What foods have you given up to loose weight?

abadvat

Food wise - none! However consumption of booz has drastically reduced to close to none.
Decided to cut it at the beginning - eventually became a habit and now prefer to train rather than get wasted / being a hungover vegetable all day!

jmv7117

Just wondering which foods peeps have given up to loose weight? Do you think giving them up has helped you loose weight or just made you crave 'naughty' foods even more?

I didn't give up anything.

caracrawford1

Just wondering which foods peeps have given up to loose weight? Do you think giving them up has helped you loose weight or just made you crave 'naughty' foods even more?

I'm not giving up food. This is not a temporary diet. I just eat less of it and fit in to my calories.

icrushit

I've given up most foods with added sugar (incl. desserts & alcohol), all grains and breads, dialling them back slowly initially, then cutting them out. I've found all have helped my efforts to lose weight by giving them up, and the combination of dropping the empty calories with eating a diet rich in filling fat and protein rich foods, I've found to be a very effective one personally, and staying the course so far has not been overly difficult. When the weight is lost, I see myself adding back non-wheat grains, and alcohol, but suspect the days of wheat, sugar and bread for me are probably numbered

allie_00p

Haven't fully given up any solid food that I really like, just using IIFYM. I have pretty much given up alcohol, though, because it just makes me feel like crap when I want to workout, and even when I have indulged and gotten buzzed I've regretted it because I didn't want to get to that point...also a family history of alcoholism makes me paranoid.

And yes, fully cutting out foods as off limits just makes them more appealing. The whole "don't push that big red button" effect :happy:

GuyIncognito123

And to those who haven't given up anything..... a quick question.

When your allowed calories fall between 1400-1700 per day, would you still be meeting your goals (based on your diary today)?

The reason I ask, is I see a lot of comments with people bragging about eating deserts every day and still losing weight - given that their deficit 3000 odd calories per day (and not between 1400-1700)....

I don't ask to be snarky, I'm just curious.

leahraskie

~_~ I've given up fast food that has a sandwich and fries. Looked up the calories of my favorite Arby's and it's my whole days worth of calories on this diet. Also staying completely away from alcohol, I think it might have helped me put on the extra weight, my bf isn't too happy about that though. But between 60-100+ calories in 1oz, screw that!

lemurcat12

And to those who haven't given up anything..... a quick question.

When your allowed calories fall between 1400-1700 per day, would you still be meeting your goals (based on your diary today)?

The reason I ask, is I see a lot of comments with people bragging about eating deserts every day and still losing weight - given that their deficit 3000 odd calories per day (and not between 1400-1700)....

I don't ask to be snarky, I'm just curious.

I don't see the point of giving up foods, and my calories are 1400-1700 (1400 without exercise, more when I do exercise).

Not giving up foods doesn't mean I eat whatever I want when I want it in unlimited quantities. I just fit in the foods I like, some more occasionally than others. I rarely eat Chicago style pizza, and when I do it has to be the very best example of that, because it's tough to make fit in my calories, but I don't see why I'd give it up vs. having it only every couple of months or so, for a treat. Other things I eat more regularly (i.e., it's not hard to fit a burger I make at home into my calories), and that includes dessert. I often have ice cream on workout days, since half a cup is only about 250 calories (some more, some less), and I don't have a problem eating enough and getting what I think are three healthy meals on, say, 1250-1400, depending on what I happen to eat that day, so after that, why not have some ice cream?

WinoGelato

And to those who haven't given up anything..... a quick question.

When your allowed calories fall between 1400-1700 per day, would you still be meeting your goals (based on your diary today)?

The reason I ask, is I see a lot of comments with people bragging about eating deserts every day and still losing weight - given that their deficit 3000 odd calories per day (and not between 1400-1700)....

I don't ask to be snarky, I'm just curious.

I don't see the point of giving up foods, and my calories are 1400-1700 (1400 without exercise, more when I do exercise).

