Anyone else eat just "normal" food?
 

I sometimes feel like such an outsider when I read other folks' menus (not just here, but on other forums as well). It seems like so many people who are counting calories have skim milk, salad w/ fat free dressing, low fat cheese, fat-free yogurt, etc. I, on the other hand, don't have anything fat-free or even low-fat in my house. Yes, I eat veggies & fruits, but so much of the food I eat is just regular food that I ate before I started counting calories---just less of it. For example, here was my menu today:

B - Large slice of artisan Italian bread with real butter

Snack: Homemade hot cocoa (organic dark chocolate cocoa powder, tsp of sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, itsy bitsy pinch of salt, ginger, & cinnamon---all dissolved in organic whole milk)

L - 2/3 c. brown rice, 1/2 organic chorizo sausage, 1/2 oz. organic cheddar melted over both

D - Two oven-fried chicken wings & 1/4 oven-fried breast w/ roasted carrots & peas

Dessert: Slice of homemade apple pie (1/8 of pie)

Now, granted today's menu was a bit higher in calories than normal because I just didn't end up eating as many calories this week as I thought I would, so I had many calories to spare (I been eating homemade chicken soup all week, and it's VERY filling yet low in calories---and delicious if I don't say so myself :) ). In fact, at the end of the week, my calories averaged out to only about 1500 per day.

However, nothing on my menu looks like what one would eat on a "diet." Granted, my portions are definitely smaller than my pre-calorie counting days, but I'm still surprised at how well I can eat and still lose.

Does anyone else calorie count and mainly eat the same foods they ate prior to calorie counting (just cutting down on portions)? Just curious as to how many out there do this.

Nope. You're not alone. My menu actually looks really similar to yours. When I began I decided I did not want to deprive myself of anything so I don't. I still eat whatever I want just smaller portions or spread my cravings over a few days vs. Eating them whenever I feel like it.

I'm mostly eating the same, but before I occasionally succumbed to foods I don't touch now (crisps, packets of biscuits), snacking's been greatly reduced, and I eat less of the more calorie-dense foods such as nuts. Especially if they're high in fat, due to those blasted gallstones. Of course, my diet before was very healthy anyway, that wasn't really the issue.

Originally Posted by Esofia:
I'm mostly eating the same, but before I occasionally succumbed to foods I don't touch now (crisps, packets of biscuits), snacking's been greatly reduced, and I eat less of the more calorie-dense foods such as nuts. Especially if they're high in fat, due to those blasted gallstones. Of course, my diet before was very healthy anyway, that wasn't really the issue.

Esofia, same here: I don't snack as much, and I must say that nuts are so high in calories and easy to overeat, that I usually just avoid them (especially cashews, which I still cannot control myself around)

Originally Posted by Lambiechop:
When I began I decided I did not want to deprive myself of anything so I don't.

Me, too. I realized this time around that I needed to begin as I planned to continue. One of the reasons I love calorie counting so much is that I can still eat the foods I love in moderation.

Hi lin. Dinner is my "normal" foods meal.

I do better if I stick with the same options for breakfast and lunch. That makes it easier for me to plan and there's no question what foods that will be. Generally for lunch, even if we go out (which is maybe 1x weekly) I have salad. I love a greek salad and find I crave it, so it is probably very good for me. Snacks are generally fruit during the week too, and I get some dairy in my coffee with (of course) skim milk. I also like Progresso soups in the winter - very filling and really hits the spot!

Breakfasts are whole grain toast/tomato/cheese, yogurt/fruit/cereal, banana with peanut butter and a cup of coffee. Occasionally an egg and toast with a smidge of real butter. I don't use fake butter ever. I also don't do artificial sweetener. If there's a way to reduce the sugar, I will, but the artificial stuff, ugh.

Dinner is different because I have to feed others, so I try not to make it too difficult on them. Everything from soup to nuts can be on the menu, but I do try to do a generic protein/starch/veg combo.

Dinners can be rice and beans with salad, roasted chicken with potatoes/gravy and veg, meatloaf, shrimp marinara with pasta, kielbasi/kraut/pierogi, beef stew or goulash, pasta fagioli, anything on the grill with veg/starch, stuffed cabbage or peppers, meatballs/pasta, sometimes we do breakfast for dinner and have Krusteaz buttermilk pancakes made with fresh berries served with scrambled eggs. We run the gamut for dinners around here.

