Tips for staying consistent

13

Replies

  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited May 2021
    Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.

    Portion your amount per day into individual baggies when you buy it, and then FREEZE them. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on eating that portion. While it's still frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.

    frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.

    Portion your amount per day out when you buy it, and then FREEZE those portions. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on that portion. While it's frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.

    frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one
    Great tip.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • sailor789
    sailor789 Posts: 33 Member
    CICO - this process alone did not work for me...i was still eating too much sugar, which i craved, but my body wouldn't let me lose the weight, even in a deficit.

    so i needed to re-frame the CICO to work better for me. i modified a KETO plan into a CICO, but with more macronutrients, specific to my health needs. whoala, it worked...9lbs down in 1 month. i suspect the higher good fats keeps me satiated, and i'm enjoying the food more.

    i eat very healthy, and i still get a chcocolate fix, sometimes daily, by eating a "built bar"...love them.

    and, i can get into ketosis averaging a net of 80+ carbs (these carbs are mostly veggies).

    so, for me, it really was about finding what works specific to my needs and getting away from sugar and high carbs, despite the low calorie.

    i'm doing about 1,300 cal, and eating back what i exercise.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    I mean in absolute fairness if you're eating less carbs a good chunk of what you dropped is water.

    Carbo*hydrates* lead to water retention.

    Great that it's working but you haven't lost 9lbs of fat this month.
  • sailor789
    sailor789 Posts: 33 Member
    i'm eating less dangerous carbs
    i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
    i eat high potassium and low sodium

    i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    sailor789 wrote: »
    i'm eating less dangerous carbs
    i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
    i eat high potassium and low sodium

    i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.

    Fat loss isn't determined by your ratio of "dangerous carbs" (whatever those are) to "healthy carbs."

    Someone losing nine pounds in a month on keto can almost certainly attribute some of that to water weight -- it's a well known consequence of beginning keto.

    This isn't an attack on keto -- it works quite well for some people when it comes to appetite control.
  • sailor789
    sailor789 Posts: 33 Member
    i don't care if people like or don't like keto, it makes no difference to me. what i'm doing is very modified form of keto considering 80+ net carbs, sometimes more. my diet is a pairing of DASH, Keto, and CICO....works for me.

    i don't doubt that i've lost some water, obviously, but i'm losing at a good rate, not a typical keto fast rate, so i'm sure i'm losing fat as well.

    finally, for me, there are "dangerous" carbs, meaning the refined, high sugar, high salt snacks and processed foods in packages and in restaurants. they do little for good health and weight loss...so FOR ME, i needed to stay away from those.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Figure out what your triggers are, what causes you to stumble most often. That will be a good starting point... otherwise we're just throwing darts at a dartboard.

    Right now it’s chocolate 😔. I don’t have self control over it at the moment!

    Maybe try including chocolate as a "finisher" to a meal instead of it being a stand-alone snack. I myself enjoy chocolate but when I eat it as a snack I'm not satisfied and keep on wanting more and more.

    If chocolate is your trigger, can you keep it out of the house completely? Haven't read all the posts so I'm probably repeating here).
    I believe the CICO method is great but we all need treats from time to time. IMO. If any one food is a major trigger to start binge-ing then try to keep it out. If you find you can indulge without that happening, then make it an occasional treat or, as was suggested, a small 'after the healthy meal' dessert.

    I spent 99% of my life binge-ing on everything, no control whatsoever. Sometimes it's still a struggle but I'm at a much better place in my mindset than I've ever been. Last year I let myself spiral down again due to stress and regained 30#. :s I had gone from a loose size 8 to a tight size 10. I refused to buy clothes in that size so was washing every day so I'd have something to wear. I finally had a no nonsense talk with myself and said 'this is it, you need to get back down a size' and I'm back in size 8's. Plus every day I try to find something active to do. I loathe exercise. :/ Just not good with the consistency factor and well, hey, I'm a lazy cuss. :) But doing things for others has kept me busy and burns the calories.

    I've learned a couple things to be true and people have told me this ever since I joined MFP. Course I had to find out for myself. You CAN have treats. You can have an off day. Don't be hard on yourself or beat yourself up.

