Why use a restrictive dieting plan...

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  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    That would be like saying an alcoholic can drink in moderation. Maybe some can. Most can't.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I'm shaking my head on why people restrict foods out of their diets. There's a post of a member not eating pizza. Ok pizza isn't the healthiest choice out there but why cut it out all together? I'm not saying its ok to eat a large pizza by yourself but moderation is the point, its being sensible about the amounts you consume.

    I'm not trying to start a heated debate, I'm just trying to understand. Restrictive diets to me seem like they fail more often than not because people crave the things they no longer have. Cut back on those things rather than eliminating them altogether. Weight loss is just like weight gain, it doesn't happen overnight.

    :drinker:

    I love cakes, I adore Belgiun buns, however, I have to completely cut them out of my diet. Not because I want to, but because if I don't, it mean approx 500 calories are wasted out of my 1200 calorie per day allotment. This would mean I would end up starving hungry with rumbling stomach. Most likely I would end up breaking my diet.

    It was eating that crap that got me here in the first place.
  • brostoevsky
    brostoevsky Posts: 1
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    *oops, posted on my partner's account*
  • Leamac83
    Leamac83 Posts: 99 Member
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    Me personally, i dont eat pizza or macdonals or burger king...ever. Maybe a rare occasion when im totally drunk. Thats not becasue i dont like it or im restricting it i just dont see anything good about it...apart from the nice feeling you get whilst eating which lasts all of 1 minute then you feel guilty. There is no nutrition in it, and as for the person that said its protein becasue of the cheese...its all so over process you arent getting any nutrients out of it at all!

    Why put something in your body thats giving you nothing back?
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
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    I'm shaking my head on why people restrict foods out of their diets. There's a post of a member not eating pizza. Ok pizza isn't the healthiest choice out there but why cut it out all together? I'm not saying its ok to eat a large pizza by yourself but moderation is the point, its being sensible about the amounts you consume.

    I'm not trying to start a heated debate, I'm just trying to understand. Restrictive diets to me seem like they fail more often than not because people crave the things they no longer have. Cut back on those things rather than eliminating them altogether. Weight loss is just like weight gain, it doesn't happen overnight.

    :drinker:

    While I agree with you unfortunately there are some foods I have no restraint with, like junk food. If it is in my house, I eat it till it is gone.

    So it is a combo of not buying some things and eating differently. If your diet is mostly junk, you have to make lifestyle changes.

    And I agree it does not happen overnight. I am trying to find a balance of how I am going to get this weight off and get into shape. It does take time to find something successful you can work with.

    In my younger days, easy to drop lbs, exercise till I am sweating. Now I am out of shape and older with an injury. I will have success because I am going to continue to work at it until....
  • Barelmy
    Barelmy Posts: 590 Member
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    I find that, with certain things, I can have none, or I can eat ALL OF THE DOUGHNUTS.

    I don't want doughnuts. I don't crave them. But, if they are in the house, I will eat them. Thus, we don't have them in the house.

    (Happily, since I am vegan, and there is only one brand of doughnuts I can eat, my Anthony can still eat doughnuts simply by buying another brand).

    That said, I still intend to buy a doughnut pan at some point, and make my own healthy doughnuts. It's just the damn cheap jammy ones and their seductive little sugar-coated faces that I am avoiding.
  • Barelmy
    Barelmy Posts: 590 Member
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    Cut back on those things rather than eliminating them altogether. Weight loss is just like weight gain, it doesn't happen overnight.

    To add; if I were able to make sensible decisions about doughnuts, I wouldn't be here.
  • OooLaurenooO
    OooLaurenooO Posts: 227 Member
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    I eat and drink anythink i want, i just have a smaller portion instead. Ill have chocolate, sweets, pizza, wine, chinese takeaway. I just have a smaller portion than what im use to but if i do over-indulge ill just work out for a bit longer.