Weekends are harder for me tho. Today for instance, I was up at 9 a.m. and painting the hallway. I didn't stop until about 3:30. I had not eaten, and didn't want to snack because we were having cheeseburgers for dinner with baked beans and potato salad. I told my husband I needed to eat early!!! I didn't want the potato salad. I had about a 1/3 cup of beans, I scooped out the insides of my hard roll and left the "shell" added raw onion, tomato, pickles and ketchup. I was so full, I had leftover burger! About a half hour ago, I had some Fresh Cuts Mango Salsa (130 calories in the entire container, which I ate it all) and some multi grain tortilla chips.

I do find healthier substitutions for stuff, but its the calorie thing. Regular Tostitos are fat laden and higher in calories than the Garden of Eatin multi grains--and the latter taste better so its a win-win. I definitely don't see the point of making a substitution if it doesn't taste good, but when it works, I go for it.

I have been on diets in the past where I've driven my family nuts with the diet meals, and also where I've cooked often enough 2 separate meals; one for me, one for them. It gets to be a pain in the a$$ after a while.

This is the first time I've counted calories. I also need to get it through my head that a calorie is a calorie. I've been somewhat brainwashed (harsh word, but it fits) by previous diet plans where the calories are strategically hidden in the plan. This time, I'm really learning a lot, and I like having the knowledge at my fingertips. I think the internet has changed everything in the diet game.

Hi!

yes, I too, eat "normal" food. I believe this is the only way, well for me anyway. I lost a lot of weight years ago-when I used to be disciplined-counting fat grams, eating only 20-30 grams per day. However, I would allow my self to indulge on Saturday and Sundays. I went from 172 down to 138 in six months!!! :carrot: :D :D

However, I find I am not disciplined like that anymore. I no longer count fat grams, I pay attention to calorie intake "somewhat." It feels to hard now! LOL I just eat and eat and stopped working out. I am lazy these days and can't find the motivation to stick to a work out routine.

Have you gone through this too? How did you find motivation to stick to a work out routine?

:cool:

I follow Denise Austin too. she is the best! She believes in "normal" foods and does NOT believe in cutting out foods from our daily lives. This is more bad for us then good. She always says "everything in moderation" I have two of her books and they are awesome! Full of yummy easy recipes. Now if I can just get motivated and follow those recipies!! LOL

I'm still eating "normal" foods too but I'm watching the portions and eating a better variety of fruits and vegetables. If I find that I need to change things up, I will, but for now what I'm doing seems to be working. I'm not craving foods like I have before when I've really restricted my eating...in the past, that has caused me to fall off the wagon, so to speak.

I've dieted using a lot of diet products, and I've dieted with none. Right now, I'm in a compromise position. I use a few, but only those I like. I try to minimize "frankenfoods" but do use a few that I really like (such as diet soda and sugar free jello pudding and gelatin).

Products I do use

artificial sweeteners, and foods containing them mostly in diet drinks and desserts. I always have sugar free jello in the pantry, but usually only make it about once a month or so. I do drink diet sodas and sweetened beverages.

I've cut back on sweetener use and caffeine, but I still use moderately.

I was probably 10 when my my parents stopped buying "regular" soda, so regular soda tastes like cough syrup to me.

skim milk - I drink it because I grew up drinking skim and 2% milk. Hubby grew up only drinking skim milk. I don't mind drinking 2%, but to me, whole milk tastes wrong and feels wrong in my mouth (I remember my brother and I complaining that restaurant milk tasted "spoiled").

reduced-fat sour cream I buy whatever's on sale or whatever fits into my food plan best (if I'm in a super-low-carb phase, I'll choose full fat sour cream). I like them both.

Hellman's canola mayo - I usually buy storebrands of regular mayo because I buy what's cheapest. If I have a coupon though I will buy Hellman's canola mayo, because it doesn't taste like "diet mayo" and it's only 50 calories per tablespoon.

low-fat, artificially sweeteened flavored yogurt. I also buy full-fat and reduced fat greek yogurt - depending on price and depending on whether I'm reducing carbs drastically or moderately (usually I follow a moderately-low carb diet. But if I'm retaining water I'll switch to a lower carb diet, because it tends to flush "water weight.")


Neufchatel (a low fat cream cheese) instead of full-fat cream cheese because I like the flavor. It's not a "reduced fat" cheese in the sense of weird stuff added to make a cheese-simulation. It's a real cheese that's naturally lower in fat - though people often call it "diet cream cheese".

