What Do You Eat

Hi, there! I have Celiac so no gluten or dairy. I tried to go for low carb/medium carb depending on my level of activity for the day. Eat as much raw fruit and veg as possible. Lots of oily fish, nuts, seeds, coconut products, eggs, occasional steak .

I eat the foods I love in moderation, focusing on nutrition but always leaving room for a treat at night. It was successful my first year because I made sure everything was weighed and logged as accurately as possible. This year, though, I haven't been as diligent, haven't exercised since early summer, and I've gained a bit back. But I know what needs to be done.

Anything and everything



...(in appropriately sized portions)

I eat everything that I like to eat. Some of my favorites I might have a smaller portion but I haven't cut out any foods in my "diet". I do work out 5 days a week so that helps a little I guess. I eat 3 meals & a late afternoon snack to tide me over till dinnertime.

My personal keys to my success:
Patience
Consistency
Food scale

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Anything and everything



...(in appropriately sized portions)

Absolutly!

I have celiac disease and am a vegetarian because I don't particularly like meat. I am also, by preference, for the most part, a scratch cook. I like the taste of my own cooking.

Within those parameters, I eat pretty much everything I like. I just happen to like things like yogurt, cottage cheese, lentils, veggies, berries, and whole grains. I also like cookies.

I exercise pretty much every day. Even on my rest day, I walk. I'm in between gyms right now, but I walk, run, lift, and water jog.

What has worked for me?

Learning to love myself where I was
Realizing that I needed to form habits
Patience
Consistency
Honesty with myself
Being willing to challenge myself

I've gradually lost about 22 lbs over 19 weeks, but I feel really successful because it has been fun and almost completely angst free. I finally get it! I've learned so much here.
I eat everything I want in moderation, but I plan how I'm going to get some protein at every meal now. I eat three meals most days; two if I'm going out for a special meal or know I'll be trapped in a car or plane for most of the day. Lunch is the meal I'll most likely cut in that case. If my meals are well executed I don't really need snacks.
I keep my carbs on the moderate side but I don't stress over a high day here & there. I let my fats be too, so long as I haven't added a bunch of unnecessary fats.
I cook fewer 'recipes' these days. I cook, but it's very simple: sear meat, toss salad, eat... I repeat favorites a lot.
I plan how to fit more activity into each day too. Everyday I think: how could I walk more? How much time do I have for a workout? I never planned that way before.

Whatever I want... in reasonable, measured portions of course. I'm a firm believer in IIFYM, and before I get called out that IIFYM is all junk food... it's only junk food if you choose to eat only junk food... and junk food does not fit my macros... but a well balanced, varied diet full of all food groups does.

My main concern is eating a balanced diet and meeting my calorie goal over the week; being over some days doesn't bother me. I exercise 4-5 times a week, a mix of running, swimming, resistance work and the elliptical/rower, and am lightly active at work. I try of course to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and keep an eye on my protein intake. I eat 'junk' food at least every other day. I eat three meals and usually at least one snack a day.
My biggest challenge at the moment is not eating enough calories for my running - I think I still have this fallacy in my head that slim women can't possibly maintain on 2300 calories a day, which is obviously ridiculous because they can and I do. I also sometimes comfort eat but am getting much better at dealing with negative emotions in a better way.

I've lost over 130 lb from my highest, by eating "regular foods" 3 meals per day with no snacks (usually)...limiting sodium, and drinking a lot of water. I love vegetables, fruit, meat, and (unfortunately) sweets. I also love lentils/beans, eggs, and such. I am not much into bread and salty snacks in the first place. So my diet is slightly low carb but not so much by design...I just rarely eat things like chips, bread, pretzels, cereal, or cake...the sweets I indulge in regularly are chocolate and ice cream (and have done so throughout my entire weight loss period and still do now in maintenance). I do have pasta & rice 1-2 times weekly or so...and dairy usually just in the form of cheese or ice cream or sour cream (not daily). It's not that I cut out any one thing for weight loss, I just realized there were many times that I'd have a sandwich with two big pieces of bread when I really preferred to just eat the meat & veggies without bread. Stuff like that.

