What are your "diet rules" while counting calories?

fitnwhole

Do you limit your carbs? Eat them only in the morning? Drink only water? Whatever it is I would like to know what rules do you have for yourself and how is it working for you?

cgrout78

i quit having rules. I just eat at least my BMR calories every day. I drink a lot of water, and aim for 100 grams of protein a day. Other than that I don't worry.

missfluffyuk

I try to drink only water. I don't really track my carbs or fat, but I do try to get lots of protein.

ltlemermaid

I don't really have any rules-I just stay at my calorie limit (eat more if I workout) and drink lots of water. I try to limit my sodium intake as well. Basically as long as I'm within my numbers I'm good. If I go over by a little I just try to make better choices next time around.

MelissaL582

I don't really have any rules-I just stay at my calorie limit (eat more if I workout) and drink lots of water. I try to limit my sodium intake as well. Basically as long as I'm within my numbers I'm good. If I go over by a little I just try to make better choices next time around.

onehotgirl

No rules here either, my marco's are set at 40/30/30 and I try to eat roughly around that but if I don't it doesn't really bother me.

MaximalLife

Do you limit your carbs? Eat them only in the morning? Drink only water? Whatever it is I would like to know what rules do you have for yourself and how is it working for you?

30% Protein 40% Carb 30% Fat - balanced out in 6 meals.
And I eat a lot too.

It was a hard leap for me going to a higher calorie diet , but after my first initial 30 lbs, I stalled, then did what any disciplined and determined person would. I starved myself. And that worked too for a season, but I was losing lean body mass too much.

Long short? I increased calories to almost 3000 to account for my activity level, exercises and other variables, and I thought NO WAY! I was eating less than half that....

Out of the 65 lb total weight loss, half of that resulted from a higher calorie diet but slightly restricted with enough of a deficit to reflect a 1lb weekly weight loss.

It worked!

And today I have a mere 10 lbs to go, eating around 3000 daily [except on rest days], losing 1 lb each week like clockwork.
If your input is right, all will be well.

Good Luck!

Acg67

Hit my macros and eat foods i like.

rockerbabyy

my diet rules are:
1. to not have diet rules
2. see #1
other than eating as balanced a diet as i can, i dont see the need to cut anything out

lmelangley

I only eat stuff I truly want. I always think about if the taste is worth the calories. If it is, I go for it - but in moderation. A couple of cookies versus 6. A scoop of ice cream instead of 3. One piece of pizza instead of half a pie- I fill up the rest of the way on salad.

Oh, and my second rule - I'm worth the price of good food. If I want raspberries out of season, I have them. If I go out, I'll pay for real food versus McDonalds.

caramkoala

My rule for the week changes according to what aspect I am struggling with.

When I first started and saw what my sodium was, it was to keep it in the green. When I felt I had control of that, the rule was to drink 12 glasses of water a day (since I wasn't tracking sodium then, I presumed I was going over and compensated) I've pretty much gotten the hang of the water now, so now my goal is to eat within 200cals of my target (I was consistently going 500cals under and guess what? My weight loss stalled.)

AEchic914

I try not to eat anything after 8pm at night, and drink LOTS of water! Good Luck to you!

caramkoala

Oh, and my second rule - I'm worth the price of good food. If I want raspberries out of season, I have them. If I go out, I'll pay for real food versus McDonalds.

This is going to be my next rule. I didn't buy blueberries the other day, even though I really wanted them. And they were on special AND in season! They are still expensive though. I am working on incorporating one treat in a day, and it doesn't necessarily have to be bad for me, just delicious! Like fresh blueberries, prawns, or yes, sometimes chocolate icecream (1 small scoop).

fatgirlslove

always under on sodium, drink lots of water, no fried foods and log EVERYTHING.

Cal28

No rules at the moment (only 5 days in), just keeping within my calories and eat what I like. If it doesn't work then I'll look at bringing some rules in.

his_kid1

I try to get a bunch of fruits and esp. veggies, and a variety. I try to eat lean meats and whole grains as much as possible. I try to avoid artificial sweeteners, and frankenfood with a million preservatives, etc. I'm trying to cut back on the sugar, and drink lots of water. That said, I don't have any hard and fast RULES, just these guidelines to help me decide what to eat at any given time. I'm not going to stop living in the world though, because I'm trying to eat better. If my mom wants to go out to lunch at a place she likes, I'm going to make good choices, given the menu, what I've eaten that day, and what sounds GOOD.

ninerbuff

Do you limit your carbs? Eat them only in the morning? Drink only water? Whatever it is I would like to know what rules do you have for yourself and how is it working for you?

Don't go over and if you do, exercise it off.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Cr357

Hit my macros and eat foods i like.

^^^^^ This

EricMurano

1. Log everything, every time, even if you're on a 'cheat meal'. If what you ate is not in the database then go with something as close as possible or quick add calories as a last result. But ALWAYS log!