Frozen dinners. I make most meals from scratch, but we do buy a few frozen dinners for times when we don't feel like cooking. I do like the Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine, because they tend to be tastier and healthier - but I read the labels and the calorie counts. Often the "non-diet" brands are identical in nutrition, or nearly so - so price and ingredients are a bigger factor than whether the product was designed as a diet product or not.



Products I refuse to use

100 Calorie packs - they're usually so processed that they trigger what I call "rabid hunger." Refined carbs tend to do that to me. Eating them makes me hungrier than eating nothing.

Diet salad dressings - Blech! Most diet dressings are either horrible or outrageously expensive - and often both. I make my own. I love using rice wine and other mild vinegars in my homemade dressings because I don't have to use as much oil to balance the flavors. Some rice wine vinegars taste so good, they make a great dressing all on their own.


Reduced-fat cheeses. Except for naturally lower fat cheeses, I avoid reduced fat cheeses. Most taste like plastic if there's any flavor at all. I use stronger "real cheeses" and just use a lot less. I tend to avoid the mild cheeses because they lack "punch." I use really charp cheddars and swiss cheeses, smoked cheeses, blue cheeses, asiago (I'm an asiago-addict) and other smelly cheeses, because when you use a pungent cheese, you can use a lot less.

You're food isn't normal too me hahaha. Thats diet food to me. But I before i started dieting i was eating fast food every day!

:wave:

I really am not a fan of low-fat dairy. It leaves me hungry afterwards and the taste is just. :barf:

Now, we do sometimes by skim milk but it depends what's on sale, and we all really prefer whole milk :love: That and real butter I eat it every day. ;) Oh, and LOTS of red meat! It's pretty rare that I don't have steak or ground beef in at least on of my meals per day.

I do eat some "abnormal" food, though. We eat pretty much only whole grains here and we don't use sugar (i cook with natural sweeteners instead). However, consider that we just don't have desserts very often it's not a very big deal.

I think some people use a lot of low-fat dairy because it cuts back on calories but it's not worth it to me because of the taste and the hunger afterwards.

Originally Posted by lin43:

Does anyone else calorie count and mainly eat the same foods they ate prior to calorie counting (just cutting down on portions)? Just curious as to how many out there do this.

This is very much what I am wanting to do. I keep trying this program and that program and getting frustrated with the "guidelines" that I never seem to follow for life. I have fad dieted successfully over and over, but I am ready to get off that hamster wheel. ;) I want to just eat less, move more and find a healthy balance in my life eating the foods that I enjoy and are good for me. I have moved back into counting calories. I truly think this will be the best way for me. :)

Originally Posted by lin43:
Esofia, same here: I don't snack as much, and I must say that nuts are so high in calories and easy to overeat, that I usually just avoid them (especially cashews, which I still cannot control myself around)

Me three. I don't calorie count but I make myself aware of the calories in items and as much as I love nuts they just aren't worth it!

I also only have planned snacks (normally a protein+fruit) at set times, which has cut down on snacking on other things.

I eat normal food too - I have to because I'm not going to cook a separate dinner for myself from DP's, and because I don't feel deprived, I don't feel like binging...

I do however buy a 'light' yoghurt - it tastes exactly the same as the full fat/sugar version of that brand, but it has 90 calories instead of 180 :)

Originally Posted by Lambiechop:
When I began I decided I did not want to deprive myself of anything so I don't.

I think whether you avoid or limit certain foods or not, and whether or not you use "substitution foods," it's important to avoid "deprivation."


I used to think that I was depriving myself if I avoided high-calorie, high-carb foods like cheesecake and crusty italian bread.

When I discovered that I was allergic to wheat, sensitive to grains, and that high-carb foods not only triggered what I called "rabid hunger" making me hungrier than having eaten nothing, they also caused flares of my health issue symptoms. For example if I eat wheat, I get a red, flaky, burning, itchy rash on my face and hands. If I continue to eat wheat and don't treat the rash with steroids, the rash goes from annoying to horrendous - the skin swelling, oozing yellow fluid which crusts (like impetigo), and burning and itching so badly I want to claw my face off. Sort of changes my perspective on being "deprived" of bread.

I had to decide what kind of deprivation I most wanted to avoid. Did I want to deprive myself of the joy of sweet and carby treats, or did I want to deprive myself of good health.

