Long Term Changes

trbixler40 wrote: »

So you are dieting in order to take a certain amount of weight off? And then what's your plan? That's what I'm asking...looking for ideas and hoping to encourage some folks along the way.

That was a reference to an article. Conceptually? It is accurate. Grammatically? I don't see the relevance...

I think a better way to label this whole thing would be that I have a weight management plan in place-this term applied when I was losing weight and it applies now in maintenance.

I did not do a 'lifestyle' change though, I learned how CICO works and then I applied it. Otherwise things are pretty much the same, which is one of the reasons why I believe I've been so successful actually.

I have not changed my diet. I am controlling my intake of food.

Last night, we had fresh, homemade spinach pasta. Whereas in the past, a one-egg batch of pasta was two servings (we ate it in one meal), last night it was four servings (we have enough for a second meal). We still had it with cheese and olive oil and cream but everything was weighed and measured, including the flour used to dust and shape the orecchiette.

The need to stay within calories has changed the mix of foods in my diet. I don't eat as much bread and butter because it's so calorie dense and I really need to eat more veg to keep things moving. It's all about choices.

I never use the word, diet. It just has a connotation of short term and failure. I like saying I am on a nutrition plan. The minute you say you're on a diet, you can just imagine, others are just wondering OK, when will this add. I have been watching what I eat, keeping track of it, and doing some level of exercise each day (to burn 250 - 300 calories) mixing it up with HITT running, HITT routines, and strength training. I have been fortunate to be able to lose about 10 lb so far in 24 days (207 lb to 197 lb). Nothing crazy, 2 lb per week if possible until I get to 180 lb, then see where I am at. I don't care so much about weight as I do about health and losing all that extra weight in my abdominal area and love handles. It really is a way of life, a commitment, and you have to have rest days from exercise, and allow yourself to cheat every now and then within reason. If you track your calories, you are more likely to stay on track. I have synched my Withings Body Scale with MyFitness Pal and also my MapMyRun, so that helps track it. The word, diet, for me is not a preferred word. Stay hydrated, eliminate breads (except Sprouted Grain), eats lots of veggies and fruits, protein and fiber. I take a fiber supplement as well. It all helps. I am excited and interested to hear others' stories and advice. Thanks for sharing.

trbixler40 wrote: »

So what do you do in order to manage your weight? I'm not talking about definitions of words and splitting hairs. No doubt every person on this site would have phrased the original post differently...not the point.

What do you do (besides like avoiding fries at every meal and the obvious calorie reduction stuff) to maintain a weight loss that you have achieved? So before you lost the weight, the change you made was adjusting your CICO...that's a lifestyle change. Before your lifestyle before losing weight was to gain enough weight that you were dissatisfied, no? You changed that lifestyle into a healthy one via CICO adjustments and now you're maintaining that new 'lifestyle' 'viewpoint' 'diet' 'goal' 'expectation' 'weight management plan' 'fill in the blank.' 'whatever'

The point is what did you change in order to lose the weight that you have used to lose/maintain it? Not what do you call it...

Like I said in my pp-what changed is that I learned how CICO works and then I applied it.

How that translates to my weight management plan-

-daily weigh-ins, first thing in the morning, after I use the bathroom (potty, weigh-in, brush teeth, wash face, pull hair into bun lol)

-I have a 5lb maintenance range (currently 120lbs-125lbs). If I go above/under this range, and stay there for more than a few days, I adjust my calorie intake until I'm back in the range.

-I do mental math throughout the day, and add up calories as I go along, (I do not track here on MFP).

-I use my food scale to measure out portion sizes of things like rice, oats, beans etc (things I'm not good at accurately eyeballing)

-I get twice a year blood work done, to continue making sure my former prediabetic glucose number is still stable in the 80s.

And that's about it-everything else I do is secondary and has a minimal impact.

eta: I'm currently 4 years, 3 months into maintaining a 50ish pound loss (I've only intentionally lost weight the one time).

eta#2: I have done various IF protocols on and off during the past few years as well, though I'm not currently doing it.

I like the word diet. I went on a diet to lose weight. It did have an end because I didn't want to keep losing weight forever. I already ate a balanced diet and was active, I simply ate too much and needed to increase my activity in the winter (my activity is outdoors). I reduced calories to lose weight, and that is the definition of being on a diet.

But, I get the logic behind the advice. Health is more than diet.