I've lost 10 lbs and I eat whatever

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marji4x
marji4x Posts: 144 Member
in Success Stories
Okay, so I *am* careful about eating healthy, but my point is I don't limit myself in food types! No low-carb or low-fat or no-sugars diet for me. I don't say "I can't have sodas ever again" or "No more cake" or "No more hamburgers"

I just want to celebrate a successful "diet"! One of my friends was dieting and she hated her life and it made her more stressed and she was always hungry and suffering.

I just don't do it that way. I get plenty of veggies, try to stick to chicken (which I love anyway) for my meats most of the time, and have some lighter servings of things like mac and cheese or sweet potatoes (baked sweet potato fries = YUM!); or I make brown rice sushi with tuna... you know, moderately healthy stuff! I snack on fruit or saltines or the ocasional Peppermint Pattie.

My portions are fairly controlled but I am not starving, not ever. One of my average lunches is a cup of this healthy macaroni and cheese recipe I found online, a chicken thigh, baked in mustard, and a big helping of broccoli!

This weekend was a July 4th cookout. I let myself go! I had a cupcake, a coca cola, a Smirnoff Ice, a hot dog with massive amounts of ketchup, lots of mac and cheese and those horribly radioactive-orange cheese balls from CVS...and guacamole and chips, and grilled asparagus, and I am probably forgetting something. I had a giant chunk of grilled steak once I had digested all that a bit and was feeling peckish again!

It didn't kill me, when I weighed myself the next day I was down to having lost 10 lbs!

There's no secret to my success. I don't have a fast metabolism I can promise you that! I am a fattie who hates to exercise and loves loves LOVES to eat! I actually come from a family of overeaters on my dad's side.

Eventually, I realised I need to be healthier....so I make myself walk to work and I started counting calories. I follow the 90-10 rule to eating (90% of the time I eat right....10% of the time I let go a little...or a lot like 4th of july hahahah). I am not killing myself - I am not shedding 5 lbs a week or anything drastic but I am happy and I am feeling great! My goal is about a pound a week. I eat about 2000 calories a day and I make sure to walk to AND from work and I also am doing a DVD workout when I can to build up my muscles. I have off-weeks....I slip back again but I always make myself start again and don't let myself get too hung up on the losses.

I am LOVING this and I wanted to share! Take that everyone who thinks you have to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight ;D
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Replies

  • McghanK
    McghanK Posts: 120
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    That is always the way to go and the way to stick with it. I share your philosophy. It's easier that way!
  • justavoice1989
    justavoice1989 Posts: 132 Member
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    thats great! i HAVE to eat 1200 calories a day or more of course if i exercise. but it just beats those stupid HCG diets or ATKINS where you are limited to like 500 calories a day and can only have this this and that =[ i tried HCG for a DAY and quit the very next i was miserable and thought of nothing but panda express lol. but ive lost 15 pounds since and i find it amazing to eat what you want (cake and all) and still lose weight. i dont have a fast metabolism either lol:tongue:
  • 1FitMomof4Girls
    1FitMomof4Girls Posts: 202 Member
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    Well done and said!
  • marji4x
    marji4x Posts: 144 Member
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    Definitely! It means I won't "go off a diet" and then gain all this weight back ;D
  • Ellastrong
    Ellastrong Posts: 64 Member
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    Amen my friend! You are absolutely on the right path. It's all about moderation and you've found the right balance! Congrats!
  • moriaht
    moriaht Posts: 251 Member
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    I agree! I went camping and ate and drank my face off and was still down on the scale! Just keep most times healthy.
    I do eat 1200 calories a day but its all the thigns i love to eat anyways. I have always loved healthy food though. And if I am every hungry, I eat. Friends have told me i'm starving myself but if u look at my diary they are SO wrong! I'm never hungry!
  • skyls
    skyls Posts: 69 Member
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    I follow the same ideas. I tried low carbing it, and yes it worked but I was miserable. As soon as I ate 1 apple or a whole wheat piece of bread, BAM the scale was up 5 lbs the next day.

    I haven't been really that successful with MFP yet, but I think that is because I've been following everyone's advice to eat back my exercise cals. It's not working for me so far.

    I did WW before I had my son and lost 50 lbs, kept it off for awhile, and ate what I wanted but within reason. The only reason I gained it all back was getting pg. I lost most of it again after my son, but have struggled after my daughter who is 3 !

    Word girl is an awesome show! My kids love it.
  • bzmom
    bzmom Posts: 1,332 Member
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    I get where you coming from and I have done it (and still do just indulged today...) LOL! I usually tend to "mess up" every now and then but the goal here is persistence and patience without it you get no where.
  • fitnessbugg
    fitnessbugg Posts: 141 Member
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    This is definitely an approach for longevity. WW bases their "diet" on the fact that you can eat whatever you want ... just be sensible on how much of it you eat. They are the most successful in the world at this business of dieting. The thing is most people do not have the willpower and/or the knowledge to decide for themselves what to eat when they want to lose weight and they need others to tell them. I was that way for years. This time I am eating what I want and logging every bit of it. I find it very empowering. It took me a long time to get here though.
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
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    Thank you for reiterating fads are only fads. Low carb this.. gluten-free that... none of it makes a difference pertaining to losing weight. It's just simple science.. control your portions and watch your calories!

    I admit, I was a little hungry at first, but that's what you get when you drop from over 2200 calories a day to 1350 overnight. I can't even eat like I used to anymore because my stomach shrank and adapted. I have to spread out eating all day long, and sometimes its still a struggle just to reach 1800.. lol.

