I miss eating what I want when I want :(

EllieElla2015

I have 10 pounds to lose- the problem is that I’ve gained and real gained the same 10 pounds. I really just want to count calories, keep my deficit, and finally see the weight come off for good.

I don’t have an agresisive deficit- I have a little over 1,600 calories and I usually go up to 1,700 even when I’m being diligent. My problem is that I HATE feeling deprived. I eat everything in moderation- I don’t have good or bad foods but I really just miss eating a hearty bagel sandwich for breakfast, a Chipotle bowl for lunch, and pasta for dinner all in one day. I miss drinking without worrying about the calories. I did that regularly and maintained my weight (I was super active) but now that I’m trying to lose (less active because class & work) I’m pre-planning meals, eating in and choosing one or the other to stay within my calorie goal (and not be hungry).

I was doing great June - August but stopped paying attention September so I’ve only been on track for two weeks now (with a couple days that were REALLY over) and I already feel discouraged. A part of me feeling discouraged is that I don’t mind my weight. I’m relatively thin but not in my “happy place”. So I have even less motivation because I’m not dissatisfied with my body- I just miss being at my ideal weight.

Okay, vent over. Thanks for listening (or reading :-))

lorrpb

With only 10 lbs to lose, your deficit should be no more than .5 lb per week which is only 250 cal per day you need to cut. Reset your stats to .5 and see if you get a few more cals. What do you miss more-- eating whatever you want or being at your ideal weight? You can choose whichever you want!

middlehaitch

Y'know sometimes the weight we think we want to be isn't the weight that is the best fit.

Will the losing the 10lbs give you a maintenance calorie allowance that you can live with?

Think about it and if it, is carry on losing.

If it isn't, but the calories you get now, are, go into maintenance and look at doing a recomp in the future (I know now isn't a good time to be going to the gym)

If the maintenance cals 10lbs down are acceptable, move to them now and you will gradually lose the 10lbs, but maybe not feel so deprived. The rate of loss will be slow for the last couple of lbs. but it is doable.

Also think of eating to a weekly goal so you can have a couple of days higher calories offset by a couple of days slightly lower.

Cheers, h.

TavistockToad

lorrpb wrote: »

With only 10 lbs to lose, your deficit should be no more than .5 lb per week which is only 250 cal per day you need to cut. Reset your stats to .5 and see if you get a few more cals. What do you miss more-- eating whatever you want or being at your ideal weight? You can choose whichever you want!

Pretty much this.

I am in a similar place, I have around 7lbs to lose to get to my happy weight, but I am so bored of being hungry every day - with only a 250 cal deficit. Plus any time I do drink or have a restaurant meal the water weight messes with the scale for days which I know is normal but is frustrating.

To combat the hunger I am trying re-feed days or a week at maintenance for every 3 weeks of deficit.

At the moment I have thrown in the towel and am going to eat at maintenance, probably till new year, and then I will refocus on weight loss.

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timtam163

EllieElla2015 wrote: »

I have 10 pounds to lose- the problem is that I’ve gained and real gained the same 10 pounds. I really just want to count calories, keep my deficit, and finally see the weight come off for good.

I don’t have an agresisive deficit- I have a little over 1,600 calories and I usually go up to 1,700 even when I’m being diligent. My problem is that I HATE feeling deprived. I eat everything in moderation- I don’t have good or bad foods but I really just miss eating a hearty bagel sandwich for breakfast, a Chipotle bowl for lunch, and pasta for dinner all in one day. I miss drinking without worrying about the calories. I did that regularly and maintained my weight (I was super active) but now that I’m trying to lose (less active because class & work) I’m pre-planning meals, eating in and choosing one or the other to stay within my calorie goal (and not be hungry).

I was doing great June - August but stopped paying attention September so I’ve only been on track for two weeks now (with a couple days that were REALLY over) and I already feel discouraged. A part of me feeling discouraged is that I don’t mind my weight. I’m relatively thin but not in my “happy place”. So I have even less motivation because I’m not dissatisfied with my body- I just miss being at my ideal weight.

Okay, vent over. Thanks for listening (or reading :-))

Ideal for whom? It sounds like you're unhappy right now, which is fine if it's only for a short while. But if all day every day you think wistfully about how you used to eat, then I'd reassess my goals. Or, at the very least, take a diet break: eat at maintenance for a few weeks and see how it goes.

