I don't remember what it was like pre-MFP...

HippySkoppy

Ah.....@Francl27 was there life before MFP??? <Joke>

I started on here in 2011 with the prospect of losing the last 24 kgs. I was 74 kgs from at top weight of 126 kgs (278 lbs) I was like many here an extreme volume eater then followed by deprivation. My thinking was that this behaviour kind of evened things out....Didn't it???

Most of the weight had gone due to cutting portions and introducing exercise but the concept of understanding calories, macros and serving sizes was pretty foreign to me.....and I just couldn't shift the last 50 odd pounds.

I also fooled myself a lot. Well you have just gone for 1 hours walk. Hungry? Why yes! Well, Thank you I will partake in a king sized Snickers bars.....I deserve it and surely have walked off more than the calories in that treat....

Oh Boy....when I plugged in the numbers on here and started getting recommend portion sizes and calorie counts back for the foods I was consuming, in the amounts that I was consuming....I was gutted!!!

They say knowledge is everything.....yep it is and it can be painful too.

neldabg

Oh, I remember clearly. I remember eating mindlessly and out of control. Hungry? I ate. Not hungry? I ate. Watching a movie? I ate. Happy? I ate. Sad? I ate. You get the point. I had the "seefood" diet. For me, overeating was mainly a habit. I just ate all the time. Even when I was motivated to be healthy, I *still* ate large portions of everything, and I snacked way too much. The only reason I wasn't fatter than I was is because I've always liked to stay lightly active at the very least. It's been nearly seven months (HECK YES), and now I wonder how I could've lived that way. Sure, it was nice not having to watch what I ate so much, but my health was suffering from it. It took time and dedication, and in fact, I am still learning, but I now accept and embrace that I don't HAVE to eat everything in sight. I've learned to have more respect for my body and for food.

BernieMBurke

The sad part for me was that in 2010, I went from 250 to 170 in 10 months, kept that way for about 6 months, and then had a job move. I now had to go around Washington DC traffic and commute 50 miles each way. Also, when we moved, I no longer had access to the company-provided gym. Needless to say, I got lazy and was tired from all the driving. What was I eating? Mostly fast food in the car going from and to work

Fast forward to February 2015 and I was back at 250. On top of that, I fell on some ice and really hurt my arm. When the doctor (new medical insurance) took my BP, she went ballistic. So, I started using MFP again. I know what I'm eating now at least.

LivingtheLeanDream

I'm here 4 years in May and I vaguely remember eating poorly for main meals and snacking mindlessly on crisps and chocolate to make me feel fuller!

I remember being a couch potato.....

Boy have I changed lol

I'm so glad I 'found ' MFP

LisaTcan

sardelsa wrote: »

I ate the same way as I do now, maybe I have more ice cream and treats now since I don't have the guilt I used to have with certain foods. I was around the same weight too but usually lost and gained the same 5lbs. However now my body composition is different. I mean, I looked OK before but since incorporating lifting and using MFP to track my cals during bulk/cut cycles it is much better

This. I used to feel very guilty and stressed out about what I ate. Now I know it is within my calories and if I want a slice of pizza I can eat it, I think I make much more balanced choices than I used to. I was previously constantly in a binge/restrict cycle.

I've also lost 10-15 lbs since I started consistently using MFP 2 years ago (however I also really got into cycling in that time).

Laughter_Girl

ilovesweeties wrote: »

I remember the things I used to eat, as I still eat a lot of the same things... what I really don't remember is why I thought the amount I was eating was ok, given that I was basically inactive!

^^^This sums it up for me. Very well said.

Francl27

I'm always a bit amazed by people who just eat the same thing, but less of it. Considering that pretty much all I remember eating was junk food, I can't imagine that it would have worked out well.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Man I do. We did things like eat a whole cheese danish (you know, the kind that's square and comes in a box from the grocery store bakery section) between the two of us for breakfast. Once per week or so we would make a big bowl of rotel dip and just have that and a bag of tortilla chips for dinner. I hate a ton of stuff I didn't even really like, like those tasteless frosted sugar cookies.

I know I could still eat those things, but I don't really care to fit them in anymore. If I'm going to spend calories on danish it's going to be a good homemade one.

I also fried a lot more things back then. I don't do that often now because it's a pain to log. About once per year I get a craving for fried food and we go out somewhere to have it.

