an adult beverage than a kids beverage any day.
  • Just curious. I know some cut out sweets while some cut out carbs while some cut out starches to help. I cut back on sweets and empty calories

    white bread ( well mostly... I try as much as I can), pasta, added salt and sugar and junk food
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I cut drinkable calories - soda, juice, alcohol. Now I have a latte once in a while but unsweetened. Didn't cut anything else.
  • chairez863
    chairez863 Posts: 3 Member
    I don't buy salt, oil, tortillas or bread , no alcohol and I buy a little scale for weighing my food 5 or 6 oz. I eat 5 times a day.
  • KharismaticKayteh
    KharismaticKayteh Posts: 322 Member
    I haven't outrightly cut anything out of my diet, but I am much more hesitant to drink alcohol now. I'm not opposed to even getting drunk now and again, but not as frequently as I was when I was 21. I've started drinking smoothies daily too - the one I made yesterday was under 300 calories and maybe only 12 ounces, but woahhhh it was filling.
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
    All I did was cut down portions/count calories. It's worked for 66 pounds now.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    Refined carbs and added sugars were cut out first.
  • flowermami
    flowermami Posts: 7 Member
    Sugar....it's sooo EVILLLL
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    flowermami wrote: »
    Sugar....it's sooo EVILLLL

    JK?
  • sprc1616
    sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
    Drinkable calories...goodbye Starbucks sugar drinks! Now I only have one drink per season - usually whatever the special is. I also usually throw out half of it. And I was never a big drinker, but I consume way less alcohol.

    Oh, and peanut butter/nuts. I always thought of them as a healthy snack, but they're so calorie-dense for the amount of protein they give. A bag of peanuts is usually something around 250 calories, and at 1200 per day that's a big deal for me.

    Interestingly, I haven't cut back as much on the sweets I really love, such as chocolate and cookies. I just eat less. Quality over quantity.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    sprc1616 wrote: »
    Drinkable calories...goodbye Starbucks sugar drinks! Now I only have one drink per season - usually whatever the special is. I also usually throw out half of it. And I was never a big drinker, but I consume way less alcohol.

    Oh, and peanut butter/nuts. I always thought of them as a healthy snack, but they're so calorie-dense for the amount of protein they give. A bag of peanuts is usually something around 250 calories, and at 1200 per day that's a big deal for me.

    Interestingly, I haven't cut back as much on the sweets I really love, such as chocolate and cookies. I just eat less. Quality over quantity.

    You will pry my Starbucks out of my cold dead hands, but lately I find that I've had to ask them to put in half the usual amount of syrup for things like pumpkin spice lattes and the peppermint mochas around Christmas. It's just too cloying otherwise. The baristas are always very accommodating about it.
  • treebek
    treebek Posts: 261 Member
    pop & wine. Well daily wine anyway, I still drink a few glasses on the weekends.
  • littleb0peep
    littleb0peep Posts: 333 Member
    janjunie wrote: »
    I cut out nothing, seriously. Smaller portions that fit into my calorie goal and it didn't even feel like a diet.

    This.
  • Iguessicandothis
    Iguessicandothis Posts: 2,132 Member
    I haven't cut out any foods. I just don't eat anything I don't really want. I hadn't realized how much I was eating just because it was "there" or because someone offered it to me. Now, I choose everything I put in my mouth.
  • Skydancer35
    Skydancer35 Posts: 22 Member
    Last year after the holidays were over, I cut out sweets and wheat flour, since gluten was making me break out like crazy. I started dropping weight at 6months post partum. I got down to prepregnancy weight, which was 180lbs. yeah I wasnt in great shape when I got pregnant, but I knew I was good enough, ate organic and pretty healthy but large portions.
    By the time summer had hit I hadnt lost much more weight. So I started going for walks with the baby outside, and started low carb diet. Worked ok...lost 10 lbs down to 170. And then I was stuck. Always hungry because I didnt feel full enough without the bread, pasta ect....
    And then I got serious, I have always hated the gym, and exercise, amd drinking water, and eating meat. I just have an aversion to it. But I started making my self eat some meat at most meals. Made myself try to get more water in, trying to eat less bread and pasta but other complex carbs lots of them. Eggs, tuna sandwhich, peanut butter, decent portion of meat at supper time, egg omelette for breakfast every morning, plus protein shakes. Weight lifting at least once or twice a week, Cardio almost daily. And in 2months I have dropped down to 165!
  • willisbehavin
    willisbehavin Posts: 6 Member
    I simply cut out sugary soda and changed the portion size of my plate. My plates total weight in food is the same but I increased the amount of vegetables and other low calorie foods. So far I'm seeing muscle gains and fat loss with little fluctuations in my overal weight. However I have noticed that without soda I need to watch out for a mid day crash which comes with an urge to snack.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,964 Member
    No cuts, just reduction in portions.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • huskylove94
    huskylove94 Posts: 27 Member
    snacks and candy
  • Cosborne02
    Cosborne02 Posts: 13 Member
    I tried the"diet thing", in which I cut out sweets, breads, pastas, and alcohol. Lost about 20lbs until I binged out and realized how much I missed the things I once loved. I finally made the decision to cut my calories count down to 1,700, and thanks to MFP, I eat what I want as long as I log it in and keep track. I'm losing slowly, but that's OK as long as I'm not gaining... Planning on trying to incorporate exercise starting the first of the year to help out also.
  • PeacefulSeraph
    PeacefulSeraph Posts: 201 Member
    Refined sugar & carbs in general. Works every time!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Refined sugar & carbs in general. Works every time!

    Interesting
  • PeacefulSeraph
    PeacefulSeraph Posts: 201 Member
    Without cutting anything, I think the only other way is portion control. I'm eating carbs & sweets during the holidays, but not gaining anything because I limit what I take. Having a "treat yourself" day is okay too- or else you'll go nuts, haha
    But going lean & green is my motto for quick loss... carbs/sugars only slow you down. Lost 50lbs just cutting out sweets, pasta, & gluten.