who else isn't too worried about 'the rules'?
Replies
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This should be renamed as the 'common sense approach to diet'..... So many people put them selves under so much pressure....well done to you.
Thanks, means a lot x0 -
I am a rule follower. To not follow the rules...BLASPHEMY!0
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Rules for losing weight: eat at a deficit
Rules for health: meet or exceed your nutritional requirements and exercise
What else is there?0 -
I think the only rule is to make sure you eat enough!
All these people on 1000 or less a day
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i make my own rules. and what im doing is working! i have lost 37 lbs since january 1st. i eat! i made exercise fun when i was not working the first month. me and a friend went to different classes at our gym. we set ourselves little goals and had fun walking on the treadmills and other equipment. i see a victory as being something i change from what i previously did. i am being more active because i want to. im not going to stress out and do insanity and heavy intense workouts. i eat what i want and use this as a guide. guide meaning, i plan better. i still eat my chocolate! pizza! junk food! i just dont eat the whole pizza. im not going to diet the rest of my life. so im going to learn how to eat better. i have had binge moments. i have gone places and had cake and appetizers. that is part of life. i have my calories set at 1600 and go over. im not going to beat myself up cause im not in the 1200 calorie club. or the clean eating club. i also have to shop on a budget. so i do include processed foods. i dont follow any rules. and i have deleted friends who constantly obsess over the stupid things. im not going to use scales and heart monitors. im not going to be 60 plus and weighing my food and tracking my calories im burning with things strapped to me. i can go on forever about this! and i love the ones who use health problems as an excuse. i have diabetes, high blood pressure, and pcos. YES you can lose weight with those problems. and correct them just by getting off your butt. but many people dont want to just move. they think about quick fixes and pills. again. are you going to take pills to maintain when your 60? done ranting!0
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Hi and well done... couldn't agree more... sorry to be lazy but I have had to paste from my profile that i wrote yesterday as I have to go out.... but as I am new here, I would like to be added as a friend !!!
Since age 11 (loooooong time!) I have gained, lost, gained, lost ad nauseum then last April / May time, not exactly sure when, my car broke down and I realised I was well and truly stuffed. In almost every sense of the word. I didn't know how I could get home. Although it was only half a mile ??, (tho all uphill) I had reached a point where I just couldn't do it. Luckily I managed to flag down a neighbour who gave me a lift.
I sat in my house, at the top of the hill and realised I had two choices. Either walk down to the shop and back up that pig of a hill (even my fit, adult sons say it is a killer!) or starve! So I did it. Then something just clicked and I started walking... a bit like Forrest Gump and that's how I started to get my life back. I truly feel I have escaped.
I have now lost just over 100lbs and I have, quite literally, made it up as I go along with no other help except my dear old body telling me what it needs. Hungry? Eat. Thirsty? Drink. Tired? Sleep. Energetic? Walk. No pills, no potions, clubs or anyone barking at me to go faster, higher, stronger. And it has cost me nothing in monetary terms but given me so much because I truly cherish being alive now. The first thing I ask myself every morning is: Fatter or thinner? If the answer is thinner, which it always is, I pull on a trackie and trainers and just go.
The fundamentals aren't rocket science.0 -
I have started incorporating treats and food that I like that I know aren't that healthy in my diet.... But limited. I am also not scared of going over 1200 anymore. I put my deficit to about 1300, and if I eat over, I do not panic as it's a friggin -deficit-.. It's not like I'll gain back everything or anything at all from a little over eating due to me already eating so little in the first place. I do not mind "maintaining" for a little while in the name of yummy stuff
I am in no rush. I already like my body even if im kinda overweight. to me, it doesn't matter if I lose everything in 3 months or in a year. I know it comes off eventually because I've made a -lifestyle- change. Yes I might eat the things I did before sometimes. But I've made a promise to stay on the healthy side, buy as much organic food as I can, eat good nutrition, give up sodas(for the most part... I probably wouldn't mind them on events and such) and exercise. Exercising really helps.. In just few days I noticed my stamina is increasing, muscles going firmer and Ive been experiencing some interesting dumps in my weight.
