What are some of your ‘rules’

24

Replies

  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    1 - Log everything
    2 - If I have a craving figure out a way to make it fit into my calories, don't just push it away until I end up binging
    3 - Don't expect perfection, just expect myself to keep trying
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited December 2018
    Biggster69 wrote: »
    Never eat when I am not hungry. Don’t eat after 6 pm. No added sugars. No calories in drinks.

    I have a similar general rule of being done eating by 5:00 pm. When, I’m home, I say I meet that goal 5 days a week. Last night I attended a Christmas party and closed my eating diary around 7:00 pm.

    The 5:00 pm goal works for me and my brain and gut have adjusted.

    Do you not have dinner or do you not have regular job hours?

    I tend to work until at least 7 (I realize many get off at 5 or 6), and then get home at around 8 unless I do errands or work out first. So if I have dinner it's late. Hasn't seemed to be a problem.

    Sometimes I regularly work until 8, and at my old job that was common.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Keep logging
    Make room for treats in moderation
    Don't buy things I can't moderate (but leave the door open for having a single portion on occasion)
    IN GENERAL (not talking about a once-in-a-blue-moon banquet/family reunion/holiday), don't order foods in restaurants where the calories are too hard to ballpark. A slice of vegetarian cheese pizza? Easy enough. The pasta with the signature sauce that comes to me in a salad bowl? Not so much. Don't be afraid to ask the restaurant in advance; I've found that many of them reply quickly to questions asked via email/Facebook messaging.
    Exercise daily
    Stay real with myself
    Focus on protein and iron and let the rest fall where it falls.
    See my doctor twice a year and get my vitals taken. Now, he's only doing my bloodwork once a year because things are all normal and staying that way, but he still checks my blood pressure and weight.
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
    Count daily. Except for holidays or vacation. Once those are over, back to counting. Nothing is off limits. I can have anything I want, just at the right time and in the right amount.
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    Excellent suggestions everyone!
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    Agree with never eating anything I don’t like.
    I also track calories, never skip more than 1 day of exercise, stop eating after 8 pm as much as possible, and to choose the most satiating foods I can.
  • lvose5119
    lvose5119 Posts: 15 Member
    To still enjoy my favourite foods, but adapt the meal to fit in with my new lifestyle. So I’ll take some burgers into work, with lettuce leaves instead of buns (I got mocked a lot for that one!) or chilli with cauliflower instead of normal rice. Little things make big differences.

    “Is it worth it” I never realised how many calories were in my favourite junk food treats.

    On that topic I saw something on here that actually stuck with me, don’t treat food as a treat or as a punishment. You aren’t a pet, you don’t need to be rewarded, if you want a certain food. Make it work. You don’t need a reason.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Biggster69 wrote: »
    Never eat when I am not hungry. Don’t eat after 6 pm. No added sugars. No calories in drinks.

    I have a similar general rule of being done eating by 5:00 pm. When, I’m home, I say I meet that goal 5 days a week. Last night I attended a Christmas party and closed my eating diary around 7:00 pm.

    The 5:00 pm goal works for me and my brain and gut have adjusted.

    Do you not have dinner or do you not have regular job hours?

    I tend to work until at least 7 (I realize many get off at 5 or 6), and then get home at around 8 unless I do errands or work out first. So if I have dinner it's late. Hasn't seemed to be a problem.

    Sometimes I regularly work until 8, and at my old job that was common.

    I think people have different schedules and habits, whether they do this "stop eating by x time" or not. I get off work at 5 pm on the dot even though it's a standard office job. That's just the culture where I work, and I'm grateful for that, honestly. I'm at home by 5:15 and my husband works from home and usually makes dinner. It's very doable (even common) for me to be finished eating for the day by 6 or 6:30. My coworker works exactly the same hours and he and his wife eat dinner around 9 pm every night. Personal preference, I guess!

    I like to floss/brush my teeth when I've finished dinner so I don't snack in the evenings.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I make all kinds of rules but I tend to break them quite a bit so I would call them more recommendations. My only rule I try my very best to follow.. unless I'm sick or injured, lift lift lift.
  • EliseTK1
    EliseTK1 Posts: 483 Member
    Most of my rules can be bent or broken sometimes. (Follow my calorie goals, exercise at least every other day, eat what I enjoy/makes me feel good, etc.) The only one that I'm firm on is this: fitness is forever. This isn't temporary- it's a lifelong pursuit.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I find it amusing that someone has come through and "Woo-d" some of the best pieces of advice!! :lol:

    To you who "Wood-d" ... what's your advice then?

