To those who have lost

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    I've always loved food and obsessed about food... Pretty much everything in my life has always been centered around food. So yeah, I'm always thinking about food.

    Tracking? I don't care one bit. I just do it. It helps me. I could probably do without but then I'd still be counting calories in my head, so might as well log it (I still have to weigh, I'm better at estimating portions but I'm just not pushing my luck).

    Easier... yeah in a way. I keep a deficit so it's not a huge deal if I go over maintenance some days, but at the same time, while I was losing, I never felt the need to go over. Now I do, a lot, because I'm just so much hungrier (I'm WAY more active than I used to be and I get wicked hunger with PMS too). So half my days are just fine with my deficit, and I don't feel deprived at all, some REALLY suck and I go over because I'm so hungry, and some are a bit tough but I manage.

    So yeah, I still feel deprived quite a bit. I do eat what I want in moderation while doing my best to meet my protein and calorie goals, but there are some things that are just hard to fit so I don't have them as much as I'd want (hello 1200 calorie slice of cheesecake)... but at the same time I don't sweat it if I go over, I'm used to it by now, and I know that I'll make up for it on days when I'm less hungry. I also make sure to get the high calorie stuff I've been craving at lunch, so I'm full until dinner and sometimes even end up skipping dinner (I'm hungrier during the day than at dinner time so it's extremely hard for me to save calories for dinner).

    That being said, my taste has changed. I don't crave fast food or fried food at all anymore. But good dessert is what does me in every single time.. although at least I don't eat the mediocre stuff anymore.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    I might obsess a little and think about food a lot now, but I'm no longer afraid of food. I even crammed in 10 pieces of my favorite Christmas pastry around the holidays, and I knew I would be maintaining my weight or losing. That is so much more peaceful for me than my thoughts were when I wasn't so aware of calories before.
  • 88meli88
    88meli88 Posts: 238 Member
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    When I first joined MFP 3 years ago, I learnt a lot about BMR, TDEE and what to eat not to feel deprived. I opted for slower losses to be able to stick w it in the long term, eat above my BMR, go easy on white carbs and try to include healthy oils and fiber full veggies. Still there are times when I feel hungry (eg when I work out longer and harder) and then I have a couple of "magic" foods that really sort it out - salmon w brown rice and broccoli is one and a large steak w salad is the other.

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    It is easy now and I am just living life.

    To lose I only had to tweak my diet a little, so after losing and counting for a while in maintenance I now, 6 years later, just live life. I do count for a few weeks each year. It reenforces my portion sizes and helps sort my TDEE when I change my exercise routine drastically.

    Food wasn't my problem as much as activity level. Starting to purposefully exercise, to replace everyday activity that I was no longer doing, was my biggest hurdle. I started at 3 days a week, upped it to 6, and now try to have at 6 hr exercise a week. I now only dislike it; I used to hate it, and after 6 years it has become habit.

    Cheers, h.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    I never felt I was being deprived since I started on MFP, the days I'm hungry its my own fault as I haven't hit my macros.
    I do feel its 'easy' now, the way I eat now has become an ingrained habit.

    Plus I am now very active, I wasn't always but I have also made that a lasting habit.

    Been maintaining my weight loss goal for 2 1/2 yrs :smile:
  • joinn68
    joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I absolutely do not feel deprived. I don't HAVE to lose 2lbs a week as long as I am going in the right direction. I have so much to lose that it'll take time. But I am obsessed and consistently thinking about my food and fitness. That's OK for now. It's only been 4 months so I'll get better. It'll become a habit. But I am among those people who feel like I'll need to always have a "healthy" degree of obsession in order not to regain

    @callsitlikeiseeit did you mean that pun about "depravity"? :smiley:
  • fitnforward
    fitnforward Posts: 62 Member
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    Still a little obsessed but getting easier with no second thought. I started Dec. 29. It's turning into a lifestyle, I feel a lot better. My little victories are still victories!!
  • clockworksailing
    clockworksailing Posts: 15 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I've stopped looking for happiness and comfort in the kitchen. I pursue different areas of life for mental/physical satisfaction. This distinction saved my butt and helped me reach my goals.
  • ilovesweeties
    ilovesweeties Posts: 84 Member
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    I've been maintaining for about 6 months now, and yes, I am still as obsessed. I like the new me, it's worth the amount of thought that goes into it. I hope to be able to ease off weighing and logging, but I am ok with the idea that 15 years of bad habits will probably take more than a year to break for good. I've not quite been able to conquer the out-of-body experience which still leads me to eat mindlessly on occasion.

    I spend a lot of time thinking about food, but like lots of others have said, I did that before too! The main difference is how much I think about exercise now. I know that if I get enough running under my belt in a given week, I will be able to eat what I want and I tend to lose the urge to binge. Conversely, if I don't run (because of the weather or my schedule), mindless eating can take over!

    TL:DR I don't really mind spending time planning, weighing, logging and working out because being slimmer and fitter is worth it.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I love calorie counting 99.99% of the time, I really do.

    It's super easy, i've lost weight and it's gotten me into meal prepping which has literally saved me at least a thousand dollars in the past 11 or so months. It's just part of my day now - I make food, it goes on a scale first. Ten seconds is all it takes.

