How I decided how to eat for life
ninerbuff
Posts: 49,067 Member
I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Replies
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it's funny how many people are convinced they must cut out some food group to lose weight. that it is a certain food making them fat and not just too much food.0
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I thought about trying this. Probably will when I'm maintaing.
Just for the times i bloat i will cut out certain things that i know make me bloat when i would like a flat tummy (bikini.. etc)
I think what people forget is that sometimes eating junk will get you at your calorie intake faster than eating a whole food meal.
600 calories could be divide between 2 meals, but one junk meal could equate to 600 calories causing you to overeat. At least thats how i look at it. You should really just be able to enjoy your food and hit your goal without going over.
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SI looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Sounds like me hahaha0 -
You've nailed it!! It drives me nuts when I hear people talk about giving up foods, fad diets, and all that because it's just not necessary to lose weight. I've lost all my weight enjoying the foods I love, in moderation. :-)0
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I took a rational approach as well and this is what I ended up with:
Mostly whole foods for taste and health.
Some processed foods for taste and convenience.
Low carb for sustainability and health considerations.
Food is not "just fuel". Celebrate holidays and special occasions with food for health (food variety) and happiness.
Fast periodically for health.0 -
I sort of stumbled into how I eat by default too.
I'm pretty much a whole foods ovo-lacto vegetarian with an ice cream habit.
I didn't give up meat for health. I just really don't like it. As for the whole foods thing? Eh, I've been a scratch cook since I was 10 years old. I'm a damned good cook too. I'd rather make my own foods than buy packaged ones. I've always been this way. Nothing pretentious about it. We were poor when I was a kid, and it was cheaper to do things that way.
Wait, does this mean I'm a whole foods hipster?0 -
I love food too much to give up any of it.
Except Cauliflower, liver, beets...0 -
I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
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Sadly I think it does...
I think people put far too much thought into this when they don't have any more specific a goal than to lose weight... Eat what you want as long as you don't exceed your recommended intake.
Personally I want better health as well as losing weight and am really enjoying discovering new foods that I do like, particularly fruits and vegetables. Does this mean I've actually given anything up? No, enjoy having my treats but I'm careful about it is all. A takeaway and a glass of coke after work with the lads.... a KFC meal and some birthday cake for my friends birthday the other week but that's it. The rest of the time it's doing my best to eat a higher quality in food specifically to get the best nutrients etc.0 -
I really like the original post.
For me it was something like this:
Vegan -- read the arguments for it. Thought about what I like about it--the focus on veggies and foods like legumes, about eating mindfully, about the ethics of food sourcing. Thought about what I didn't like about it--I don't think the health-based arguments are well-founded, typically too low fat for me to feel satisfied, I respect but ultimately don't buy the ethical argument, and I have trouble when my protein is too low. What I did: took the bits I liked, the focus on getting lots of good, plant-based foods in my diet and appreciating how varied this can be, as well as reinforcing my personal commitment to knowing where my meat/eggs/dairy come from and being choosy.
Low carb -- I'd had some friends with positive experiences and past experience by losing weight through cutting (not to keto levels) carbs. What I liked about it: was intrigued by the idea that it would make you feel better, change your appetite, etc, and plus I'm not that into many staple carbs (i.e., bread, rice, cereal). What I didn't like: well, I enjoy other carbs, and when I try to eat more vegetarian I tend to rely on them. What I did: tried it out and then reintroduced carbs at various levels. Ultimately I found that I actually feel better eating more carbs, but still find cutting them (to 100 g or so) an easy way to lose weight and keeping them around 40% a good place for me.
Paleo -- looked into it, read a bunch of paleo stuff, listened to some podcasts. What I liked: part of this is just that I think grains are overrated and overemphasized, so I was interested. I also like eating lots of meat and veggie based foods, it wasn't low carb (the sources I saw anyway), I have a personal bias toward eating local, "natural," from whole foods, and it seems like a way of eating that would fit my preferences. What I didn't like: I wouldn't find dropping legumes a hardship, but I'm pretty sure they are healthy. I also don't feel worse when eating grains, and think plenty of grains are neutral to positive nutritionally, and I do like pasta on occasion. And I couldn't give up dairy. Also, the caveman rationale is silly. What I did: I do focus on meat and veggies, and am trying to get more wild game, wild caught fish, and eat more organ meats. Also, as with vegan, I like the focus on lots of veggies (and greens) and go along with that. And even though I think it's kind of hypocritical, a lot of the products made for paleo (like lunch options) happen to be things that I also like, so I'll take advantage of that.
