What do you NOT do...

Personally, I'm one of those natural/whole foods people, so anything reduced fat, or sugar free I generally avoid like the plague. However, I know many here do the calorie counting thing where sugar free is what they like.

So I'm just curious- what do you NOT do, that it seems many other people do to lose weight?

Wed. Aug 1, 10:30pm

I can't bring myself to eat low-fat cheese, it's crumbly and dry and just feels wrong. If I'm going to eat cheese I splurge and go for the whole-fat (good!) stuff.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007, 10:52 PM

I don't avoid fat. If I want to sautee my veggies in butter I do. I am aware of how many calories I'm getting because I measure it out, but I eat it and I enjoy it. Same thing with salad dressing and cheese - I know how much I consume, but I like the stuff with fat in it - it's more satisfying to me to have some of that than a whole bunch of low fat stuff.

I am much more aware of what I'm eating and how much it's 'costing' me in calories and that because I desire to eat fat i have to make trade offs (usually less refined carbs which are also loaded with calories) and it usually means eating smaller amounts than I could if I ate less of it. It's worth it to me though...

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 12:14 AM

1. I seriously do NOT eat enough veggies. I really want to eat more. I need to figure out an easier way to get them in, like making veggie soup once a week and eating it every day.

2. I do not get enough strength training in. I plan to change that very soon, as in tomorrow.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 12:49 AM

Well, as of this morning i have a new NOT.

I do NOT drink fat free milk.
I bought 2% yesterday because it was cheaper. And this morning at breakfast I was so full I couldn't finish my cereal. I felt so good about not forcing myself to finish, and just feeling nicely full. AND THEN I ate no snacks all morning because I was full! The extra calories in the milk totally were compensated by the snacks I wasn't compelled to eat. It was amazing!

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 1:59 AM

I DON"T eat reduced fat anything. I am trying to avoid sugar but I do this by eating whole foods instead of pre-packaged. If I do, it's organic like Amy's frozen foods (where I can pronounce and buy the ingredients in the ingredient list).

Whole foods in their full fat and natural state fill me up faster and I eat much less. I've done the low fat thing and I was still starving even though the meals were bigger.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 5:28 AM

It's funny because I grew up on nonfat milk and still up to now I hate the taste of regular milk.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 5:34 AM

low fat milk

I agree - low fat milk doesn't taste good or fill you up. Eating "real" food is much better for you.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 7:32 AM

i don't do strenuous cardio. In the past I always forced myself to do lots and lots of high-energy cardio and ALWAYS got burnt out. I've listened to my body and figured out what I like to do and can stick with even through the rough patches where my "cardio" would've been out the window... Now I do Pilates and Yoga 5x a week and take a 45 min. walk (normal, not power) as many times as possible during the week.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 7:41 AM

I don't eat bottled diet salad dressings. I hate the flavor. I'd prefer to have a salad made with great ingredients and no dressing than eat that stuff. I do love salad dressing, though, so I make great homemade ones that are lower in fat and eat reasonable amounts with my salad, or I enjoy the really good stuff when I go out by ordering it on the side and not pigging out on it.

I don't give up real half and half in my coffee. I know how much fat and kcal it contains, and I count that as part of my daily intake. There's room in any healthy weight loss plan for little things like this that you enjoy.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 4:22 PM

i don't focus on losing weight, but instead pay more attention to becoming healthier. losing weight is an added benefit, not a means to a goal for me.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 4:28 PM

Okay, important disclaimer here: I am not saying that the things I don't do are things that I or anyone else SHOULD omit. But I have lost weight consistently without:

- Eating vegetables consistently. I probably get 3 or 4 servings of vegetables a week. I know they are more filling and lower calorie than other foods, which means I could eat more, but I just don't like them. I take a multivitamin to compensate.
- Exercising regularly. Now, as I contiinue to lose it will be harder to lose with diet alone. But I eat around 1200 calories a day and lead a moderately active lifestyle (take the stairs, park far away, etc.) and I lose about 2 pounds a week consistently.
- Eating whole, nutritious food. I eat processed, packaged foods almost daily. Its not good, I know, but calorie counting has worked for me and so the 100 calories of a small package of baked Doritos is 100 calories, period.

Like I said, this isn't really good for me, but it is possible to lose weight safely without becoming a health nut by simply controlling your calories. And yes, that means I eat low fat, low calorie and sugar free foods because they reduce my caloric intake.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 4:35 PM

4:35 - I'm not going to say what's good for you or whatever, but am just curious - aren't you HUNGRY? If I are mostly processed packaged foods every day and only had 1200 calories, I think I would be starving by the end of the day? How do you manage?

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 6:52 PM

what I don't understand, is if you know it's not good for you, why do you do it??

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 7:15 PM

4:35 here

7:15, Its not particularly healthy, but its not NEARLY as bad as what I was doing before! For me, preparing three "whole food" meals a day is just not possible. I do cook sometimes and I eat two or three big salads a week. But, 6:52, I said I eat processed foods almost daily...not mostly! That means that with my sandwich and fruit at lunch I might have a 100 calorie pack of Doritos. Or for breakfast I might have a whole grain Eggo waffle with a little light butter. Or for dinner I might go through Wendy's and get a grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad and not eat one of the pieces of bread. Definitely not all in the same day though! But I haven't really made anything off limits and I am still pretty successful.

