all things in moderation???... REALLY???

Lyadeia

I go for portion control, and I also do my best to find better options that don't taste completely different.

In other words, I don't stop having pizza and I don't eat it on some nasty pita crust or tortilla cause that's just not a pizza. I made my own whole wheat crust that tastes awesome, and I use sugar free sauce and 2% cheese. I have just half the pizza, not the whole thing. Four slices of my pizza which tastes like real pizza is about 550 calories as opposed to 1000 or more calories of store bought pizza...or 300 calories of some nasty pita bread CRAP.

I eat real food, smaller portions, don't cut things out completely or else I'll binge, and I look for tasty lower cal options of my favorites. It's not a "diet" but a lifestyle change. I can't go without pizza forever, I'm not going to try. But by eating a homemade one that is healthy and tasty, I change my lifestyle without depriving myself.

And now if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to eat some turkey spagetti with sugar free tomato sauce and whole wheat extra protein pasta. :bigsmile:

trinityj1

If you can go cold turkey, go cold turkey. I do. The standard advice is to cut things about slowly, but that doesn't work for me; I just decide I'm going to do something and then do it.

Don't buy any crap at all. If you can't get it without exerting time and effort, you won't eat it.

lq022

I guess it really is just "what works for you" ... I dont know about anyone else, but THAT is seriously the MOST frustrating answer lol .. i KNOW its definately the only answer that truly works .. but if I knew "what worked for me" ,, I wouldnt BE overweight lol .. ughhh i dont know. Today was just not a good day i guess .. i feel like a complete whinebag haha ..

But the one thing I do notice that "works for me" (...LOL seriously I want to punch that phrase) is when im out with friends and their eating all sorts of crap, I dont feel the need to have any of it ... Call me what you want, but my competitive side comes out and I feel superior when I can say no to a quesidila (I totally butchered that spelling, I knowlol) or nachos etc and they cant .... but if you were to leave me alone with said quesadilla ( <-- that looks more correct to me... why couldn't I spell it one line previously? oh well, im not changing it above .. whatever) or nachos .. and i would clean house

I guess my main point is, this time period of my weight loss journey, I do not feel that moderation is good for me. Maybe I could just say I wont eat any crap until my cheat day on Saturdays .... That could probably work .. because then i'd plan all my meals down to the second for how much crap I could eat .... hmmm..that might work.

sunkisses

Do you just BLOCK all these things until you THINK you can have a serving of chips without devouring the entire bag?

This worked for me. I had to do this with sugar and sodas. I am now 3lb from goal and an "everything in moderation" person.

sheeramorningglory

I also am working on this. I try to avoid bringing it into the house. Even the small bag because honestly, I will eat two or three if I hit a weak moment.
If you want a treat - allow yourself a treat.
A friend of mine is real good with taking just a bite of someone elses treat. this way you get a taste and you do not have to eat a full bag, big or small.
All of this takes will power.

prettygirmel

I belong to TOPS also and each week we draw out to "No No" and one "Yes" for the week. We are challenged for a week to either not eat something not good for us or to eat something good for us. It works for me, it makes me think about not eating something I shouldn't. I am or was drinking almost 2 liters of diet soda a day. I had myself convinced since it was diet it was ok. Three weeks ago our challenge was no soft drinks all week! I didn't think I could do it but I did, then our leader challenge us to see how long we could go without them, I just this week have had two cans of diet pepsi. I finally am drinking more water and have lost weight ever week for seven straight weeks. I also have over a 100 hundred pounds to lose and have been heavy all my life. I have a sweet tooth that is very demanding but I try to be aware of what I eat and count it in my daily calories. If I fall off the wagon I try not to beat myself up, but count it and keep on going. I love MFP it works for me and it is a easy way to kept track of what I am eating. Good luck, you can do it.

bigdawg025

Ok... well... first of all... is one of your goals "to NEVER eat another chip again?"... Is one of your goals "to never drink ______ (insert favorite tasty beverage here) again?" If those are YOUR goals... then you will succeed without them. I highly doubt your goals are COMPLETELY GIVING UP all those things you enjoy. Therefore... moderation comes into play. For me... I eat what I want whenever I want it, but that's set me at an almost year long plateau. When losing more becomes more important to me... I might change something else again. If I start working out more than 3 or 4 days a week it might start again, too. But when you're working out A LOT... AND you have all those exercise calories left... you should never feel bad about treating yourself at times to the things you truly enjoy.

No guilt over food!!!! It's not a crime to eat!

