Diet plan VS just eating healthy
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Tacklewasher wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »thats the difference between calorie counting and being on a 'diet plan'- with calorie counting you can't really ever 'fall off the wagon' because there are no food restrictions. eat within your range and if you go over, make up for it the next day.
Of course you can fall off the wagon. It's called not logging and eating over your maintenance. Or even logging and eating over maintenance.
Did it last summer. Gained weight as well.
Sshhh just call it a diet break! Or bulking
Bulking is NOTwhere your pants get tighter....
It was a combination of being tired of logging, scale deciding it didn't want to work, enjoying vacation in July and then too much smoke in August to run. But I fell off and am back on and lost most of it.
For me it always is, especially in the glutes and quads
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If you fall off the wagon, doesn't that mean it didn't work?
I didn't do either. I just logged my food and hit my calorie goal. Sure, I did make some small changes over time as I learned from my food log, but I just tried to eat a varied diet and hit my calories goal.
It's as simple..... and as hard..... as this!!!3 -
When a question like this gets asked, I never know what is meant by "diet plan" and "eating healthy". For me, I gained lots of weight "eating healthy" meaning eating good wholesome foods. I lost a lot of weight doing the same thing but with a plan to balance my CICO through calorie counting to put me in a calorie deficit. So, the answer to both could be yes or no, depending on how you define it.6
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I don't consider myself to follow a named diet. When someone tells me what I should eat in a day, or how much, I tend to want to stop. Diets that give you a menu don't last long for me.
That being said, my diet can be described as keto or mostly carnivore. I eat very few carbs due to health issues. The only foods that are 100% off limits are foods that hurt me, like gluten because I am a celiac, or regular soda because I was developing insulin resistance.
I eat the foods that work best for me, and not something that someone else told me to eat. I am guessing that others may say that I follow a diet plan because I can label my diet, but I'm of the opinion that most diets can be labelled such as vegetarian, Mediterranean based, WFPB, IIFYM, low carb, low fat, everything in moderation, etc. Just because a diet can be described does not mean one is following a diet plan, IMO.4 -
I personally like to stay on a plan. It gives me structure and focus. This summer I went off plan and tried to just eat healthy. Didn't work for me. I started to slip and gained weight. Thank god it was only 9 pounds, but it has been a pain to get off. So I am now on Day 3 of my plan. I am using an older version of the Curves Diet, that has a realistic menu ie frozen dinners, cheerios, bacon, porkchops etc. Foods that don't cost extra and can be found in ta normal home. I wont be sticking to the plan 100% more likely 80%, but I have a guideline of what type of foods to eat and what I should prepare. I also keep an eye on my caloric intake making sure it does not exceed 1800. With this combination and exercise I think my 9 lbs should be off in the next week or so and i will continue to work on my weight loss goals.1
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I eat within my caloric maximum and get my minimal amount of protein (while loosely monitoring sugar and sodium) - otherwise, I have no "plan" that involves specific foods.3
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Healthier options and moderation assisted me in losing 72lbs in just over 10 months. Right now I am eating Keto strickly for unexplained inflammation and joint pain that the drs couldn't figure out and this way of eating has eliminated both.
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I ate foods I enjoyed within the context of a reasonably balanced, nutritious diet, and stuck to my calorie goals. Works the exact same for maintenance, except I eat a bit more of them.
Calories are what matter - I could easily gain all kinds of weight eating "healthy" foods if I didn't mind my calorie intake.
^^ this!
I was one who was gaining on “healthy” foods. Healthy foods can be quite calorific!Tacklewasher wrote: »thats the difference between calorie counting and being on a 'diet plan'- with calorie counting you can't really ever 'fall off the wagon' because there are no food restrictions. eat within your range and if you go over, make up for it the next day.
Of course you can fall off the wagon. It's called not logging and eating over your maintenance. Or even logging and eating over maintenance.
Did it last summer. Gained weight as well.
Sshhh just call it a diet break! Or bulking
:laugh:
:drinker:1 -
If you want to keep the weight off once you lose it, then you'll have to have to make lifelong changes. Anything that works "for a while" doesn't work.7
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To lose weight I count calories and move more. To be healthy I eat a Mediterranean diet that my husband's cardiologist recommended, and which includes lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats with occasional indulgences. I find that eating healthy, nutritious foods makes it easier to stay within my calorie range.1
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I personally tend to gravitate towards what most consider to be "healthy" foods, but I need a plan wherein I monitor how much I eat of them!
When I wasn't paying attention to how much healthy food I ate, I was Class II obese.
Nutrition is important, but so are the amount of calories you consume.10 -
Based on the thread title....
There is no "VS" involved. Just find a combination that takes me toward whatever my goal is. For me it was fat loss and muscle preservation, then recomp. Calories were king for both. Protein was the most important macro for both.4 -
I lost 50ish pounds in just less than a year (at age 59-60, while hypothyroid, without much changing my exercise habits) by doing this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm
Third parties, please read the linked thread before you "woo" me . . . but then feel free to "woo" as inspired.
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I started on keto.
Quickly realized that was not for me long term.
So I just went back to eating the things I normally ate.
Just in much smaller portions.
