hello everyone!

I have been a member on this forum for some time now. I was following the South Beach diet, but after a few weeks i got off the plan because i found it was too restrictive for me. lucky me, i did learn some portion control, as i did not regain any of the weight loss on the SBD, in fact i lost 2 more pounds by just working out. Now, i've started counting calories and watching my portions. Hopefully, that will get me under 245 pounds soon. I am doing a 1500 calorie a day plan.

I also workout 3 to 4 times a week and i try to walk everyday. I'm telling you, you have to change your way of eating for life. I've been on so many diets, nothing works for me. So, portion and calorie countrol for me. And this time, for good.

I have a question...do any of you "cheat" once in a while? I do, once a week we go to a restaurant and i order dessert or ice cream. I have to let mylsef indulge every once in a while otherwise i wouldn't be able to stay on the plan.

Talk to ya all later!

I never "cheat." If I am going to eat at a restaurant or have dessert one day, I plan for it. I write it into my meal plan. I've made it a firm rule that any time I'm thinking about going off plan, I can only do it if I plan for how I'm going to make up for it.

For example, next Thursday is my last day in my current position and my co-workers are taking me out for lunch, then for drinks after work. I worked out what I plan to get at the restaurant next Thursday, and added some vodka and club soda to my menu plan for drinks! My total calories for that day go a bit over the average I'm trying to maintain, so I adjusted my menus for the rest of the week to be a bit lower and make up the difference. Voila! I get the treat of going out to eat and having drinks, but I don't have to pay for it with weight gain!

Hiya! I am so confused on the calorie counting. I used an online calculator by the dietitian to figure out how many calories to eat to lose weight. At 247lbs and my other stats, it said around 2K cals but I wonder if that is way too many.

kilkeTay: That is really a good idea, what you're doing. When i know the day we go to a restaurant, which is usually on the weekends, i usually eat less during the day. I try to keep most of my calories for my dinner. That's how i do it. But, i need not to be too restrictive. For me, it doesn't work. I don't really drink, so that's a plus too.

I also take a multivatamin every day.

But the way you do it is great.

Vanity : Well, it says 2000 calories a day for me too. But i found out that 1500 calories a day is good for me, i don't starve and i lose weight. I'm gonna see how it goes, but if i lose too much weight too fast, i'll go up to 1800 calories a day.

Just try it for a few weeks, then you'll know if you're losing weight.

well, I am human and sometmes cheat.When I do that , I get right back on plan and do not let it become a week long binge.

I zigzag calories (some call it "cycling" calories), and this allows me some spontaneity with my eating. On past diets (including calorie-counting ones), a key frustration for me was the lack of spontaneity. In some way, having to plan each and every morsel I ate took some of the fun out of life for me. I ended up resentful of people who didn't have to do this. With zigzagging, though, I feel as if I've achieved a happy medium: I "plan" to the extent that I stock up on lots of good foods that I can quickly throw together to make healthy meals. However, I don't strictly plan my meals because, what if I'm not in the mood for the dinner I've planned? Eating it will just leave me dissatisfied and wanting something else. So, with zigzagging, I have the option of eating higher calories for those days where the unexpected occurs (e.g., I've invited to go out to dinner). The only rule I try to adhere to is strictly sticking to my calories on the couple of very low-calorie days I have. Even then, though, if I happen to go over, I can just make up for it the next day.

Anyway, ShyChick, welcome (I'm relatively new here, too)! I think you'll like calorie counting. Once you figure out the calories of the foods you tend to eat most frequently, calorie counting doesn't become nearly as cumbersome, and it's a plan that allows you to eat anything (as long as you allot the amount of calories for it).

I plan my cheats too, I am on a 1,600 calories/day plan, but I set aside an optional extra 800 calories per week to splurge where-ever I feel like (so I can have 2 2,000 calorie days, or 1 2,400 calorie day, etc.) -- of course, it feels extra good when I wound up not using my splurge days.

The plan's working out good so far, hopefully no tweaking required for my last 9 pounds (and if so, I'd more likely increase my exercise duration/intensity than lower my caloric intake).

What do you mean by "cheat"?

As long as you keep track of what you eat in your calorie log, nothing is really off limits. You simply have to plan for what you do and be willing to make adjustments or take the consequences.

If you mean you skip putting it in your log, then shame! Shame! The only one you would be cheating is you.

Jay

When we took my youngest daughter out for lunch at Friendly's last week (no dessert) for her birthday, we had nothing but lettuce for breakfast. We had popcorn at the movie theater with slushies, and some cake and ice cream afterwards. As others said, you have to plan for it ahead of time. If you know that say, every Friday, you're going out to eat- find out the calories that you're going to consume at that meal, and shave them off elsewhere, should you go over for the day. It's the only way to lose weight.

Once in awhile, a special occasion will come up, and it's ok to have a bite here and there of some fun munchies. But, if it's every week, then you need to adjust your calories the rest of the week or the day before and day after, to plan for it (depending on what you eat, of course, and assuming you're going over your daily amount that day).

Yesterday, was my oldest daughter's sports banquet. We had no idea there was going to be a cookout afterwards. So, we ate (it became our dinner, of course!), figured out how many calories when we got home, and today, we all had to adjust our calories by around 200-300.

Thanks for all your answers. I think i do calorie counting to an extent. I am not religious about it, and i do write down what i eat so i know that when one day i do go over my calorie counts then i can adjust it the next day. And like somoene said here, i also need the spontaneity, otherwise i will get bored out of my mind if i plan everything. Because, sometimes not everything you planned happens. For me, i do have one good meal a week where i don't look at calories and i do have dessert or something else. I just eat less during the day. I've been doing it for years and it never did anything to my weight loss. And this was a tip a nutritionnist gave me a couple of years ago. As long as you are back on your plan the next day or next meal, then this will ne effect your weight loss long term.

I started this tread at 258, but i use to weight 325 pounds in the year 2000. I never gained back that weight, except 10 pounds that i've put on in the past year since i wasn't exercing much due to the fact that i was in school and working a lot too.

But, it's great to know how everybody had adjusted their diet to what they feel is right for them. That's the point of it all.

Hi Vanity! I'm a relative newbie too and I am also calorie counting. I have been on this plan for about 2 weeks now eating between 1600 and 1900 calories a day and I have lost 14 pounds so far. However, I weighed 350 lbs at start. You might want to check out a few more websites before you stick with the 2000. BOL