What do people cut back on?

jennypapage

i've cut back on pasta, rice and potatoes.mostly because the portions are not big enough to fill me up. i eat bread almost everyday though.

sijomial

Soda - Drank Diet Coke when I was fat, drink it now I'm not. Most of my fluids always came from tea or water.

Pasta - when losing weight reduced portion size, made different choices for sauces to put on the pasta (often that's where a lot of the calories are lurking). I didn't really have a carb limit, just a calorie limit.

Stop eating - before falling asleep. A full stomach doesn't stop me sleeping or cause indigestion - the genuine reasons for having an earlier cut off point.

daisy552014

I used to drink a lot of fizzy drinks, but after making a few changes I realised I would much rather eat my calories than drink them. Although if I really really want one, I'll drink a glass of water first and if I still want it then I have it. I found pasta wasn't necessarily an issue, I just weigh my portions now...it was the added cheese! I didn't really cut anything specifically out, I'm just more mindful of how much I'm eating.

AlicePixi

With pasta I measure out a bit less than the serving size recommended on the package and bulk it out with homemade sauce crammed with veggies and protein (mince, meatballs, etc.) Personally I've never been a soda drinker but if I do have a soda it'll be diet.. I love fizzy water with fruits infused into it, really delicious and refreshing!

As far as when to stop eating at night, it doesn't really matter. Some studies have shown good fat-loss results from fasting for around 12+ hours between dinner and breakfast the next morning (so final meal at 7pm, breakfast at 7am or later), and some people also swear by having "eating windows" where they'll eat all their calories between say 11am and 4pm and fast the rest of the time..
Really though, it's a simple case of calories in and calories out, and what structure works for you.

Machka9

Estefani_H wrote: »

People who eat pasta and drank soda do you conpletely cut back? What all do you do? Thanks also what time is best to stop eating at night?

I don't drink my calories ... stopped doing that back in about 1988.

I still eat pasta ... why not?

I prefer to stop eating before I fall asleep at the end of the day. It's just better that way.

BeGrandLike

Tea and bread.

I love tea. Love it, love it, love it. I used to drink four or five cups of sweet, (soy-)milky tea every day. These days I've swapped that out for plain green tea during the week- I still let myself have a lovely mug of black tea the way I like it at the weekends. Like a lot of other people here, I far prefer to eat my calories than drink 'em!

Bread is another one- I was an awful one for just munching on toast when I wanted a snack. But the calories there add up SO QUICKLY and it's not really all that filling. Again, I still have some toast but it's a treat, not the first thing I go to when I'm down in the kitchen looking to snack on something. Instead I'll chop up some carrots and peppers and fill up on those, save the bread for when its treat time

As for meal timings.. I'd say just do what works for you? I'm still experimenting myself. I was having very small breakfasts (about 150cals) and lunches (about 300 cals) but I found that I had really low energy for the mornings when I did that. It was nice to be able to have a bigger dinner, but not worth it overall really. So this week I'm experimenting with having 300cal breakfasts and maybe 400cal lunches, see if it works better. It's really a matter of experimenting and seeing what works for you? But if it's late in the evening and I have a couple hundred calories left in my allowance, you bet I'm gonna have myself a treat with it.

Cyndiaquino

I eat the same foods as I used to, just less of them. My portions are way smaller. I have lost 70.2 lbs and I didn't change what I eat. I'm a water drinker, so I don't/wouldn't waste my calories on those types of drink.

GYATagain

Like most of the other posters have stated: eat what you want, just less. However, for myself, as my journey got started almost 4 years ago, I tried that only eat a little tiny bit - and it sure seemed like a tiny bit - of pasta, rice, potatoes. 1 slice of toast instead of 4, blah blah blah. When weighing out my food, I found that I started looking at it different. I'd much rather have a big beautiful salad with chicken and veggies for the same amount of calories as a 1 oz portion of pasta. Filled me up much better. Soda, I gave up many years ago due to sensitivity to aspartame. (yep, one of those). I do have a La Croix mixed with my white wine for a treat when I can fit it in my calories. Would rather chew my calories most of the time. Also, I divide my calories fairly even between all meals and snacks. When you are old, slow, and short - 1200 calories don't go far! So, I choose and choose wisely (most of the time ;-) how best to fuel my body and get the most food for the least amount of calories.

JeromeBarry1

I'd eat a loaf of wheat bread, a pound of bologna, a pound of cheese, and a box of crackers every week.

