Do you allow yourself anything...as long as it's counted?

[floss]

I had an awful day again today, no food in so went to the shop and ended up with a frozen fish pie. It's under 400 for the whole thing which I thought was pretty good, however when im "on track" I would never allow myself to have it regardless of the cals as id consider it not a "diet food".

So what im asking is...is it all about calories no matter what the food is? If I had the pie as part of my 1200 a day (its fish, potato, cheese, butter etc...quite heavy) would I still lose as much weight as if id had a healthy diet meal of salad, protein etc as part of my 1200? It always fascinates me how people on ww and similar can lose without cutting ANYTHING out...maybe thats where im going wrong?! I always thought you had to deprive yourself but maybe it is all about cals, no matter where they come from...

Thoughts and opinions?

 

[Robotica]

I allow myself anything as long as I can count it. The best thing I find about calorie counting is that I eat literally anything and yes, still lose weight as long as am on my limit.

There are things am weary about, like diet pepsi, think it said it's under 1 kcal, but I know that fizzy drinks make you fat so I don't bother.

That fish pie is fine in my opinion, sure eating healthy has other advantages and maybe more filling through out the day, but in my past experiences regarding weightloss, wether I spent days on only toast and jam or special K, ate 900kcal worth of spegatti in a day, or many healthier low calorie meals, as long as am under my limit I lose weight.

I actually find that makes it easier to stick to the diet.. Not restricting anything, simply eating in moderation for each day.

 

[Auburn]

I allow myself whatever I like so long as the calories stays within my limit. Today I had 2 Cream Eggs and a Cadbury Caramel, which was well within my limit, but to be honest they a) weren't as good as I was anticipating and b) made me feel crap. I'm usually quite "healthy" with heaps of veg, salad, etc etc, so this spike in sugar and sweetness has made me feel a bit yuck... I think I genuinely prefer the healthier food now, to the junk I used to eat. God knows how I'd feel after a takeaway pizza & chips!!

 

[KatiePillow]

I agree with above, eating high sugar.. well for me more of an issue is binging on fatty foods, actually makes me feel bad now!
But I do have my bits.. been eating out a lot recently but that's stopping soon..

In regards to eating anything, I try get my 5 fruit/veg a day, and I watch my fat and salt intake, but mostly if it's within limits I go for it. If I ate my whole 1200 in chocolate and crisps I'd go way over on my fat and this would probably hinder my weight loss, but everything in moderation seems to be working so far

 

[floss]

I feel like a complete idiot! For literally years iv always thought the only way to really truly lose weight is to just eat fruit, veg, fish and no carbs at dinner! To think I could eat anything, which to me means I could have baked beans, or pasta at dinner, or fish pie etc etc is a revelation! I guess im so used to reading how the "celebs" did it id convinced myself that misery was the only way....no wonder I havnt stuck to a diet in years!

 

[KatiePillow]

I feel like a complete idiot! For literally years iv always thought the only way to really truly lose weight is to just eat fruit, veg, fish and no carbs at dinner! To think I could eat anything, which to me means I could have baked beans, or pasta at dinner, or fish pie etc etc is a revelation! I guess im so used to reading how the "celebs" did it id convinced myself that misery was the only way....no wonder I havnt stuck to a diet in years!

I did this when I first started in January - I was crying in the days from feeling deprived. I think that eating no carbs etc means you don't learn how to eat them in moderation, making good choices even when eating out.. Even when I eat out I try to keep in the back of my mind the calories, and although I allowed myself pizza hut today - I wasn't silly about it (although shouldn't have had the garlic bread..)

I also think you'd struggle being at uni now, you need to allow yourself to eat similar foods to your friends, just smaller amounts of the bad bits.

 

[lucysmommy]

I try to eat as clean as I can but sometimes you can only eat what u can get x

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[Babana]

I eat healthy foods six days a week (as there's more to being healthy than losing weight)but one day a week I allow myself a day of eating rubbish. I always stay below 1300 cals though but it makes me feel like I'm having a treat without the guilt. Easter Sunday for example I picked on a few bits during the day, then ate a 135g of Maltesers in the evening. I kept within my calories and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I know when I did SW I would have gained if I'd have scoffed those Maltesers while folllowing the plan. This is why I love calorie counting. Ok, it does take a bit of forward planning but you can lead a normal life. It doesn't even feel like a diet.

 

[Rose Bud]

I agree that its fine so long as it fits in your limit. The only thing I'd be weary of is fat content but otherwise I think you should be fine

 

[Iwannachoccie]

Hi, i agree with the others.. so long as its in moderation and you can count it. Obviously lower fat things would be a better choice, but sometimes if you deprive yourself them you only want to binge more. I love my pasta and i'll still have it, but cut down the portion size. x

 

[floss]

Fat is what I was also thinking about. Fish pie had around 7 grams of saturated fat...surely you cant lose weight on that, even thought the cals are low? It's so confusing! Although this guy (link below) proves that weight loss may well be all about cals...I could never do that though...I love my fruit and veg too much! Problem is I love everything else as well!

Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds - CNN.com

 

[FayeR]

I've always just eaten what i wanted but made sure I stuck to the calories and lost weight fine. I am going to start eating more healthy food though as I want to be healthy. I wouldn't deprive myself of anything I really want though.