weekend struggle - stating the obvious!

this journey to a better body differs from previous trys in that I've joined FitDay, taken photos of myself, taken my bodyfat and body stats and when talking to my soon-to-be personal trainer, told them in advance just how heavy i am. I realised that accountability is key, that and preparation.

I hadn't thought what i'd be eating tonight so it's been pizza with two glasses of red. I have just had a real wake up call entering the wine on FitDay - had I realised how much the glasses hold? Nope, until i poured water into them and then measured that.

Pity I hadn't thought of doing that before I drank it.

I am telling myself to learn from this - mistakes being there to teach us an' all...what would be foolish is to do it again.

I know some of you will be thinking, 'how stupid is she?' but i have avoided weighing my food/calorie counting for the last couple of years and of course there's NO correlation between not doing that and not achieving goals *sigh*

I will prevail. It just might take a while.

We have ALL thought we were better at eyeballing things then we really are at some point or another. And we have ALL eventually realized that certain things we thought couldn't have that many more calories than similar items prepared at home often DO. Doesn't matter that people tell you that over and over again. Seems like we all have to come to that conclusion for ourselves before we start taking tracking and measuring totally seriously. :)

You are not going to be a slave to measuring cups and digital scales every day for the rest of your life. It's just when you have this goal to lean up that most people need to use those tools.

As a suggestion, when my goal is to lean up, I prefer cheating less often (once a month, maybe) and eating WHATEVER THE HECK I WANT IN WHATEVER AMOUNT I WANT vs. having treats more often and having to fit them into my weekly deficit. I can get away with what seems like a lot more than a slice of pizza and 2 glasses of red wine that way and what's even better is that my stomach doesn't seem to hold as much and I'm more sensitive to sweets after that amount of time, limiting the amount of food I actually want. ;)

[QUOTE=DesertOrchid;462048371]

I am telling myself to learn from this - mistakes being there to teach us an' all...[/QUOTE]

This is the mindset you should have. Good job. No one gets it perfect all the time. One slip up isn't going to kill [B]all[/B] your progress forever.

The dangerous thought would be "Well, I've screwed up this entire weekend, so I'll start again on Monday" Start again right now, learn from your "oops" and move on.

As is stated on this site so often: It's a marathon, not a sprint. :)

[quote=medjen;462051461]
the dangerous thought would be "well, i've screwed up this entire weekend, so i'll start again on monday" start again right now, learn from your "oops" and move on.
[/quote]

^^^this, big time!

One mistake I had been making and didn't realize for several weeks was weighing my chicken cooked instead of raw and calculating cals for raw chicken. It's not a huge difference, but I eat chicken twice a day 5x per week. It adds up.

The other mistake was thinking Crystal Light had zero calories, chugging it all day, and not counting into my daily caloric intake. Don't know about you, but when eating at a deficit, I would rather have those cals in real food.

For me, the measuring/weighing keeps me out of denial.

Live & learn. It's a process.....

[QUOTE=DesertOrchid;462048371]this journey to a better body differs from previous trys in that I've joined FitDay, taken photos of myself, taken my bodyfat and body stats and when talking to my soon-to-be personal trainer, told them in advance just how heavy i am. I realised that accountability is key, that and preparation.

I hadn't thought what i'd be eating tonight so it's been pizza with two glasses of red. I have just had a real wake up call entering the wine on FitDay - had I realised how much the glasses hold? Nope, until i poured water into them and then measured that.

Pity I hadn't thought of doing that before I drank it.

I am telling myself to learn from this - mistakes being there to teach us an' all...what would be foolish is to do it again.

