Living The Lifestyle Thursday 7/25/24

imastar2

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.

Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Wildcard
Wednesday-misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard

Today's Topic: What's your plan for sustaining a balance between enjoying food while maintaining a good variety, while staying on your plan. Is routine the secret?
Is restraint the secret? or just plain willpower?

What keeps you Happy.

Al_Howard

We're pretty boring. Almost cc the week before. Trying to mix it up more, but...

crewahl

Well, it pretty clearly ain’t willpower for me, given how last week went.

I think the key thing that’s been successful for me is having options, and being judicious.

I’ll start with the premise that things are generally okay when I’m at home. I try not to bring things into the house that cause me challenges - pastry, muffins, peanut butter, etc. My meals at home are generally healthy, and the snacks I have in the house are low point/calorie. If I don’t feel like a particular snack, I’ve got others in the house that may appeal to me and that won’t be damaging.

Similarly, when I eat out, I’ve got “go to” meals at most restaurants that I like and that don’t adversely impact my weight. I’ll go to those places and consider their daily specials and other alternatives, but at least 50% of the time I’m going with stand-bys. And that’s fine for me mentally, because I know I could have done something else, but I’ve chosen what I like. And if it’s an alternative, 90% of the time it’s something that fits
within my daily points.

steve0mania

I have a standard pattern of eating that I vary to get a little diversity into my diet. Most dinners are chicken, veggies, and potato (chicken and potato weighed out). However, within that basic framework are all sorts of options for different preparations of chicken (mostly baked, but with various different spices, sometimes BBQ'd with dry-rubs) and different veggies.

It's easiest for me if I center myself around things that work and use that as the baseline.

misterhub

Portion size is the great balancer for me.

I food prep for the week, prepping components rather than meals, which allows me to vary combinations and creates variety.

The counter balance is portion size.

Flintwinch

I think there is room for plenty of variety in the food we eat. My problem is more portion control. And portion control means weighing. And weighing means paying attention to how much I'm eating. Tracking is, and will always be, an integral part of managing weight for me. Routine is the rule for breakfast, but less so for lunch. Supper is the time for the most variety--within caloric limits. I try to allow myself an extra caloric allowance for supper in order to feel like food is a joy and not a restriction. Willpower, for all intents and purposes, is bunk when it comes to the long haul.

crewahl

Flintwinch wrote: »

I try to allow myself an extra caloric allowance for supper in order to feel like food is a joy and not a restriction.

I think that’s a key thing - making sure this ain’t all about rice cakes and tofu.