who else isn't too worried about 'the rules'?

pholbert

Yes, Everything In Moderation.

jadethief

, , , , , , , 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.

EmmaKarney

The rules are:

1: Calorie deficit

The end

kelly_e_montana

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.

kelly_e_montana

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.

amye004

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!

amye004

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!

BunkyBumBum

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.

GlorianEversea

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."

trudijoy

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 ED

trudijoy

omg you guys - so many healthy, positive posts on here. Yesterday I had a few drinks and tacos for dinner and still woke up half a kg lighter than I weighed yesterday morning.

i LOVE my life atm. There is so much that could be weighing me down but I'm so happy at the moment - and for someone with a history of ED coming off a two year depression and supporting her parents through the inevitable fact of her fathers death being about to happen (terminal cancer, prognosis of less than two years, probably) that means everything. I hit rock bottom 2 years ago and now i'm on top of the world... and i think this kind of positivity and healthiness helps most.

I reckon, if you are happy, then you're living your life correctly.

GoffGirl1029

I try to stay close to my calorie goals - but if I'm hungry, I eat more - if I'm not - I don't try and find stuff to eat.

This! I kinda get irritated when people look at my net calories and are like "you need to eat more!" I eat and if I'm not hungry, but still have calories left, then so be it. Seems counter-productive to force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry, and a way to start back with bad habits. :noway:

trudijoy

I try to stay close to my calorie goals - but if I'm hungry, I eat more - if I'm not - I don't try and find stuff to eat.

This! I kinda get irritated when people look at my net calories and are like "you need to eat more!" I eat and if I'm not hungry, but still have calories left, then so be it. Seems counter-productive to force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry, and a way to start back with bad habits. :noway:

This is why my diary is shut

Ramberta

My philosophy is: It's great to KNOW "the rules". That's where the lifestyle changes start, when you start researching how to positively change your body. How many calories you should be netting, how many calories (at least ballparking) that certain activities and exercises burn, good exercises to work certain muscle groups, what foods you personally want to eat more of or avoid.

However, knowing the rules doesn't mean you have to follow them 100% of the time. Simply being conscious of everything you eat, without mindlessly gorging in front of the TV or computer or the buffet line, can be enough. Three years ago I dropped 40 pounds in less than two months that way, haha. Also I like food "swaps". Sugar free, reduced fat, low sodium, no sugar added. I don't go for "fat free" much, except with yogurt. But I see no problem with taste with 35% less fat. And even if it seems small it can make all the difference. I also, even though I practically salivate when I drive past them sometimes, have gotten used to saying "no" to fast food, when that used to comprise a huge part of my diet.

I also hated the thought of exercising daily. I still have trouble getting out the door sometimes. But once I come back from a long walk/run, I feel much better physically. Even after only a couple months of watching what I eat and exercising I have felt just about in the best physical shape of my life. I have even been VOLUNTARILY doing push-ups and arm curls! The more you get into it, the more you'll come to like the rules and will follow them without even thinking about it... but no one says you have to follow them every day.

mikey1976

i don't even log food. its depressing. i've learned portion sizes. if i'm hungry i'll eat but if not i don't i stay close to my limit

jmadams111

ITS NOT A DIET. Its a life style.

trudijoy

ITS NOT A DIET. Its a life style.

exactly. calling it a diet implies deprivation, and triggers (happens to me all the time) people telling you 'oh you better not have and cake/chips/wine etc because you're doing so well on your diet'. I thank them for their concern and tell them i'm not dieting at all, i merely corrected my lifestyle, then i eat the damn cake - IF i want to.

ticklepocket

I love this topic!

I admire you for being willing to think outside the box. Question authority, especially self-proclaimed authority.

Anyone who is promoting a "My Way or the Highway" plan is obviously lost.

Good luck in your journey! :happy:

ValerieMartini2Olives

Right here.

I try to follow a reasonable "diet". It's very difficult to do when you're very pregnant though. Everything just tastes so good. But apparently I'm doing something right. I lost 35 pounds before pregnancy and I haven't even gained 20 pounds during my pregnancy and I'm due next week.

Vercell

Same here just doing whats going to be a lifestyle change no rules no crazy diets I workout alot because I like working out.