New Benchmark in Dieting.....

[JOHN GARGANI]

well, most people do amount of weight benchmarks, but I am way past that trip....or pounds lost, but been there and done that before.

so what is my benchmark? I have gone 3 months now ( since JAN 1 ), without a single taste, portion, etc, of any sweet or dessert!!!!!!!

not a crumble of a cookie, cake, pie, ice cream, candy, etc and so on.....

for me, that is not easy, not so much from a will power point of view, but from a socializing point of view, since you must realize, that at my age, "socializing" usually means family events, with their corresponding Birthday/anniversary/Grandchildren event/etc and so on with the obligatory spread of various cakes and other goodies.

Now: I have lost 17 pounds during this stretch ( the posted weight in my avatar is NOT accurate but will be updated when I go below it ), but as I said, been there and done that before, but to go this long without a single sugary taste...whew.....not easy......

as for eating clean, it has been ridiculous, and maniacal....

training is doing well, as with most winters when I am not fishing....in a few weeks, I will be resuming my twice weekly fishing trips which call for 8-10 hours of rowing, so, I always have to monitor my workouts a little differently because of that...but in the winter, it is full bore.....

on my birthday, I am finally going to "allow" myself one serving of a "sweet"....not sure what that might be, plus, allow myself one bonfide CHEAT meal, say, on the order of Bacon Cheeseburger with fries, sort of thingy.....unlike the past, I have NOT allowed myself a single cheat meal during this past 3 months either, as I had a great rhythm going and didn't want to upset it....

[highiso]

This rings so true for myself. You have been able to do what very few can. The truth is the longer you stay away from sugar the easier it is to walk away from. I do what you just described every year between June & September. I'm still struggling to get into my cut groove but I use spring time every year to slowly ween myself of the sugar and into a strict cut. Congrats to you for staying so dedicated!

On spread.

[AAOBob]

In before IIFYM.

My problem with desserts is that its a lot easier to say no completely, than just limit myself to a small portion. I'm glad the holiday season is over in that respect as we had a LOT of it just laying around the office.

[ted01]

Thankfully, I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but I once was addicted to cherry coke. I drank an average of 3-4 20oz bottles of the stuff everyday. That, plus other terrible eating habits resulted in over 30% BF. It has now been nearly four years since the last time I drank any form of carbonated soda, diet or otherwise. It was helll at first. You'd think I was going cold turkey on a heroin addiction. Now, truthfully, I have absolutely no desire and if I did drink a soda, I'd probably be sick. Just no desire whatsoever. Me and water have become fast friends. Oh, I'm also down to about 13% BF and feel better than I have in 30 years.

[Jtbny]

Thankfully, I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but I once was addicted to cherry coke. I drank an average of 3-4 20oz bottles of the stuff everyday. That, plus other terrible eating habits resulted in over 30% BF. It has now been nearly four years since the last time I drank any form of carbonated soda, diet or otherwise. It was helll at first. You'd think I was going cold turkey on a heroin addiction. Now, truthfully, I have absolutely no desire and if I did drink a soda, I'd probably be sick. Just no desire whatsoever. Me and water have become fast friends. Oh, I'm also down to about 13% BF and feel better than I have in 30 years.

You haven't felt this good since you were 7?

I admire those of you who can completely give up things like sweets. I have found that if I give them up completely I will binge eat if I try and have just a little. What I have found works for me is to eat sweets, ice cream ect almost daily (I usually have 1 serving of ice cream every night or a peice of chocolate). By doing this I rarely if ever binge on them, and really don't crave them. Tracking and weighing my food helps me as well as I know I'm OK. If I wasn't doing those things I'd go over the edge I'm sure. I also know I have an unhealthy relationship with food from years of being morbidly obese. I'm working on that

[induced_drag]

John,
CONGRATS on progress thus far!!!! That is nice for sure!!


As for sweets, I do it differently. With carb cycling, it leaves me room for "treats" on my High carb days. When I am cutting, I usually eat icecream 3 times a week. (granted it is a smaller portion then I would normally eat....but I still get to enjoy it). I also eat chocolate quite a bit. Usually 60% with some almonds as a snack.

I dont ever feel deprived when cutting, There are just times where I wish I could eat more.....but I deal with it.