    This works for me but everyone is different.
  • mezzosoprano89
    mezzosoprano89 Posts: 81 Member
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    When I first started I HAD to cut out bread entirely, because that was my true weakness, I could literally eat half a loaf of bread in a day, just because I loved the fluffy taste, but I had no idea how many calories I was really consuming OR how unhealthy it was making me. Last semester (August-December) I did not buy ANY bread, because, for me, I needed to gain control over myself. By not having it around, eventually, I didn't crave it as much. I am just now adding it back into my diet, with 35 calorie bread, that I certainly don't want to eat on its own.

    But I agree, there's nothing that I would just cut out entirely forever, I still eat chocolate and treats, just not the entire bag, and some things I just don't buy for myself, but if they are around I'll have one. An example, I don't buy oreos or chips, but sometimes my roommates do and so I'll have one, but I don't just reach for the bag because its not my food.

    Though the other day I learned my lesson on pizza, as much as I LOVE it, it doesn't always fill me up, and its a lot of calories to NOT feel full after eating it...so while I'll still occasionally enjoy a slice or two, I don't think I'll indulge w/ it as often, when there are other options that I'd rather have where I will feel full afterwards.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I'm shaking my head on why people restrict foods out of their diets. There's a post of a member not eating pizza. Ok pizza isn't the healthiest choice out there but why cut it out all together? I'm not saying its ok to eat a large pizza by yourself but moderation is the point, its being sensible about the amounts you consume.

    I'm not trying to start a heated debate, I'm just trying to understand. Restrictive diets to me seem like they fail more often than not because people crave the things they no longer have. Cut back on those things rather than eliminating them altogether. Weight loss is just like weight gain, it doesn't happen overnight.

    :drinker:
    People do this out of some misguided sense of guilt and shame.
    They think they must become a food Nazi all of a sudden.
    It's human nature.

    And I especially get weary of those who say they just can't manage to eat back their exercise calories, turning something simple into a diet drama worthy of the worse of reality TV. It's better to eat french fries at McDonalds than to NOT eat back exercise calories, but they suddenly forget how to eat once they get on these absurd, restrictive diets.

    Again, human nature - poor me, pity me, look at me.......:yawn:

    Such people just won't make it without a major change of attitude.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    I COMPLETELY agree. When people begin cutting things out completely is when you see people fail on their diets. It is all about moderation and giving yourself a "cheat day" every now and then. I loooove food and I loooove to eat! If I go over here or there, big deal. My tummy is happy and so is my mind :)

    Just my opinion :D

    Its none of you business though. And most people don't fail when they restrict, especially when there are reasons they are restricting.

    Good for you that your body can so called "handle" everything in moderation, most others can't.

    Personally I think the whole "in moderation" is a bunch of excuses not to make permanent lifestyle changes. I am sorry, but eating the same things you were eating that made you fat in the first place and then switching to just eating less of those things is not a lifestyle change.

    So, it's not OK for someone to criticise the choices of people who do use restrictive plans, for reasons other than medical necessity, but it is OK to criticise those whose choice is to eat the things they like in smaller portions and with less frequency?

    Choosing to eat 90% healthy foods and 10% less-healthy, but enjoyable, things is certainly a lifestyle change if your previous levels were 50-50, or 90-10 in reverse. Everyone has to find the way that works for them. For me, a restrictive diet is not feasible long-term. I like food - some of my favourites are less-healthy than others, and feeling deprived, and consequently depressed, is the quickest way for me to end up bingeing, or eating compulsively. I travel a lot, so what is available to me to eat is not always entirely within my control. Many people do fail precisely because they are overly-restrictive, with no serious reason to be. A lifestyle change, unlike a diet, has to be something you can maintain long-term. Not everyone will fail with a restrictive plan, certainly, but there is a reason the diet industry is worth so many millions - the hundreds of thousands of people who choose diets, rather than lifestyles, that they cannot maintain.