Not everyone has to make that choice. For me it was essential not to look at avoiding carby foods as deprivation, so I focused on ways to pamper myself within the diet that I feel physically best on.

I can have cheesecake if I want it, but the wheat and sugar in it, is going to make me sick. So giving up cheesecake, isn't really deprivation, it's good sense. Especially since I can make a cheesecake-substitution that comes pretty close to the real thing (to my current tastebuds anyway).

I mix sugar free jello pudding mix into greek yogurt. It satisfies my cheesecake craving, and tastes incredibly decadent to me.. No doubt it would taste like crap if I took a bite of it after "real cheesecake" but since I'm not eating them side by side, I don't feel deprived. I just feel as though I'm eating something incredibly decadent.

My husband brought home cream of coconut instead of coconut milk. Unlike coconut milk, cream of coconut is very high-carb, and calorie 130 calories for 1 ounce. I've been using it like liquid gold, drizzling a very small amount (about 50 calories worth) over low-fat greek yogurt, and crumbling in one small macaroon cookie (also about 50 calories). WOW is it 200 calories of pure decadence.


I now shop for fruit like I did higher-calorie gourmet treats. I splurge on the best whenever I can. I get just as much pleasure out of a honeycrisp apple as I did higher-calorie, higher-carb treats. And after avoiding some high-calorie foods, they now don't taste as good as they did when they were everyday components of my diet. Snack chips are a good example for me. I used to love them, now they feel really greasy in my mouth, like Captain Crunch cereal. I loved it as a kid, but as an adult I realize I never noticed the "grease slick" it leaves on the roof of my mouth.




I'm starting to ramble, but my main point is that it doesn't matter whether you choose smaller portions of higher-calorie foods, or larger portions of lower-calorie foods. It doesn't even matter if you set some foods completely off-limits (whether they're off-limits because you don't portion-control well, or because you have an allergic reaction to them). Regardless of your choices, you have to choose a way of eating or a mindset in which you don't feel deprived.

I don't think your menu is giving you adequate nutrition. If you want to lose weight and be healthy, you have to be willing to change the way that you are currently eating because that is what made you fat in the first place.

Personally, I go through a lot of back and forth. I can't deny that some of the foods I eat on a regular basis probably qualify to most people as "diet foods", but that comes with a big note, which I'll get to below.

I won't eat "diet food" simply because it's "diet food". Something that is fat free or reduced fat or lower calorie or lower carb actually has to taste good enough for me to want to eat it regularly. If I only eat it because it's "diet food", but hate the taste or even only tolerate the taste then that defeats the purpose... I might as well not eat it at all!

There are some products that I actually prefer reduced fat or fat free. Most dairy products I actually prefer as reduced fat (like my 2% cottage cheese). But I do NOT like fat free cheeses (save feta - but I love the tart taste of FF feta). I've been drinking skim milk since I was 5, so when I do have milk that's a higher percentage it tastes like heavy cream to me. Yet, there are some hard/brick cheeses that are so absolutely heavenly that only the full fat normal versions will do.

Over the course of many years what has happened is that I end up finding foods that taste good, but also that aren't going to rob me of all my daily calories (or Points). That doesn't necessarily mean that they're all "diet foods". Most aren't. A lot of them end up being smaller serving sizes.

Like with my breads, I get a couple brands that are just sliced a little thinner. Same type of bread, mostly. Just smaller.

I do try to avoid anything packaged specifically for snacking. I find that when I go to grab those types of packs that what ends up happening is I eat mindlessly, and wondering where the pack went. I'd much rather count out a couple of normal crackers... slice up some delicious Dubliner cheese... and put some grapes in a bowl. That's a snack I WILL pay attention to, and those are all real foods.

I have always thought of light yogurt as a treat...it is so delicious, and I love that I get to treat myself daily! I have always used skim milk, and we stopped having 2% in the house when our daughters turned 4.

I tried fat free french vanilla creamer and discovered I actually had to use more than the regular french vanilla...making the calorie count higher, so I switched back.

I feel like I eat normal foods. I do not have special meals for me and another meal for my kids, so I want it to be healthy for all of us.
I spent a lot of the day out of the house so my food choices were limited to what I could grab and go, but todays menu was...

