RESTRICTIONS???? URGH

staveshabr

Ok first i hate restrictions it seems like as soon as i say i cant have i want and a few days past and i binge... Trust me I know I know it is all in my mind and i need to produce the will to be strong yada yada

i get so many mixed OPINIONS on how to lose weight and things that are "BAD foods" and should never be touched and it makes weight loss more frustrating than anything.

its like am i such a bad person for wanting a whooper and eating a whooper?

isnt restrictions what turns the new lifestyle change into a diet?

just searching for other opinions


SN: no im not opening my dairy because im not trying to be crucified by the clan of "Clean eater" :laugh: :bigsmile: :noway:

GiveMeCoffee

There's no bad foods, work them into your day, plan for a whopper if you want it. When you start putting restrictions you up the chances that you will quit.

amcsouth

There's no bad foods, work them into your day, plan for a whopper if you want it. When you start putting restrictions you up the chances that you will quit.

I agree completely! Just work it into your day. I wanted to make a complete lifestyle change and I don't see myself never eating take-aways, ice cream, chocolate etc again. It's all about moderation (also helps me to prevent crazy binges)

CyberEd312

First and foremost lose the whole mentality that there are Good foods and Evil foods. From a weightloss perspective you can lose weight eating whatever you want as long as it fits within your caloric intake. That being said you need to concentrate on your Macros, hitting your set goals of Proteins, Carbs, and Fats will go along way. I prefer to have a relationship with food that allows me to have whatever it is that I want as long as it fits within the parameters of my daily eating plan. You should find by doing so it becomes less to do about obsession (over foods you think you can't have cause there Bad!) and more to do with adherence to your overall goals..... Best of Luck

staveshabr

this is what i was thinking but so many people give the advice like no bread no pasta no rice no EATING!!! (ok im being dramatic but that what it sound like to me) i love spaghetti and burgers.

so its like stay within calories and enjoy right??

_Zardoz_

There's no bad foods, work them into your day, plan for a whopper if you want it. When you start putting restrictions you up the chances that you will quit.

This

CyberEd312

Just wanted to add, pay attention to the tickers you have pretty much the same advice from the first 3 post and the weight loss to back it up.... lol. Again Best of Luck

Edited to add a 4th ticker.... lol

Gilla22

There's no bad foods, work them into your day, plan for a whopper if you want it. When you start putting restrictions you up the chances that you will quit.

yes!!!!!!all your favourite foods can be turned into healthieroptions.you just need to work around them.

here's a recipe index from one of my favourite blogs.this girl turned all her favourite dishes into healthy meals you can eat without feeling guilty.weightloss is not a torture plan ...stop making it one.

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/Recipeindex

staveshabr

First and foremost lose the whole mentality that there are Good foods and Evil foods. From a weightloss perspective you can lose weight eating whatever you want as long as it fits within your caloric intake. That being said you need to concentrate on your Macros, hitting your set goals of Proteins, Carbs, and Fats will go along way. I prefer to have a relationship with food that allows me to have whatever it is that I want as long as it fits within the parameters of my daily eating plan. You should find by doing so it becomes less to do about obsession (over foods you think you can't have cause there Bad!) and more to do with adherence to your overall goals..... Best of Luck

the macros part i be pretty within range but soduim i be way overidk if its how i season food but my sodium intak in ridiculous any advice on balancing that???

Phoenix_Warrior

I totally understand. I do what is often referred to as iifym. My focus is on the nutrients of things not whether or not they are what are the societal norm of "good" or "bad". Food is food. So, if I met my macronutrients, I use my remaining calories to have things I love, whatever that be ( typically ice cream, pizza, chocolate, etc). Nothing is off limits. Sometimes, these things actually help me net my macros.

