Silly (but effective!) Rules

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  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
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    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    I have one rule and that is to hit my calcium goals for health reasons.

    I started tracking my calcium a few weeks ago and (according to MFP numbers) I'm woefully missing the mark even with higher calcium foods. Do you take a supplement or try to meet the goal with food alone?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Serilleous wrote: »
    How do you know you are burning more than taking in. In normal day to day work? Aside from being connected to electrodes that measure your physical day to day tasks and how much you burn.

    You can either use a TDEE calculator on a website to give you a general idea or you can use a step-tracker to help estimate -- then compare it to your actual results overtime to see how accurate it is and what, if any, adjustments you need to make.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Serilleous wrote: »
    How do you know you are burning more than taking in. In normal day to day work? Aside from being connected to electrodes that measure your physical day to day tasks and how much you burn.

    Got this thing on my wrist that helps with this, other than that it is all estimates. Given enough time and as accurate of tracking as possible, you learn to adjust your estimates to better reflect your metabolism and activity levels. But the starting estimates are not that far off (in my experience) to negate their use.
  • KombuchaKat
    KombuchaKat Posts: 134 Member
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    Drink when thirsty, no guzzling water because some "expert" says I should.
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
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    itsfitnessnotrocketscience wrote: »
    I forgot one... put on jeans (or otherwise binding pants) at least every couple days. Between workout clothes, sweats at home, and a dress or stretchy skirt at work I could go days.

    But like many have said... your clothes don't lie.

    This made me smile. During the years that I was gaining, I slowly slipped into the habit of wearing only "comfortable" clothing. It's funny to me now that jeans are not as binding as they used to be.
  • VioletRojo
    VioletRojo Posts: 596 Member
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    Serilleous wrote: »
    How do you know you are burning more than taking in. In normal day to day work? Aside from being connected to electrodes that measure your physical day to day tasks and how much you burn.

    This calculator has always been pretty accurate for me whether I was losing or maintaining.
  • Debmal77
    Debmal77 Posts: 4,770 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Not necessarily a rule, but this is what I tell myself. "You can lie to yourself about how many calories that you consume, but you can't lie to your body."

    This. Also, you can't lie to the scale! ;)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Serilleous wrote: »
    How do you know you are burning more than taking in. In normal day to day work? Aside from being connected to electrodes that measure your physical day to day tasks and how much you burn.

    You'll be losing weight.

    Or you can estimate your TDEE and then carefully log your food intake and eat below your TDEE.

    (Maybe start a new thread?)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Oh yes, one very more very important rule to me. If it tastes "meh" it isn't worth the calories. I don't want to rob myself of an opportunity to eat something I truly like just because I decided to pick a random food I don't like without thinking.

    I do this one too. Though I did it before I decided to lose weight so I guess it really has nothing to do with weight control for me. I just don't like to eat mediocre foods. It is why I don't eat fast food.
  • shawnt85
    shawnt85 Posts: 24 Member
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    There's no such thing as a cheat meal/day (at least for me) - Meaning I need to learn how to still eat the things I enjoy(within reason) and maintain a healthy weight. I'd be sad if I could never have wine or cheesecake or girl scout cookies again. I plan ahead if I'm going to indulge, throw in an extra workout and have lighter meals during the day etc.

  • RivenV
    RivenV Posts: 1,667 Member
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Not necessarily a rule, but this is what I tell myself. "You can lie to yourself about how many calories that you consume, but you can't lie to your body."

    Fabulous life lesson, right there.

    "Your food log might not always be accurate, but you can bet your body is keeping track even if you aren't."
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    RaeBeeBaby wrote: »
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    I have one rule and that is to hit my calcium goals for health reasons.

    I started tracking my calcium a few weeks ago and (according to MFP numbers) I'm woefully missing the mark even with higher calcium foods. Do you take a supplement or try to meet the goal with food alone?

    I try to hit it with milk, cheese and kale, broccoli, spring onions.

    I do keep calcium tablets in in case I'm missing it though. I have bone density issues so can't miss my target.
  • taylorjarogers
    taylorjarogers Posts: 1 Member
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    My rule is to stop eating as soon as I feel even slightly full. It is so easy to stuff myself even after I am not hungry anymore, especially at restaurants.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
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    No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except on days beginning with S (including special days). That's one I have heard. I plan on implementing it. Though the sweets one I will do with a grain of salt. Yogurt, fruit, granola and vanilla soy would make the list of exceptions...

    This is not my idea though. There's a diet called the No S diet... it's centered around eating main meals vs grazing.
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except on days beginning with S (including special days). That's one I have heard. I plan on implementing it. Though the sweets one I will do with a grain of salt. Yogurt, fruit, granola and vanilla soy would make the list of exceptions...

    This is not my idea though. There's a diet called the No S diet... it's centered around eating main meals vs grazing.

    http://nosdiet.com

    I found this very difficult, because when I'm hungry, I'm hungry. But it did help me to question whether or not I was actually hungry and I like how it is open to interpretation.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Put a vegetable with it. At breakfast fruit is ok too, but something. Consider half portions/servings when dishing something out, as sometimes the amount is just habit rather than anything thoughtful. Never go to the market hungry!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except on days beginning with S (including special days). That's one I have heard. I plan on implementing it. Though the sweets one I will do with a grain of salt. Yogurt, fruit, granola and vanilla soy would make the list of exceptions...

    This is not my idea though. There's a diet called the No S diet... it's centered around eating main meals vs grazing.
    I like this, I've lost weight following the principles, it's how I ate growing up, and it's basically what I've ended up with in maintenance.

    A diet has to have a funny name to be any fun - "normal eating" sounds so dull :D
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except on days beginning with S (including special days). That's one I have heard. I plan on implementing it. Though the sweets one I will do with a grain of salt. Yogurt, fruit, granola and vanilla soy would make the list of exceptions...

    This is not my idea though. There's a diet called the No S diet... it's centered around eating main meals vs grazing.

    Nice! This is pretty much how I eat but had no idea someone had given it a name.
  • MrsBoney12
    MrsBoney12 Posts: 20 Member
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    itsfitnessnotrocketscience wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    sarraheclark wrote: »
    Pizza is only an option on days I have a spin class.

    why?

    Because some of us do well with rules. If you don't need them and can reach your goals in a flexible way -- yay!

    I love this. You have this rule for the same reason that I have my rule:

    Avoid sweets...even if they "fit" into my day.

    Because I have a sugar addiction. (Hi, my name is Heather and I'm addicted to sugar.) And if I eat sweets, EVEN if they don't have added sugar, it makes me want sugar. So no added sugars and no artificial sweeteners for me. Because I do better with rules! I have found that when I get that sweet craving, a piece of whole fruit is plenty effective!

    My other rule is to abstain from eating red meat. Because the Dr told me to cut back on red meat for my cholesterol, but I'm an all or nothing person. I know if I limit my red meat to once a week, it would morph into two times a week because "It's Saturday, Sunday was a week ago!" and then the next day "Saturday was part of last week so I can eat it today (on Sunday)". Then it would be three times a week, etc. So I don't eat red meat anymore. Period.

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