The truth about "I still eat the foods I love"
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »I eat what I want within my allotted calories. I pre-plan my dinner, a dessert and my 5oz glass of wine. Then, I work the rest of my day around that. This means that the adjustments I make to accommodate my favorites will change depending on what else I'm eating that day. I just fiddle with the portions until it all works out and then stick to the plan.
Chips/Salty snacks have never been a big thing for me, so I hardly ever eat them and it was no big loss for me to skip those calories.
Pastries/Sweets are my big thing. My coworkers used to call me "Fritter" because I'd get an apple fritter doughnut from our bakery every morning. Now, in an attempt to get my protein from food rather than a supplement, I've taken to eating a Greek yogurt with some milled flaxseed in it. Protein, fiber, and good fats...triple win. Since I'm a creature of habit, this is now my every morning/workday snack.
Since sweets are my favorite, I do plan a dessert for each night. Sometimes I can work in pie or cake. Most often it's ice cream because a half-cup serving is very easy for me to fit in my day. Sometimes, I'm stuck with one piece of dark chocolate because 63 calories is all I can spare. But, I do eat sweets every day.
Pizza has never been a big thing for me. I've always eaten 2-3 medium slices. I only have pizza once a month, but since I discovered the calories, I just know that on those days, I'm going to have to be really careful what I eat to help offset the pizza. I also only get the good pizzas, otherwise I feel I've wasted my calories. It's hard, no lie, but worth it, imho.
I've never been much of a soda drinker. I'd open a can of Pepsi and spend all day sipping it and then end up throwing half of it away. Easy to cut those calories.
I used to drink fruity vodka juice drinks. Now, I drink one 5-oz glass of wine. I don't miss it much at all.
I guess the thing about eating what you want is discovering for yourself what things are worth the calories to you. I like carrot cake, but I can never seem to make it worth the sacrifice to fit it in. So, I just never buy it. I could fit it in if I loved it as much as the pizza, but I don't. And this is the lesson to be learned. Everybody has things they will sacrifice for to fit into their day...things that are worth having even if it's just a small portion. Those things are different from person to person. I think part of the journey is learning not only how to fit those things in, but which things you, personally, want to fit in.
Pretty much this.
You pretty much got to make the most of your calories. I have no problem skipping rice at dinner so I can have some ice cream at lunch, for example. It's about choices, and what you really want to use your calories for. Yesterday we went to a pizza place and I decided to get a salad because I wanted ice cream more than pizza that day. Today I skipped the oil in my salad so I could have a piece of chocolate. And I keep a bigger deficit during the week so that if I end up going over during the week end, I still keep a deficit for the week (I ate 2800 calories on Sunday, still ended up with a 2000+ calorie deficit for the week).
Sure, people will argue that it's not healthy or whatnot... but I still stick to my macros 95% of the time, and the truth is that if I didn't do it this way, I would never have lost the weight... so whether I'm doing it 'right' or not is a moot point. I've tried cutting things I liked out, and always ended up binging. Figured out I had to find a way to make things fit in my day... and I did.
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Girl Scout cookies come in handy single serving packages.0
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HappyCampr1 wrote: »I think the OP was just looking for people to show some of the trade-offs we make so that we can eat the foods we love. Some real-life examples so the newbies understand better what people actually do while fitting in our favorites.
That's how I took it.0 -
I read that as blatant trolling....
Yeah, and I confess my bias to giving the side eye to any "I don't eat anything but light and goodness" from a profile pic of a thigh gap. My pro-ana senses start tingling.
the "pizza makes me sick...and I don't eat that other crap" were kind of a tip off....
ED and trolling aren't quite the same.0 -
One thing that disconcerts me a little on these boards is that when someone writes in about foods they are giving up, there is a chorus which replies "I've lost X and I still eat the foods I love". It gives off the vibe of a Slimfast commercial and implies that there is something magical where you make no sacrifices but still lose weight. Of course we all know that isn't true, and you do have to moderate your intake of certain foods.
Eating a normal portion of chocolate when I crave it and can work it into my day =/= sacrifice. It just means smart consumption. Eating a normal portion of fruit is another thing I had to start doing, such that I couldn't keep eating like a whole watermelon and 2 mangoes and 3 pomegranates and a huge bowl of cherries and another huge bowl of strawberries all in the same day on top of my other normal consumption patterns. Again, not sacrifice. Just smart consumption.
My list:
Ice Cream: I've never been one to eat ice cream that often. When I do I eat a portion that fits into my day - sometimes that means a small portion, other times it means a big portion.
Soda: I haven't consumed pop outside of mixing with alcohol in YEARS. Like, end of elementary school.