Breakfast
multiple coffees with french vanilla cream 150
granolla bar 140
banana 100

Lunch
whole wheat pasta with meat and tomato sauce 350
more coffee and french vanilla creamer 50

Snack
sweet n salty granolla bar 210
grapes 80

Dinner
2 cheese sticks 160
green peppers 25
tomato 50
apple 100

Smores 140

Vanilla low fat yogurt 80

I think I'm a mix. I eat whole grains, lots of veggies, light dressing, light olive oil mayo, and my dessert type things are typically Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, frozen yogurt, or no sugar added ice cream.

On the other hand, while I make a lot of recipes from skinnytaste.com for dinner, I also have things like cheeseburgers on the grill (tomorrow night) with chips and onion dip, pizza, lasagna...

Like a pp, I try to have basically the same thing for breakfast (granola bars) and lunch (sandwich with baby carrots and Greek yogurt dip) and choose from the same general pool of snacks during the day (light cheese sticks, low fat yogurts or Greek yogurt, whole grain Wheat Thins, snap peas...).

ETA: I really want to eat in a way that is sustainable for life... I like crap food too much to completely cut it out of my diet, so I aim for mostly healthy stuff with crap in moderation. ;) Some days are better than others, but I really don't ever want anything to be completely off limits or I won't be able to stop thinking about that food..l

We eat pretty healthy (whole grains, little meat, lots of fruit and veg) and I make most everything from scratch. That's the normal for my household.

I don't buy diet foods. I try to avoid overly processed foods with unpronounceable ingredients... so that cuts out pretty much everything with the word diet on it.

I buy full-fat dairy. Neither DH or myself actually drink milk. I just use milk in recipes. Yogurt is plain and full fat, if I can find it. Otherwise I buy 2%. I hate the fact that most yogurt is fat free. Yuck!

Salad dressings I make myself. If I need a really low cal salad dressing, I'll use salsa. Fat-free dressing are not tasty, so why bother?

So, yes, I eat normal. I eat my normal. ;) I just work it into my daily calorie allotment.

The only "diet" foods I buy are fat free milk and yogurt. I'm on such low calories a day and am a volume eater, so if I can save 50-80 cals to "splurge" on a bigger salad, I will do it!

I've recently realized that finding "substitutes" for indulgences (such as low fat ice cream, fat free Jell-O, Diet Coke and sugar substitutes) is only putting a bandaid on the real problem. I've decided to cut out all that junk on a daily basis completely.

I've realized the whole "I don't want to feel deprived" thing is a bad mentality for me. Removing crap from my diet isn't depriving me. It's making way for more of what I should be eating.

I eat all of the same foods, chicken nuggets and chips, chicken kebabs, ice cream, chocolate, bread and butter - I just count It all and make sure I'm not going mad, I'm still losing a pound a week with no exercise so its all good with me! I just make sure if the options there that I have something healthy, but weill never restrict myself because that's when it becomes a painful diet!

I am eating normally and watching my calories. I'm tired of depriving myself over the years but there are things that I will not allow in my current diet because I feel that they are not good for me nutritionally.

I eat real food myself. I really can't stand artificially thickened "fat-free" products like mayonnaise, salad dressing, sour cream, and whatnot.

I'd rather just eat a small amount of the real thing, or none of it at all. I don't need mayonnaise and salad dressing in my life so badly, when I can season things with hot sauce, mustard, vinegar, spices, etc. that actually taste good and aren't factory-processed gelatinous glop. Same thing for ersatz desserts like diet ice cream, diet cookies, or whatever other sorts of treats there are out there. For me, it's better to not eat dessert at all most days - or eat something like fruit if I want sweetness - than it is to fill my fridge and cabinets with junk food that happens to have its fat replaced by gelatin and its sugar replaced by artificial sweeteners. Those things don't even sound appetizing to me!

Fat-free yogurt is a different animal - at least a quality brand of fat-free yogurt is just real yogurt made out of skim milk. (Some of the popular brands of fat-free yogurt are filled with gelatin and artificial sweeteners - I don't find those appetizing at all.)

Now, when I say I eat real food, that doesn't mean I eat all real foods, or that I eat them with abandon. Obviously I make very careful choices and exercise portion control. But I have managed to lose 100+ pounds without relying on any sort of "diet food" product. And for me, I really couldn't have done it any other way.