    If you're cutting something out for a good reason - medical or emotional - then please go right ahead; do what you need to do for you. If you're cutting it out because a diet plan says you should, and you have no other reason to do so, a lot of the time, you are setting yourself up for falling off that wagon. Whether or not you can get back on will depend on your individual character and situation.
  • raiderrodney
    raiderrodney Posts: 617 Member
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    I have to agree. If you try to totally eliminate some of your favorite foods you are just setting yourself up for disaster! I love pizza and beer and I"ll save that cheat day or calories just for them ;)

    I realize some of us have a tough time eating 1 piece of chocolate...but you just have to be patient and train yourself to do so. Then you can enjoy all your favorites....in moderation ;)
  • 123fizz
    123fizz Posts: 14
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    I agree. I have pizza, burger on a bun, fish in batter etc BUT I make it part of my main meal and team with salad, beans, or veg.
    I always try and go for the less fattening, healthier versions though. For example, the pizza I buy is thin crust and only 380 cals per half so as part of a main meal with lots of salad it really isn't that bad a choice. I buy Tillmans pork burgers which are extremely low fat and low cal (161 per burger) and I have a bun with lots of salad and beans to fill my plate.

    If I did it any other way I would give up, this way I don't feel deprived, have a healthy breakfast every day, more fresh fruit than I ever ate before and low cal / low fat treats in the evening.

    To date I have lost 2 stone on this :) It suits me just fine and I'm going to stick with it til I reach my goal.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    Some people do have foods that can trigger binges. It isn't as easy as saying I will only have one piece of pizza or one cookie, or one _____________. In this case, at least for some time, cutting out certain foods can help a person stay on track. Some people feel like the only way they can be 'dieting' and losing weight is to punish themselves and must remove what they enjoy.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I'm guessing some people hard to restrict portions.
    i.e. I can't eat just one small block of chocolate without eating the whole lot, so for me it's been easier to stop all together and now I don't crave it as much.

    This is what I'm like. Particularly with crisps (or potato chips for my American friends....). It's better for me not to open a big bag of crisps, because even now, I find it hard to stop. Ditto cheese and biscuits.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I'm guessing some people hard to restrict portions.
    i.e. I can't eat just one small block of chocolate without eating the whole lot, so for me it's been easier to stop all together and now I don't crave it as much.

    This is what I'm like. Particularly with crisps (or potato chips for my American friends....). It's better for me not to open a big bag of crisps, because even now, I find it hard to stop. Ditto cheese and biscuits.

    But broadly, yes, understanding what you can include, eating foods in moderation - these are obviously laudable aims for people who want to remain fit and healthy for life.
  • PoeRaven
    PoeRaven Posts: 433 Member
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    I agree!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    Can I also point out that there's a clear difference between 'addicted' and 'habituated'. There's a lazy usage that involves assigning all habits (however engrained) the term 'addiction' - and they're not in fact addictions at all.
  • jennilovesryan
    jennilovesryan Posts: 124
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    pizza to me is like good beer, i can't stop at one slice. especially ny style pizza which is terrible for you. i'm like a pizza junkie.
  • natika33
    natika33 Posts: 154 Member
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    Different strokes for different folks, not just with eating, but anything else. You can't understand it because you're standing at the north pole while they're standing at the south, so there's no direct line of sight.

    Congrats on trying to change your perspective by inquiring though! Here's some thoughts:

    Some people started from such a bad place they have no choice but to have a no-no list.

    Some people are on doctor's orders.

    Some people have "trigger" foods that it's best if they avoid if they don't want to fall back into bad habits.

    Some people might even say they are restricting certain foods, but it isn't really 100% of the time. It's "under normal circumstances," but on special occasions the rules are relaxed. Some people like the idea of "cheating" so they create restrictions, just so they can "cheat!"

    Some people also exaggerate their resolutions online, not because they want to lie to their fellow mfpers, but because making a public declaration helps them stay on the wagon (even if they have a few lapses here and there).

    There are probably truckloads of reasons that either haven't come up yet or I haven't thought of.

    Hope that helps! (^_^)

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