It's quite amazing how fast I lost weight when I replaced the carb calories with vegetables, replaced the meat calories with natural cuts of meat, and greatly reduced the dairy and bread calories.

I was already drinking black coffee, unsweetened tea, and water as my preferences.

I stop eating at night when I finish getting my calories. Sometimes it's after midnight.

Machka9

Estefani_H wrote: »

What do people cut back on?

What I eat between the time I get up in the morning and the time I arrive home after work hasn't changed much since joining MFP. About the only difference there is that I used to eat a large handful of cashews once in a while ... I don't do that anymore. They have a lot of calories, they don't make me full, and I have a suspicion that I'm somewhat intolerant to tree nuts anyway. I never felt well when I ate them.

My after work snack has gone from a decent quantity of chocolate to cottage cheese with cucumbers and ryvita crackers. That gives me more energy for early-evening exercise.

And my dinners are similar to what they used to be, but somewhat smaller.

My evening snacks are quite similar, although I do use low-cal yogurt instead of the full-cal stuff. I prefer the low-cal yogurt.

MKEgal

Instead of having a HUGE bowl of pasta, I have a _serving_ with lots of veggies & some meat.
Probably equal amounts of meat & pasta, and twice as much veggies.
The exception is tortellini or ravioli. Those just get sauce. But they're rare.

I do have/keep/use rice (brown), quinoa, barley, and couscous.

I still prefer regular soda most of the time, though I don't have it often... maybe once or twice a month as a treat, same as alcohol.
Other than that, the only time I'll have it is a coke to try to head off a migraine. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. In July I had 3 weeks where my calories were shot to sh** because my brain was pretty much constantly in pain.

dragon_girl26

I cut back on portion sizes. 4 slices of pizza became 2 with a salad, a full plate of pasta became a 56g portion (or less) with vegetables. I don't go back for second helpings anymore.
As for meal timing, I stop eating around 9 PM typically because my stomach is unhappy in the morning if I eat too much before falling asleep. Doesnt affect weight loss one way or another, it just affects the way I feel.

Ploofs

I stop eating at 6pm. I have troubles sleeping on a full stomach and I get huge stomach aches in the morning as well.

My portion sizes have become a lot smaller for pasta but I still eat it at the same frequency. I'm not much of a soda type of person but I used to love sugary drinks (iced coffees, frapps, bubble tea). I don't drink them that much anymore but when I really want them, I will set aside calories for them-- and get a smaller size .

kshama2001

lilac_bunny wrote: »

Those noodles look good. I bought some "glass noodles" which were recommended to me but I didn't realise there were different types. The ones I have are made from mung bean they have carbs and not much else.

I have the sweet potato glass noodles, which have 18 g of carbs per serving...but a serving is only 0.7 ounces dry, as opposed to 2 oz dry of wheat noodles.

Also, I think they only work with Asian dishes, which is fine for me as I love Asian food, but they might not be a good substitute for someone looking to use them in European cooking.

SLLRunner

Estefani_H wrote: »

People who eat pasta and drank soda do you conpletely cut back? What all do you do? Thanks also what time is best to stop eating at night?

As to weight loss, I cut nothing out. I simply started eating less.

As for medical issues, there is a lot I had to cut out just to start feeling some relief, but this has all been under the care of my GI. Otherwise, I have some food intolerance I've had for years (lactose and soy).

To lose weight, there is nothing you (in the general sense, not you personally) need to cut out completely, you just need to eat less.

BridgetHarrington

I rarely eat pasta for the reasons others mentioned: too many calories, and I don't like it enough for it to be worth it to me. Instead of rice, I eat "riced" cauliflower. I do like sauces, and I just put them on spaghetti squash or other vegetables. I also rarely drink soda. My drinks are black coffee, water and seltzer water. I don't eat a lot of meat, anyway, and if I have a burger, I eat it without a bun. I limit bread products to maybe a piece of Italian bread when I go out - there otherwise is no bread in my house.

I tend to binge on fatty/fried foods and chips, so I limit those. Other than those things, my diet has always been healthy. When I gain weight, it's always because of the binge items being binged on too often and not my diet as a whole.

jennifer_417

I cut back on soda when I realized how many calories it had. I find as long as I'm getting enough water and caffeine, I don't even crave it. Occasionally, I'll have a diet soda.

SLLRunner

kommodevaran wrote: »

When cutting calories, something has to go. Where to cut will be individual. I sort of turned my diet and eating habits and attitudes upside down, in tiny increments. I used to eat boring diet foods for long periods, and then more and more sweets and junk food. Now I eat anything I want, but avoid trigger foods.

