Tips for staying consistent
Replies
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L1zardQueen wrote: »Agree with not buying the food you cannot moderate. Salty chips are my downfall, I rarely buy them.
This is me. I used to avoid them completely. But now I sometimes buy the Lay's 10 pack of classic chips. Each bag is 1 ounce and 160 calories. I can usually fit one bag into my allotment and stop there. Whereas an open party-size bag is a recipe for disaster. A reasonable alternative are the Skinny Pop mini bags which are only 100 cals.1 -
I tried to be consistent, or to only eat healthy food. That just doesn't work for me. I do buy treats, but only single portion sizes, and I build them into my allotment for the day.
Find what works for you. You don't have to follow others' rules if they make things harder to do.3 -
Mondowefte wrote: »I tried to be consistent, or to only eat healthy food. That just doesn't work for me. I do buy treats, but only single portion sizes, and I build them into my allotment for the day.
Find what works for you. You don't have to follow others' rules if they make things harder to do.
Yeah I don’t like planning my meals to a t but I might just have to for a month to get into the swing of things. And honestly my meals are great- balanced with protein carbs, veggies and fats. But then I just keep eating chocolate and I think it’s become a habit so I need to break it in order to get back in control.2 -
Also I would like to add that I started intuitive eating around January and February this year...bad idea. I gained a few pounds and I was exhausted because my brain was just telling me to eat lots sugary fatty foods like chocolates etc (I was already eating chocolate because I wasn’t depriving myself before but they said to eat as much as your heart desires and so I did!) and according to the intuitive eating book the cravings would eventually go away but as you can see it’s MAY and things haven’t changed. My blood sugar would crash and my skin would break out and then I would reach for more because my body wanted it but this was intuitive right? Now that I’m reading all the comments I can see that intuitive eating didn’t help me at all and it only worsened my health (I have PCOS and diabetes runs in my family). I definitely thrive of some discipline and structure and intuitive eating just didn’t cut it for me. I can’t listen to my body like that. They said don’t deprive yourself and now my brain thinks I’m being deprived if I don’t eat half the bar of chocolate or cake or whatever it is. I was also sooo bloated from eating so much crap food and I’m not labelling foods but come on some foods just are designed to be overeaten and make you bloated. Now my palate wants all those things and that’s also coming in the way of me losing weight because I can’t moderate at the moment. No wonder I feel like I’m at square one! I’ve decided that I’m going to go cold turkey for a month and then start re introducing things like chocolate back in. What do you guys think?3
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thisvickyruns wrote: »Hey everyone!
So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!
Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.
you say you stay in a deficit, but then you don't. What's happening when you don't? is it due to time of the month? stress at work? because you've been eating 'super healthy' and then binge chocolate?
Well it’s normally stress or PMS. I’ve got these silly thoughts in my head always telling me to eat otherwise I’m depriving myself!
Google is your friend for some mindfulness stuff, or a bit of CBT for coping mechanisms during stressful times. Allowing yourself to eat at maintenance for a few days during your period might also help.
are you depriving yourself of anything? as soon as you tell yourself you 'cant' have something, you'll likely crave it. if you don't already, try working to your weekly calorie goal, and fit in some of the things you feel deprived of over a week. I have a low cal hot chocolate most evenings for a sweet treat at supper time.2 -
thisvickyruns wrote: »thisvickyruns wrote: »Hey everyone!
So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!
Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.
you say you stay in a deficit, but then you don't. What's happening when you don't? is it due to time of the month? stress at work? because you've been eating 'super healthy' and then binge chocolate?
Well it’s normally stress or PMS. I’ve got these silly thoughts in my head always telling me to eat otherwise I’m depriving myself!
Google is your friend for some mindfulness stuff, or a bit of CBT for coping mechanisms during stressful times. Allowing yourself to eat at maintenance for a few days during your period might also help.
are you depriving yourself of anything? as soon as you tell yourself you 'cant' have something, you'll likely crave it. if you don't already, try working to your weekly calorie goal, and fit in some of the things you feel deprived of over a week. I have a low cal hot chocolate most evenings for a sweet treat at supper time.
