How often do you indulge? And how often do you exercise?

Hi Nique,

I eat whatever I want, even deserts and indulgences, and I work to stay within my calorie goal most of the time. If I go over my calorie goal, I've done it on purpose for a reason. For example, I am in maintenance now and am having a bit of a problem with still losing weight, therefore I'm eating a bit more every few days.

I was happy with my weight two pounds heavier, and it's okay that I've shed a few more pounds, but I don't need to lose anymore weight. I am at a healthy weight for me right now.

Indulge in food and exercise everyday. :-)

I don't deny myself any foods, but I am trying to hit certain macro goals and a few other nutrient goals as well. So sometimes there are some things that I don't eat because it just doesn't fit into my goals. Nothing is off-limits though. I guess the only "cheat" meal I have is mac and cheese (the box kind with the velvetta!). Again, it's not off limits, but it usually doesn't fit easily into my goals. Recipe blogs have been a huge help for me. It gives me great ideas on recipes for meals with lots of fiber and protein (both of which I have very high daily goals). And it never gets boring! That's been the biggest lifestyle change for me. Learning about what's in season and cooking in a different way that's fun and exciting! But I still have my chocolate bars and box macaroni!

As far as exercise, I have a really bad knee, so I can't jump either. I did Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme, and am currentlyy doing T25 (both have modifiers) and even when I do other exercises, I modify to low impact so that I don't hurt myself. But I workout 6 days a week and I get a great calorie burn. You don't have to be jumping around as long as you're putting everything you have into it. And there are always ways to amp it up. I wear weighted gloves for an extra challenge. But try a few things to see what you enjoy. There are so many options out there for ways to get in some exercise. Like others have said, don't force it. Find the way that you enjoy it.

Hi there! I have found success during my weight loss journey by planning all of my meals ahead. If I plan to eat out one day, I factor those calories into my goal. I eat fried chicken, pork chops, carbs, mac n cheese, etc. All of those food items are measured and/accounted for through mfp. For the most part, I eat a balanced diet of veggie/protein/carb. I steam all of my veggies with minimal added seasoning. I also drink at least 8 cups of water each day. I must say that sweets are my weakness so, I try to stay away from them. I indulge occasionally. Good luck and I hope that you find what works best for you!

I set up a structure for my eating that works with my personality type; I am extremely goal oriented when there's a reward at the end of it (achievement hunter when I'm gaming, bit of a completionist, etc.) I set a few small rules:
1. Weigh in once a week, no more, don't worry about it when it's not weigh in day
2. Start out with 14,000 calories per week, adjust as needed.
3. Keep an eye on sodium levels.
4. Set rewards at certain weights.

I tried to eat clean for 30 days before my first cheat and succeeded, had a lot of heavy meals on my first cheat Dec. 31, 2013. My next cheat after that is to be on March 4, 2014, just a little over 60 days clean eating, I'm trying to progressively add time until I live up to Dwayne Johnson's massive 170+ day clean eating streak he did for the Hercules movie this year. I also set weight goals, at 50lb lost (10 weeks in on March 9th) I bought myself a new pair of boots; I'm currently figuring out what I want to do for 100# lost.

In 2012 I lost nearly 30lbs just working out, not at all watching what I ate and I bulked a lot of muscle with relatively little effort. Keeping that in mind I decided not to work out at all until I got to 50lbs lost, I was 393 to start and really didn't want to break that 400lb mark. This week after a lot of phone tag (I'm a 3rd shift worker, so daytime is hard!) I got my gym membership set up and hit the gym for the first time in a year and a half on tuesday. On Wednesday I went to a truck repair shop and picked up a semi tire, headed to a hardware store and grabbed a sledgehammer; I've managed to get a pretty good workout there. The intention is to work out 3-5 times a week and stay on my goal path of 60 days clean eating, one cheat, 90 days clean after that.

I indulge Thanksgiving, Christmas, and at family reunions because I always get asked "is that all you are going to eat?" and "arnt you going to eat desert?" Sometimes I will indulge after losing a few lbs but I know that's not the way to go.
I exercise everyday at least 30 mins a day. I lift weights and do ab exercises every other day. I'm really happy with myself this is the first time I have been under 200 in about four years. I have been exercising and eating better for Four weeks straight now. have lost 12 lbs in the last six weeks. I think this time I have what it will take to stay motivated. Some people have posted on there social site after I talk about exercising and all about I should not care what people think. I'm not doing it because of what people think I'm doing it for myself, but I can't convince some people that. There will always be people that want to see you exceed and other people convincing you to be happy the way you are. That's why I'm glad I found this site. Everyone is trying to get into shape and they have goals and I can relate to a lot of people on here. Good luck with your Journey!

No foods are off limits to me. I eat whatever I want, as long as I meet my nutritional targets, and fit into my calorie goal. If I feel like a doughnut, I'll have a doughnut, if it fits in with the rest of my day's intake. If it doesn't, I'll have it another day.

So how often do I "indulge"? It depends what that means. Is eating chocolate "indulging"? Drinking wine? Eating white bread? Eating pizza? Lasagne? Brownies? Greek yoghurt with honey and berries? Going out for a meal? Exceeding my calorie goal? Having a day where I don't pay attention to macronutrients? Everyone has different definitions. I just try to think of it all as food, each with different nutritional properties. I suppose going out for a meal where I eat what I like and don't count calories, knowing full well I will be going over - I'd consider that indulging, and that would happen maybe every couple of months. Otherwise, you might look at my diary and think I'm indulging every day, but it's just normality to me. It's just food.

