"Free" foods?
 

Sorry, lots of questions as I get started. I was wondering what works for people in terms of allowing "free" foods. By that I mean, do you have free days or free meals? If so, do you write them down? I'm trying to be vigilant about writing down everything I put in my mouth so I really have to think about it, but am wondering if I will feel too guilty about writing down things that are "free" and then deny myself those meals because of the starkness of whatever I choose there in black and white and then I'll eventually going hogwild. My plan is to allow myself one free meal every two weeks. More often and I think I'll abuse it, less and I'll probably be more likely to slip. The same is true of a whole free day. I see myself getting a little too enthusiastic at the prospect and going overboard. Also, do you plan your free days/meals, or float them? (That is, saying "I get two meals/days/whatever a month and I can have then whenever I choose, but once they are used, they are used.) What do you find works well for you? I know everyone's different, but I always like listening to the voice of experience.

Well, ummm, when I was in the losing stage of my journey I never allowed myself a free day or a free meal or a free ANYthing. "Free" meals/days is what got me into this mess in the first place, so I needed to steer clear of that mentality.

That's not to say that I never ate anything indulgent from time to time, but when I did, I counted it. Or at least approximated it. This way I was accountable for it and would keep the portions within reason.

I needed to keep my "indulgent" meals to a BARE minimum while losing. I found it very, VERY difficult to get back on track afterwards. So for me it was just easier to STAY on track.

We all have to do what works for ourselves though. It's a very individual thing.

Personally, for me, I don't believe anything is "free". All calories count. But that's just my opinion.

I count everything. Except one meal. Sunday dinner. I don't mean the whole day on Sunday, just dinner. I eat what I want and as much as I want and I've done that for the last 3 years.

That one meal a week has kept me sane.

And nope, I don't worry about counting it. I even eat dessert!

That's what has worked for me.

I eat healthy most of the time (lean meats, whole grains and plenty of veggies) but I still allow myself my favorite foods on occasion. I don't believe in deprivation. I simply make sure that whatever I decide to eat is counted in with my calories for the day. However, if I eat healthy lowfat foods, I'm able to eat MORE than if I were to eat junk.

But yep, Sunday dinner is my meal to eat what I want. If I want seconds then I go back and get them. And I don't worry about the calories. I enjoy the meal then pick up on Monday, going right back to counting, measuring and weighing every little thing in sight, LOL

I have found that counting everything I eat works best for me. I still have treats and meals that go over my calorie limit, but I like to know what kind of damage I did. I also use to information to balance out my day. For example, if I splurge by eating cake, I then try and eat mostly protein for the rest of the day to balance out the fat and sugar in the cake.

Good luck,

Helen

I don't normally allow a free day during the weight loss phase of my calorie counting. Occasionally I will have a free "meal", but it isn't as often as every two weeks-it is more like Thanksgiving dinner and my birthday. Every two weeks for a free meal where I don't count calories is too often for me-it stalls my weight loss.

Because I"m basically just getting started...been in this for....4 months? I stopped counting the days. :lol:

I truely feel everything counts. Of course...there are days where I've gone over...each of those days it's been with alcohol. I still count it...see how much I've gone over and get back on track the next day.

I think we always need to know how much we're putting into our body....it keeps us aware. Some people might have considered my dinner last night as a splurge. I went to Taco Bell and got a Chicken Fiesta Burrito Fresco style, Rachero chicken soft taco fresco style, and a spicy chicken burrito. HOWEVER....I made room in the day and planned and it only came to about 700 calories. I say if you're going to splurge...plan ahead for it.

Try to stick to your calories right now...I know it might be hard at first, but once you've established a habit it will be great!! :)

I, too, tend to plan ahead, and not have anything totally 'free', since in my case, it's a recipe for an accident waiting to happen. I can't have any totally free day/meal anyway, not any more, because I know I'll be sick. Way to go for my body to finally adapt to the RIGHT food, and force me to give up the ones that don't do anything good for me. Anyway, as a calories counter, when I know there's an incoming birthday or holiday, I indeed just plan around, and make sure to be careful the week before, just in case of (yeah, the whole week, you can't be too sure, can you? :)). I can't say I have 'free days' as in 'days I plan myself', but I use those social circumstances as 'free days', if it makes sense.

Well...I don't technically count calories on the weekends, though I generally eat sensibly regardless. So there is often a free meal or dessert each week, within reason...

I really only allow myself a free meal for social/business events where I can't avoid going off plan. And even then, I still have rules that I try ("try" being the operative word--sometimes I am more successful than others) to follow (e.g., no beverages with calories, only eat half my entree, pick the entree that seems healthiest, no dessert). Although I sometimes have unplanned slip-ups, I never plan to have a meal where I can eat whatever and however much I want. I've found that going into a meal with a free-for-all attitude ends up being a disaster and I always regret it afterwards. :sorry:

Sometimes I make treat meals for myself at home, but I always find a recipe that fits within my calorie plan. I never make food for myself that is off-plan; I get enough off-plan food at restaurants, business meetings, and social events.