Yeah the maintenance at period has definitely helped but I’m honestly not depriving myself- I’m doing the opposite right now. I’ve had an ED in the past so I know depriving myself isn’t good.1 -
Mondowefte wrote: »I tried to be consistent, or to only eat healthy food. That just doesn't work for me. I do buy treats, but only single portion sizes, and I build them into my allotment for the day.
Find what works for you. You don't have to follow others' rules if they make things harder to do.
Yeah I don’t like planning my meals to a t but I might just have to for a month to get into the swing of things. And honestly my meals are great- balanced with protein carbs, veggies and fats. But then I just keep eating chocolate and I think it’s become a habit so I need to break it in order to get back in control.
Planning is hardest when you're learning how, just like riding a bike or driving a car. Once you know how, you sort of put it in the back of your mind and those skills go on autopilot while you just do your day. And it's true that you might need to be more rigid at first while you develop those skills, and can loosen up as you go along a bit.
It's very, very hard to succeed at anything without a plan, not just weight loss.2 -
wunderkindking wrote: »elisa123gal wrote: »do you set up your environment for success? Are the carbs, junk food, treats..sugar..chocolate and fatty foods that tempt you TOTALLY out of your home, car, and workspace? Have you made "rules" you stick by.. like no fast food or takeaway food? Do you have a great lunch cooler to pack healthy foods and snacks to keep with you so you never get weak and buy junk food?
I mean no to all of this but I sure am down from obese to a healthy BMI. Not really consistent, either, just within my calorie limit more often than not. Yet, here I am.
Weird.
Yeah, all of this, plus what @sijomial said on the previous page. Consistency is what works for some people, but there are workable alternatives to "stick to your near-exact calorie goal every single day, logging and weighing every item" (if that's what consistency means).
It's really useful to understand your own strengths, limitations, and preferences, and figure out a way to game them. The easier and more natural (to you) the approach, the higher the odds of success.
For some, consistency and strict inviolable rules is that way. For others, it can be logging and averaging a certain deficit over the course of a week (with high and low days in there, formal like 5:2 IF or more loosey-goosey); doing one week on, one week off deficit (eating at maintenance on the off week); or even a rule like @wunderkindking seems to be running of just eating any number of calories that's at or under maintenance.
Me, I'm in maintenance, and calorie bank (eat a little under maintenance most days, periodically have an indulgent day above maintenance - but this same strategy can be used during loss, as long as the routine deficit with the banking included isn't too punitive). ETA: I don't prelog except once in a blue moon (something new and weird, or if I've created unusual calorie-budget constraints somehow), don't have any kind of structured meal plan (meal/snack count differs widely, don't know what I'll have for dinner until I make it, etc.). Seriously, inconsistent.
If logging is the problem, then maybe log long enough to develop a repertoire of meals you like (B, L, D, and 1-2 snacks, or whatever your preferred eating pattern is), each meal at relatively defined calorie levels, that you can mix and match most days to hit a reasonable calorie target. If you do something unusual or new, log that day, but otherwise just use the pattern. That could work.
If chocolate or sweets are a problem and it works better to eliminate them totally, great. If it works to have a small bit at the end of a meal, equally great. If you can convince yourself that Friday (or whatever) is chocolate day, and budget X calories of it then and only then, and that works . . . still great.
Consistency is not my jam. Discipline is not my strongest suit (to say the least). Nonetheless, somehow I lost 50+ pounds back in 2015-16 and have stayed at a healthy weight since (after years of previous obesity) . . . partly IMO because I'm old, understand my inclinations pretty well by now, and know how to be tactically wily.
Experiment with approaches, if you need to, for a week at a time. Keep the ones that help *you*, drop the ones that don't. If it feels like a forced march that goes against your inclinations, it's probably not going to work well long term. If you can figure out sustainable habits that are manageable, ideally even easy, and that get you to your end goal, that's perfect.
That has been and mostly is my approach for the whole weight loss journey - though I will amend and say that aside from very rare exceptions I also aimed hard to get at least 1200 net calories, because I know me and I'd set up some god awful cycle of restrict/binge without that line.
