Eating WHATEVER You Want?

I'm tired of obsessing over food. Don't want to buy hummus, avacado or guave nectar, or anything else I wouldn't normally purchase. I'd like to hear from anyone who has lost weight eating regular food in this way:

A. You workout at least 30 min. per day.

B. You eat WHATEVER you want (being careful about your servings and portions) including hamburger helper, cake, cookies, pizza, etc- as long as you stay within your personal calorie allowance.

Could you please include info on your exercise routine, how much you lost and how long it took?

I'm not at all interested in cutting carbs or dairy or anything else. I don't want to have to pay close attention to sodium intake, fiber intake, etc. I want to eat what the rest of my family eats (in moderation) and still lose weight. Just interesting in hearing if it really can be done this way. I need to know whether or not it is really neccessary to follow a strict "diet" plan.

I don't follow any real workout regimen and basically stay active if possible (walking when I go places, etc.) and eat whatever I want. I have lost 25 pounds. I work at an ice cream place in the mornings and usually have some for breakfast. I wish that I ate healthier but it's not always an option and I don't have the money to buy really good stuff. So yeah, as long as I keep it around 1500 calories/day I lose weight. If you're gonna be working out you can probably eat a lot more!

I lost 50 lbs. in 25 weeks without adding or subtracting any foods from my diet.  What I did do though was control portion sizes and limit certain things like beer and ice cream to a minimum so that I was averaging 2000 calories a day and I added exercise to my daily routine which resulted in an average daily burn of 3000 cals.

In otherwords, I ate less and exercised more but I didn't eat different.

When I first started losing weight, I didn't eat anything different, I just ate less. I didn't count or calculate, I just looked at what I normally ate and ate a bit less than that. I went from 175lb to about 140lb. It took... two, three years? I was just happy to be losing weight. I never had a goal weight.

I added in exercise a year later when there was a bus strike, started walking to work. Done about 30mins-2hr walking a day since then, mostly without exception.

Only calorie counted from when I was 140lb (at 5'3", that put me just inside "normal BMI" - I think it's slower once you're at a healthy weight). I lost another 14lb. I am now 126lb and not looking to lose any more. It's taken another couple of years since starting counting. I don't like to think I "cut stuff out" as much as got more adventurous and tactical with my cooking. My boyfriend eats and loves what I eat, so it's not "diet food".

My conclusions: losing weight like this is perfectly possible, very sustainable, and hopefully has set me up fantastically for the rest of my life, because I did it my way and I wasn't unhappy in the process so I don't feel the need to eat loads of food again now or anything. At no point did I put weight back on, not even over christmases etc.

But it is not quick, you will find people on this site who have lost weight MUCH quicker. If I was doing it again - I would calorie count just for a normal week and see how much I am actually eating and have a think about it.

It's definitely possible. I still eat pizza, lots of spaghetti, cheese, and I eat desserts on a regular basis. As long as it's within your calorie allotment, you will almost certainly lose weight. There are some caveats, though. If you only eat the same foods in moderation, you're more likely to be hungry and grumpy throughout the day, since a reasonable serving size of cake or pizza is not much food. Also, once you get started you might become more interested in making sure you're getting enough protein, or keeping an eye on your sodium levels. 

My approach has been to eat sensibly during the day, keep snacking in check, and then eat a normal dinner with my husband, like burritos, spaghetti, chili, whatever. This works well for me because I don't feel deprived and I'm still eating all the foods I love to eat. 

It could work in moderation. I've spent a few months maintaining recently and I had some bad foods on occasion, didn't gain anything from it.

You're not going to lose weight eating what you want a significant amount of the time, though (Unless you are genetically lucky, I guess. I know I couldn't lose weight eating whatever I want... I barely manage it eating super clean and strict in the first place)... and if you do lose weight on that diet, it'll be because you're torturing yourself (I don't mean working up a light sweat, you'd better be in pain) with exercise.

Although, even if you do lose weight eating whatever you want, a significant amount of it will be muscle. To spare muscle and lose as much fat as possible, you need to control what you eat.

definitely! eating whatever you want in moderation is key to maintaining a healthy weight and a happy mind. as long as you make sure most of the foods you eat are nutritious and stay active, you'll be fine :) just find a balance.

"...you need to control what you eat."

You need to control how much you eat, what you eat is entirely up to you.  Eat what you like.

calories burned > calories consumed = weight loss. 

That's pretty much what I did - I outlined it in my profile if you are interested.

In general, I ate what I liked, including cheese, chocolate, alcohol, etc., but controlled how much I ate.

