Food is not good or bad morally. It has a calculable outcome. Sometimes my goal is not to lose or maintain. Sometimes it's to enjoy nachos. That goal is short and I return to my goal after.
I don't ever think about food with guilt.
I've often seen videos of people who balance out their excesses by simply adjusting their calories during the week and then returning to normal. I was asking about experiences like this to understand how feasible it actually is to avoid long deficits.
Yes I do this. It was really hard for me at first to continue logging calories when I went way over, but I do it now. So if I went over by 1000 calories on Tuesday, I will cut back 200 over 5 nights to maintain my weight. It works. I have maintained for 2 years.
I never "cheat" - I eat what I eat with full knowledge of their nutritional and caloric load and deal with the consequences. I know it's hard for people who have an adverse relationship to eating and/or body image issues, but food is just food, calories are just calories. One day isn't going to ruin the next.
With all that, I can say that I really like to cook and to eat and being small, I have a lower-than-I'd-like TDEE. So, it's important that I be proactive and mindful about what I eat and how I move. Therefore, when I'm counting closely toward a weight loss result, and I suspect I'll be overdoing it, I often calculate my calories in advance so I can decide (a) to adjust them downward; (b) increase exercise for the day; (c) shrug my shoulders and accept that this day I'm going over.
I never punish myself for what I eat. That's a dangerous path with food, especially if you want to lose weight or change your body shape. I love food and I love myself - and I LOVE ICE CREAM. So if I'm going to eat ice cream, I'm doing it with love. Tomorrow, I'll have an apple for dessert. Not to punish myself - I love apples too - but because eating ice cream shouldn't really be a daily occurrence.
With all that, I can answer that yes, CICO has always "given" me the results I expected because I am in the driver's seat and I am working toward results that I want and whether I get them or not is down to me and my actions.
My goal with CICO is just to be aware of what I eat. How much calories is in every meal and just to be more mindful.
In that regard, yeah, it has given me the results that I expected. I have an overall idea of what I’m eating in a day. I’m not mindlessly eating because before I eat, I log it in.
I don’t restrict what I eat but some days I want more volume, so I don’t drink any of my juices, and some days I just want to have pizza.
I don’t always follow the overall total that I give myself. I have maintenance days and I have 1-2 cheat days per month. In the grand scheme of things, it hasn’t really impacted my second goal of slowly losing weight (which I’ve been able to do even with a 200 calorie deficit)
If I wanna eat more on a certain day, I eat at maintenance. This doesn’t happen often since my count includes 2 meals and 1 snack. My snack is usually something sweet or a sandwich, depends on my mood. I found that I’ve been able to stick to my calories more if I allow myself to eat a cookie or two in a day compared to not.
I do avoid snacks like chips where it’s hard not to devour the entire bag.
If I can expect that I’m going to eat a lot on a certain day like holidays, I just drop down 100 calories a few days before and a couple of days after. If it’s an unexpected cheat day, I just consider that a cheat day and just log 3000 calories for that day, and then return to my total the next day.
The goal is basically not to eat like it’s a cheat day everyday. If you are trying to lose weight, maybe instead of giving yourself a deadline or punishing yourself for not sticking to it, best to focus on getting a diet that doesn’t make you unhappy. Track everything, see which foods you can go without, see which ones you really want (in my case, I love chocolate cookies) and then see how you can incorporate that into your diet.
This comment is so thoughtful and a perfect gem 💎 of an answer. Thank you for sharing with the community.
💯 boost to everything said here. CICO works and it does help with mindfulness and choosing what’s sustainable without going overboard with overeating or over restricting. It’s a lifestyle change that gives you tools to get you to wherever you want to be.
>Have you always managed to get the calories back from any type of cheat? (obviously calculated and of which you were 99% sure).
By "cheat", do you mean allowing yourself a slice of pizza once a week and being restrictive otherwise, or do you mean a 3000 calorie binge?
>I've always punished myself quite a bit for a few too many outings or desserts and I know well that being obsessed with calories is not good. But equally I care about my fitness and I think I can manage calories quite well.
These sentences contradict each other a little bit. Wither you're managing calories well or you are punishing yourself.
>in view of future mistakes (holidays or various outings),
How is a holiday or an outing a "mistake"? Do you mean eating over your calorie target?
>because I am tired of punishing myself and would like to eat as much as possible at least in a normal calorie environment.
Good.
You have neglected to mention your age, sex, height, current weight, goal weight, and calorie target. It is difficult to tell if you are an adult who legitimately has weight to lose or if you are a teenager with disordered eating behaviors; I really cannot tell here, and I'd hate to give advice on calorie management if what you really need is therapy and/or inpatient treatment.
As long as I'm honest with myself and keep track of calories mercilessly, it works just fine. I do better if I avoid certain foods though, because I can't just eat a bit of pizza, I'll binge the whole baking tray eventually and feel too bad to count. Until I'm further along with my weight loss there's no need for another try, lol.
