To those who have lost

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literlover
literlover Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?
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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I love food. I watch food television, I read about food, I collect cookbooks. I thought about food a lot before I lost weight. I think about food a lot now. The difference is that I now feel like I have a control and predictability in my "relationship" with food that I never had before.

    When I began tracking, I did feel like I was having to think about fitness and logging a lot. But now I'm pretty much on auto-pilot with tracking. So it does feel like I'm just living my life.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    When I was losing weight I maintained a modest deficit...I did not feel deprived. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years without logging. I'm into nutrition and fitness so I find it all to be pretty easy. There's nothing difficult about good livin'
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    lost 70 pounds over the past year.

    i eat the same things i always have. just much less ;) i eat out, i drink, i eat chocolate.... no depravity here....
  • makaryan11
    makaryan11 Posts: 40 Member
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    I know exactly how you feel, I overcame that feeling of obsession by telling to myself "I am not hungry, I am not hungry , I am not hungry" 100 times a day. Also had to choose between food and the body I wanted. After a week I could cook for my family and not crave that food, P.S. I love food and I am an emotional eater.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Nope, not at all. I went from 139 to 115 since July. I exercise five to six days per week which I love to do and it became part of my daily routine. I make more mindful choices but enjoy myself. Just yesterday I ate an entire medium BBQ chicken pizza and a chocolate mint donut and enjoyed every bite without guilt.
  • ald783
    ald783 Posts: 690 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I love food. I watch food television, I read about food, I collect cookbooks. I thought about food a lot before I lost weight. I think about food a lot now. The difference is that I now feel like I have a control and predictability in my "relationship" with food that I never had before.

    When I began tracking, I did feel like I was having to think about fitness and logging a lot. But now I'm pretty much on auto-pilot with tracking. So it does feel like I'm just living my life.

    I agree with this 100%. I'd consider food a passion for me because I enjoy it so much (cooking, reading food blogs and magazines, planning meals, etc.) but I think it's a positive, healthy passion rather than an unhealthy obsession.

    I think early on weight loss and healthy eating will require more energy and thought as you get used to it and figure out what works for you but it gets easier. Tracking is really second nature for me at this point and something I don't mind doing or spend a lot of mental energy on. It gets easier. :)
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Nope, don't feel deprived. I eat all of my normal foods and the foods I love (including sweets, fast food, takeaway, etc on a weekly and for some, daily basis). It's all about moderation, not deprivation. Balance is key.
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    This 100% depends on your own mind. I find not logging makes me panic I will over eat and regain so can become a touch obsessive, but I knew I was ignoring it as I ballooned so that's why for me. everyone is different!
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 657 Member
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    I didn't feel deprived. There were days that I had to internally argue with myself to not eat too much. When the weight starting pouring off it made it exciting and I really didn't have problems sticking to the plan.

    One of the great distractions I'll do is online clothes shopping in the size I want to be. I don't actually buy anything, usually, but it's fun to fill up the cart and imagine what the clothes will look like.
  • SparklySarah412
    SparklySarah412 Posts: 74 Member
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    I can't say I ever feel deprived at all. I have odd days where I go over on my calories and it's no big deal, the main thing is that it doesn't happen every day. Other days I might fancy a little treat, (like today I had a piece of Christmas cake) so I'll just fit it into my calorie goal or I'll go for a half hour run to make up for it. So I never feel like I'm missing out on anything.

    I actually get a lot of enjoyment out of logging my food and exercise, my husband calls it my "hobby" lol I love logging my food and checking my macros are where I want them to be, I love analysing my runs on runkeeper and I log everything I do at the gym in a little book that I take everywhere with me. It's not like an obsession though, just that I'm a geek who likes looking at numbers and graphs!
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    Good question. You should post it also on the Maintenance board.
    Like most other responses, I really don't feel deprived.

    I usually take a bite or eat a small portion of anything, even if I don't eat the whole serving. I also have learned that feeling really stuffed full is extremely uncomfortable so it's motivating to stop eating earlier than I used to. (Don't let me fool you, though, as I still have a few big weaknesses.)

    Plus, I used to feel embarrassed and self conscious about my appearance. That has disappeared! :) Given the choice, I'll stick with feeling slim versus wanting an extra treat or second helping. But it takes patience to reach that point. You can do it, too. I'm certainly nothing special.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    lost 70 pounds over the past year.

    i eat the same things i always have. just much less ;) i eat out, i drink, i eat chocolate.... no depravity here....

    Snigger

    At first I felt hungry at times
    Now I don't because I can more naturally balance my food choices to hit my maintenance calories, oh and I get a lot more calories because I've raised my TDEE
    I have never felt deprived though as I could always save calories for anything

    I think that's the difference ...
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    I have been on here for around 3 years and lost 32 pounds initially. I was a bit obsessive but that is how I role anyway. I maintained the loss for 18 months or so but recently gave up smoking and piled a lot back on. Now I am starting to lose it again so back to being a bit obsessive. This seems to work for me.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    I didn't feel deprived, no. Choosing primarily good food foods that are filling both kept me satiated and reduced my sugar cravings. Constantly thinking? Yes. All of this was big changes for me from the way I shopped and what I cooked, to incorporating workouts into my schedule, to learning how to track my food here. Now after 5mos it's much easier though. I wouldn't say I'm just "living life" yet because I've just begun maintenance and have to remain diligent until I get that piece figured out. I think with time it will all become second nature for me.

  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    literlover wrote: »
    Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you obsess and are constantly thinking about your food, fitness, tracking? Or is it now "easy" and you're just living life?

    I don't feel deprived. I found a diet (keto with 17:7 IF) that fits how I enjoy eating and how I live.

    *Not* obsessing got me to where I was. Obsessing is working very, very well.

    I'm obsessing *and* it's easy and I'm just living life. I simply made food/exercise tracking part of life. They aren't mutually exclusive.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I don't feel obsessive or think about food all the time, but I do feel a little deprived when I eat my dessert some days. I'd like the world to allow me to have about 4 or 5 desserts a day, lol! The world just doesn't work like that, though ;)

    I really can't eat quite as much as I'd like. Every time I do, I slowly gain 30 lbs. That's why I had to lose weight in the first place :grin: So it's that kind of deprived, not a very big deal at all.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
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    I think about food all the time. I'm constantly planning my next snack or meal. But I did that when I was obese too. :wink:
    I don't feel deprived. I feel comfortable now...before I always felt like I was bursting at the seams because of how much I overate.
  • Dayofthebread
    Dayofthebread Posts: 20 Member
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    I do sometimes feel deprived, but then I am someone who could happily eat all day if I didn't keep it in check. Overall though I am used to it.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    I've lost 70 lbs in the last year. Most of the time I'm perfectly happy : at a planned deficit of 1 lb/ week I can eat mostly what I want. Just not as much as I used to. I don't keep things like sweets in the house to tempt me anymore though.
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
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    I don't feel deprived at all, nor do I obsess about food or tracking. I do obsess a bit about fitness, but I'm training for my first half marathon at the age of 52 -- I feel I need to obsess a bit to make it to the finish line in one piece. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :smiley:

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