I lost 33 lbs in about 10 months, and have been maintaining for another 10mo.

I went from 160 to 130 (approx.) over...hmm <thinks hard> about five months? I think. I did it by incorporating a lot of deep breathing before I was going to eat, eating slowly and focusing on the food (as opposed to tv or work) and stopping when I was full. I still ate chocolate, chips and calorie dense foods when I felt like it but I did also eat low calorie foods (like, cole slaw, cucumber salad with dill sauce, grilled chicken and veggies) that I like too. it's all about being in touch with how hungry you are and what will satisfy you!

I lost 25 pounds using mainly portion control and have been maintaining my weight for 2 months. I am lightly active, though some days I am inactive. 
      The only thing I cut out was eating fast food everyday for lunch at work. Big Macs are probably why I had 25 pounds to lose.  I did change from Cheerios to whole grain cereal though and stopped adding salt to my food.  I try to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, though I  am not always successful, I do eat more healthy foods than I used to.  Reading labels also has me putting back lots of highly processed food at the grocery store.  I still love my mac n cheese and indulge in a little rich food and wine on weekends or at parties.

It's not a diet, it's a way to live.

~k

I want to thank each and every one of you for your responses. I pretty much knew I could lose weight by just eating less of the things I normally eat and creating a sufficient deficit. But it helps me to read real success stories of people who have reached your goals with pure perseverance, physical activity, and portion control.  I hope I don't sound too sentimental, but after reading so many diet books and articles, I've grown to DESPISE most "diets" and rebell against the whole idea of feeling deprived. It means a lot to me just to feel re-assured that I can definitely do this without self deprivation.

For the past week I've been back on track with exercise and counting calories, so hopefully this time's the charm. I'm motivated all over again to continue making reasonable adjustments that'll last forever and keep me happy about my weight loss experience, instead of drastic changes that set me up for failure.

One thing worth adding:  While you can eat anything and lose weight through portion control (unless you have one of a handful of medical conditions requiring special diets), you do need to make sure you have a reasonable amount of fruit/veg in your daily diet to make sure you get all your nutrients and to fill you up.  So, pizza's fine - but one slice of pizza with a salad or some carrot sticks or followed by an apple or whatever will be much more satisfying than just one slice of pizza.  So, make sure you get in all your nutrition and there's no reason you can't eat normal food.

I just started on my "diet", but I knew before I evens started that I could not use any system and would have to figure out how to eat what I normally eat and still loose weight. 

I decided that nothing was off limits except when I had reached my calorie limit for the day and some foods would just have to be planned for in advance.  Like chocolate!  I can't imagine life without chocolate. 

Like others I simply limit my portion sizes and try to recognize when I have had enough. 

I have been doing ok!  I lost 6 lbs right off the bat.  But then I plateaued for a few weeks and only lost 1/2 lbs.  But the next week I dropped 2 - so far I am down just over 8.5 lbs over all.  Not bad.  On me thats 2.5 inches off my hips and waist and a whole pants size!

You can do this! 

One thing I will mention though, limiting my calories but saving some for the "good stuff"means I have made a few trades.  I gave up whole milk in favor of fat free or very low fat, and dropped the sugar in my coffee.  I have also subbed low fat cheese (like cottage and laughing cow) for cheddar.  But as I go on I am inspired to drop even more unhealthy foods from my diet and eat more veggies and the like. 

Personally I think this is an ideal way to diet.  I don't "have" to buy foods I can not afford and recipes are not reliant on foods I can not eat.  (nuts!).  No books, no anxiety that I am doing it "wrong".  No soup!!  lol

Original Post by tdionne:

I want to thank each and every one of you for your responses. I pretty much knew I could lose weight by just eating less of the things I normally eat and creating a sufficient deficit. But it helps me to read real success stories of people who have reached your goals with pure perseverance, physical activity, and portion control.  I hope I don't sound too sentimental, but after reading so many diet books and articles, I've grown to DESPISE most "diets" and rebell against the whole idea of feeling deprived. It means a lot to me just to feel re-assured that I can definitely do this without self deprivation.

For the past week I've been back on track with exercise and counting calories, so hopefully this time's the charm. I'm motivated all over again to continue making reasonable adjustments that'll last forever and keep me happy about my weight loss experience, instead of drastic changes that set me up for failure.

 

People who get sick of "self deprivation" (And let me tell you, nothing most people are doing is even approaching self deprivation, it's just more like exercising some self control...) and decide to just eat what they want are typically either fat, unhealthy, or both. I don't have any personal qualms with anyone's eating habits... eat what you want, but understand that the world is not so sweet that you can continue eating junk and still get a nice body.

