Losing 100 lbs With Phit-N-Phat Podcast Discussion

aliciap0116
aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
edited February 2020 in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone, I recently started listening to the Losing 100 lbs With Phit-N-Phat podcast and wanted to create a discussion thread for those who might be listening and wanting to chat about some topics that come up on the thread. It has some powerful thoughts and is making me rethink my relationship with food (I am not a member of the PNP tribe; just listening to the podcast).

I'll start to kick it off but really would like to hear from you about what is resonating with you. Please share what you think is powerful or your reactions to concepts.
  1. In one of the early podcasts, Corinne talks about only making changes which you are willing make for the rest of your life. For example, walking 15 minutes a day was the exercise she started with because she knew she could do/commit to that. On one hand, this ensures that you are making changes you can live with/stick with. On the other hand, it sounds awfully permanent! There are definitely sacrifices I am willing to make now that I can't say I will always be willing to do, but I think they are positive for me to do now anyway. I think that is okay. As I get further into the podcasts, it's clear to me that she evolved and expects others to, and that people will be willing to make more and more small changes that add up. And that you can chose every day what you eat. But I am curious if others had the same reaction.
  2. The planning concept is very interesting to me. I have some set breakfasts I make, and usually go to the same salad shop for lunch, where I can customize what I am having. I have some great recipes for dinner but historically don't think about what I am making until 5 minutes after I get home. This month I am going to try coming up with a weekly plan for meals (I think I will waste few groceries and hopefully be less stressed about what to make). But things change all the time for me (a lunch work event, grabbing lunch with a friend, going to someone's house for dinner, etc) and I don't want to feel too rigid about breaking my "plan."
  3. I put this in another post so sorry if it is duplicate for you. Corinne advocates not counting calories; instead you keep a "food journal," where you write down what you ate and what you thought or felt about it, and only eating when you start to feel hungry and stopping when you are full. This thought terrifies me because I am making progress and I think the nutritional information about my choices is great information to have. But I also noticed that I had two Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches last night because I had enough leftover calories. It was all about having a treat (I wasn't hungry much at all yesterday). There's nothing wrong with treats now and then but I do think there is a lot to be said for learning to only eat when you are hungry. And I am sure Corinne is correct that we listen to our bodies less if we are focusing on counting calories. In an ideal world I wouldn't have to count calories forever (though I do think I will need to for quite some time) and it seems like this is a good thing to practice now.

Would love to hear your reaction to those topics in addition to other things on your mind!
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Replies

  • bluffgirl67
    bluffgirl67 Posts: 158 Member
    You know I'm just starting but am so glad you started this up. :smile:
  • mmccloy12
    mmccloy12 Posts: 151 Member
    Hey there! Thanks @aliciap0116 for setting this up!

    1. I like this concept for sure! I have done so many things in my life to lose weight...and this time...I told myself I have to do something that is sustainable...can I do this the rest of my life. Can I go low carb the rest of my life...no I cannot...so with food I get it. And so far I have been able to lose weight eating what I like to an extent...but it was my choice to eliminate fast food, soda etc. @aliciap0116 There are some things I am doing now to help with the weight loss that I don't think I will do forever...so I relate to the "permanent" fear of what she is saying. Now exercise, different story for me at least. I think setting a realistic doable goal that I can live with will work for me. I believe it is a good concept because some people think they need to work out like crazy and then burn out because of it. I want to find something that I like…just like @cupcakecrusoe I find myself struggling to find that. I am also struggling to get to the gym because I don’t really like it and then I feel guilty when I don’t. So if I change my mindset and agree that walking 15 minutes a day is enough then I may do that every day.

    2. I like the planning thing…I do plan every meal. I don’t necessarily sit down every day like she suggests and analyze how it went…I plan a menu for the week and then grab what I want from what I have made…not a big breakfast person…but I have a go to if I want to. Snacks are a must for me to have or I will make bad choices and lunch and dinner is planned. Do I go off plan and eat out sometimes, yes, but very rarely…I plan to eat out once a week. I do like her mindset of evaluating what we ate that day and if there were hiccups then figure out why. I have done that a lot. Maybe not daily though.