I'm doing on/off maintenance thing right now - week under maintenance, week at, both as averaged over a week. I'd like to lose a little more, but I'm good with those 10-15lbs taking a year. My focus right now is basically a busy and physically active summer.
Anyway, the reason I am replying instead of just clicking buttons in that I think the real heart of things is in there. You need to be self-aware. therapy can help with that, if you need it and there's nothing wrong with that. Learning what really makes you tick in order to make things easier is good. I don't do the consistency and rigid rules thing precisely because of that. I know me. At no point in my life have I responded to 'you can't' with anything but "I can and I will." Even if I'm the person who is making the rule, my response is "WATCH ME". Best not set that up with food.3 -
Then you HAVE to plan just to have a limited amount of chocolate. Don't take a package or bar with you. Measure out the amount you're allowed and then put the rest away. It's easier to follow a portioned plan of snacks than just randomly breaking off some and then finishing it and still looking at what you still have in front of you to eat.You likely have no set up eating plan. You could be thinking about just counting calories, think you have room to have a little more, then blow it and then think "okay, I blew this, so day 1 tomorrow". You have no plan of action. And until you do, you'll continue to procrastinate till a month before the wedding and then go into "crash" mode to try to meet your goal. Seen this scenario 1000 times over.
Make a plan for your meals. How many you'll eat in a day, allowable calories for each meal and then stick to it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
My meals are great but it’s when I snack on chocolate in between my meals and I just keep eating over my calories even with just a 250 calorie deficit. I probably need to rebuild discipline again.
I eat chips, candy, junk food, etc. by measuring out the portion then putting the bag or box away. It's much easier to discipline yourself that way.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Oh and try eating slower.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 2 -
Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.
Portion your amount per day into individual baggies when you buy it, and then FREEZE them. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on eating that portion. While it's still frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.
frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one4 -
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but if it has it's worth repeating...
Consistency is less about the day-to-day and more about the month-to-month. "bad days" aren't bad, they are just life. Allow yourself some flexibility in the short term in order to manage and survive the long term. If you look around the forums there are a slew of graphs posted by successful people that show day-to-day number all over the board. High... low... up... down. But the trend over longer periods of time is what matters.
That's a long way of saying... don't get discouraged if you're not "perfect" on any given day. That's normal. Focus on how you do over the course of a week or a month. That's what matters.6 -
Great tip.wunderkindking wrote: »Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.
Portion your amount per day out when you buy it, and then FREEZE those portions. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on that portion. While it's frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.
frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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CICO - this process alone did not work for me...i was still eating too much sugar, which i craved, but my body wouldn't let me lose the weight, even in a deficit.
so i needed to re-frame the CICO to work better for me. i modified a KETO plan into a CICO, but with more macronutrients, specific to my health needs. whoala, it worked...9lbs down in 1 month. i suspect the higher good fats keeps me satiated, and i'm enjoying the food more.
i eat very healthy, and i still get a chcocolate fix, sometimes daily, by eating a "built bar"...love them.
and, i can get into ketosis averaging a net of 80+ carbs (these carbs are mostly veggies).
so, for me, it really was about finding what works specific to my needs and getting away from sugar and high carbs, despite the low calorie.
i'm doing about 1,300 cal, and eating back what i exercise.1 -
I mean in absolute fairness if you're eating less carbs a good chunk of what you dropped is water.
Carbo*hydrates* lead to water retention.
Great that it's working but you haven't lost 9lbs of fat this month.4 -
i'm eating less dangerous carbs
i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
i eat high potassium and low sodium
i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.0 -
i'm eating less dangerous carbs
i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
i eat high potassium and low sodium
i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.
Fat loss isn't determined by your ratio of "dangerous carbs" (whatever those are) to "healthy carbs."
Someone losing nine pounds in a month on keto can almost certainly attribute some of that to water weight -- it's a well known consequence of beginning keto.
