It's ok to indulge once in a while, right?

rompydompy
rompydompy Posts: 54 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I'm of the opinion that there IS a way to lose weight and still ENJOY nourishing your body-- there are, after all, fit people who eat at the drive-thru once in a while, or have a piece of cake (or two!) at social gatherings without giving it a second thought. Now, lately I've been eating out more than usual, but it's a temporary stay of convenience due to a hectic schedule. I have managed to stay within my caloric allowance when I've eaten out, but is that enough? Not that I would do this, but if you watched the calories, could you eat out every day and lose weight? Is there a limit that one needs to stick to before their weight loss is hindered by the choices they've made, regardless of caloric value?

I guess I'm looking for some feedback on my food choices-- I am losing weight, but it seems to be going slowly... or maybe I'm just getting impatient :) I feel like, given all the "diets" that are hawked, me having a couple pieces of pizza feels forbidden, and like it could derail my entire journey, despite the meal fitting into my macros.

Do you indulge? Have you eliminated anything from your diet to achieve your goals, and why? Do you think it's worked?
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Replies

  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
    I eat all the foodz.

    Rigger
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    Do whatever you want if it's working. If it stops working, though, then indulgences and cheat meals are a great place to look to drop some unnecessary calories (along with being more diligent about accurate logging, if you haven't been.)


    But as long as you're losing and you're feeling good and not miserable and deprived or whatever, why cut out stuff you don't have to?
  • VelcroButt
    VelcroButt Posts: 34 Member
    Of course I indulge sometimes. I can't imagine a life where I never eat (regular, non-modified) pizza, cake, or wine again. I don't eat those things all those times but I wouldn't want to try to eliminate them completely.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    I eat whatever I want but, the correct portion. I even have several light beers weekly.
  • impromark
    impromark Posts: 119 Member
    Agreed. It's all about attitude, after all... You just need to be true to yourself. Indulgences can be perfectly fine in moderation - just keep track of them and don't go overboard simply because you're "off the clock" as it were. Do you NEED to have three scoops of that delicious ice cream of your flavor, when two will satisfy your taste buds just as well? Will supersizing ANYTHING really make you feel better? As long as you keep a level head on your shoulders you can develop a good sense of right and wrong when if comes to eaing off your self-prescribed regimes. Just be honest with yourself.

    Mark
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Unless there is a medical reason for you to not do it then work it into your calorie limits but try to eat some fruits and veggies, too. Also, be mindful of the sodium content in foods. Although you eat within your limits, huge levels of sodium could hinder weight loss for some people.

    The only foods I don't eat are the ones I don't care to eat. I will not restrict my foods unless for medical reasons.
  • rompydompy
    rompydompy Posts: 54 Member
    I guess all the "diet gurus" have ingrained in me that I need to do without and suffer, so by having a single normal sized cheeseburger, or two pieces of pizza, I feel like that is "wrong," even though it's a perfectly normal serving size. My weight loss is steadily going down, but I can't help but wonder: well if I'd had 400 calories worth of salad and fruit, instead of 400 calories of McDonalds, it'd be going down faster. <-- I know that's totally irrational, but it's a very real feeling.
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
    If you are eating out everyday and logging and staying within your calorie goal, you will still lose your weight....... but the loss may be hidden on the scale with the extra sodium that is generally included in eating out, you retain water from extra sodium. Drink lots of water to flush it out.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I guess all the "diet gurus" have ingrained in me that I need to do without and suffer, so by having a single normal sized cheeseburger, or two pieces of pizza, I feel like that is "wrong," even though it's a perfectly normal serving size. My weight loss is steadily going down, but I can't help but wonder: well if I'd had 400 calories worth of salad and fruit, instead of 400 calories of McDonalds, it'd be going down faster. <-- I know that's totally irrational, but it's a very real feeling.

