THIS IS HARD!
joecooler
Posts: 10 Member
Hello. I am not dieting. I have dieted in the past, and always regained the weight. I am making lifestyle changes - changing my relationship w/food, changing what and how I eat, and being more active. I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly. I feel better and already feel my clothes fitting better. I am able to be more active than I was just six weeks ago.
But
THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?
But
THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?
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Replies
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So are you cutting things for now or making permanent changes? You claim both in your post.
Have some pizza. Make it work within your goals.8 -
You know what I had for breakfast yesterday? A donut. A big one. Know what I had for lunch? McDonald’s. A bacon McDouble and a medium fry. For dinner, I had some broccoli, some parsnips and some grilled boneless/skinless chicken thighs. It all fit within my calorie goals for the day, so I was good. I’m not going to eat like that *every* day, but once in awhile? I absolutely will, and there’s zero wrong with it.
Food should be enjoyable. If you’re making a lifestyle change, make sure you change it to one your ok with having for life. You can eat anything you want...you just can’t eat everything you want, all the time.11 -
concordancia wrote: »So are you cutting things for now or making permanent changes? You claim both in your post.
Have some pizza. Make it work within your goals.
Cutting things out is permanent changes. Just can't do the mid afternoon candy run any more. Fast food has to be absolutely minimal. Problem with this stuff is, when I have one, I just want more.3 -
DeadliftsAndSprinkles wrote: »If you've lost 10-12 pounds in six weeks then how have your slip-ups been detrimental to your weight loss?
Actually you make a really good point. I guess it's working isn't it?4 -
You don't have to cut any of those things out to lose weight. I eat pizza, hamburgers, donuts, ice cream, had a big bag of popcorn at the movies yesterday, chocolate, whatever... and still keep within my calorie goal. My diary is open if you'd like to see how. Assuming "Joe" means you're a man, it would be even easier as you'll have a higher allowance than I do as a 5'4", 43 yr old woman.5
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Do some meal planning, and find the things that satisfy you...aim for satiety. Not feeling hungry will go a long way in helping you avoid the weak moments and mindless eating. Drink your water. And yup, be patient.
Also, some overeating will not undo the hard work, just delay the results. If you stay consistently at a calorie deficit and have an excess here or there, well, that's just living. You'll only undo your progress if you make a habit of binging. Don't!2 -
the problem with fast food is that it is manufactured to be addicting. Just the right taste to make you want more. It is like the country song about whiskey, "One is too many and two is never enough." I am speaking to myself right now, too. I am back on the "stop in for a little ice cream cone" loop. Then I don't have a balanced dinner to make up for the cone, and before I know it, I'm shakey when it is time to eat, instead of being able to carefully plan and enjoy a meal. It's hard work.. because ice cream is really good.
Though unlike you.. my weight is at a stand still5 -
I struggle with the same thing. If I give in to temptation then I manage to end up completely derailed. I am trying to get on track and figure out how to keep myself on track.0
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This is what I tell myself and others a good diet or lifestyle has 2 primary goals each day. Stay within your calories and eat to be happy and satisfied. The former you need to lose weight the latter you need to stay with it.
I am usually happy with a weekly indulgence so I bank my calories on days where I eat just to nourish. I have messed up a little over the last couple of days but that is life sometimes.1 -
I failed repeatedly by trying to cut out the foods I love, because demonizing just makes us binge. Now I eat anything I want, but not everything at once, and not all the time. I'm maintaining a healthy weight, too.1
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Food should be enjoyable. If you’re making a lifestyle change, make sure you change it to one your ok with having for life. You can eat anything you want...you just can’t eat everything you want, all the time.
this
plus you need to understand the difference between water weight gain when you eat a high carb/high sodium meal (like pizza or a takeaway burger), and actual fat gain.2 -
Hello. I am not dieting. I have dieted in the past, and always regained the weight. I am making lifestyle changes - changing my relationship w/food, changing what and how I eat, and being more active. I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly. I feel better and already feel my clothes fitting better. I am able to be more active than I was just six weeks ago.
But
THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?
Just a little slip won't destroy everything you achieved in the week! Don't worry, if it happens, just keep going on as before the next day, just a burger is not going to ruin everything. You did lose weight, haven't you? Try to be more indulgent, and if you can, try to find ways to insert the food you enjoy in your diet, maybe once a week, maybe smaller portions then before, but how can you live without pizza??? And then, think that when you reach your goal weight, maintenance calories will probably be higher then your actual calories, so maybe you will be able to eat more of the good stuff when you get there. It can be risky to think this way, because you risk of allowing yourself too much and gaining all the weight back, but if you eat some of the things you love now that you're in a deficit too, you won't crave them so much that you will binge when you are done. But knowing that you will be able to eat them more when in manteinance may help you stick to your cals.
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So have those things in moderation. I had pizza last night. I’ll be up on the scale today, more because of TOM starting than because of the pizza. Today I’ve already planned out my meals so I can have pasta tonight. I’ve learned that cutting things out completely is dangerous for me and I end up bingeing on those eventually. And that weight loss is about the overall trend, not the immediate.0
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Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.0
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What everybody else said.
