What do you guys think?

jessicajoy87 · May 2010

Okay I started my weightloss journey November 2009. I did low carb Nov, Dec, and half of Jan. I lost 45 pounds.Then I started to slack off really bad. I would diet for a few days then cheat. I had the hardest time getting back on track. Last month I decided to follow the low calorie diet from this site. But I am still having a hard time sticking to the diet. This last week I did really well up until today. I really feel like I have no control whenever days like today happen and I eat, A LOT!

Whenever I was on low carb I was better able to stick to the diet once I got into it. For some reason I can't seem to stck to low calorie very well. I am always cheating and I have been eating not so healthy food and trying to stay under my calorie goal. It is so hard to control myself. I do not know why. Whenever I think about not dieting but making a life style change I freak out thinking I will never be able to eat the food I love ever again because my bidy is dumb and can't handle it! I know its a crummy way to think and I know if I really got into a diet then I would not feel that way.

My first question is should I go back to low carb?
Question 2: How can I control my eating? (Its not trying to eat til I'm full, I just like to eat and can't seem to stop once I start.)

Thanks everyone!

Jessica

durbanski · May 2010

When I did my best was when I planned out my entire day of eating and stuck to it. I stand by crystal light. No sodas!!! Good luck

jessicajoy87 · May 2010

When I did my best was when I planned out my entire day of eating and stuck to it. I stand by crystal light. No sodas!!! Good luck

Thanks, Don't worry I am a H2O girl!

MadHatR5 · May 2010

South Beach (low carb) worked for me for a while (I saw results fast), but I couldn't stick with it. I like carbs way too much.
Now I've stopped worring about how fast the weight will come off and just try to weight a little less each month.

Don't give up everything that you love. Eat your favorites every once in a while, just scale back the quantity, try to find a healthier (or lower calorie) subtitute if possible, and limit high high calorie meals to few and far between. For me, I use to eat REAL pizza once a week, but recently had pizza for the first time in 6 weeks. I was so good, but I know I can't eat it all of the time.

As far as your 2nd question: How can I control my eating? (Its not trying to eat til I'm full, I just like to eat and can't seem to stop once I start.). I snack all day and eat smaller meals which helps me. Fresh fruit has really helped me when I feel the urge to snack. That way I can curb my snack craving without all of the guilt. And of course I measure and count calories on everything before I eat it.

Fruits and veggies are great snacks or sides and have a low energy density. They provide larger portion size with a fewer number of calories.

You have to find out what will work for you. Good luck and hang in there!

EboniA · May 2010

I actually have a couple of opinions. Not eating enough carbs depletes your muscles which is why you lose weight so fast and then put it back on two-fold once you eat normal again. You need your muscles to help burn fat and keep you strong so I have never liked low carb diets.
You may want to look at the book Women, Food, and God. It makes you think of a greater purpose besides food and I don't mean things like family and job, etc. It's about you and why you're hiding behind food. Numbing yourself with food doesn't make the feelings stop, in fact, you've already felt them and once you see them all the way through, it's not so bad. On Amazon, you can look at some of the pages for free to see if it fits you.
Lastly, you deserve a chance to lose this weight and this is the perfect format to help you. I used e-diets before having kids and it worked but I had to pay for it... this is free. There are a lot of great people on here that you can lean on so use us all!! You can do it!

MacMadame · May 2010

I don't necessarily go "low carb" now that I'm maintaining but I do go "high protein". I think protein satisfies you longer and helps better with feelings of hunger than when you just limit calories. I definitely think the default MFP protein recommendations are WAY TO LOW even for those who don't want to low carb it.

KatieM7 · May 2010

Don't give up everything that you love. Eat your favorites every once in a while, just scale back the quantity, try to find a healthier (or lower calorie) subtitute if possible, and limit high high calorie meals to few and far between. For me, I use to eat REAL pizza once a week, but recently had pizza for the first time in 6 weeks. I was so good, but I know I can't eat it all of the time.

As far as your 2nd question: How can I control my eating? (Its not trying to eat til I'm full, I just like to eat and can't seem to stop once I start.). I snack all day and eat smaller meals which helps me. Fresh fruit has really helped me when I feel the urge to snack. That way I can curb my snack craving without all of the guilt. And of course I measure and count calories on everything before I eat it.

Exactly what I do and it works for me!

suejonestx · May 2010

My opinion: low-carb is good for some, but may not be the best if you don't think you'll stick to it for life (once you start eating normal amounts of carbs, you risk gaining the weight back). low-calorie plus exercise is a great choice for life, which is why this site works so well. Tracking the calories is the hard part, but literally shows you where the pounds are coming from. It only takes 500 extra calories per day to pack on a pound a week!

As for the help with sticking to the diet, you just have to make the right choices for your long-term goal. It helps me to try to look ahead and ask my future self what I would think about eating this ice cream right now. Of course, the future me would say don't do it!!!

(a little indulgence is OK, especially if you've been on-track for a while). Basically, you have to really want it. Once you make that hard decision and have some small successes, it's much easier to stay on track.

jamie1888 · May 2010

When you follow the low calorie plan, perhaps you aren't actually eating enough. Everyone is different! So, 1200 calories may be someone else's magic number, but not yours. (If you have a higher metabolism, you need to eat more.)
One suggestion would be to gradually reduce the calories you eat. Drop a few hundred calories every couple of weeks until you get down to the calorie goal you want.

jessicajoy87 · May 2010

Thanks everyone! I feel a lot better today! I felt that there was no way out yesterday. I really appreciate the feedback! God bless you all!

stephflo33 · May 2010

I started out on the carb diet too, sticking strictly to the Atkins plan. 20 carbs per day for the first 2 weeks. it was very hard, but I was so motivated that I stuck to it for a couple of months. Then I started failing and gained back 10 of the 30 I lost in one month! I decided to start my own version of low carb, and have been able to stick to it with NO problems! I do allow myself fruit when I am craving something sweet. I made a list of high carb foods that I enjoyed and then made another list of how I could enjoy the same foods with lower carbs. For example, I love PB&J sandwiches with a glass of milk. So instead of white bread, I use the Healthy Living low carb bread, all natural peanut butter, and low sugar jelly. Paired with a glass of almond milk , my normal carb intake would have been 67 versus 22 low carb style. If you stay creative, you can enjoy a low carb lifestyle without feeling like you are missing out on your faves. I also eat one cheat meal every Saturday.

saverys_gal · May 2010

I think that in a lot of ways low-carb is easier to "stick" to because you simply know what you can and can't eat, plus what you can eat is healthy and what you can't eat isn't! With calorie counting you can really eat anything, so long as you stick within your calorie allotment. I started my lifestyle change in July on last year and did low carb from July to October and lost probably 45 pounds in that time frame and had no problem sticking to it. With the holidays coming on though I wanted to be able to eat and enjoy going out, so I decided to try calorie counting-it was an epic fail for me! Even though I stuck to my calorie goals I didn't lose anything for about 3 months! So now I'm back to my low-carb life, just a modified version. If I really want one of my favorite high carb meals like pizza or some sinful chocolate, I just eat it and enjoy it! But there are so many low carb options out there for most foods that it's not hard to make substitutions. Like other people have said though, going low carb is a lifestyle change. You can't go on it, lose the weight, and go back to eating all the carbs again - the weight will come back on!! Hope this helped!

What do you guys think?

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