Original Post by trhawley:

"...you need to control what you eat."

You need to control how much you eat, what you eat is entirely up to you.  Eat what you like.

calories burned > calories consumed = weight loss. 

Not drinking water also = weight loss. Losing weight can mean a lot of different things and happen for a lot of different reasons. What kind of weight you lose, as well as how many calories you burn is highly dependent on what type of food you're eating. What you're doing is what a lot of people do, they have some success with weight loss by restricting calories and then perpetuate that sort of gross over-simplification of the weightloss process.

Yes, you can quite easily shed off a lot of pounds and go from obese to just overweight on a very poor diet, simply by monitoring calories. You can not, however, go from overweight to fit like this unless you have great genes to work with. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm being reallistic. You will waste many months trying to see little changes that aren't happening if you go at it with an attitude of trying to have everything go your way with little sacrifice.

I've lost 20 lbs, just by controlling my portions and getting a little exercise. Keeping my calorie intake under control is the only thing i have done different as far as my "diet"goes. No strange foods, no weird shakes, nothing. Just smaller or healthier versions of my favorites. Right now i'm doing cardio 3-4 times a week. Once i switch back to weight training, i will do weights 3x a week and best of all- get to up my calorie intake!

I like eating regular food - sloppy joes, soft tacos, spaghetti etc.  You just have to make it all work together to get the total calories for the day right.

Changing the way you are used to eating so drastically doesn't work for anyone... They end up wanting to go back to the foods they love and the results can be nasty. So a little portion control can go a long way.

this totally works. honestly i think it is the most effective way to lose and keep it off. by not banning any foods, you lose the desire to shove alot of it in your face at once if you do slip up a little. also, my stomach tends to shrink after just a few days of eating smaller portions so it becomes easier. i love sweets, so i just make sure i make room for them in my day when i want them (sometimes ice cream is for dinner...oops haha) but yeah i feel like this is the most basic form of "dieting" like if you asked your grandma how to lose weight shed probably say 'eat less.' and their generation was much thinner than ours haha

I eat whatever I want.

For example, I love cheese, so i bought light string cheese sticks for a snack. I eat pizza, so i go for thin crust (fewer calories). I eat ice cream (bluebell no sugar added chocolate/vanilla combo is awesome! 90 cals/1/2 cup v. other types which are 170-200 and it's still good). Also, some days i'll splerg, I'll go out to dinner at a resturant, but before i go i'll check the nutritional info online (only really works for chain resturants). I find that if you dont eat things you like/crave, you'll just obsess over food the whole time you're trying to loose. plus, this way, you can continue the trend of just being aware of what you eat after you loose the weight you want to.

Ive also tried to work out ~45mins on the elliptical 4 days a week.

so far, i've lost ~27lbs in about 7 1/2 months of trying (i took a 3 month break and was able to maintain my weight) i have about 6-7 lbs to go. you dont have to be on a "diet", just be aware of what you're eating.

ibez: Not only are you very discouraging but quite a bit of your information is not correct. You may want to see a nutritionist or talk to your primary care doctor about weight loss and healthy eating.

I find this topic refreshing and nice to hear! Fad diets like atkins, south beach, zone, skinnybitch, cabbage soup etc. are not good ways of achieving lasting weight loss. Realistically, with moderate exercise and a nutritious diet that satisfies hunger and includes foods you enjoy will win out in the long run. Guess it's kind of a 'turtle and the hare' system.

You could do it if you count calories but if you are eating mainly unhealthy foods like pizza, snack foods etc... you will use up your calories really fast.  If you try to eat healthier your calories will go a much longer way.  I eat about 1400 calories a day and try to eat more fruits and vegis, soups, whole grains etc.. but I do still eat pasta just smaller amounts. Give it a try for a few weeks and see how it goes.

Denise

I love food- that is my problem!!!  I come from a big Italian family that eats at all gatherings which is often.  The best thing I have found is to eat what you love - this isn't a diet but a change for the rest of your life.  I have been doing calorie counter for about 1 month.  I have lost 10 pounds, quite easily.  Log in everything you eat and make sure you eat enough.  I believe what is the point of changing your eating habits if it is only to lose weight.  If you don't change you will gain it all back eventually.  This is a lifestyle change, eat what you want and log it in and make your self accountable for it.  You will find yourself as time goes on, not wanting to waste calories on certain foods.  I like the most food for my bang!!! Good Luck - You can do it eating what you love in moderation - remember LOG IT IN!!!!