what is a food you have cut from your diet with some success?

magerum wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

magerum wrote: »

emilyr0011 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

nabernal wrote: »

What have I let go of? Late night snacking and eating past 6pm. Also fast food, chocolate (which is my weakness), sugars and anything fried. Bread, rice, pizza, and pasta are things I refuse to eat right now. So far its been 2 weeks of clean eating, and I'm already down 11 pounds. I am thinking I was having at least 3,000 calories a day before this.
I do have a cheat meal (controlling my portion) once a week.

what a sad, sad, world that must be...

Why is that a sad world? Apparently she's pleased with the choice of eating more nutrient dense foods instead of foods that don't provide nutrients, which is actually a good thing to some people. So she's happy with her choices and the progress she's made - good.

Why do you jump around these forums just smartazzing all over the place? I mean, really? Oh wait, it's a public forum so everyone has the right to. This is the thing - you probably really do have some really good information to share, but douchebaggery turns people's ears away and tunes you out.

Typically people that restrict certain foods, that they actually like, fail due to it not being sustainable over long periods of time. Especially if it's a long list.

To lose weight everyone needs to cut something. Whether you cut out a little of everything or all of a few things, you still are likely to regain the weight.

That something being caloric intake regardless of source. I would wager one would be less likely to regain the weight if they grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures instead of just eliminating foods they like and enjoy.

I think anybody who has deliberately lost weight HAS grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures. Those that choose to eliminate certain foods have just decided that those foods don't fit their goals nearly as well as other available choices....and I suspect many of them like and enjoy the foods they do eat.

cavewoman15 wrote: »

keeping in mind that everyone's goals and habits are different, what is one food that you have deemed 'bad' for *you* and have successfully cut from your diet?

for example, i cut diet sodas and all artificial sweeteners out last april. i have had the occasional piece of gum or mint offered by someone else, and surely had some inadvertently without my knowledge/awareness, but have largely cut them.

i'm looking for some new challenges and hoping for some inspiration!

I've cut back on juice. Now I mainly use it for smoothies or I'll measure out a small amount. Before I probably used to drink 3 glasses of juice a day. I don't care for plain water that much. I cut up and freeze different fruit and put it into an infuser and drink that instead.

alcohol. This was my biggest hindrance in acheiving my goal.

Juice. I drank it because it was 'healthy', but have realized it's just drinking my calories and the minimal nutrition can be found better other places.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

magerum wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

magerum wrote: »

emilyr0011 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

nabernal wrote: »

What have I let go of? Late night snacking and eating past 6pm. Also fast food, chocolate (which is my weakness), sugars and anything fried. Bread, rice, pizza, and pasta are things I refuse to eat right now. So far its been 2 weeks of clean eating, and I'm already down 11 pounds. I am thinking I was having at least 3,000 calories a day before this.
I do have a cheat meal (controlling my portion) once a week.

what a sad, sad, world that must be...

Why is that a sad world? Apparently she's pleased with the choice of eating more nutrient dense foods instead of foods that don't provide nutrients, which is actually a good thing to some people. So she's happy with her choices and the progress she's made - good.

Why do you jump around these forums just smartazzing all over the place? I mean, really? Oh wait, it's a public forum so everyone has the right to. This is the thing - you probably really do have some really good information to share, but douchebaggery turns people's ears away and tunes you out.

Typically people that restrict certain foods, that they actually like, fail due to it not being sustainable over long periods of time. Especially if it's a long list.

To lose weight everyone needs to cut something. Whether you cut out a little of everything or all of a few things, you still are likely to regain the weight.

That something being caloric intake regardless of source. I would wager one would be less likely to regain the weight if they grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures instead of just eliminating foods they like and enjoy.

I think anybody who has deliberately lost weight HAS grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures. Those that choose to eliminate certain foods have just decided that those foods don't fit their goals nearly as well as other available choices....and I suspect many of them like and enjoy the foods they do eat.

This is one reason why I don't think "I have eliminated X" is really necessary. If you set goals, you may end up never (or almost never) eating X, because you always prefer to eat Y, given the context.