Also, 2 pounds a week is plenty fast. Have you considered going a tad slower so you have more wiggle room with the calories?2 -
Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.
I eat what I want, just not as often or in as great a quantity as I used to. My diary is open to public if you want to see how it works for me.1 -
Well yes whn someone says you can eat everything it is meant to be under your calories. But what we mean is not to say eat as you want and then stop, but more on the note of: try to plan your meals so that you have enough calories to eat a treat once in a while. Not everyday, and not big portions. I think the most important thing is balance, so somedays you should eat low cal food that keep you full, but some other days it is good for you, mentally, to eat maybe less in total, but a tasty thing. Foe example, I eat pizza once a week, and I know a whole margherita pizza is going to be 700 cals, and I'm on 1200/1300 max, so I try to eat like 200 at breakfast and only 300/400 at lunch, no snacks, so when I have pizza it's within calories.3
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Hello. I am not dieting. I have dieted in the past, and always regained the weight. I am making lifestyle changes - changing my relationship w/food, changing what and how I eat, and being more active. I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly. I feel better and already feel my clothes fitting better. I am able to be more active than I was just six weeks ago.
But
THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?
You don't have to be "perfect" to lose weight...you already noted your "slips" and you're obviously losing weight. I eat a very healthy diet overall, but I also plan for more "fun" foods...like Friday evenings are usually pizza and movie night at my house...it's not a slip...it's planned fun.
At home, we call these foods "sometimes" food...they're really not an issue when it's sometimes. They can become an issue when sometimes becomes all of the time.
You really have to look at your diet and nutrition on the whole rather than in the isolation of a particular food or meal. What is going on most of the time is what actually matters.2 -
Then prelog. You can eat enough, and make room for some of what you like best, every day.Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Hello. I am not dieting. I have dieted in the past, and always regained the weight. I am making lifestyle changes - changing my relationship w/food, changing what and how I eat, and being more active. I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly. I feel better and already feel my clothes fitting better. I am able to be more active than I was just six weeks ago.
But
THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?
You don't have to be "perfect" to lose weight...you already noted your "slips" and you're obviously losing weight. I eat a very healthy diet overall, but I also plan for more "fun" foods...like Friday evenings are usually pizza and movie night at my house...it's not a slip...it's planned fun.
At home, we call these foods "sometimes" food...they're really not an issue when it's sometimes. They can become an issue when sometimes becomes all of the time.
You really have to look at your diet and nutrition on the whole rather than in the isolation of a particular food or meal. What is going on most of the time is what actually matters.
This is how I've always tried to teach my son about splurges. Fast food, candy, cake, they are all referred to as "sometimes foods" rather than junk food or anything else negative.3 -
Here is an example of how I eat what I want. I knew we were going out to eat Monday night, so ate light earlier in the day. I also had banked a few hundred calories over the previous couple of days because I went in knowing I was going to eat what I wanted without reserve, yet without stuffing myself. I still came in under my daily calories:
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I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly.
With only 50 lbs to lose, 2 lbs/week is not a slow rate of loss. An overly aggressive calorie deficit will indeed make the process hard. If you change your rate to 1 or 1.5 lbs/week, you will likely find that you can fit in more of the things you crave, while still enjoying good progress.3 -
I give myself "windows" where it's okay to eat fast food, like on the weekends when I'm out with my husband, but during the week, I plan all of my meals, take my lunch to work and eat dinner at home. Friday night is pizza night or we go to a movie and I have popcorn or a soft pretzel. If I know I am going to go out for breakfast on a Sunday morning, then I'll skip lunch and have a normal dinner. Basically, I allow myself to occasionally have a treat like ice cream or a burger, but then I log the calories and adjust the rest of my day to make up for it. Occasionally, I'll get a little out of control and have to reel myself back in, but most of the time I do not feel deprived. Set your weight loss to one pound per week, add some exercise in to your daily routine and you'll probably find you can eat more of your favorite foods and still lose four to five pounds a month. If you are not "dieting" then you are in this for the long haul and slow and steady weight loss is the best.1
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Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.
I eat what I want in smaller portions. I love a cheeseburger, but I make my own at home with Lean or Extra Lean ground beef. I also make pizzas on tortilla shells instead of crusts. If I do go all out and eat take out burgers and pizza, I just log it and try to exercise some calories back. If I can't do that I just know that for the next couple days I need to be more conscious of what I'm eating.1 -
You don't have to give up foods you love to lose weight.
Moderation, portion control, and better food choices.
Stay within your calorie alottment and you will lose weight, if you have no existing medical issues.
It is not easy for many of us, but seeing the results, buying clothing in smaller sizes makes the effort easier.
I have to ask myself now, "is it worth it?" Most of the time the answer is no.
