Success by eating what you want???????

77 pounds down, and I go out for Fancy Tea (with dessert!) once a month. Sometimes twice. I pay attention to what I eat and I practice portion control. Also, my tastes and "what I want to eat" have changed. There are some caveats. I have chosen that I do not want the consequences of having eaten as much bread and pasta as I want to eat, so I choose to have those things very rarely, and in small quantities. But overall, it's possible to eat the foods you like - in moderation - and meet your goals.

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Asallings323 wrote: »

Thank you all so much on the helpful advice. I love hearing all of your success stories. I know now that I will be ok doing what I am doing and need to push out all the negative stuff I have been told. I like to eat foods that work for me, not someone else's idea of what I need to eat.Exercising is where I seem to thrive anyways , it is so relaxing for me to just get out there and work my butt off.

Well, you can just laugh in their faces once they start seeing your results and tell them, "I told you so."

I've lost 39 pounds counting calories while eating crappy food. I finally got my husband to start doing it and he's lost 6 pounds now as well.

I lost over 2 stone using portion control and eating what I did before (just less of it).

Sometimes I can split evening meal in half and take the rest for lunch at work etc.

Have salads sometimes but they're full of chillies, chipotles, curry powder so taste a lot better!.

Never written a thing down, just try and tot up an estimate during the day, which has worked well for me.

yes! i've lost 35 pounds eating what i want and just aiming for a calorie deficit. like others have said, i do aim to eat real, whole, foods and aim to get a good balance of protein, veggies, etc. but if i want that chocolate chip cookie or that piece of pizza and it fits into my calories for the day, i eat it. it's interesting as how time goes on you don't even want junk food anymore - those items just naturally left my diet. and i never feel deprived! i honestly think this way of dieting is the best. it's a lot more sustainable and seems like less of a risk that you'll go crazy when you reach goal weight and gain it all back.

Reply to the OP: I'm not an expert, but I do believe it's possible to lose weight by restricting calorie intake alone regardless of foods consumed. I have friends at work (I work in a fast food restaurant!) who are young, fit, sporty kids who play football and have muscle who do have a fast-food meal for their break, burger and chips and dessert. Not a huge meal, but they have it all.

But:

- You would need to exercise too in order to make significant changes to your body shape. Otherwise you'll be a "flabby skinny", if you know what I mean.

- You need to consume the right amount of macro and micro nutrients for your health's sake. If you are eating a 1200 calorie diet of cakes, yes, you'll lose weight, but that's not going to be good for your body in the long term!

I love this thread! I want to add you all as friends

i.love.burgers! so yeah.... i totally do this. and wine too, refuse point blank to give that gorgeous nectar up. so i just count it all and if it fits in my diary, i will put it in my face if it doesnt, i will eaither exercise until it does (special occasions etc) or adjust the portion accordingly. no diets! ever ever! (35lb down 7lb to go)

Yep. I even eat Taco Bell every now and then and still have managed to lose 50 lbs. The difference between the new me and the old me, however, is that the old me would have added a 5 layer beef burrito to my order, and the new me sticks with three regular crunchy tacos to stay under my calorie limit.

Yes! I've lost 30lbs since mid January. I just got in a healthy bmi first time since having my kids. Truely the only thing I can say I cut out would be sodes(wasn't big fan anyways). I will say I try make better chooses but I love my snack cakes, chocolate and pizza. I always make them fit in my calories and macro. As I sit here thinking about getting candy bar because I can.

SparkyJess3 wrote: »

25 lbs down and not one friggin salad yet!!! lol

Heh, I'm on the other end of the spectrum, I suppose. My tastes have changed so much I usually eat my salads dry with tasty veggies and proteins I actually like with a nice little bit of parmesan or feta cheese. I also relish my green smoothies like I did my milkshakes. I used to be heavily addicted to the drive through fatty sodium bombs. Now I feel like Mel Gibson screaming "FREEDOM!" in Brave Heart. So glad the buds have adapted. I actually want the healthy bits, now.

I still have a treat now and then. Rather than desserts, my guilty pleasures tend to be pasta, a good burger and fries, or occasional BBQ. They're just for variety now, rather than staples. Feel soooo much better for it.

Down 79lbs.

I've been eating what I normally would. Just less than I would normally eat. I've lost 20 lbs since August 1st. I think that is what really makes the difference this time.

I lost 21 pounds by mostly cutting down on what I eat. I have changed some things such as switching high sugar foods to lower sugar foods, and eating less fatty foods. I don't eat as healthy as a lot on here but I eat better than I did before.