    3. I replied on this in our other thread...but I am swaying back and forth on this one...I WANT to learn by hunger queues, I really do...but I am scared that I won't be good at it just yet. I think it’s important to look at the macros…our bodies need a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates. I also think that sodium plays a big part in things especially weight loss. Do I want to log calories the rest of my life, I don’t think so, but if it keeps me healthy then so be it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to recognize that I shouldn’t eat unless I am hungry. I said on the other thread that I usually have a lot of calories to work with in the evening…I don’t always eat them, but sometimes I do even when I am not hungry and I think that is just life and being human. Tracking the calories helps with those times I think…the times when you just want something that tastes good! And if it fits go for it :D

  • moogie_fit
    moogie_fit Posts: 279 Member
    Hi everyone, I recently started listening to the Losing 100 lbs With Phit-N-Phat podcast and wanted to create a discussion thread for those who might be listening and wanting to chat about some topics that come up on the thread. It has some powerful thoughts and is making me rethink my relationship with food (I am not a member of the PNP tribe; just listening to the podcast).

    I'll start to kick it off but really would like to hear from you about what is resonating with you. Please share what you think is powerful or your reactions to concepts.
    1. In one of the early podcasts, Corinne talks about only making changes which you are willing make for the rest of your life. For example, walking 15 minutes a day was the exercise she started with because she knew she could do/commit to that. On one hand, this ensures that you are making changes you can live with/stick with. On the other hand, it sounds awfully permanent! There are definitely sacrifices I am willing to make now that I can't say I will always be willing to do, but I think they are positive for me to do now anyway. I think that is okay. As I get further into the podcasts, it's clear to me that she evolved and expects others to, and that people will be willing to make more and more small changes that add up. And that you can chose every day what you eat. But I am curious if others had the same reaction.
    2. The planning concept is very interesting to me. I have some set breakfasts I make, and usually go to the same salad shop for lunch, where I can customize what I am having. I have some great recipes for dinner but historically don't think about what I am making until 5 minutes after I get home. This month I am going to try coming up with a weekly plan for meals (I think I will waste few groceries and hopefully be less stressed about what to make). But things change all the time for me (a lunch work event, grabbing lunch with a friend, going to someone's house for dinner, etc) and I don't want to feel too rigid about breaking my "plan."
    3. I put this in another post so sorry if it is duplicate for you. Corinne advocates not counting calories; instead you keep a "food journal," where you write down what you ate and what you thought or felt about it, and only eating when you start to feel hungry and stopping when you are full. This thought terrifies me because I am making progress and I think the nutritional information about my choices is great information to have. But I also noticed that I had two Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches last night because I had enough leftover calories. It was all about having a treat (I wasn't hungry much at all yesterday). There's nothing wrong with treats now and then but I do think there is a lot to be said for learning to only eat when you are hungry. And I am sure Corinne is correct that we listen to our bodies less if we are focusing on counting calories. In an ideal world I wouldn't have to count calories forever (though I do think I will need to for quite some time) and it seems like this is a good thing to practice now.

    Would love to hear your reaction to those topics in addition to other things on your mind!

    This is such a normal experience. I would also look up anti diet things for you. Ie. Diets don't work and often lead people to gain more than they lose
  • 1: I really do agree with that. I'm fine with eating in a controlled fashion for the rest of my life. I mean, if I were diabetic, I'd have to count my carbs and my insulin and keep a balance so I didn't die. (And I lost a friend that way to untreated diabetes in our thirties, so I take that seriously.) I likewise can tell that if I don't do weight work and cardio work on a very regular basis (currently I can only take one day off a week, or I lose ground) that I'll slide back into such deconditioning that walking up a flight of stairs exhausts me and hurts me.

    I'm a control freak, and not knowing exactly what "eating in a controlled fashion" and "doing weight and cardio work on a regular basis" will look like in the long term does, I admit, mess with my head. But I keep reminding myself that three years from now I'll be in a body that I want, and that I will probably have worked a lot of stuff out by then, cause I'm good at that.