To take one example brought up here, I NEVER drink juice. I just can't see any reason to do so, when I could eat the fruit instead, given my own preferences and priorities. But if one day I woke up dying for a glass of orange juice and eating an orange or drinking something else just wouldn't cut it, I'd probably go find some orange juice somewhere, because why not? And then I probably wouldn't have it again for another year.

Thus, I honestly don't understand the purpose of cutting out juice.

Edit: not picking on juice in particular or cutting things out, but just interested in what seems to be different preferred ways of thinking about this.

Dude, we're the same person. I had apple juice once last year, although I did work my way through the bottle. I was craving it when I was sick.

And why cut out things you like to eat? That said, there are a whole bunch of things I don't eat or eat very rarely. Those are things that don't agree with my stomach or my goals. But I never really ate them before dieting either because I don't really like then and/or their effects.

No soda ever.

Very little refined sugar. Mostly in baked items if I have an event going.

I've actually added meat back into my diet as of this fall. I was vegetarian for 8 years, vegan for 3 of those years. Found out that my active body needed more animal protein than plant protein (which was not being used and digested as well). Put on a few pounds of muscle and became a faster runner, so its working out :P

JPW1990 wrote: »

auddii wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

magerum wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

magerum wrote: »

emilyr0011 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

nabernal wrote: »

What have I let go of? Late night snacking and eating past 6pm. Also fast food, chocolate (which is my weakness), sugars and anything fried. Bread, rice, pizza, and pasta are things I refuse to eat right now. So far its been 2 weeks of clean eating, and I'm already down 11 pounds. I am thinking I was having at least 3,000 calories a day before this.
I do have a cheat meal (controlling my portion) once a week.

what a sad, sad, world that must be...

Why is that a sad world? Apparently she's pleased with the choice of eating more nutrient dense foods instead of foods that don't provide nutrients, which is actually a good thing to some people. So she's happy with her choices and the progress she's made - good.

Why do you jump around these forums just smartazzing all over the place? I mean, really? Oh wait, it's a public forum so everyone has the right to. This is the thing - you probably really do have some really good information to share, but douchebaggery turns people's ears away and tunes you out.

Typically people that restrict certain foods, that they actually like, fail due to it not being sustainable over long periods of time. Especially if it's a long list.

To lose weight everyone needs to cut something. Whether you cut out a little of everything or all of a few things, you still are likely to regain the weight.

That something being caloric intake regardless of source. I would wager one would be less likely to regain the weight if they grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures instead of just eliminating foods they like and enjoy.

I think anybody who has deliberately lost weight HAS grasped the concepts of caloric values and expenditures. Those that choose to eliminate certain foods have just decided that those foods don't fit their goals nearly as well as other available choices....and I suspect many of them like and enjoy the foods they do eat.

This is one reason why I don't think "I have eliminated X" is really necessary. If you set goals, you may end up never (or almost never) eating X, because you always prefer to eat Y, given the context.

To take one example brought up here, I NEVER drink juice. I just can't see any reason to do so, when I could eat the fruit instead, given my own preferences and priorities. But if one day I woke up dying for a glass of orange juice and eating an orange or drinking something else just wouldn't cut it, I'd probably go find some orange juice somewhere, because why not? And then I probably wouldn't have it again for another year.

Thus, I honestly don't understand the purpose of cutting out juice.

Edit: not picking on juice in particular or cutting things out, but just interested in what seems to be different preferred ways of thinking about this.

Dude, we're the same person. I had apple juice once last year, although I did work my way through the bottle. I was craving it when I was sick.

And why cut out things you like to eat? That said, there are a whole bunch of things I don't eat or eat very rarely. Those are things that don't agree with my stomach or my goals. But I never really ate them before dieting either because I don't really like then and/or their effects.

I like white chocolate Reese's, and I like dark chocolate. To eat 1 Reese's, I'd have to give up half my fruit and vegetables for the day to make it fit. To eat a square of dark chocolate, I'd have to give up a grape tomato. All things being equal, I'd rather have a salad with 5 tomatoes instead of 6 and have some chocolate than leave all the veggies out of my omelet to have a peanut butter cup. Or, just have all 6 tomatoes and eat the dark chocolate, because going 2 over isn't earth shattering, while going 11 over in that compact a package will probably just send me straight to the bathroom.