Clean -- hate the name, but I still considered it. I honestly don't see the point in claiming that all processed foods are the same and think anyone who claims to have given up processed foods is usually not telling the truth. That said, I already tend to prefer cooking from whole foods when possible, and I considered whether I was relying too much on processed stuff. I am planning to reduce my consumption of protein bars some, because there are other options, although I see no reason to drop them entirely. I also have no plans to drop veggies out of season (what am I supposed to eat in Chicago if I do that?), or non local fish (including smoked salmon), or cheese or eating at restaurants, or any of the other "processed" foods that I think are actively positive in my diet. And this includes chocolate, coffee, and gelato, because they are definitely positives!
So basically for me being thoughtful and caring about both nutrition and my own tastes has meant not accepted any canned approach or outside rules, but crafting my own way of eating (that is not set in stone) based on my own ideas and preferences and the evidence I find convincing. As a result, I'm also open to changing my mind on things.
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I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
I was with my mom yesterday who struggles with her weight, and she told me her friends were all going to this personal trainer who is helping them lose weight. One of the first things she said to me is they told her their trainer said no carbs after noon. Knowing my mom's love for carbs, I told her no way was that necessary. She pretty much ignored me and started talking about string cheese wrapped in ham, lol. She's going to do what she wants, but it frustrates me that people complicate it so much. I used to do the same. I know her, and I know that her restricting her carbs like that is going to lead to her failing down the road, and I don't want to see that. She's going to do what she's going to do though, and I'm not about to argue with her. That being said, I agree with you completely. 0 -
Agreed with everything you've said. Restricting isn't very practical forever. I find learning moderation and practicing good choices are essential. Of course, no one is perfect and my choices aren't always stellar. Pfft-I just shake it off and do the next right thing.0
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Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Why do people insist on equating "different" to "complicated"? Doing any of those things (except maybe "clean" because you need to buy 15 dictionaries first) isn't complicated. I eat cheeseburgers without buns, not complicated. I eat asparagus and steak for dinner without a potato, not complicated. I use whole cream in my coffee instead of coffeemate, definitely not complicated.0 -
As with everyone else: whatever works for you is what matters.0
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Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Well now, wait.
Vegan... not complicated. It's an ethical choice.
Low carb... not complicated, it's meat, cheese, veggies, eggs. You just leave out the starches.
I'll give you paleo and clean because the goalposts move so much. I don't even know what paleo is any more. I did paleo so long ago that it was basically low carb without dairy. Now I don't even know what it is any more.
But dietary choices are often a matter of preferences that we've built over a lifetime. They're no more complicated than avoiding liver and beets because you don't like them.
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runmama411 wrote: »Agreed with everything you've said. Restricting isn't very practical forever. I find learning moderation and practicing good choices are essential. Of course, no one is perfect and my choices aren't always stellar. Pfft-I just shake it off and do the next right thing.
I bet you'd say I've been "restricting" for about 14 years. Seems practical to me.
And, fwiw, isn't calorie counting and eating for the magical macro ratios "restricting"?
Isn't "moderation" "restricting"?
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Makes total sense to me.lemurcat12 wrote: »I really like the original post.
So basically for me being thoughtful and caring about both nutrition and my own tastes has meant not accepted any canned approach or outside rules, but crafting my own way of eating (that is not set in stone) based on my own ideas and preferences and the evidence I find convincing. As a result, I'm also open to changing my mind on things.
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I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
yup yup yup!
i eat whatever the heck i want, i just stay within my calorie goals!
and on the (fairly) rare day when i go over... whatever. its called life and we cant control everything every moment!
34 pounds down since january so whatever I"m doing, is working for me!0 -
Great post OP
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I was too confused by 30 years of dieting industry: been there, done that, didn't work
I decided feck it. I've done it all and yo-yoed for decades, throw it away and simplify it
So I started calorie counting ...and if I want something I eat it, if I ran out of calories I stayed hungry that day, amazing how rarely that happened after the first few times...I learned to select carefully to ensure I had plenty to eat and averaged over the week..I learned to batch cook dishes and fit in my social life and foods I love I eat ...but the foods I consider my "god I just fancy..." have totally changed
And I learned to exercise more and weight lift and worked out I love being fit and strong
All with a view to maintenance ...eg I know I'm losing weight but can I do this for life as I'll just be able to do it with more calories
now I get to eat 2100-2300 calories daily and have just had wagamamas for lunch, homemade cheeseburger and fries for supper and an icecream and still have 500 calories left:)0 -
jenncornelsen wrote: »it's funny how many people are convinced they must cut out some food group to lose weight. that it is a certain food making them fat and not just too much food.thorsmom01 wrote: »You've nailed it!! It drives me nuts when I hear people talk about giving up foods, fad diets, and all that because it's just not necessary to lose weight. I've lost all my weight enjoying the foods I love, in moderation. :-)
Well I think a great many of us were in that spot (stuck in the diet zone) over the years long enough that it's a hard habit to shake and it's a new mentality that ppl learn here. Many ppl on here were in the diet mode for years and years so I don't think it's odd that when someone joins here they are NOT suddenly magically transformed the first day.
