Obsessing over it : (

DeenaSteelerGirl

I am still under calorie allowance but I am at work and someone brought in biscotti's and of course I had to have one. Was not even that hungry but it was the 2:00 get me through food. Uggh. I just wish I had will power like other people I know. My sister is dieting also and she is on a very strict diet. Hardly eats anything at all .. I know she does not eat her calorie allowance or even close.. but she has lost 10 lbs in 2 wks.. So question.. who is doing this right.. me who is following the food tracker and exercise tracker and trying to be within calorie allowance or her - the crash dieter? Now I have not been perfect since starting.. granted a few weekend slips.. mainly too many beverages., but I truly have tried to watch and exercise as much as I have time for. I have been going to gym / walking at least 4 days a week.. Is this enough? Or should I be on the " I am not eating anything but lettuce / broccoli or whatever does not have calories diet too??? Is that really healthy? I need to buy a scale next week. I do not have one, so to be honest.. don't know if I have lost or not.

thisisjulz

I'd say your way is safer. when she slips up or stops dieting she will most likely gain back quicker.

godroxmysox

10 lbs in 2 weeks is not healthy! once she gets to her "goal weight" and starts goes back to eating "normal", she will likely gain it all back

AJBond

You are on the right track for sure!!! They way you are going, you will be able to maintain your weight loss much easier than your sister. Crash diets are horrible for maintaining! She will gain the weight she lost as soon...becuase noone can stay on that kind of diet for long! Keep it up!

lisy28

Dont worry about what other people are doing.. Concentrate on what is right for you... Eat when your hungry eat healthy and excersise... this is your weight loss not your sisters

Slow and steady wins the race after all

RichGebs

Don't worry!! Your bit doing it fine. The way that you are doing it is more recommended though. If you eat extremely little not even close to your calorie goal, I could do damage to your body by losing weight to fast. But it may not. She is losing weight quicker but you are still losing the amount of weight you should be. So there isn't really a WRONG way there is just a BETTER way and that's yours. N

Jenncoxie

I think losing one or two pounds a week over a longer period of time will help in the overall success of your weight loss. You will be building new eating and exercising habits which will prove to be stronger and healthier than crash dieting!! Stay strong and follow the program = )

mae3785

Plain and simple, crash dieting doesn't work. Unless your sister plans on sticking to eating lettuce and broccoli for the rest of her life she will gain weight back. It isn't supposed to be a diet, it is supposed to be a lifestyle change.

mariapuhl

You're doing it right - the slower you lose the weight, the longer you'll keep it off.

And also, crash dieting is bad - once your sister stops it, she'll probably gain it back. You have to eat a way that you can stand to eat for the rest of your life, not just a "diet" until I get to my goal weight then go back to what I was eating before. That's a recipe for disaster!

So you're doing well, since you're staying in your calories, but are still eating things you enjoy.

godroxmysox

Dont worry about what other people are doing.. Concentrate on what is right for you... Eat when your hungry eat healthy and excersise... this is your weight loss not your sisters

Slow and steady wins the race after all

well said

imagineaballoon

DEFINITELY YOU. What your sister is doing is not only not sustainable, but also downright unhealthy. She is doing her body a real disservice. The only way to "win" the weight loss game is to play it slow and steady. Try not to view your weight loss as your primary motivating factor -- are you eating better? Are you moving your body more? Do you find you feel better physically and mentally when you're eating healthy foods and exercising? If you can answer yes to all three of those, then you ARE doing something tremendous for yourself, whether you see it in terms of quick weight loss or slow. Trust me, if you continue to follow your plan of eating well and working out, there will come a day when your sister will have gained all her weight back and you will be healthily maintaining.

sharaleeb

I've found it's not realistic for me to "crash diet" and deprive myself of all the foods I like, when I do that I end up cranky and then when I give in and eat what I want my portion sizes are way out of control causing me to gain more weight than I lost in the first place! Eat healthy, watch you calories and make sure you have a treat once in awhile! The recipes people share on MFP really help get the sweet snacky at low cal thing done too! Check them out! Good Luck! I think you're doing it the right way to keep your weight off!!

kblue2007

First, stop beating yourself up.....you can not always pass up everything, plus you are still under calories!!
Second, I can not say this with utmost certainty, but your sister (super crash dieter) might be losing weight now, but that doesn't mean she is going to keep it off. Once she starts eating like a normal person again she will mostly likey gain it back plus some. You on the other hand are doing weight loss in a healthy way through diet and exercise, you are more likely to continue to lose and keep the weight off once you have lost to your goal.
I'm sure you know all of this and are just kicking yourself for eating what you perceive to be the wrong thing, but a calorie is a calorie and as long as you are eating enough and working out hard when you can you will succeed!!!

young1726

Do not crash diet. You are asking is it healthy? My answer is that you probably already know it is not. You will lose weight by tracking your calories on here. Trust me! I have seen success after success on here. Everyone I know that I have reccommended this to that has really followed it, has lost weight. And you will too...if you really follow it.