    2. I do my food planning five weeks at a time, and do a lot of precooking. Periodically I cook up seasoned hamburger for tacos/burritoes/etc. and bag it up and freeze it. I also make and freeze homemade bread, cornbread, and cookies. When I have people employed (boyfriend is between contracts) I make their lunches up so that it's a grab-and-go thing in the morning. I eat the same breakfast every day, which works for me. My partners eat a breakfast casserole that I make about once a week. It's solid and protein-heavy and keeps them full til lunch. This helps with groceries and saving money. I get exactly what I need for the week's food, and it doesn't go wrong unless someone has a binge. (Though usually my family doesn't binge on things like, say, tortillas, that would be a problem for me when I had burritoes scheduled for Friday dinner. We had to take steps about the fudge, though, because Boyfriend WILL eat an entire batch in two days if you let him, and us girls need it to help with pain and anxiety.) Anyway, if anyone wants me to describe exactly how I do it I will post the process.


    4. I did a lot of thinking about how I was feeling when I was getting my binge eating under my control. At this point, food is tasty. I've managed to decouple it from emotions in large part. I still get urges to binge, but at this point slapping them down is almost no work at all. It helps that I'm in a very emotionally healthy situation with my partners and we are all good at working together to manage our mental and physical conditions and our stress. So at this point, as long as I make good and tasty food, I don't have to worry about what the food means emotionally. All it means is "I love you and want you to be happy, my partner. Eat, be full, be happy!" and that's something I'm good with.

    After all...Food can't love you. It can't hold you when you grieve. It can't wipe your tears away when you're sad. It can't talk you down when you're angry. It can't come over and talk to you when you're lonely. It can't make love to you. I spent my twenties learning that. And now I can let food just be what food is. Which is why I can now restrict my calories, out of love for myself.

  • bluffgirl67
    bluffgirl67 Posts: 158 Member
    1. I have only tried once to really lose weight back in the 180's. At that time I was using WW points. I did lose 20 or so pounds and tbh the plan isn't much different than now. Main thing that changed is my mindset and being willing to make some food substitutions. I know I will always have to be careful about eating because obviously that is what got me here in the first place. When choosing how I wanted to approach the food aspect of weight loss I knew I couldn't do keto, IF, or any specific plan. Those aren't something I can do forever because in my mind I would be limited and denied. I can, however, continue to eat foods I enjoy in smaller portions and make some easy swaps from high calorie/no nutrition to better alternatives. Exercise is always going to be a home based plan because I don't have easy gym access. I know I will not drive 30m each way to a gym. Thankfully we already had an elliptical (unused by me) for awhile. That is something I can do easily as I age and is good for my health overall. This is about life changes and therefore will be permanent. Being mindful about what I'm willing to do forever is the only way I can succeed.

    2. If you are in my diary then you know I'm repetitive and boring when it comes to food. I'm a creature of habit so can eat the same thing over and over. This makes planning and prepping much easier for me. I can prep a few proteins, soup/pasta sauce, and some veggies on Sunday to last the week. Supplement in a few canned things to round out meals and it's all good. If I didn't do this then I would be grabbing frozen dinners, canned soups and snack food all day. I used to be a complete meal planner but as life changed I became more of a component maker to pick and choose.

    3. I may not log forever but I can see where if I'm not it will be easier to slip back into old patterns. One thing I have to work on is boredom eating. I know I'm not hungry but grabbing a snack is so easy. Lately I've been using those moments to do some household organizing and purge things. Once I start the urge goes away and I feel like I've accomplished not only the cleaning but beat the little eating demon sitting on my shoulders. Like @mmccloy12, I often have too many calories at night and will eat just to hit my minimum 1200. I'm not hungry, don't want to eat, but my mind says you have to. I'm not sure that's a good thing. I know over the week I'm not eating too little so skipping the few extra calories on those days isn't going to hurt me overall. I wouldn't be eating under because of a psychological reason so why do I eat them when I'm not hungry? I sometimes use the note section in the food diary to acknowledge they "why" of choices for the day ie migraine, boredom, etc. I think I will start noting eating because I'm not hungry but haven't hit calorie minimum as well.

  • mmccloy12
    mmccloy12 Posts: 151 Member
    I listened to one about "food that we don't keep in the house" tonight. I was surprised to hear that she has those! She has food rules like "only eat when she is hungry". But yet she still has a food she cant keep in the house. I have some challenges with this and this is discussed about kids...because my son is a great eater but there are certain snacks I keep in the house for him that he likes...I also "like" them too much that I can't stop. CHIPS...ugh my kryptonite! I know that I can't have big bags of them because I will mindlessly eat a whole bag and went to buying snack portion bags for him. For awhile there...I would still get into those and sometimes eat two bags of them! I had to talk myself out of it many a time! What I started doing is making homemade chips and that helped. I haven't gotten into his chips in a awhile. I still have some other things that are triggers that I try not to keep in the house sweets related...but I am getting better at resisting. They talk about getting containers and putting what you don't want to eat in them and marking them as "kids snacks", not only will the kids be the gate keepers :D but it will somewhat deter you from getting into them!

