eat whatever you want in moderation.....must be for normal p

I agree with the whole eat whatever you want in moderation....that works for YOU. Everyone is different. My biggest downfall is fast food, because I will just keep eating it past the point of being full, so I've just decided not to eat it anymore. I can take a tiny piece of cake, I can stop at one cookie, I can just have that one piece of bread, but junk food, I just overeat.

I understand you. I have that carb/sugar monster in me too. If you give me a bowl of ice cream, I will eat the whole half-gallon.
The thing you need to tell Ms. know-it-all from your work is that you don't abstain from all carb's and sugars, you get the ones you need in fruits and veggies etc. You just stay away from things that tend to trigger a pig-out.
I hate when people try to get me to eat stuff that I should stay away from, they have sabotaged my diets before, but now with this site to help me I am stronger.
Maybe Ms. Know-it-all from your work is just a bit envious of your will power and is trying to make herself feel better.

Hug, do it your way!
Pooh

It doesn't work for me, unless it's dark chocolate. If I eat ice cream and stay under my calories I'll still gain weight.

I'm like that with potato chips and other salty snacks. I can't just have a normal size serving, MUST eat the whole big bag or more. So I avoid them, don't buy them. If I am out and they are available, i won't go overboard when there are people to see !

I absolutely have to eliminate certain foods from my diet. I cannot handle them in moderation.

I don't feel sad about it. I feel stronger the longer I go without.

I don't care what other people think. I know what works for me and that's all that matters.

i think food addictions are the worst because you have to eat you don'tr need drugs and you dont need drinks but you have to eat. no way around it

That. I totally get that!

I'm still in the early stages of weight loss and right now certain items will NOT work in moderation. Just see my chocolate chip cookie experiment from last week. I hope one day that will change, but maybe it won't...

You are not the only one! I am one that finds moderation works for me. Each person has to find what works for them. For a lot of people trying to lose weight it is hard if not impossible to go from eating whatever they want to not ever eating it again. This can definitely cause someone to stop a diet (deprivation). However if you think of all the diets there are, published and the ones people make up for themselves - yet still work; dieting is extremely personal. Things that work for others may not work for you or me. Trust me - I'm not doing a no carb diet. Each person is made up diferently with body chemistry, how they grew up and mind contol. I am ok with moderation. As soon as I'm told I can't have something, I have to have it. On diets I crave cookies, but in my normal non dieting life I rarely eat them (don't have a big sweet tooth). Apparently I don't like being told what to do or I rebel

The point is a lot of people use moderation to get a little of what they were so used to when they were not dieting. I say all that to say this. You have incredible will power to take away that part of your life. As long as your healthy and it isn't something that you should be doing but are not, you have to do what works for you. You remind me of my friend when she quit smoking, most people have to wean themselves off of cigarettes. They are addictive and quitting cold turkey - while possible is extremely hard and easy to fail. My friend one day decided she had had enough and never picked it up again. Point: regardless of whether it is cold turkey or moderation the goal is to stop destructive behavior. you just more will than most people.

I avoid sugar and potato chips, sometimes I can have a small portion and I am ok, but you are right it is like a carb monster you can't control sometimes. It pisses me off when people tell you what they think you should do. Like someone else said you lost 188 lbs, you must know what you are doing.

i was just wondering is there anybody who had to take things form there diet? i had to i cannot eat sugary stuff or bready stuff it like i have this sugar carb monster that lves in me so i don't eat it at all. i can be around it ALL day and not be tempted by it anymore. but i was at a friend party at the office and she brought all this cake and cookies i decline. she went on about this moderation thing and then she said it not normal and it like nobody understands that i have to avoid sugar like the plaugue. is there anybody else that like that or am i the only one because this "eat whatever you want in moderation" key does not work for me. i eat a set way because it helps control cravings and what nots but as southern as i am my biscuits and sweet tea days had to come to a end it was killing me. i do admire people who can do the moderation thing i look at them at awe when they just have one cookie or something and i like "how?" i don't get it. sometimes and no disrespect to other addictions, i think food addictions are the worst because you have to eat you don'tr need drugs and you dont need drinks but you have to eat. no way around it. :ohwell:

I cannot eat sugar in moderation either. It sets me off into bingeland. I come from a family of addicts (alchohol, food) and when I eat certain things -- refinded starch and sugars -- I have no control. So for me, just like you said, it is all or nothing!

Is it possible to eat whatever the hell you want as long as you are within your calories and still lose weight? ABSOLUTELY! Is it recommended? NO!!!

You might be seeing the number on the scale go down but the vitamins found in lean protein and veggies is essential to your health.

but all in all, do whatever is working for you.... because its obviously working!

I have a sugar addiction. I can eat it but can't stop once I start (I polished almost a whole pint of Ben&Jerry's Half Baked in one sitting. Finished it the next day.) And the cravings get worse with each bit I do eat. So I just stay away. Sure moderation can work. But in the long run, I prefer to put my daily calories toward foods that are good for your body. Take the calories in a few cookies - you can get more food in the form of 'healthy' calories and get the nutrients that the body needs.

Take comfort in the fact that most of my skinny friends can't resist finishing a whole pint of ben and jerrys if they start one either. I think thats just due to ben and jerrys being so incredibly good tasting. (:
Although it definitely isn't comforting that they're still skinny as twigs after they do it. lol