I want to change my eating habit but don't want to feel like

Poison5119

You have to examine what you're eating and make choices about what is more important for your particular personal needs. My battle is with fat intake, for the most part. The more things I'm willing to give up where taste is concerned the faster my body will metabolize what I do give it.

ex. I'm willing to give up creamer and switch to just 2% for my coffee and sub the sugar. That nets me calories in my life I don't really need.

Choosing a good whole wheat bread (mine is aunt milies 12grain fiber for life $3) with extra fiber over the easy white bread in the cafeteria to make a sandwich is worth the extra calories that the whole wheat bread has. Some people give up white sugar and flour and they magically lose 3 lbs.
I stopped drinking 2x a week and lost 3 lbs. Boom, just like that.
To indulge once in awhile isn't going to harm your lifestyle, you just have to be 'good' more often than you are 'bad'. If you struggle for control, sometimes you have to deny direct access. . For some, indulging that one time sets off a chain reaction of bad choices, so some just permanently leave the crap out.
I struggled to justify spending $4 on cookies ready made in the bakery I really don't need to have around in the house, so I have saved myself those cals plus a little cash. I know where to find cookies if I really really need one.

I also tend to cook a lot of my own food so that I have control over the taste quality and factor, and alter the recipes in ways that are healthier (olive oil vs veg or carob vs choc chips) and if I can't I just watch portions as much as I can.

As has been said, use a scale for measuring the serious stuff. If 4oz is a serving of ham, you'd better be sure what 4oz of ham looks like. I had to teach my husband what to plan for when it comes to his carolina rub pork.
Also, if you eat small meals frequently rather than 3 big ones or (eeek) ONE a day (bad Idea). Have access to planned snacks.

Vivian_Phoenix

first dont see this as a diet.. see it as something you will strive to become for the rest of yourself.
secondly... do what you KNOW that you can do for the rest of your life, taper it to YOUR needs and expect that the more exceptions you make for yourself, the slower your results...but you will get there.
IF you want faster results, you will have to make bigger sacrifices.
follow your instincts, and do what is right for you, this is not a diet, this is self improvement to become a better version of yourself, forever.

You already know how to do it right... do it the opposite way of how you have done it to get to your unhappy body situation.
Obstacles are there to tell us what to do to reach our goals, they serve a purpose.

Everyday will bring change, and you will find that you are so much stronger than you ever thought possible.
Most importantly, ban ALL self doubt... this is a hinderance to your change and progress, carry on even though you are afraid of failing, one day you will realize that it was all in your head, and the burden wasn't so heavy, because you are so much stronger.

And, dont beat yourself up if you go over your caloric number... log it and drink some water move on. Tomorrow is a blank slate remember?

LilMissFoodie

Being on a strict calorie deficit is a diet so it is normal for it to feel that way.

If you want to ease into things and you are in the right mindset about being in this for the long haul then I would start simply by recording what you eat now. Do that for a week then look back through it and look at some of the glaringly obvious high calorie things in your diet. See what you could cut out or substitute and start with just a few things for a week or 2. Then, the next week, take another look and choose another goal of something to change. You certainly do not have to go to eating 1200 or even 2000 calories overnight to lose weight if you are obese. Any changes you make will be a step in the right direction and eventually you will start losing weight (whenever it is that you hit some amount of calorie deficit) and you won't feel so deprived because you won't be cutting everything back at once or trying to eat half or less of the food that you usually eat.

HMonsterX

Skipping breakfast saved me 4-500 cals.

Small lunch saves me another 2-300.

Sweeteners in my tea saved me yet another 2-300.

There, that's 1,000 cals i can now have when i actually want them, and have more of the food i actually want

gsager

The only reason that I make lower calorie choices is so I can eat more of what I want. For breakfast I had 3/4 cup of scrambled egg whites and 3 French toast sticks (cause I love them). Then during the day I try to burn at least 500 calories working out so that can be added to the calories I can eat. I adjust everything so that I can have hot chocolate (milk and quick, not that sugar free crap) and a piece of cream cheese stuffed French toast. I've lost 16lbs. I don't deprive myself so that I can be happy and keep going. Good luck. This is a great site, hope it works for you.

vger11

I eat everything that I have always eaten, but now I look at serving sizes and calories, I work my day around my biggest meal, so if I am having a big dinner, I log it first thing in the morning and then eat breakfast and lunch around that. I try to keep my breakfast at 150 calories and lunch under 250 calories. This is what has helped me. Good luck to you I hope you find something that works for you
~CookiezBaking

first dont see this as a diet.. see it as something you will strive to become for the rest of yourself.
secondly... do what you KNOW that you can do for the rest of your life, taper it to YOUR needs and expect that the more exceptions you make for yourself, the slower your results...but you will get there.
IF you want faster results, you will have to make bigger sacrifices.
follow your instincts, and do what is right for you, this is not a diet, this is self improvement to become a better version of yourself, forever.