    However, I am a huge believer in balance. It's what keeps me successful, I cannot handle the idea of never eating X again or always eating perfectly. I don't feel pressured to exercise every day.

    I don't count/care on holidays/vacations, birthdays or special occasions so I very rarely feel deprived. I can handle not eating everything I want now, if I know there will be a day where I can do it. Coming off Christmas/New Years (2 weeks of "no logging & I don't care") I actually looked forward to eating to my calories again.

    I find the semi-regular "logging breaks" keep me sane - with usually a gap of 4-7 months between "breaks" (Generally the gap between holidays/vacations) with a sprinkle of special occasion eating. I'm still several steps ahead and not looking back!
  • literlover
    literlover Posts: 12 Member
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    Wow! Thanks for the responses everyone! Some great insight! Cheers!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,993 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    Yes and no.

    Most of the time while I was losing, I felt just fine. Most of the time, losing weight was easy. I was eating foods I like, logging my intake quickly twice a day, exercising lots because I love being active ... and the weight dropped off.

    But there were occasions where I did feel deprived. We travel on weekends about once a month, and it is a bit of a custom for us to eat lots when we travel ... not necessarily a whole lot of junk food or anything like that, just big breakfasts, good-sized lunches with desserts, bigger dinners with deserts, and several snacks. Of course, we're active when we travel as well, but still ... ... So when I was sticking to my diet like glue, those weekends were difficult, cutting back how much I ate, trying to exercise enough to compensate, etc.


    One of the things that helped was to take diet breaks.

    I stuck to my diet like glue for the first 4 months. Did not go over my calorie limit at all. And I lost 15 kg which was my first goal. Then I took a 1-month diet break that coincided with a trip to Canada. I exercised lots, but I ate whatever I wanted. When I returned, I went back on the diet meticulously for the next 4 months, and got really close to my second goal, a total of 24 kg lost. Then, in November, I took two weekend diet breaks, but I exercised a whole lot both weekends. In fact, one weekend was a cycling tour. I was back on the diet for the first 3 weeks of December and lost another 2 kg (26 kg total), and I've been on another diet break for almost a month now. I'm kind of easing back into the diet again ... I think I'd like to lose about 5 kg now, but we'll see. I could stop now, I'm near the bottom end of my normal BMI range, so I'm kind of wavering between losing more and maintenance.


    Interestingly, my tastes have changed. A couple weeks ago, I stood in front of the potato chip shelf of my local grocery store. I am on a diet break and can eat whatever I want ... so I could pack away several bags of potato chips if I so desired. But nothing appealed to me. I looked at everything, even debated about small bags of cheezies or something. But nope. Instead I walked around the corner and bought kidney beans for a slow cooker meal I made that evening.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Wife and I dropped combined 94 pounds, never deprived. I think part of it was we completely changed our diet. We had nothing to compare it to so it became "normal". It may have been different I has tried to eat less of the same calorie rich, nutrient poor food. YMMV.

    Like Machka9 our taste has changed, we drove 10 hours today so fast food it was. I didn't touch any of the my old favorites, ate lower calorie options.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    Some days I do others I'm perfectly fine and yes but, at least it's a healthy obsession this time.
  • Lefty1290
    Lefty1290 Posts: 551 Member
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    Since I've lowered my carbs and upped my fat since November, I find myself obsessing about food and eating a lot less because I'm no longer constantly hungry. This whole thing has gotten easier and I'm now on sort-of autopilot where I automatically go for healthier options and the carb-heavy stuff I was eating before doesn't faze me as much. I'm the only person in my house trying to be healthier, so temptation is everywhere all the time; but it has motivated me to stay on this path.
  • JanetMMcC
    JanetMMcC Posts: 410 Member
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    Do I feel deprived? Not this time. I got down to my current weight maybe 20 years ago, using Weight Watchers, and felt deprived and obsessive. Eventually stopped obsessing, and regained everything plus.

    This time around I'm again logging all I eat, but I'm not thinking about it nearly as much.

    The first 40 or 50 pounds came off in about 18 months, starting in November 2012. Doc said, "No white carbs." It also meant no more stuffing candy, chips and cake into my pie-hole, but it didn't feel like dieting, and I didn't feel deprived.

    The last 20-25 lbs, starting in May of this past year, required more time attention. BUt it's worked. :)

    Good luck! You can do it.
  • airangel59
    airangel59 Posts: 1,887 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    Deprived? Nope, I eat what I want in moderation and fit what I want into my daily goals. I put what i want to have into the diary and plan the day around it.

    Obsessing? Yes probably but I was always thinking about food when fat so no real difference now, I'm just a lot lighter. A yo yo dieter in the past probably is the reason I know I need to log and track my intake now and I'm fine with it, I actually enjoy it.

    Fitness? I walk daily and wear a Flex & Vivofit. I don't eat back all the exercise calories. I enjoy the feeling I get from being able to go out and walk.

    So for me, this journey I started mid 2012 is now easy and yep I'm living life and enjoying what I've accomplished here. Maintaining since March 2014.

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