What to cut out from your diet?
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I tried to find good alternatives to those things. I picked up 100-cal ish pre-bagged organic cookies, Z-Bars/Odwalla/Kashi bars, and am going to be buying a food dehydrator so I can make my own chips soon (which is more economical than buying them in the store). I try to find grains with flax seed and foods in general that are rich in Omega-3s (Salmon!). I didn't eliminate soda, but I don't have a can or two every night like I used to. After drinking a lot of water, the soda tends to fill me up a little bit. I still go out to eat a lot, but I try to get salad most of the time (or a smaller menu item - like an order of chicken nuggets vs a combo meal). I've learned that at McDonalds, chicken snack wraps are pretty filling (without sauce/ranch/mayo). At Wendys, half salads are about 500 calories of amazing. Substitutions are awesome.0
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I have lost 95lbs. I still eat everything! Just not enough of anything to go over my calorie goal.
This includes ALL breads, pastas, rice, bananas, potatoes, gluten, meat, dairy, "junk".
One thing I do cut out, and will continue to cut out is - any pill that Dr.Oz says is a "super-duper amazingly magical fat burning beast", any other scam shown on late-night infomercials, pre-packaged/planned meals, "shakes".0 -
I cut out nothing. I severely cut down on take out and delivery food (pizza, Chinese. Jimmy Johns, etc) and started doing more cooking for myself. I rarely buy snack food (except almonds and microwave popcorn snack size bags) or sweets but I eat both if I am visiting family and they serve them. I also cut down on alcohol, only having a glass of wine or a beer on occasion.
these were the easiest ways for me to cut down on calories and up the nutrition.
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Soda and fast food.0
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You just stop eating less calories. Cutting out stuff you actually like to eat may easily lead to binges and massive cravings within a couple of weeks and disappoint and failure likely follow after binging. It's part of the reason why only about 10% of people who go on restrictive diets succeed.arilongworth wrote: »What did you guys stop eating ? I cut out chocolate , crisps , ready meals , all sort of sweets!
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Battered Mars bars. Come on, CICO and macros are all very well, but a deep-fried battered Mars bar is never a good idea. And don't drink warm lard. Or pebbles.0
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I haven't cut anything from my diet. I don't eat as much cheese and pasta as I used to. I do eat it, just in moderation now. I used to drink soda only when we went to restaurants but I cut that out. Down to water, coffee and tea...and wine
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oceangirl37 wrote: »I've cut out soda and chips because the calories weren't worth it to me. I've also cut down the frequency I eat fast food. It used to be a weekly thing. Now it's a every couple months thing. Other than that, I've cut out huge portion sizes and extra calories. I aim for 80% healthy /(for me because everyone's definition of healthy is different)20% not so healthy.
This is also true for me...
However I have bargained with myself, to the idea of, if I go to McDonalds or something, I can get a McChicken, but I get it plain and only eat the patty... In a sense it fuels my "want" for fast food, without the extra 200 or so calories... I don't touch the fries or anything else though... Other than that I don't really eat fast food...
I did, however make the mistake of ordering a footlong tuna at subway, thinking I'm doing so good I can manage to eat half and save the other half for the next day... Nope, ended up eating the whole thing because it just tasted SO good... No more subway for me, unless I get a 6" lol0 -
I stopped eating what I didn't like enough to spend the calories on.0
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I did, however make the mistake of ordering a footlong tuna at subway, thinking I'm doing so good I can manage to eat half and save the other half for the next day... Nope, ended up eating the whole thing because it just tasted SO good... No more subway for me, unless I get a 6" lol
Yeah, I have learned that I don't do well with stuff like that so I need to purchase some foods in already controlled portions.
