Last night we had planned to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner before a hockey game and I was going to get a weight management salad that would have kept me within my range for the day. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to eat at the venue. I did ok, I choose a turkey wrap, but while I was eating it I'm adding in my head...ok this wrap is probably 200-300 cals, the turkey is another 150, the avocado another 100, the lettuce/tomatoes another 50...so I'm already at 600 cals plus whatever I don't know about that is in the there (I couldn't tell if there was a sauce or not). So I'm like well I'm already over so I might as well eat these chips it came with +another 200-300. Another example is on Saturdays I get bagels with the girls and I used to get a bagel egg sandwich, but now that I know that is costing me probably close to 800-900 cals so I just get a bagel w/ low fat cream cheese for closer to 450. It's hard to enjoy that while their stuffing their faces. I worry about this because I think this is where maitenance is going to get hard...when life just happens and we have to eat off plan...does it ever get easy? I also have planned 'cheats' but it's getting harder to enjoy them because I'm just dying wondering how many ridiculous calories I'm consuming. I just need to lighten up I guess...Thanks for listening.

Absolutely!

I'm not one of those lucky ones that completely lost their taste for bad foods. A piece of cake would NOT be too sweet for me, and a Big Mac and fries would NOT be too salty or greasy for me. However, I would have a really hard time putting that stuff in my mouth because I'm too aware of the calories. I'm an intelligent person, I have always known that a Big Mac meal was fattening and bad for me. But now that I know the actual number of how many calories are in one, it blows my mind that I could eat that junk without a second thought.

Even when I budget junk in for a treat I'm overly aware of the calories. A few days ago, I ate light for the day and did an extra 30 min of cardio so I could get an ice cream with my friends after a movie that night. Even though I wasn't going over my calories at all, I couldn't properly enjoy the ice cream because I was thinking about all the calories and fat grams, lol.

So it's kind of unfortunate, I do wish I could just enjoy food like a normal person sometimes. But on the other hand, I see it as a safety net. I'm GLAD that I'm disgusted by the thought of eating 500 calories in a tiny cup of ice cream, I should be! If I wasn't, I'd be much more likely to let things like that slip more often.

Why in the world would you want to lighten up on your calorie concerns? Don't ya think that's how you got to 268 pounds?

No, if I were you, I'd keep calculating. The minute you don't care is the minute you'll be on the fast track to weight gain.

Maintenance is HARD...I find it extremely difficult to do the balancing act, but I do know that the minute I just pretend to be "normal" and think I'm, "only human" then every single excuse and bad habit I had before will come back with a vengeance. Yea, I have "cheats" but I am FULLY aware of what I am putting in my body, and always planning on how I'm going to counteract the extra calories.

I do feel that certain foods are just not worth it. I sometimes see interesting looking things at the grocery store, that aren't necessarily unhealthy, but do have high calories contents for just a serving size, and I feel that I'd rather eat a lot of something else than a little of whatever it is I'm looking at.

While I am like you, mkendrick, sweets and grease still taste delicious to me, I agree that the knowledge of the calorie content does ruin the "flavor" for me sometimes!

Oh, yeah there are things I probably will NEVER eat again because I've seen the stats. But I'm glad I know now. Usually it's things I knew were bad--I just didn't know HOW bad.

I know what your talking about... I went to Bob Evens yesterday for lunch. I asked them for a nutitional guide and the server was like heres the diet page. I said NO I need the NUTITIONAL GUIDE, ask your manager. She came back dropped it on the table and said I'll need that back. Thats the managers copy.

I couldn't find hardly anything on the menu under 500 cal. I wanted to badly to just sit and enjoy my lunch with my sister that I hadn't seen in a year and here I was counting ever bite. I just ordered a side salad. Too litttle cal. actually but hey BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.

I haven't splipped one time in just over 2 months. I am determined to do it this time. I have my screwup days planned! and they don't include Bob Evens! LOL

Oooh, problem here. I don't get too up in arms about overdoing the calories once in a while, but not practically on purpose! If you're already over calories, you kind of have to suck it up and don't make it any worse.

But yes, knowing the count sometimes ruins it for me, in a good way. Often I'll take a bite of cake or something, discover it's dry, and I decide then and there it isn't worth the calories. Prior to calorie counting I'd have eaten it anyway. I consider this a good thing.

By the way, how was the hockey game?? My favorite sport! (The only one worth watching. )

Yup. Being aware of food has completely killed any satisfaction I used to get eating junk food and I'm so freakin' happy about it! Great advice from Lori_Bell, and I completely agree that it's important to be fully aware. I managed to get to be over 300lbs by not being aware. I ate what I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I had no clue about calories. Now that I'm educated and conscious of calories it's so easy to eat 'healthy' because having a 550 calorie small milkshake just isn't worth the calories.