As far as losing weight, it is calories in vs out. So, just make sure you're logging consistently and I highly recommend using a digital scale to weigh food. That helped me a ton, especially as the smaller you get, the more imperative it is to be accurate, as the body requires less energy. Hope this helped. Good luck :flowerforyou:

CyberEd312

First and foremost lose the whole mentality that there are Good foods and Evil foods. From a weightloss perspective you can lose weight eating whatever you want as long as it fits within your caloric intake. That being said you need to concentrate on your Macros, hitting your set goals of Proteins, Carbs, and Fats will go along way. I prefer to have a relationship with food that allows me to have whatever it is that I want as long as it fits within the parameters of my daily eating plan. You should find by doing so it becomes less to do about obsession (over foods you think you can't have cause there Bad!) and more to do with adherence to your overall goals..... Best of Luck

the macros part i be pretty within range but soduim i be way overidk if its how i season food but my sodium intak in ridiculous any advice on balancing that???

I personally do not have any medical condition requiring me to limit sodium intake (get check ups every 4 months) so I do not track it, instead just drink plenty of water and let my body flush out what it does not use. I too spice my food up with sea salt, lawry salt, etc to taste....

GADavies

isnt restrictions what turns the new lifestyle change into a diet?

With a slight caveat around nutrients, the only restriction is on calories. You want a Whopper, have one, but accept that the consequence of eating a Whopper on a regular basis is either eating less elsewhere or exercising for two hours. If it's an occasional thing then just do it, if it's a regular thing then you need to plan how you're going to deal with the almost inevitable calorific surplus it causes.

I eat absolutely anything that fits into my calorie allowance and it's worked great for me, anyone claiming weight loss is any more complex than "Eat less, exercise more" is simply fooling themselves.

staveshabr

thanks you guys are great and speedy with responses i dont have any medical conditions actually healthy as a horse:bigsmile:
and @Gilla22 i can just be a little dramatic at times in regards to the torture plan lol i just tend to read alot of the topics on hear for inspiration etc... it just gets a little confusing from time to time

GADavies

it just gets a little confusing from time to time

Ignore them all, too many people either fundamentally misunderstand human biology or they assume things that apply to bodybuilders, elite athletes, and starving people in India also apply to the morbidly obese.

Eat less, exercise more. Unless you have a formally diagnosed medical condition that's all you need to know.

GiveMeCoffee

Remember keep it simple. Calories in vs Calories out. Don't over think it and you'll be fine. If you read something that interests you go research it and make an educated decision.

GameOfPounds

there aren't any bad foods..only bad diets.

Just don't overeat if you want to maintain your weight and cut calories if you want to lose weight.

PS: And as someone else mentioned,it's only calories in VS calories out.. if you stress yourself with evil/good foods and don't enjoy what you eat then you will end up being miserable and maybe then you will overeat on the foods you missed the most (aka the "bad' foods)

TamaraKat

Agreed with everyone else above!

elyelyse

Last week I had a banana split. It was awesome. It used half my calories for the day. I was way over on my fat intake that day, but stuck to my calorie goal by making careful choices the rest of the day.

We all have things we won't give up...I can do without fast food like burgers and fries (I might indulge rarely, but it's not one of the things that calls to me! Lol) but tell me to give up pizza or ice cream, and I'll never survive! I don't eat those daily, or even weekly, but when I really have a craving, I eat them...without an ounce of guilt.

Casstevens133

I agree that there are no bad foods! Everything in moderation - if you want pizza have it - just work the rest of the days calories around it. If you go over one day try to go under the next or .... Get a walk or some other exercise in to claw back some of the calories. Also slowly does it - 1lb a week is plenty and more likely to stay off. Try to think of it as a lifestyle not a diet and remember that life occasionally throws a curve ball. Good luck - you can do this. I don't care if others don't like what I eat - its my body !!!

elyelyse

SN: no im not opening my dairy because im not trying to be crucified by the clan of "Clean eater" :laugh: :bigsmile: :noway:

I can't tell you how many times I've seen people on this site say they eat "clean" 90% of the time... only to find their diary contains things like sausages, cookies, chips, frozen meals, protein bars, cereal, etc. on a regular basis. people like to talk big, but I've seen VERY few diaries that I would call even 80% "clean". Don't let people like that intimidate you! If people give you crap...lol tell them to go eat a Whopper.

sijomial

this is what i was thinking but so many people give the advice like no bread no pasta no rice no EATING!!! (ok im being dramatic but that what it sound like to me) i love spaghetti and burgers.

so its like stay within calories and enjoy right??