    You'll get over it. Being afraid of certain foods is a handicap, nothing more.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    I can't say I blame you. All of the irrational methods on the market would have you believe you have to lick a carrot three times a day in order to lose weight if you didn't know better.
  • Kixshots
    Kixshots Posts: 74 Member
    Well I had frankie and benny's 2 days in a row + about 800 cals worth of chinese recently and I lost 2lbs that same week XD just staying within my calories, it's not like I don't eat much overall either lol
  • dtimedwards
    dtimedwards Posts: 319 Member
    I'm currently doing the "30 Day Gelato/ Ice Cream Cleanse"... turns out eating ice cream every day is not only awesome, but has gotten me re-focused on my daily goals, and gotten me over a month-long plateau/ mild gain. So if eating out works for you, stick with it. Chances are, if you are able to hit your daily calorie goals on convenience food AND feel satisfied, you are probably making the "better" or "best" choices off the menu, so I wouldn't be worried.

    As far as sodium hindering weight loss... Don't think that for every X grams of sodium you ingest you are going to gain Y pounds. Yes, it might make you hold on to 4-5lbs of water, but it will never go higher, and it will go away in a day or two. It won't keep adding up week to week. If that was the case, a low sodium diet and a realllllllly long piss would be the key to weightloss.
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    The biggest thing that I have learned is this: it doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't have to be painful. Eat enough fats and proteins. Eat adequate calories for your needs. Eat whatever you want that suits those goals.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Do you indulge? Have you eliminated anything from your diet to achieve your goals, and why? Do you think it's worked?
    At first, yes. Looking forward to the occasional rich treat can was enough to keep me going. I used to eat whatever i wanted, for 2 meals per month. When i got a craving for something i shouldn't have as an everyday food, i just remembered it, and then once every couple of weeks, i'd make an occasion out of eating it.

    Now, i don't see the need to injure my body as a reward to myself; it just seems counterproductive.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    I don't think it really matters what anyone else does.

    It's what you do, what makes you happy and what you can live with in the long term. Find a way you like.

    The start living because life is way more than what you put in your mouth...
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    I guess all the "diet gurus" have ingrained in me that I need to do without and suffer, so by having a single normal sized cheeseburger, or two pieces of pizza, I feel like that is "wrong," even though it's a perfectly normal serving size. My weight loss is steadily going down, but I can't help but wonder: well if I'd had 400 calories worth of salad and fruit, instead of 400 calories of McDonalds, it'd be going down faster. <-- I know that's totally irrational, but it's a very real feeling.

    Stay within your total caloric allotment for the day and you will still progress.

    You will mind the majority of the most successful MFPer's are people who enjoy foods they want within moderation and are still seeing positive changes on the scale, with the inches, and in the gym.
  • rompydompy
    rompydompy Posts: 54 Member


    The start living because life is way more than what you put in your mouth...

    ^^ *giggle* I could see my husband telling you to take your advice elsewhere. :P
  • brookemart81
    brookemart81 Posts: 62 Member
    I'm not an expert at this. And I've only been at it a week. But in my first week I indulged quite a bit- I had Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle, and thai food. Oh- and I made chocolate banana bread.

    Despite my indulging, my calories were below my targets and my macros were dead on at the end of the week. I ate sensible portions (that Chipotle burrito bowl was split into two meals), I made a point of being active and I did extra exercise on "indulgent" days, and I made an effort to eat really good stuff for most of my other meals. And I lost two pounds.

    My understanding is the calories are what matter- not where you get them from. At least as far as weight loss is concerned, not overall health (I have no misgivings that junk food is "good" for me. Every week won't be like this.) I agree that it's a little hard to believe, after all the conflicting messages we've received our whole lives about how you have to starve and restrict and limit yourself to lose weight. But the science behind it makes sense. Expend more energy than you take in, and calories are just energy.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I've gotten to where I am today be focusing on an 80/20 way of eating. If I'm good 80% of the time, I can enjoy my pizza, beer, and ice cream the other 20%.

    I'm working on getting from my "winter weight" of 135 back to my "summer weight" of 125. I'm already back down 2 pounds for the last 2 weeks.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member


    The start living because life is way more than what you put in your mouth...

