To "Diet" or not to "Diet"....that is the question????

I totally understand this....It is supposed to be a lifestyle change but is is realistic to think in your life you will never eat cake? NO! But in the beginning when the short term goal is to lose weight (leading to the longterm goal of a healthy life), it is better to avoid those foods because when I start I have a hard time stopping.

I am not on a diet. Heck no if i started with that mind set i would of quit day 3.

I found that early on, the first 6 or 8 weeks I HAD to avoid those things because I wasn't far enough into a new habit of healthy eating. Now after a year I can have a SMALL slice of cake or ONE scoop of ice cream, not feel bad, know the correct portion size and log it correctly. But that's after a year's worth of work.

I find that 99% of the time I don't even WANT the sweets and chips now, I'd rather choose the carrots and fresh fruit. My new lifestyle annoys some people because I don't want those bad things in it but that's their problem not mine. If my friends would be mad because I didn't have cake, or a drink etc then they aren't really my friends anyhow. No one has acted that way

I was just like you. I thought I had to eat only healthy foods. Salad, fruits, veggies, etc, but what I found is that if I did that I would eventually crack and eat a whole pizza, bad of chips, cookies and whatever else I could find. It was a bad cycle that didn't work and didn't take the weight off.

Now I eat anything I want. Cake, cookies, pizza, chips, whatever. The difference is I make sure I don't go over my calories for that day. I plan all my meals in the morning for the whole day to make sure I do not go over my calorie allowance. After a while I found that when I saw how many calories were in certain foods, I would decide I didn't want to eat it and then figure out an alternative. Also, I earn what I eat with exercising. If I know I'm going out for dinner I will make sure I get a good workout in before going to dinner. Earn your treats, don't treat yourself and then work it off.

One other thing. I give myself an "Eat Anything I Want Within Reason" day. Every Monday I weigh-in in the morning, then for the rest of the day I eat whatever I have been craving over the last week. Subway, pizza, McDonalds, etc. This does 2 things. One it kick starts my metabolism for the week and two it stops me from bingeing that week. I satisfy my cravings on Monday and it keeps me in check the rest of the week. 69 lbs down doing exactly this. Hopefully this helps you.

I like to find a way to incorporate the things I love (pizza, ice cream, etc) into my normal weekly foods, so that I don't feel deprived and become a human vacuum cleaner when the opportunity arises at parties. I burn a ton of calories to make things fit, and keep goodies portion controlled. For instance, I buy ice cream sandwiches (not diet ones, either, because the cheapskate in me can't pay twice the price for a few less calories) that are around 160 calories. I can have one sandwich and feel happy about that, whereas if I portioned out a half cup of ice cream, that would look tiny and pathetic in a bowl. I made half the recipe of this cheesecake - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/279866-low-carb-high-protein-zero-sugar-cheesecake - as about 20 cupcakes, and have been having two at a time for a snack or even for breakfast. It's mentally easier for me than slicing off the correct portion size from a whole pie.

It's the mental part, I think, that's the hardest part of all of it. But if nothing is ever off limits, then you can't fail by eating something "not on your diet." It takes 3500 calories to put on a pound, and that's 3500 over your MAINTENANCE calories, not your calorie limit on here. So even if you have a total pig out day, you probably didn't do enough to gain a pound, especially if you factor in that you ate at a deficit the rest of the week. At worst, you took a detour that might mean it'll take you a few days longer to reach your goal. But if you beat yourself up and think, "Oh, I blew it. I might as well keep eating..." that's what's really going to set it back. The mental part.

We are all on a "diet" - because all that means is the food one usually consumes. It has been coopted by industry to the point that people think of the word as deprivation and weight loss. Try and change your mindset - "what is my diet?" "MY diet consists of eating healthy foods such as . . . , making healthy choices whenever I can, and allowing myself . . . on occasion because I know it fits into my overall focus on a healthy body AND mind." I don't know if that helps, but I think mindset is very important. I hate that industry has changed this word, and only in the past 50 years or so. There's nothing wrong with indulgences, within reason and with moderation.