Day Ninetyone -- A Challenge I've Never Encountered Before...

[Big Gunns]

I'll forget the 3rd person for this....most of the time anyway.

3 meals a day are really going to have you craving junk throughout the day. If it's working for you that's good, but I know I'd be craving all the time. I guess you could say I diet, but I'm not really on any plan. I just watch what I eat most of the time.

There is one thing I do that makes it easier though. Most people that know what they're talking about will tell you that the body will adapt to the amount of calories you give it. This means that over time your body will refuse to let you lose more weight easily. When this happens people will restrict their diet even more to lose weight. This is counter productive since you'll always have to do it. When you try and go off the diet your body will remember the starvation you had it in and really pack on the pounds fast. How many peope do you know that were on a diet and lost a bunch of weight only to put on more when they went off it? Well, this is why.

The way to help avoid this is to have a "cheat day". Big Gunns day is Sunday. On Sunday BG pigs out. He loves his pizza with football. Big Gunns will eat everything he was craving all week. This puts you in a much better mood all week since you know that day is coming. It's much easier to diet this way and in the long run it works. You can't have 2 "cheat days" though. You must pick a day and stick with it.

I don't want to tell you to change what's working, but this works for me. It puts you in a much better frame of mind also. When you're done pigging out that day you won't want to see another cookie for a week. hahaha

[Kryptonian]

One trick that works well for me is displacing food with water. You don't loose very fast but its an easy way to not over eat. You drink a glass or 2 of water with a meal and you feel full faster, therefore eating less. At the same time you are helping detox your body and get the water you need in a day which well also help you loose in the long run.

[JLC]

I'm not strict about the three meals a day...well, I am, in that I eat them...LOL...but if I'm truly hungry during the day between meals, I have no qualms about grabbing a snack. I've just seriously changed what my choices are for snacks now.

I'm not going to "go off the diet"....this is a life-time commitment to eating healthy...and the weight loss is just a benefit of that. Well....I do think about the weight a lot more than that...but that's my ultimate mindset. And so far, its working, because even when the scale didn't read what I wanted it to, I've not been discouraged or felt any temptation to give up.

I've tried a system where I allowed myself a "cheat day"...and it just didn't work for me. I would get too inconsistent and try switching days...and eventually "sharing" cheatiness between days.... ...there's all kinds of ways we tell ourselves that this-or-that bad choice is ok. BUT...I will keep that in mind if I hit a serious plateau that I can't seem to break through. It's a tempting concept, for sure. But it also goes back to those "trigger foods" I mentioned earlier. I'm not ready to venture too deeply into that mine field! LOL

I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate all the feedback!!! It gives me good ideas...new concepts to consider...and it helps me to refocus and refine my own thoughts on my motivations and my plans. Thank you all!!!

[JLC]

One trick that works well for me is displacing food with water. You don't loose very fast but its an easy way to not over eat. You drink a glass or 2 of water with a meal and you feel full faster, therefore eating less. At the same time you are helping detox your body and get the water you need in a day which well also help you loose in the long run.

Hehe...yeah, I drink a LOT of water nowadays. And I don't even have to think about it anymore...I just always have my giant tumbler with me and am frequently refilling it throughout the day. Sipping on it helps keep snackage-cravings at bay.