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Carbs... Pretty much all of them... Especially simple carbs... but I am a type 2 diabetic.0
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arilongworth wrote: »What did you guys stop eating ? I cut out chocolate , crisps , ready meals , all sort of sweets!
alcohol - in any amount will inhibit a proper liver function and prevent effective fat metabolism
fried foods - increase your consumption of trans fats which leads to unpleasant type of storage, think cellulite
everything else has its place in your diet as long as you don't over eat your total calories and are aware of proper timing - for example white rice is not evil however it will be best suited in your meal right after a workout and a small piece of cheese or turkey meat will keep your muscles fed all through the night while you sleep ;-)
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I don't cut out anything. I just do my best to make sure it all fits into my calories. Though there are occasions when I go over. (Family parties, pms, etc.)0
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arilongworth wrote: »What did you guys stop eating ? I cut out chocolate , crisps , ready meals , all sort of sweets!
alcohol - in any amount will inhibit a proper liver function and prevent effective fat metabolism
fried foods - increase your consumption of trans fats which leads to unpleasant type of storage, think cellulite
everything else has its place in your diet as long as you don't over eat your total calories and are aware of proper timing - for example white rice is not evil however it will be best suited in your meal right after a workout and a small piece of cheese or turkey meat will keep your muscles fed all through the night while you sleep ;-)
I think you're making some rather sweeping generalizations here that could be quite misleading and unnecessary. While I don't promote binge drinking, the occasional drink in an otherwise reasonable diet isn't going to have a significant effect on total fat loss.
You can eat fried foods and not store excess fat if you're in an overall energy deficit.
Timing of nutrients is far secondary to total intake. There is plenty of evidence of this in the intermittent fasting community and additionally if you look at research examining nutrient timing and it's effects on fat loss the differences collectively are underwhelming.
That's not to say that nutrient timing is irrelevant, but it's far secondary to total energy intake.
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I only cut calories. Any food that I cut out of my diet is for medical reasons only.0
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arilongworth wrote: »
It's math....of course it works.
I cut back substantially on "junk" because "junk food" tends to have a lot of calories...but I still have pizza now and then...I eat something for desert pretty much every night (usually some kind of dark chocolate something or other), etc.
But losing weight is just math and energy balance. A calorie is a unit of energy...you require so much energy to maintain the status quot and function optimally...when you consume more energy than is required, that energy is stored for later use (body fat). When you consume less energy than your body requires, that difference is made up by burning stored energy (body fat) and thus you lose weight. That's it...it really is that simple.0 -
While I've not cut anything completely from my diet, I rarely drink soda or eat chips any more.
As long as I stay under my calorie budget, I'm happy. Yesterday, with the help of 15k steps, I was able to eat 3 strips of thick cut bacon, two beers, a glass of wine and a brownie and still had over a 1000 calorie deficit. (that wasn't all I ate, just listing the 'bad' stuff).1 -
Sugary drinks such as sweet tea. Switched to unsweetened tea with lemon. It took a while since I LOVE sweet tea but now I only drink it unsweet, but always with lemon.0
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DawnieB1977 wrote: »arilongworth wrote: »
It will if you eat small amounts. Say you have a really healthy day, but then you want a treat, and you have the calories left, then say a Freddo bar won't make you go over calories and won't make you gain weight. Or weigh 40g of ice cream, or have a couple of squares of dark choc. I buy my children Walkers Squares crisps, they have 97 calories per bag.
Sometimes, all you need to do is cut the amount of a food you eat, rather than completely cutting it from your diet.
If I "cut" anything, it was big bags / boxes of things. I love jelly beans, and in my school days I could easily down a one-pound bag in a single movie night. I still buy them on occasion, now, but I buy the smaller bags to help me avoid absent-mindedly eating too many calories.
That being said, if you have a food that, once you start eating it, you just can't make yourself stop, it might help to completely cut it from your diet, at first, and then re-introduce it in smaller amounts because completely denying yourself your favorite foods makes any kind of dietary discipline much harder.
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I think it would be a good idea in terms of general strategy for you to focus on things to include in your diet rather than focusing on things to exclude from your diet.
So for example you should seek out foods you enjoy eating that ideally are:
-nutrient dense
-calorie sparse
-filling/satiating
You'll find that most whole foods and/or single ingredient food items will fit this criteria and it would be a good idea to build your diet primarily around that for starters.
So for example if you structure your meals around a good sized serving of protein (for example a palm sized serving), a couple of servings of fibrous vegetables (for example two handfuls), and some source of fat, you'll probably find it easier to adhere to an energy deficit due to the hunger blunting effects of this form of meal composition.