    I know a lot of people go right by the book as far as logging calories and doing exercise, etc. I'm just not that strict of a person. I've found if I do 90% great and it's working, then I'm succeeding. :)

    Good luck to you and hope your reach your goals but don't give up the things you love while doing it because it won't last.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    Just wanted to add that maybe if you make your chocolate a weekend thing instead of more often, would that work? I have a weakness for Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream. Nothing else can replace it, I've tried. So every Friday I buy 2 pints, 1 for dh and 1 for me. Dh can make his last 2-3 days. Not me. :( But I eat less during that day and have my indulgence. Last week I made the mistake of buying/eating it early then had another pint during the weekend. I thought I was in trouble but still lost 1/2#. IOW you can make your chocolate fit into your life. :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,907 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Also I would like to add that I started intuitive eating around January and February this year...bad idea. I gained a few pounds and I was exhausted because my brain was just telling me to eat lots sugary fatty foods like chocolates etc (I was already eating chocolate because I wasn’t depriving myself before but they said to eat as much as your heart desires and so I did!) and according to the intuitive eating book the cravings would eventually go away but as you can see it’s MAY and things haven’t changed. My blood sugar would crash and my skin would break out and then I would reach for more because my body wanted it but this was intuitive right? Now that I’m reading all the comments I can see that intuitive eating didn’t help me at all and it only worsened my health (I have PCOS and diabetes runs in my family). I definitely thrive of some discipline and structure and intuitive eating just didn’t cut it for me. I can’t listen to my body like that. They said don’t deprive yourself and now my brain thinks I’m being deprived if I don’t eat half the bar of chocolate or cake or whatever it is. I was also sooo bloated from eating so much crap food and I’m not labelling foods but come on some foods just are designed to be overeaten and make you bloated. Now my palate wants all those things and that’s also coming in the way of me losing weight because I can’t moderate at the moment. No wonder I feel like I’m at square one! I’ve decided that I’m going to go cold turkey for a month and then start re introducing things like chocolate back in. What do you guys think?

    Actually I would see these insights as being reasons why the Intuitive Eating DID work for you.


    You found out you feel like crap and have much more unmanageable cravings when you "eat as much as you want."

    You learned a valuable thing about yourself. I'm the same way, and if I allow it in (in large quantities) I have a very hard time keeping myself in check. I went through the same thing as you describe and it taught me how to eat so that doesn't keep happening.

    Find a way to make that work for you. Well done, I say. :)

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:

    To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.

    No.

    The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.

    HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.

    If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.

    There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.

    You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.

    I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.

    This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    sailor789 wrote: »
    i'm eating less dangerous carbs
    i'm eating more healthy carbs, good proteins and healthy fats
    i eat high potassium and low sodium

    i'm pretty sure that 9lbs in one month is fat and not just water.
    There aren't "dangerous" carbs. Carbs of ANY SORT are all broken down and absorbed the same way. The body can't tell if it's white potatoes or sweet potatoes. It breaks them both down the same exact way (down to simplest form of sugar).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited May 2021
    This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:

    To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.

    No.

    The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.

    HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.

    If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.

    There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.

    You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.

    I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.

    This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.


    Yes. It isn't just what and how much I eat, either, that this has happened with. It's how I eat, and when I eat, my activity level and my sleep. If I'd stared down the barrel of everything that has changed gradually from the point at which I began this, there is no way I would have tackled it. Too much, too fast, too BIG.

    There is a reason my standard 'how to' for weight loss when asked is 'just track and see what you're eating for 2 weeks before changing ANYTHING, and then give yourself a small deficit and get used to having that ceiling on. Go from there. The whole 'eat healthy, eat less, exercise, sleep enough, don't snack, don't eat THIS OR THAT OR THE OTHER" is just a lot and... not really necessary.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,722 Member
    This is very on topic, and I don't want to start a new post so:

    To hear me talk on these boards it sounds like I eat absolute crap 90% of the time. I do not. I am just so tired of the idea that food is 'good' or 'bad' and that have to be eating PERFECTLY all the time right from the start or why bother, or if you don't then you have failed/are failing/did a bad thing and should feel bad.

    No.

