"ruined my diet"

Options
miracole
miracole Posts: 492 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've seen this phrase a lot recently and wanted to add my thoughts on this turn of phrase as I find that it is really defeatist, especially since it is often accompanied by the lament that "I feel like I should just give up".

Now here's the thing. MFP is a calorie counter, not a diet. There are no built in restrictions, no foods that you have to give up. Sure they have recommended calories, but at the end of the day the worst judgment you'll get from the program is an estimation of how much you'd weigh if you continued eating the same way you did for the next 5 weeks. If you eat 5000 calories in a day (that is not offset by exercise) and it tells you that you could gain 40 lbs? Don't eat that way for the next 5 weeks...you'll survive.

As such, there is no diet to ruin. So you go over calories some days, so what? everyone does! it's called life. There will always be invitations to go out with friends, temptations at the office, birthdays where you don't want to be the kill joy in the corner who makes everyone feel guilty for having a piece of cake. This program is a learning tool. It teaches you to be accountable while you figure out the weight loss techniques that work for you. The only "failure" is not logging everything and pretending that you didn't eat too much. You can lie to yourself, but your hips will know the difference in time!

For me? Those days that I go over (and man, some days I am WAY over) I try to dutifully log it all, and then estimate how much cardio I'll have to do to compensate. If I can't compensate? I say my MFP mea culpas, go to bed at the end of the day and realize that tomorrow is another day and I will do better.

Conscious, accountable eating is a lifetime commitment. Diets are fads that can be ruined. I choose the former. What do you choose?
«13

Replies

  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    Options
    I like you!
  • AckieJ
    AckieJ Posts: 199 Member
    Options
    Love it!!! Being accoutable is the key.
  • hearthemelody
    hearthemelody Posts: 1,025 Member
    Options
    :drinker:
  • Bossit
    Bossit Posts: 118 Member
    Options
    keep on keepin on!
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    Options
    Bingo. I might go over some days, but when I look at my weekly calories, I'm still doing okay. Sometimes I have a lower calorie day because I'm not as hungry, or I'm sick, and that makes up for the higher calorie days.

    Even still, if you overeat by 1000 calories (or 500, depending on how you're set up), you're eating at maintenance and won't gain anything.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    Options
    Very well said. I agree with everything you said. The only thing I would add is ppl need to try to have the mind set that I didn't gain all this weight overnight. I am not going to lose it overnight and be okay with it.
  • jmaypole
    jmaypole Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    :drinker:
  • IreneAdler221
    IreneAdler221 Posts: 185 Member
    Options
    Hear, hear! Well said.
  • smpgetsfit
    smpgetsfit Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    Exactly!
  • dan_IRL
    dan_IRL Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    LIKE
  • CurveAppeal86
    CurveAppeal86 Posts: 269 Member
    Options
    Absolutely! I agree.
  • miracole
    miracole Posts: 492 Member
    Options
    glad I'm not the only one! now if only we could get some of the newbies to embrace this principle...
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
    Options
    awesome posting! I agree 100 percent.

    A lot of people here seem to have what I call the DIET mentality.

    The first 2 topics on this motivation thread today are very defeatist- one is talking about how she feels losing weight will take away her ugliness and the other is asking people what the worst thing someone was called being fat.

    To me to focus on that is not helpful.
    I am trying to stay on threads that are positive.
  • NewMnky1
    NewMnky1 Posts: 264
    Options
    Totally agree! Just like there are no "Cheat Days" everyone make a concious decision on what they eat. If you are chosing to have McDonalds or chips etc, it is a choice, log it and decide if you want to exercise to burn it or just say I had a nice treat, and move on! Trust me I still have treats (e.g. McDonalds, chips etc) I make a very concious decision to eat that stuff as opposed to before when I unconciously ate everything and anything I wanted.
  • mwooderson
    mwooderson Posts: 254 Member
    Options
    ...and sometimes logging those times we overeat can be tough, but you are right, pretending the food wasn't consumed isn't helping anyone. If you eat it, own it!!! :)
  • tapdance66
    tapdance66 Posts: 29
    Options
    Totally agreed!
    And, I would add, I also get bothered by the people who have the "cure all" for everyone else. We're all individuals with a specific body composition, genetic makeup, and in some cases, medical issues that influence our weight gain & loss. What works for me isn't going t o work for everyone else!
    I don't even think the main focus should be a scale (and this coming from a girl who lost a ton of weight and has maintained 10 years). We're all people and we all have "failures," whether it be in eating, or at work, or in our personal lives. True success is being able to pick yourself up, refocus, and start a new day fighting the good fight. When trying to lose weight, if the focus is on changing a lifestyle to being healthy and stong, the scale numbers usually follow.

    Thanks for posting this. I've been thinking on the same issues for a few days now.
  • suzy1220
    suzy1220 Posts: 118 Member
    Options
    Well said! The part that hit home with me is where you said MFP is a food and calorie diary and NOTa diet. The beauty of this is that YOU choose your 'diet' and what will best fit into your life. That will change every day because you are faced with challenges, like an evening out to dinner, a birthday, happy hour or donuts in the snack room. Life happens and you can't beat yourself up for rolling with it. I've been experimenting with recipes to get the maximum amount of food for the least amount of calories, thereby letting me splurge when needed. And it's not just eating a bunch of veggies or salads, which I'm already sick of, it's eating filling food that tastes good and doesn't scream diet. So on those days when you do give into life's temptations, record it so that you are accountable and move on. Choosing not to record it makes you believe you didn't eat it and then you wonder why the weight isn't coming off. Record it no matter what because sometimes the mere fact that you have to write it down will stop you from eating or or cause you to eat less of it than you normally would.

    There are no wrong foods to eat, just wrong amounts of food. Portion control is key and if you can't stop at just one, try not to even have that one. Every day is a new day, just don't let that be your excuse to indulge every day or else you will never see the results you want. :smile:
  • MaryB2
    MaryB2 Posts: 331 Member
    Options
    I've wondered for a long time. What is that in your profile picture? ????
  • mtaiken2
    mtaiken2 Posts: 34
    Options
    I Love this!! I have found this out recently and this has lead me to be happy and not grumpy on this journey! When I was on a doctors prescribed diet I was a total B but since I can have that chocolate when I crave it and it is still within my portions and my calories for the day I eat it and i don't feel guilty cause I know I'm still on track!
  • ki4yxo
    ki4yxo Posts: 709 Member
    Options
    What about those that want to be elite?

Categories