Now the question for you is...would you rather be able to eat and lose weight or starve and lose weight? Seems simple to me.
Question number two...would you rather lose a lot of weigh now and as soon as you get to your goal weight and start eating nomal again only to gain it all back or lose weight slowly and keep it off because you did it the right way? Seems simple to me.

It's up to you.

metalhed00

Losing 10 pounds in 2 weeks is not good. Tell your sister to start eating more. More healthy foods, instead of less total food.

You sound all over the place with your dieting. Ask a professional instead of trying to do it yourself.

janalayn

You are doing it the right way. Don't beat yourself up for slipping...we all do it. Crash diets don't work for the long run....if they did most of us on MFP would be thin, based on the number of blogs I have seen admitting to various crazy diets ... I should know, I've done most of them.

ramseyrose

You are doing it right. This is a life-long change. Fast weightloss will only cause problems in the long run.

kbanzhaf

Hi,

You are making a LIFEstyle change, not DIEting if you want to be truly successful in the longterm. You (or your sister either) didn't put on excess weight in a short time period, and if you want the weight loss to stick, you can't take it off overnight either.

And, it isn't about perfection.....it's about making choices you can live with, and doing what you can to make good choices. Speaking in cliches, "if you fall off the wagon," "tomorrow is another day." So you ate a biscotti? Go for an extra 20 minute walk tonight after work, or get up earlier tomorrow and walk before work.

One day at a time.....one step at a time......one meal at a time. YOU can do this if YOU put your mind to it.
Kaye

dcashin90

Hi deelschneider! I don't 'crash diet' and I don't think losing 10lbs in two weeks is all that healthy, unless they had a lot of weight to lose in the first place. I try not to be too strict and allow myself the occasional treat but it is important to stay within the calorie allowance that's set for you. The great thing about combining exercise with your food plan is that the more calories you burn, the more calories you 'earn' back so you can increase your food intake without going over your allowance - that's allowed me to treat myself occasionally. My eating habits have definitely improved but I still treat myself to my favourite foods now and again and I've still managed to lose 11lbs so far at a rate of around 2lbs per week. Slow and steady wins the race, and I'm happy with that. Good luck!

MacMadame

I'd say everyone has to find their own path and you are just wasting energy comparing yourself to your sister. And isn't not even the kind of energy that burns calories.

Anyway, do you bring snacks to work so when the afternoon "feed mes" hit, you can have something healthy and low calorie? I still pack up my lunch with all my planned snacks for the day even though I'm on maintenance. That way I don't have to have willpower all the time.

mollymoo89

YOU are on the right track! Whenever you think you're hungry, have a glass of water first. Sometimes thirst can mask itself as hunger.

Just try to not be obsessed with the scale like me! I get discouraged if the scale doesn't move or if it goes up 1-2lbs because of water weight.

Slow and steady is the way to go!

ajax03

I agree with the previous posters. You don't have much to lose. Besides, slower may be better if you intend for your weight loss to be PERMANENT (as many of us, I'm sure!)

I've learned along the way, allow yourself to have some things you still enjoy. I'm also learning that the way we view food is a lot of times, mental. Banning or fibbiding any food just makes me want it more. So, on occasion, I'll allow myself to have some of the "bad" foods I enjoy. I just know now that I'd better plan for it (i.e. exercise and continue to eat right).

You're on the right track! Instead of obsessing, celebrate the fact that you conciously considered what you were eating (instead of mindlessly munchin' for your 2:00p pick-me-up....to me, THAT'S a NSV in and of itself!)

erika247

I am very much like this too. I work out a lot and when I work out I don't want to eat as much. Does that make sense? But honey I can binge on some sugar free cookies which is not even close to being good for you.