Like most of the others, I don't do "free" meals, much less free days. In the beginning a free meal or day would have thrown me too far off course. I would have been fighting to get back on and seriously I doubt I would have ever gotten back on course. I did take off my second Christmas of weight loss. Just that day and by then I had been doing this for almost a year and a half so I knew that I could handle it and get back on track.

Now, I do indulge at times and go over my calories at times, but 99% of the time I enter it into Fitday. I do this because I feel like hiding from the truth was what brought me to 346 lbs and I don't intend to end up there again.

I don't plan ahead and set a free anything. If I'm faced with a situation where I can't choose a healthier alternative, I try my best to portion it properly and kind of count that as my free moment. By that I mean I just enjoy it and not feel guilty about it :) Or if HB wants to order pizza that night, I go with the flow, eat 1 slice, enjoy the heck out of it but eat some healthy stuff to fill me up along with it.

And I do write every single thing I eat. In fact I'm more dilligent about journalling less healthy foods because it my reality moment and wake up call.

I used to allow myself one free meal a week (but I still recorded all the calories). However, I've stopped doing that because it messes me up. It really sets up a mindset that your normal diet is unpleasant and you're only living for that free meal! You need to make sure your daily diet is tasty enough that you are happy with it! Also, having a free meal starts to turn into rewarding yourself with food - the mindset is "Oh, I've been good all week and now I can eat what I REALLY want." It seems to me that using food as a reward is what got me in trouble in the first place. Another problem is that if I have one day or meal off plan it makes it SO MUCH HARDER to get back on plan the next day. I get myself in a mindset where I am eating light and healthy and really enjoying it ... but then I have one big fatty sugar-laden meal and it seems to mess up my metabolism and suddenly I am not satisfied with light, low calorie meals anymore! It's just not worth it. I'm happy with the foods I'm eating on a daily basis. Instead of a free meal, I include a small amount of treat foods (dark chocolate, wine, small cookie) on a daily basis. If I want to eat out at a restaurant, I just make sure to make it mostly healthy and include it in my daily calorie count. For me, having free meals was a mistake. It perpetuated the idea that I was on a diet, rather than living a new lifestyle.

I do the same thing. On the weekends I take a "break" from logging everything, but I still eat sensibly. Every now and then (like this past weekend) I'll have a weekend where I probably eat more than I should. But I usually try not to worry about it too much.

There ARE some things I won't count. Take lettuce, for example -

If I'm making a big salad and that salad is my meal, then yes, I count it. I put my salad bowl onto my digital kitchen scale and weigh how many ounces of lettuce I have. I weigh the onion and everything else, too. But if I'm making a sandwich and I slap on one leaf of lettuce, then no, I don't worry about counting it.

And to Kilketay, I don't look at my "free" meal on Sunday as a reward. In fact I don't even look at it as a "free" meal. I look at it as part of my lifestyle. That's the mindset that I feel is important to get a hold of. I don't think all week long oh I can't wait for Sunday dinner, I can finally pig out! That's not how I look at it at all. Sunday dinner is simply part of my lifestyle and has been for the last 3 years. I never look at it as a reward. A reward for what, eating good all week? I'm going to eat good all week regardless. Not because I feel I have to, but because I WANT to. I totally enjoy eating healthy. I don't look at it as punishment because I'm creative with my foods and I make sure I have tasty meals and eat things that I love to eat.

Also on Sunday dinner, I said I eat whatever I want and as much as I want, but that doesn't mean I'm eating a high-fat/high-sugar meal. I still make healthy meals on Sunday, cutting fat and calories anywhere possible. They're just a little more 'relaxed' than they are during the week and I don't worry about running to my computer to log every morsel I put into my mouth. I believe in giving myself a little breather from that. But on Monday, I love going right back to eating my yummy veggies and fish! I love fish, I eat lots of it.

So yeah, I enjoy my Sunday dinners and will NEVER look at it as a reward, it's simply part of my life, as is not putting too many restrictions on myself. I don't need rewards. My reward is being at a normal weight and feeling better physically than I have in years ;)

I've realized that for me, even a single day or meal of not logging, or journaling increases the chance that I won't log or journal the next meal.

In trying to commit to logging no matter what, I've also noticed that while I don't have a problem sticking to a reasonalbe amount of food most days, there are days that my calorie level spikes insanely. TOM has been the time that I've always associated with this (because they're the most extreme and because several days cluster together). Unless I write it down, I can delude myself into thinking, "I only eat 1500 calories a day. Why can't I lose weight?"

Writing down everything, even when I go off plan, intentionally or not, has really helped me see my REAL eating patterns.

But the most important thing isn't to follow any one "rule," just because it works for someone else. You really have to learn what works for you. I think that's one of the many reasons weight loss attempts so often fail. We try to follow what has worked for someone else, instead of tailoring a program to who we are, and what we need to be successful.

Yep, that's what I've done in the past, I went with what everyone else was doing. This diet, that diet, etc. Then I finally decided to venture off on my own, 'create' a plan that I can live with, and voila! It worked.