I guess that some of the diet food doesn't taste different to me b/c I'm been eating since I was 11... when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I don't taste a difference in the light olive oil mayo and regular mayo. I don't taste a difference in ff or light dressings vs full fat (with exceptions for some nasty brands I won't try again). I don't taste a difference in ff sour cream vs regular. I prefer skim milk b/c that's what I grew up using. Same with diet soda.

I think everyone's idea of "normal" food is different, and my normal diet is someone else's idea of mad deprivation. I don't eat so-called diet foods; I don't eat processed foods anyway, which for me includes things like ready-made salad dressing. I'm being stricter about wholegrains than I used to be, which was really just a matter of making the effort to find varieties that I liked. It's a pity steel-cut oats aren't available in the UK, incidentally.

The one thing I can think of which I wouldn't consider part of my usual diet is protein powder. I've been advised to increase my protein intake, but most protein sources (bear in mind here that I'm vegan, although this seems to be true universally) are high in fat. And I need to keep the fat levels low because of the gallstones. So I'm adding a tablespoon of soy protein isolate to my breakfast porridge, and on the days when I don't have porridge, I've discovered that I can hide it nicely in coffee substitute (those ones made of assorted roasted grains, chicory and the like). I'm not mad on the flavour of the soy protein isolate, I'm planning to try a rice one when I've used up the current packet and see if it's more versatile.

I've also invented a recipe for chocolate peanut butter balls which includes some protein powder too. I make up a nice big batch, make the balls tiny, and they are great little snacks for when my blood sugar dips.

My eating is more structured these days. Dinner tends to be the more "normal" meal, as I'm quite likely to be eating with my partner. For breakfast, I ate a variety of things before, and now I'm more likely to stick to porridge as I do better on it. For lunch, the plan tends to be soup and/or salad, or a stuffed pepper with a small salad. It's all the type of food I'd eat normally, I'm just planning it better, making up batches of meals divided into portions and so forth.

Well I don't eat any 'diet' foods but I eat lots of veggies and fruits, whole grains and legumes. I watch my fat intake but still eat things like avocados and nuts.

Originally Posted by QuilterInVA:
I don't think your menu is giving you adequate nutrition. If you want to lose weight and be healthy, you have to be willing to change the way that you are currently eating because that is what made you fat in the first place.

I get a big kick out of your posts. You always throw out a blunt one or two sentences of judgment, normally with no back-up to your opinions. It's hilarious because regardless of how unhelpful it is, you keep at it--Priceless! :lol::lol:

Originally Posted by Michinmn:
I am lazy these days and can't find the motivation to stick to a work out routine.

Have you gone through this too? How did you find motivation to stick to a work out routine?

Actually, historically, I have always gotten burned out when I tried to do formal, gym-type workouts. Even when I have forced myself to do them, I hated every minute of it (except for the first few months when the weight was coming off fast; after that, I didn't want to do it anymore). About 5-6 years ago when I was thin (before I regained all my weight and stayed fat for 5 years), I can clearly remember getting up at 4:45 a.m. to get ready to go to the gym, and thinking to myself as I dragged myself out of bed, "I cannot possibly do this for the rest of my life! Does it really have to be this hard?" For years I didn't listen even when I my husband would tell me that weight loss was mainly about diet and ask me, "How did women in the 1930's - 1950's stay thin when most didn't formally work out?"

That's why this time around, I decided that I would have to do only activity that I enjoy and/or that would do double-duty with another activity. I had my husband construct a partial "desk" for my treadmill, and I walk anywhere from 3 - 6 miles, 6 days a week on that while I do other work on my computer (or even while I browse). Google "tread desk" and you'll get some hits for this, if you're interested. Also, this summer, I rediscovered riding my bike, which I actually like to do. I didn't rejoin my gym, but over the past few weeks, I have decided to take one fitness class per week there that I like; my gym allows me to pay per class, so if I ever don't feel like going, I don't have to. Also, when I don't have any computer work to do on my tread-desk and the weather isn't conducive to cycling, I can always find at least 1 - 2 hours of housework that need to me done, and that really is a workout! Doing all of this has almost completely eliminated the "dread" factor of exercising for me. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

I love reading all these responses! It seems like those who do use lower fat products (e.g., skim milk, low-fat dairy in general, etc.) do so because that is what you like best and are used to. I can relate to that. Years ago when I first tried cottage cheese, I accidentally bought one w/ no salt. I got used to that, so that when I finally did try the one with salt, it tasted wierd to me.