But yea, don't sweat the small stuff... And if you binge one day, just make sure the rest of the days are cool
Somehow I think that the different intake of calories might even be good. But I have no way of knowing. 0 -
I'm a lot happier now that I've stopped trying to lose weight and instead have focused on making my body more healthy. Weight loss will most likely be a side effect of that--which, I won't lie, will be nice--but it's not the reason I eat the things I eat or exercise.
TRUE. I've gotten to that place a week ago. -I am currently 67kg, dropped down from 70 (on NY's eve) and that is the turning point. I was on that weight last year, but felt big, unfit, weak, older.... Because I was on antibiotics all the time, and those ice creams and pizza's really didn't help :sad:
I had a craving yesterday, ate some sweets ( I haven't touched them in a month!) and that's it. No regrets. I'm cranky, my period has just started, and I don't feel the need to apologize to anyone, not even myself.
I have to admit, my mood is better this morning, probably because of the chocolate I had last night, but I even exercised heavy, which I don't do on my TOM days. I just felt like it.
I really hate the fact that a lot of people here are judgmental, and there are also may who wanna quit (because they are always hungry, etc...) instead they should only be doing what's right for them, and not being on some idiotic STRICT regime that won't do them any good LONG-TERM.
Just take care of yourself!:flowerforyou:0 -
I once learned about an 80/20 rule...be on your best 80% of the time and 20% allow for your splurge. Whatever it maybe.
Personally I just found this ap...and so far I dig it. I am not "learning" anything about rules and blah, blah, blah...however...I do find myself making different choices becuase I just don't wanna put something "bad" in my logs. I feel like I have been learning LOTS over the past few years...and it feels that all is starting to click. AND...I am loving the journey so far. It's great to see how my day adds up...makes me think about things.
Today, I was in SO MUCH pain and it was raining sideways here...so I didn't go out for my activities. It was a stressfull day at work...and I had and emotional convience eating...and now I am having my second glass of wine....and I am OK with it all...this is about making a transition, and a transformation for me...not about a crash diet...not about rules.
How can I change how I think and feel about food...if I am CONSTANTLY obessing about it? I do my logs and my excercises (when I can) and allow for the process to shift...it's taken me a LONG time to get here...it's not gonna change overnight.
I think it is beautiful for so many people to be contemplating where they are at with "diet" and excercise. I want to feel good. I want to be happy...sure...that means loosing some weight and getting stronger...it doesn't mean obessing and beating myself up0 -
ME!!! i used to obsess and read every little thing and think i had to follow it or i wouldnt lose weight. Now i just eat healthy, burn more calories than i eat and workout/weight train. Thats it. I do log but its for my own benefit so i can track my intake.
I really dont have time for all the sciences and rules and things and i think you can over analyse it too much. All you'll do is drive yourself crazy and end up with no life.
Move more-Eat less......simple0 -
beautiful.
thank you for the post!0 -
Me too, I hate rules! . but MFP has helped me learn and do much better. My pals have helped me stop having so many lazy days.
I no longer complete my dairy , but I do use it to keep tabs for the day.
If I stop loosing weight or getting fitter, then I may be a goody two shoes again, I like to feel free though!0 -
Btw if any like minded people want to add me, go ahead...0
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I didn't know there were rules. Am I in trouble?0
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I stay within calories and try and average a 300 calorie workout each day. That's IT. I don't worry about all the nitty grittys, I don't worry about the 'should's' and I don't really get too worked up if the scales do idiotic things. I feel amazing, fitter, healthier, happier and 9 kg lighter since boxing day.
Who else out there is like me, almost along for the ride, but seeing results? Tbh, if I had to follow the myriad of 'must-do rules'on here, I'd either go mental or give up. Just make it easy on yourself, I say. Good choices, because you want to be healthy.
Anyway, can anyone relate? I'm not havinng a go at those who are way more into the specifics, coz it evidently works for them, but I don't think its necessary for all
Pretty much sums it up. What this place did for me is made me aware of how much I was putting away.
I have learnt so much from various threads and groups on here, and have adopted and adapted stuff that works for me ... I eat more healthily, I exercise, and the lbs and inches are coming off!
