THIS IS HARD!

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  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    Here is an example of how I eat what I want. I knew we were going out to eat Monday night, so ate light earlier in the day. I also had banked a few hundred calories over the previous couple of days because I went in knowing I was going to eat what I wanted without reserve, yet without stuffing myself. I still came in under my daily calories:

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  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    joecooler wrote: »
    I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly.

    With only 50 lbs to lose, 2 lbs/week is not a slow rate of loss. An overly aggressive calorie deficit will indeed make the process hard. If you change your rate to 1 or 1.5 lbs/week, you will likely find that you can fit in more of the things you crave, while still enjoying good progress.
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 234 Member
    I give myself "windows" where it's okay to eat fast food, like on the weekends when I'm out with my husband, but during the week, I plan all of my meals, take my lunch to work and eat dinner at home. Friday night is pizza night or we go to a movie and I have popcorn or a soft pretzel. If I know I am going to go out for breakfast on a Sunday morning, then I'll skip lunch and have a normal dinner. Basically, I allow myself to occasionally have a treat like ice cream or a burger, but then I log the calories and adjust the rest of my day to make up for it. Occasionally, I'll get a little out of control and have to reel myself back in, but most of the time I do not feel deprived. Set your weight loss to one pound per week, add some exercise in to your daily routine and you'll probably find you can eat more of your favorite foods and still lose four to five pounds a month. If you are not "dieting" then you are in this for the long haul and slow and steady weight loss is the best.
  • Snowflake1968
    Snowflake1968 Posts: 6,730 Member
    joecooler wrote: »
    Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.

    I eat what I want in smaller portions. I love a cheeseburger, but I make my own at home with Lean or Extra Lean ground beef. I also make pizzas on tortilla shells instead of crusts. If I do go all out and eat take out burgers and pizza, I just log it and try to exercise some calories back. If I can't do that I just know that for the next couple days I need to be more conscious of what I'm eating.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited May 2018
    You don't have to give up foods you love to lose weight.
    Moderation, portion control, and better food choices.
    Stay within your calorie alottment and you will lose weight, if you have no existing medical issues.
    It is not easy for many of us, but seeing the results, buying clothing in smaller sizes makes the effort easier.
    I have to ask myself now, "is it worth it?" Most of the time the answer is no.
    No food is off limits, I allow for it in my food/calorie diary.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,215 Member
    Bordering on beating a dead horse at this point, but I've never found expecting myself to completely stay away from "bad" foods I like to be sustainable and I think you're finding out the same. Being "perfect" and not eating pizza, burgers, tacos, etc. for the rest of your life sounds miserable and woefully unsustainable, but making the "right" food choices 80% of the time and not going bonkers for the other 20% on the foods you crave should be a path to success. A caution, don't fall into the trap of getting down on yourself when you do decide to have an indulgence; weigh the caloric consequences, make a choice, move on and resume regularly scheduled programming. I've found that I've gotten much more scrutinizing about certain foods in the sense that if I'm going to have that many calories I'm going to enjoy the crap out of them. If I'm having pizza, it's going to be good pizza, not plain-cheese-left-in-the-breakroom-only-eating-because-I'm-bored pizza. If I get ice cream it's not Halo top, or low glycemic index, no added sugar ice cream, it's the super tasty stuff.

    TL;DR - you don't have to be perfect, you don't have to be miserable and feel like you're missing your favorite foods. Overall, eat fewer calories and you'll be good to go in the long run.
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    Yeah... more of the same, but here’s some tricks and my thought process: if I’m not prepared to give up something for the rest of my life, I’m not giving it up in order to lose weight. This is the rest of my life.

    What I can do is give it up for today, and plan to have that treat later. Sometimes I work on my willpower and see how many days I can push having that treat, going past it in the store and thinking ”I’ll come back for you tomorrow”. The day I have the treat always comes eventually, and then I enjoy and savour every single bit of it.

    I plan my meals and shop groceries ahead of time, usually on Sunday for the rest of the week. I write in days I know I’ll be eating out, plan healthy and sensible meals (this part varies...), and especially if there’s no eating out that week, something fun like tacos or burgers to make at home. I do try to ”match” the meals to my days, meaning if I know in advance my Thursday is going to be straight from hell, that day gets an easy, quick and comforting meal instead of the complicated recipe I have wanted to try for a while. You get the picture. Some weeks are hard and I want to reward myself a little, so I do that. I might try to squeeze in some extra workouts, since those are also rewards and help keep me sane.