    Do you guys have "food you don't keep in the house"?
  • aliciap0116
    aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
    Thank you all for your replies!

    @CupcakeCrusoe I love that you have have a healthy vision of Running Girl!! The fact that you identify with your goal so closely makes this whole process a part of you and that is fantastic. You feel confident about getting back on track to where you belong.

    @mmccloy12 you and I have the same struggle about exercise. I enjoy spinning but only if I get home early enough I can do it before dinner. It's hard to go up into our cold, dark attic to get that job done at 8:30 at night! And I know what I "should" do more of (strength training, meditation) but I don't enjoy it and feel badly when I don't follow through. When I read your comments, I think, "Margie, quit the gym! Find something else you like!! The gym is making you feel badly and it would be better to find something you love and feel good about. There are so many options." But in practice it is hard to feel bad about what we think we "should" do. Maybe telling ourselves we might choose to do X someday, but for now we will just focus on Y, would work.

    @moogie_fit thanks, I'll check out the anti-diet references you make. I actually love what I am doing right now, food-wise. It's just that I did things like remove nuts from my oatmeal or reduced the serving size, or am more careful about what I put in my lunch salads. When I have more calories at maintenance I hope to be able to re-incorporate some (but obviously not all!) of those things.

    @theleadmare I love how organized you are and I can tell that being organized brings you a sense of peace. You seem like you are in a really healthy place with all of this. I think I have always viewed organization or planning as being restrictive and not fun. But I am learning that there is a lot to be said for it. I'm kind of excited about the meal planning in particular because right now I have no idea what is my freezer and forget what I have in my fridge. I know I waste a lot. I think a freezer/fridge inventory and meal planning could actually be really cool. And your comment on the fudge made me laugh out loud. I don't make fudge but when we have it in our house it is a problem here too.

    @bluffgirl67 I can tell that you are succeeding with the small, continuous changes. And I have no doubt you will be able to continue them in the long term after observing your process for the past several months! I've read about the benefits of having some peaks and valleys with calories on another site. https://sites.google.com/view/ssprengel23plan/the-plan In the WW world it would mean having 4 days when you are staying within your daily points and 3 days when you use your weekly points. Apparently you are less likely to plateau because your body doesn't feel deprived and you are mixing things up. I feel like I naturally do this because weekends tend to have more going on for us. And if I am going high there, I think it makes sense for me to go low on the other days if I am not hungry. So I'd like to experiment with this more.

    Would love to hear from you all about what gems you have found on the podcast. I just listened to the one where she recommends reviewing the week and figuring out what you keep, start, and stop. I think I am doing this naturally by virtue of the other thread but I liked having the categories. Also, I think her comments on reframing how you view things to be helpful is really powerful. xo
  • mmccloy12
    mmccloy12 Posts: 151 Member
    @aliciap0116 thank you! I actually made the decision to cancel my gym membership last night! I am picking up a used treadmill and hopefully a used Hers Home Circuit Trainer if it is still available! Either way, I think I will be more apt to get on the treadmill at home.

    @theleadmare I do admire your thought process and I am so glad that you are happy in your life and have the support system around you!

    @bluffgirl67 I am ok with having some meals repetitive too! But I do make 3 separate choices for myself to help when I am feeling like I want something different and rotate them between lunch and dinners

    @aliciap0116 I did post about one of the podcast I think right at the same times as you up above!
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,351 Member
    mmccloy12 wrote: »
    I listened to one about "food that we don't keep in the house" tonight. I was surprised to hear that she has those! She has food rules like "only eat when she is hungry". But yet she still has a food she cant keep in the house. I have some challenges with this and this is discussed about kids...because my son is a great eater but there are certain snacks I keep in the house for him that he likes...I also "like" them too much that I can't stop. CHIPS...ugh my kryptonite! I know that I can't have big bags of them because I will mindlessly eat a whole bag and went to buying snack portion bags for him. For awhile there...I would still get into those and sometimes eat two bags of them! I had to talk myself out of it many a time! What I started doing is making homemade chips and that helped. I haven't gotten into his chips in a awhile. I still have some other things that are triggers that I try not to keep in the house sweets related...but I am getting better at resisting. They talk about getting containers and putting what you don't want to eat in them and marking them as "kids snacks", not only will the kids be the gate keepers :D but it will somewhat deter you from getting into them!

