Rules - Got Any?

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trejon
trejon Posts: 203
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you make diet and weight loss RULES for yourself :noway: ?

My RULES
1. I do not eat after 8 pm :yawn: .
2. Desserts allowed but only 3 bites :sad: .
3. Limit myself to 2 prepackaged/processed items per day :indifferent: .
4. Must have breakfast - PERIOD:grumble: !

Replies

  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    I try to eat yogurt every morning. For some reason it really sets the pace for healthy eating all day.
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    Probably because I despise it, and after facing yogurt, ANYTHING tastes good. :)
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
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    I TOTALLY have rules:

    1 – Love myself. (every other rule is an extension of this)
    2 – Eat what I love. Eat when I’m hungry. Stop when I’m full.
    3 – DO what I love. If exercise isn’t fun, I won’t do it.
    4 – Relax and DO NOT OBSESS.
    5 – The past is the past. I do not let what happened in the past dictate what will happen in this moment.
    6 – When I break rules 2 – 6, see rule #1.

    Charmagne
  • ntp0826
    ntp0826 Posts: 95 Member
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    My rules:
    1. No matter what I must work out 6 days a week (and if that requires hitting the gym at 5 in the morning, I go)
    2. Limit sodium intake to 2500 mgs a day
    3. Allow myself one cheat meal on my weigh in day
    4. Eat out as less as possible and if I have to, make wise choices!
  • GingerDarlene
    GingerDarlene Posts: 164
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    Probably because I despise it, and after facing yogurt, ANYTHING tastes good. :)
    Be careful with yogurt, some yogurts are high in sugar, I didnt realize either. A nutrition class at my gym pointed this out to me. Take the number of sugar grams and divide by 4, that will give you the number of teaspoons of sugar. Example Yoplait orginal Strawberry has 27 grams of sugar divide that by 4 and you get 6.75 teaspoons of sugar. I had know idea.
  • themyriadthings
    themyriadthings Posts: 225 Member
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    I don't really have any hard and fast rules. Setting them only makes me want to break them, so I just have goals instead.
  • Rynatat
    Rynatat Posts: 807 Member
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    Exercise: 5-6 days p/wk (usually I'm at 6 :happy: )
    Minimum time of 45-50 mins (usually I'm over 50 :happy: )
    Eat!!!!! I love food and must eat to stay healthy :tongue:
    Breakfast EVERY morning; Lunch every day, Dinner every evening and healthy snax when I'm hungry between meals
    (I'm hungry every 2-3 hrs now :tongue: )
    Trick with eating: measure/weigh out portions so EVERYTHING is logged
    Accountability is key: if I eat more than 1 serving, I log more than 1 serving
    Limit Junk food: I hardly eat sweets, chocolate, chips anymore since I really don't "crave" them like I used to.
    Everyday focus on something about me that has improved and something that makes me happy: the more I smile, the better I feel, the more I want to be healthy, stay healthy and make healthy choices.
    This is "4-Life"! 5, 10, 15 years from now, can I keep this up? YES!!!!! :flowerforyou:
  • trejon
    trejon Posts: 203
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    I am a rules person. Just something about holding to a self imposed standard that offers more of a challenge - FOR ME.
  • jsecret
    jsecret Posts: 606 Member
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    My rules :)

    1. 8 glass of water a day minimum - this is EXTREMELY hard for me unfortunatly
    2. EVERYTHING gets checked for calories before it hits my plate and logged into MFP before it hits my mouth.

    simple and successful :)
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    I don't really have any hard and fast rules. Setting them only makes me want to break them, so I just have goals instead.

    thisi s my philosophy, too. i can't have rules because i'm really good at obeying them until they're broken once, then it's off. like being late for work, i won't be late for work, and then something will happen where i'm accidentally late for work, then i'm late for work all the time. it's part of a pattern.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    I don't really have any hard and fast rules. Setting them only makes me want to break them, so I just have goals instead.