This isn't an attack on keto -- it works quite well for some people when it comes to appetite control.3 -
i don't care if people like or don't like keto, it makes no difference to me. what i'm doing is very modified form of keto considering 80+ net carbs, sometimes more. my diet is a pairing of DASH, Keto, and CICO....works for me.
i don't doubt that i've lost some water, obviously, but i'm losing at a good rate, not a typical keto fast rate, so i'm sure i'm losing fat as well.
finally, for me, there are "dangerous" carbs, meaning the refined, high sugar, high salt snacks and processed foods in packages and in restaurants. they do little for good health and weight loss...so FOR ME, i needed to stay away from those.3 -
GigiAgape1981 wrote: »
Maybe try including chocolate as a "finisher" to a meal instead of it being a stand-alone snack. I myself enjoy chocolate but when I eat it as a snack I'm not satisfied and keep on wanting more and more.
If chocolate is your trigger, can you keep it out of the house completely? Haven't read all the posts so I'm probably repeating here).
I believe the CICO method is great but we all need treats from time to time. IMO. If any one food is a major trigger to start binge-ing then try to keep it out. If you find you can indulge without that happening, then make it an occasional treat or, as was suggested, a small 'after the healthy meal' dessert.
I spent 99% of my life binge-ing on everything, no control whatsoever. Sometimes it's still a struggle but I'm at a much better place in my mindset than I've ever been. Last year I let myself spiral down again due to stress and regained 30#.
I had gone from a loose size 8 to a tight size 10. I refused to buy clothes in that size so was washing every day so I'd have something to wear. I finally had a no nonsense talk with myself and said 'this is it, you need to get back down a size' and I'm back in size 8's. Plus every day I try to find something active to do. I loathe exercise. 
Just not good with the consistency factor and well, hey, I'm a lazy cuss. 
But doing things for others has kept me busy and burns the calories.
I've learned a couple things to be true and people have told me this ever since I joined MFP. Course I had to find out for myself. You CAN have treats. You can have an off day. Don't be hard on yourself or beat yourself up.
I know a lot of people go right by the book as far as logging calories and doing exercise, etc. I'm just not that strict of a person. I've found if I do 90% great and it's working, then I'm succeeding.
Good luck to you and hope your reach your goals but don't give up the things you love while doing it because it won't last.0 -
There's science here and you are not an exception to physics.
Carb(ohydrates) = Glycogen. Every gram of glycogen comes with 3 grams of water. WHEN YOU EAT FEWER CARBS you lose that water/mechanism of having that water in your body.
It absolutely is not me attackign keto. it is great for some people in helping them create a calorie deficit.
Me? I ate a candy bar every single day for nearly an entire month. I still lost 5lbs that month which is what I expected based on my deficit and how close I was to a normal BMI that month.
I'm now in vanity weight territory. My weight loss now is about 2-3lbs a month (if I bother, I'm flirting with just maintaining)and that's fine. When I was obese I had a bit of losing about 6-8lbs a month. Lower weight = slower loss. Also normal5 -
Just wanted to add that maybe if you make your chocolate a weekend thing instead of more often, would that work? I have a weakness for Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream. Nothing else can replace it, I've tried. So every Friday I buy 2 pints, 1 for dh and 1 for me. Dh can make his last 2-3 days. Not me.
But I eat less during that day and have my indulgence. Last week I made the mistake of buying/eating it early then had another pint during the weekend. I thought I was in trouble but still lost 1/2#. IOW you can make your chocolate fit into your life. 1 -
Also I would like to add that I started intuitive eating around January and February this year...bad idea. I gained a few pounds and I was exhausted because my brain was just telling me to eat lots sugary fatty foods like chocolates etc (I was already eating chocolate because I wasn’t depriving myself before but they said to eat as much as your heart desires and so I did!) and according to the intuitive eating book the cravings would eventually go away but as you can see it’s MAY and things haven’t changed. My blood sugar would crash and my skin would break out and then I would reach for more because my body wanted it but this was intuitive right? Now that I’m reading all the comments I can see that intuitive eating didn’t help me at all and it only worsened my health (I have PCOS and diabetes runs in my family). I definitely thrive of some discipline and structure and intuitive eating just didn’t cut it for me. I can’t listen to my body like that. They said don’t deprive yourself and now my brain thinks I’m being deprived if I don’t eat half the bar of chocolate or cake or whatever it is. I was also sooo bloated from eating so much crap food and I’m not labelling foods but come on some foods just are designed to be overeaten and make you bloated. Now my palate wants all those things and that’s also coming in the way of me losing weight because I can’t moderate at the moment. No wonder I feel like I’m at square one! I’ve decided that I’m going to go cold turkey for a month and then start re introducing things like chocolate back in. What do you guys think?