Meal timing doesn't matter when it comes to weight loss. A cutoff for eating can make it easier to stick to calorie allowance, but no, you don't store calories eaten at certain times and use calories eaten at other times.

How about parts of something, as in moderation? At least, that is how I look at it since I've really cut nothing out.

I hear you on the diet foods. In fact, when I started to change my eating habits three years ago, I let go of diet foods and allowed back in all the foods I loved but had labeled as fattening or evil. Worked like a charm!

For me, it's trigger situations rather than trigger foods.

lemurcat12

Never drank sugary soda and if I did I'd probably have quit, as I hate drinking calories. Mostly I drink water, coffee, tea, homemade iced tea (no sugar), and stuff like LaCroix or an occasional diet coke.

Pasta I still eat, but a serving. Usually whole grain, not always. I make it with lots of vegetables and lean meat or some other kind of protein and use a lot less cheese and oil than I used to, and find it healthy and filling for a reasonable number of calories (same as my usual meals).

Meal timing doesn't matter, but I stop eating when I finish dinner/dessert since I dislike snacking for myself (personal thing). I usually eat dinner later, though, so this is around 10 pm quite frequently.

kshama2001

Estefani_H wrote: »

People who eat pasta and drank soda do you conpletely cut back? What all do you do? Thanks also what time is best to stop eating at night?

I now eat less pasta and rice, and more protein and veggies.

I eat much, much less bread and wine with meals.

I'm not a soda drinker - I've always preferred tea.

I have a light bedtime snack right before bed. Meal timing is only relevant for people with medical conditions like acid reflux.

shinycrazy

I didn't drink beer often before my journey, but I've cut it almost completely. Mostly because I like craft beers which tend to be the 200+ calorie range and I rather eat solid food. I split one with my husband on occasion and I've recently increased my calories and reduced my loss per week goal, so I'll have more wiggle room. I recently went camping and brought MGD 64. It's drinkable, but it was weird to be drinking as much as everyone else and have no buzz whatsoever. LOL. For the most part, if I want to drink I'll have a rum and diet coke as I can make that work in my calories better and actually tastes good.

tomteboda

I eat less than i used to, in general. But my daily Creamette 150 spaghetti helps a lot to keep my fiber intake high. I am not satisfied with a 2oz serving, but 3 oz works well for me. It's not THAT many calories (150 cal per 2 oz seeving, hence the name), I have no problem fitting this in.

Aaron_K123

I cut back on calories and exercise sufficiently that I don't have to eliminate anything really. Diary is open.

MommyMeggo

I cut back on:

White Bread and lettuce- bloats me
Dairy- constipates me
Soda- never drink it
Alcohol- because a baby 5oz glass of wine to squeeze in was never enough.
Cake/Cookies/Sweets- I have minimal will power- after a few weeks I dont even want any and candy is too sweet.


I also cut back on:

Scoffing at the mirror and compliments from my husband
Attaching myself to my weight
Replacing boredom, sadness, exhaustion and stress with food
Shopping while hungry
Simple carbs for breakfast

Misterhyd3

Switch to the Zero drinks.. coke zero, sprite zero, etc. You will see the weight come off.

sfcrocker

I cut out endless snacking, and most desserts. I substituted sherbet for ice cream.

amb3rj0y

For soda I drink brands like La Croix or off brands for the fizz taste. At first it was hard to drink because of how bitter it seemed compared to the sugary soda, but once you get used to it, it is not so bad. I also went from drinking soda, to diet soda, to coke zero, and then to brands like La Croix which helped as a steady decline.

for pasta some brands make their noodles out of veggies and they are less fat and more fiber filled than regular noodles. Even more so than the wheat noodles. I usually stick to those. Just look around your pasta section at your grocery store, they should have them in stock.

Ricksh1000

Bread, haven't eaten bread for months

cwolfman13

Estefani_H wrote: »

People who eat pasta and drank soda do you conpletely cut back? What all do you do? Thanks also what time is best to stop eating at night?

I cut back on portions of things first and foremost. There's nothing wrong with pasta and I eat it regularly...in appropriate portions. I drank a lot of soda and I weened myself off of that...used to drink 3-6 sodas daily...cut it out completely for awhile but now I have a soda every now and then...probably like 6 per year or something. I introduced a lot more veg and some fruit into my diet and cut back on "junk".

RachelElser

I switched to Coke Zero