    Frozen yogurt, ice cream, pizza... you name it, I eat it. You just can't eat much of it and make a habit out of it. You want that 400 calorie cupcake?? Go for it.. just know you're gonna be hungry later, because it's not very filling and that 400 calories could have been something nutritious like a LOT of chicken breast and vegetables...
  • breakingthecycle
    breakingthecycle Posts: 225 Member
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    Love it!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Amen again! I really think this is the healthiest attitude towards changing your eating habits for life. I've tried it all - Atkins, pills, trying to live off salads (blech!) and always gave up after a while because I wasn't eating the things I truly enjoy. The whole 90/10 thing really does work!
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
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    @fitnessbugg,

    "The thing is most people do not have the willpower and/or the knowledge to decide for themselves what to eat when they want to lose weight and they need others to tell them."

    EXACTLY!! I can't even explain to people when they ask me how I lost so much weight, because I know 99.9% of them won't stick to a healthy eating plan. I tell them to get the app and let me know if you have any questions.. lol
  • marji4x
    marji4x Posts: 144 Member
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    I follow the same ideas. I tried low carbing it, and yes it worked but I was miserable. As soon as I ate 1 apple or a whole wheat piece of bread, BAM the scale was up 5 lbs the next day.

    I haven't been really that successful with MFP yet, but I think that is because I've been following everyone's advice to eat back my exercise cals. It's not working for me so far.

    I did WW before I had my son and lost 50 lbs, kept it off for awhile, and ate what I wanted but within reason. The only reason I gained it all back was getting pg. I lost most of it again after my son, but have struggled after my daughter who is 3 !

    Word girl is an awesome show! My kids love it.

    I used to get really confused about the eating-back-calories thing so I've simplified it a bit... I know now that I burn between 2300-2700 calories a day, depending on my activity level (I keep track of it with a fitbit, which is basically a fancy pedometer hehehe).

    Knowing this, I know how many calories I can eat to create a deficit of 500. I shoot for 500 because after a week that means I've burned 3500 (500 x 7 days) which = 1 lb.

    This way I don't have to worry about whether or not to eat back calories...I just know how much I burn and I eat accordingly. I try to plan ahead a little, like if I know we're all going out for dinner one night, I eat a little less during lunch, or I walk a little extra or something.

    Good luck to you! MFP has been really key in my weight loss success since I can use it to write everything down and actually see what I am eating :D

    Plus the support here is awesome! I love all the success stories!

    Also I am glad you love word girl! Not enough people have heard of it! I love it toooo!
  • finallyhappening2011
    finallyhappening2011 Posts: 73 Member
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    Thanks for sharing, sounds good to treat yourself every once in a while.
  • lexiwho
    lexiwho Posts: 178 Member
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    This is a fantastic attitude to have in regards to weight loss, it's pretty much how I approach it. I'm not going to avoid foods I love for the rest of my life. It's unrealistic to think I won't have cake/candy/fatty foods because I enjoy those things. Now, I eat them in moderation rather than huge portions of them every day. Great job so far! :)
  • kammmmay
    kammmmay Posts: 3
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    Definitely! It means I won't "go off a diet" and then gain all this weight back ;D

    I definitely feel you there. The key to staying healthy and keeping the weight down is to make a change that you can keep for life.
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
    Options
    I follow the same ideas. I tried low carbing it, and yes it worked but I was miserable. As soon as I ate 1 apple or a whole wheat piece of bread, BAM the scale was up 5 lbs the next day.

    I haven't been really that successful with MFP yet, but I think that is because I've been following everyone's advice to eat back my exercise cals. It's not working for me so far.

    I did WW before I had my son and lost 50 lbs, kept it off for awhile, and ate what I wanted but within reason. The only reason I gained it all back was getting pg. I lost most of it again after my son, but have struggled after my daughter who is 3 !

    Word girl is an awesome show! My kids love it.

    I used to get really confused about the eating-back-calories thing so I've simplified it a bit... I know now that I burn between 2300-2700 calories a day, depending on my activity level (I keep track of it with a fitbit, which is basically a fancy pedometer hehehe).

    Knowing this, I know how many calories I can eat to create a deficit of 500. I shoot for 500 because after a week that means I've burned 3500 (500 x 7 days) which = 1 lb.

    This way I don't have to worry about whether or not to eat back calories...I just know how much I burn and I eat accordingly. I try to plan ahead a little, like if I know we're all going out for dinner one night, I eat a little less during lunch, or I walk a little extra or something.

    Good luck to you! MFP has been really key in my weight loss success since I can use it to write everything down and actually see what I am eating :D

    Plus the support here is awesome! I love all the success stories!

    Also I am glad you love word girl! Not enough people have heard of it! I love it toooo!

    Sidenote: As you lose weight, you need to revisit your BMR info. The lighter you get, the less your body will burn if you're only losing fat but not replacing it with muscle, so you'll probably have to lower your calorie intake. That's one of the reasons why it's harder to lose weight as you get more in shape...
  • phatty4dayz
    phatty4dayz Posts: 125 Member
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    Thanks so much for this post! I seriously needed it. I'm 90% sure I went over my calorie goal for the day (because I was STARVING) and I was feeling like crap. For me, that typically just leads to me just giving up on the whole deal. But after reading this, I feel so much better. Its okay if I went over my calorie goal today. Its not like I ate french fries, oreos, and funnel cakes. I went over by eating a humus wrap after not being full from my 1/2 of portabella sandwich. It really isn't that big of a deal! Thanks for helping me realize that!
  • marji4x
    marji4x Posts: 144 Member
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    @ciege Thanks! I'd heard that so I'm going to re-evaluate once I get down far enough....I calculate my BMR once in a while anyway just to make sure but so far it's stayed in a similar range from when I started :)

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