Going cold turkey

HM2206

I'm wondering if anyone else out there have gone cold turkey on some things. That might be because something you like is so calorie dense that you simply can't make room for it or that some things are so addictive that they must be eliminated entirely because you can't keep it under control. Or as with alcohol, that it stalls your fitness progress.

So I know a lot of very positive MFPers are "never dieting" and "never have a cheat day" because "this is a permanent life style change" with "everything in moderation" and if they binge they are "not feeling guilty at all".
I've read those statements over and over again. It seems some believe they will be depressed if they utter the word "diet" or that they might jinx the weight loss, so the word must be avoided altogether.

But considering you're not going to live on a calorie deficit for the rest of your life, and you're not going to be losing weight forever till you disappear out of thin air, some of this is temporary. With all the self restraint people seem to have, I really wonder how they got overweight to begin with.

Am I the only one who's cut things out entirely? Who feels that one glass of red wine will become two or three or that a hot dog is just too many calories with too little energy?

shadowofender

I cut out butter. Because I just couldn't justify the calories anymore.
For a couple of weeks, it sucked.
And then one day I realized I don't miss it.
Same for cheese. But I'm also lactose intollerant so that was a "stop eating so much cheese or spend your life hurling". sooo I kind of had to.

sheedy17

I skipped cheese, and I use to love it, dont really miss it now that I dont eat it

Francl27

Your post seems to contradict itself, but heck, I'll reply anyway.

First, it's not temporary. Nothing is. My maintenance will be 400 more calories than the deficit I started with (I've pretty much been eating 1700 the whole time). It's not a huge difference at all... and definitely not enough to go back to my old diet. Which means most of the things I've actually pretty much given up on will probably still not make it back into my diet, or very rarely.

So yea, I've cut out soda and juice. I have fried food once every 3 months if that. I never drank much to start with, but alcohol just isn't worth the calories to me anymore (except maybe a couple ounces of wine or beer once in a while). I cut sweets out at first to get used to eating less, then reintroduced them in moderation, because they are worth the calories for me (300ish calories worth a day typically). I've had hot dogs but I buy the Applegate 70 calorie ones. I still eat cheese but it's very rare that I'll just have a chunk of cheese anymore.

And by the way I've never heard that alcohol stalls your fitness progress. Sounds like broscience.

Meerataila

I substituted nuts and seeds for chips and substituted fruits and dried fruits for cookies and cake. Even when I finish my weight loss and go into maintenance, I won't have many more calories to work with, so I expect to continue this way for as long as I don't want to get fat again.

Will I never in my whole life have chocolate again? Nah. I probably will, but if I'm smart I'll save it for special occasions.

TheSatinPumpkin

Yep. Went overnight cold turkey on quite a few things.

Veil5577

I'm not cutting things out but I am cutting them down. I know if I try to cut something out cold turkey I'll fall off the wagon.

asdowe13

I tried to, It didn't work for me.

Now i just cut back on serving sizes which is actually just eating 1 serving (instead of 2 or 3 or more)

This is what works for me. I can handle moderation, I couldn't handle blacklisting foods.

ETA : Typos

RachelCane

cutting out chocolate, or at least trying to

carriecoo

I went cold turkey off starbucks NF mocha w 2 pumps hazelnut and alcohol. I now have alcohol a couple times per week since maintaining now

LianaG1115

I miss Doritos!! Cold Turkey on Milk and Doritos!! hahahahaha and that's the truth! OH and Cheetos...them damn cheesie yummy sticks!! dammit I want some now!! Grrrr

LianaG1115

I went cold turkey off starbucks NF mocha w 2 pumps hazelnut and alcohol. I now have alcohol a couple times per week since maintaining now

OMG yes I forgot about the drive thru coffees!!! I quit those too!! OMG after I found out how many calories I was drinking, I stopped!! Some of the things I was drinking was my calorie allotment for the day!!!!

jasonctyler

Cigarettes and Soda. 173 days cold turkey.

Give up food? NEVER! Finding healthier ways to make and prepare it? Right on!

I also drink alcohol whenever the occasion seems right. Never hurt my losses. One bad day now and again is NOTHING to stress about. How many bad days did it take me to get out of shape in the first place? Years and years worth.

It is a lifestyle change. I solemnly vowed to my body that I will NEVER let it get out of shape again. Will I count forever? I don't count every day now. I will portion size when I go on maintenance, and if the scale says I'm gaining, my reps or the weight I'm throwing around better be increasing, or more cardio it is.

The change is, now I am willing to do something about the way my body looks and feels, whereas before I was totally apathetic to it, blamed everything (and nearly everyone) else for it, and I was miserable.

I hit rock bottom, I took a stand, and found that I owed a lot of things and people an apology. I was to blame. Period. So the ball was back in my court (it had never really left). I found the resolve to do something about it. It is as a simple as that.

dfranch

I don't call it a diet, because it is a lifestyle change. I rarely have french fries, I've cut down on bread as well. I used to have a glass of milk with dinner every night, now if I can squeeze it into my calorie goals for the day I'll have it otherwise I'll have water. I never have sugared soda (I do miss regular pepsi with pizza) it just has too many calories.