Well yes, but that's only because you choose low carb. Severe restrictions mean sacrifices. Eh, to each his own. As long as you're happy with how you eat and it's sustainable for you.

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

I think at least some people when they say they have cut something out (unless they absolutely cannot ever have it for medical reasons), do mean something similar to that. At least I do. The words really aren't important. Different people describe the same concept differently.

I think this is interesting, and I think it's clear from some of the comments that on the whole many of the posters who don't cut things out and many who claim to do, in fact, do the same thing.

I guess to me "cutting something out" means that I actively want it but don't allow myself to eat it because the food is bad in general or because I think it's bad for me in any quantity. Not because it doesn't happen to fit in my calories that day or because I'd rather eat something else that better fits my goals, but because there's some reason why eating that food is actively harmful. To give an example, I did cut out alcohol because I was a drunk. I think alcohol is actively bad for me (sadly). There were times when I really, really wanted a drink and did not have one, because I don't think I can safely. I'd say something similar is true if you are allergic to a food or have a negative reaction to it or have a particular condition that may be worsened by it.

I see cutting out juice or fast food or rarely eating cake to be different things, because I eat them when the circumstances are such that I WANT them and they fit with my calories and priorities. This just happens rarely or never.

The reason I think it's important, at least for some of us, is that it's a lot easier to not eat foods because you don't want to eat them than because you've cut them out. I don't eat fast food (or TV dinners) because I don't want to--I don't think it tastes that good and certainly it isn't worth the calories for me, even apart from the nutritional profile, given the possible alternatives. Since I never want it, I can't say I've cut it out. It would be like saying I've cut out canned tuna when the fact is I simply dislike canned tuna. Similarly, although I like juice just fine, I don't like it more than the alternative calorie sources without something more (like a belief that it contributes good things to my diet) that I do not currently have. So I never want juice. It's not like I'm white knuckling it thinking about how I will resist the urge to have the evil juice. Again, it seems weird to me to say I've cut out something I never even think about having or regret the lack of.

I say I've eliminated sweets because they're just not something I normally consider eating. It doesn't even cross my mind. You can call that moderation if you like, but that sounds misleading to me. To me, moderation implies small amounts on a somewhat regular basis. I think my approach is closer to elimination. But if you prefer to call that an extremely strict form of moderation, I have no real problem with that. It's just not how I think of it. I don't even worry about fitting this type of thing into my calorie goal because it is so rare the calories are completely irrelevant.

I'd call this moderation because it sounds like you aren't wanting the things you aren't eating. As you said, they don't cross your mind. Lots of things are in this category for me (more specific things than added sugar, but let's say cake or candy other than high quality chocolate or store-bought bread). I don't consider myself to have cut them out, because I'm just not that interested in eating them, given the costs and the alternatives (the other things I'd rather eat) and given how I generally eat.

If someone is asking for advice, or how I lost the weight...does it more clearly communicate what I actually did to say I cut out sweets, or to say I eat sweets in moderation?

Well, for me neither would be really true (or how I've lost the weight). How I lost the weight was reducing calories by, specifically, focusing on eating a nutrient-rich and balanced diet, and eating extras (which is how I'd describe most foods with added sugar and also various other foods like white bread or cheese or bacon) only sparingly, when I had the calories. In particular, by eating mindfully and not eating foods that didn't seem to me to be worth it either because they contributed to my nutrition goals or sufficiently delicious. Now, what I consider sufficiently delicious and what you consider sufficiently delicious are going to be different (and for me may vary from day to day)--I go without eating bread for significant periods of time, rarely eat rice, etc., not because that's how I lost weight, but because for me those foods aren't interesting enough to be worth the calories. But the idea that one must cut them out to lose (or that I want them enough to bother cutting them out) seems silly, so I would never tell someone that not eating store-bought bread or cereal or granola bars is the way to lose weight even though I don't.