I agree that what works for some may not work for others. Some people can trust themselves to not eat a whole pan of brownies and others, well, they can't even bring them into the house. It's because they're doing what they know is best for them.

So I agree, it's about finding your own balance. It's not always easy and it can take a while, but it's worth it.

It really is just a personal thing, that works for some people and not for others. Before I tried the "free day" and ended up using it and then some extras when special occasions came up. We have lots of family so there seems to be lots of things going on all the time, so during really special occasions if there is something great going on I will relax a little and indulge, usually though I look around and say its not worth it.

I ALWAYS write stuff down, it is amazing to me that on those days I can say, wow I ate way worse before counting and look at that! Ugh, one day I ended up at 3300 calories and my hubby and I were amazed because it wasn't that big of a deal day (but I needed to relax that day for my sanity!) I ate way worse regularly before calorie counting. So for me it made me feel better that yes I am making a huge difference in my life by paying attention to what I eat, even if the weight doesn't fly off like I wish.

Also for me I have certain days that I just allow myself to be more relaxed (usually only at dinner) and those are my "stress days" just one or two a month. Those are the days where suddenly I feel depressed or frustrated and fed up with calorie counting cause "its so hard and I seem to never eat without running to the computer first". Then usually the next day when I see where my calories went I am back to normal.

Usually I try for 1600 calories a day, jump up to 2000 or 2200 MAYBE on relaxed day and then try to keep my weekly average at 1600-1700 for now.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone. Yes, I don't want to have a slippery slope situation happen. I think what I'll do is play it by ear and make the smartest choices I can as I go and see what happens. (And by play it by ear I do not mean lots of off plan days, but just seeing how things are going as-is and if I feel I need to work in a more regularly scheduled relaxed day, I can assess that as it comes.) I do think that I will continue to write everything down--even in the short time I've been doing it, it's really started to give me a much better understanding of the food I'm eating. What a portion should actually be, what items fill me up as opposed to just leaving me hungry and more likely to snack.

I don't journal each item separately, by the way. I write down an entire item. Like today I had a turkey sandwich and wrote it down as such, rather than each component (though I counted each item in the sandwich towards the total calories). I'm also rather old-fashioned in how I journal--I thought about tracking online, but the physical act of writing things down really helps me process them. So, I splurged and bought myself a nice little Clairefontaine journal and nice pen to lend a little something extra to the entire endeavor.

And there ya go. You're doing what works for YOU. Buying yourself a nice journal is a great idea ;)

And congrats on your weight loss so far!

Hi Bobbie - Well, I've only been dieting 2 months. However, I decided when I started, that once a month I will have one meal where I eat whatever I want. Anything. However, I DO write it down. To me, that is very impt. Otherwise, my total calorie count is off. Also, in my case, knowing that I have to write it down reigns me in a bit.
Last month, I made sure that I wasn't starving when I went for the meal and ate a salad to start. I really enjoyed the meal. My calorie count for the day was 2000 vs the 1100 I am currently averaging.
For me, it helps me not slip up. I don't have to eat something now because I can have it in a couple of weeks. And I can't do too much damage in just one meal. I could not do a "free" day - I could do a lot of damage in a day.
So that's what I do. Once a month but write it down & track it carefully. I had a very hard time starting a diet journal and I feel like the first time I "cheat" by not writing it down, everything will go to **** in a handbasket.
So that's what works for me. Like many said tho, it's different for different people. Whatever you decide, I think you should plan it, like I did, and not do it spur of the moment. It's a very good question!

I don't schedule free days or meals into my plan, either. HOWEVER, something new that I have done is this: If I'm coming to a point where I feel like I'm going to "binge" or lose control or if I'm just getting really weary of the calorie counting then I reiterate to myself why I'm doing this and exactly what I'm wanting out of it. Then I calculate the calorie limit I could eat to MAINTAIN my weight that I'm at. Then I allow myself a day of that. A few weeks ago I allowed myself a week at the maintenance level and STILL lost 1/2 a pound. No, this isn't ideal for everyone but I have found that for me it saves my sanity AND it keeps me on plan.

My advise is look at all the different responses you've gotten AND at all the success that each response has with it. There is success in MANY ways of doing this. You just have to do what's right for you. It takes time. If you're committed and determined you WILL figure out what it takes for you to take the weight off permanently.

I have done exactly as Tricia (royalsfan1) describes. If I'm feeling extra "bingey" I will eat a little more and call it a maintenance day. But I also have weekly weigh-ins at my TOPS meeting, so that keeps me from going off plan very often. And I still record everything.

Good luck finding your weight loss groove. :)

Everything gets entered in my FitDay--the good, the bad, and the ugly! :lol: That's called "accountability." I ate it--it's listed.

Jay

Myself as well. If anyone is looking for inspiration this week, then don't look at my Fit Day. I've been excessively hungry due to mucho exercising, and let's just say I'll be lucky to maintain this week.......