Eat whatever you want and still lose weight?

100lbs down and maintaining for nearly 2 years doing it this way

I still eat what i want but in moderation of course. I try to leave my extra calories towards the end of the day so i can make sure i hit my fiber, vitamin and mineral intake.

I am trying MyFitnessPal for the second time around. I like this mindset, I want to be happy and healthy, not starved and deprived. Please friend me! I think I only have one friend Lol.

Yes! This is the only way that works for me. I have lost ten pounds so far. When I restrict myself from foods that I love I just end up binging on them sooner rather than later! Today I was able to eat a burger for dinner and chocolate for dessert and stay within my deficit for the day food tastes so much better without the guilt!

I do much better in terms of calorie compliance (and general well-being) when I eat like nutritionists want you to. I also like it, though. I do still occasionally have fast food, but it's a slippery slope for me if I have it too often (e.g. 2 days in a row - that usually leads to 3 or more). That food also just doesn't fill me up for the calories, at all; I have to go over my target to stay as full as I do when I focus on food quality.

I'm still eating what I want but I find that I'm motivated to cut my portions in half to stay within my limits. I've also completely become a "dressing on the side" girl which was the easiest switch to make and save a ton of calories ...

JAMsMom13 wrote: »

So, I find that the only time I don't lose weight is when I don't eat what I want. I am a firm believer in eating what ever the heck I want just in moderation! I'm down almost 20lbs so I must be doing something right! I am looking for friends who share this belief because it seems like everyone is on this no sugar, no salt, no fun lifestyle. I can't live like that... I won't. So, if you are in the same boat and have been successful or even if you are just starting out, please add me!

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been doing "diets" off and on for the last 35 years, and they haven't worked because restriction just makes me want to eat.

Low carb, which I've attempted many times, just messes with my head.

My sister gave me a NutriBullet a couple of years ago, and I was able to lose 22 pounds, but I don't always want to drink my meals, so that's kind of fallen by the wayside.

I've regained 10 of the pounds I had lost, and want to stop the regain and get back to losing, so I'm going to give tracking with MFP a try and see if that helps at all. I refuse to cut out any food categories, and I'm not going to eat food I don't like just for the sake of weight loss (fat free crap, plain veggies without butter, etc.)

Seeing that several of you here have lost a lot of weight by eating what you like gives me hope that this might work for me too.

Hi all, I am following this way of life too after totally falling off the wagon being too strict with clean eating and putting on 2 stone of my 6.5 stone lost in the last 6 months...Feeling positive and I know what works for me so going back to calorie counting and feeling in control...Please add me xxx

I don't believe in eliminating everything either. If I am hungry for something "forbidden", then I make a plan to include that or I eat it and cut something else out. I don't force myself to have breakfast if I'm not hungry for it, and there have been a few days where I don't eat until supper time. I have cut out 95% of sugary foods (I can't give up my ice cream altogether) and potatoes and rice for the most part. I will have bread, but it will only be once a day. I don't think I am deprived at all. When I did MFP back in August 2012, I bought into the whole "you won't lose weight because your body is in starvation mode", and I ate around 1600 calories then and still lost weight, although it was very slow going. Now I can average anywhere from 1100 calories to 1400 calories most days, but there are still times occasionally where I'll go over that. I have found that my appetite has changed over the years but especially with cutting out the sugar - it's just plain easier.

maillemaker wrote: »

For around twenty years, I tried every restrictive diet out there. I usually couldn't last more than a few days. When I finally realized that I could just count calories and eat what I wanted, it was as though the heavens opened and and the birds were singing lol.

See to me, counting calories is a restrictive diet. MFP has me at 1570 calories a day. I find it horribly restrictive and I am always hungry. But that is the way it always is when I'm losing weight. If I'm not hungry the scale isn't moving.

maillemaker wrote: »

For around twenty years, I tried every restrictive diet out there. I usually couldn't last more than a few days. When I finally realized that I could just count calories and eat what I wanted, it was as though the heavens opened and and the birds were singing lol.

See to me, counting calories is a restrictive diet. MFP has me at 1570 calories a day. I find it horribly restrictive and I am always hungry. But that is the way it always is when I'm losing weight. If I'm not hungry the scale isn't moving.