I understand more about what my body needs to function than I did when I started and for those threads, I thank them!
And if my progress looks slow - that's because a great mate on here suggested once that I flip to maintenance over a weekend to have some wiggle room to live life! And it suits me just fine :-))0 -
Rule #1 - Stay at or near my calories.
That's it. I've been on maintenance for a couple of years now just following one rule.0 -
Kind of with you on this one - so far not too worried if I'm a bit over my calorie limit if I've made healthy choices all day. BUT I've only just started MFP and have only lost 1lb in my first week... so I may change my mind later on! Having said that, I do feel happy and positive about the food changes and choices I'm making.0
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Seeing as a poster on here has just fleeing proclaimed in upper case that I drink ALCOHOL!!!!!!! and suchlike, and that her diet (which isn't recorded on here, coincidentally) is so much cleaner than mine, I think I qualify for this category. I think her argument was that, by not restricting myself to bland, single ingredients, pointing out she wasn't telling the truth about something factual meant I couldn't possibly be as good a person as her.
Whatever. The real world is full of junk and good things alike. A single junk meal isn't a disaster. It doesn't mean you are doomed to failure and your immortal soul is forever cursed. It's the cumulative total of your choices in food and actions that determines your progress.
People at a healthy weight make those choices all the time. Those who are heavier have to learn to do it.0 -
Oh my god, THANK YOU for creating this topic!!
I was just thinking about this today. People on my FL, on Tumblr or anywhere else where I follow people who are trying to lose weight and be healthier, sometimes just puzzle me with all the details and numbers. Numbers of completed work out routines, how many grams of what, how many calories and when... It's all just too much for me. Let alone the fact that there doesn't even seem to be THE set of rules. Everyone is following a different set and don't get me wrong, it seems to work for a lot of the people I see here and that's great. I'm just not convinced that their success would be that much different if they changed their diet around a little or if they stopped focusing on the numbers all that much.
I haven't been that successful myself yet because I keep falling off the wagon. I thought I'd have to obsess about the details much more which scared me but seeing all you guys here who have lost so much weight without following "the rules" makes me feel like I can actually do it. All I need to do is get better at logging everything and not cheating on myself all the time.0 -
Rules were made to be broken. :smokin:0 -
Yes, Everything In Moderation. 0
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, , , , , , , people who are trying to lose weight and be healthier, sometimes just puzzle me with all the details and numbers. Numbers of completed work out routines, how many grams of what, how many calories and when... It's all just too much for me. Let alone the fact that there doesn't even seem to be THE set of rules. Everyone is following a different set and don't get me wrong, it seems to work for a lot of the people I see here and that's great. I'm just not convinced that their success would be that much different if they changed their diet around a little or if they stopped focusing on the numbers all that much.
This.
Sometimes after reading the forums, I find my head spinning with all the confusing and (many times) contradictory advice. Then I take a deep breath, clear my head, and say, "Eat less, move more."
I know there's a certain amount of calories I probably shouldn't go over or under on a regular basis, I know that some exercise everyday is probably a good thing. I don't try to figure out how many calories I've burned and then how many I should eat back. If I'm truly hungry (as opposed to bored, emotional, or whatever), I eat.
Seems pretty simple.
Great thread.0 -
The rules are:
1: Calorie deficit
The end 0 -
I love this post. Everyone is at a different place. I always say that I should wake up in the morning and think of what a healthy person would do and then just do that. After a period of time, you become that healthy person following that approach.
I have counted calories since I was 10 years old. It has led to a pattern of restricted eating and binges that has led me to gain and lose 60-80 pounds every few years for my entire adult life. I love your post. I think calorie counting can have its place, but for some, like me, learning to eat intuitively again is much more important. I'm not even *supposed* to count calories based on my medical history, so while I do, to keep an eye out on my macros, I don't care if I go over. I do breakout micro-nutrients because I try to get enough calcium and iron, but that's just a tool that MFP offers me. Some days I make it and some days I have to use a multi-vitamin.
Once you basically know calories, I think it's your choice whether or not you count them. I pretty much know what calories are in food since I've been logging food for 30 years. This last time, I lost my first 35 pounds simply by eating cleaner, no single calorie counted. I am counting now but just to get my macros and micros.
