How much have you changed your eating habits?

NeuroticVirgo

I was just curious how much you have changed your eating habits. I know I'm not a great example right now, because I will still eat cup cakes, or I "need" chocolate...I might eat a few sugar free puddings to fight that craving, etc. And about 95% of the time I'm under my calorie goal...which is my main focus since I'm still in the beginning. I really feel, I want to start slow this time, and as I get more adjusted I'll take down one thing at a time...next on my list is sodium...which is KILLER right now, but I'm not going to freak over it, because I'm still doing alright.

I just focus mostly on portions, but I haven't really completely switched out what I eat. I know some people who 180 their food choices to only organic foods etcs.

I obviously can't eat exactly what I used to eat before, for instance...just on a recent post, I looked at my FAV subway sandwich...1700 calories & 5600 grams of sodium....used to get eaten in day, not counting other snacks etc. That though almost makes me a little sick now. I even put together a mock idea of what I used to eat, and I estimated i was probably packing away around 3000 cal a day, I also used to eat out a lot more during the week than I do now (the weekends are still always bad because we are barely ever home on weekends) . And I never really ate A LOT in one sitting, it was more snacking through the day, and it just didn't feel like a lot of food, but the choices were not good, its like the muffin you pick over a doughnut, that ends up being 500 cal...if you aren't aware, you might not feel like your eating much, but you are...if that makes sense...


So I was just wondering about other people.

How is your eating different than before? If your close or already at your goal weight, did your eating habits change even more as time went by (vs first 2 weeks in and now)?

azlady7

Well for the last three years my eating habits have been slowly changing. No fast food, except maybe twice a year. Stuff like that. But since joining mfp 25 days ago....portion control mainly. I have been eating pretty healthy for about a year now (except soday which i dont drink hardly anymore) so my biggest problem was portion control and needing exercise.

I am more conscience (sp?) of sodium now, and sugar. But I dont really worry about that yet. I eat less carbs and more whole grain type stuff instead of processed flower crap. But yeah...portion control mainly

RaeN81

The biggest changes for me personally have been: smaller portions and more fruits and veggies. Really, not rocket science. I did not cut out all the treats that I love, I just eat smaller quantities of them and not quite as frequently.

I also looked for recipes that were lower in calories and fat so that I could continue to eat the things I enjoy in a healthier way. If this is a lifestyle change, I certainly didn't want to never eat brownies again, but I'll make some that are a bit better for me and stop after one or two pieces.

The question you have to ask yourself is what you want your life to look like when you are maintaining....could you continue to live the way you are now for an extended period of time?

TaraDenise

I am having smaller portions, adding more fruits and veggies, staying away from fried foods, and watching my sodium and cholesterol intake. I'm not saying I won't ever have fried chicken wings again, but I'm no longer having fried food daily. Right now, I'm also limiting bread, potatoes, and pasta. I'm working out and counting calories 6 days a week; and will allow myself one day to have whatever I want. Thing is, I naturally don't want to mess up too badly on my free day, so I'm still eating pretty healthy.

NeuroticVirgo

The question you have to ask yourself is what you want your life to look like when you are maintaining....could you continue to live the way you are now for an extended period of time?

I agree with this. I've always been a low carb fan, but this time around I decided just to stick with lower cal, and its been easier for me, not faster, but easier.

lotusfromthemud

My eating habits have changed radically, but I did it very gradually, over the course of five years.

I made one change (started working out 5 minutes a day), then when that had stuck, I made another, then another, then another.

I used to be a woman who (and I'm not exaggerating, here) ate at McDonalds between two and three meals a day (or would eat an entire pizza, or some other fast food nightmare), prepared nothing from scratch, and snacked on multiple full size candy bars. All washed down with over 2 litres of diet coke a day (conservative estimate) I actually as an experiment, once logged a "typical" day for me back in ancient times. It was over 5,000 calories.

I now eat home prepared, organic when I can afford it whole foods almost exclusively. I don't eat refined flour or sugar except on rare occassions. I now eat vegetables and fruits that I didn't even know existed in 2004. I workout for an average of 9 hours a week, and the managers of my gym(s) know me by name. I can't imagine going back to my old ways.

That being said, I think if I'd tried to go cold turkey (as I had so many times before...going straight from McDonalds to nothing but celery and carrot sticks) it wouldn't have stuck.

