Do you eat the same food you always did in moderation, or did you change your menu completely?

Did you completely change the food you ate when starting your diet, or did you still eat the same food you always did with a few moderations?

I still eat what I always did, chicken, rice, potatoes, etc...but I always eat at the serving size that is requested, and always make sure that I watch the kind of things I put in my mouth. Instead of reaching for chips, I'll go for pretzels or popcorn, or even just cereal. Instead of wasting cals on high cal soda or alcoholic drinks, I keep water around. I mean, only eating fruits and veggies, and not snacking on any kind of salty, tasty food seems pretty ridiculous to me. I eat what I want, but I really watch it.

My diet was always healthy because I like fresh, good quality foods and I love to cook.  But my portion-sizes were 'army catering' rather than 'dainty female'. LOL!  The unhealthiest thing I ate (or rather drank) was wine so that's been cut back considerably.  For the rest, it's been a case of watching the portions and watching my vast bulk reduce steadily!

I do the same, but ive incorporated lots of new veggies that i never ate much of before, Asparagus, Zucchini.

Im also eating more fresh fish, and less processed foods =) more yogurt, and I now eat breakfast, which i never did before.

Oh and portion control thats a big one for me!

K

I changed about 20% of eating with new things.  How I shave cal. is fat free milk, light or fat free dressings, egg whites or mostly egg whites, and  I cut back on the high cal. items trying to make the portions about half as much as I usually would have.

1 Tbsp. of peanut butter instead of 2 Tbsp. less jelly, less sugar, more veggies, more lean proteins, and more whole grains more fish, more beans.

lol pretty much what they have been telling us to eat for years now.

No my diet changed quite dramatically I now eat lots of fruit and vegetables, I don't eat much bread or rice as I can eat more vegetables than I can rice and I prefer to do that and stay full for longer

When I first started, I knew that success would be based on not denying myself the things that I love totally and completely.  I only controlled portions at first, which helped bring my weight down to where I wanted it. 

Then I started to pay attention to the grade I was getting on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and that started to shape my diet (as in eating lifestyle, not weight loss) and I started to change to more fruit and vege and less sugar, salt and fat.  I still treat myself but with more knowledge. 

Also, it seems that when I treat myself too much, I start to crave the treats as if salt and fat and sugar are addictive; so, I am now trying to watch how and when I treat myself and I weigh options more. 

It seems healthy habits breed healthier habits and bad habits lead to more bad habits, so starting with controlled portions seems to be a great first step that then leads to paying closer attention to other health aspects--especially with the help of calorie-count and the grading system.

Excellent topic.

I've pretty much taken the same route you have.  I'm trying to make this about lifestyle changes instead of dieting.  Sure I wanna lose weight, but I want it to be an easy normal lifestyle, not a lifetime of calorie counting.  I'm using this site mostly to get over my binge eating and encourage exercise...  The rest will follow until I've become what my body was meant to be.

(At least that's the story I preach to myself each day, so far it's working most days...  The numbers don't look as great as I'd hope, but I feel much better physically and have gone down 1 1/2 sizes in pants).

I love all veggies and have always eaten healthy foods.  So I eat the same things I always did but weigh or measure to make sure I am getting just 1 listed portion instead of a giant portion.  I too have a weakness for wine and have cut back dramatically. 

I also swithched from canned veggies to frozen because of the sodium.  I have become an enlightened lable reader! 

basically same thing with better portion control.  I try to get more protein at breakfast though now.

I have taken my old recipes and have made them healthier (When possible) Such as I will cook rice and pasta but I substitute brown rice and whole grain pasta and the meals turn out delicious. I have also incorporated more fruits and vegetables into my diet and am watching my calories plus drinking lots of water.

I agree with the others I am treating this as a lifestyle change

I'm with you.  I pretty much eat what I always have, but only in moderation.  But counting calories has lead me to more healthier options, because, like you said, I feel like I'm wasting calories when I have soda, or high calorie anything really.  When I know I'm going to go out to eat with friends, I'll eat something super low in cals early in the day to save up for dinner.  I love the Progresso Weight Watchers O points soups.  Each serving is only 60 calories, or you can splurge, eat the whole can, be stuffed, and only have 120 cals.  And I always look up the restaurant before I go, because some seemingly healthy options are VERY unhealthy.  Best example yet- Ruby Tuesday's Bella Turkey Burger has 1,145 cals!  That's without sides.