    Just assume that those that woo'd think woo is a positive thing and are supporting your comment. That or laugh.

    It has to be!! :grin:
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited December 2018
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Biggster69 wrote: »
    Never eat when I am not hungry. Don’t eat after 6 pm. No added sugars. No calories in drinks.

    I have a similar general rule of being done eating by 5:00 pm. When, I’m home, I say I meet that goal 5 days a week. Last night I attended a Christmas party and closed my eating diary around 7:00 pm.

    The 5:00 pm goal works for me and my brain and gut have adjusted.

    Do you not have dinner or do you not have regular job hours?

    I tend to work until at least 7 (I realize many get off at 5 or 6), and then get home at around 8 unless I do errands or work out first. So if I have dinner it's late. Hasn't seemed to be a problem.

    Sometimes I regularly work until 8, and at my old job that was common.

    I think people have different schedules and habits, whether they do this "stop eating by x time" or not. I get off work at 5 pm on the dot even though it's a standard office job. That's just the culture where I work, and I'm grateful for that, honestly. I'm at home by 5:15 and my husband works from home and usually makes dinner. It's very doable (even common) for me to be finished eating for the day by 6 or 6:30. My coworker works exactly the same hours and he and his wife eat dinner around 9 pm every night. Personal preference, I guess!

    I like to floss/brush my teeth when I've finished dinner so I don't snack in the evenings.

    I totally get this, I just get cranky when people suggest there's something bad about eating after 5 or 6 when my own schedule makes it basically impossible to eat dinner before 8, and more often 9. I have never had a job where getting off at 5 (or even 6, other than rare occasions or Fridays) happened, and where I live it's common to have a 45 min to 1 hour commute.

    I'm not eating dinner at work or skipping dinner.

    I end up with a long time between lunch at 12 (or so) and dinner at 9 (or so), but it works for me. I tend to eat lighter at dinner than I would if I ate earlier, I think, since hunger in the evening isn't an issue.
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 978 Member
    edited December 2018
    Digging back through my diary I found the ones I wrote for myself when I started this thing. I think generally they're still pretty solid 7 months later:
    - Focus on food I want to eat. There’s no point me eating food I don’t enjoy. If I won’t eat it once I’ve reached my goal weight, I won’t eat it now.
    - Baby steps are better than a treadmill. Focusing on the small changes that get me closer to my ultimate goal is better than big and impressive ones, that only keep me in the same place.
    - Listen to my body. It means snacking on fruit if I’m hungry between meals, and leaving food if I’m full.
    - Ignore that a bad day. As long as it’s very infrequent, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
    - Don’t restrict what I can eat. If I want a slice of cake, I’ll damn well eat a slice of cake. It will be a small slice, and I’ll remember to eat a little bit healthier lighter later.
    - Slowly reduce the calorie deficit once I’ve reach my goal weight. Because a sudden hike in allowance, I know is going to get out of hand. - In retrospect: probably unnecessary
    - Make better food choices.
    - This is for the long term.

    In addtion I'd like to add a few more:
    - Give yourself a break once in a while. A maintenance week is better than unintentional maintenance from binge/restrict -ing
    - If you ate it, log it
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    These are the rules I've used this last year successfully.

    Only make changes you know you can sustain for life, and make them slowly, one at a time.

    If you stumble, or fall learn from it. And move on. Every one has bad days. If you keep trying, keep learning, and keep evolving you'll be successful.

    Listen to your body. Do not overeat, and don't eat when you're not hungry.

    I need to have checks and balances in place. I need to either be logging everything, check the calories on everything, weighing myself frequently, or restricting my eating time window to remain successful. I have found if I am not doing at least some of these, I'm not being accountable to myself, and I slip back into old habits.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    I don't let others pressure me into eating foods I do not want to.

    This is especially critical for me over the holidays since treats and decadent dinners are in abundance.
  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
    -2 meals a day between 11am - 7 pm. No snacking.
    - plan my meals in the morning so I know I’m in my calorie count for the day.
    - Track everything I eat in MFP and my food journal. Accountability
    - Weigh myself every morning. So I can see what is happening and can change it before it gets out of hand.
    - Be aware of what I’m eating and eat foods I enjoy.
    -Try to Follow a WFPB way of eating but still allow a bit meat for garnish. In my sixties and gotta watch my lab numbers and BP.
    - work out on my Pilate bench every day.

    That’s enough!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    log food. That's it :D I can't think of anything else
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