On the other hand, I still eat pizza, I still get a burger at Five guys (on occasion I'll even get fries). I haven't changed what I eat too drastically, just how much I eat, portion control has been key. Instead of 2 heaping portions for dinner I have 1 regular size portion and if I'm still hungry I have a little extra (but only if it fits into my goals for the day). I bought a food scale to aid with the portion control.

I was eating 1500 calories a day for almost an entire year, now I'm up to 1900, and will eventually get up to 2000-2100 a day (once I lose these last 5 punds (always the hardest to lose)). I'll probably always log into myfitnesspal, because it keeps me honest. Some days I'm over, most days i'm a little under, as long as I average out for the week, I don't sweat it.

Iwishyouwell

In the past I cut out cold turkey:

- Chips
- Fries
- Bread
- Soda
- Kool Aid
- Juice (basically every drink but water)
- Crackers
- Pasta
- Pizza
- All desserts (cake, cookies, candy, ice cream)

Abstaining from those foods during my lower carb days eventually killed my craving for everything but "all desserts". Abstinence, not moderation, led me to impeccable control. I can have the most delicious pasta or bread in the world and still move on the next day and not have some for another year, and not even crave some. There simply is no temptation left in most of those foods.

I would never have gotten there following the popular "everything in moderation" approach. I did that in the past and it didn't fly. The "cold turkey" approach changed me, changed what I craved for, and gave me enough distance away from classic trigger foods to eventually come back to them and realize "wow, I don't really need or want this".

I don't mind the word "diet" at all, even if I don't use it often. I however have grown to loathe "lifestyle change", as it's largely used by people who think labeling their diet as a "lifestyle change" somehow makes them more likely to succeed. When somebody who actually has lost the weight and kept it off LONG term, like say 10+ years, uses that phrase then I respect it. Nobody knows if they've made a "lifestyle change" unless they walk it out successfully for a long time.

DebTavares

I gave up some calorically dense foods, but I'm finding that I have to add them back in because I'm not meeting my fat macro and it's making me very tired and feeling like a truck hit me.

writergeek313

But considering you're not going to live on a calorie deficit for the rest of your life, and you're not going to be losing weight forever till you disappear out of thin air, some of this is temporary. With all the self restraint people seem to have, I really wonder how they got overweight to begin with.

I no longer drink alcohol because of a medication I'm on, and most of the time I only drink water or unsweetened iced tea. You could say that I gave up things like soda, juice, and other higher-calorie drinks, but I just see it as choosing to use my calories on food instead. When I was starting out, I did cut some things out because I knew I had trouble with portion control. Now that I have a better understanding of what my body needs, I just try to choose what I eat mindfully. I know how I am, and I know restricting myself from certain things would only make it more likely that I'd eventually give up and overindulge.

I do think it's possible to learn how to make better choices about what and how much we eat and what we might choose not to eat. You make it sound like people don't change. And to be honest, you sound overly concerned with what other people are doing. Figure out what's healthy and what works for you and stick to that. That's what the people you're criticizing have done.

VeryKatie

I need to go cold turkey on chips/Doritos. I'm ok at avoiding them but when I do allow myself to have them, I keep going back for more.. and more.. until I've eaten an entire family sized bag. Even while I think "this is stupid, stop." They are just too yummy for me!

SO I think I might make this resolution right now. No. More. Chips. Or. Doritos. I will allow myself 40 Tostitos Rounds max per week.

Let's see how that goes. I think the salt in them is what I find addicting.

I may reintroduce them once I start maintaining, but I'll be buying the individual baggies.

lemurcat12

Am I the only one who's cut things out entirely? Who feels that one glass of red wine will become two or three or that a hot dog is just too many calories with too little energy?

I haven't officially cut stuff out (I cut alcohol out for other reasons years ago). But there are lots of things that I make the choice not to eat because the calories aren't worth it to me, of course. I just don't see the point of a hard and fast rule "no ____." Usually I don't eat Chicago style pizza, for example, because a lot of it is overrated and it's just too many calories to easily fit in my current calorie limit and when I've been at events with pizza (on occasion) they've had thin crust as an option anyway. But what's the purpose of extending that to a rule? Instead, on the rare occasion we decide to go out to my favorite place that serves that type of pizza, I'll plan ahead and make room for it and have some, as I would have to do if in maintenance--it would just be easier since the calories budget would be higher. I really don't understand why it would be better to make some rule that I won't eat X until the diet is over. Most likely that would make me think about foods that I generally don't eat as it is, and want something that right now I have no need to have based simply on my daily calculus.

teenie_71

yes, cold turkey from smoking cigarettes almost two years ago,

aeb09

Diet Coke and fast food. I also quit biting my nails cold turkey 3 years ago, if that counts.