How to Diet with Success

[l23]

I'm 25 and want to lose 5 solid pounds that I've gained from eating too much junk food and only working out 2x's a week. I started keeping a food journal and am loosely following the WW Points plan.

Some days I do ok (never great), other days I eat about double the points I should (meaning I eat a lot of high-cal junk like cookies, fries).

Does anyone have any tips? It's so frustrating after eating an unhealthy meal and feeling gross and annoyed that I ate it. Is it just a learning process where I'll realize that eating junk isn't as great as I think it is? I know it's mainly habit. I'm just used to buying it and ordering it. How long will it take to break? Should I try to focus more on working out?

Thanks for any help! If you have had a similar experience, please let me know.

 

[AndreaL]

I used to eat a lot of junk, even if I wasn't hungry. I still do a few days before my period. It's like nothing is satisfying.

I just slowly incorporated healthier choices into my eating and over the years (I'm 28) it's gotten much better. I'm not perfect by any means, but my eating is more under control. I don't crave junk like I used to either.

I've also noticed that if I do really intense workouts everyday then I just want to eat more. Don't be afraid to bring the intensity down a notch. Boredom is another factor. I eat when I'm bored.

I would check out the many great healthy recipe sites, and do a search under 'nutrition' or 'recipes' on this site. I got lots of great new recipes to try from here.

Tonight I'm trying out Lentil Tacos!

Andrea

 

[gogigi]

Check out the self challenge at www.self.com. They give you one new eating goal a week. For instance, week one, you journal what you eat, how much you ate, how you were feeling when you ate, etc. Week two, the challenge gets you to focus on breakfast and what you should eat. Week three, you focus on lunch keeping the rules you learned about breakfast. For week four, you foucus on changing what you eat for dinner keeping the previous rules learned. They also give you snack ideas. I picked up the issue of Self magazine for March and went to their website for additional ideas. It also eases you into working out. I am hoping this helps me with my eating. Good luck!
Angela:7
P.S. WW did help me lose 23 pounds. I have kept off 13, but want to lose 10 to be back to my goal weight.

 

[nancy324]

How did you get in the habit of buying and ordering unhealthy food? I think its a generational thing. My 26-yr. old stepson was the same way. He was just buying fast food all the time and wasn't giving it much thought while he was working and going to school at the same time. He became so obese he used to huff and puff when he walked down the street. Last year, he lost 100 lbs. by taking up bike riding and discovering broiled fish and steamed vegetables, which he now loves. For him, it was key to do away with all the sugary beverages. He bought himself a water cooler for his apartment and spring water is now his favorite beverage. It was all just good common sense and changing his tastes. He doesn't feel deprived, because he now loves the food that's good for him. I think that's key. Just slowly and gradually get your palate used to stuff that's good for you.

5 lbs. is nothing, but this is a good time in your life to start changing your palate so that you don't have weight problems later. Good luck!

 

[DawnB]

In order for dieting to work for me, I need to completely eliminate sugar. I know that the recommendation is moderation but I seem to be an all or nothing person when it comes to sweets. There are 3 things that help me stay in shape: eating right, exercising and drinking enough water. If I start to flounder in one of those areas, I tend to start slipping on the others as well.

 

[michnola]

>In order for dieting to work for me, I need to completely
>eliminate sugar. I know that the recommendation is moderation
>but I seem to be an all or nothing person when it comes to
>sweets. There are 3 things that help me stay in shape: eating
>right, exercising and drinking enough water. If I start to
>flounder in one of those areas, I tend to start slipping on
>the others as well.

I could have written this post. When I just say no to all bad food, I do much better. One treat turns into daily treats turns into big, fat hips. It is much easier to tell myself "I don't eat that because it is not good for me" rather than saying "I can have a little piece"

Michelle

 

[Venus]

I started WW last year. I've lost 54 lbs so far (still have 50 to go). When I started it was really hard. I got rid of junk and kept a lot of 0 point foods around. The first 2 weeks or so I was hungry all the time but then my appetite adapted and after that it wasn't bad. Just tell yourself you will do it exactly by the plan for 2 weeks. If you make it the 2 weeks the rest is not bad. Besides you could lose the 5 lbs. in 2 weeks. Also eat a lot of high volume foods that are full of fiber but not calories. Make some soup with 0 point veggies and FF veggie broth.

 

[Affirm]

In am kind of like Dawn. I saw the best results with dieting when I eliminating junk food from my diet. I wanted those last 10 pounds from my 2nd pregnancy. I cut out junk food for 45 days and focused on drinking more water and whole wheat bread. I pretty much ate anything else that I wanted. I did not count calories. I ate a protein with every meal and snack. I exercised 5 days a week and the weight came off. I feel good.