Hmm, I guess that's the point in a nutshell--foods I don't eat are foods I don't want to eat. Cutting foods out implies that you are not eating them despite wanting to eat them, and that's not the case for the foods I don't eat (other than, from time to time, my regret that I can't drink wine).

For the record, I'm not at all trying to argue, but just to work through the different understandings of the words we are using. ;-)

I have not 100% cut anything from my diet. I have cut BACK a lot on things like giant hunks of cheese or Dr Pepper ....I've cut back on wine...but not because I deemed it bad for me but simply because I'd rather spend my calories elsewhere.

Cheap chocolate candy. Now I hold out for the really good stuff and enjoy it without guilt.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I'd call this moderation because it sounds like you aren't wanting the things you aren't eating. As you said, they don't cross your mind. Lots of things are in this category for me (more specific things than added sugar, but let's say cake or candy other than high quality chocolate or store-bought bread). I don't consider myself to have cut them out, because I'm just not that interested in eating them, given the costs and the alternatives (the other things I'd rather eat) and given how I generally eat.

Hmm, I guess that's the point in a nutshell--foods I don't eat are foods I don't want to eat. Cutting foods out implies that you are not eating them despite wanting to eat them, and that's not the case for the foods I don't eat (other than, from time to time, my regret that I can't drink wine).

For the record, I'm not at all trying to argue, but just to work through the different understandings of the words we are using. ;-)

I see what you're saying. In my case it's not that I don't like the things I have cut/restricted/severely moderated. I do. If they were sitting in my kitchen right now, I might have a hard time resisting them. But since they aren't, I don't miss them (I hope that makes sense). Out of sight, out of mind seems to work for me. Luckily, I like many things...many of which don't cause issues for me.

For example, caramels vs. peanut butter. I like both, both are high in calories. I eat peanut butter almost every day...sometimes 300-400 calories worth. Yet I almost never eat caramels. Why the different treatment?

Natural peanut butter is just peanuts and salt so sets off no cravings in me. Despite my adoration of peanut butter, I never get the urge to eat all of it. So for me, it is an infinitely better choice than caramels, which are basically just sugar...which I also like but which WILL set off cravings and might result in a binge. Two choices...two things I like just about equally...I pick the one with no downside.

Calories aren't the problem. The peanut butter calories easily fit. I could simply replace that with caramels once in a while if I wanted to eat them... but the sugar in caramels causes cravings I find very difficult to manage. If I buy it, the cravings will come back. Just not worth it. I am ashamed to admit I have eaten entire containers of fleur de sel caramels in one sitting many times. I have never eaten an entire jar of peanut butter. Easy decision.

In terms of what you said about things that are actively harmful to you in some way, I suppose I put sugar in that category because I have major control issues with it. It is a trigger for binge eating, and when I eliminate the sugar the binges completely disappear. Maybe I have eliminated it long enough that I could now reintroduce it with better control. But maybe I haven't. I see no reason to test it when I am doing so well. I have very little to gain (other than a lot of weight). I am satisfied having the occasional dessert on a holiday or special occasion with a friend. That I have never had trouble managing. Keeping it at home is just asking for trouble.

That being said...I never feel deprived. I don't sit here thinking how terrible it is that I am not eating caramels or other sugary stuff. I do like it...but I don't actively crave it if I haven't been eating it recently. At the beginning I did crave it. It took a while to get the sugar out of my system, so for a few weeks it was painful...but now it is habit and easy. The only time I ever miss it is when I walk past the crepe place a few blocks from my apartment or a bakery and smell that just made sweet smell. But that last 30 seconds and then I forget all about it with no harm done.

Potato chips, soft drinks *unless they are mixed with alcohol*
I used to eat a lot of potato chips in high school, a big bag with KETCHUP (i know, gross) and a chocolate block would be my lunch, though i was never fat.
I haven't had chips in like three years, although i feel like i haven't given up anything, my taste buds changed, now i'd rather have like popcorn.
Obviously, that doesn't work for everything, it hasn't been a single day that didn't have any kind of chocolate treat.