This shows that we can train our tastes. Years ago on one of my many diets--this time Weight Watchers---I cut out soda. Somehow, even when I stopped WW and regained my weight, that change stuck with me. From that point on (now at least 15 years), I drink water as my main beverage. I might have soda maybe twice a year, at most. It's way to sweet for me (and this is coming from someone with a major sweet tooth).

Hmmm to be honest (and I will be honest) throwing a few low fat things into your menu might help.xx

Originally Posted by willbeayummymummy:
Hmmm to be honest (and I will be honest) throwing a few low fat things into your menu might help.xx

Why? I'm losing at a rate that's satisfying for me. Just curious as to why you think less fat in my diet would be better?

Originally Posted by Esofia:
It's a pity steel-cut oats aren't available in the UK, incidentally.

Are you sure they aren't just marketed as something else? Steel-cut oats are called Scottish or Irish oats here in the US. So that is truly bizarre that you can't get them. Do you only have rolled oats? Sorry. Just trying to wrap my head around this.

EDIT: I looked it up. I guess in the UK they are called pinhead oats.

at lin43 its just if she isnt seeing the same results,just with that menu as an example it didnt seem too low calorie to me, nothing nasty or anything :) congrats on losing weight though. I am on a low calorie diet and already lost 4 pounds in 4 days and my friend who did it lost 88lbs (6 stone 4 pounds) in 5 months :) xxx

Originally Posted by willbeayummymummy:
at lin43 its just if she isnt seeing the same results,just with that menu as an example it didnt seem too low calorie to me, nothing nasty or anything :) congrats on losing weight though. I am on a low calorie diet and already lost 4 pounds in 4 days and my friend who did it lost 88lbs (6 stone 4 pounds) in 5 months :) xxx

I'm confused by your post. Who is the "she" who "isn't seeing the same results"? I'm the OP. I've gone from a size 14 to a size 10 Petite, and am very satisfied with that. I only have one more size down before I reach my goal (in fact, I can now wear some size 8's, but I don't want to change my ticker until all my clothes are size 8 or lower).

I'm glad that your diet is working for you. From another post, I see that you're on a specific diet that is quite a bit more restricted than mine. I genuinely wish you the best with it. However, I have been there and done that, and for me, it doesn't work long term. Instead, a very restricted diet makes me rebel and leads to overeating---far more severely than if I allow myself to eat the types of foods I love in moderation.

Also, I congratulate you on the speed of your weight loss. However, again, for me, this isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. I'm less concerned with how fast I lose the weight and more concerned about whether I'll keep it off permanently. To each her own, though . . .

IMO, what works for the individual is obviously the best plan for that person. The only successful plan is one that you can stick with.

Originally Posted by zenor77:
Are you sure they aren't just marketed as something else? Steel-cut oats are called Scottish or Irish oats here in the US. So that is truly bizarre that you can't get them. Do you only have rolled oats? Sorry. Just trying to wrap my head around this.

EDIT: I looked it up. I guess in the UK they are called pinhead oats.

I'm finding the odd place that sells pinhead oats, but it's a hassle and generally involves placing a much larger order and paying quite a lot for delivery, which I can't afford to do. If you can find me somewhere helpful that isn't Goodness Direct (no way am I buying from that place; google the Jesus Army to find out why), do let me know!

I don't eat "low fat", "fat free" or "sugar free" anything. It isn't satisfying and it always has something added to make it palatable.

I'm with you! As far as actual meals, I pretty much eat what I did before, but just less of it. Sure, I've made changes (I opt for whole grains instead of white, I eat more fruits and veggies now, I don't snack as much and I've cut out or cut way down on some things simply because they're just not "worth" the calories, not that they're "banned")... but overall, no, I really don't eat "diet" food.

A few exceptions:

Skinny cow ice cream. Tastes just as good as other ice cream bars IMO, and only 100 calories!

Light string cheese: I actually prefer it to the regular, better texture, I think?

Diet soda. I didn't drink a TON of regular soda before, but I still crave that fizzy burn. I know diet soda isn't the best for you either, but I figure it's still better than all that sugar, plus it makes room for calories I can actually EAT.

I actually prefer the taste of baked potato chips to the regular now. Regular chips are just way too greasy.

I REFUSE to do FF dressings. Sometimes I can handle the "light" versions, but I'd rather have a tablespoon of something that tastes good than 3 tablespoons of something that tastes like crap.

Interesting topic. Glad to see there are others like us :)