I know some of you will be thinking, 'how stupid is she?' but i have avoided weighing my food/calorie counting for the last couple of years and of course there's NO correlation between not doing that and not achieving goals *sigh*

I will prevail. It just might take a while.[/QUOTE]

On the positive note at least you realize your failures. You're probably doing a lot better than me and you have a support system instead of all the haters I tend to have. I also made a similar mistake, I ate 3 pieces of pizza on Sunday (?) and then 4 pieces of pizza at an after school meeting (since someone brought in pizza for the after school meeting) Good Luck! :)

i might get flamed for this but the biggest mistake i've made is thinking that the type of food that i'm eating doesn't matter as long as it fits in my macros.

i have had absolutely no success with this b/c of a couple of reasons. FOR ME PERSONALLY:

1. [b]eating anything but plain foods leads to eating more than i want. ie., drinking wine[/b] (measure myself a huge portion and keep going back for more thinking "it's ok", brownies, cookies, chips, pizza, all that stuff. i personally am going to eat WAY more than one serving)
2. [b]trying to eat a variety of foods lead to me being unable to track unexpected foods b/c i was open minded and think in the moment that NOTHING is off limits.[/b] (ex., going to a friend's house and they are serving lasagna. sure i could try to fit that into macros but how the heck am i going to do it? i can't weigh the food so i don't know the serving size and it's a forced eyeball - which we all know doesn't work, i can't track the food at their house b/c that's just weird, leads to eating OTHER foods also at the dinner like wine, crackers, bread blah blah blah)
3. [b]choosing foods that aren't the best way to meet my macro nutrient needs[/b] (top ramen, yeah, that's carbs but NOT quality carbs)


what IS working for me:

1. [b]less variety[/b] ex. i choose two types of meat to eat for lunch and dinner for the week vs 5 different types.
2. [b]i eat plain foods[/b] you all know what these are.
3. [b]i choose the BEST foods to satisfy each macro[/b] high in fiber, nutrients, low in saturated fats, natural vs processed
4. [b]if it's not planned, i don't eat it[/b]

[QUOTE=aznprincess;462128831]i might get flamed for this but the biggest mistake i've made is thinking that the type of food that i'm eating doesn't matter as long as it fits in my macros.

i have had absolutely no success with this b/c of a couple of reasons. FOR ME PERSONALLY:

1. [b]eating anything but plain foods leads to eating more than i want. ie., drinking wine[/b] (measure myself a huge portion and keep going back for more thinking "it's ok", brownies, cookies, chips, pizza, all that stuff. i personally am going to eat WAY more than one serving)
2. [b]trying to eat a variety of foods lead to me being unable to track unexpected foods b/c i was open minded and think in the moment that NOTHING is off limits.[/b] (ex., going to a friend's house and they are serving lasagna. sure i could try to fit that into macros but how the heck am i going to do it? i can't weigh the food so i don't know the serving size and it's a forced eyeball - which we all know doesn't work, i can't track the food at their house b/c that's just weird, leads to eating OTHER foods also at the dinner like wine, crackers, bread blah blah blah)
3. [b]choosing foods that aren't the best way to meet my macro nutrient needs[/b] (top ramen, yeah, that's carbs but NOT quality carbs)


what IS working for me:

1. [b]less variety[/b] ex. i choose two types of meat to eat for lunch and dinner for the week vs 5 different types.
2. [b]i eat plain foods[/b] you all know what these are.
3. [b]i choose the BEST foods to satisfy each macro[/b] high in fiber, nutrients, low in saturated fats, natural vs processed
4. [b]if it's not planned, i don't eat it[/b][/QUOTE]

I agree with you and have noticed things are easier for myself with the same guidelines.

However, it does seem to me that I get more variety through the course of a day than most people do all week. I mean, unless you consider trying to choose between whether you want a burger from Wendy's, McDonald's or Burgerking after skipping breakfast variety. :p

I will plan in some "easy switches" where cals and macros stay pretty close. Salmon instead of beef. Tilapia instead of chicken. Switching out fibrous veggie I'm eating. Sweet bell pepper instead of fruit. Almonds instead of walnuts. That kinda thing...