No food is off limits, I allow for it in my food/calorie diary.1 -
Bordering on beating a dead horse at this point, but I've never found expecting myself to completely stay away from "bad" foods I like to be sustainable and I think you're finding out the same. Being "perfect" and not eating pizza, burgers, tacos, etc. for the rest of your life sounds miserable and woefully unsustainable, but making the "right" food choices 80% of the time and not going bonkers for the other 20% on the foods you crave should be a path to success. A caution, don't fall into the trap of getting down on yourself when you do decide to have an indulgence; weigh the caloric consequences, make a choice, move on and resume regularly scheduled programming. I've found that I've gotten much more scrutinizing about certain foods in the sense that if I'm going to have that many calories I'm going to enjoy the crap out of them. If I'm having pizza, it's going to be good pizza, not plain-cheese-left-in-the-breakroom-only-eating-because-I'm-bored pizza. If I get ice cream it's not Halo top, or low glycemic index, no added sugar ice cream, it's the super tasty stuff.
TL;DR - you don't have to be perfect, you don't have to be miserable and feel like you're missing your favorite foods. Overall, eat fewer calories and you'll be good to go in the long run.3 -
Yeah... more of the same, but here’s some tricks and my thought process: if I’m not prepared to give up something for the rest of my life, I’m not giving it up in order to lose weight. This is the rest of my life.
What I can do is give it up for today, and plan to have that treat later. Sometimes I work on my willpower and see how many days I can push having that treat, going past it in the store and thinking ”I’ll come back for you tomorrow”. The day I have the treat always comes eventually, and then I enjoy and savour every single bit of it.
I plan my meals and shop groceries ahead of time, usually on Sunday for the rest of the week. I write in days I know I’ll be eating out, plan healthy and sensible meals (this part varies...), and especially if there’s no eating out that week, something fun like tacos or burgers to make at home. I do try to ”match” the meals to my days, meaning if I know in advance my Thursday is going to be straight from hell, that day gets an easy, quick and comforting meal instead of the complicated recipe I have wanted to try for a while. You get the picture. Some weeks are hard and I want to reward myself a little, so I do that. I might try to squeeze in some extra workouts, since those are also rewards and help keep me sane.
Also: remember that there are more important things in life than weight loss, sometimes it’s perfectly OK to average out at maintenance level for a week or two. There’s social life, family events, work/study issues etc. I’m turning in my thesis in 6 days, and if my thesis-writing brain decides it needs chocolate/burrito/whatever, I’m going to get it. Whatever to push through the next week, man.0 -
Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.
I had to go out to run an errand this afternoon before I had lunch. I then felt tempted to just go to Taco Bell because I was out, but then I wouldn't have the calories I needed tonight. So I came home and had veggies and cheese for lunch. Maybe in a few days I'll be able to fit Taco Bell into my day. So "eat what you want" doesn't mean "eat what you want all day every day". Nutrition still matters.2 -
I am all about calorie and nutrient counting. It works and you get to eat what your body wants, as long as it fits the goal and what the body needs. A splurge once in a while won't destroy everything you've done. That's called all or none thinking and it's not healthy! For it to be a life change, you have to enjoy it, so make it work for you! I usually do my splurge at night, after I've seen what I have left to splurge with calorie wise, but sometimes life just happens and it's during the day, so make your dinner fit the goal. When people ask me the secret to my weight loss I tell them it's really simple and they get really excited, but when I tell them it's simple but not necessarily "easy" because I log ever bite I eat and everything I drink, they are like "oh that's too much trouble" and I say that's the thing that is the mark of successful people, they are willing to do the thing other people aren't. I'm willing because it works!
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Cutting things out is permanent changes. Just can't do the mid afternoon candy run any more. Fast food has to be absolutely minimal. Problem with this stuff is, when I have one, I just want more.
Find a way to manage your tendency to overindulge, and you can enjoy things like candy and ice cream. You need to figure out which foods are the biggest problems for you.
I don't keep candy or ice cream in the house. That's because I know that if I do, I'll eat it all. If I want a candy bar, I'll drive five minutes in my car and buy a good candy bar at the pharmacy. I'll drive home and have it, or have half and save the rest for the next day. If I want ice cream, I'll drive five minutes in my car to the dairy store near my house with locally made quality ice cream, and get a dish with a couple of scoops.
I had an individual sized pizza this past weekend from a brick oven pizza place. I won't get a larger pizza thinking I'll have the rest the next day because I know I might eat more than I should. It's about portion control -- and a key to making it work for me is realizing that I'll likely be completely satisfied by the two scoops of ice cream and won't need to scratch that itch for a week or two. If I go to a restaurant that's known for having humongous portions, I'll get a take home box when my meal comes out and immediately put half in the take home box. Or, I'll get an appetizer and a cup of soup.
Pay attention to your hunger and satiety cues - you'll notice that if you have a small portion of something like candy, wait 20 minutes, then decide if you want more, often the answer will be no. But if you really do want more, eat it knowing it's not going to "break" your diet. One meal or excessive portion isn't going to ruin your progress -- remember, it takes 3500 excess calories to put on a pound of weight.
The other helpful thing is viewing your calorie allotment for the day as a budget, or an allowance. If you have $20 to spend for a day, you'll think twice before spending $18 on something frivolous early in the day. A better strategy might be: get through the day, and plan to spend no more than $2 before you buy the $18 item later in the day. That's why I started replacing lunch with a couple of light snacks during the day - so I'd have more calories to spend in the evening on dessert or a treat.2
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