Eating small amounts of whatever you crave

missylectro
missylectro Posts: 448 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is there anyone that does this? If so do you find it's easy to stay within your calorie limit OR do you just eat the same but many different things?

Replies

  • bethanyboomstick
    bethanyboomstick Posts: 52 Member
    I do it. I try to limit myself and only do it occasionally, but I think it helps me stop feeling deprived, which leads to feeling like I'm punishing myself, so I rebel against my diet and eat a LOT of whatever I'm craving. It's easy for me, and keeps me from bingeing.
  • forgiven16
    forgiven16 Posts: 22 Member
    Look up IIFYM
  • aethre
    aethre Posts: 150 Member
    It gets easier as you go along, to be honest. When I first started, if I wanted macaroni cheese I would make it from scratch, fill it will lots of healthy veg like spinach, peas, tomatoes or any combination... but I'd end up making a huge amount, as though I'd made a normal sized portion and then used veg to make it *bigger*. :ohwell: I'm getting better at the smaller amounts. Cheese is totally a downfall though.... I will always have to measure cheese.

    Chocolate is easier. One of my big go-to items for a chocolate craving is a Cocoa Delight Nakd bar - it's made of dates and nuts, counts as a serving of fruit but it tastes so chocolatey I'd actually prefer one to most chocolate bars these days :laugh:

    It's usually fairly easy to find or construct a lower-calorie version of what you were craving. But it's always a big question, whether you'd have been more satisfied with a small amount of the original craving in the first place. Each person's going to be different and there's an element of trial and error.
  • bethanyboomstick
    bethanyboomstick Posts: 52 Member
    Look up IIFYM

    Doesn't work for me. I distinguish between simple and complex carbs. MFP doesn't. Just because potato chips have carbs, doesn't mean they are good ones. Simple carbs are worthless. It might "fit my macros" in theory, but in reality, it doesn't. And since 65% of my macros are carbs, that's a big thing to be blase about.

    Might work for others, though. :shrug:
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    A lot of people around here do this. It works great. Eat things you enjoy in moderation, hit your macro nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and calorie goals for the day. You will have to eat mostly whole foods if you want to be satiated but if you plan things correctly you will have calories remaining for things you crave in moderation.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    I eat smaller amounts of some foods like ice cream and pasta.

    For something like Mexican food, I eat the same amount, but less often.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    I had cheesecake from the cheesecake factory last night. I did an extra workout and made sure I weighed the slice and only ate that much. I also refused to keep the rest in my house, or I would have ate the entire thing.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Doesn't work for me. I distinguish between simple and complex carbs. MFP doesn't. Just because potato chips have carbs, doesn't mean they are good ones. Simple carbs are worthless. It might "fit my macros" in theory, but in reality, it doesn't. And since 65% of my macros are carbs, that's a big thing to be blase about.

    Potato chips would include complex carbs (starches like potatoes are complex carbs) plus fat. They would have a quite different macro profile, under MFP, than plain roasted potatoes or whole wheat bread or fruit, which would be mostly just carbs. On the other hand, fruit is a simple carb, so you would apparently consider it worthless. Hmm.

    Also, from what I've heard from the IIFYM people, micronutrients are considered too, which is why fruit might be favored, despite being a dreaded simple carb and all.

    But I don't care; I don't really like any named eating plans, although I find focusing on macros, among other things, helpful.

    I do sometimes eat a little of things I like, but are high in calories. For example, I don't eat any candy bars or store bought cookies or such. Not worth the calories, to me. But if I feel like chocolate I like to get a little (9 g or so) square of good quality chocolate. It is usually satisfying, especially the dark chocolate.

    I also eat moderate amounts of ice cream/gelato as a post-dinner dessert when I have extra calories (moderate=a serving size here, like a half cup). But that isn't about craving, it's just because I like having a little bit of a dessert and like ice cream.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Is there anyone that does this? If so do you find it's easy to stay within your calorie limit OR do you just eat the same but many different things?
    Is the question do I eat big portions of low-cal food OR small portions of high-cal food? If so, my answer is both. And occasionally, big portions of high-cal food. :smile:
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    If it fits my calories/macros, I eat any amount I wish.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Yep. I eat much smaller bowls of ice cream than I used to, only two pieces of chocolate rather than a third of the bag...
  • bethanyboomstick
    bethanyboomstick Posts: 52 Member
    Doesn't work for me. I distinguish between simple and complex carbs. MFP doesn't. Just because potato chips have carbs, doesn't mean they are good ones. Simple carbs are worthless. It might "fit my macros" in theory, but in reality, it doesn't. And since 65% of my macros are carbs, that's a big thing to be blase about.

    Potato chips would include complex carbs (starches like potatoes are complex carbs) plus fat. They would have a quite different macro profile, under MFP, than plain roasted potatoes or whole wheat bread or fruit, which would be mostly just carbs. On the other hand, fruit is a simple carb, so you would apparently consider it worthless. Hmm.

    Actually, potato chips are considered simple carbs, based on the fact there are no real vitamins or minerals in them, and they are so refined down during processing.

    The fiber in fruits and vegetables changes the way that the body processes their sugars and slows down their digestion, actually making them a bit more like complex carbohydrates. Fruit JUICE is a simple carb, and one that I try to avoid.

Categories