As for exercise, on a good week, I'll exercise 5-6 days. Strength training 3x a week, running at least 3x, some other cardio and walking wherever it fits in, and yoga several times a week. I've got an injury at the moment, so it's not a good week in that respect. It's also crappy weather, and I do find it harder to push myself when it's bad weather, or when I'm feeling depressed. I set myself a kind of minimum though, to make sure I do something. Strength train at least a couple of times a week, even if not a full session, and do some cardio a couple of times a week, even if only for short periods.

I am indulging today, but I will try to keep within my calories

The word indulge is no longer in my vocabulary and has been replaced by moderation.

^^This! :laugh:


There are no foods that I avoid at all, but I do try to keep within my daily allowance. Having said that, some days, like yesterday, I have no cravings for anything and just had a normal food day, coming in a bit under my calorie goal, but on days when I feel like eating more then I do just that.
I love pizza and on a Saturday I have a small breakfast and lunch then have a delicious pizza meal for dinner, it usually comes in 500 or so over but it's not stopped me losing almost 1.5 stone so far and it stops me wanting it - I have tried substituting cravings for a similar 'healthy option' in the past but I don't find this works for me personally and I really see this as a lifestyle choice now rather than my diets of old, so having naughty food every now and then is part of that for me. I don't think i'd call it a cheat day though, it doesn't feel like cheating!

As for exercise, I work out 5-6 days a week for between 1 and 2.5 hours a day depending on how I feel or if I need rests etc. Usually a week consists of one or two runs, being either intervals or a 10k, 5 gym sessions of about an hour, and doing home stuff such as weights, TRX exercises and working on my core. I do love exercise though!

I stay within my calorie goals most of the time except if I feel like my weight loss has stopped then I have a day where I eat at maintenance. I indulge everyday because I follow IFYM.
I exercise 5-6 times a week doing the cross trainer with weights, hot yoga and hot pilates.

I don't like setting restrictions on myself. While technically I dont deny myself foods, there are ones I choose to no longer eat. I don't have cheat meals, I just eat what I want. The overwhelming bulk of my food consumption is "healthy" for lack of a better term so when I choose to eat something "bad", I feel no guilt or make no concessions for doing so.
My weekly exercise is set based on fitness goals and is pretty much irrelevant to weight goals since I am at maintenance. I don't log, I don't obsess over anything.

I run 4 days a week, do some form of resistance training 3 days a week and am generally active on most days. I've maintained my weight loss +/- 2 or 3 lbs for the past 9 months by eating pretty much whatever I want, within reason of course. Granted, the majority of what I eat are whole, nutrient-dense foods (fruits and veggies, etc.), but there's not a week that goes by where I won't help myself to lasagna or pizza or cookies. No need to demonize any particular foods, just fit it into your meal plan and you'll be fine.

I eat whatever I want, just within my calorie goal . . . so really, I "indulge" every day.

I try to work out at least 4 times a week.

I just live my life. That life includes eating a lot of nutrient dense foods and rocking my nutrition...it also includes pizza and ice cream and beer, etc.

Fitness is also a huge part of my life...currently I weight train 2X weekly full body and heavy and I cycle 4x weekly as I'm training for a 1/2 century and a metric century right now...hoping that in the future, these distances will just be, "meh...it's a Saturday" kind of stuff...but for now I have to train.

Once I do those couple of events I will take the summer to just work on general fitness and go back to a 3x weekly heavy routine and incorporate some hiking, swimming, etc. In the fall I race cyclocross and in the dead of winter I pretty much lift.

I don't look at it as indulging and OMG I had a cupcake so I better go jump on the elliptical...I just live my life and enjoy myself to the fullest extent possible. None of this should be torture or painful.

I don't bother tracking so carefully one day a week. It's usually Friday when my husband wants to order in (hey! I have a life and I don't want to become obsessive, which my personality might make me want to be). I try and write down what I eat then, but don't get worked up if I don't. I just don't eat as much of the ordered-in food as I used to. I just don't eat as much of anything as I did when I started, so it's not as difficult as I expected.

I do usually have a small (4oz - yes, I measured it out first time, and do every now and then to remind myself of portion control) glass of fizz most days in the evening. It's my one real indulgence, and is wonderfully decadent, and I enjoy it just as much as I would an enormous glass. Rest of the time I'm quite disciplined, although I don't deny myself anything I want, I just eat less and do question whether I really want something (I decided Girl Scout cookies weren't really my thing, so didn't have one). I've found that planning my meals in advance is very helpful, and I treated myself to a couple of new cookbooks so I could try some new, healthy but scrummy foods to cook, so I would enjoy the whole process of cooking and eating, not just scarfing it down. It prolongs the pleasure in the same way that a big meal used to.

I hate exercise classes, and I hate the idea of someone else shouting at me to "do more!" or whatever, so I walk. I also shovel snow (oh yeah! we've got tons of that!), do yard work etc. I might reward myself by joining the gym at my Y so I can work out while my daughter does swim practice, but only when I've lost the weight and need to work on maintenance.