Move more, eat less, make healthier choices. If you want to eat out for a special occasion, eat what you really want and the best that you can afford. Balance! Try new activities that are active so that workouts aren't a chore. I just learned how to to cross-country ski and am trying a pole dancing class on Monday. This is fun. Eating well provides me the energy I need for an active lifestyle.0 -
The other thing I wanted to say is that I have listed on my profile that I have a goal of getting over dieting for recreation. I think when we tend to get too bogged down in rules, dieting becomes a hobby. For me, when this happens, I eventually have to gain weight to lose weight again and get the positive attention and explain all my rules to people.0
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To me, I stay in my calorie range but my main focus is nutrition, and cutting down on processed foods. The focus is portion awareness, that way all foods can be inclued because that is realistic to my life. I refuse to be hungry if I am I will eat despite the calorie count. I drink a ton of water and herbal teas (no milk or sugar). I work out most days as I have learned in the past that if I push myself too much, my body will push back (usually in the form of a cast and a couple months where I can't do much).
I want this to be a sustainable lifestyle change (I refuse the word diet!) and it has taken 24 years to figure out what works for me. I have been on here for almost a month, lost 4 pounds, my pants feel better and I feel like I am on the path to a healthy body inside and out.
Thank you for this post, I'm glad there are people who feel the same way!0 -
Been on almost a month after almost a year of not. Found it does work for me. Attitude change towards tracking (was not a big fan) helped as well!0
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I eat what I want to, the trick is, I portion control and I use common sense. Do I WANT to drink a 2-liter of diet soda? No, it's gonna make me feel icky. Do I WANT to eat a bag of chips? No, I'll just feel bad afterward.
So, I'm looking at this journey as a long-term thing. It's not reasonable to assume I will never have a slice of pizza again, so I'm not cutting it out now, I'm just balancing it with my other foods to stay in my calorie goal. I've given up coffee in the morning in favor of green tea (I drank it black anyway) but if I go to a coffee shop there's no rule that says I can't get a coffee - I just don't want it in the house, the same as with diet soda, if it's in the house I'll drink it and it always makes me feel like garbage.
A lot of people on here fancy themselves to be nutritionists or experts on exercise or diet. For me, fasting is absurd. Hey, it might work for someone else and that's great, but I don't see it working for me long term. For me, I get exactly one hour 3x per week at the gym (childcare is timed). That's all my schedule allows without killing myself over trying to get there. I just accept that I earn more calories on those days and have to be careful the other days and also try to amp up my normal everyday activity on those "off days" even though I don't track it as activity.
Everybody's body is different. I'm struggling with my last 15ish pounds (as my ticker shows). Certain things don't make sense to me and I'm struggling to figure out what my body is doing so that I can make adjustments where I need to. I know what works for me long term to keep the weight off because I've lost a ton of weight, 75 pounds at my best (I gained 10 back, but that 10 was lost due to stress in my life and wasn't a real loss based around lifestyle change). For someone else fasting 2 days a week might work for them long term, for me, I couldn't live like that forever so I'm not going to do it now.
The only "rule" I follow is the one that says I should lose weight by changing things in my lifestyle that I can maintain for years to come and not by following along with some fad or diet pill.0 -
We're on the same page. As long as you are getting real results (stronger, less fat) and you're not overdoing the cholesterol an saturated I think there are many routes to health.
I think it's when you stall short of your goal that its time to get more serious about the "rules."0 -
I am a rule follower. To not follow the rules...BLASPHEMY!
good for you, if it works for you that way, go for it. But its hardly blasphemy to go another option....Rules for losing weight: eat at a deficit
Rules for health: meet or exceed your nutritional requirements and exercise
What else is there?
you're one of the people who confused me with the rules and attitude when i first got here. . . you'd be amazed when you look at threads objectively how many conflicting opinions, rules, and ideas there are thrown out in both nice and not-so-nice ways by both well-meaning and obnoxious people.I think the only rule is to make sure you eat enough!
All these people on 1000 or less a day
yep - i'm hoping this approach will be what finally cures me of my self-starve ED0
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