You already know how to do it right... do it the opposite way of how you have done it to get to your unhappy body situation.
Obstacles are there to tell us what to do to reach our goals, they serve a purpose.

Everyday will bring change, and you will find that you are so much stronger than you ever thought possible.
Most importantly, ban ALL self doubt... this is a hinderance to your change and progress, carry on even though you are afraid of failing, one day you will realize that it was all in your head, and the burden wasn't so heavy, because you are so much stronger.

And, dont beat yourself up if you go over your caloric number... log it and drink some water move on. Tomorrow is a blank slate remember?
~Vivian_Phoenix

my mantra :plan, log, move and put the fork down

MzBug

Baby steps! Everyone has great advice! Unless you can change your mindset to lifestyle instead of diet, it won't do any good. If you do everything at once, chances are you will feel overwhelmed and give up. If you plan on making significant changes, do them one at a time. Work on one aspect (portion control for example) for a couple weeks and get used to it, make it a habit. Then take on a second aspect (ie., no "white" starches), work on it WITH the first aspect a couple weeks...then add a third (take a walk)...then a fourth.... and so on. Make the changes gradual and permanent. Much less chance of backsliding into bad habits that way.

Good Luck! :flowerforyou:

clur85

Skipping breakfast saved me 4-500 cals.

Skipping breakfast? why would you skip breakfast? Sets you up for the day!

MaraDiaz

Nothing has ever worked for me, or not for long. And I hate the word diet. The words lifestyle change make me cringe, too. I'm going to try to eat what I want, record every calorie, then figure out how to burn off the extra. No clue if it will work though. I just started yesterday! Good luck, and I'll keep writing those calories down if you do!

TavistockToad

I don't want to feel like I'm on a diet.

this will happen when you change your mindset from "I'm on a diet" to "this is the way I will live the rest of my life"

this!

its a lifestyle change, not a diet. i dont not eat anything, just keep the bad things in moderation!

have a salad for your lunch, and do an extra workout, and then tomorrow is another day!

vger11

Skipping breakfast saved me 4-500 cals.

Skipping breakfast? why would you skip breakfast? Sets you up for the day!

in the past, i would've agreed, but PERSONALLY, I get a better day in if I keep my coffee mornings and load up lunch for my intense workouts...but my days are not the norm. just saying.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

Don't think of it as a diet; look at it as a lifestyle change. Eating healthy isn't a diet because you're not cutting out a particular food group - you're adding good-for-you food to your diet. For instance, the Atkins diet cuts out carbs, a major food group. Eating healthy is about choosing what is natural over what is processed. The whole "diet" mentality associated with healthy eating is a huge misconception that holds people back.

Also, you don't have to neccerssarily cut out your comfort foods. If you want a Tastycake, have a Tastycake once in a while! Key word: ONCE IN A WHILE. Watch your portions and watch your frequencies. My weakness is mac and cheese. What I try to do is Google healthier versions of mac and cheese so that I'm not completely sacrificing my favorites. You can use whole grain noodles with low fat cheese, or just regular noodles with low fat cheese.

Remember, changing your eating habits doesn't happen over night. It takes weeks, even months for your body to get used to not having excess sugars and fats - why do you think its so hard for people to quit smoking or get sober?

Good luck!! xoxo

clur85

Skipping breakfast saved me 4-500 cals.

Skipping breakfast? why would you skip breakfast? Sets you up for the day!

in the past, i would've agreed, but PERSONALLY, I get a better day in if I keep my coffee mornings and load up lunch for my intense workouts...but my days are not the norm. just saying.

hmm, again its a personal choice but personally i just can't imagine a world without breakfast everyday ! it just really surprises me when people tell me they get up and just go to work and don't eat! lol. I also don't drink coffee so perhaps the food is my 'pick me up'!

Divagettinfitin2011

Bump

bert16

I find it helps if I log the food prior to actually eating it (and, if it's an involved recipe, prior to actually preparing it). That helps reduce the "what did I just do!" panicky moments, so that maybe I end up eating exactly what I was going to eat, but less of it... or I decide to eat something else.