Not giving up foods doesn't mean I eat whatever I want when I want it in unlimited quantities. I just fit in the foods I like, some more occasionally than others. I rarely eat Chicago style pizza, and when I do it has to be the very best example of that, because it's tough to make fit in my calories, but I don't see why I'd give it up vs. having it only every couple of months or so, for a treat. Other things I eat more regularly (i.e., it's not hard to fit a burger I make at home into my calories), and that includes dessert. I often have ice cream on workout days, since half a cup is only about 250 calories (some more, some less), and I don't have a problem eating enough and getting what I think are three healthy meals on, say, 1250-1400, depending on what I happen to eat that day, so after that, why not have some ice cream?

^^This. Generally the people you see saying, "I didn't give anything up" aren't saying, "I have made no changes to my diet whatsoever and I'm losing weight". What they are saying is that you don't have to completely exclude entire groups of food in order to lose weight. There are several posters on here saying I gave up XYZ foods entirely (fast food, ice cream, refined carbs, etc). There are many saying that you can make daily choices which enable you to still have ALL of the foods you enjoy in SOME quantity...

I net around 1700 cals/day and still eat/drink mostly the same things I did before I started this. I just make choices (ice cream or wine, dinner at a restaurant once/week vs three times) which enable me to be successful without cutting anything out entirely.

cw106

sadly adding smocked mackerel fillets to this list.
at 315 cal per 100g. cant justify 630 cals even with just veggies as a. meal.

arsherma

One thing I am proud to say I have given up is Pepsi. I've only had maybe one this month. I used to drink at LEAST 2 20oz. per day. Since I have been serious about really trying to lose weight, I noticed I am not as tired.

Turning_Hopes_to_Habits

I'm large enough and the program is new enough that I have plenty of calories to play with, and even so, I have to beware the nighttime munchies.

I have given up alcohol, and I do miss it, but what are you going to do? I was missing more important things (like not being uncomfortable all the time because of some issue or another related to my weight) when I was giving myself carte blanche to indulge.

I also gave up animal-based (i.e., non-marine) protein, but that's more to support my husband's health than my own. It does make it easier to maintain that calorie deficit, and given the rising price of groceries it has absolutely helped our budget, so it's been easy enough for me.

I'm thinking about giving up all sugars after I leave the dinner table, so no sugary nighttime snacks. Even natural sugars like fruit seem to be triggering me for more sugar. I'm not sure yet, I'm becoming aware of it and paying attention and we'll see.

PaytraB

And to those who haven't given up anything..... a quick question.

When your allowed calories fall between 1400-1700 per day, would you still be meeting your goals (based on your diary today)?

I'm currently maintaining and trying not to do so by not logging (it's a bit of a nail-biting experience so far).
While I was losing, though, I logged daily and I measured & weighed my food to learn to "eyeball" portions realistically. What I'm going to say is about the time that I was losing, logging and sticking to my daily calorie limit.
My calories were set to about 1350 (without workouts; set to sedetary) and MFP slowly decreased that amount as I lost weight. I ate back about half of my exercise calories, more only if I was truly hungry.
I didn't give up any foods but I became aware of what I was eating, which meant cutting back on junk & fast foods. If I went out for burger & fries, I pre-planned that for a weekend excursion and "saved" a few calories each day the week before and ate low calorie breakfast & lunch on the day of. That way, even if I went over a little bit on calories for that specific day, I was still within my calorie limit for the week, which I found to be the more important limit.
I found that the daily limits were good to monitor myself and learn about portion sizes but that within that scope, I had "hungry days" and "not so hungry days" and that the balance was more important over time (a week) as this is a more "normal" way of eating (when not losing).
My most important discovery on MFP is awareness of what I'm putting in my mouth. Junk & fast foods are okay but they need to be more monitored and planned for. They can't be eaten everyday or in any portion.
I don't know if that answered your question. I never really gave up any food; just cut back on the junkier ones so that they were a once a week or less treat rather than the norm.