There's an interesting thread in the "Goal: Maintaining Weight" forum that is a survey of what has worked for people that have been successful in both losing weight and keeping it off....
A really strong recurring theme is that they didn't exclude anything from their diet.

Moderation not exclusion worked for me.

MelissaPhippsFeagins

My diary is open. Go look at it and tell me what restrictions I've used to lose 31 pounds. (There are two and they are both life and death for me. I was forbidden from eating them before I started trying to lose weight.)

ValerieMartini2Olives

Sweat now. Eat the Whopper later.

I had two donuts the other day as I sat in the gym parking lot before I went in. I made it fit into my day.

Gilla22

thanks you guys are great and speedy with responses i dont have any medical conditions actually healthy as a horse:bigsmile:
and @Gilla22 i can just be a little dramatic at times in regards to the torture plan lol i just tend to read alot of the topics on hear for inspiration etc... it just gets a little confusing from time to time

hehehe ... I get it ,I totally get it.I faced the same dilemma once I started,and the conflicting opinions made everything sound like torture.but after being here for a while I understand how things work now.stay within your calorie goal,eliminate one bad food habit at a time,replace calories dense food with something healthier to stay full,find a fun workout you enjoy doing,educate yourself about healthy food and with time you'll get there.its a journey ...not a road trip.don't forget to love yourself *hugs*


P.s im not a clean eater myself.im still working on it

staveshabr

i love the support, i downloaded MFP awhile ago and just started getting serious like 6 weeks ago and im down from 260 to 246 so that 14 pounds doing the moderation thing but after reading serval post i was thinking maybe just lowering my calories was just the intial shock to my body which caused the weight loss and soon i would have to switch out everything i love for things i would usually rather be hungry than to eat but seeing so many people get closer to there goals without starving or cutting out favorite foods keeps me hopeful for my journey.

thank you guys:flowerforyou: :bigsmile:

staveshabr

@melissaphipps i eat just about the same things u eat i like your dairy lol mines just have a little more splashes of fast food within my calorie allowance and not gluten free

freezemeout

Everyone gets cravings, and it's actually good to cave in to them... once in a while. Eating the same things every day will set you on a plateau. On the other hand, caving to your cravings all the time will obviously not work out well. I like the idea of throwing a "cheat day" into your eating routine. It not only keeps you sane, the occasional spike in intake helps keep your metabolism from slowing down as it gets used to your low calorie days.

Try to be really good about sticking to your goals and avoiding "junk" foods for a few days, keeping carbs as low as possible, then allow yourself one day to indulge, then go back to your healthy routine for a few days. Try to work your way up to the point where you just have one "cheat" day a week. Your cheat day doesn't mean binging, but eating your Whopper and pizza and ice cream and fries in small amounts. You might think you want to eat a whole large pizza, but if you eat 2 or 3 slices slowly you'll be satisfied Your cheat day is a great day to put in an extra tough workout, it'll not only make you feel better about indulging, but if you're on a calorie restricted diet you'll probably find you have a little extra energy to expend that day.

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human." -The Wachowski Brothers

ndj1979

this is what i was thinking but so many people give the advice like no bread no pasta no rice no EATING!!! (ok im being dramatic but that what it sound like to me) i love spaghetti and burgers.

so its like stay within calories and enjoy right??

yes..

people who say no bread, rice, pasta etc….are basing that on some idiotic perception that said foods are "bad" and that if you eat them you will somehow balloon up 50 pounds in one week….

allaboutthecake

just searching for other opinions

READ THIS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants

Ignore the rest. Read it ^^

MelissaPhippsFeagins

@melissaphipps i eat just about the same things u eat i like your dairy lol mines just have a little more splashes of fast food within my calorie allowance and not gluten free

Gluten was killing me. I needed blood transfusions when I got the celiac diagnosis. That's a slow death. I will never willingly eat it again. There's a lot of gluten hiding in fast food so I mostly don't eat it. The other restriction is shellfish, which would kill me in less than five minutes. Some things I just won't even consider eating.

randomtai

I want a Whopper now..