Actually I would see these insights as being reasons why the Intuitive Eating DID work for you.
You found out you feel like crap and have much more unmanageable cravings when you "eat as much as you want."
You learned a valuable thing about yourself. I'm the same way, and if I allow it in (in large quantities) I have a very hard time keeping myself in check. I went through the same thing as you describe and it taught me how to eat so that doesn't keep happening.
Find a way to make that work for you. Well done, I say.
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This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:
To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.
No.
The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.
HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet. It has also not been a conscious attempt to overhaul my diet, just the result of sticking to the calorie deficit - I get a lot more bang for my calorie buck if I eat cottage cheese or oatmeal with my coffee made with almond milk, than I do if I eat a bowl of fruitloops in whole milk and cream in my coffee.
If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.
There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'.
Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you. I am that person.
You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time. Something that lets you keep your kitkats or chocolate or whatever you love without falling into that. Maybe it's the freezer. Maybe it's planning the treat. Maybe it's prelogging the entire bag across your entire week and you can eat them all at once if you want but know your weekly deficit is there. Maybe it's only eating them when you go out and buy one and eat it in a specific park so they're not in the house. Play with it. Experiment. See what happens. It's not failure. It's just data.6 -
wunderkindking wrote: »This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:
To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.
No.
The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.
HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.
If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.
There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.
You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.
I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.
This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.3 -
There aren't "dangerous" carbs. Carbs of ANY SORT are all broken down and absorbed the same way. The body can't tell if it's white potatoes or sweet potatoes. It breaks them both down the same exact way (down to simplest form of sugar).i'm eating less dangerous carbs
i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
i eat high potassium and low sodium
i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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janejellyroll wrote: »wunderkindking wrote: »This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:
To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.
No.
The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.
HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.
If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.
There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.
You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.
I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.
This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.
Yes. It isn't just what and how much I eat, either, that this has happened with. It's how I eat, and when I eat, my activity level and my sleep. If I'd stared down the barrel of everything that has changed gradually from the point at which I began this, there is no way I would have tackled it. Too much, too fast, too BIG.
There is a reason my standard 'how to' for weight loss when asked is 'just track and see what you're eating for 2 weeks before changing ANYTHING, and then give yourself a small deficit and get used to having that ceiling on. Go from there. The whole 'eat healthy, eat less, exercise, sleep enough, don't snack, don't eat THIS OR THAT OR THE OTHER" is just a lot and... not really necessary.3 -
wunderkindking wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »wunderkindking wrote: »This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:
To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.
No.
The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.
HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.
If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.
There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.
You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.
I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.
This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.
Yes. It isn't just what and how much I eat, either, that this has happened with. It's how I eat, and when I eat, my activity level and my sleep. If I'd stared down the barrel of everything that has changed gradually from the point at which I began this, there is no way I would have tackled it. Too much, too fast, too BIG.
There is a reason my standard 'how to' for weight loss when asked is 'just track and see what you're eating for 2 weeks before changing ANYTHING, and then give yourself a small deficit and get used to having that ceiling on. Go from there. The whole 'eat healthy, eat less, exercise, sleep enough, don't snack, don't eat THIS OR THAT OR THE OTHER" is just a lot and... not really necessary.
Yes. Me, too.
In a nutshell, that's exactly why I wrote a "gradually remodel your eating" eating plan**. I think it works.
The same could be said for exercise, sleep, increasing daily life movement, or generally most any change in life habits. Some people do best when they create a revolution, make a hard break. Many people don't (or the success stats from well-publicized extreme-change approaches would be more favorable).
Gradual tweaking of routines can work great, for weight management, fitness, and improved health.
