I have been watching my calories since Feb 12, and I have lost about 6 lbs. I have about 5 to go to my goal. The problem for me right now is that I am tired of eating diet food. I am tired of eating salad and chicken, I miss desert, and I would really like a glass of wine. I guess I am feeling deprived. Every time I have thought about what to make for dinner, I find myself just not caring, which is odd for me because I am a foodie who loves to cook. At this point I would rather not eat than face another piece of chicken or fish, or a salad. I miss really good food.
So- what does everyone else do when they feel like this? Should I just not eat and then when I get really hungry anything will be fine? Or is there something special people do when they get the diet food blahs? Any suggestions would be appreciated, at this point I just don't care if I eat at all.
Thanks. I guess so, but there goes my consistency ya know? I've been so good I don't want to spoil it.
I simply replace foods I love with healthier alternatives. Ground chicken burger on a wheat bun w/sweet potato fries(fried in macadamia oil) wheat pasta w/homemade marinara, homemade soups(black bean, etc.)...a glass of wine is fine, alcohol(in moderation) like vinegar, actually lowers blood sugar levels with a meal. Search the web for healthy recipes, strictly salad and chicken is a recipe for failure...
Well, when I am sick of 'diet' food, I eat whatever I want for a day and don't log it. You would have eat 3500 calories past what you burn in a day to gain a pound of real weight. You might gain some water weight so I never weigh myself the day after I do that. I do that once every two weeks, and I have lost weight steadily for about 2 month in spite of that. There are some good things that aren't really diet food but are good for you. My favourites for things like that is mushroom risotto or pasta in a home made tomato sauce. If you make them yourself, it is easy to control the oil and calories in them. I drink a glass of wine about every other day, it isn't that bad for you. It isn't hard to fit it your diet if it is size it that is supposed to be rather than those big glasses they give you sometimes at bars and restaurant.
Thanks for the kind replies. I was trying to think of what would be really yummy if I was not worried about calories. Crab cakes came to mind, or some carne asada with refried beans you, know the kind they make with bacon fat at the carniceria, or a cheese pizza, or some lamb chops with the fat nice and crispy and a little pink on the inside, or maybe some bbq baby back ribs and a couple of beers, or some mongolian beef and potstickers, AAACK! None of those things are friendly to the waist line though. *sigh* Maybe I will call my dinner a small glass of wine and go to bed.
Thanks but that is the problem, I do not want the healthy alternatives, and I do not want to ruin my progress. I am stuck in between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
the thing to do is look up the calories BEFORE you eat or drink it. Once you know that, you can work it in as part of your daily total.
Also, try different protein sources instead of chicken. Fresh turkey cutlets are great, fish fillets, even beef now and then. Do a vegetarian chili once in a while.
Tonight I had pan seared Ahi tuna, seasoned very simply with salt & pepper, about 3 ounces and a large serving of freshly steamed spinach with 2 tablespoons of feta cheese. No need for monotony!
Thanks for the replies. I wound up eating another salad, a glass of fatfree milk, and a slice of frozen pizza which was as tasty as the box it came in I bet. I stayed at 1200 calories, but it was not fun. I think of turkey cutlets as just like chicken, ho hum blech. The tuna sounds good, but I have been eating a lot of sea food lately.
Looking up the calories before I eat it something does not give me any ideas of what exactly to eat though. I have to know what I am looking up to look it up. This happened last time I lost weight, which was why I was stymied. I get into this mode of thinking where everything good has too many calories, so just don't eat anything, or binge and regret it. Things that are healthy tend to be tasteless and I have to force myself to eat it. I am sick to death of pasta and salad, my family wont eat it anyway, so who am I kidding, why bother either way? It has gotten to the point where I am just actively choosing not to eat as a menu option. Gee, now I am just depressed.
CC member fransen just mentioned making homemade Chinese food, prawn and snap pea stirfry with garlic. That sounded awesome to me. Try cooking some ethnic foods with the seafood or chicken to change things up a bit.
I did what you did too long and ended up explosing in a fit of binges about once every two days, ebcause i'd been so deprived.
Look at what you've done as great and detoxing and allow yourself a treat every day (as long as you count the cals) as a reward for your progess.
But yeah. I enjoy making non diety food healthy. Like pizza - when i want pizza i buy a big mushroom (i love mushies) and wash it and microwave it for 10 secs to soften it, top it with tomato paste, lean shaved ham, pinapple, garlic, herbs and light mozz cheese and grill it. Tastes thick and lush and I dont miss the bread at all. In fact, even when i stopped needing to lose I stuck to these types of foods as I enjoyed making things healthier (eg stroganoff instead of sour cream i used non fat natural yogurt)
Enjoy your treats as treats - tahts how you should want to live long term anyway.
if you keep being bored it can get dangerous and you might 'give up'
You CAN fit in dessert every day - just make it healthier
What are you fav dishes? Maybe i can lighten em up for you.