Whatever I want, 2-3 regular meals a day, snack when I feel like it, just stay within calorie limits. Basically the same way I've eaten for the last 25 years.

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

I've had many failures. I think the biggest reason is that, for me, a cheat meal turns into a cheat weekend, and then I just fall completely off the wagon for months at a time. A year ago I lost 20 pounds and then after falling off the wagon, I regained 25 pounds. So my biggest goal this time around is to always come back to MFP, even if I overeat for a day or a weekend.

I first plan out my meals so that I eat enough calories and macros to match my activity level for the day. I don't eat out at all by personal preference, and most common, commercialized junk foods no longer hold the same appeal to me as they once did, so meals are mainly homemade, *but* I still eat processed foods and sweets like cake, pretzels, protein bars, and Swiss chocolate. I dislike the idea of "cheat" days/meals, so I don't do that. I just aim to fit in a treat as a snack every day. I eat whatever I want and do not deprive myself of the things I crave. It's just important to make everything fit into calorie goals. I chose five holidays in the year where I eat whatever I want. I stay within my goals all other days, so those five days don't hinder me at all.
For the first month or two-ish, I ate whenever I wanted, and for the last couple months, I ate three meals a day with two-three snacks in between. Starting this week, however, I'm trying out eating four meals a day with just one snack between lunch and dinner, and it's working out pretty well. My post-workout hunger signals have significantly decreased this way, and I'm much happier doing this now.
I make sure to walk 10k steps total every day, workout six days a week for one to two hours doing cardio+stretches, and on my rest day, I just do yoga or tai chi.
The best key to success is ultimately knowledge, imo. That is, knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and knowledge of who you are as a person. Understand that weight loss is simple, but the mental challenge is tough. I come from a family that does value health, but there is a ton of ignorance surrounding weight loss. Furthermore, people who are naturally thin by instinctual eating don't understand that their advice of, "just eat when you're hungry" and "eat until you're full" are no help to a person who has overeaten all their life. I finally took it upon myself to do a lot of research online about sustainable weight loss and the top reasons of why people fail to lose/maintain their weight. From there, I created and wrote down my health goals and plans to lose weight that I was sure would work well with my personality and lifestyle. Then, I got down to business.
Stay focused and strong and use the support and encouragement of the MFP community to help. Don't let one bad day or mistake define you. It took several weeks before I finally learned the discipline to reach my goals. Saboteurs, the ignorant, and temptations are everywhere, so come prepared. A game plan is crucial.
Doing all of this, I've lost 48 lbs in six months while on MFP, and I am now 10 lbs and 10-20 weeks from my goal weight.

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I eat everything I want. What I want has changed. I don't eat a lot of junk food any more.

I aim to eat lots of nutrient dense plant foods, lean proteins, good fats, nuts and seeds, legumes. I have treats every day...

This is pretty much how I eat. I have three meals plus one or two snacks.

I lift weights three times per week and do some form of cardio everyday unless something unusual is going on like an all day family commitment. I've been enjoying the mild "winter" here and have been cleaning up the trail in the woods behind my house, which hasn't been maintained in some time, and an abandoned trail in the hiking trails a few miles away.

I believe in eating whatever you want just so long as it fits your calories for the day. So breakfast for me is either coffee and some fruit with yogurt, or cereal, or a couple eggs with three small sausage links and cheese. Lunch is peanut butter and jelly sandwich or cereal, and dinner if im following my meal plan like i should is two pieces of talapia with either garlic powder or bbq sauce with broccoli with cheese sauce and a couple small dinner rolls. I usually eat the Sam thing day after day so thats mostly my diet. I am interested in incorporating more fruits and veggies so this may change soon. In the last two weeks i work out five days a week and have seen my body fat percentage go down almost 1% and have lost an inch around my waist. If ever im not successful its because i overrated a few days in a row. So far though things have been going according to plan and i am losing weight. I hope to continue till i lose at least a minimum of 15 pounds a max of 40.