2. The less calorie dense a food is the less important the quantity in the log. Don't worry if you measured 2 cups of lettuce but you got three. On the flip side get as accurate as possible when logging cashews!

3. Bread's fine but just remember how many calories there are in it.

4. Even though it's calories in versus calories out for weight loss it can't hurt to pay at least a little attention to macro ratios and food quality, just don't get all Paleo on me!

xMedullaOblongatax

I just stick to low calorie, high protein chum. I do not have a sweet tooth, so the sweetest snack I eat constitutes of a cup of Mott's Country Berry applesauce a day - no sugar added and packed with flavor. I swapped chips and other salty snacks out with jalapenos. Yes, I snack on jalapenos =P

thelovelyLIZ

I only drink water, with the occasional glass of milk or swig of my boyfriend's soda. I was a compulsive soda drinking for most of my childhood and when I finally quit cold turkey, I lost a ton of weight, even though most of my soda consumption was diet. I do drink tea sometimes, but that's basically water. In a rare occasion I might have some alcohol, but that's pretty infrequent these days.

I try not eat white bread, but that's also mainly because I think it tastes bad. Whole wheat stuff tastes so much better, in my opinion.

I think the biggest recent change was if I want something sweet I reach for fruit. I've never been a big fruit eater, but I've actually managed to train my taste buds to accept fruit as a sweet treat, whereas before it was never sweet enough since I was used to richer desserts.

I don't really have any "rules" though. I just eat sensibly and make sure it tastes good.

george_ie_girl

My main rule is to try and have home cooked meals - generally stir frys or meat with vegies.

I hate cooking, so will generally try and score an invite to a mates for dinner and check out what their parents are cooking. I eat out WAY too often!

WifeMomDVM

My rules :bigsmile:

1) Log every calorie of every single day - NO. MATTER. WHAT.
2) Macros are set to 40 carbs 30 fat 30 protein - try to keep carbs green and make protein red
3) Track fiber - set it to at least 35 grams and make it red also
4) Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day
5) Calories divided into at least 4 meals a day.
6) Try to keep it clean

Other than that, anything is game!

curlykitty

I don't have any rules yet, I only began 2 weeks ago, but I've lost 5 pounds. however, I just noticed my sodium levels are WAY over, so i will be focusing more on that in the future

cressievargo

I try to keep my protein up b/c it helps me stay within my calories.
I used to worry about water, but since I stopped drinking pop, that part has gotten easier.

I am also trying to be more diligent about tracking than previous dieting attempts because I know that when I do it, I have success. When I don't, I don't. So, even though it's an extra effort - it's totally worth it.

I am relatively new to MFP and I have to say that I am really enjoying it!

CharismaticKestrel

Dieting rules. Well I try to watch my sugar intake. This is for a couple of reasons, for one I know how horrible sugar can be for you, at least processed sugar. One candy bar for instance will knock your immune system down for 8 hours. But I have other reasons for watching my sugar too, I don't want diabetes for one, and lastly when I consume sugar I start craving it more usually which doesn’t help my dieting one little bit!

That being said I don't deprive myself of things I want to eat when I can fit them into my calorie goal for the day. I've learned from years of failed diets and mistakes that I have to allow myself to indulge or ‘have a break’ on a regular basis or I tend to 'fall off the wagon', go way overboard and attack a Dunkin Doughnuts store or something. Allowing myself to have one doughnut or whatever when I get a craving and then watching my calories for the rest of the day works much better. I suppose you could look at that as a rule or the lack of one! Ha! The one rule I don’t budge on is logging the food I eat! I have to log it no matter what! Other than that I don’t have a lot of rules. I just try to drink water whenever I can and make healthy choices whenever possible too.

HonkyTonks

Do you limit your carbs? Eat them only in the morning? Drink only water? Whatever it is I would like to know what rules do you have for yourself and how is it working for you?

I try and meet my macros (carbs, protein, fat) and try and have a well balanced diet and get my vitamins through food.. these aren't diet rules though for me, they're just living rules.. for weight loss, I only really care about calories in vs calories out..

Articeluvsmemphis

My rules for a day are, a vitamin, some tea, plenty water, and a banana, the rest is fair game

kbwdad

The only rule is "Calories In / Calories Out". Everything you eat is calories. You have to decide what your calorie limit is and from there you will figure out amongt the different food groups what you can eat more of and less of to make it through the day with enough to eat and fuel for your body. The USDA pyamid is a good guide to use, be sure to track your intake daily.

stormieweather

My rules?

Whatever gets me through the day and to my goal.

justanotherbrickinthewall

I try to always be under by sodium by 300 grams, which I haven't been successful at lately, lots of protein, and I try to eat all my calories and drink 8 cups or more of water.
I also make sure my food doesn't touch, eat food in a specific order, and chew my food 12 times.