This of course isn't to say that you can't also have the occasional treat/heavily refined item -- but generally speaking I'd focus on minimally refined foods and proteins/vegetables/fruits as the bulk of your diet.0 -
I find word choices interesting in threads like these. There are people like me who will say they don't cut anything out, but if you looked at my diary you would only find alcohol once or twice per year. You'd almost never find anything fried. You'd very rarely find things like bacon or sausage. If you asked me whether I've cut those things out I'd say no. But on the other hand, you've got people saying that they do cut out all kinds of things "except once or twice per week," which is probably more often than I have those things that they've "cut out." I wouldn't say I've cut something out unless I actually never have it and never plan to do so.
I'm curious about the difference in mindset and whether it matters which way you think of it.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
I'm curious about the difference in mindset and whether it matters which way you think of it.
I suspect it does make a difference.0 -
As many have said, I only cut out extra portions of foods that take me over my calorie goals. Still eat ice cream, candy, fried stuff, and still drink pop.0
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I cut my portions and my seconds. I go out to restaurants less often. I had my stomach surgically altered. Lost ninety pounds so far.
Tried for the first time in the past twenty months: Kohlrabi, Okra, Shitaake, Nori, Tiger Nut, Whey protein, refrigerator oatmeal, and steel cut oats.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »I'm curious about the difference in mindset and whether it matters which way you think of it.
I would imagine on an individual level it could matter a great deal. For example, I frequently see posts on this site where people say they immediately start wanting something the minute they say they can't have it or that it's 'bad'. For those people, saying "I'm cutting X out" is probably not a good idea.
But for others it is easier to just say "I cut X" and it doesn't trigger the emotion that others experience.0 -
I cut out soda and juice for sure, way too many sugars .If you drink any of these you really cant have anything else. ANd since I love to eat sweets I might eat some low cal popcorn or peanuts to satify those sugary cravings.0
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OH and I eat way more protein , for thats important.
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ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »I find word choices interesting in threads like these. There are people like me who will say they don't cut anything out, but if you looked at my diary you would only find alcohol once or twice per year. You'd almost never find anything fried. You'd very rarely find things like bacon or sausage. If you asked me whether I've cut those things out I'd say no. But on the other hand, you've got people saying that they do cut out all kinds of things "except once or twice per week," which is probably more often than I have those things that they've "cut out." I wouldn't say I've cut something out unless I actually never have it and never plan to do so.
I'm curious about the difference in mindset and whether it matters which way you think of it.
Probably not, unless all you eat is chocolate and crisps and you go over your calories every day!
I haven't cut out anything, but I don't eat chocolate, cake, sweets every single day either. I rarely drink alcohol, but that's more because I have 3 young kids and my social life these days involves meeting friends at soft play and drinking coffee lol.
I had a real craving for something sweet yesterday so I made some oat raisin cookies and had 1.5 cookies. That was enough for me, and didn't put me over my daily calorie allowance. I'm fairly sure it won't make me gain weight.
I think when you tell yourself you can't have something, that's when you want it. I'm not bothered by not drinking much, but when I was pregnant I found myself really craving alcohol a couple of times, and that's probably because I couldn't have it!0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »I'm curious about the difference in mindset and whether it matters which way you think of it.
I would imagine on an individual level it could matter a great deal. For example, I frequently see posts on this site where people say they immediately start wanting something the minute they say they can't have it or that it's 'bad'. For those people, saying "I'm cutting X out" is probably not a good idea.
But for others it is easier to just say "I cut X" and it doesn't trigger the emotion that others experience.
That's pretty much how I am. Same reason when my high school boyfriend told me I couldn't cut my hair I went home and gave myself a pixie cut with kitchen scissors. :laugh: I should have just lost the boyfriend.0 -
I pretty much eat the same foods just fit it all in my calorie goal.
I know that I can eat much more lower calorie foods than higher calorie foods so the higher calorie foods are smaller portions. Sometimes I look at a food and feel it just isn't worth using my precious calories on as it will not be filling or do much for me nutritionally.
I drink mostly water or unsweetened tea. I prefer to save my calories for food.0
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