    thisi s my philosophy, too. i can't have rules because i'm really good at obeying them until they're broken once, then it's off. like being late for work, i won't be late for work, and then something will happen where i'm accidentally late for work, then i'm late for work all the time. it's part of a pattern.
  • Natural
    Natural Posts: 461 Member
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    not many rules

    i do need to eat breakfast
    don't skip meals
    drink even more water if i have too many sweets
    don't flip out if the scale goes up.
    have fun!
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    I don't really have any hard and fast rules. Setting them only makes me want to break them, so I just have goals instead.

    thisi s my philosophy, too. i can't have rules because i'm really good at obeying them until they're broken once, then it's off. like being late for work, i won't be late for work, and then something will happen where i'm accidentally late for work, then i'm late for work all the time. it's part of a pattern.

    I'm sure many will not like this, but I definitely agree. I firmly believe most weight loss endeavors fail because of rules. It's basic human nature to want what we can't have. Most of today's dieters (lifestyle or otherwise) fall into a pit of rigidity. And it might work for a while because it forces you to adhere to the basics principles that drive fat loss. Eventually they cave.

    The rigidity simply stirs up too much dichotomous thinking and too much guilt.

    Professionally, I persuade my clients to ditch the rigidity or rules mentality. In my opinion, there are better ways to apply the basic principles and therefore achieve the results they're after. I've also instituted this in my own life successfully.

    Just my 2 cents.
  • SharonsJetSet
    SharonsJetSet Posts: 159
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    no real rules for me

    However I try to:

    eat breakfast every morning
    eat 5 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 small snacks)
    drink lots of fulids
    be positive all day
  • redefiningmyself
    redefiningmyself Posts: 476 Member
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    My rules:

    1: Eat breakfast lunch and dinner every day. Snacks if still hungry.
    2: Eat 50% veggies at every meal.
    3: Drink between 11-14 glasses of water a day.

    And most importantly:

    Don't beat myself up if I screw up. Everyone makes mistakes and has bad days. I tell myself that this is a marathon not a sprint, so one bad day is not the end of the world.
  • Supa817
    Supa817 Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't have rules per se but there are a few "guidlines" I've given myself.

    1. "Because I don't feel like it or don't want to go" are NEVER good enough reasons not to go to the gym. Scheduling issues, transportation issues, or things beyond my control are one thing but if there's a day that I say to myself I don't feel like it, I go anyway. I can count on one hand the number of times I've missed a workout in the last 7 months.

    2. I do not deprive myself... Now that it's a habit, I've been able to shift my mindset to thinking that I workout so I can eat what I want. If I don't workout I don't get to eat "bad stuff". I keep my portions in control so if someone brings a box of Krispy Kreme donuts I can have a taste of one and not obsess over it. If I go out to eat I may have a peice of bread or a few tastes of dessert but keep my main entree on the healthy side.

    3. I do not obsess over the number on the scale. It took me years to get fat so it's going to take me a while to get it off.

    If I'm going to do this for the rest of my life, i have to be flexible with myself and realistic .
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    I'd also suggest a book I recently reviewed in my blog regarding this topic. It's called Intuitive Eating... highly recommend it.

    Here's the review:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81/view/my-review-of-intuitive-eating-45337
  • bjerkins
    bjerkins Posts: 107 Member
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    Always have something for breakfast
    no sugared drinks including juice
    no white bread
    no white rice
    exercise 5 days a week
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
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    Not to many rules

    Don't buy snack food and avoid temptation...if I am tempted allow myself alittle
    atleast 8 glasses of water a day
    Some form of exercise everyday
  • AmandaR910
    AmandaR910 Posts: 991
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    1) Stay under SODIUM!
    2) 12 glasses of water a day.
    3) Some kind of cardio everyday and at least 5 days a week of strength training.
    4) Don't eat exercise calories unless not doing so would go below 1200 net calories.
    5) No cheese. :(

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