LOVE TO EAT... now what?

jenj1313

Ok, food lovers... tell me how you stay focused and motivated??

I was raised in the South and I truly love to eat. I love bbq and fried foods and beer and dessert.

And I love to eat out!

So... how do you fulfill the social eating aspect of your lives without feeling totally deprived?? And please... I am SO tired of salad.

Can't wait to hear your inspiring stories and hints!

ladyhawk00

Moderation, portion control and a checkbook.

Nothing is off limits. I eat what I want. But I eat less of it. That helps me avoid binges.

And as for daily choices, I love the checkbook analogy. Everything costs me something. If I choose to have dessert, that's fine - but it's coming out of the bank one way or another. So I have to make it fit into the budget. And I have to make the decision on whether the cost is worth the benefit. Do REALLY want that piece of cake - bad enough to work it off or have less cals available for other stuff? Sometimes, the answer is yes. But at least I've made a conscious choice, which takes into consideration where that choice will take me.

themommie

before i go out to restaurants I look up the calorie info on the internet and decide what i will order, then when i get there i dont look at the menu to tempt myself, I just stick with my decision, Also you need to find things that are similiar to the things you love but with less calories, ex I love ice cream, but now I eat weight watchers ice cream bars or skinny cow ice cream. I figure out how to make my favorite recipes with less calories also, it is unrealistic that you are never going to eat your favorites so just try substituting things to make them fit in to your calorie allowance. Also if you need more calories exercise, to get a few more. I hope this helps

Brandicaloriecountess

I still love to eat, I just make it food that is good for me.
I also love to see the numbers on the scale drop.

Be willing to give up things that are bad for except for indulgences. I had to be willing to pass on foods I love bc I know that eating them won't help achieve my goals.

aa1440

Eat what you want. But as LadyHawk stated, "It will cost you."

I also eat what I want. If you go over your limit you need to work out more. Or, as I have recently started to do, work out twice a day.

Pebble321

I love to eat too, and the good news is that you don't have to stop eating or loving

Don't feel you HAVE to set your calories for maximum weight loss, you might even do better with a more moderate plan. I would go nuts on 1200 cals a day (oops, not enough room for nuts with 1200 cals!).

I eat 1500 ish net calories a day and find that I can enjoy lots of the things I've always eaten but I choose them with more care and eat a bit less. I went out to lunch yesterday with my family but only had half a (small) bread roll instead of a whole one, I had dessert but turned down the chocolates with coffee, had one cider at the pub instead of two... these kinds of decisions mean that I am almost always just under my net calorie goal and I'm losing weight very steadily.

I think the trick is to work out what eating habits work well for you, and allow you to continue your lifestyle but to make it a healthier one. Cutting back on alcohol has definitely helped me (I still drink but not every day and not as many) as has smaller portions and healthier snacks.

k2d4p

When you go to a resteraunt, order what you want and ask the waiter to bring a to go box when they bring out your order. Put half the meal or more in the to go box and enjoy the rest. Then you have the meal that you want and lunch the next day. That's what I do.

jenj1313

Yeah... my goal is 1200 per day, but I only expect to hit that on workout days (which I'm trying to do at least 5 days per week). If I don't workout, I know I'll go over a bit. I'm okay with that b/c it motivates me to workout more instead of thinking I can do it on food alone. My non-workout calorie allowance is about 1600.

jenj1313

Ok... I know I need to try the half a meal in the box thing, but somehow I never seem to pull it off. I'll try harder.