What are YOUR rules for dieting?

tabulator32

Think about the rules and guidelines you set for yourself to achieve your personal goals. I will list some of mine here.

I am not saying they are right for you or that they even make clinical sense. I am just saying its what I do to make me happy and it seems to work so far. I'm not here to argue anyone's rules (although I may be tempted to defend my own) but I would like to see other people's rules and guidelines as well.

Here are some of mine:

1. Eat more "less-dense" foods. If you have an allowance of 1600 calories per day and you eat a cheeseburger and fries, you are done. If you try to eat 1600 calories of salad, you will be eating all day!

2. Reduce your sodium intake. Sodium is in almost everything and it causes you to retain fluids. Don't use salt when you cook. If you eat soup, purchase or make reduced-sodium soups. Find alternative seasonings for your food other than salt.

3. Eat whole foods. Avoid processed foods as much as possible. This includes "enriched" foods.

4. Eat some veggies and/or some fruit with every meal. Use veggies for snacks. They go great with hummus.

5. Cut out soda completely. No soda. No diet soda. No commercial brand flavored water. Cut back on fruit juices. They have a ton of natural sugar. Eat more fruit complete with the pulp if you like fruit juice.

6. Do not skimp on food. Eat your whole calorie allowance each day and don't fret if you go a little over. If going over a little bothers you, Go for a ten-minute walk and make it go back down again. Get your protein, your carbs, your potassium, vitamins and nutrients and, yes, even your fat. Your body needs some fat in the diet, too. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a great way to add healthy fat. Use it for cooking and use it instead of butter on toast and on popcorn. its delicious and it makes awesome garlic toast on Italian night.

7. No junk food. No McDonald's. No fried processed chicken nuggets. No Milky Ways. Pure dark chocolate is good in moderation. Milky Ways are not pure chocolate. They are pure junk.

8. Get some form of exercise every day. Walk, jog, swim, skip, punch a bag, lift some weights. rake the yard. Do something...every day.

9. Try to get a good night's sleep whenever possible. Six hours may be enough for you, perhaps more.

10. (Again, not recommending this for others. Its just what I do.) I gave up dairy. I gave up milk, yogurt, butter and cheese. I don't eat margarine. I am not trying to "save the cows" or anything. I just feel healthier when I don't eat dairy.

So! What are YOUR rules and guidelines?

caraiselite

i plan cheat days, so i have something to look forward to.

i weigh everyday, but measure once a week, and progress pics every 2 weeks.

other than that, um not much.

if i like it, i'll eat it, within my 20 grams of carbs. calories be damned!

BR3ANDA

I try to eat sensible 6 days out of the week, but if I am craving something different, I will have it, in moderation.

wookiemouse

First off - no diets. My first and main rule is to fuel my body appropriately. Wouldn't put crap in my car, so I'm going to treat my body with the same respect.

No fried foods, no fast foods, no highly processed foods. I try to stick with foods with 5 ingredients or less - and things that I KNOW what they are and are pronounceable.

No refined sugar or white carbs. Not because of fad diets, but because I cut them out as a trial a few months ago and it cleared up a lot of things for me (literally!). Brain fog is GONE. Bloat is GONE. Much more energy and I just feel better. I don't know why, but it works for me.

Never, ever starve myself. I make sure to eat at least 1800 cals a day, my body needs that to work effectively.

1holegrouper

Here are my basic rules:

1) eat whole foods only, organic when I can. If there is a list of ingredients don't eat it.
2) eat 1-2 servings of fruit in the morning only.
3) eat limited servings (2/day) of lean animal protein
4) no sugar
5) no alcohol
6) no gluten grains, if gluten free grains substitute for animal protein
7) no starches
8) eat tons of vegetables, leafy greens
9) controlled use of good fats (ex; olive oil, coconut oil, soaked almonds)
10) do not eat anything 3 hours before bedtime

This was hard at first but now is very easy. I've lost 37 pounds since March 1st

Maurice1966

Watch what you eat, from the time it leaves the plate, onto your fork and under your nose, into your mouth )

Truth is, i don;t have too many rules. Try to eat balanced and If i have a few extra calories, I don;t beat myself up about it. Trying to teach my 10 yo son that what I'm doing is not dieting but about a lifestyle.