    Do you guys have "food you don't keep in the house"?
    mmccloy12 wrote: »
    I listened to one about "food that we don't keep in the house" tonight. I was surprised to hear that she has those! She has food rules like "only eat when she is hungry". But yet she still has a food she cant keep in the house. I have some challenges with this and this is discussed about kids...because my son is a great eater but there are certain snacks I keep in the house for him that he likes...I also "like" them too much that I can't stop. CHIPS...ugh my kryptonite! I know that I can't have big bags of them because I will mindlessly eat a whole bag and went to buying snack portion bags for him. For awhile there...I would still get into those and sometimes eat two bags of them! I had to talk myself out of it many a time! What I started doing is making homemade chips and that helped. I haven't gotten into his chips in a awhile. I still have some other things that are triggers that I try not to keep in the house sweets related...but I am getting better at resisting. They talk about getting containers and putting what you don't want to eat in them and marking them as "kids snacks", not only will the kids be the gate keepers :D but it will somewhat deter you from getting into them!

    Do you guys have "food you don't keep in the house"?

    Definitely 100% I do. Mint Moose Tracks ice cream. Like normal moose tracks, but instead of the base ice cream it's mint, and instead of the peanut butter cups it's peppermint patties, and there's this salty fudge swirl... mmm.

    The other thing I can't keep in the house is croissants. If they're on the counter, I will eat them. It would be a waste of good croissants to let them get stale, after all. So if I want one, I get exactly 1, or I get two and give one to Whatsisface. I can't be trusted.

    I also really love to bake, so I do make a lot of treats. I just usually take them into work to surprise my coworkers, so my baking doesn't go straight to my waist.
  • aliciap0116
    aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
    @mmccloy12 yes, that episode surprised me too! It makes sense though; you have time to think if something isn't in the house and have to value it more than the trouble to get it.

    My weakness is sweets. If there is an open container of cookies or ice cream or whatever, I feel the need to finish it. My mom does not have this problem and has about 20 containers of nuts, chocolate, cookies out on her counter. I would just snack away.

    It is really hard to manage with a kiddo in the house. I try to put things out of sight, which is good for me and my son, because he would be asking for dessert all of the time if they were out. I have caught him sneaking chocolate at my mom's house.

    @CupcakeCrusoe you should not have described mint moose tracks in such detail. You know I'm going to buy it now instead of remaining in ignorant bliss. :D Sounds amazing....
  • suziieq44
    suziieq44 Posts: 14 Member
    Hi, Just started reading this postings. I have the Corrine Phit N Phat in my mail box but really haven't started listening to it yet....guess I will start now that it's being written about on here. I can say there is no way I can get this going without counting calories. The biggest thing I am fighting is a terrible sweet tooth that as I have gotten older has seemingly only gotten worse. I have been a large person most all my life and my main motivation at this point is for my health more then anything as I have chronic pain issues like arthritis and fibromyalgia that I know all this extra weight is putting more of a burden on me. Have been here for a month now in MFP lost a whole whopping 6 pounds that I feel I have worked my butt off for and should of been more darn it (grin). Got a used treadmill for at home and my health insurance pays for a gym membership now so joined a gym I go to twice a week as it's quite far from me. They have a class for us old folks twice a week with arthritis and after being quite inactive for a longggg time figured its a good start over doing nothing. So anyways going to start listening to the podcasts and hope it helps with some motivating me some more or at least help keeping me motivated anyways. I miss ice cream and I miss chocolate....I do have a hot chocolate once in a while as I am no way going to go completely without darn it. I also am quite repetitive in what I eat, I have no problem with that really. I love oatmeal and after reading that it can be heart and cholesterol lowering I am very happy to eat it once or twice a day with some brown sugar and cinnamon It makes me quite a happy girl.
  • aliciap0116
    aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
    @suziieq44 definitely give the podcast a try. I started from the beginning and have been listening on my commute. I wish I could take notes but it's a great way to start and end my work day. The podcast has made me realize how much mental clean up I need to do to get into a healthy place. But I'm inspired to do it and it's important for my long term success. And 6 lbs in a month is fantastic BTW!! Keep at it; I am learning that this road down hill is not not straight but very doable.
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,351 Member
    @suziieq44 you're doing great. Changing your eating habits in ways you like is the best way to go, and you're absolutely rocking it.
  • Re can't be kept in the house:
    When we're all mentally in a good place, we can't keep cookies or sweets out. I like to occasionally have them to round out a meal, and two cookies is a sensible portion, but they can't be out or they will get eaten. We have found that they sing too loudly on the counter.