[danap3681]

Congrats on progress and sticking to your plan

I am one of the lucky ones who does not like sweets or even any type of soda. If I had to give up my salty snacks I think I would go insane. Keep up the good work.

[dukethedog]

I don't line sweets but I love bad foods once I am in the grove on eating good I am good but once I break it just once I go on a landslide for a few days. Stay safe op and gjm

[ted01]

You haven't felt this good since you were 7?

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. I don't give personal information out just because a web site asks and I do like to give disinformation from time to time. One of my favorite authors once said "Always cut the cards" He went on to explain that he believed in randomizing things. Disinformation is my way of randomizing. In addition, I never, ever take the first item off the shelf at the grocery store. I have to dig a ways back and select one at random.

[Jrob69]

I hope when you have the sweet you let yourself really enjoy it.

[Dr.Griefo]

That's incredible will power and careful food selection. My daughter came home with 4 cases of Girl Guide cookies tonight. 70 cals per cookie. Felt guilty eating 4 cookies after reading your post...

[acrawlingchaos]

In before IIFYM.

My problem with desserts is that its a lot easier to say no completely, than just limit myself to a small portion. I'm glad the holiday season is over in that respect as we had a LOT of it just laying around the office.

I've started to move away from the idea of IIFYM, simply because the concept leads people to attempt ridiculous extremes.

OTOH, I personally won't cut out the food items I like. Allowing myself to use 10% of my intake (20-25% on refeed) as discretionary leaves my diet all that much more sane. I just past the 26 pound mark lost in 17 weeks.

If that strictness allows you to focus, and you prefer the rigid structure, so be it. Either way John, congrats on the weight loss. That's an impressive chunk for such a short period. How much longer will you continue the diet?

[dbx]

John, any benchmark in this kind of like is worth celebrating. Congrats on the restraint...and results!

[StressMonkey]

That is willpower. I can't imagine that.

[JOHN GARGANI]

Chaos: this is a YEAR LONG diet regimen....no let up.....

[pharmamarketer]

Nice work John. keep it up. That cake is going to be REAlLY good on your B Day

[AAOBob]

Nice work John. keep it up. That cake is going to be REAlLY good on your B Day

I know 19 out of 20 of you won't get this, but it had to be done.

[acrawlingchaos]

Chaos: this is a YEAR LONG diet regimen....no let up.....

Just out of curiosity, why are you making your cut a punishment?

A year!?! Really? I wouldn't have thought you have anywhere near that much fat. What are you now and what is your end goal weight?

[KLMARB]

It doesn't have to be so stringent. I'm down around 12lbs. on my cut, and a few days ago I ate around 4,000 calories of carbs. Sweets, pecan pie, ice cream, etc. Its the pattern and hormonal balance that matters..

[BalhamBeast]

Wow, good going. I don't like junk but I do have a sweet tooth. I lost around 10lbs in the first few months of the year but am taking Easter off (being a chocolate lover and all...) before resuming the diet. For me it's tough. I'm a teacher and there are always goodies around the staff room. I've managed to avoid them up until today when I caved (home made Easter cakes...yum).

[frozensparky]

My problem with desserts is that its a lot easier to say no completely, than just limit myself to a small portion. I'm glad the holiday season is over in that respect as we had a LOT of it just laying around the office.

I have the same issue once i binge a little I go all out

[BalhamBeast]

Same. Sugar is worse than drugs, cigarettes or booze for me. The rest I can take or leave. (Well, leave. Obviously I don't smoke or touch drugs).

[rage1977]

I have gone 3 months now (since JAN 1 ), without a single taste, portion, etc, of any sweet or dessert!!!!!!!

I thought I had will power but I can't keep my diet THAT clean.

[StressMonkey]

I know 19 out of 20 of you won't get this, but it had to be done.

I don't get it.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Congrats on progress and sticking to your plan

I am one of the lucky ones who does not like sweets or even any type of soda. If I had to give up my salty snacks I think I would go insane. Keep up the good work.

I would not go so far as to say not liking sweets, I will destroy some donuts, cookies or chocolate, but compared to the savory...no contest. I crave savory crunch more than anything. Worst thing for me about reduced calories is less crunch, I would mise up some macros and make popcorn on the stovetop.

Good job on the progress. When is the deadline? Jan 1, 2014?