Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
What kills me is all the talk on this board about "cheat" meals. Who needs those when there are so many unique ways to have good foods.  I used to hate cottage cheese and plain yogurt until I discovered they had no flavor and great macros. Now they taste like whatever I want them to taste like. I made a creamy curry sauce for my chicken the other week from cottage cheese as well. Good stuff.... |
It's funny, but to me yogurt has a taste (one I really don't like). I tried making yogurt cheese a couple of years ago and spiced it with lots of indian-type spices and still couldn't take it. I thought I could hide it with other flavours but couldn't. I made a cherry yogurt sorbet the other week. I took 1 cup of a homemade sorbet mix (canned) and mixed it with 1/2 cup yogurt. Although I can still kind of taste the yogurt I think I can get used to eating the mix. It was an attempt to use up the canned fruit mix with a few less calories.
I don't really think I have cheat meals. In the summer I may stray a little from my macros some days to include a little alcohol. I haven't actually tried to work any in at the moment, so I might still be able to keep the protein levels up depending on the evening meals. I've technically made nothing off limit, but there are plenty of things I'm avoiding (mainly junk food) since I lack the control to take them in moderation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
I met a woman who had lost 200# (without surgery). She hadn't had a bite of chocolate in over 4 years. Not one. Not even a single m&m. Not even dark chocolate  ! I guess it depends on what's worth it to you... for Karla, she is happy with the substitutions and doesn't miss the real thing enough to bother eating it. For Jane, it's worth it in moderation, as a treat. |
I think it depends on your personal level of control. Back in late December I bought a small amount of individually wrapped dark chocolate. I thought since I was calorie counting I could work in a piece now and then. They were 30cals each, and quite dark (I didn't log what %). To be honest, I'm not sure I even liked them. 29 pieces later (870 cals) I realized that it was a stupid purchase not even a month into the calorie counting and I ended the day at 2800+ calories.
For some it's a compulsion. Maybe it can be controlled, maybe not. For the woman you're talking about, maybe one piece leads to another, and an uncontrollable slide. The silly thing about the chocolate incident for me is that I couldn't stop it. I should have chucked them, flushed them, but no, my solution was to finish them so that they would be gone. I know, not rational, but true. It led to another (worse) binge a few days later on my birthday. Somehow I've managed to get it in check, but not sure that I'll ever be completely trustworthy with some items.
So for some things I create better, healthier substitutes. Pizza is something we used to keep one or two in the freezer. Although acceptable calories they were too high in fat content. The newer version is higher in protein, lower in fat (carbs a little higher, but mine has more veggies on it). And you know something - I like it better. So, I'm somewhere in between. I'm working on the food as fuel, but deep in my heart I'm a foodie - I like good food. Luckily I'm a pretty decent cook, so I can create my own 'treats' within my daily plan.