imaginaryplant

I have not given up ANY foods. I just eat less of it, like you're supposed to.

iheartinsanity

Nada...I just don't eat them as often. IIFYM=If it fits your macros. Eat healthy most of the time and still squeeze in a treat.

determined24girl

The real question for me is what haven't you given up lol. I no longer eat: chips, fries, soda, ice cream, cakes, fast food, mayo, coffee creamer, and salad dressing. I don't miss any of it really, except the occasional craving for mcdonald's but that goes away when i eat something. I'm sure there's more but can't think of any atm.

monicastricker9

I prefer to say I choose not to eat. For me personally its mainly just junkie stuff and if I am honest about it; mostly stuff I really was not to wild about in the first place. Just a few examples ice cream, bagels, most desserts and candies etc.

yellowlemoned

I haven't given up anything. If I gave something up I'd just want it that much more. I limit how often I eat the foods that are high in calories, but definitely still eat them.

Also, I'd rather learn how to eat those foods in moderation now than to struggle with it later and put weight back on once I've lost all the weight I want to.

HeidiCooksSupper

One need not "give up" any specific food. One may choose to avoid a food that is a trigger to over consumption for them. For example, peanuts and I have a troubled relationship. So do butter and I. I haven't given up either one of them but I sometimes find I must avoid them altogether to stop over-consuming them.

On the other hand, if one is trying to lose weight and therefore eating at a calorie deficit, one is wise to have a greater proportion of that diet devoted to consuming foods that are nutrient-dense yet lower in calories to allow one to eat enough to be satisfied.

I'd love to have a huge stack of pancakes with syrup and butter for breakfast every day because ...well, who wouldn't? Better yet if accompanied by several rashers of bacon. But I don't do that because a nice bowl of yogurt with fruit and whole grain cereal mixed in is "better for me" in terms of fewer calories, better nutrients and fiber.

jrline

NONE just reduced quantity

JoyeII

I still eat anything I want to, just less of it and sometimes variations of it so I can stay within my macro and calorie goals. The only think I "gave up" is trans fat but, that has nothing to do with my weight loss goals.

La5Vega5Girl

chips.
I am not one for sweets, I LOVE chips. I could eat my weight in chips & salsa. *sigh*

knittinlady

None. Because it's not necessary.

sullus

I gave up anything labeled "diet" or "fat free"

FemWeight

I've cut back on my "candy" intake . I've had a huge sweet tooth for to dang long lol. That and reducing my intake and my snacking way to dang much.

My problem was watching tv with my hubby and we would be snacking during shows. NO more of that just a lovely glass of cold water .

I think it all depends truly on looking at ourselves and asking what can I honestly do to help myself whether it be food binging or the way we feel about ourselves.

dlkingsbury

i gave up ice cream for the first couple months. it didn't make me crave it - in fact, it was probably the opposite. it's still a food that i don't keep in the house though.

mrsmcmo

I actually haven't given anything up for good. I still allow myself the stuff I crave from time to time, however I have gone from drinking Coke almost daily to having it every couple of weeks. Also, fast food (and eating out in general) is a huge weakness for me. I have found it immensely helpful to have a meal plan created that I make sure I stick to otherwise I am in great danger of telling myself that I am too tired to cook so we can have take out. But like I said, I do allow myself a treat meal or snack every once in awhile. I am almost always within my daily calories, but if I go over every now and then it's not a huge deal. I just make sure to get back on the wagon the following day.

beamer0821

nothing

jdhcm2006

I haven't really given up anything. There were things I stepped back from, so I could get a handle on everything, but now I don't avoid anything. If I want it and it fits in my calories, I will have it.

I guess the one thing is pizza, and that's really b/c it's too greasy for me now, and I only ever want 1 slice (and it's a complete waste of money to buy a pizza for 1 slice). So I have to wait until someone else will order one, and chances are the toppings they want, aren't the same that I want. So I chuck it up as a loss.

Trueray

Give up the food you eat the most. Will do wonders.