Pasta: 50-60 grams dry for a serving instead of double that if I'm making a single-serve dish. I don't monitor how much I use for things like lasagna or macaroni casserole etc. I just use however much I want. Combine with lots of protein, cheese, and some veggies to increase protein and fat and volume. 50-60g of pasta is now more than enough for me.
Chips: I eat these as I please. I just don't eat half or the whole family-sized bag anymore. We don't buy chips very often in general though and my dad keeps buying flavours I'm not fond of.
Cookies/Cakes: I eat these whenever I please. I ate a cookie for breakfast today. A muffin and three cookies yesterday.
Cereal: ~30-45g with half a cup of milk is plenty for me. Consumed when desired. I can go through a box in a few months on my own.
NOne of this is sacrifice, just eating reasonable portions. Should I go on to talk about how I do this with chicken, salmon, rice, fruits, veggies, oil, etc?
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I don't think anyone has every said they don't have to work at it. Whether you are wanting to lose, maintain or bulk, you still have to work for it. But, there is a big difference between being overly restrictive and moderation. In fact, I think the people who practice moderation are actually working harder - because they are conquering their food issues head on, instead of avoiding them altogether with a restrictive plan.
Do I eat whatever I want? Yes.
Do I eat how much I want to eat every day? No.
Can I eat whatever I want every single meal of every day, in any quantity? Hell no.0 -
I still eat most foods that I like, but I definitely restrict them all. There are absolutely sacrifices made for weight control.
Some I don't like to eat small portions of, so I just eat them much less often than I'd like - baby back ribs and mac n cheese for example.
Other things like baked goods, beer and candy I eat less often because I'd rather have something else most days.
Everything else I just eat smaller portions of than I'd usually like.
I'd like to be able to eat and drink more than I can without weight gain. I guess my TDEE is just lower than I'd like.0 -
This pretty much echoes my feelings but you do have to keep in mind the different calorie goals people have. It's definitely eye roll inducing to hear someone bragging about how they eat ice cream every day only to see they're putting down a whopping 3 spoonfuls in the middle of the 1600 calories they're allotted. On the flip side of that you do have people who are really eating a pint of ice cream after a half of a pizza because they're bulking or they have a job that requires they walk 9 million miles a day on top of the 2 hours they work out each day. The real takeaway is don't put so much stock in other people. Mostly because people are crap but also because you have to do what works for you because that's all that really matters.
You're still here?
Stating that one eats x and y within their calories isn't bragging. Doesn't matter if their goal is 1500 calories or 3000 calories.
You really need to stop complaining about this subject ad nauseam.-2 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »I think the OP was just looking for people to show some of the trade-offs we make so that we can eat the foods we love. Some real-life examples so the newbies understand better what people actually do while fitting in our favorites.
I don't do any "trade-offs" I just adjust how I viewed a portion before and how I view one now. A portion of ice cream is not a large bowl, it's usually around 120 grams. I guess the trade-off would be that I eat nutrient dense and macro friendly foods for most of the day.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
I read that as blatant trolling....
Yeah, and I confess my bias to giving the side eye to any "I don't eat anything but light and goodness" from a profile pic of a thigh gap. My pro-ana senses start tingling.
the "pizza makes me sick...and I don't eat that other crap" were kind of a tip off....
ED and trolling aren't quite the same.
No, but one thing we've learned is that making fun of the "MFP Fatsos" is recreation on many pro-ana sites. So, you know...an invasion of ED trolls on April Fools is not beyond imagination.0 -
McDonalds food makes me sick. No disordered eating here.0 -
keithcw_the_first wrote: »I don't think it's always couched with "In moderation" or "just less of them" or "and then I adjust my activity level or other meals" or "in the same amount but less frequently". Those are all very important qualifiers.
"Don't give up your favorite foods! Just eat them in moderation, pay attention to your serving sizes, move more, and also treat yourself to a donut after you pulled 400 lbs. on a deadlift" is misleading. It's not as easy as all that; that's what most people seem to struggle with. So if it's easier to bail on ice cream than it is to figure out how to work it into your macros... then bail on ice cream!
How to work something into calories/macros:
1) look at how many calories you have left
2) See if you've met your protein and fat minimums, or whether you are fat off from them. I only check if I've met protein needs.
3) Search for desired food
4) Log default serving size
5) Adjust serving size quantity until it fits into your calories, then eat said serving size. This may mean only eating half that donut or you could eat the whole thing. Who knows.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
I read that as blatant trolling....