I did stop eating in restaurants so often.
When I do go out I eat smarter.
A few chips and salsa not a couple of baskets of chips.
Instead of a pint of ice cream I eat 1/2 cup.
Instead of a huge breakfast I have a much smaller breakfast.
I do log and pay attention to my macros but I don't get too excited if I go over a little.
So far that is working and I'm down over 30 pounds in 2 months.
My biggest problem is eating enough.
I almost never hit my calorie goal, always under.
It helps that my wife is on board with the weight loss journey.
She is down to almost her goal weight.5 -
I started on keto.
Quickly realized that was not for me long term.
So I just went back to eating the things I normally ate.
Just in much smaller portions.
I did stop eating in restaurants so often.
When I do go out I eat smarter.
A few chips and salsa not a couple of baskets of chips.
Instead of a pint of ice cream I eat 1/2 cup.
Instead of a huge breakfast I have a much smaller breakfast.
I do log and pay attention to my macros but I don't get too excited if I go over a little.
So far that is working and I'm down over 30 pounds in 2 months.
My biggest problem is eating enough.
I almost never hit my calorie goal, always under.
It helps that my wife is on board with the weight loss journey.
She is down to almost her goal weight.
Petty Officer Dodd, if you almost never hit your calorie goal, and you want ice cream, you can eat some Halo Top. 320 calories (or so based on the flavor) for the entire pint. It's got some protein too!
30 pounds in two months is a lot. You may want to slow that down...
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All formal diets seem to work for most people until they go off them. And then what? Think long-term as in forever. What can you stick with until you die?3
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I don't eat "healthy". I experiment a lot with what makes me feel full while staying within the calorie count (and tasting good) and eat more of that. I don't look at macros but most weeks it's right around 33/33/33. The ultimate goal is finding stuff I can live off for the rest of my life and be happy.
What makes me feel full is:
-turkey bacon and eggs for breakfast (with a little bit of rye/carrot bread),
-300 calories with of peanuts a day, as a snack (there is pretty compelling evidence that peanuts make you feel full while a lot of the calories pass through you undigested and they taste damn good).
-home made burgers with about 225g/1 pound of very lean meat, with whole grain buns and lots of salad. Sometimes with home cut, oven roasted, non-fat potatoes.
-Chicken burgers (like above)
-Mexican fired meat with either salad or occasionally, when I have calories to spare, wrapped in a Tortilla (they don't make me feel full and have a LOT of calories but taste damn good)0 -
My plan is to eat within calories. I typically fill it with mostly healthy-ish foods that keep me full, but I don't shun any foods or food groups. If I restrict too much, I'll binge so I avoid getting too hungry.2
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ashleyeatsbetter wrote: »Which has worked better for you? I think a plan works better for me for a while until I fall off the wagon. What has worked best for you? Do you follow a plan or just try to pick healthy options?
No matter what you choose to do, in order to lose weight you need to know how many calories you are taking in. Some find it easier to do that via a plan, especially if they have had very little cooking experience or nutrition education. Others know what are satisfying nutritious foods and just need to modify their intake. All who keep the weight off have internalized the changes and made them a part of their daily lives. Even people on plans needed to transition to learning maintenance eating habits.
The National Weight Control Registry is an interesting place where people who have lost 30 lb. or more and have kept it off for at least a year can register and become part of a research study. One of the more interesting statistics among them is how they lost the weight: 45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program. nwcr.ws/research/
There is no One Way to lose but 98% of those who did modified their food intake in some way and 94% increased their activity. There is variety in how participants keep the weight off but most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.
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I got fat while eating very "healthy."
So, yes, a plan of some variety is required. What that plan is can vary widely from one person to the next, but just eating "healthy" didn't work so well.2 -
ashleyeatsbetter wrote: »Which has worked better for you? I think a plan works better for me for a while until I fall off the wagon. What has worked best for you? Do you follow a plan or just try to pick healthy options?
What has worked best for me is to eat what I normally would in moderation. I log everything in advance for the day and make small changes like smaller portions, more vegetables on my plate, less cheese, less crackers or bread, more protein, or not using calories on drinks. It is easier because the changes were gradual and not food that is too different from how the people around me eat.1 -
Well based on my own experience Fad Diets don't work. Eating healthy for me means reaching your daily vitamin intake and avoiding greasy processed food. Increasing my Vegetable and Fruit intake. Just Track your foods and understand that nutrition is important but if you are just starting out just do calorie tracking.0
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I was able to lose weight and maintain the loss by tracking/logging my food. I don't have any food restrictions but try and make healthy choices and eat foods that will nourish my body. I do of course enjoy years as well.0
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I’m with those who say their “diet plan” has been to eat in a very healthy way, at a calorie deficit — because the long-term plan is to eat and exercise in an appropriate way to maintain this goal weight for life.
That said, I do appreciate short-term challenges, and I can see the advantages of sticking to a specific plan for, say, a week, just to exercise that “I made myself a promise and I’m going to do what I promised” muscle.
One benefit of that approach is that, when you get back to your regular healthy approach, you deeply appreciate those little extras, like that coffee or Diet Coke or dairy or whatever you did without for the week.2
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