If You Eat Cookies, Cakes, Ice Cream Daily Do You Consider Yourself Dieting?

lantana411 wrote: »

Just want to remind you that I started this to better understand the reason why people log dessert or refined carb/sugar foods - were they trying to lose weight or track intake or what. It wasn't a thinly veiled hateful statement - it was a question to better understand. I didn't pass judgement on others and even stated that while I eat mostly lean protein and produce I'm not adverse to eating desserts, etc. as long as it doesn't start a binge for me. Thanks to those who shared their logic/goals in logging food. And for those who think I'm judgmental I feel for you - not my intention - I hope that whatever is causing you to make that assumption passes.

Why *wouldn't* people log them? If they eat them, they log them.

Trust me. The aggression wasn't "thinly veiled" at all. You were quite obvious about it.

I've never dieted. I did spend two and a half years eating at a calorie deficit, and I had chocolate every day. I logged every last bite. I lost 100 pounds.

FWIW, I had ice cream tonight and I logged it (my diary is public if you want to see). 84 grams, 178 cal, easily fit within my budget for today. Actually, as I type this I'm still a bit short.

lantana411 wrote: »

Just want to remind you that I started this to better understand the reason why people log dessert or refined carb/sugar foods - were they trying to lose weight or track intake or what. It wasn't a thinly veiled hateful statement - it was a question to better understand. I didn't pass judgement on others and even stated that while I eat mostly lean protein and produce I'm not adverse to eating desserts, etc. as long as it doesn't start a binge for me. Thanks to those who shared their logic/goals in logging food. And for those who think I'm judgmental I feel for you - not my intention - I hope that whatever is causing you to make that assumption passes.

1. Why does logging desserts mean you are choosing between trying to lose weight and keep track of intake? You don’t seem to realize that keeping track of intake is what ensures the best chance for weight loss.
2. When you do indulge, do you not log the foods you eat? Again, seems like you’re dabbling in some disordered thinking, secret eating type of stuff. Log it, eat it, enjoy it and move on. Data is power. Logging treats, even when someone goes overboard, maybe especially when they go overboard, helps provide perspective. Even at thanksgiving I log every bit of my 3,000 calorie or so feast. Eating it and logging it has never once derailed my progress.
3. You didn’t start this to better understand what people do. You started it to passively aggressively pass judgement on a person on your friends list and now by extension, anyone else who might engage in similar. She now feels the need to justify her actions which are, in my opinion, far more healthy than only eating desserts in secret and never owning it on your diary.

Don’t feel badly for me - I’m enjoying a glass of wine, pork tenderloin, roasted sweet potatoes from my garden, rainbow carrots... and I still have 450 cals for the day. I think in honor of this thread I’m going to have an ice cream sundae.

I eat "dessert" for dinner pretty often - Greek yogurt with almond butter, strawberries, dark chocolate shavings, and toasted coconut. It's a satisfying, balanced, and healthy meal which has formed part of my 125 lb weight loss and currently 4.5 A1c.

lantana411 wrote: »

I'm surprised at how many people eat cookies, croissants, ice cream, cake, chips, etc. on a daily or near-daily basis BUT LOG THEIR FOOD! I want to know - is it because they consider themselves dieting or getting ready to diet? Is this why people who diet are considered 'eating cleanly'? What do you do and what do you consider it? If you stay within your calories but drink/snack them away instead of eating meals is it dieting?

That wouldn't be very healthy in the long run. I hope that's not what most people are doing.

I got a small pack of sour candies because I've been craving that crap lately. Veggie burgers for dinner, but 200 kcal of yummy junk for dessert. As long as I hit my nutrient and calorie goals, I'm happy. Now I've had to learn to be satisfied with less junk food because it's dense in calories and light in nutrients. But moderation is healthy.

I log desserts/refined carbs because they have calories.

I eat dessert/refined carbs for a few reasons:
1. White bread fills me up better than whole grain so I make the conscious decision to have it almost daily.
2. Sometimes dessert is what would complement my missing macros, in my case that's usually needing more fat
3. Sometimes I feel like having dessert for lunch. It's a completely valid thing to do and is not really that different from having anything else for lunch because nutrition is measured over time, not by single instances.
4. Sometimes having a dessert is exactly what I need to stick to my diet, so that's a good thing
5. Sugar doesn't scare me
6. My past experiences have taught me that having desserts/refined carbs doesn't impede my weight loss, it enhances it, in fact. It tends to put a stop to compensatory overeating.
7. It tastes good, which is a perfectly valid reason to eat something.
8. I refuse to modify my eating in a way that wouldn't carry to maintenance.
9. I don't put my goals in a blender. I understand what is needed for weight loss - a calorie deficit, and what is needed for proper nutrition - eating a variety of nutrients. Most of the time my goals meet, but there are times when they collide and I have to make a choice.
10. Did I mention they taste good?

ETA: I would like to elaborate on point 9 because I think it's important. When people decide to do something, goals often come in clusters. Lose weight, get fit, drink more water, adequate nutrition...etc. It doesn't mean in any way that none of these goals is achievable without the others.

My cluster, for example, doesn't contain drinking more water but it does contain stress reduction and a healthy social life, both of which are not in some people's clusters. By mixing goals you risk one goal done inadequately dragging other goals down. For example, "I ate horribly today, I won't exercise because what's the point, my day is ruined" is something that happens when you mix goals. Haven't you seen posts where someone thought they "ruined" their nutrition by eating cookies so decided to throw their day and go over calories dragging the weight loss goal down too? Take it from experience, keep your goals distinct and don't blend them into one big mass and call it dieting.

lantana411 wrote: »

Some of them seem defensive of their food choices, almost like they want to lose weight but not if they have to back away from sweets.

Just wanted to respond to this bit.

Firstly: I'm not defensive of my food choices, because they are MY choices and no one else's. I don't care what other people think of them. I make those choices with the knowledge of how they'll affect my goals (e.g. putting me over my calorie limit), and for the most part I don't feel guilty about them.

Secondly: if I'd had to "back away from sweets" then I would not have lost weight. I would have felt deprived and miserable, and I would have given up. I wouldn't have learned moderation in most things (there are still some I can't be trusted with), and I wouldn't have been successful in losing and keeping off 70+lbs.

COGypsy wrote: »

Last I checked, misery doesn't burn any extra calories. I'm in a deficit and losing steadily. I'd still pick a moderate serving of something delicious over a pile of kale and boiled chicken just to look virtuous in my food log.

Exactly! My diary is anything but virtuous most days.