If your not suffering you aren't doing it right!

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JadeRabbit08
JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
in Motivation and Support
*Mum looks at my piled high enormous bowl of food for breakfast disaprovingly* "Well I just hope that computer of yours is calculating this correctly".

Interpretation - thats too much food, and sweet potato is fattening and your going to gain weight AND the site your using isn't calculating the calories correctly.

I love my mum. She is an awesome human being and one of the people in my life who I admire most but she is an old school dieter.

Even though I have lost 10 kilos and my energy levels increased noticably she can't get her head around that I can eat the huge portions I do and lose weight. Its not dieting unless your hungry and suffering!!

Its true I havent lost 1- 2 kilos a week which might occur on a extreme low calorie diet. But over the 84 days I have been using MFP my weight loss averages out to 0.83 kilos a week (1.83 pounds). I think that is a perfectly fine rate to lose considering I am not hungry , get to enjoy alot of yummy food and have more than enough energy.

I eat anywhere between 1800 to 2100 depending on what I fancy and if I exercise I eat even more. Definately no deprivation going on here. I do make an extra effort to make healthy food choices due to some food intolerances (gluten and dairy) and since kicking out almost all processed foods I do feel pretty good, however if I was to fancy some thing not healthy I weigh up the consequences and make a decision. Nothing is truely restricted. I eat alot and have completely bypassed the old, eating= guilt loop. Its so freeing to live like this.

Its only 10 kilos and I have another 40 to go but the greatest change for me has been my mindset.

So is anyone else horrifying friends, family and work collegues with the amount and types of foods they eat while losing weight? Are you not outwardly suffering enough to obtain dieting credibility from your peers?

Replies

  • Jennyisbusy
    Jennyisbusy Posts: 1,294 Member
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    Yup, family is always difficult! I don't know what to tell you, except, just keep at it and making results. :flowerforyou:
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
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    Oh not complaining. I'm happy. I thought it was funny actually.
  • naonah
    naonah Posts: 119 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss!

    Yes, I feel like I'm getting funny looks from family when I eat all the food I have to eat. It's difficult to explain especially since I'm gaining some weight (still trying to reset metabolism). Just today my MIL served me a plate of pasta and put 1 cup in my plate while asking if this portion was right (I've been on WW for several years, so she's been conditioned).

    I must admit that although this way of eating is liberating, this little voice inside my head keeps asking how on earth this will work...and IF it will work for me. Meanwhile, I keep going :-) I am determined to reset this thing and show my family (and myself). Waiting to see if anything happens for me...wondering if I'm doing this right. I've been well-trained: if I'm not depriving myself, I'm not doing it right!
  • kelzpop
    kelzpop Posts: 156 Member
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    At least you think it is funny - keep the positive attitude!

    I mentioned to my mom a couple weeks ago my goal was 175 lbs and she told me that was "too heavy for my height". Then a few days later she tried to tell me her carrot cake wasn't all that unhealthy. Nope, the ingredients probably aren't, but a 3" piece with that icing sure is. I love my mom, but there are days when she aggravates me. Although I have to say, she made up for it when she saw me and told me she could really see I had lost weight.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
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    At least you think it is funny - keep the positive attitude!

    I mentioned to my mom a couple weeks ago my goal was 175 lbs and she told me that was "too heavy for my height". Then a few days later she tried to tell me her carrot cake wasn't all that unhealthy. Nope, the ingredients probably aren't, but a 3" piece with that icing sure is. I love my mom, but there are days when she aggravates me. Although I have to say, she made up for it when she saw me and told me she could really see I had lost weight.

    Thanks! Actually I am rather geefull about it all.
    I must enjoy horrifying people! : D
    Everyone of us has pet diet theories, and I guess very few of us like them blown out of the water.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss!

    Yes, I feel like I'm getting funny looks from family when I eat all the food I have to eat. It's difficult to explain especially since I'm gaining some weight (still trying to reset metabolism). Just today my MIL served me a plate of pasta and put 1 cup in my plate while asking if this portion was right (I've been on WW for several years, so she's been conditioned).

    I must admit that although this way of eating is liberating, this little voice inside my head keeps asking how on earth this will work...and IF it will work for me. Meanwhile, I keep going :-) I am determined to reset this thing and show my family (and myself). Waiting to see if anything happens for me...wondering if I'm doing this right. I've been well-trained: if I'm not depriving myself, I'm not doing it right!

    Yeah I had the same mental battle when I started to eat more. I knew it had worked for others but what if I was a special snowflake?! Especially when I didnt see much progress for 3 weeks as I kept upping my calories further and further.
    Now its just fun. I am addicting to playing with the numbers on my excel graph. Plotting my daily weight fluctuations and looking at my weight loss in 4 week blocks really helped me to see the progress.

    During the transition period of upping my calorie intake it was nerve raking and I was sensitive to criticism as I was already battling my own unvoiced doubts everday and getting them from outside was too much.

    I had an idea in my mind that I was making almost no progress I was surprised to crunch numbers and see the 0.83 average loss per week.


    Being confident in these numbers has helped me be relaxed about criticisms thrown my way.

    Which leads me to an opportunity to post my graph (again). Because I love graphs!

    Check out the weight fluctuation when you weigh everyday! Started weighing daily from March 18th. 6th March was when I started to eat at 1900 ish (net)

    2e3vaf4.jpg
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
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    Ha...I love this post! It sounds like you have an extremely healthy attitude toward the changes you've made in your lifestyle & I have no doubt you'll be successful. I share your opinion that weight loss does not have to mean misery!!! It's true that the majority of the people I know who wish they could lose weight & aren't doing anything about it seem to think that even though I've done it without starving, they will have to give up everything they love to make it happen for themselves.

    I think at family gatherings when people see me eating a piece of cake the size of my head they wonder how on earth I'm losing weight, but if I catch them looking I make a point to mention that I have 6 days of healthy eating & workouts behind me so I can let loose a bit on one day. I like to make it clear that I make conscious decisions to indulge because I have already "earned" it through extra activity or plan to do some in the immediate future so I can still lose weight. On normal days even though I eat ~2500 calories, I don't eat particularly large portions of anything since I space it all out through the day. It IS a lot of food, after all, lol.

    I don't push. If someone asks me a weight loss/nutrition/fitness question, I'm happy to discuss - it IS my obsession, after all - but I don't go out of my way to talk about it.
  • Donnacoach
    Donnacoach Posts: 540 Member
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    I feel like I need to justify myself.
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    every time I tell my boyfriend that my weight loss has stalled/been slow/etc, he says "guess it's time to cut back on those calories again."

    I gave up trying to explain.
  • lau444
    lau444 Posts: 120 Member
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    Congratulations on your healthy weight loss!!

    I completely understand your story. Sadly, a lot of people have been brainwashed to believe that in order to lose weight, you have to eat lettuce and raw carrots all day. It was so refreshing when I learned that you actually have to EAT to lose weight. What a novel idea!! But it's good that you have a sense of humor about it, and as you continue to become even healthier, your mum will see the truth.

    Continued success to you!!
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
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    I feel like I need to justify myself.
    I don't. But I do make an effort to explain my thought process more to educate than anything else. They don't have to believe that they can lose weight & still eat well, but they can't deny my results. I guess I'm trying to show people that you can still LIVE & enjoy life (which includes enjoying FOOD) while losing weight. I am probably the happiest "dieter" my friends & fam have ever met, lol.

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