One thing I would seriously recommend is investing in some spices. Most of the proteins we eat have very little flavor on their own. It's the seasoning that gives them flavor and adds variety to our diets. I can eat tofu for dinner for six or seven days in a row and not get bored, because one day it's curried tofu, one day it's mexican-style, one day it's thai, ect.
It kind of sounds like your problem isn't with the foods themselves, it's that you've resigned yourself to being bored by your food. It seems like, if you made a conscious effort to get some variety in the flavors you're eating, then food could be more fun for you. Maybe try some new vegetables that you've never had before, look into vegetarian protein options to increase your number of choices, and find some new ways of adding flavor.
Also, I find it helpful not to think of anything I eat as "diet food". This implies that it's not a food I would eat if I could choose otherwise. I eat healthy, awesome food that is full of different colors, flavors and textures. Yeah, it happens to not be drenched in fat or sugar, but it's still great food that I wouldn't hesitate to serve to someone who wasn't counting their calories.
medveditsa = WISE!!!
One more thing, three years ago I lost 50 pounds eating the "diet food" way. I ate the same things every day, and deprived myself of everything else I loved.
Once I "fell off the wagon" I stayed off. I think this is what you are afraid of. Here's what happened to me: I couldn't stand the thought of going back to it. As of Jan 1 of this year I had gained back all but 5 pounds of it. That was the result of seeing eating healthy as the same as depriving myself. No sane person can live with deprivation forever.
This time there is no wagon to fall off. I am eating healthier, but LOTS of variety. I have pizza once a week. I take my favorite foods and try to make healthier versions. And actually, just the fact that I'm cooking dinner from scratch every night has cut out most of the sodium and fats. I eat well. I have more spices in the cupboard than ever. I am eating more fiber, more vegetables, more vitamins, etc. I don't need to take a multivitamin or calcium supplement anymore.
And this I can maintain forever. Sure, there will be vacations, conferences, etc. where I'll be eating out more and will have to make wise choices, and still may gain back a little. But I'll be able to go right back to cooking healthy food at home.
This is why I LOVE zig zag dieting. One day, I'll eat whatever REAL foods I want, and throw in some chocolate or cookies in there. Next day, normal lifestyle food like solid vegetables, soups, sandwiches, wraps, and chicken/turkey/lean meats. Love it.
I did not eat high-calorie foods every other day when I zig-zagged, because I was told the time of eating healthy needed to be at least a couple of weeks. But I did have one day a month where I planned what high-calorie foods I was going to eat (Like eating at the Melting Pot, for example, where the meal would total 2500 calories). These became special occasions that I could look forward to. It never hurt me, and I continued to lose weight. I also allowed myself one special treat, once a week (like a pumpkin empanada or a small dish of icecream). I didn't wait until I was tired of the healthy foods. The danger lies in waiting until you are so bored that you would rather starve than eat (and I really sympathize, because I am exactly the same in that regard... in fact, because "Chinese," Mexican and BBQ are so prevalent where we live, I'd rather eat styrofoam than eat those foods because I'm so bored).
Anyway, now that I'm at maintenance, I have a good balance of high-calorie and low-calorie foods, and I haven't gained any weight. Most days I might have a healthy breakfast, but once every couple of weeks, I may have a really nasty breakfast.
BTW, Mongolian beef isn't that bad for you, especially if you get it at Pei-Wei.
i'd just say
what ever you do
dont go for the food you absolutely love the most, it's like crack cocaine, not that i've tried it
and also
one thing
before you DO be a bit naughty, make sure it doesnt have mono sodium glutamate, because you will it until you are full (its the stuff that makse you feel hungry and is in almost all fast food take aways recipes and snacks etc.)
iF the foods you love have MSG in them............
then its not the food you are loving, it's the MSG
add some excercise to your diet, try it for three days, see how it goes
i dunno if this has been said also, but eating a bit out every so often stops your body from platueing and in the end aids further weight loss
aim for a certain calorific intake, and if you go over, you go over
sorry to keep reposting
but if you are aiming for 1200
im guessing thats the very minimum for a woman
then you still achieve weight loss at 1500 kcal
i'd say you could be in danger of plateuing and shouldn't really be upset at going over a touch once in a while, aim for 1200 but dont be unhappy if you hit 1400, 1500 or even 1600
i can understand the routine thing, you say to yourself if i over eat, then i know im quitting this
but if you say you'll just keep on dieting until you stop, then you're not quitting anything
makettle - if 1200 calories doesn't work for you maybe you should add an additional 100-200 a day
I eat between 1400-1500 and as a foodie myself I find it's quite easy to keep within that range with lots of soups, legumes and veggies.
I know a lot of others here started at 1200 and then realized more was better for them because they didn't feel deprived. Remember you shouldn't consider it diet food but a new way of eating. If what you're doing right now isn't working for you it will never work long term - try some new things to see what will work.