Samiwhereareyou

I like the way you talk it makes me laugh cheep hooker lol. I try to cut out things I know I over indulge in out. I have a salt and grease tooth and I could eat a costco size bag of fritos chips in an hour and want more. So I dont buy them I get things I dont like as much like BBQ flavored lays I still get that salty crunch chip taste and its sill good but I can have a few and be done. Same with chocolate when I am really craving chocolate I will go out a buy 3 gourmet truffles from the hand dipped chocolate store down the street and savor every delicious piece not just grab a candy bar. But I had to break up with cheesebecause i truly believe I had an addiction to it if it was in the house I would devour it and I missed it it not being in my life like i had lost a friend it was not a healthy relationship. But that kinda went away after a while i got healthier and I just had cheese on my apple today and it was tasty but I didnt need to eat the whole cheese log to feel satisfied.

I guess what i am saying is do what feels right to you if you know you have an unhealthy relationship with cake treat it like a boyfriend. Dont go out of your way for cake dont bring cake home dont see cake on the side untill you are ready to have a healthy relationship with cake. and make tasty substitutions for the rest of the tasty things that dont run your life and give yourself slack sometimes I binge on jelly beans and I have a tummy ache and Its not the end of the world.

Good Luck.

deegarcia19

I usually can't do thing I can't resist in moderation either because then I can't stop.

RoseLeeRush

This is my first time to read the messages boards. They all help. I really appreciated EVERYTHING you said. I think I will memorize it! I feel motivated by your message. Thank you!:flowerforyou:

DesertSunsetRain

I think eventually portion control just starts to become more important than giving in and eating the entire bag. Sometimes if you make a food forbidden you will crave it big time and then end up binging on it at some point. Doesn't necessarily happen with EVERYONE but it is a very likely thing that can happen. But if you allow yourself a serving size, it's basically like... I don't *need* anymore, I have allowed myself to eat a little bit and that's good enough. You can have a slice of pizza and still be in with your calorie goal, but if you eat 4 you will be way over. So you can think about it like, I can enjoy this slice of pizza and still be within m calorie goal without having to feel guilty about it, but I don't need to have anymore because then it will cause me to go over.

I am not sure if that makes much sense, but it seems to work for me. I know that I can have the foods I like and not go over my calorie limit, so I don't really need/want to eat the entire bag because I don't want to go over my calorie goal for the day.

soon2bhotmom

Do what works for you...Just stay under your calorie goals...

I agree.
I will allow myself a bite or two of chips or sweets, like when I pack lunches for my family. Then I put them away and I feel better.

chevy88grl

I guess it really is just "what works for you" ... I dont know about anyone else, but THAT is seriously the MOST frustrating answer lol .. i KNOW its definately the only answer that truly works .. but if I knew "what worked for me" ,, I wouldnt BE overweight lol .. ughhh i dont know. Today was just not a good day i guess .. i feel like a complete whinebag haha ..

But the one thing I do notice that "works for me" (...LOL seriously I want to punch that phrase) is when im out with friends and their eating all sorts of crap, I dont feel the need to have any of it ... Call me what you want, but my competitive side comes out and I feel superior when I can say no to a quesidila (I totally butchered that spelling, I knowlol) or nachos etc and they cant .... but if you were to leave me alone with said quesadilla ( <-- that looks more correct to me... why couldn't I spell it one line previously? oh well, im not changing it above .. whatever) or nachos .. and i would clean house

I guess my main point is, this time period of my weight loss journey, I do not feel that moderation is good for me. Maybe I could just say I wont eat any crap until my cheat day on Saturdays .... That could probably work .. because then i'd plan all my meals down to the second for how much crap I could eat .... hmmm..that might work.

Okay -- which is better? Having to wait to until your "cheat" day to eat what you want? Or learning to count out 19 chips (or whatever the serving size is) and eating WHEN YOU WANT IT? For me, a "cheat" day was too diet-ish. I don't want to wait until a set day to eat something that I love. I want to eat it NOW - when I want it. Then I feel like I can move on with my life. So, I figure out the serving size, eat it, log it in my food diary and move on with my life. I've had what I wanted, accounted for it and don't have to wait for a certain day to do it. Another thing *I* found with "cheat" meals? I let cheat meals turn into cheat days and cheat days turn into cheat weeks.

Much better for me to just eat what I wanted and keep going.

This is about self control. Learning how to be in control of food instead of letting food be in control of you. Yes, you have to do what works for you - as much as you may hate those words. It is up to YOU to figure out what works. We can all sit here and tell you to do this or that, what worked for us or whatever... but honestly.. at the end of the day it is up to YOU to figure it out for yourself.

PlunderBunneh

Humans naturally eat everything infront of them... Grab a hand full from the bag of chips, put them in a bowl, and put the bag back in the cupboard. Try and do that with every food that isn't that healthy that you love. I had to get used to this also, if I didn't do this, I could eat the whole bad /: I believe cutting something out completely will only lead to worse overindulging.