And to answer your question, 4:35, I'm hardly ever hungry! If I tried to eat veggies at every meal then I would be hungry because I wouldn't be able to finish it! 1200 calories is 300 calorie breakfast, 300 calorie lunch, 100 calorie snack, and a 500 calorie dinner. That's usually how it comes out but sometimes I have a bigger lunch and smaller dinner, for example. And sometimes I go over 1200 calories if I feel hungry, but that's my target.

Thursday, August 02, 2007, 8:23 PM

I don't eat artificial sugars. I'll either have a little bit of the sweet stuff (like a piece of dark chocolate or homebaked goods) or none at all. Splenda, aspartame and HFCS scare me.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 11:12 AM

I do not follow planned out diets like Weight Watchers or Fat Flush. Even when I try, I always alternate the food choices. Also, when I see a recipe, I always add my own ingredients. For example, in Oatmeal Cookies I use applesauce instead of sugar.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 11:31 AM

I eat full-fat cheese and am very rarely choose reduced-fat anything because the flavor sacrifice isn't worth 30 saved calories.

I don't cut caffeine - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Besides, I don't think 200-250mg a day is ridiculous.

I am a salt maniac - my blood pressure is ridiculously low, so again, if it ain't broke...

I eat kiddie cereals. Not the really gross ones like Lucky Charms or Cocoa Pops, but I do like Frosted Flakes and Honey Nut Cheerios.

I use real sugar in hot tea. I can take the fake stuff in everything else, but not that.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 11:45 AM

I don't cut carbs, I don't eat artificial sugars, I don't buy low-fat, low-calorie foods. I don't deprive myself of the foods I love, I don't take diet pills, I don't avoid caffeine, I don't believe in skipping exercise.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 11:53 AM

I don't count calories or points and I don't use anything artificial, low-fat, no-fat, light, lite, etc. And I hardly ever buy anything packaged other than whole grain pasta and long grain brown & wild rice. What I buy in cans is limited to mushrooms, olives, and yellowfin tuna. The jarred goods I buy are organic salsa, organic nut butters and organic pasta sauce. If I could figure out how to make these myself and have them taste as good or better, then I wouldn't buy them anymore.

What I eat is real food mostly way down on the food chain (whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, veggies, fruits, a bit of chicken and a bit of fish -- maybe a beef burger every other month or so -- a few eggs a week). Mostly I eat organic, natural and free range whenever possible and I use a lot of olive oil. Of these foods I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and until I feel satisfied.

There is no feeling of being on a diet, restricted, or deprived. And I am steadily losing between 2 oz and 2.5 lbs every week. Eating this way has brought me from almost 350 lbs in Sept 2006 to 302 lbs as of Aug 1. I probably could have lost more, and faster, if I did it the way most people do (counting calories or points, measuring & weighing foods, etc). But I would have felt controlled and deprived, and it wouldn't have lasted very long. What I'm doing, I know I can do this for the rest of my life and feel really good about it. Though I guess I must tell you I have always adored fruits & veggies, never have eaten much meat, never have liked sodas, ice cream, pudding, sweets or most desserts & never used sugar in anything except 1 tsp to proof the yeast in bread baking. When I make what is usually called a "sweet" bread (banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, apple spice bread, etc), I use apple sauce, prune juice or chopped dates as the sweetener.

The only thing that was hard for me was learning to limit salt. It took several months to wean myself off of it, but now I just use a pinch of sea salt when I feel the dish needs some.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 12:41 PM

more than 80 pounds gone....

I never drink diet soda..or regular soda either. I don't count calories or points. I get in 5 veggies a day and 2 to 3 fruits....that's the counting. I eat whole grains like old fashioned oatmeal, pilaf grains, or sweet potatoes. Occasionally I eat whole grain pitas and whole wheat bread. I eat good lean protein or complemented protein meals and I go for good fats. I cook most of my meals HOWEVER, I am not a purist. I eat real dessert about once a week. Sometimes I eat "nutrition bar" which I consider to be special marketing for candy bars with a little protein thrown in for good measure. I drink water or tea. Pretty simple...it works for me. I have lost more than 80 pounds slowly. I feel good again. I don't use the word diet either....I just eat what I eat. And it is good.

I don't exercise either except for weight training which I do with free weights at home. I am active, I walk a lot, hike in a pretty forest, swim, snowshoe in the winter, bike. I think of this as having fun. It is a lot easier to have fun now that I have trimmed off 80+ pounds...and I enjoy it a lot more.

I consider the changes I have made to be long term sustainable life changes. My major focus is on living well.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 2:45 PM

I do the same as the 2:45 poster, except I also maintain my calories under 1300 and eat every 3 hours.

I agree that it is a lifestyle change. And it's very good. I enjoy eating like this.

Friday, August 03, 2007, 4:11 PM

No cardio here

I lose weight without doing cardio. I'm a former cardio junkie and marathoner - I now strength train and do yoga and I'm much calmer, leaner, and happier! (And I held my own on a fast paced, 25 mile bike ride this weekend - so I'm not completely out of shape in the cardio department! Interval training has paid off)

Friday, August 03, 2007, 10:46 PM

I will never ever take a diet pill...ever! I feel that losing weight is the added benefit of becoming healthier. So, the same applies to ever getting plastic surgery to meet my weight goal...

Also, I don't cut carbs. When I do, I get dizzy, headaches, and general fatigue. Plus, I end up getting the same calories from more fat instead, which is much less healthy.

And ditto to splenda. I'll use it sometimes, but natural sugar's the way to go for me =)

Saturday, August 04, 2007, 5:21 PM

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