Rule #3 keeps me in check. If its not planned, I cant have it. Honey! I have made it through PTA meetings with pizza, garlic bread sticks, and OREOS, HELLO!?! Didnt touch a bit of it. We have meetings at work and all the army wives bring in dishes they look yummy, but i just keep steppin' because I get a MEAL on saturdays where I can eat what I want to eat. I dont go buck wild because my stomach doesnt hold alot of food. I need that meal. Keeps me from flipping out and I have no problems with just that one time, I think its because I still make healthy choices just MORE of the healthy stuff.

[QUOTE=Amanda76;462050821]
As a suggestion, when my goal is to lean up, I prefer cheating less often (once a month, maybe) and eating WHATEVER THE HECK I WANT IN WHATEVER AMOUNT I WANT vs. having treats more often and having to fit them into my weekly deficit. I can get away with what seems like a lot more than a slice of pizza and 2 glasses of red wine that way and what's even better is that my stomach doesn't seem to hold as much and I'm more sensitive to sweets after that amount of time, limiting the amount of food I actually want. ;)[/QUOTE]

^^ I do this too. I can't do regular cheat "meals" because it may cause me to binge. Or eating foods that yes, could fit into my diet for the day, but are not optimal. Once in a while (as in, every couple of weeks) I will have a cheat meal, if I am going out with friends or whatever. I don't totally stress over it, but I also don't go completely overboard either (pizza with beer and then cheesecake, yum).

As others have said, the most important thing is not to let a slip screw up your whole day (which can slide into another day....).

Thanks for all the comments - I had limited myself to one cheat meal a week because I know that with me, if I have more than one it will become two, then three etc. One I can keep track of. However, with the alcohol in the mix it meant (note the past tense as I'm wised up) that the next day would be bad as I'd have post alcohol munchies.

I don't want to say no alcohol at all as dealing in absolutes sets me up to fail but have decided to leave the wine alone and switch to something longer with less cals. Answers on a postcard please!

[QUOTE=DesertOrchid;463098141]Thanks for all the comments - I had limited myself to one cheat meal a week because I know that with me, if I have more than one it will become two, then three etc. One I can keep track of. However, with the alcohol in the mix it meant (note the past tense as I'm wised up) that the next day would be bad as I'd have post alcohol munchies.

I don't want to say no alcohol at all as dealing in absolutes sets me up to fail but have decided to leave the wine alone and switch to something longer with less cals. Answers on a postcard please![/QUOTE]

I have really never felt like...I dunno. "Confined" to my nutrition plan. I don't HAVE to grow any more muscle than I have now. I don't HAVE to get any leaner when I decide to do that. I simply WANT to. I want it more than alcohol. I want it more than pizza or cheesecake. At least, most of the time. That makes it easy.

So...I don't feel I'm dealing with absolutes. I'm doing what I need to get what I want. If you wanted to buy a car or pay bills over spending money going out with your friends, what would you do? You'd stay home more and go out less. Doesn't mean "never," but you'd be more choosy about what gatherings are worth it. Same concept when it comes to acquiring a body. If cheesecake wins out so often that it's getting in the way of my goal body...well, we know where my priorities are. :D

[QUOTE=Rowyn;462176651]^^ I do this too. I can't do regular cheat "meals" because it may cause me to binge. Or eating foods that yes, could fit into my diet for the day, but are not optimal. Once in a while (as in, every couple of weeks) I will have a cheat meal, if I am going out with friends or whatever. I don't totally stress over it, but I also don't go completely overboard either (pizza with beer and then cheesecake, yum).

As others have said, the most important thing is not to let a slip screw up your whole day (which can slide into another day....).[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty convinced that the "need" to cheat is more about habit than need. There are people who can get away with cheating more than others, obviously. But there are also lots of people who simply create barriers to leaning up comfortably by convincing themselves that they can't survive or will fail without a cheat meal or "treat" or whatever they want to call it.

If my nutrition plan was such hell to me that the high points of my life HAD to involve food, I wouldn't be following it! Well, if I was preparing for a competition I'd change my tune a bit. But day to day? No way!