Yeah, and I confess my bias to giving the side eye to any "I don't eat anything but light and goodness" from a profile pic of a thigh gap. My pro-ana senses start tingling.
the "pizza makes me sick...and I don't eat that other crap" were kind of a tip off....
ED and trolling aren't quite the same.
No, but one thing we've learned is that making fun of the "MFP Fatsos" is recreation on many pro-ana sites. So, you know...an invasion of ED trolls on April Fools is not beyond imagination.
True enough. And we have daily new ANAs as well.0 -
I still eat the foods I love. It's all about making choices and fitting them into your macros. I've lost 35 lbs and I drink wine almost every day. Some people choose to eat pizza, chocolate, or anything else they love. The trick is to be mindful and make wise choices based on what you love. The reality is that you can't eat all the foods you love every day, and there are some foods that I choose not to eat because the "cost" is too high for me.0
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I don't understand why "I still eat the foods I love, just less of them" is such a hard concept to grasp....
Some give detailed context. Some will do a flyby post saying "don't give it up" or "I had beer and pizza last night" with no context or explanation. OP is right, if there's enough of the second kind dogpiling on, it does read like an Amway sales pitch. Individual posts aren't usually considered in a vacuum. One person saying they save up 100 calories a day to make room for pizza on Friday looks like the odd one out when everyone else says, "eat the pizza," then doesn't post again until they see the word "clean" come up.
As for the OP -
Mine comes from cooking from scratch. I control what goes in it, I control the portion size. That also means if I don't want it enough to go to the trouble of cooking, I'm not having it. It's a lot easier to overdo it when all you have to do is drive to a speaker or let a server hand you a plate holding enough food for 3 on it. It's also a lot easier to underestimate what you're eating when you don't make it. My pizza is under 300 calories. The place up the street where the cheese layer is 1/2 inch thick, going to set you back a half day or more.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
McDonalds food makes me sick. No disordered eating here.
Nice, playing on semantics.
Others have pointed out that her comment demonstrated disordered eating. So, enough said.0 -
keithcw_the_first wrote: »I don't think it's always couched with "In moderation" or "just less of them" or "and then I adjust my activity level or other meals" or "in the same amount but less frequently". Those are all very important qualifiers.
"Don't give up your favorite foods! Just eat them in moderation, pay attention to your serving sizes, move more, and also treat yourself to a donut after you pulled 400 lbs. on a deadlift" is misleading. It's not as easy as all that; that's what most people seem to struggle with. So if it's easier to bail on ice cream than it is to figure out how to work it into your macros... then bail on ice cream!
How to work something into calories/macros:
1) look at how many calories you have left
2) See if you've met your protein and fat minimums, or whether you are fat off from them. I only check if I've met protein needs.
3) Search for desired food
4) Log default serving size
5) Adjust serving size quantity until it fits into your calories, then eat said serving size. This may mean only eating half that donut or you could eat the whole thing. Who knows.
Pre-logging is great for this. I log all my meals/snacks in the AM. Then, during the day if I really want something, like a piece of chocolate, I see what I can swap out without getting below my minimum protein goal (110g).
So, today, I have yogurt and cranberries remaining for snack. That's 200 calories. But, there's cookies here. I want one. I'll probably make the trade, since I have plenty of protein, and I'll still be in my calorie goal. But, that also means that I can't eat 3 cookies because I can't keep swapping out my original plan. LOL.
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This pretty much echoes my feelings but you do have to keep in mind the different calorie goals people have. It's definitely eye roll inducing to hear someone bragging about how they eat ice cream every day only to see they're putting down a whopping 3 spoonfuls in the middle of the 1600 calories they're allotted. On the flip side of that you do have people who are really eating a pint of ice cream after a half of a pizza because they're bulking or they have a job that requires they walk 9 million miles a day on top of the 2 hours they work out each day. The real takeaway is don't put so much stock in other people. Mostly because people are crap but also because you have to do what works for you because that's all that really matters.
You're still here?
Stating that one eats x and y within their calories isn't bragging. Doesn't matter if their goal is 1500 calories or 3000 calories.
You really need to stop complaining about this subject ad nauseam.
It's kind of bragging. It usually follows someone saying how they gave up something and it helped them. Right off the bat you'll get 10 "but I eat X and Y daily!!!!!!" OK. So? Good for you that you want to squeeze in .3454545 nano liters of ice cream a day but to some people it's not even worth it. It's basically people wanting to brag about how wild and free they are with their food when really they're almost insanely controlled with it.
You are reading into what is said and filtering it with your own personal struggles. People are not bragging about being wild and free, they are saying that through being controlled with intake they still fit what they enjoy in.0
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