Mostly it's best not to compare yourself to others. We are all different but yes some of us have plenty in common as to make us all feel less alone.

If you think about it.....next time someone comes to work with donuts or anything tempting....think about this now you have to type that in and then feel guilty about it.

Exercise is the spark food is the fuel so make them both worthy of you because you are worth it!

equustel

Honestly, it is not healthy the way you're sister's doing it. Your body needs fuel. It needs a balanced diet. Contrary to popular belief, eating nothing but vegetables is not going to give your body what it needs to go at full power.

If you slip and "treat yourself" sometimes, definitely DON'T beat yourself up over it! When I just can't resist having something calorific that I love, this is what I do:

1) Limit my portion of that food item to 1 serving
2) Make up for it through exercise later in the day
3) Make up for it the next day by eating even better

As long as you are reasonable about it, you shouldn't have any problems eating what you crave every once in awhile.

It's all a balance. It's not about starving yourself or refusing yourself all the tasty things in the world. In my experience, it's just about sticking to modest portion sizes and staying relatively active - whether that's taking a walk on your lunch break, a quick bike ride when you get home, or some sit-ups and home exercise sometime in the evening.

msjackson1019

Now...I think you already know the answer to this question. But, there is some truth to the old saying that "Slow and steady wins the race". In the tortoise and the hare story, we on MFP are the tortoises. We are much more likely to reach and stay at our long term goals because what we are doing is more realistic. The crash dieting "hares" are the ones who will end up "taking a nap" (i.e. giving up on the diet) in the middle of the race and end up not even finishing it at all. Even if they do reach their goal, they'll end up right back where they were because their diet didn't change long term. No one can eat only lettuce and broccoli for the rest of their lives and eventually your sister is going to slip up and feel like a failure and may give up on her plan all together. Meanwhile, you will keep with it because you know that it's actually the occasional slips that make your plan more realistic and easier to maintain over the long term. You have to be willing to allow yourself the occasional treat and just do your best to burn off the extra calories when you can. For most people, that's the only way they will ever stick with a diet change long term.

MinnieInMaine

I'd agree that the way you're doing it is way healthier than your sister's crash dieting. I've been there,done that and found it never works. Sure the pounds come off but once you start eating normal again, they come right back on, and then some. This time around what I've found really works is allowing myself to have those things I want, just learning to have them in reasonable portions. So, like that biscotti that you really wanted - you eat it, you track it and maybe you exercise for an extra 10 minutes today or tomorrow to burn the extra calories. It all works out in the end.

Posible spoiler for Biggest Loser watchers ahead!!

I was so happy when Jillian talked about just this topic with Rulan last night. He was binge eating junk food because he felt deprived and wanted a treat for his hard work. And instead of telling him no, do do that - she said, ok, so let's figure out a way for you to still have those treats but figure out how you can incorporate them into your diet without killing all the work you've done. Yay!!!

donicagalek

I am still under calorie allowance but I am at work and someone brought in biscotti's and of course I had to have one. Was not even that hungry but it was the 2:00 get me through food. Uggh. I just wish I had will power like other people I know. My sister is dieting also and she is on a very strict diet. Hardly eats anything at all .. I know she does not eat her calorie allowance or even close.. but she has lost 10 lbs in 2 wks.. So question.. who is doing this right.. me who is following the food tracker and exercise tracker and trying to be within calorie allowance or her - the crash dieter? Now I have not been perfect since starting.. granted a few weekend slips.. mainly too many beverages., but I truly have tried to watch and exercise as much as I have time for. I have been going to gym / walking at least 4 days a week.. Is this enough? Or should I be on the " I am not eating anything but lettuce / broccoli or whatever does not have calories diet too??? Is that really healthy? I need to buy a scale next week. I do not have one, so to be honest.. don't know if I have lost or not.

I'm not going to put down your sister so that you can feel better about your slip-ups. Doing that is doing you no justice. You can't say that you wish you had will power and then go on to say that the people with will power are all crash dieters. That's not fair, is it? :-) When you point a finger you are always pointing three back at yourself.

This will be your downfall. Not your diet. Understand the logic? You point out the things that you feel are wrong about your own diet and my hat is off to you for that. But then instead of asking for help or ideas to overcome those flaws you take your mind off of it by watching what other people do. You should always be your main focus.

Although, maybe you do get it judging by the title of the thread. You're very smart and self-aware. Just don't outsmart yourself. :-) *hugs*