    Also: remember that there are more important things in life than weight loss, sometimes it’s perfectly OK to average out at maintenance level for a week or two. There’s social life, family events, work/study issues etc. I’m turning in my thesis in 6 days, and if my thesis-writing brain decides it needs chocolate/burrito/whatever, I’m going to get it. Whatever to push through the next week, man.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    joecooler wrote: »
    Wow, lots of great advice here. Really glad I posted. Just wondering, a lot of comments saying you eat what you want, but it sounds like then you stop for the day when you hit your calorie goal. Am I getting that right? That sounds like it could be really hard - some of the stuff I love, I'd be done w/my calorie count at lunch time. Not eating for the rest of the day after lunch just wouldn't work for me.

    I had to go out to run an errand this afternoon before I had lunch. I then felt tempted to just go to Taco Bell because I was out, but then I wouldn't have the calories I needed tonight. So I came home and had veggies and cheese for lunch. Maybe in a few days I'll be able to fit Taco Bell into my day. So "eat what you want" doesn't mean "eat what you want all day every day". Nutrition still matters.
  • campfirequeen1
    campfirequeen1 Posts: 317 Member
    I am all about calorie and nutrient counting. It works and you get to eat what your body wants, as long as it fits the goal and what the body needs. A splurge once in a while won't destroy everything you've done. That's called all or none thinking and it's not healthy! For it to be a life change, you have to enjoy it, so make it work for you! I usually do my splurge at night, after I've seen what I have left to splurge with calorie wise, but sometimes life just happens and it's during the day, so make your dinner fit the goal. When people ask me the secret to my weight loss I tell them it's really simple and they get really excited, but when I tell them it's simple but not necessarily "easy" because I log ever bite I eat and everything I drink, they are like "oh that's too much trouble" and I say that's the thing that is the mark of successful people, they are willing to do the thing other people aren't. I'm willing because it works!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited May 2018
    joecooler wrote: »
    Cutting things out is permanent changes. Just can't do the mid afternoon candy run any more. Fast food has to be absolutely minimal. Problem with this stuff is, when I have one, I just want more.

    Find a way to manage your tendency to overindulge, and you can enjoy things like candy and ice cream. You need to figure out which foods are the biggest problems for you.

    I don't keep candy or ice cream in the house. That's because I know that if I do, I'll eat it all. If I want a candy bar, I'll drive five minutes in my car and buy a good candy bar at the pharmacy. I'll drive home and have it, or have half and save the rest for the next day. If I want ice cream, I'll drive five minutes in my car to the dairy store near my house with locally made quality ice cream, and get a dish with a couple of scoops.

    I had an individual sized pizza this past weekend from a brick oven pizza place. I won't get a larger pizza thinking I'll have the rest the next day because I know I might eat more than I should. It's about portion control -- and a key to making it work for me is realizing that I'll likely be completely satisfied by the two scoops of ice cream and won't need to scratch that itch for a week or two. If I go to a restaurant that's known for having humongous portions, I'll get a take home box when my meal comes out and immediately put half in the take home box. Or, I'll get an appetizer and a cup of soup.

    Pay attention to your hunger and satiety cues - you'll notice that if you have a small portion of something like candy, wait 20 minutes, then decide if you want more, often the answer will be no. But if you really do want more, eat it knowing it's not going to "break" your diet. One meal or excessive portion isn't going to ruin your progress -- remember, it takes 3500 excess calories to put on a pound of weight.

    The other helpful thing is viewing your calorie allotment for the day as a budget, or an allowance. If you have $20 to spend for a day, you'll think twice before spending $18 on something frivolous early in the day. A better strategy might be: get through the day, and plan to spend no more than $2 before you buy the $18 item later in the day. That's why I started replacing lunch with a couple of light snacks during the day - so I'd have more calories to spend in the evening on dessert or a treat.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    joecooler wrote: »
    Hello. I am not dieting. I have dieted in the past, and always regained the weight. I am making lifestyle changes - changing my relationship w/food, changing what and how I eat, and being more active. I've been doing this maybe 6 weeks now and have lost around 10-12 pounds (depends on the day). My goal is to lose 50-60 pounds so clothes will fit better and so I can be more active doing all the things I love - hiking, cycling, skiing, etc. I am pleased w/my success and willing to be patient and lose the weight slowly. I feel better and already feel my clothes fitting better. I am able to be more active than I was just six weeks ago.