For me calorie counting is sort of like my conscience. Being aware of the calories forces me to stop and think before I eat. Plus the food tastes the same, I'd much rather feel guilty for an indulgence than be unaware of the consequences.

Go mmiller2829! I need to take some assertive lessons from you, lol.

Absolutely.

For instance, my friends and I had planned a night out to a new fondue restaurant for weeks and I was sooo looking forward to it. I acknowledged the excess calories that I would be consuming and said, “It’ll be worth it and it’s just one night.”

Well, it was good. But that was a week ago and I’m still grappling with it in my mind. Was it worth it? Hard to say. I really enjoyed it (especially the dessert…omg, it was amazing) and I think I needed a treat like that. But I don’t know that it was worth the guilt and the anxiety and the frantic calculations in my mind. To be honest, I don’t know how many calories I had that night (it would be hard to tell or measure, really, since you’re just taking pieces of food and dipping them into the different fondues), but I know it was a lot. A lot a lot. And I have to wonder how far it set me back…

I hope it gets easier because I’m not going to go the rest of my life without eating “bad” or off plan foods. Nearly impossible. And I don’t want to obsess over every thing to the point that I’ve got a headache…

YES, THANK GOODNESS!!!

When I think of all the things that I obliviously just went ahead and ate, not knowing anything about just how much I was consuming... Well, it's no wonder I became OBESE!

I never want to be ignorant about what I'm eating again! What "ruins" it for me is the thought that I could eat my way up to 200 pounds again, and then keep going, if I don't pay attention. Yes, all the time, even in maintenance.

The fact is, I do sometimes decide to eat high-calorie foods, but I know that they are high-calorie and I know that I'm going to have to pay for it in some way. The days of just blithely and mindlessly stuffing myself with thousands of calories and calling it lunch are over.

Jay

Absolutely. And I'm so thankful for it. Being aware of calories has made me way more aware (and accountable) of what I'm putting into my body. I totally understand the frustration in having to just 'go with it' when you need to eat something and you haven't planned for it, and I also understand the thoughts of "well I already ate a lot so I may as well just go ahead and eat the dessert". But it's gotten easier for me to turn down unhealthy food, and try to remember that I LIKE my body, and I want to consume things that are good for it. (eating at the rink would be particularly hard - rink fries are insanely delicious!). I think it might be helpful in those situations, to try to eat especially slowly, so you really recognize when you're full. And to remember that (to quote someone else - on here, and maybe they got that from Oprah?) just because you've eaten one "bad" food, doesn't mean you need to eat a whole lot more of it. The wrap may have had a lot of calories, but it sounded like it was at least partially healthy.

As for social activities that involve eating - like Saturday bagels - maybe you could suggest an alternative activity - Saturday bagels and a walk? Saturday coffee and someone bakes a treat and sometimes it's healthy? Although it's not always easy to get a whole group of people to change their schedules or routine.

The other thing to keep in mind when the other girls are enjoying their bagels, is that we really don't know what the rest of their weeks look like, food-wise (unless you have access to their food diaries or know exactly what they eat every day). Maybe one of them eats really carefully during the week because she wants to go all out on Saturdays, and that's her one treat day. One of my good friends is a dietitian and eats pretty well about 95% of the time, so that she can splurge when she wants to. People have commented on her eating a whole bag (like, a big bag) of Doritos, and how can she possibly stay slim, and her response is along the lines of "dude...I don't do this every day".

Sorry to be so long-winded. Good luck and try not to get too discouraged. If you're bummed out by your 'cheat' foods, you're clearly doing something right

yes, and I think that's a GOOD thing.

I find there is a happy medium though - if you make a decision to eat off plan, then try to relax and enjoy it and then get right back on plan afterwards. Do not obsess over it or look at it as an excuse to keep going even further off plan.

I plan my indulgences way, way in advance--like months, and they don't happen very often, so when they do I don't have any problem with them--maybe a twinge of guilt, but I remember that it's all accounted for and I'm okay.

As far as "life happens", well, no, it doesn't. When I smoked (and I was a heavy smoker up until 10 years ago), I never once ran out of cigarettes. Not in years and years and years. I was thoroughly addicted, and because I was so addicted, I made careful plans always and every single time to have cigarettes available. If it was going to snow, I bought cigarettes first. Whenever I left home or headed home, I checked my cigarette level. If I was going out and knew I'd be in no state to drive later (ah, youth!), I made sure I had 150% of the cigarettes I'd need. When I was deciding if I could afford something, I always took the cigarette budget into account first--because that was the most important thing.

None of this was healthy, and it isn't behavior I'm proud of, but it did demonstrate to me that when I really, really want something, I can make it happen and "life" isn't some mysterious thing that takes my choices away from me. If I could do that with cigarettes for a decade, I can do it with food and exercise for the rest of my life.