I still get to eat all the yummy foods i always enjoyed, but in moderation and try not to over eat just cause it's absolutelt, lip smacking delicious, like last night - well that was last night :-D

ForeverIrish

Mine is similar to yours. I need to limit processed food again--I'm letting it creep back into my diet. I never worry about sodium. My blood pressure barely cracks 100. At one time I was actually medicated to raise my blood pressure.

superstankazz

i plan cheat days, so i have something to look forward to.

i weigh everyday, but measure once a week, and progress pics every 2 weeks.

other than that, um not much.

if i like it, i'll eat it, within my 20 grams of carbs. calories be damned!

LOVE THIS!^^^^
I try to stay at 20 grams of carbs a day too! Seems to be working for me!!!

wolfi622

This was the order I did/do things in, so it's roughly the order of importance for what I'm doing"

1) Cut out sweets. Cookies or ice cream or other calorie dense deserts. I have a desert on a special occasion but I feel I can maintain a life without Oreos.
2) Started measuring and counting. This is really the most important, I guess. If I did nothing else, this would be enough to get me to and keep me at my goal weight. It's amazing how much you eat that you don't realize you eat until you log it.
3) Exercise. I work out every day. I break the rules by not skipping days or having rest days but I know that my personality needs the habit so I benefit more from working out daily than I would from following the rules. I work out no fewer than 60 minutes a day - generally a bit more. 30 (or more) minutes of lifting as heavy as I can and 30 (or more) minutes of cardio.
4) I Only eat back a part of my exercise calories. Sometimes none, but usually less that 1/2.
5) Adjusted Macros to lower carbs (though not to a "low carb" level) and raise protein. I eat fish, greek yogurt, whey protein, and other things to get that number up.
6) I don't "cheat". (or have a cheat day) If it doesn't fit in the calories it doesn't get eaten. If we have a formal dinner to go to I am just very careful and "leave room" in the calories for a bit of each thing.
7) I did not give up alcohol. I will gladly have a life without Oreos, but not without wine.
8) Diet now includes a lot of fish and chicken - beef only every couple of weeks. Lots more fresh vegies, fruits. Snack of choice if I'm significantly under my calories is nuts.

I have lost 32 pounds since early February (25 of it with MFP) and have reached my weight goal. I am continuing to work toward reduced body fat %, but I am otherwise not lowering my goal weight any further. My current BMI is 22, by BF% is about 16-17. (I am 55 years old)

sthrnchick

Love this list....thank you for sharing...so glad to have you as a buddy here.

I try very hard to follow everything on your list. The 2 I struggle with the most are sodium...it's in EVERYTHING! And sleep...I definitely do need more sleep.

Thank you for posting!

sheshemac2012

I really enjoyed reading everyone's posts. Great way to get new ideas. I don't have too many rules, I try to eat healthy and know I consume products that could be swapped for something healthier (soy milk or nonfat milk instead of coffee creamer). My two rules: 1. Make half of each meal 'living food' (fresh fruits and veggies) 2. Stop eating when satisfied. Don't always do either of these. Snacks excluded from #1, but try and keep snacks to 100 calories.

Biggipooh

My only one and most important rule:

Never eat food, that contains high fat and high sugar together like Donuts.....

hbunting86

My rules:

1. First and most importantly - BE HAPPY with what you're doing. If it's making you miserable, it's no good.
2. Exercise regularly at a sustainable level and ENJOY it.
3. Eat! Eat regularly, eat whole foods with real nutritional value.
4. Don't go for fat free/sugar free alternatives... they're worse than the thing you're trying to replace
5. HYDRATE!
6. Don't beat yourself up if you have a bad day... there's always tomorrow

EEpling89

I was just ranting about this in a post earlier. Everyone is different and you should do what works for you!

1) I eat around 1200 cals for 6 days out of the week. For the 7th day, I try to be sensible but I don't track and I have one "cheat" meal.

2) When I get into maintenance, I will up my calories to around 2000.

3) I work out 2-3 times a week doing Zumba, tennis, riding bikes, walking my dog, etc.

4) I drink TONS of water (which I have to try to restrict when I'm working so I don't have to interrupt court to pee!!), probably around a gallon a day.

5) I suppress my appetite using an L-phenylaline supplement. Yes, it is an ingredient in artificial sweeteners. No, it won't kill you. No, I don't have PKU (a rare condition where your body can't process l-phenylaline and can be very dangerous). It's super cheap and completely natural. And no, I'm not trying to sell it lol.

