There are a few things we don't want to give up, and probably a few things that we have. So, what are the things you've given up that seem to be working?
A couple of things for me.
I love baked potatoes with real butter and real sour cream. Obviously a no-no. So, I use ketchup instead. Get some lycopene and saves bunches of calories. Plus, I feel like I'm eating french fries!
I've also given up the habit of trying to get as much food as humanly possible for my calorie count. I've shifted my thinking ever so slightly. Now, I want the most taste as possible for my calories. For a while, I was eating stirfried veggies with only pam. I try to eat them without salt, so it was a bland dish. I've been adding a little olive oil and playing with spices (hellooooo Penzey's!) and the results have been really good.
I'm also just working on portion size in general. I don't know why this is working for me. But, a snack needs to fit in the palm of my hand. A meal needs to fit in the palms of both my hands. Kinda cheezy, but it's made a difference at least for now. I just keep playing around. Sometimes I find that I find a trick and it only works for a little while. That's okay for me. When that one is done, I'll look for another one to try.
So, how about you? What have you given up that is working?
fast food, i use to be addicted and crave it constantly. but i knew i had to give it up if i was really going to decide to loose any weight. I still crave it, but it's a speacial treat for me every time i do eat fast food, and it's never macdonalds anymore. I usually go to some sit down and order relatively healthy meals, like salmon or chicken, that has SOME nutritional value. I think that has really worked for me, i think i would feel so deprived if i could never eat out.
It's Dr. Peppers for me. I even told myself if I will just work harder at other things so that I don't have to give them up! But recently I've gone from 4+ a day to 1 and this next week I'm switching from the 12oz to the 8oz! My goal is to only have them every once in a while still working towards that though!
Mine are boring, but I've given up most sugar and alcohol. At first I thought it would be hard but I got used to it REALLY fast and the weight melted off until I hit another plateau, lol.
I also try to eat as little processed foods as possible. I kinda make it a challenge for myself to eat only whole foods and am SO proud of myself when I do. Especially if it's something that could be junk food. Recently I made my boyfriend a pb&j sandwich with whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter and fruit preserves. There were literally NO chemicals in that sandwich. I was so happy about it although he didn't care in the slightest. But I felt good knowing that it was a healthier version of what it could have been.
Cookies. I didn't intentionally give them up but I can't seem to eat an amount that satisfies me and still have calories left in the day for healthy food.
In the past I might have chosen cookies over healthy food. Now I'm not willing to make that trade. Suprises the H*** out of me.
I had a long post here, but I realized it was food porn, a homage to several things I've given up, and I am really, really trying not to read or write or see food porn!
So suffice it to say: bacon, cheddar cheese, and hot dogs. And I like my life now more than I ever liked them.
i've given up chocolate! i don't even know if it's really my "nemesis" food or not, but i decided to give it up and really stopped craving it at all after a while. so, given up it remains!
desserts, or bit of chocolate in an evening, replaced by a cup of mint tea! Not really a similar substitution but it meets that need for an 'end-of-meal' indicator and lets me know i'm done for the day.
I've basically given up on any kind of bread. When I find myself eating half a whole wheat bagel (which we keep on hand for my daughter) as part of my breakfast or lunch, it's a red flag that I am starting to slide down a slippery slope.
What have you given up that works?
loads of guilty pleasures... but I'm healthier without it