I've been counting since Feb 4 and have lost over 20 lbs so I think it's safe to say that you can eat what you want in moderation and still lose weight.  :D

Moderation all the way... and stick to the proper portion sizes - it's easy to eat three cups of rice or pasta if you're really hungry - but if you put veggies with it and slow down, half a cup is actually enough to get the yummy taste without ruining your diet. I eat a lot more veggies now and more fruit, and a lot less starch, but I'd never give ANYTHING up entirely!

About the only thing I've given up is fruit juice... I used to have a glass or two a day and I never realised how many calories it had! Now I have it for a very rare treat... of course the cost also plays into that - orange juice is so expensive now we can't afford it!

I changed mine.  For snacks I just try to eat fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. vs. potato chips or junkier food.  I find that if I eat the same foods as before, but in small enough portions to be within my calorie requirement, I would be starving all the time.  I can eat a lot more volume of lower calorie foods which make me feel more full.  I am not that restrictive, though, as I do allow myself to splurge at parties or on weekends, etc. by eating "bad" foods - just in really small quantities.

Probably the biggest change is I went from being a daily drinker to drinking only occassionally.  IF I drink, it is weekends only, and then in moderation, not till I get drunk.  Not waking up with hangovers on a regular basis is really nice.  :)

My diet was horrible before, and I've changed it almost completely--at least 75%.  But it was a very gradual shift over the course of a year, as I tried more and more to keep my carbs/fats/proteins in proper balance, and my calories within my budget.  I only realized just NOW how big the changes are, as I was thinking about my response to this thread.  Much more fresh and raw foods.  Not nearly so much processed.  Many more home prepared meals, less eating out.  And MUCH more VARIETY!!  My goodness.  I didn’t realize how repetitive and boring my previous diet was, until thinking back just now.

Grains--I eat maybe ¼ the bread I used to, and it’s ALL whole wheat now (whether bread, pita, English muffin, whatever).  I eat grains I never did before.  Ex: quinoa – I’d never even HEARD of it, but it’s great.  White rice is rare indeed. Wild rice, occasionally.

Fruit and veggies -- I eat a lot more salads and fruits than I used to, and in MUCH more variety.  My salads include fruits and nuts and cheeses that I never would have thought to put in a salad before.   I have at least two servings of raw fruit each day (one in berries, another a piece of fruit) when it used to be one serving a day of fruit juice.  Now, I drink juice a couple times a week in a protein shake, but other than that, very rarely.  I always ate a lot of veggies, but it used to be mostly starch – potatoes and corn. And the potatoes weren’t in the most healthy forms.  Now, I eat a lot more kinds of veggies, and not nearly as much potatoes and corn.  I always eat the potato skin now, and … I can’t remember the last time I had corn.  Months, at least.

I eat a LOT more protein than I used to.  Good grief, this is the first time in my LIFE that I’ve had the proper protein.  I never knew that.  I eat a lot more fish and seafood than ever before, and plenty of chicken.  I eat red meat, but it’s maybe two servings two or three times a month, compared to 4 or more a week.  (In other words, I eat red meat at a restaurant every couple weeks, and I eat half of it there, and finish the other half at some point later in the week.)  And I add whey or soy protein to my diet to get the necessary daily amounts. 

Fats … oh my.  I eat nuts regularly now.  RAW nuts.  Love them!  Just have to weigh them to make sure I don’t blow it on calories.  And my taste in salad dressings has changed completely, from ranch and French to vinaigrettes in carefully controlled amounts.

I actually eat more dairy than before, but now it’s more variety, and the staples are low-fat.  I don’t drink nearly as much milk as I used to (can’t STAND reducing the fat there), but I eat a lot more yogurt and cottage cheese—lowfat.  And more VARIETY of full-fat cheeses in small amounts, such as in a salad.

Sweets & pastries – I eat more chocolate than ever before, but much higher quality.  That’s the one sweet I can’t do without (though in high quality and cocoa %, it’s not all that sweet!) so I dropped the others to maybe one item, carefully portion controlled, every couple weeks.    

And you know what?  I really can and WILL stick to this for the rest of my life.  The only difference will be that once I hit my goals, I can eat a little more.  Maybe increase the sweets/deserts to one or two a week.  That kind of thing. 

I can SO do this.

Original Post by rusty_thing:

I love all veggies and have always eaten healthy foods. So I eat the same things I always did but weigh or measure to make sure I am getting just 1 listed portion instead of a giant portion... I also swithched from canned veggies to frozen because of the sodium. I have become an enlightened lable reader!

Same here, mostly the same things, just more careful with portions. I also pay more attention to random high calorie snacks, I've cut out a lot of those.