** This thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p11 -
cmriverside wrote: »Also I would like to add that I started intuitive eating around January and February this year...bad idea. I gained a few pounds and I was exhausted because my brain was just telling me to eat lots sugary fatty foods like chocolates etc (I was already eating chocolate because I wasn’t depriving myself before but they said to eat as much as your heart desires and so I did!) and according to the intuitive eating book the cravings would eventually go away but as you can see it’s MAY and things haven’t changed. My blood sugar would crash and my skin would break out and then I would reach for more because my body wanted it but this was intuitive right? Now that I’m reading all the comments I can see that intuitive eating didn’t help me at all and it only worsened my health (I have PCOS and diabetes runs in my family). I definitely thrive of some discipline and structure and intuitive eating just didn’t cut it for me. I can’t listen to my body like that. They said don’t deprive yourself and now my brain thinks I’m being deprived if I don’t eat half the bar of chocolate or cake or whatever it is. I was also sooo bloated from eating so much crap food and I’m not labelling foods but come on some foods just are designed to be overeaten and make you bloated. Now my palate wants all those things and that’s also coming in the way of me losing weight because I can’t moderate at the moment. No wonder I feel like I’m at square one! I’ve decided that I’m going to go cold turkey for a month and then start re introducing things like chocolate back in. What do you guys think?
Actually I would see these insights as being reasons why the Intuitive Eating DID work for you.
You found out you feel like crap and have much more unmanageable cravings when you "eat as much as you want."
You learned a valuable thing about yourself. I'm the same way, and if I allow it in (in large quantities) I have a very hard time keeping myself in check. I went through the same thing as you describe and it taught me how to eat so that doesn't keep happening.
Find a way to make that work for you. Well done, I say.
Thank you that definitely put it into a whole new perspective for me 😊1 -
GigiAgape1981 wrote: »
Maybe try including chocolate as a "finisher" to a meal instead of it being a stand-alone snack. I myself enjoy chocolate but when I eat it as a snack I'm not satisfied and keep on wanting more and more.
If chocolate is your trigger, can you keep it out of the house completely? Haven't read all the posts so I'm probably repeating here).
I believe the CICO method is great but we all need treats from time to time. IMO. If any one food is a major trigger to start binge-ing then try to keep it out. If you find you can indulge without that happening, then make it an occasional treat or, as was suggested, a small 'after the healthy meal' dessert.
I spent 99% of my life binge-ing on everything, no control whatsoever. Sometimes it's still a struggle but I'm at a much better place in my mindset than I've ever been. Last year I let myself spiral down again due to stress and regained 30#. I had gone from a loose size 8 to a tight size 10. I refused to buy clothes in that size so was washing every day so I'd have something to wear. I finally had a no nonsense talk with myself and said 'this is it, you need to get back down a size' and I'm back in size 8's. Plus every day I try to find something active to do. I loathe exercise. Just not good with the consistency factor and well, hey, I'm a lazy cuss. But doing things for others has kept me busy and burns the calories.
I've learned a couple things to be true and people have told me this ever since I joined MFP. Course I had to find out for myself. You CAN have treats. You can have an off day. Don't be hard on yourself or beat yourself up.
I know a lot of people go right by the book as far as logging calories and doing exercise, etc. I'm just not that strict of a person. I've found if I do 90% great and it's working, then I'm succeeding.
Good luck to you and hope your reach your goals but don't give up the things you love while doing it because it won't last.
Well it’s funny because if I distract myself long enough then I don’t want chocolate so it could be a boredom/habit thing. Ah I love exercising, I could do it all day! In fact it’s the days that I don’t exercise where I struggle to stay in a deficit because I just have less to do and less food.
Exercise takes my mind of eating and so I find it super easy to stay in a deficit then. I definitely won’t be giving up on chocolate once I get a hang of it again, thank you!2 -
wunderkindking wrote: »Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.
Portion your amount per day into individual baggies when you buy it, and then FREEZE them. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on eating that portion. While it's still frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.
frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one
I've been unable to moderate chocolate BARS, but I can moderate 70 calories of chocolate chips or squares.
With the chips, I eat them one at a time, no chewing, just letting them dissolve in my mouth, and yes, I am bored by the time I finish.1
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