This is my tactic too. I never sit down with more than I am allowing myself to eat. If there is cake, I hide it from myself. I am pretty weak willed, but getting a bit better. I pay more attention to when I eat, and put a lot of effort into getting settled in with my book or at the table before I eat, so there isn't any snacking that doesn't involve what is on my plate. Still a challenge.
As a PP said as well, there are things that I just don't touch. Not worth the calories. Regular potato chips, full cal soda, things like that. But I still allow french fries to sneak into my diet, as well as a bowl of frozen yogurt here and there

questionablemethods

I have learned to just not keep certain foods around if I can't enjoy them in moderation. I can have a bottle of wine and drink one glass and the rest can sit on the counter until the next day (or until I eventually end up cooking with it because it is no longer tasty to drink). But this is not the case with something like cookies or ice cream. If I open that bag of cookies or carton of ice cream, I'm eating at least a couple servings.

Does that mean I have completely cut them out of my life forever and ever? No. But it means that if I really want ice cream, I need to walk to the ice cream place about a half mile away (Mitchell's! Best ice cream in SF.) and buy a scoop. More often than not, I decide I don't really want ice cream.

lq022

THanks everyone! I really appreciate all your advice ... I know I dont trust myself right now with moderation ... but I do realize I cant cut out all things that are "Bad" for me forever ... it's just that right now, I am not where I need to be mentally in order to say no after one serving ..... I think I will try a cheat day once a week and see how that goes ... if that turns out to be too much .. I'll cut out all my vices ... Let's just wait and see!! Thanks everyone again for your kind words and motivation

aurorasangel2000

It all really does depend on how you would like to do it. There are some people who think you should cut those things out all together, and others who feel every once in a while is ok... I do try to make better food choices, HOWEVER, I honestly eat whatever I want. I've realized that it takes less to fill me up than it used to and that I'm still losing weight ;-) I eat candy, chocolate, cake, pie, hamburgers, fries, whatever... Unfortunately, learning moderation is the key and it's different for everyone. Trying the smaller portions is a great choice, such as the smaller bags of things, the 100 calorie packs, or the snack size candy bars. Give it some time. Try eating things out of a smaller plate, if that helps ;-) Either way, it's something personal, and when you feel you're ready, that's when you'll have to try it and find out. Have some faith in yourself and realize that this is something that you're doing for you; only you can make it happen :-)

dlyeates

You have to find what is right for you, obviously. If you know you can't do it in moderation than take away the temptation until you do have your eating and portion sizing under control.

For me, I like to do meal planning (not only does it help my budget it helps my waist line). And I usually plan my meals completely in the morning. I even log it in the morning so that I know what I need to eat if I'm working out or what kind of snack I might get at night. This way you have everything already figured out.

And if you know that portion control is not your strong suit then plan your portions. I have a food scale, ziploc baggies, etc. to plan my meals. I also love the 100 calorie mini bags of butter popcorn and kettle corn. I can eat the whole bag and not feel like I've done anything wrong.

lq022

I guess what i am saying is do what feels right to you if you know you have an unhealthy relationship with cake treat it like a boyfriend. Dont go out of your way for cake dont bring cake home dont see cake on the side untill you are ready to have a healthy relationship with cake. and make tasty substitutions for the rest of the tasty things that dont run your life and give yourself slack sometimes I binge on jelly beans and I have a tummy ache and Its not the end of the world.

Good Luck.

LOL @ relating cake to a boyfriend .. thats great....yeah I'm definately in the mindset where I gotta cut it out .. I gotta delete my boyfriend Tortilla Chips dipped in sour cream (....!!! ugh they're so good) from my phone and stop drunk dialing him .

solpwr

I think there is a blend of strategies that you can use, and where you are during your progression from obesity to your ultimate goal partially determines what that blend of strategies is.

So you may cut out some things totally, for me I rarely eat french fries, that's my weakness. But I do eat them occasionally, maybe 4 times per year if I were to count.

I love to drink wine, lots of calories there. But my strategy is to cut out all alcohol between bicycling season and ski season, so that I don't take in those calories when I don't burn as many through exercise, and I just appreciate resetting, and avoiding alcohol dependency issues.

But I also use the moderation strategy, I eat McDonald's, but instead of getting a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, I get a double hamburger no cheese. And I don't go there as often.

I eat more salads, measure portions, use no fat reduced calorie products. But I indulge in my favorite foods from time to time. Like rack of lamb, good cheese, chocolate souffles. Just not very often. And I really savor the moment. Knowing that I can indulge periodically doesn't seem nearly as restrictive as cutting that permanently out of my diet.

Eating a chocolate bar from time to time shouldn't equate to having a cigarette. One of these things is not like the other. There are redeeming health benefits to the chocolate bar.