I would say it changed quite a bit.

First, for breakfast, I always had fried eggs, sausage, toast, tatters, and now I eat fruits, high protein/low fat cereal, and sometimes yogurt.  Just that change, and I feel much better and energenized as opposed to sloppy and blah at 8am.

For my other two meals, I eat pretty much the same thing, rice, veggies, chicken, whatever really. but I eat a decent porton as opposed to stuffing myself.

And I've changed my snacks from cookies, and crackers, and chips to yogurt, fruits, cut veggies.

I mean, I actually don't feel deprived at all which is why CC is really working for me.

I had been slowly changing my diet before I came to this website and started regulating my calories. I had started to go low-carb at lunch. After joining this website I started eating a little healthier yet, especially in the matter of adding fiber, although my decision to add fiber was not related solely to my desire to lose weight, but also to some other health issues I'd been having. And I find that my diet continues to adjust - the healthier I eat, the healthier I want to eat. I have found a LOT of healthy foods I enjoy eating, and I can eat so much more of them with the calories I'm allowed! It's like this: do I eat a piece of cake, or a whole can of tuna, half a green pepper, and two servings of whole wheat crackers? Sure the cake tastes good, but it doesn't taste good enough to me anymore to be worth a) spending that many calories on and b) missing that much tuna, pepper, and crackers. My definition of what is good food has changed.

And I have to agree with a previous poster - I LOVE eating this way, and I can't WAIT to get to my ideal weight.  I'll be eating the same things, because I enjoy eating this way, and I'll be able to eat MORE each day than I do now!  Lovin' it, lovin' it.  :D

I have made a fairly dramatic change over the last three months. I was eating a ton of drive-thru and packaged foods and very little home cooking.

I started out making small changes. But then, through watching the nutritional analysis and wanting to be healthier, I started cooking more meals from scratch, then adding in more veggies and watching my sodium. Then I started working on fiber. And now three months later I find myself eating all kinds of healthy foods I turned my nose up at a few months ago, and loving it.

At Easter dinner I ate the veggies on the appetizer platter, filled more than half my plate with the green veggies, and ate a smallish piece of ham, with a smallish serving of scalloped potatoes, and one dinner roll. Then I allowed myself to eat cake for dessert (later). This is about lifestyle change, and I think cake, on special occasions, fits. I actually ended up UNDER my calorie goal for the day, even though I had mentally allowed myself to go up as far as maintenance for that one day.

I also find that the healthier choices I made before, are now not cutting it. Last night, while out, I chose a soft pretzel over the hot dogs, nachos, and greasy greasy pizza. Even after rubbing off ALL the salt on the outside, I found the pretzel itself too salty for my taste. The changes I have made in my diet are affecting what foods I like and dislike. Particularly when it comes to saltiness.

Well I love fruits n veggies so that wasn't the problem. but I have cut out most processed foods, and cut back portion sizes. I was also eating a lot of fatty foods, healthier ones like cheese, nuts..etc. but too much of them, so I've cut back on those. And trying to not eat processed foods has caused me to explore some new snack options and discover some fruits n veggies I never tried before.

I've found it's mostly about planning ahead for me if I don't I tend to be too tired/worn out/busy and I eat what's convenient. so now I bring healthy snacks and fruit w/me. I make a lot of crock pot meals, and make enough for two meals on the nights I do cook so I have some leftovers but not so many I get sick of them.

I haven't really changed what I eat but I have definitely cut back. There are some things I've enjoyed that I completely cut out because they had WAY too many calories (Dairy Queen Blizzard? Never again!) but when I know something isn't great I'll eat about half of the portion and save the rest for another day, or share it with someone. The only big thing that has changed is that I drink soy milk now (but really it's because soy milk is actually cheaper than regular milk here) and I've been experimenting with tofu (jury's still out).

I pretty much changed my diet completely...before I ate on the go constantly meaning lots of fast food or dinners out, packaged meals, canned veggies, etc...  Now I cook all my meals except for lunch once a week when I take my toddler on our weekly outting. No candy, chips or other junk, only fresh veggies and fruits, no canned products with preservatives, etc.....  I also measure everything with a scale.  

However, last week I had family in town for my son's 1st birthday and Easter and broke my rules and am now paying for it.  I had birthday cake twice (my birthday is the day after my son's), ate out quite a few times, and ate the chocolate I bought for my husbands Easter basket.  I gained back all 5 lbs I had lost and now see the difference healthy eating makes:(