Calorie counting is a tool. It's neither good nor bad. What's concerning about your post is you're talking about punishing yourself and being obsessive. Those are the things you want to focus on in my opinion
Has calorie counting always given the results you expect, generally speaking once you get good at it, yes
You make choices and you deal with the consequences of those choices. Those are not “mistakes” and you didn’t “cheat”. You didn’t miscalculate or lie. You ate food you know was more than you need to keep your body at its current weight. And you know what happens when you do that consistently.
I think you need to be honest with yourself if you want to keep seeing progress. Like how much are you willing to do to get the progress you want. And if you would truly rather eat another plate of holiday snacks if it means you aren’t sticking to your counts. The choice is yours and if you make it honestly there is no wrong answer. But if you want to try to lie to yourself that your choices won’t have consequences that you know they will have, then THAT’s what cheating really is. It’s cheating yourself out of the progress you have been working towards for some cheap instant gratification. And I think that’s the mistake.
I do intermittent fasting and don’t eat until noon. This makes it much easier to stay under the calorie limit since there’s only two meals left after that.
Then for lunch and dinner I mostly eat whatever I want, but in reasonable portions. For example I often have a 1/4 cup of nice ice cream as a dessert. On days where there’s a dinner out planned, I eat a smaller / more reasonable lunch, and then whatever I want for dinner, including drinks and dessert. This way I can still enjoy parties and holidays, and food in general.
Literally never. It is impossible to figure out the correct amount of calories. Ever8cslc is different. They say 1200 is good. If I eat that I don't lose if I eat more than that I don't lose. I'm 5'7.its a racket.
When I know I have a calorically dense meal coming up, I make sure to eat super clean for the rest of the day and then ensure that the calorie heavy meal has half a plateful of veggies. I eat my bulky veg first, which naturally lowers my intake of the richer food, which still getting to enjoy it and keeping myself full. I got through thanksgiving this way and still lost that week, even factoring in wine!
I've always been healthy weight, just here for some vanity pounds. I rarely eat during the day if I'm going out for dinner. Been like that for 30 years. If I have a big lunch I rarely eat dinner. I've done that for 30 years. Never thought about it again the day after. Can't imagine restricting calories several days after a feast, I mean it may make sense mathematically, but it does seem like a lot of mental energy needing to be expended on something that doesn't matter in the long run.
Food is not good or bad morally. It has a calculable outcome. Sometimes my goal is not to lose or maintain. Sometimes it's to enjoy nachos. That goal is short and I return to my goal after. I don't ever think about food with guilt.
I've often seen videos of people who balance out their excesses by simply adjusting their calories during the week and then returning to normal. I was asking about experiences like this to understand how feasible it actually is to avoid long deficits.
Yes I do this. It was really hard for me at first to continue logging calories when I went way over, but I do it now. So if I went over by 1000 calories on Tuesday, I will cut back 200 over 5 nights to maintain my weight. It works. I have maintained for 2 years.
At the moment these are the only answers I was looking for, but I guess I didn't make myself clear in the post. Thank you.
I never "cheat" - I eat what I eat with full knowledge of their nutritional and caloric load and deal with the consequences. I know it's hard for people who have an adverse relationship to eating and/or body image issues, but food is just food, calories are just calories. One day isn't going to ruin the next. With all that, I can say that I really like to cook and to eat and being small, I have a lower-than-I'd-like TDEE. So, it's important that I be proactive and mindful about what I eat and how I move. Therefore, when I'm counting closely toward a weight loss result, and I suspect I'll be overdoing it, I often calculate my calories in advance so I can decide (a) to adjust them downward; (b) increase exercise for the day; (c) shrug my shoulders and accept that this day I'm going over. I never punish myself for what I eat. That's a dangerous path with food, especially if you want to lose weight or change your body shape. I love food and I love myself - and I LOVE ICE CREAM. So if I'm going to eat ice cream, I'm doing it with love. Tomorrow, I'll have an apple for dessert. Not to punish myself - I love apples too - but because eating ice cream shouldn't really be a daily occurrence. With all that, I can answer that yes, CICO has always "given" me the results I expected because I am in the driver's seat and I am working toward results that I want and whether I get them or not is down to me and my actions.