    The truth is these days my diet is really pretty good. I get a good amount of protein and fiber, I eat quite a few carbs (I also run and am generally super active - I need that energy hit) but they're mostly fruit/veg/whole grain, and most of my fat comes from nuts, fish, or avocado.

    HOWEVER, the bulk of my weight loss did not happen with me eating like that. I did not get there overnight. I started with a diet that included copious amounts of mayo, butter, heavy cream, whole milk, CANDY (good grief) ice cream, and even my healthy meals were 'bulked out' with absolutely crazy servings of rice and pasta (and drowned in butter/cheese/cream or some combo of those). I made SLOW, LITTLE, changes. I figured out what was worth the calorie hit to me, what wasn't - and where it wasn't worth it I found substitutes that were good enough for me. It has taken me the FULL NINE MONTHS it has taken me to go from obese to a healthy weight to overhaul my diet.

    If I had tried to do it all at once - which is what I originally thought I had to do - I would have rage quit. Thinking I had to give up things I loved it why it took me 20 + years of obesity to decide to try and do something about it.

    There are absolutely things I no longer eat - because I found, through experimenting, that they are not worth it to me and I didn't really miss them. I could not tell you the last time I bothered with butter, pasta or rice, for example and I've eaten potatoes about 3 times. If, however, you told me 9 months ago that giving them up was the answer to weight loss I'd have said 'to heck with that, I guess I'm not losing weight'. Heck if you told me that today I'd be eating a baked potato drowned in sour cream and butter and topped with rice just to spite you.

    You don't have to do it all at once. It isn't failure when you eat a whole bag of kitkats or whatever. It's just data - recognize it and try something else next time.

    I feel like it's a really common experience for people to start logging by focusing on just hitting a calorie goal and then figuring out the ways of eating that make them feel most satisfied. I'm just like you -- if someone told me at the beginning that I'd rarely have things like rice and Twizzlers and juice, I'd have been really discouraged. As I began logging, it became clear to me that these foods just didn't provide satisfaction in proportion to their calorie count so I naturally just eat them rarely.

    This isn't to say that they don't provide satisfaction for others or that all my foods are nutrient-dense. I love tortilla chips and I eat them regularly because they're worth it to me. Others may decide they're not. And I'm never going to give up potatoes! The point is that we each get to identify those foods for OURSELVES and that is way more sustainable than avoiding foods just because someone else tells you that you shouldn't have them.


    Yes. It isn't just what and how much I eat, either, that this has happened with. It's how I eat, and when I eat, my activity level and my sleep. If I'd stared down the barrel of everything that has changed gradually from the point at which I began this, there is no way I would have tackled it. Too much, too fast, too BIG.

    There is a reason my standard 'how to' for weight loss when asked is 'just track and see what you're eating for 2 weeks before changing ANYTHING, and then give yourself a small deficit and get used to having that ceiling on. Go from there. The whole 'eat healthy, eat less, exercise, sleep enough, don't snack, don't eat THIS OR THAT OR THE OTHER" is just a lot and... not really necessary.

    Yes. Me, too.

    In a nutshell, that's exactly why I wrote a "gradually remodel your eating" eating plan**. I think it works.

    The same could be said for exercise, sleep, increasing daily life movement, or generally most any change in life habits. Some people do best when they create a revolution, make a hard break. Many people don't (or the success stats from well-publicized extreme-change approaches would be more favorable).

    Gradual tweaking of routines can work great, for weight management, fitness, and improved health.

    ** This thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Also I would like to add that I started intuitive eating around January and February this year...bad idea. I gained a few pounds and I was exhausted because my brain was just telling me to eat lots sugary fatty foods like chocolates etc (I was already eating chocolate because I wasn’t depriving myself before but they said to eat as much as your heart desires and so I did!) and according to the intuitive eating book the cravings would eventually go away but as you can see it’s MAY and things haven’t changed. My blood sugar would crash and my skin would break out and then I would reach for more because my body wanted it but this was intuitive right? Now that I’m reading all the comments I can see that intuitive eating didn’t help me at all and it only worsened my health (I have PCOS and diabetes runs in my family). I definitely thrive of some discipline and structure and intuitive eating just didn’t cut it for me. I can’t listen to my body like that. They said don’t deprive yourself and now my brain thinks I’m being deprived if I don’t eat half the bar of chocolate or cake or whatever it is. I was also sooo bloated from eating so much crap food and I’m not labelling foods but come on some foods just are designed to be overeaten and make you bloated. Now my palate wants all those things and that’s also coming in the way of me losing weight because I can’t moderate at the moment. No wonder I feel like I’m at square one! I’ve decided that I’m going to go cold turkey for a month and then start re introducing things like chocolate back in. What do you guys think?

