3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community - What are some food items you will NOT give up?

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/)

- Calorie Counters (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calorie-counters-172/)

- - What are some food items you will NOT give up? (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calorie-counters/214389-what-some-food-items-you-will-not-give-up.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorthernExposure (Post 3515783)

I think the bottom line is we know ourselves better than anyone else, and we have to do what works for US.

For me, not allowing myself some indulgences = failure. Would it be "better" if I could eat 100% clean all the time? Sure. But when I've tried that in the past, I'd last maybe a couple of months then I'd go off the wagon, gain the weight back, plus more. I'd much rather eat a few unhealthy things occasionally and be able to stick with this for the long haul vs. trying to be "perfect" and failing over and over again.

Of course that doesn't work for everyone. Some people know their "triggers" all too well, and if eating nachos, or pizza or whatever is going to cause a slippery slope back to bad habits, then yes, it's probably best to avoid them. But when it comes down to it, those isolated empty calorie events (in and of themselves) really won't amount to much in the grand scheme of things IF they remain that, isolated events. Again, this approach does NOT work for everyone, and that's OK!

I do get being more strict when you start out. At that point you are actively trying to change your eating habits. If you have pizza on day 1, you're not exactly making changes! For the first month or so I did cut out all fast food, sugar soda (I still don't drink it), and some other "trigger" foods...but I DID allow myself my small piece of chocolate at the end of the day. It kept me sane and was a small step toward teaching myself that I did NOT "blow my entire diet" just because I had something "bad."

So even though I did temporarily "ban" certain foods from my diet, I didn't go into it saying "Ok, since this is a LIFESTYLE change, I have to learn to NEVER eat pizza, cheeseburgers, etc. ever AGAIN." Instead, I told myself, "I am learning to eat new foods. I CAN have a cheeseburger if I really want it, but just not right now." I know this sounds so simple, but it was a BIG paradigm shift for me.

Eventually, I did lose cravings for some things and I really don't care if I ever eat them again (i.e., Little Debbies) and yes, I'm happy to have them out of my life. I DO still like my occasional cheeseburger or pizza, but I do NOT want them every day like I did when I first started. Would it be "better" if they were out of my life too? Sure, but I know myself well enough to know that's just not going to happen. But I'm OK with that. And the difference now is when I DO have that indulgence, I enjoy it, but go right back to plan. Heck, I actually look FORWARD to going back to plan! I've learned that being "bad" once in a while does NOT = total failure.

THAT is the reason (again, I speak only for myself) that I can do this forever this time.

This is exactly how I feel! Thank you for explaining it so well NorthernExposure :)

Right on NorthernExposure! I could not have said it any better for ME as well!!!!

DIET COKE is my big one too! I have been lectured on it to death and i don't care. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I never have and besides being overweight I'm healthy. so :P (sorry this is one of my buttons)

Anyway, I also love me some milk, bread and pasta. I tried to follow atkins with my hubby but I couldn't do it. He was even telling me to go eat some carbs. lol I just portion control them. Now my only pasta is for lunch as a lean cuisine or if we go out to eat instead of dinner every night. I also don't eat bread that often either (i just threw away a loaf that was sell by september something the other day). So again, I don't eat these items alot but I love them when I do have them.

As for milk its another one of those things that I think is healthy and good for me no matter what 'new research' pops up about it. :)

Overall I think everything is okay in moderation (hence calorie counting as my method of choice for weight loss). So I guess you could also say I'm not willing to give up anything. Is that wrong? lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitkristi (Post 3514627)

I disagree here! You could have those as non-negotiables and still get to your goal weight provided you do not over indulge, use them as a treat, and work them into your calorie plan. I still eat all of those and have lost 60lbs. Part of being healthy is understanding moderation.

i agree...the key is moderation!!!!

Soda. I've been off it since march 15, 2008, and don't plan to go back. That's about it. HOWEVER, I do OCCASIONALLY have some homemade, 35 calorie, caffeine free orange soda. VERY rarely though.

I guess that's not a food though... so.. pizza. Gotta have some sort of soda with pizza! Those two go hand in hand. But otherwise I haven't had much of a hard time cutting out anything else.

Aside from food items I gave up forever due to moral reasons, I won't give up anything... the key is simply in moderation now.

If I tell myself I CAN'T have something, then of course I instantly want it.
However, there are many things that I tell myself I DON'T eat, and therein lies the difference for me: "DON'T" is my choice, "CAN'T" is what someone else chooses for me. Don't works, can't doesn't.

I don't necessarily think that mine is the best way to go but I'm not good at moderation; at the moment "Don't" is what I have to do to make it work.

I need coffee mate creamer. I use fat free, but still empty calories. Im not ready to give it up yet, but I do measure each drop and count!

I am just starting this journey post pregnancy. Im not ready to say I can give something up forever (pizza, sweets, etc). I think eating it in moderation when in control is okay for most, but at this stage its not going to be okay for me... someday!

Never say never, is my motto. I don't box myself in with deciding what foods I won't eat and what I feel I cannot live without. My husband does that and he is constantly at war with himself over eating. No foods are off limits in my book, however I do choose not to eat foods that I know will cause me to binge or to feel sick. I alone am responsible for my choices. If I want food that will set me back in my weight loss goals, then I accept the consequences of that choice. I don't mean to sound like a hard @ss about it, but I have come to learn that the more I put food on some sort of pedestal, the more I struggle with bingeing and longing. I am moving away form thinking of food as the highlight of my day and making it be a meal at a meal time and not much more. That isn't to say I don't like good foods, I do, I have just learn which ones work for me and get me healthier in my blood sugar, my weight and my goals. After awhile it just seems pretty stupid to keep setting myself back with lusting after foods that do me no good in the end.

The only thing I will never give up is chocolate. Mainly dark. I've had a love affair with chocolate pretty much my whole life and I doubt I'll ever break up with it. I just see a lot less of it these days. =)