Do you still eat "normal" or have you completely cut out "ba

cbirdso

Yes, I changed WHAT I ate. I don't see foods as 'BAD', but depending on your organ health, body chemistry, etc. some foods HELP you lose weight and some foods SLOW weight loss. For each individual they are not exactly the same. If you have an allergy to nuts or diary or gluten, or MSG, or soy (you get the idea), eating those foods puts you in an unhealthy state and as a by product, losing weight (meaning FAT), would be hindered. Sometimes food doesn't cause an all out allergic reaction, but if you pay attention to how your body reacts to certain foods, it will help your weight loss. For example sugar or caffeine or trans fats...the list goes on..can inhibit nutrient absorption or cause inflammation, or whatever in YOU. Those are the things you need to watch out for. That is why the 'moderation' statement to me is misleading. Alcoholics cannot drink moderately, people with peanut allergies cannot eat them moderately, people with celiac disease cannot eat gluten moderately. In the same way, some dieters cannot eat HFCS or certain processed colorings moderately, but haven't recognized that is the one element that is preventing them from being successful.

So I noticed what a lot of people notice, eating low nutrition foods make me feel overly hungry and unsatisfied, so I avoid them. Other food makes me feel strong and healthy..satisfied and able to eat small portions. I know I would fail on the so called Twinkie diet. My body is not strong enough to work effectively without good nutrition. So to answer your question, I have completely (to the extent possible) cut out certain things and feel fantastic now that I have.

mstemen

I think part of the reason people "fail" at the diet or end up gaining weight bad is they just cannot take not eating the "bad" foods anymore. I think what you are doing is perfect. No, one cannot eat Big Macs 5x a week, but 2x a month wont mess up a good diet plan either. 70 lbs in a year is AWESOME! That's more than 1lb a week which according to most doctors is what one should shoot for, right?

I've lost 12 lbs so far this time on MFP, shooting for 21 lbs as my first goal, and then I'll set another goal from there. I figure if there is a healthier way to make a yummy food then so be it, and if there's not (like a big mac!) I'll splurge and have the big mac and a small fries, and If I know I'm going to do that, I have bran flakes, skim milk for breakfast, piece of fruit for a snack, then my big mac meal, and then for another meal usually salad with balsamic vinegar and spices and chicken breast for lunch/dinner. I always make sure I excersise the day I have a "really bad" food also, sometimes put an extra 10 minutes/100 calories :-)

I think this sums it up pretty well. I've only been at this for the last 5 months and have lost almost 30 pounds which I know if I only ate "healthy" I may lose more weight but then I would crave the "bad foods" like bad fats and sweets. Moderation is key, it may be a slow process but in the end I know I'll be able to keep it off. Little changes help tremendously too. If I want pizza I'll order a thin crust with lots of veggies instead of the pan crust with tripple meat.