    Actually I would see these insights as being reasons why the Intuitive Eating DID work for you.


    You found out you feel like crap and have much more unmanageable cravings when you "eat as much as you want."

    You learned a valuable thing about yourself. I'm the same way, and if I allow it in (in large quantities) I have a very hard time keeping myself in check. I went through the same thing as you describe and it taught me how to eat so that doesn't keep happening.

    Find a way to make that work for you. Well done, I say. :)

    Thank you that definitely put it into a whole new perspective for me 😊
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Figure out what your triggers are, what causes you to stumble most often. That will be a good starting point... otherwise we're just throwing darts at a dartboard.

    Right now it’s chocolate 😔. I don’t have self control over it at the moment!

    Maybe try including chocolate as a "finisher" to a meal instead of it being a stand-alone snack. I myself enjoy chocolate but when I eat it as a snack I'm not satisfied and keep on wanting more and more.

    If chocolate is your trigger, can you keep it out of the house completely? Haven't read all the posts so I'm probably repeating here).
    I believe the CICO method is great but we all need treats from time to time. IMO. If any one food is a major trigger to start binge-ing then try to keep it out. If you find you can indulge without that happening, then make it an occasional treat or, as was suggested, a small 'after the healthy meal' dessert.

    I spent 99% of my life binge-ing on everything, no control whatsoever. Sometimes it's still a struggle but I'm at a much better place in my mindset than I've ever been. Last year I let myself spiral down again due to stress and regained 30#. :s I had gone from a loose size 8 to a tight size 10. I refused to buy clothes in that size so was washing every day so I'd have something to wear. I finally had a no nonsense talk with myself and said 'this is it, you need to get back down a size' and I'm back in size 8's. Plus every day I try to find something active to do. I loathe exercise. :/ Just not good with the consistency factor and well, hey, I'm a lazy cuss. :) But doing things for others has kept me busy and burns the calories.

    I've learned a couple things to be true and people have told me this ever since I joined MFP. Course I had to find out for myself. You CAN have treats. You can have an off day. Don't be hard on yourself or beat yourself up.

    I know a lot of people go right by the book as far as logging calories and doing exercise, etc. I'm just not that strict of a person. I've found if I do 90% great and it's working, then I'm succeeding. :)

    Good luck to you and hope your reach your goals but don't give up the things you love while doing it because it won't last.

    Well it’s funny because if I distract myself long enough then I don’t want chocolate so it could be a boredom/habit thing. Ah I love exercising, I could do it all day! In fact it’s the days that I don’t exercise where I struggle to stay in a deficit because I just have less to do and less food.
    Exercise takes my mind of eating and so I find it super easy to stay in a deficit then. I definitely won’t be giving up on chocolate once I get a hang of it again, thank you!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Practical advice here from someone else who loves chocolate a lot.

    Portion your amount per day into individual baggies when you buy it, and then FREEZE them. Take your frozen chocolate portion, walk away from the freezer and go sit down somewhere without distraction and work on eating that portion. While it's still frozen. It'll take a while. Particularly if it's a piece of chocolate/chocolate bar instead of a brownie, but it will slow you way the heck down and draw that experience out.

    frankly I'm usually bored by the time I'm done and have thought of 13 other things I'd rather be doing than sitting there gnawing bits off a frozen piece of food, thanks to the lack of distraction. YMMV with that one

    I've been unable to moderate chocolate BARS, but I can moderate 70 calories of chocolate chips or squares.

    With the chips, I eat them one at a time, no chewing, just letting them dissolve in my mouth, and yes, I am bored by the time I finish.