Noreenmarie1234

I don't remember what it was like to not automatically know the calories in foods.

Man before calorie counting, I used to eat like crap! I am surprised I wasn't bigger. I would eat huge full platefuls of spaghetti with butter, 3 rolls with butter, 3 gigantic meatballs, tons of cheese just for dinner. (prob 2000 calories easy).

For "breakfast" I used to have a cheese danish and sugary orange juice or a gigantic 800 calorie cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting lol.

I remember eating whole baskets of fries at restaurants and whole plates of fries and like 7 chicken fingers at a time. Also lots of pizza like 2-3 slices at a time plus fries.

I ate a lot of little debbie snack cakes as a kid too. Hohos, oatmeal cream pies, coffee cakes, etc.

Francl27

I'm starting to think that the reason I don't remember my lunches and dinners is because I was just snacking on junk all day, lol.

Kabijots

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm always a bit amazed by people who just eat the same thing, but less of it. Considering that pretty much all I remember eating was junk food, I can't imagine that it would have worked out well.

I eat the same but less of it. Not everyone eats junk to get fat. My diet is balanced and healthy but just served in too big portions, plus the odd large glass of lovely red wine didn't help either! I wasn't doing enough exercise to work off the excess calories.

Trying to learn portion control now but it's hard with so much lovely food out there to eat

faramelee

I never had breakfast or lunch. Instead I had two Grande Caramel Macchiatos (totally 724 calories) per day (I was spending over £100 per month on coffee!). My evening meals weren't necessarily unhealthy but too large and if I could incorporate home made cheese sauce onto it all the better. Having said that I don't really remember what we used to eat exactly! I never moved my *kitten* - I would leave the house an hour earlier to get to work (and hang out in Starbucks) just so that I could get a lift with my husband. Now I walk in, it takes just over twenty minutes and I don't go to Starbucks! I love red wine and good chocolate (ooops, that is still the case!), but my husband made a comment just the other day about the amount of cheese I used to snack on, I really don't remember that! Now I exercise regularly and my diet has been overhauled completely so that I'm now eating very nutritious, balanced meals.

Weird how I can't remember some of the previous stuff - maybe I've blocked it out?!?!

lovematthewchristopher

Portion control, and weighing the pros and cons of your choices.!!! I eat many of the things that i used to eat, but now it is in moderation. I put much more thought into what i put in my mouth, where as before i would just grab and go! I make sure that what i choose will fit into my calories for the day. I am much more active, and try to balance the two. I used to skip breakfast, have a huge lunch, not eat all afternoon, then overeat for dinner, because i was starving. I now eat every two hours , fruit, vegetables,whatever, just something small, so that i never get so hungry, that i overdue it.!!!

nxd10

I ate the same things I do now - I had pretty good habits, which is why I didn't try to lose until I was in my 50's. But I ate more of things. Portion size was my thing.

ilovesweeties

Francl27 wrote: »

I'm always a bit amazed by people who just eat the same thing, but less of it. Considering that pretty much all I remember eating was junk food, I can't imagine that it would have worked out well.

I had more of a think about this... I eat mostly the same foods as a I did day to day, but there are quite a few things I don't do anymore. Friday morning breakfast is no longer a 'treat' of a sausage roll and a doughnut from the baker- it's the same old breakfast cereal as every other day. I avoid the 'can't be bothered cooking take away' for the most part, my other half has been instructed not to bring me two slices of toast and nutella in bed anymore (back to the same old breakfast cereal again) and I cut right down on drinking my calories.

It wasn't my standard eating that got me fat, it was all the exceptions that had started to become more habit than I had realised.

jennifer_417

I tended to just mindlessly eat whatever was around me...whatever sounded good or was in front of me or close by. I was never a binger, but I could pack away a whole lotta calories without even realizing I did it.

cookielover_96

I think my calorie intake wasn't steady. I remember some days I would barely eat and other days I crammed so much food in my mouth. I feel like MFP has helped track my calorie so that I'm not under/over eating. And estimate the nutrition goals.

arditarose

Yep. No clue. Today I was thinking about what I would have eaten for lunch if I wasn't logging. I probably would have made a huge tuna melt with avocado and tons of cheese. I could still have that now but like....I don't really want a 700 calorie sandwich lol. I need dessert too.

__Wolf__

Its a cold, dark world without the bright, warm embrace of a persistent calculator on my phone telling me how decadent my cheesecake is.