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> I track every calorie I eat Why?? > and weigh myself everyday Why???? Every week AT MOST. And even then, TRACK THE LONG TERM TREND. > I can't keep food

> I track every calorie I eat Why?? > and weigh myself everyday Why???? Every week AT MOST. And even then, TRACK THE LONG TERM TREND. > I can't keep food in my house Why?????????????????? YOU NEED FOOD TO SURVIVE. You need food in your house to PREPARE MEALS that YOU PLAN. A caloric deficit WILL lower your ENERGY LEVELS ... BUT you are NOT REQUIRED to be HUNGRY because of it. ---- Don't listen to me. I'm not your doctor. I'm not your nutritionist. When I wake up in the morning, I know I can eat one of a couple different meals. I can have oatmeal, or french toast, or pancakes, or greek yogurt. All of these meals are pre-planned so that I know how many calories I will consume. For a snack I can have almonds or a 100 cal ice cream bar or any one of my other foods. For lunch I'll eat a big salad or greek yogurt or maybe some canned salmon/tuna with blah blah blah. The point is. I don't track my calories because I have a meal PLAN. I don't just jaunt off to a restaurant, """track""" 1500 calories, and say to myself "Welp guess I'm going hungry for the next 12 hours". That's STUPID. I have anywhere from 400-600 calories for breakfast. 300-400 for lunch. 400-600 for dinner. 400ish dedicated to snacks. That puts me at about 2000 calories for the day. That's maintenance level (basically, it will vary from person to person). To gain weight I ADD another 150-300 calories meal. To lose, I ease up on snacks or go for the low end numbers on my 3 major meals (400+300+400 == 1200 + 400 snacks == 1600 == caloric deficit). I'm NEVER hungry. The worst part of a diet is the lower energy levels (drink some coffee). NOT THE HUNGER because there is NONE. Eat a pound a spinach. You will not be hungry!

adrianN 7y ago
The person you're replying to has successfully lost a lot of weight and apparently kept it off. Whatever they do works for them.
- rukittenme 7y ago
  You can be successful and miserable.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
>> I track every calorie I eat > Why?? To keep myself honest. I've tried not tracking it and it was too easy to slip into bad habits over time. >> and weigh myself everyday > Why???? Every week AT MOST. And even then, TRACK THE LONG TERM TREND. To keep myself honest. Only weighing myself once a week it was two easy to slip into bad habits because I couldn't see the consequences of my choices for a whole week. Even then, it was too easy to pass off gains as water weight, which can fluctuate 5lbs quite easily over the course of a day. By weighing every day I get more data to work with which allows me to more easily plot the trend over time and be mindful of the effect of fluid retention or loss. >> I can't keep food in my house > Why?????????????????? Ugh. Look, I'm sure for you it's real easy to keep yourself from just walking in to the kitchen and making food when you're bored, but like many people who got fat I am a food addict, so it isn't easy for me. If there is food in my house, I will eat it. Mindlessly. Casually. It's too much temptation that I have to expend mental effort to fight. By making sure I only have just enough food to get through the weekend I ensure that the barrier to eating is much higher and it's easier to fight temptation. I also keep just enough food at work to get through the work week. Work is harder regardless, because people bring in free food all the time and there are convenient vending machines. > YOU NEED FOOD TO SURVIVE. You need food in your house to PREPARE MEALS that YOU PLAN. No shit Sherlock. I keep just enough food to meet my plan and no more. Moreover, my plan is the same every single week so I spend as little time thinking about food as possible. I even prepare meals at work thanks to my microwave steamer, the single best decision I ever made for eating better. > A caloric deficit WILL lower your ENERGY LEVELS Yes, which has a corresponding effect on one's ability to exercise their willpower. This is well documented. > ... BUT you are NOT REQUIRED to be HUNGRY because of it. First of all, I disagree, because in order to lose weight your body literally needs to eat itself. Secondly, I'll repeat that I am a food addict. Hunger is not a requirement of being tempted to eat. > Don't listen to me. I'm not your doctor. I'm not your nutritionist. Physicians and nutritionists, in my considered opinion, give only slightly better advice than randos on the internet. I am not in danger of accidentally listening to you, I assure you. > The point is. I don't track my calories because I have a meal PLAN. I don't just jaunt off to a restaurant, """track""" 1500 calories, and say to myself "Welp guess I'm going hungry for the next 12 hours". That's STUPID. What happens is I eat my planned meal, for which I track the calories, and then I go hungry anyway. That's just how it is and telling people that they don't have to be hungry to lose weight is one of the reasons people fail at weight loss. > I'm NEVER hungry. That must be nice.
jefurii 7y ago
This is spoken like a person who has never struggled with their weight. The times I have successfully managed my weight were when I was able to control what I brought through the door of my apartment. I would always eat before going to the grocery store to reduce impulse buying. With the exceptions of fruit and veggies I aspired to never bring anything through the door that I could eat without having to cook in some way. My weight has grown since I got married to a woman with a metabolism that allows her to snack seemingly with impunity and who can be in the same apartment with snack food and not feel drawn to it. If I am aware of delicious food in the house it can be a constant mental battle to not go eat it. In the morning when I'm full of energy it's easy to resist but late in the day when I'm stressed by work or whatever else my reserve of restraint is much less and I often give in. I've been following microbiome research with interest. I understand that certain gut bacteria have the ability to stimulate the vagus nerve basically to get the kind of food they like. I am battling an enemy that has a direct line to my lizard brain. The only solution is to not bring that food in the house.