I agree. If you're used to eating a lot, and got enjoyment out of that (as I did), then calorie counting is indeed restrictive. With that said, I only have a 250 calorie deficit (.5 lb loss each week) and I exercise every day so I can eat more. I never go to bed hungry, but I WISH I could eat more! Still, I would absolutely not forbid myself from any food group.

I agree. If you're used to eating a lot, and got enjoyment out of that (as I did), then calorie counting is indeed restrictive. With that said, I only have a 250 calorie deficit (.5 lb loss each week) and I exercise every day so I can eat more. I never go to bed hungry, but I WISH I could eat more! Still, I would absolutely not forbid myself from any food group.

I don't forbid myself food groups anymore, I work hard to try and fit things in my allowance.

But I'm always hungry. I sometimes go to bed early to avoid being hungry.

I exercise also but I think all that does is make me *more* hungry by increasing my caloric deficit. You get to eat some of it back but at the end of the day I'm still in a deficit so I'm still hungry.

Caitwn wrote: »

The "there are no evil foods" approach definitely works best for me, and it's actually helped me learn to be far more thoughtful about how I eat than the times I tried restriction-based diets.

Edited to add that kale may actually be in my "evil" category. Still deciding...

Nowadays I am making really conscious choices about what I want, plus making sure that I enjoy and take the time to savor those choices. That's edged me toward cooking a lot more, eating more fresh fruits and veggies (fresh just tastes better), learning to appreciate and use a big variety of spices and seasonings, and insisting on quality over quantity - I can walk past the generic soft-serve ice cream at the fair, but I have a lovely pint of Apple Caramel Pie Talenti Gelato in my freezer for when I want to plan a treat.

So ironically, my 'eat what I want' decision has ended up establishing far healthier eating habits than the supposedly 'healthy' diets I tried to force on myself previously. Go figure

Oh, and please don't kick me out of your thread! I'm a 1200-a-day person, but it's because I am barely 5'3" tall and have a tiny frame. I exercise up to about 1300 a day at the moment, and hope to increase my exercise levels (because I am liking the way this exercise thing makes me feel) even further, so anticipate being able to operate from a higher caloric base in future.

Good points! Sticking to a calorie budget forces me to make choices at every turn....and the choice is almost always "healthy" because it makes sense to save those calories for something REALLY good and worthwhile later.

Caitwn wrote: »

So ironically, my 'eat what I want' decision has ended up establishing far healthier eating habits than the supposedly 'healthy' diets I tried to force on myself previously. Go figure

Same for me. I used to rarely have a salad, or any vegetables, really, on a regular basis. Now I have them because COOKIE LATER!!!

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

Caitwn wrote: »

So ironically, my 'eat what I want' decision has ended up establishing far healthier eating habits than the supposedly 'healthy' diets I tried to force on myself previously. Go figure

Same for me. I used to rarely have a salad, or any vegetables, really, on a regular basis. Now I have them because COOKIE LATER!!!

This is an excellent point and I think one of the key things that people fail to understand about those who practice moderation. A lot of people hear the phrase, "there's nothing wrong with eating XYZ food, in moderation" and turn that into the strawman argument, "Sure, you can eat nothing but (insert unclean food of choice: twinkies, oreos, doritos, McDonalds) and lose weight but you won't be healthy".

I eat more vegetables, more whole grains, more "clean" foods in general now than I ever did before. I also spend a lot of time thinking about food, planning my meals, figuring out how I'm going to fit in the "treats" I want. If I have a day filled with nutrient dense foods, and am under my calorie goal, does my one serving of gelato at the end of the day suddenly render me unhealthy? Even if I get some of my other nutrient dense foods from processed food, does that make me unhealthy? If I have greek yogurt and a Kashi bar for breakfast (like I did today), a burrito bowl from Chipotle or Qdoba for lunch, and then grilled chicken, veggies, and rice for dinner, ending with wine and gelato - is that an unhealthy day? That seems pretty healthy to me, but for some reason if people say they don't eat clean, because they don't demonize food, then everyone assumes I'm sitting around eating nothing but Oreos all day long.