What was some mistakes you made when first dieting?

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24

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  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
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    MommyL2015 wrote: »
    The two mistakes I made were thinking that I had to cut out certain things and only eat salads and rice cakes, and then completely giving up because I ruined everything when I would eat "junk" one day because eating nothing but salads and rice cakes is horribly boring.

    So now I just eat what I want, keeping my calorie deficit. If I have a day where I eat too much of what I want, I just get up the next day and get back to it, realizing one day (or even a weekend or week) won't ruin anything.

    This was me too and me now :) I wasn't successful until I stopped trying to cut stuff out of my diet. I've abandoned some of my old favourites along the way but just because they're not worth the calories to me right now, not because they're 'bad.'
  • Rdsgoal16
    Rdsgoal16 Posts: 302 Member
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    too low of calories, too restrictive........expecting huge loss every week
  • nsa352
    nsa352 Posts: 40 Member
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    I don't even log my food anymore. I just go portion wise and lift heavy. I just listen to what my body tells me. And as I do strength training, my fitness pal doesn't have any way of tracking it,only cardio which is not an effective way to lose weight. So strength training 5 times a week is my motto. 4 times lifting heavy weight, one day doing pole. And I lose fat and build muscles.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Listening to people who said the only way to lose weight is to stop eating "bad" carbs/junk food/white food.
  • couturebody
    couturebody Posts: 71 Member
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    Following someone else's plan. I think it's best to do what you're comfortable with and enjoy it. I hate the word 'diet' because it sounds brutal, tedious and short-lived. Actively changing your lifestyle and doing what's right for your body are key.
  • deanne525
    deanne525 Posts: 69 Member
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    Blowing an entire week all because I had 1 bad meal.
    Quitting when I didn't lose 1 week.
  • chiptease
    chiptease Posts: 70 Member
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    Giving up foods, extreme calorie deficit, and working out to the point I hated it. That's probably why I always gained my weight back afterwards. I've figured out how to balance my diet and do exercises I enjoy.
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
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    DEFINITELY not using a food scale, and not correctly estimating how much wine I was drink. I was drinking 4000!!! calories per week in wine. Egads! Now I have one small 3z vodka drink every other day and gosh, the weight is coming off so much more quickly :)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Mistakes when first dieting? That was decades ago and the mistake was in having a severely calorie and nutrient deficient diet. I lost weight. I lost immune resistance to disease. I almost died. I didn't die. I gained it all back and much more besides. I really don't think I've made any egregious mistakes in the 8 weeks I've been using MFP. The food database is accurate enough to serve as a meal planner. The nutrition labels on food are accurate enough to know what's going on with my macros. The Reports are comprehensive enough to show where I need to work on making improvement. Have I changed my eating habits? Of course. Before MFP I was consuming a pound of bologna, a pound of cheese, and a loaf of (wheat) bread every week. I still have remnants of the pound of bologna and the pound of cheese I purchased the day before starting MFP. I've bought and consumed more almonds. I've added more vegetables to my daily eating. I've added moderate amounts of cardio and limited amounts of strength work. The weight is falling off and I feel fine.
  • AlphaCajun
    AlphaCajun Posts: 290 Member
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    Deficit was dangerous. It worked because I was doing replacement shakes which gave me the nutrients I needed but was stupid nonetheless.
  • TaraHancock827
    TaraHancock827 Posts: 37 Member
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    comparing myself to others
    not weighing my food
    having a cheat day instead of a cheat meal
    stressing over the number on the scale
    not exercising enough
    not being 100 percent committed
  • HStheBusyBee
    HStheBusyBee Posts: 1,366 Member
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    'Rewarding' myself with chocolate or pizza when I had been good on my diet. Rookie mistake! lol
  • epeart11
    epeart11 Posts: 35 Member
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    Not getting enough water... Very important in dieting.
  • caurinus
    caurinus Posts: 78 Member
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    Setting too aggressive calorie goals
    Setting calorie goals not aggressive enough
    Drinking way too much alcohol
    Not eating enough green vegetables, fruit, legumes, and lean meats
    Trying to do moderate-to-high intensity exercise while eating less than 50g carbs a day

    I expect the exercise/carb thing is probably a little controversial. Everyone's body is a little different. I know there are people who get tons of exercise on very low carb diets. Personally, it just doesn't work for me. I enjoy exercise a lot more when I'm as fueled up on carbs as I can be within my daily calorie goal. When I'm carb-deprived, anything more intense than a brisk walk feels just awful. I figure, as long as I have a calorie deficit, I'm going to lose weight, so why not enjoy the exercise and optimize my exercise performance as much as possible?

  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I didn't log vegtables. I thought they were all 0 calories because of stupid Dr stupid oz
  • Kekekylene
    Kekekylene Posts: 112 Member
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    Eating the low numbers that mfp gives you and not weighing stuff only using measuring spoons/cups etc.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Dieting went well, but it didn't teach me to eat, just to diet :# So when I hit maintenance, I still tried to avoid fat, still had all kinds of arbitrary food rules, and felt sabotaged when I was offered something I wanted but "couldn't have".

    MFP gave me the tools I needed to finally eat like a normal person.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    Trying to lose two pounds per week when I should have had a more realistic goal of one pound per week.

    Believing MFP's inflated exercise burns.
  • DorkothyParker
    DorkothyParker Posts: 618 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Circa 1995: Snackwells, Lean Cuisine, Slim-Fast. Blegh!

    Oh, and dieting.
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
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    Skipping breakfast...not measuring my portions...forgetting to drink a cup of water before every meal....eating out!

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