Sometimes I too really hate how I wasn't so much heavier when I was able to drink and snack and have salad dressing and cookies; but then I also think about how low-energy I felt. There are multiple facets to each experience, remember the whole package of where you came from: how much happier were you?

livingleanlivingclean

OP, sometimes I do too. But I don't miss being the person I was physically and mentally when I did eat what I wanted when I wanted. It's a sacrifice I make - either option is a sacrifice (food vs body), you just need to pick the one that matters most.

Perhaps it's not a bad thing you're not dissatisfied with your body - if you're at a healthy weight, there is nothing wrong with maintaining that and developing the love for your body as it is...

rainbow198

I get it OP. I lost a lot of weight years ago. Kept it off. Eat very well. Worked hard for my dream body. Not that I get tempted, but occasionally I still miss being able to eat whatever I want whenever I wanted like I did my entire life.

I don't have any advice, but what helps me is enjoying the way I look and feel and the clothes size I wear now compared to when I used to eat all of the food. Looking at old photos and putting on an old pair of shorts that were getting tight on me when I first started and now I can fit easily into one leg with room keeps me motivated.

Hope you are able to find your happy place soon.

TavistockToad

YepItsKriss wrote: »

You basically have two choices here.

1. you can learn to love the body you have and go back to the way you used to eat

2. Or you can realize that eating all the things in one day is an empty happiness and having the body you want will create a more long term fulfilling happiness.

Personally i would pick the latter, as i could easily say that i miss laying in bed like a sloth, eating a large pizza to myself followed by 2 bags of chocolate covered almonds, but i looked like this:



Seriously? should i miss that? Just for the sake of over consuming pizza and chocolate almonds?

OP is already a healthy weight so its not the same thing....

88olds

Get the impression you are a lot younger than I am. Some advice-

Learn to live with some limits or be prepared to be overweight. What you want, when you want does not exist in the adult world.

Dump the bagel for an English Muffin type sand, replace the bowl with a salad. Don't drink or don't drink much. Exercise.

All that said, are you sure you want to lose? Or are you just nagging yourself over nothing? Maybe better to work on the nagging.

EllieElla2015

Thank you everyone! I needed that sort of perspective, since people in my daily life really just respond with “you’re fine- you don’t need to lose!”- that’s the opposite of motivating for me lol.

I really like the idea of eating at maintenance for my goal weight and see how that turns out, rather than being on an aggressive deficit. MFP gives me 1,650 for a .5 pound per week loss and eating at my goal weight calories would be 1,740 which is definitely extra wiggle room

EllieElla2015

& YepitsKris thank you for sharing that & the photo! Earlier this year I was getting dressed for an event and I had to go through 3 dresses that find one that was still flattering. That was definitely not a good feeling and I don’t want to be back there, so I definitely hear what you’re saying and needed to be reminded of that.

Thanks everyone- it was really the kick & reality check I needed. Really appreciate you guys

LearningToFly13

Maybe you should focus on how you feel rather than how you look. Is 10 lbs really the bridge to your happiness? I doubt it. Maybe you should now focus on health and happiness and maintaining the beautiful body you have. Maybe you need to focus on your blessings.

kenyonhaff

Yes, wouldn't it be nice to not have consequences for actions?

It is also kinda fun to ignore consequences until...well they catch up. And then it is not.

But welcome to a reality in which you have to choose to make the right choice. No one can do it for you!

Seriye

What kind of exercises are you doing? If you haven't yet, maybe think about starting to incorporating strength training and focus on your measurements for progress. That way you can actually eat more, your body will be more toned and have muscle without worrying about your weight. Since muscle weighs more than fat you can be the exact same weight and have a very different looking (leaner, smaller) body!

livingleanlivingclean

Seriye wrote: »

What kind of exercises are you doing? If you haven't yet, maybe think about starting to incorporating strength training and focus on your measurements for progress. That way you can actually eat more, your body will be more toned and have muscle without worrying about your weight. Since muscle weighs more than fat you can be the exact same weight and have a very different looking (leaner, smaller) body!

I wish.