6) I drink a protein shake every morning to control appetite.

7) If I'm hungry, I EAT!! If I'm at my calorie max for the day and I can't go to sleep because my stomach is violently growling, for god's sake, I eat something high in protein. You body lets you know what it needs and if you deprive it of nourishment, the results won't be good.

8) Last but most importantly, if I don't like something, I don't do it! I hate running. I don't force myself to do it because I know I won't stick with it. I plan my workouts based on activities I actually enjoy and would do regardless of whether or not I was trying to lose weight. I also don't eat foods I don't like. I don't like fish of any kind, so I don't eat it. I eat a lot of chicken because of that, but that's okay.

SunnyAndrsn

1. Everything in moderation
2. Eat the nutritious stuff first. IOW, if there is some junk food that I want, I will eat the healthy foods first, and if I have calories left over I will indulge.
3. With #2 being said, I do plan treats into my day, as I have had a tendency to go to extremes (very low fat, very low cal, NO junk food EVER) and this in the end, was very self sabotaging for me.


4. Most important, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

hothodgie

1. No poor choice snacks daily. If I want a snack now, I go for pistachios, string cheese, or jello.
2. Lower my calorie intake from 3000 to something much more proper for my short self, currently 1590 target.
3. No more packaged crap.
4. Eat a salad with lots of veggies at least once a day.
5. No more donuts, this is a tough one, but Im doing it!!
6. I have a cheat day. Nothing crazy and only if it fits into my calories, which I will make room for as I plan ahead.
7. Do something everyday. I LOVE exercising, but usually burn out after 2 months. Not happening this time.
8. Drink water every day and plenty of it.
9. No big carby meals at night.
10. Keep carbs at 100 max, usually 50 to 80.
11. All in moderation. I can have pizza, just not half of the pie. I can have pasta, just not the whole plate twice.
12. I will NOT give up my ranch dressing, but I WILL use it in moderation, using only the serving size measured out.
13. If I crash and burn, get up and hose myself off. It happened, get over it.
14. Take a photo every 2 weeks.
15. Be happy with me!

bradthemedic

Rule 1. Eat whatever I want so long as it is a whole food
Rule 2. Exercise 6 times per week. 3 of which are heavy lifts or hard level calisthenics
Rule 3. Never feel guilty about what I am eating or if I skip a workout
Rule 4. Always remember this is a lifestyle change, not a "diet".

sipseyab

Wow, your rules are pretty much the same as mine. I cut out all dairy for a while, but have recently started eating cottage cheese and plan Greek yogurt again. I don't eat red meat or poultry, so I need them as a protein source. I limit my sodium intake to less than 2000 daily. I NEVER eat fast food (closest thing is Subway), rarely drink diet soda, keep away from refined sugar and white flour, and eat 4 - 6 servings of fruit daily. I also eat a lot of beans (kidney, lentils, black, etc) I allow myself one cheat day a week. My cheat day consists of eating a little more than I usually do, but I still don't eat junk. I might allow myself some type of dessert on that day. But, that's about it. Oh, and I don't log my food on cheat day.

rdonald57

1. Eat stuff which speeds metabolism, peppers, salsa, fresh jalepenos, poblanos
2. Drink all my water cold, make my body heat it.
3. Either swim or lift wieights twice a week, speed up metabolism. They build muscle for me
4. Dont eat back all my exercise calories back.
5 .Eat whatever i want as long as i stay at my calorie goals, that way I dont crave anything.
6. Eat as much raw stuff as i can, I really am liking raw summer squash right now fresh from the garden.
7. Make my own marinara and salsa if possible.
8. No mexican food places if possible.
9.Take vitamins
10. Whole grain breads and cereals.
11.Dont worry about salt. I will sweat it out anyway.
12. Count out the crackers or chips for the correct serving size.
13 No dried fruits unless i really want them, then rule 5 applies.
14. Eat enough low calories foods where it feels like I am eating all day long. Eat all my meals and snacks and more if there is room.
15.At least walk everyday

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I don't create hard an fast rules for myself because just like everything, I change over time.

BandForAlyAnne

i agree with your list on everything except dairy. but everything else is about what i do.