Two things that helped me: consistency is key. I just kept going. When I backslid, and gained some weight back, I just kept going. When I had a meal full of bad decisions, I just kept going. The cliche that this is a marathon and not a sprint is so very, very true.

HTH.:flowerforyou:

Texangrrl

i switched to diet sodas, if im craving one, if not its water. when we go out, its fat free dressing and water.

the other night instead of fries with dinner, i sub'ed grilled veggis. no ice cream with my hubby, he lost his night snack partner. lol.

i also started weighing everything with a digital food scale. it makes me feel very much in control, if i do have a snack attack. if that makes sense.

ive been a member for a while, but really started to get into recently. i think ive only lost about a pound, so im not logging it yet.

ChubbieTubbie

I haven't changed what I eat, just how much. I usually go a bit over on calories--25-50, so I exercise to negate that and give a bit of a surplus. I think the absoltue biggest change I have made is not eating French fries every day (now when I crave them, I bake them). I cut out one soda per day and I don't keep them in the house, only drink them at work. We are eating out less-- webused to eat out for at least 10 meals a week. But I am a lot more active now than I was before.

Thomasm198

I have changed my eating habits big time. Everyone jokes that all the local fast food places must have gone out of business because it's nearly 3 months since I was last in any of them.

I occassionaly threat myself to something unhealthy (cake, biscuits, etc) but generally only on days that I've been to the gym and have calories to spare after my workout.

MzBug

I backed off the white flour, the potatoes and the sugary stuff. I still eat them, just not as often or as much at a time. I have changed my portions and regulated how often I eat. I am eatting MORE than I used to, and have lost 30 pounds so far.

ahsongbird

Ive changed them sooo much, I used to literally sit here and eat whatever was good all day just b/c it was there to be eaten !! I'd eat a pack of string cheese in one sitting and it was that way with EVERYTHING! I now eat meals b/c its what my body need , I eat a snack once in a while b/c I feel I have done well enough to deserve a treat.

reneeot

I've completely changed the way I eat. In the last 8 month's I've eaten a fast food place "zero" times. I can't bare the thought. i no longer think its a treat to eat out at restaurants. I only eat brown rice, brown rice pasta, oatmeal, and whole grain items. I always ate lots of fruits and veggies. I no longer feel I have to have some sort of meat when I eat a meal. I started to eat more beans, black beans and kidney beans.

I am watching my sugars, but I know I won't keep the intake as low as I am right now. I believe the sugars was stagnating my weight loss, so I had to cut all fruits and decreased the veggies because that was where I was getting 75% of my sugars. Although I do take a nutrition drink that gives me all the minerals , vitamin, veggies & super blend fruits that I need from land and sea plants. Once I reach my goal I'll incorporate fruits and more veggies back in.

harleymotivatedmama

Great blog idea and would be a great thread on the message boards...I love seeing what is working for other people. I have not and I will not change my eating habits drastically..I am a person that if I am forbidden something that is all I can think about. I am instead working on portion control and timing, if I know I am having a favorite treat I try and do it earlier in the day and cut back for dinner. I also will do some extra weights or cardio I feel better like I earned my treat. Portion control and eating more often have been uge for me so far.

azlady7

I backed off the white flour, the potatoes and the sugary stuff. I still eat them, just not as often or as much at a time. I have changed my portions and regulated how often I eat. I am eatting MORE than I used to, and have lost 30 pounds so far.

I have found I am eating more and losing weight too!

Bermudabarbie

Oh yes, I have changed my eating habits. I lost the bulk of my weight way before I joined MFP. I went from a size 18W to a size 8 over about 7 years, I guess. I did it mostly through portion control. I NEVER cut out something I really loved entirely. I eat candy, chocolates, pizza, hamburgers, bagels, scones, drink wine, vodka.... I do it all. BUT, I don't do it all in one day.

MFP gives you an awareness of what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong with your meal planning and your portion sizes.

There really is nothing totally forbidden in my diet. I love food! Eating well -- and healthfully -- is just a lot more fun than "pigging out in an almost unconscious state." I hope to never do that again.

sandara

I'm one of those that still eats fast food, but usually a salad (without all the extras) Or something high in protein, much smaller portions and not nearly as often.

I do eat processed foods, I work and sometimes it's just easier.

