Foods hard to give up, is it okay to eat in moderation?

My own personal philosophy is to eat whole nutritious foods most of the time and enjoy myself eating pizza, burgers, wings, etc. every once in a while in moderation.

So I think the answer is yes; enjoy the foods you love in moderation.

Being too restrictive in not sustainable.

For me I eat some of the foods I want just a smaller size. I have lost 40 pounds in the last 4 months and am at a point now that my leg will allow me to exercise alot more. I am of the mind that sometimes when you go cold turkey, you can set yourself up to fail.

What does your common sense tell you OP?

I agree with everyone here, except Nonny.

IIFYM

Yep.

^ This. It's rather simple. Don't complicate it.

It's all portion control. As long as your within your calories enjoy the foods that you like. I have found that if I try to cut things out completely I end up binge eating them at some point.

^^^^ this

as soon as I start having foods that I'm *NOT ALLOWED* to eat, I want to eat them all the time at every opportunity. It's like part of my brain sees this food and thinks I have to eat as much of it as I can, because this is the only opportunity I'll have to eat it. However if I allow myself to have anything then I just eat until I stop feeling hungry and stop, and choose foods that are most satisfying, i.e. higher in protein and vitamins.

My biggest hurdle so far is cutting back on the foods I love to eat like pasta, pizza, cheessteaks, etc. Somehow I feel like I should give them up completely. Should I give up the foods I love or is it okay to eat them in moderation?

I eat things like hot dogs, pizza and burgers less often than I had before. Is what I'm doing so far a good thing?

If you can eat these foods in moderation,definitely keep them in your diet. The only food that I gave up totally was ice cream, but will eat a serving of frozen yogurt about 3 x per week. Ice cream tastes way better but I can't eat it in moderation. Good luck in your journey and welcome!

I agree with and try to live by the" moderation in all things" credo, but do find that, for me, there are a few trigger foods that send me into a tail spin. I can't just have a little. I still eat those foods, but only out of the house. For instance, I might have cake when celebrating with a friend, but I don't keep cake in the house. As others have said, you just have to know yourself and what works for you.

This is me. There were many foods that I just had to get my portions under control. Others I had to completely put aside for a little while. Doritos was one of them. I didn't have any in the house for about 2 months and then, after that, I found that it was easier to only get a handful and walk away.

I chose two of my favorite foods of all time and decided to give them up forever, those specifically were pizza and hamburgers, everything else I will eat in moderation, though I treat bread more like dessert.

I've tried many times to lose weight by cutting out "bad" foods, especially sweets and chocolate. I always ended up feeling deprived and craving those foods to the point that I'd give up and eat everything in sight.

This time around I only gave up things that I know I can live without for the rest of my life. You know the only thing I gave up is soda. I have cut back greatly on eating out but everything else (most days) I eat in moderation and fit it in my calorie budget. No, that's not to say I haven't had days where I've said "screw it, I'm eating what I want" and there haven't been family gatherings and celebrations where I know I've eaten more than I should, but those days are a part of life. I just start back logging the next day and go on. I also never feel guilty on the days I go over. Again, they're a part of life. One of the quotes I love is "If you fall off the wagon, run along side till you can jump back on."

I do avoid one trigger food because as much as I try, I can't eat just one and those are Krispy Kreme donuts. I'll still have one every now and again but only if I pick it up at one of our businesses and take it back to my office. If the box is at the office, I won't have one. Anyway, that's just me.

I eat and log my favorite foods often. Because I watch sodium levels I have had to start making some of my favorites from scratch, but I still have the foods I love. I would completely give up if I could not have burgers, fries, and cookies. Life would not be as enjoyable!

now that i have gone 3 months on MFP, and i have better control over food addiction that i had, i think i might enjoy a slice of pizza saturday.. i am kinda scared to play around with eating too many foods that got me here in the first place.. but i might take a chance..

i think i am ok enough to try. wish me luck. its a bit scarey... i hope i dont start going back to my old ways that got me fat.

but i think i will be brave and take a chance.

this is what it is like to venture back out and eat a treat,,, its pretty scarey, coz i am doing so well ,, i dont want to screw it up.

My biggest hurdle so far is cutting back on the foods I love to eat like pasta, pizza, cheessteaks, etc. Somehow I feel like I should give them up completely. Should I give up the foods I love or is it okay to eat them in moderation?

I eat things like hot dogs, pizza and burgers less often than I had before. Is what I'm doing so far a good thing?

Eating them less often is good. Making yourself miserable by feeling like you can never eat them is not good. You are on the right track.

It's all portion control. As long as your within your calories enjoy the foods that you like. I have found that if I try to cut things out completely I end up binge eating them at some point.

I still eat the things I love, just not as much.

I also stay away from buffets as I have learned that I can't handle them

The problem with moderation is there is no guideline or definition of what makes a moderate amount.

Like one chocolate bar daily is moderate? How about a twinkie every two days.
Using a macro diet I could survive on pop tarts and still log my macros.

That is ridiculous. "Moderation" is what fits into your calories and macro/micro/fiber goals.