It takes time to change our habits and make mental changes. It takes examples showing ppl it works, positive posts and positive examples. That's why I like the positive posts toward new ppl on how it works... I think they go over better than expecting everyone new to already know it all when they first arrive here.
Funny how some members that have been here awhile seem to have forgotten where they came from. Some from the very same spot that new ppl are at when they arrive here.
Always good to remember where we came from... and how far we've come. That can really help out others when we reach out and it helps us to actually stay in that positive place of keeping the weight off.
Not everyone chooses to continue eating the same foods they gained on, some want to make changes in what they put in their bodies. Why get down on those members? It's all individual...each of us are in this by ourselves when it comes to it.
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I took a rational approach as well and this is what I ended up with:
Mostly whole foods for taste and health.
Some processed foods for taste and convenience.
Low carb for sustainability and health considerations.
Food is not "just fuel". Celebrate holidays and special occasions with food for health (food variety) and happiness.
Fast periodically for health.
This is the way I want to live my life.
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I was too confused by 30 years of dieting industry: been there, done that, didn't work
I decided feck it. I've done it all and yo-yoed for decades, throw it away and simplify it
So I started calorie counting ...and if I want something I eat it, if I ran out of calories I stayed hungry that day, amazing how rarely that happened after the first few times...I learned to select carefully to ensure I had plenty to eat and averaged over the week..I learned to batch cook dishes and fit in my social life and foods I love I eat ...but the foods I consider my "god I just fancy..." have totally changed
And I learned to exercise more and weight lift and worked out I love being fit and strong
All with a view to maintenance ...eg I know I'm losing weight but can I do this for life as I'll just be able to do it with more calories
now I get to eat 2100-2300 calories daily and have just had wagamamas for lunch, homemade cheeseburger and fries for supper and an icecream and still have 500 calories left:)
Yup me too...steak and grilled veggies and pasta for dinner tonight...and as I type this I am drinking a 100 calorie long island ice tea and eating chips...why cause I like them and it's hot and I want them and I have the room.mamapeach910 wrote: »Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Well now, wait.
Vegan... not complicated. It's an ethical choice.
Low carb... not complicated, it's meat, cheese, veggies, eggs. You just leave out the starches.
I'll give you paleo and clean because the goalposts move so much. I don't even know what paleo is any more. I did paleo so long ago that it was basically low carb without dairy. Now I don't even know what it is any more.
But dietary choices are often a matter of preferences that we've built over a lifetime. They're no more complicated than avoiding liver and beets because you don't like them.
Vegan isn't always about ethics..
Low carb not complicated but why do that...I love pasta, potatoes, rice etc as I am sure the OP does as he stated he likes carbs too much he didn't say it was complicated.
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I was too confused by 30 years of dieting industry: been there, done that, didn't work
I decided feck it. I've done it all and yo-yoed for decades, throw it away and simplify it
So I started calorie counting ...and if I want something I eat it, if I ran out of calories I stayed hungry that day, amazing how rarely that happened after the first few times...I learned to select carefully to ensure I had plenty to eat and averaged over the week..I learned to batch cook dishes and fit in my social life and foods I love I eat ...but the foods I consider my "god I just fancy..." have totally changed
And I learned to exercise more and weight lift and worked out I love being fit and strong
All with a view to maintenance ...eg I know I'm losing weight but can I do this for life as I'll just be able to do it with more calories
now I get to eat 2100-2300 calories daily and have just had wagamamas for lunch, homemade cheeseburger and fries for supper and an icecream and still have 500 calories left:)
Yup me too...steak and grilled veggies and pasta for dinner tonight...and as I type this I am drinking a 100 calorie long island ice tea and eating chips...why cause I like them and it's hot and I want them and I have the room.mamapeach910 wrote: »Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Well now, wait.
Vegan... not complicated. It's an ethical choice.
Low carb... not complicated, it's meat, cheese, veggies, eggs. You just leave out the starches.
I'll give you paleo and clean because the goalposts move so much. I don't even know what paleo is any more. I did paleo so long ago that it was basically low carb without dairy. Now I don't even know what it is any more.
But dietary choices are often a matter of preferences that we've built over a lifetime. They're no more complicated than avoiding liver and beets because you don't like them.
Vegan isn't always about ethics..
Low carb not complicated but why do that...I love pasta, potatoes, rice etc as I am sure the OP does as he stated he likes carbs too much he didn't say it was complicated.
Eh, I agree... why do it? Personal choice? It works for them? I don't see that it's really a big deal if it works for someone else, that's all.
Someone else said giving things up was complicated. I don't think it necessarily is. I'm not in everyone's head. For some people, it's easy.
Me? Gimme potatoes.