    Now, wrapped into half-dozens (3 people) and labelled and in the big upright freezer in the garage, they still sing but not so loudly that we can't ignore them. And I have found I can ignore the singing when they're on the kitchen counter after lunch thawing out to become dessert. But not much longer than that. So when I bake them they cool, they are immediately wrapped into half-dozens, labelled, and rushed out to the freezer.

    Boyfriend is overeating and dealing with a lot of issues, but he had something terrible happen to him in November, and it dug up a lot of childhood trauma on the same issue, and he is eating to help emotionally cope with it. I'd rather he put on 20 pounds than that he start cutting himself or drinking again, because he's lost it before, and when he gets back to stability, he can lose it again. And hey, he kept the binge last night down to three spoonfuls of ice cream and his leftovers from Sunday's dinner out! I think we're making progress.

    But we have to go to the food service store tomorrow. He's eaten me out of the little bags of Fritos that I like. Why can't he eat potato chips? We've got a ton of those, and I can't eat those without my arthritis ramping up. (sigh)
  • suziieq44
    suziieq44 Posts: 14 Member
    edited February 2020
    Thanks all for the encouragement...it really does help. I live alone most of the time so have the advantage of not having to have "junk" food in the house. @theleadmare..... I get it and I know the songs well and they can be sooo loud too. I quit smoking on December 2nd and went to using an e-cig on my doctors recommendations, so now working on cutting out the nicotine in those and hopefully the plan is to get rid of the e-cig next month...this after 40 years of smoking...ugh.... and I threw on 20 pounds sooo fast I couldn't believe it, so that 6 pound loss doesn't seem much with watching everything I eat and exercising more then I ever have in my life (grin). But I will keep going that is for sure. Started watching the podcasts today too, can never get too much motivation that is for sure.
  • @aliciap0116: One of the best things you can do for your child now is to teach them sane eating habits. We do our kids no favors when we hand them a cookie for being good, or get them a candy bar at the checkout if they were good in the store, or give them a treat to take their mind off a skinned knee or a childish misunderstanding. That teaches them...as we were taught...that sweets are a reward, that they're a comfort. And we all know where that's got us (she says ruefully, glancing at her hips)
  • aliciap0116
    aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
    @theleadmare yes I am thinking about this constantly. He is not an adventurous eater (he’s on the chicken nugget quesadilla pizza plan although he will eat some veggies and most fruits). I don’t want to use food as a reward or force him to clean his plate but that is my natural instinct and sometimes he hardly eats!! I’m trying to be more aware of that piece and always trying to broaden his diet.
  • aliciap0116
    aliciap0116 Posts: 231 Member
    @mmccloy12 I am so happy you decided to quit your gym! Can’t stop thinking about it. I think it is going to be so good for you to focus exercising at home. I’ll bet it feels really empowering!! Congratulations!!
  • hlr1987
    hlr1987 Posts: 151 Member
    I'm going to have a look for these podcasts today. I looked up the bmr for my goal weight and estimated a tdee based on the same and it comes out about 1700-1800, which is what I'm working to in a deficit atm at 45 pounds over weight. So my aim this year is to make sure that however I'm eating now and working out now can be carried on forever with less tracking. There's absolutely no point me making "diet" changes that I can't carry on or maintenance will be impossible. Regarding the liking to be spontaneous - I think lots of people end up looking at a typical week after entering all their food and seeing where it makes sense to take a snack out, or add in some more exercise to balence the days you want to have more flexibility. But I like routine, there's enough stress in my life without stressing about having to choose what I'm eating on the spot.