What does it mean for you to "Stay on Plan"

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mrsgoss
mrsgoss Posts: 57 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

I am back again on MFP, I have had success in the past on here but did it without really getting involved in the resources and community. I failed, gained all the weight back and then some along with knee surgery I am back to try with a different approach. Trying to build my circle of friends for support and motivation, encouragement, ect and read more posts, articles success stories and so on.

What would you say it means for you to "stay on your plan" for the week? Does that mean no cheat day for you? No carbs, stay within your calories? How do you determine a successful day? I am trying to set small goals for myself and I want to use MFP the best way I can but in reading a ton of posts now I feel like I am missing something?

Thanks, from a sorta newbie!!! :)

Replies

  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    "Staying on plan" to me, means not going over my calorie allowance over the span of the week, and getting in what I consider to be the right amount of exercise for me. I don't count carbs. I don't do cheat days. Cheat days can easily destroy a week's effort, so I just don't see how that is productive.

    Where I "fail", is when I fail to journal. That will cause me to lose track of what I eat, and the pounds slowly creep back up. I will have to journal the rest of my life in order to keep weight off - that's just the way it is for me. :)
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    For me it means that I get enough protein in a day, don't eat over my maintenance calories, and get my planned exercise for the week.

    Failing for me would mean not logging. Or missing more than 1 of my planned exercise sessions in a week.

    I don't really care if I go over the 1440 a day, as long as I don't go over my maintenance as well. I don't get upset if I'm over a hundred or two because I had a super craving for potato chips. For me that usually just means my pressure was low and I needed salt lol. Or if I went out for ice cream with my daughter. Some things are important and some are more important. Losing weight is my goal but some things are more important, like spending time with my girl or enjoying a coffee with a friend.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited June 2016
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    For me it means sticking to my weekly deficit. Which is much smaller now that I'm at maintenance.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Sticking to my calories for the week; getting in my planned workouts; and eating a generally healthy diet (I mostly focus on getting in enough protein, a balance of healthy fats and whole food carbs, vegetables at most meals, and then whatever extras I happen to be in the mood for within my calories).
  • mrsgoss
    mrsgoss Posts: 57 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Sticking to my calories for the week; getting in my planned workouts; and eating a generally healthy diet (I mostly focus on getting in enough protein, a balance of healthy fats and whole food carbs, vegetables at most meals, and then whatever extras I happen to be in the mood for within my calories).

    So is calories for the week different then calories for the day?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Yeah -- I have a goal for the week, and often plan to be a bit low on some days and go over on others.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    I follow a portion control plan and stay on that 90 percent of the time.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    You gotta have treats and such sometimes or you go crazy!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    I just wanted to add, a big part of "staying on plan" is not giving up when you don't stay on plan. And picking a realistic plan you can stick to for the rest of your life :)

    For me it's just sticking to my calorie goal. I don't do any special diet or worry too much about my macros, though I do focus on getting enough protein since it fills me up. I also don't do intentional "cheat days". If I feel like eating something, I make it fit. I do have days where life happens and I blow off my calorie goal, but I just get back on track the next day!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,177 Member
    edited June 2016
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    "mrsgoss wrote: »
    What would you say it means for you to "stay on your plan" for the week? Does that mean no cheat day for you? No carbs, stay within your calories? How do you determine a successful day? I am trying to set small goals for myself and I want to use MFP the best way I can but in reading a ton of posts now I feel like I am missing something?

    When I started here in February 2015, I stuck to my plan like glue for 16 weeks. NO cheat days. NO going over my calorie limit.

    Happily exercise allows me to eat more and because I'm on CI<CO, I can eat whatever I want as long as I'm within my calorie limit. :)

    So for me, "staying on my plan" would be remaining within my calorie limit no matter what ... and doing it week after week after week until I reached my goal :)

  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
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    It means I get to avoid having to "make a new plan, Stan."
  • katharineshalia
    katharineshalia Posts: 243 Member
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    After many failed diets (paleo, lchf, military, you name it) a successful week for me is to keep it simple. I eat reasonably and stay within my calorie goal, ave. 1500 cals. I am just now incorporating exercise 5x a week. I've finally learned after all this time that crash diets don't work any longer, they did when I was in my 20's, now that I am in my forties not so much. Last time I lost weight so fast all I could focus on was how saggy my neck and boobs were, so I just exchanged one obsession for another. Good luck and add me.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
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    Staying on plan means to me that I can just eat within my caloric budget (either daily and/or weekly) and not obsess about food - because it all fits. Nothing is good or bad, nothing is off limits or restricted. I am then free from self doubt, self criticism, and other self defeating behaviour. I have been weighing and logging since I think October last year, and have been really successful, so that in itself is motivating. I dont do cheat days - if I am truly making a lifestyle change, I dont want to link food with the concept of reward - I want another way to mark special events rather than have them be food-centric. I had to learn portion control, and self control - hard lessons!

    Welcome back - I am sure you will find the MFP experience helpful, and at the very least, interesting!!!
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited June 2016
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    My plan is to stay under 1500 calories, net, *on average*. So if the weekly net average is over 1500 then I'm straying and need to rein it in a bit. (the Android app gives you an average under "nutrition" in the side menu, can't remember if the website does this and I have no idea about iOS.)

    However, being a bit over that goal is not a disaster. The big thing I am committed to is logging. Not logging is how I put all the weight back on again last time around. So if I'm over my weekly average, I'm just taking a more circuitous route to my destination. If I'm not logging, I'm off the road and in the long grass, heading in the opposite direction.

    I absolutely do not have any foods or food groups that are "off plan" - that would just make me want to eat them all the time.
  • mrsgoss
    mrsgoss Posts: 57 Member
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    I want to thank all of you so much for commenting and contributing answers! This has been a huge help for me, I tend to give up quickly, over obsess, fixate on the wrong things and when I don't see results immediate I give up...Having comments from people who have been there, what works for them, ect is helpful for me to set my mind up with a different way of thinking! I appreciate you!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    edited June 2016
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    It means I'm training and I'm fueling that training with premium fuel...and sometimes pizza and beer.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    My plan, such as it is, has only 4 rules:
    * don't gain weight
    * don't drink too much wine
    * stay active
    * eat a balanced diet

    If I'm not doing the first, rarely doing the second, and usually doing the third and fourth then I call it "on plan".
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I'm meeting both my calorie and fitness goals for the week. Main objectives are creating a weekly 2000-3000 cal deficit (that I eat most back of on Fridays) and running about 25 miles a week.
  • pztodd
    pztodd Posts: 102 Member
    edited June 2016
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    Hi. I'm only 2 weeks into this but based on past experience, staying on plan for me means:
    1, writing down EVERYTHING I eat
    2, looking to stay within my calorie allowance every day but not beating myself up for the odd day when I go over a little
    3, changing my attitude to food - slowly but surely - so I don't use food as a treat or for when I'm feeling down
    4, aiming for slow but steady weight loss - think marathon not sprint :)

    Would love to get more friends so we can encourage each other along
    Please add me :)

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