    But

    THIS IS HARD!!! I miss the food that I love - pizza, ice cream, fast food burgers and fries, etc etc etc. I thought it would get easier but in some ways it's getting harder. I have been successful at eliminating some things from my routine completely - no more afternoon candy, no more fast food, no more pizza (for now) - but sometimes I slip, and it seems I pay such a high price for it - an entire weeks hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? And if so, how does one adjust to a life w/out all the foods you love?


    1. ...an entire week's hard work erased by a single burger on the grill, or a late binge on salted nuts. How is this possible? I'm sure someone already said it, but I promise all of your work is not wiped away in one sitting..although it may feel like it afterwards. Did you lose this weight by eating one healthy meal? No. And I promise you won't gain it all back because of one meal either. Especially not a single burger or some nuts. A lot of the weight afterwards is literally crap within your body that you'll get rid of in 1-3 days, water retention due to sodium, etc. I eat VERY strictly. Measure and weigh every piece of food that passes through my mouth because I'm currently on prep. This past weekend, I hit a DL and squat PR on a single day, followed by a bench PR the next
    and went 12 straight days of full lift sessions and extended cardio. I decided I needed to let loose for my own well being, mind set and to fuel those muscles, so I did an experiment. I weighed in at 113.4 lbs. on Thursday night. After a large dinner Friday, a big slice of pizza, stromboli & a full pint of Enlightened on Sunday (keep in mind I tracked everything else), I weighed in at 119.4 lbs. on Sunday night. Fast forward to today and I'm down to 114.2. Not sabotage. Totally healthy and normal and okay. This is a lifestyle.
    2. Do I really have to be perfect to lose weight? NO! Not at all. Everyone fudges up sometimes. People go on vacation and skip work outs and drink & eat with no limits. Wanna know what you do? Let yourself have that little mini break if you deserve it and then come home and get right back on the band wagon. A lot of people who compete take 1-2 full months off in order to keep their mental sanity and a good relationship with food. It's okay to not be 100% on point at all times.
    3. How does one adjust to a life without all the foods you love? No reason to live without foods you love. What are some foods that you're currently having issues with? My one love is cereal. I know I won't give it up, so I pre-log it. I highly suggest pre-logging if going out to eat or to a social setting. If it fits your macros, you can eat it...and anything can fit your macros in moderation.
  • moodybear2003
    moodybear2003 Posts: 225 Member
    hipari wrote: »
    Yeah... more of the same, but here’s some tricks and my thought process: if I’m not prepared to give up something for the rest of my life, I’m not giving it up in order to lose weight. This is the rest of my life.


    This is the way I've been approaching it, and I agree with everyone else. The trick is balance. Not everyone can find good balance, and that takes hard mental work. There was a time I couldn't give up cherry pepsi. I just couldn't. I tried cold turkey 3 times. I slowly started replacing it with a zero calorie fizzy drink (sparkling ices), and now, I have one only once a week. I allow myself 1/2 to 1 full Sparkling ice, everything else is low-to-no sugar iced tea I make myself or water. It is like a treat to have that Cherry Pepsi, and much sweeter than I remember when i drank 2 to 3 a day.

    If we're having pizza, I have one slice, maybe two, and then something else healthy if i'm hungry. Not half a pizza like before. It is hard. It takes dedication. But fitting them in keeps me from binging. It's a mental thing of "you don't have to scarf it down like you'll never have it again. Go slow and enjoy, and know you will have it again at some later date"
  • Optasia
    Optasia Posts: 24 Member
    edited May 2018
    I LOVE reading that other people are doing what I do! I still eat some of the same food...just LESS of it. For me, this lifestyle change is about moderation...instead of eating every meal like its my last...I know I’ll be eating again soon and will never starve. Lol. I’m down 38pnds.

    I eat approx. 1400 calories a day. I walk approx 5miles a day and probably have a 350 cal breakfast sandwich most days. I also make room for a treat here and there and have a hamburger once a week.

    You are doing well! Your weight loss is fabulous, but it IS HARD, but one day it will be HABIT. I’m learning to go with what I know (my plan), and not by how I feel. Some days I feel like giving up...which would be ridiculous because I’m almost half way to my goal.

    We can do this!!

    On a side note: I once lost 80pnds by eating one 250-300 calorie treat a day. Seriously. I read an article in Readers Digest and it was something that worked for me. To make room for that chocolate treat (that’s my “thing”), I ate very healthily the rest of the day. I planned all of my others meals, measured everything, ate all my favorite meals, but less of it.

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