I use splenda, couldn't live without it. :laugh: Long-time type 2 diabetic and it's just something I've always done. I do eat lower carb (not no carb) because of the diabetes. And my levels have really dropped since I've lost the weight so maybe one day I'll be off the meds completely.

I also eat mainly home prepared foods using lower calorie recipes, leaner meats, etc. I'm trying to make this lifestyle something that I can do forever and I know I"m not going to avoid fast foods & processed foods forever.

I also eat the things I really like (pizza) occasionally, but again just not that often and I always make sure it fits into my daily allowances. Fortunately I'm not a big fried food or sweet fan so that part has been a little easier.

I've been doing this for 7 1/2 months and am still able to find enough variety to not get bored with it. I don't see myself stopping anytime soon, hopefully never. It's taken me a long time but the rest of my family is finally coming around to my side too.

ErinMarie25

A LOT!!

I haven't drank soda in 4 months. I ONLY drink water. Maybe a rare glass of wine or a smirnoff. Or some kind of real juice. I don't eat fast food, if I do it's VEEERRRY rare and it'll be a salad or something off the diet menu. I don't eat dominos, pizza hut, all that. I'll have a slice of real pizza from a real pizza place, but not a lot. I don't eat chips, cookies, cake, brownies, danishes, nothing. I eat veggies, fruits, chicken, pasta, etc.

I do not eat red meat. If I do, it's a tiny bite of my husbands burger or something. I have replaced red meat with ground turkey. Sometimes ground chicken, depending on what I am cooking.

I also have switched over from whole milk, to almond milk which I love!

A lot of items, I have started getting the healthier versions as well.

I have done a lot to change my eating habits now that I really list some of them, LOL!

Nano911

What got me obese was my habit of over eating. The difference now is that when I over eat I quickly get back on plan. As far as foods go I dont do the same thing 100% of the time. There are times where I am hyper focused and eat what some people would consider "extreme", times that I am more relaxed and sometimes that all I can manage is to try not to over eat.

jadeskiss83

I have definately changed my eating habits during the last month. I would say the biggest thing was cutting out the white stuff, like white rice, white bread, white pasta,white flour, and even potatoes since I am trying out the low GI thing. It was a little difficult for maybe the first week or so but now it's really not a big deal.
Another thing, I used to eat a lot of instant high sodium processed foods before and now I stay away from stuff like that. I used to drink lots of soda but have touched any and drink tons of water each day. I notice now that with all the water that I have been drinking my skin feels and looks so great.
As far as dairy goes, I switched to skim milk, fat free cheese, and fat free yogurt. I stopped eating beef since it is so high in fat and calories compared to fish or poultry.
I absolutely LOVE chocolate and used to devour whole boxes of Hawaiian Host chocolate covered macadamia nuts in one sitting! Now I grab six plain m&m's a night and savor each one in my mouth and it keeps my chocolate craving at bay.
I replaced cooking oil with Pam and use my George Forman to cook almost everything. I also weigh EVERYTHING, even down to the lettuce so I know exactly how much I am taking in.
I do occasionally treat myself though...if my mom cooks a great meal than I am definitely not going to torture myself and pass that up, I'll just enjoy it in moderation.

BaliRun

Wow, I have just learned the lesson that calorie intake makes all the difference in weight loss!!! I have had a great workout routine for a while now and a rather healthy diet but still could not manage to lose a single pound... in fact while I lost inches I actually gained weight!!! I decided to log my calorie intake and cut diet soda out of my diet along with all refined sugars (i didn't eat many to begin with). For the first time I am noticing the lb's drop and I started to see my body looking skinny, the muscle is still there but now i am cutting the extra fat out!! I love the results!!! I have learned that I was overeating even in healthy stuff. Now that I am controlling portions I find that I get full on much less food. However, I am eating small amounts almost every 2-3 hr. I hope I can keep it up!!! good luck everyone!!

kasmir8199

The biggest change has been my water intake. I'm drinking so much more water now: usually way more than 8 glasses. No more snack foods, just protein bars and/or shakes and either Gala apples or pears; smaller portions of the larger meals. I don't normally eat a lot of fried foods, but I've reduced the amount that I did previously allow myself to have (i.e. fries) significantly. I'm also doing strength/weight training 3-5 days a week (3 with a trainer at The Omni Club and 2 at home with Jillian Michaels). Oh and loggng EVERYTHING on MyFitnessPal!!