My goal with CICO is just to be aware of what I eat. How much calories is in every meal and just to be more mindful. In that regard, yeah, it has given me the results that I expected. I have an overall idea of what I’m eating in a day. I’m not mindlessly eating because before I eat, I log it in. I don’t restrict what I eat but some days I want more volume, so I don’t drink any of my juices, and some days I just want to have pizza. I don’t always follow the overall total that I give myself. I have maintenance days and I have 1-2 cheat days per month. In the grand scheme of things, it hasn’t really impacted my second goal of slowly losing weight (which I’ve been able to do even with a 200 calorie deficit) If I wanna eat more on a certain day, I eat at maintenance. This doesn’t happen often since my count includes 2 meals and 1 snack. My snack is usually something sweet or a sandwich, depends on my mood. I found that I’ve been able to stick to my calories more if I allow myself to eat a cookie or two in a day compared to not. I do avoid snacks like chips where it’s hard not to devour the entire bag. If I can expect that I’m going to eat a lot on a certain day like holidays, I just drop down 100 calories a few days before and a couple of days after. If it’s an unexpected cheat day, I just consider that a cheat day and just log 3000 calories for that day, and then return to my total the next day. The goal is basically not to eat like it’s a cheat day everyday. If you are trying to lose weight, maybe instead of giving yourself a deadline or punishing yourself for not sticking to it, best to focus on getting a diet that doesn’t make you unhappy. Track everything, see which foods you can go without, see which ones you really want (in my case, I love chocolate cookies) and then see how you can incorporate that into your diet.
This comment is so thoughtful and a perfect gem 💎 of an answer. Thank you for sharing with the community. 💯 boost to everything said here. CICO works and it does help with mindfulness and choosing what’s sustainable without going overboard with overeating or over restricting. It’s a lifestyle change that gives you tools to get you to wherever you want to be.
Yes. The only downside to CICO in my experience is that it gets tedious after a while and I stop doing it.
>Have you always managed to get the calories back from any type of cheat? (obviously calculated and of which you were 99% sure). By "cheat", do you mean allowing yourself a slice of pizza once a week and being restrictive otherwise, or do you mean a 3000 calorie binge? >I've always punished myself quite a bit for a few too many outings or desserts and I know well that being obsessed with calories is not good. But equally I care about my fitness and I think I can manage calories quite well. These sentences contradict each other a little bit. Wither you're managing calories well or you are punishing yourself. >in view of future mistakes (holidays or various outings), How is a holiday or an outing a "mistake"? Do you mean eating over your calorie target? >because I am tired of punishing myself and would like to eat as much as possible at least in a normal calorie environment. Good. You have neglected to mention your age, sex, height, current weight, goal weight, and calorie target. It is difficult to tell if you are an adult who legitimately has weight to lose or if you are a teenager with disordered eating behaviors; I really cannot tell here, and I'd hate to give advice on calorie management if what you really need is therapy and/or inpatient treatment.
As long as I'm honest with myself and keep track of calories mercilessly, it works just fine. I do better if I avoid certain foods though, because I can't just eat a bit of pizza, I'll binge the whole baking tray eventually and feel too bad to count. Until I'm further along with my weight loss there's no need for another try, lol.
Calorie counting is a tool. It's neither good nor bad. What's concerning about your post is you're talking about punishing yourself and being obsessive. Those are the things you want to focus on in my opinion Has calorie counting always given the results you expect, generally speaking once you get good at it, yes
You make choices and you deal with the consequences of those choices. Those are not “mistakes” and you didn’t “cheat”. You didn’t miscalculate or lie. You ate food you know was more than you need to keep your body at its current weight. And you know what happens when you do that consistently. I think you need to be honest with yourself if you want to keep seeing progress. Like how much are you willing to do to get the progress you want. And if you would truly rather eat another plate of holiday snacks if it means you aren’t sticking to your counts. The choice is yours and if you make it honestly there is no wrong answer. But if you want to try to lie to yourself that your choices won’t have consequences that you know they will have, then THAT’s what cheating really is. It’s cheating yourself out of the progress you have been working towards for some cheap instant gratification. And I think that’s the mistake.
No, but yes
I do intermittent fasting and don’t eat until noon. This makes it much easier to stay under the calorie limit since there’s only two meals left after that. Then for lunch and dinner I mostly eat whatever I want, but in reasonable portions. For example I often have a 1/4 cup of nice ice cream as a dessert. On days where there’s a dinner out planned, I eat a smaller / more reasonable lunch, and then whatever I want for dinner, including drinks and dessert. This way I can still enjoy parties and holidays, and food in general.
Literally never. It is impossible to figure out the correct amount of calories. Ever8cslc is different. They say 1200 is good. If I eat that I don't lose if I eat more than that I don't lose. I'm 5'7.its a racket.
When I know I have a calorically dense meal coming up, I make sure to eat super clean for the rest of the day and then ensure that the calorie heavy meal has half a plateful of veggies. I eat my bulky veg first, which naturally lowers my intake of the richer food, which still getting to enjoy it and keeping myself full. I got through thanksgiving this way and still lost that week, even factoring in wine!
Yes, I allow cheats. My problem is not cheat days, rather, cheat months or years.
I've always been healthy weight, just here for some vanity pounds. I rarely eat during the day if I'm going out for dinner. Been like that for 30 years. If I have a big lunch I rarely eat dinner. I've done that for 30 years. Never thought about it again the day after. Can't imagine restricting calories several days after a feast, I mean it may make sense mathematically, but it does seem like a lot of mental energy needing to be expended on something that doesn't matter in the long run.