And, not that I don't spoil myself from time to time (or maybe a little more often than that), but I generally like to think about how whatever I'm going to eat will fuel my body... I definitely still want it to be delicious, but I literally think of it as the fuel I need to get a long run in the next morning or to get through a workout this afternoon; and if I'm taking the day off of exercising, I don't need to fill 'er up!

Hope that helps...

HMonsterX

Skipping breakfast saved me 4-500 cals.

Skipping breakfast? why would you skip breakfast? Sets you up for the day!

Eating breakfast offers no metabolic advantage, so it's just a waste of calories to me. I'd rather save those calories for when i really want them.

Bullfrog2957

I don't want to feel like I'm on a diet.

this will happen when you change your mindset from "I'm on a diet" to "this is the way I will live the rest of my life"

Agree!! Diets do not work. Changes in lifestyle with a "forever" mentality is the recipie for success

IvoryParchment

I agree with the general theme here. It can't be a diet that you start and observe grudginly, all the while looking forward to the day you get to go off the diet and go back to eating what you eat now. This has to be your new way of eating You are the weight you are because you eat enough to maintain that weight, and you continue to eat that much, every day.

Your weight loss program has to be something you are willing to continue living with the rest of your life. If drinking protein shakes the rest of your life sounds like a convenient way to stay trim, fine. If it sounds like Dante's 11th Circle of Hell, find something else that works for you.

I'm guessing that your ideal breakfast might look something like eggs, some type of high fat/high salt meat (bacon, ham, sausage, scrapple, etc.), grits with butter or cheese, and toast, pancakes, or biscuits, covered with syrup/jelly/honey/butter? The sort of stuff they serve at the Waffle House? And eating cereal and skim milk would be a sacrifice you would have to tolerate under protest?

Counting the calories helps, because you negotiate with yourself. Do I want to use the calories now, or later? Do I want this stuff I love at breakfast, or do I want to eat it for dinner? Can I have one of these high calories foods today, and a different one tomorrow? Do I need two large eggs or can I live with one small egg? Which kinds of smoked meats have less fat or can be eaten in smaller portions? Do I have health issues that mean I really need to be watching my fat and sodium intake?

If you are young and healthy and have the luxury of converting your diet gradually, it is better. You gradually get used to less calories, less fatty "mouth feel," less saltiness, less sweetness. Later on you can't imagine you used to eat the way you did. You no longer feel you are denying yourself at every meal. And your stomach definitely shrinks, and it does so rather early in the process.

You might start by just counting your calories, without trying to meet a weight loss goal. Research shows you'll probably lose weight anyway. And once you're comfortable with that, you can see where you're ready to reduce your intake further.

ZeroTX

As some have already said, you have to change your mindset from being "on a diet" to realizing that eating improper portions and bad choices of food is what got you where you are... believe me, I've been there my whole life, but somehow, at age 36, I cannot see myself ever going back to what I was. I'm only sad at the damage I've already done to my body by living this way my entire life.

First realization: food is fuel for you to live... not a pleasure in which to indulge every day. That doesn't mean you cannot indulge occasionally, nor enjoy what you eat daily, but it does mean that sometimes the bacon-soaked option might taste better, but isn't worth your health.

Once you get used to appropriate portions, over-eating becomes a lot more difficult, uncomfortable, and undesirable. I promise. This happens pretty quickly (within a few weeks).

Stay the course!

susanswan

I don't want to feel like I'm on a diet.

this will happen when you change your mindset from "I'm on a diet" to "this is the way I will live the rest of my life"

Nicely put! I wanted to eat everything I was currently eating at 205 pounds but weigh 135. It wasn't working for me. I came up with a lifestyle change. And no, I didn't go willingly either. But logically it made sense to me to get rid of junk food, sugar, white flour, and saturated fats for STARTERS. Believe it or not after a week or two I couldn't hear cookies, bread, and crackers and cheese calling my name any more. For the first time in my life. If you want the long drawn out version you can read my profile and blogs - they are open.

Id say go for life style change. Skinny is nice, but healthy is better. Aiming for good health also gets you skinny! I'm a lifer now! Otherwise there is always the coffee, cigarettes, and cocaine diet if you just want to be thin. But just think....everyone here is losing weight, right? Some faster, some like me slower. The most important thing to remember is DO NOT EVER GIVE UP. Quitters never make their goal. Keep tweaking your diet if you need to, but you can find a way that will work for YOU. Only YOU know what will work for YOU. So go do it! = D You can do it!!