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I was too confused by 30 years of dieting industry: been there, done that, didn't work
I decided feck it. I've done it all and yo-yoed for decades, throw it away and simplify it
So I started calorie counting ...and if I want something I eat it, if I ran out of calories I stayed hungry that day, amazing how rarely that happened after the first few times...I learned to select carefully to ensure I had plenty to eat and averaged over the week..I learned to batch cook dishes and fit in my social life and foods I love I eat ...but the foods I consider my "god I just fancy..." have totally changed
And I learned to exercise more and weight lift and worked out I love being fit and strong
All with a view to maintenance ...eg I know I'm losing weight but can I do this for life as I'll just be able to do it with more calories
now I get to eat 2100-2300 calories daily and have just had wagamamas for lunch, homemade cheeseburger and fries for supper and an icecream and still have 500 calories left:)
Yup me too...steak and grilled veggies and pasta for dinner tonight...and as I type this I am drinking a 100 calorie long island ice tea and eating chips...why cause I like them and it's hot and I want them and I have the room.mamapeach910 wrote: »Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Well now, wait.
Vegan... not complicated. It's an ethical choice.
Low carb... not complicated, it's meat, cheese, veggies, eggs. You just leave out the starches.
I'll give you paleo and clean because the goalposts move so much. I don't even know what paleo is any more. I did paleo so long ago that it was basically low carb without dairy. Now I don't even know what it is any more.
But dietary choices are often a matter of preferences that we've built over a lifetime. They're no more complicated than avoiding liver and beets because you don't like them.
Vegan isn't always about ethics..
Low carb not complicated but why do that...I love pasta, potatoes, rice etc as I am sure the OP does as he stated he likes carbs too much he didn't say it was complicated.
Why do you care? Are there people out there gaining 10 lbs every time someone else skips the french fries?0 -
I'll take my low carb ways and happily go sit in the corner and munch some bacon and eggs. It works for me, isn't complicated in the least, and after 18 year of binge eating disorder I finally have control over myself. I'm happy.0
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Lourdesong wrote: »I looked objectively at many different approaches and why it would/wouldn't work for me. Practically all diets fall under these so I just kept it simple:
Vegan- I like meat too much
Low carb- I like carbs too much
Paleo- Too many restrictions for things I like
"Clean" eating- I like processed foods from boxes and cans
So it left me with pretty much with:
Eating whatever I wanted, but making sure I met my daily macro/micro nutrient essentials and staying within a calorie limit to reach whatever goal I was striving for at that time.
Remember it's for LIFE, not just to lose a few pounds on a plan that you'll ditch later because you HATE being on it. Of course this is what I PLAN to do for life. Others will have their own too.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
All those diets create a lot of stumbling blocks and too many opportunities to go off the rails. Like some complicated gadget with way too many needless features - the more things there are, the more things there are that can go wrong.
Why do people insist on equating "different" to "complicated"? Doing any of those things (except maybe "clean" because you need to buy 15 dictionaries first) isn't complicated. I eat cheeseburgers without buns, not complicated. I eat asparagus and steak for dinner without a potato, not complicated. I use whole cream in my coffee instead of coffeemate, definitely not complicated.
Seems to me that it's far more complicated to weigh and measure every morsel of food/drink I put into my mouth rather than just deciding to not eat XXXX anymore.
I did weigh. It does work. I lost 40 lbs. But I'm never doing it again. I certainly wouldn't make a conscious choice to do that for the rest of my life and tell myself it's uncomplicated.
Mostly I stopped calorie counting because it took away the joy of cooking for me. I avoided making complex dishes because sitting down and weighing out 10-15 ingredients, trying to determine how much oil was/was not used in frying, and then summing everything up and dividing by the portion was a nightmare. (Did that serving of chicken curry have more or less potatoes in it? Did I give myself too much chicken this time?) And before someone says, "well that's what the recipe builder is for," please keep in mind that cooking shouldn't be formula. There is a joy in substituting what you have in the fridge. To have the freedom to add a dash of this, and a pinch of that.
If all that works for you, rock on. It certainly worked for me. There's no doubt that limiting calories work.
But i've been maintaining for the past year mostly by trying to be conscious about eating less and moving more. I go up a few, go down a few but in the end, I weigh what I did when I was in high school.
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Of course the idea is to find a program that works for you as an individual. No program is wrong if the individual doing it likes it and can sustain by it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Of course the idea is to find a program that works for you as an individual. No program is wrong if the individual doing it likes it and can sustain by it.
Agreed. There is nothing wrong with vegan/paleo/low-carb/or "clean." If you like it and can sustain it... Do it! Just know that there is nothing magic about them either. Just like there is no wrong way... There is no one "right way" either.0 -
I agree with you. I have tried some of the things you mentioned but find MFP to be the best for me.0
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