    ^^ *giggle* I could see my husband telling you to take your advice elsewhere. :P

    loooooooool

    Yeah, this place isn't so great for relationship advice...
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    No forbidden foods for me. There are a few things I need to be careful about for example, once I start eating pizza it's pretty tough to stop.CheezIts too.

    Which reminds me of my favorite pizza quote:

    "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six" - Yogi Berra
  • KaHam6
    KaHam6 Posts: 36
    Of course if you stay under your calorie goal you will probably still lose weight regardless of what you eat. But you absolutely will lose more weight if the calories you're eating are salad and not fast food. It's not all about calorie counting but managing your intake of everything. Fats, sugar, protein, ect. Obviously your fat intake will be higher if you're eating mc Donald's instead of healthier choices. I'm all for indulging here and there but it definitely matters where your calories are coming from.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Of course if you stay under your calorie goal you will probably still lose weight regardless of what you eat. But you absolutely will lose more weight if the calories you're eating are salad and not fast food. It's not all about calorie counting but managing your intake of everything. Fats, sugar, protein, ect. Obviously your fat intake will be higher if you're eating mc Donald's instead of healthier choices. I'm all for indulging here and there but it definitely matters where your calories are coming from.

    Careful with your wording....

    If the calories from the salad = the calories from McDonald's the outcome would be the same.
  • Angela26point2finisher
    Angela26point2finisher Posts: 105 Member
    Indulging is good, once in a while, just make sure you don't feel guilty about it. Enjoying food is not a crime.
  • KaHam6
    KaHam6 Posts: 36
    Of course if you stay under your calorie goal you will probably still lose weight regardless of what you eat. But you absolutely will lose more weight if the calories you're eating are salad and not fast food. It's not all about calorie counting but managing your intake of everything. Fats, sugar, protein, ect. Obviously your fat intake will be higher if you're eating mc Donald's instead of healthier choices. I'm all for indulging here and there but it definitely matters where your calories are coming from.
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
    I do. Actually, daily. Those daily 'treats' are what keep me on track. KNOWING I get a couple of cookies (ginger lemon from Carr's, YUM) and some hot tea, or brownies with a cup of coffee, or even a pack of Rolo's, or kettle corn and cider or whatever rings my bell that night helps me. Are they huge, do I eat them all day and is it ALL eat? No. But it does encourage me to say you know, I'm going to have a salad now because I want that cookie later. Or, hey, let's have fruit for snack with some lunch meat because I want that froyo for later. So, I think it's a balance and you do what works for you. I like the little treats daily and some people like huge treat meals. I don't like the way a huge treat meal makes me feel (bloated, sick, heartburn, etc.). But you do what makes you happy and keeps you on track.
  • establishingaplace
    establishingaplace Posts: 301 Member
    If the majority of the time you're keeping your calories on point and giving your body the nutrition it needs, then yes, the occasional indulgence is ok.

    I gave in to a lot of the diet BS too and felt guilt/shame over eating a cupcake (the sugar! the gluten! the carbzzz!). This idea that I can track calories and make room for treats AND successfully lose weight? Two months in and I'm still in disbelief.
  • KaHam6
    KaHam6 Posts: 36
    No the outcome would not be the same. My point is 300 calories from mc Donald's are def different From 300 calories of salad because of the content in those calories. The fat, sodium and sugar levels will be all different and there for results will vary.
  • establishingaplace
    establishingaplace Posts: 301 Member
    No the outcome would not be the same. My point is 300 calories from mc Donald's are def different From 300 calories of salad because of the content in those calories. The fat, sodium and sugar levels will be all different and there for results will vary.

    If food A has more fat and more sugar than food B, food A has more calories.

    One food might have a better nutritional profile, but 300 calories is 300 calories.
  • dtimedwards
    dtimedwards Posts: 319 Member
    No the outcome would not be the same. My point is 300 calories from mc Donald's are def different From 300 calories of salad because of the content in those calories. The fat, sodium and sugar levels will be all different and there for results will vary.

    If food A has more fat and more sugar than food B, food A has more calories.

    One food might have a better nutritional profile, but 300 calories is 300 calories.

    What about the toxins?

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