I had two donuts today…two. But am I ashamed? Nope. Am I freaking out that I have wrecked my diet? Nope. Am I worried? Nope. Have I lost my mind? Nope.
You see, for me – this journey of mine has been all about moderation. My plan of attack for food does not involve disallowing foods, it is about allowing myself what I want by working it into my days calorie allotment. As I noted to Jackie last night and Taylore today, if I disallow myself something I will eat it later and more than likely not in a portioned controlled serving.
So yes, two donuts…they were my birthday donuts. You see at my office, if it is your birthday, you bring in treats for everyone else. Yes, doesn’t particularily make sense and yes…my birthday was last Friday – but I was off so my plan was to do it today…and I did.
Though I will say, I did not plan on eating two donuts, one should have sufficed, but another ended up in my tummy. So, I did not eat breaky, nor lunch…well lunch I had two cups o’ soup (104 calories). The donuts come to about 700-800 calories and that is normally where I am after I eat lunch and break so no freaking out over here. Plus today is Day 1 of 3 of my workouts and I normally burn 775-800 calories during my 60min cardio workout and yes, I know the machines are not overly accurate, but even if I burned half of that – yay!
So yes, no worries about the donuts. Donuts are life. Chocolate and chips are life. Pizza is life. Moderation is key for me. Though of course I know that my plan doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. But it works for me – obviously :)
So yes, gym workout today, 45min cybex elliptical and 15min on the treadmill – running getting a bit easier but I am still amazed how much I have lost in this area. I will get it back though!
Oh, speaking of plans – I was surfing the TT board today and someone was asking about diet. One response was to stay away from fad diets such as “Atkins”. Fad? Atkins? Atkins long surpassed being a fad a long time ago. Low carb diets are as popular as Weight Watchers Flex/Core point diets. They also then said that people who lose on the “fad” diet normally gain their weight back and then some…
Okay, I started three years ago doing a very strict low carb/fat/calorie diet, doctor supervised mind you, but still – I was stricter than Atkins and did I gain my weight back? No, in fact once I changed plans (counting calories), I continued losing. The plan I followed helped me lose almost 25lbs in 1.5 months which motivated me to continue on. It is not a plan for everyone, but it worked for me.
As for gaining the weight after going off of Atkins/low carb. Most will gain 3-5lbs back, but this is water weight only, not fat. If someone has gained their weight back, it has nothing to do with the diet they chose to originally lose it on! It is due to the fact that they decided to eat more calories than they needed. PERIOD. All diets are about calories in, calories out. If you cannot control the calories going in, that is how the weight refinds you.
Sorry for the rant…I just get so ticked when people go off on low carb diets. I mean I have tried most diets and have been successful to a point on them because a) I followed the plan and b)they all controlled my calorie consumption. Low carb/hi protein, Weight Watchers, eDiets, Blood Type, etc, etc – they all work, but you have to find the one you can live with.
By the way, I am not pro low carb, I mean – I love me baked fries (potatoes), I eat sammiches for lunch and oatmeal for breaky. I don’t last long on low carb, but I do it when I feel I need to shock the scale. For me, I cannot live with it. Counting calories and allowing myself a donut (or two) in my day, is a food plan I can live with :)
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Amen to treating yourself….. during one of my breaks today i had a hand full of sweet tarts and i took the same approach… I deny myself now…. I’ll eat the whole bag later…. Felt good not giving myself the usual guilty trip! :) have anice weekend girl!!
By Margie on 10.28.05 7:42pm | Permalink
What type of donut dids you eat? If you go to the Tim’s website you can download the calorie count of all their food. The highest cal donuts are the blueberry fritters at 360 cals and the walnut crunch at 350. All the others are in the 180-250 range. So I wouldn’t be counting 800 calories for two donuts!! Now the muffins, that’s a different story (440 for the WW Carrot – wowsa!). And one Timbit is only about 60 calories (woo!).
And I’m with you on the low-carb thing. I did the “carb addicts” diet and lose 45 pounds. I did gain some back when I stopped doing it, but I’ve since lost it again. It was my lack of attention to my diet that caused me to regain it, not the diet itself.
By La on 10.28.05 8:52pm | Permalink
I am totally on board with the no denial, making your eating plan work within your lifestyle mind set. Its never been one that I’ve had before until recently, and although I have been successful at dropping the weight, I’ve never managed to keep it off, simply because I hadn’t adopted a plan that I could live with long term. I think what people have to realize is that we are all different and different things are going to work differently for everyone. Just find what works for you, and go for it! Good for you!
By Devawn on 10.29.05 6:36pm | Permalink
I totally get what you are saying. My husband counts calories and fat, I do WW and our roommate does low-carb…I tell you we are a crazy bunch when picking a restaurant ;).
But whatever you choose to lose, it WILL work if you work it. People want to blame a certain ‘diet’ for their own shortcomings, which ticks me off to no end. I’ve recently ranted that WW is not working for me anymore, after 100 lbs. but I don’t think that is WW’s fault; it is mine, because I am bored and maybe the strictness of something new will push me.
Woah, ramble, when all I meant to say was, “I hear ya sistah”. LOL.
By Hilly on 10.30.05 8:05pm | Permalink