Why simply be normal, when you can be a freak?

I'm in, I gave up alcohol 3 years ago, i don't eat bread or pasta but my major downfall is chocolate!! A year from now i wanna be in the best shape of my life. I want to set myself ready and fitter than ever before i hit 30!!

Nahhh, thanks but I'll settle for mediocre and being able to eat mucho carbs and drink my body weight in rum at Christmas. Besides, I've been doing this for over two years with the likelihood of spending another eighteen months to get where I want. It's all good though, because the journey is as good as the destination.

Yep.

I'm ok with no booze or cheese for a while and then it's full on afterwards. Learning to have just a little bit of gin or stilton on a regular basis was harder than giving it up altogether as I have in the past.

It's also taken me ages to get here, mainly because I love food and am a chubber. I'm hoping that doing it this way will put me into the freaky category of people who lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off.

why give up all the stuff that you love when you can get the same results without giving those things up? I don't mean just eating them in whatever size portions, but with good portion control and proper tracking of your food intake, you don't have to give up any foods (or alcohol) you just have to fit them into your calorie and macro goals.

One of the main reasons why people fail in the long term, is because they're in an "all or nothing" mentality... and I know you mean well with your post, but all of what you're saying typifies an all or nothing mentality, i.e. giving stuff up, giving yourself x number of weeks/months/etc where you have to live this perfect lifestyle........ people can't be on their best behaviour 24/7 in any context... that's why the working week is 5 days long, not 7 days long. What's most important for long term health and long term success at anything, is actually sticking with the programme long term. So just as working days include specified times for breaks, an end to the day where people don't have to work, plus weekends and holidays......... a good healthy lifestyle plan (I hate the word diet but it does include tracking food for fat loss if that's what someone needs to do) includes a plan for enjoying all the things in life you want to enjoy, i.e. going to parties where you drink alcohol and eat dessert... planning bread and other demonised foods into your calorie goal (there is absolutely no reason to give up bread whatsoever... all you need to do is track your intake of it, and all other foods, carefully so you stay within your calorie and macro goals)...... if you plan for these things then they don't derail you, and there's no guilt associated with it........ what you said about binge days, not everyone does that and most people can learn not to do that simply by planning to eat those foods in moderation and that their calorie goal is not too extreme.....

Also, there's nothing wrong with being normal. Not everyone has the ambition to have a 6-pack or win tournaments at anything... some people just want to be happy and healthy and enjoy life... and there's nothing wrong with that provided healthy is always factored in to it.

There are loads of successful people on this site who are still here because they still use the site for maintenance or for doing cutting and bulking cycles..... most of those people enjoy all the foods they want in moderation and go to parties and drink alcohol in moderation.... they don't have an "all or nothing" mentality, they have an "everything in moderation/good portion control" mentality and a "this is a lifelong journey, may as well enjoy the journey" mentality....... focusing only on the destination is missing the bigger picture... there is no final destination, because if you get there and just revert back to your old ways you'll get fat again (that's what this 90+% of people who regain the weight do)........ the journey is ongoing and does not stop when you reach an ideal weight or body fat percentage... because you have to stick with the lifestyle changes to stay there, so you do have to focus on enjoying the journey, because no-one can stick with anything that's making them miserable for the whole of the rest of their life.....

(apologies for using the word journey lol... a lot of people don't like that word and I can understand why lol.... but it is a lifelong thing no matter what word you use to describe the process)

No bread? No thanks

Great post TiberiusClaud, well said

Or, you can learn to consume those things in moderation, that way you aren't giving up what you love and are still losing weight/becoming healthier.

I've lost it all once and it took me two years to gain it back, but I didn't have the tools offered here on MFP the first time. It was 90% hard work and 10% nutrition. This time I'm doing 50/50, and I've already decided that I'm sticking around here long term. Even after I achieve my current goal. Frankly, if there is a body of a greek god hiding under this fat, then I intend to release it and feed it. :P

I think this is a great post! like others have stated, I also believe in moderation so wouldn't give up bread/pasta, but I do get the overall point that the OP was making.

I love this!

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather learn how to practice moderation, balance and portion control for the rest of my life. I don't see the appeal of deprivation - in my book this is the number one reason every fad diet fails miserably.

I've kept 60lb off for two years and I still eat slabs and slabs of chocolate. 1 a week, AT LEAST.

I have good days and bad days. So long as every day doesn't revert to being a bad day then I'm okay to keep plodding along.

This is a great post! I wish more people on MFP weren't so satisfied with the status quot (which, if you live in the States, is being overweight and considering donuts to be a food group).

At first I thought you were promoting a strict, but nonetheless successful way (for some people) to reach your goals.

Alrighty then.

I have no drive at all, clearly. Have lost over 30% of my body weight, kept it off. Work full time. Have a wonderful family that includes an autistic son. 3/4 of the way through a law degree and on track to get a first, whilst coming from a family that makes those from 'Shameless' look tame and sane. Worked and recovered from a serious illness that has landed me in hospital on several occasions. I have no idea what determination and will power is, none at all.

I don't know about running out of goals - not ending up as arrogant as you could be one I could keep in mind and always strive for.

Also, having time, money and inclination are the main things needed to headbutt a shark or go handgliding, so anyone can do those things, not just the 'greatest motherf*cker you are ever gonna meet'.