adrianN 7y ago

The person you're replying to has successfully lost a lot of weight and apparently kept it off. Whatever they do works for them.

rukittenme 7y ago
You can be successful and miserable.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago

>> I track every calorie I eat > Why?? To keep myself honest. I've tried not tracking it and it was too easy to slip into bad habits over time. >> and weigh myself everyday > Why???? Every week AT MOST. And even then, TRACK THE LONG TERM TREND. To keep myself honest. Only weighing myself once a week it was two easy to slip into bad habits because I couldn't see the consequences of my choices for a whole week. Even then, it was too easy to pass off gains as water weight, which can fluctuate 5lbs quite easily over the course of a day. By weighing every day I get more data to work with which allows me to more easily plot the trend over time and be mindful of the effect of fluid retention or loss. >> I can't keep food in my house > Why?????????????????? Ugh. Look, I'm sure for you it's real easy to keep yourself from just walking in to the kitchen and making food when you're bored, but like many people who got fat I am a food addict, so it isn't easy for me. If there is food in my house, I will eat it. Mindlessly. Casually. It's too much temptation that I have to expend mental effort to fight. By making sure I only have just enough food to get through the weekend I ensure that the barrier to eating is much higher and it's easier to fight temptation. I also keep just enough food at work to get through the work week. Work is harder regardless, because people bring in free food all the time and there are convenient vending machines. > YOU NEED FOOD TO SURVIVE. You need food in your house to PREPARE MEALS that YOU PLAN. No shit Sherlock. I keep just enough food to meet my plan and no more. Moreover, my plan is the same every single week so I spend as little time thinking about food as possible. I even prepare meals at work thanks to my microwave steamer, the single best decision I ever made for eating better. > A caloric deficit WILL lower your ENERGY LEVELS Yes, which has a corresponding effect on one's ability to exercise their willpower. This is well documented. > ... BUT you are NOT REQUIRED to be HUNGRY because of it. First of all, I disagree, because in order to lose weight your body literally needs to eat itself. Secondly, I'll repeat that I am a food addict. Hunger is not a requirement of being tempted to eat. > Don't listen to me. I'm not your doctor. I'm not your nutritionist. Physicians and nutritionists, in my considered opinion, give only slightly better advice than randos on the internet. I am not in danger of accidentally listening to you, I assure you. > The point is. I don't track my calories because I have a meal PLAN. I don't just jaunt off to a restaurant, """track""" 1500 calories, and say to myself "Welp guess I'm going hungry for the next 12 hours". That's STUPID. What happens is I eat my planned meal, for which I track the calories, and then I go hungry anyway. That's just how it is and telling people that they don't have to be hungry to lose weight is one of the reasons people fail at weight loss. > I'm NEVER hungry. That must be nice.

jefurii 7y ago

This is spoken like a person who has never struggled with their weight. The times I have successfully managed my weight were when I was able to control what I brought through the door of my apartment. I would always eat before going to the grocery store to reduce impulse buying. With the exceptions of fruit and veggies I aspired to never bring anything through the door that I could eat without having to cook in some way. My weight has grown since I got married to a woman with a metabolism that allows her to snack seemingly with impunity and who can be in the same apartment with snack food and not feel drawn to it. If I am aware of delicious food in the house it can be a constant mental battle to not go eat it. In the morning when I'm full of energy it's easy to resist but late in the day when I'm stressed by work or whatever else my reserve of restraint is much less and I often give in. I've been following microbiome research with interest. I understand that certain gut bacteria have the ability to stimulate the vagus nerve basically to get the kind of food they like. I am battling an enemy that has a direct line to my lizard brain. The only solution is to not bring that food in the house.