Am i normal, or lucky?

questionablemethods

Great job with your weight loss! I applaud you for being disciplined in your tracking and working out and i can see your logic in realizing that eating vegetables and cutting stuff like soda are not going to be sustainable for you.

The hard part comes in maintaining. Personally, I don't get too impressed with anyone's weight loss until they've kept the weight off for at least five years. So, if you're losing weight in a way that is sustainable for you, then 5-10 years from now you'll still be maintaining your goal weight.

rockerbabyy

I wanted to "diet" in a way I could maintain for the rest of my life. Cutting out foods I genuinely enjoy was simply not an option because I'd just end up falling off the wagon, bingeing on them and never getting back on track. I don't want to be one of these people who refuses things because they're "bad", if I eat out or it's a special occasion I don't want to be worrying about what I can and can't have, that takes all the joy out of it for me.

So...I eat full fat cheese, drink full fat milk, have the odd slice of cake or bottle of soda. I've cut nothing completely out of my diet although I do check my portion size and eat things in moderation. As long as I make good choices most of the time I don't see a problem with it. And to be honest, if I cut out everything I've seen people advised to cut out I'd be living on fresh air and water!

this is exactly me. minus full fat milk. i dont drink milk period, and we keep 2% in the house if i get the odd craving.
ive upped my activity levels and cut back on portions. i try to eat as healthy as my budget allows. yes i still go out to eat once a week...i make it work.

ninerbuff

I haven't cut anything at all out of my diet.
I don't eat breakfast.
i have 3/4 of my daily calories after 7pm.
I "eat" aspartame
I drink soda.
I don't look at carbs or fat.
I don't eat clean.
I eat wheat.

I just exercise 6 times a week, and watch my calories.

And losing this weight has been a breeze. Am i just lucky that sooooo many things often spouted on these boards don't affect me...or am i just normal, and people are making this losing weight stuff too complicated?

You're genetically fit. It was easier for me 10 years ago then it is now.

copykatnjesus

Maybe you're muscular like me. I can lose weight pretty quick if I just do
SOMETHING!!! I ate at Olive Garden for lunch and Applebee's for dinner.
I just picked out the lowest cal meals & was full without eating either
meal completely. AND I still have 400 calories left for the day. Go figure.
I say Praise the Lord!!

fordster99

I still eat the foods I love, I just don't pig out on them. I had tried eating completely healthy before and was bored and frustrated within days and just quit. This time, I just learned to cut back on those things and I have incorporated some healthier options. I go out to eat and if I am really really craving fried chicken I will eat a small piece.

caveats

...or am i just normal, and people are making this losing weight stuff too complicated?

^^ This.

You're normal in the sense that this is the way it should be. You've found what works for your body, and I see that later in this thread, you said you feel great -- something you wouldn't be feeling if you were "internally unhealthy".

I do everything you do with the exception of watching carbs/fat. I am aware of my carb intake because I know that if I eat more carbs, I feel bloated, sluggish, and unhealthy. That's MY body telling me what I should and shouldn't do -- not Atkins (I don't "low-carb"), not South Beach, not Paleo, not whatever. While the boards and Google are useful for finding how stuff (like nutrition, bodybuilding, etc.) works, it's not useful for universally applying what everyone learns to your own body.

I wish that blanket statements such as "____ is bad for you" would come with pages of disclaimers about how everyone's individual needs are just that -- individual. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Figure out what works for you, and stick to your guns. If we all ate the same way, we'd be sheep fattening up for the Zombie Apocalypse.

poisongirl6485

No, you're normal. Eat less than you use and you will still loose weight.

Most of the crap spouted by dieters is just that. Crap.

No carbs = faster weight loss, ketosis, ill health
No soda = soda has salt which makes you retain water so cutting it out will cut out a lot of sodium in your diet...but the moment you drink it again, you gain it right back. It's equivelent to shrink wrap basically.
Shrink Wrap = wrapping yourself in shrink wrap which makes you weat out water weight...the moment you drink it comes right back on :P
No Weat....I don't even know what that one's about

They're fads and ridiculous. If you have a genuine non diet reason for cutting them out, it's all gravy, doing it just to diet is ridiculous and a lot of the time I wonder if these people should get their heads looked at. But hey, Some celebrity has said it's worked for them, and it's easier than getting off your *kitten* and burning the calories...so no wonder they're popular.

All of that stuff you said isn't true for everybody. My MIL is allergic to wheat and pretty carb intolerant, so she's on a gluten free/wheat free diet. She mostly does atkins, and has dropped 70 lbs and her cholesterol has dropped by 100 points in the past year. She has tons of energy and has felt the best she ever has.

Now I know that's not the same for everybody, but generalizing the effects for all isn't necessarily true either.

chauncyrenayCHANGED

Normal!

You may have to change some habits when you get down to the last few pounds, but this sounds normal to me.

chauncyrenayCHANGED

No, you're normal. Eat less than you use and you will still loose weight.

Most of the crap spouted by dieters is just that. Crap.

No carbs = faster weight loss, ketosis, ill health
No soda = soda has salt which makes you retain water so cutting it out will cut out a lot of sodium in your diet...but the moment you drink it again, you gain it right back. It's equivelent to shrink wrap basically.
Shrink Wrap = wrapping yourself in shrink wrap which makes you weat out water weight...the moment you drink it comes right back on :P
No Weat....I don't even know what that one's about

They're fads and ridiculous. If you have a genuine non diet reason for cutting them out, it's all gravy, doing it just to diet is ridiculous and a lot of the time I wonder if these people should get their heads looked at. But hey, Some celebrity has said it's worked for them, and it's easier than getting off your *kitten* and burning the calories...so no wonder they're popular.

LOL. This person is clueless...

Just1forMe

I haven't cut anything at all out of my diet.
I don't eat breakfast.
i have 3/4 of my daily calories after 7pm.
I "eat" aspartame
I drink soda.
I don't look at carbs or fat.
I don't eat clean.
I eat wheat.

I just exercise 6 times a week, and watch my calories.

And losing this weight has been a breeze. Am i just lucky that sooooo many things often spouted on these boards don't affect me...or am i just normal, and people are making this losing weight stuff too complicated?

Wow! You sound just like me Except, while it's been "easy", it's been very slow for me...but I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis so it's always going to be slow (and I'm okay with that I don't eat 3/4 of my calories after 7 p,m. (maybe 25-30%) but other than that I do pretty much the same thing So, I would say you are normal.

Uerzer

people are making this losing weight stuff too complicated

I agree :bigsmile:

bcattoes

You are normal. In a person without disease a calorie deficit is all that's needed to lose weight.