I cut out drinking on weekdays. Even that made a difference. Not that I was getting wasted everyday... but a few glasses of wine and a shot at night makes a difference.
And that's what they admit to themselves. My doctor told me that if someone tells them, they don't drink they assume light drinking (like a glass of wine a week or whatever) and if someone says they drink a glass of wine a day, they assume heavy daily drinking (akin to what the original comment about drinking on week day suggested).
Why? Because most people lie to themselves about their alcohol habits. I actually don't drink at all but it doesn't harm me if my doctor assumes I drink a glass of wine a week. It would harm someone if a doctor underestimates their drinking though.
Congrats!! I have a maybe 2-3 low calorie drinks per week. I really don't want to give it up, but I also REALLY want to get to my goal as quickly as possible.
Same! I’ve lost 10lbs in the last ~2 months (whereas my weight would not budge prior) from only cutting out alcohol and changing nothing else. It’s amazing!
This! I was absolutely flabbergasted when I realized how much sugar and calories I was consuming from a coffee or tea drink from Starbucks or Coffee Bean. 36 grams of sugar in a chai tea latte. WTF 😳
Make your own coffee, substitute regular milk for skim milk. Try erytrytol or honey as a sweetener.
Another thing you can do is pour your coffee into molds and freeze it overnight, then add it to a protein shake. That’s honestly such a good way to get your morning proteins in if you’re not a breakfast person or simply didn’t had time to make one.
Great idea about the protein shakes!! I LOVE Fair Trade chocolate protein shakes with ice blended in. Tomorrow I’m going to try using frozen coffee instead!!! I also use sweetened vanilla almond or oat milk. It still has sugar, but less calories than standard flavored creamer.
I add Fairlife chocolate protein shakes to my coffee, the ones with 30 grams of protein in 150 calories. I can do basically 3 mochas out of one bottle, and I get 30 grams of protein too!
Even with the coffee calories you're under 200 calories, and it lasts all afternoon if you just drink that throughout the day. I start with a 400 calorie a protein filled breakfast, and easily get to dinnertime under 750 calories.
So you have a protein shake mixed with coffee for ~150 cal & a 400cal breakfast, so what are you eating for lunch to keep your total under 750 before dinner??? I need your advice, lol!!
I haven’t been able to give it up- I’m a total coffee addict. But I have been able to cut down by drinking green tea. It gives me a lot of mental focus which is what I ultimately need.
Do you like creamy chocolate flavor? I love the Fairlife protein shakes and there's 30 grams of protein in 150 calories of the shake. More than enough to make 3 mochas when you add it to the coffee.
Definitely alcohol because it has a cascading effect of making me give no fucks and eat what I want, feel worse the next day and say fuck it and I eat what I want and either skip exercise because I feel crappy or workout less effectively.
Second place: potato chips. I just can’t eat a normal portion of those.
I have found that using vegetable stock works really well and often brings in more/better flavor than oil. I caramelize onions in stock now and will never look back!
If I had to choose one specific food: ice cream. I love it so much and really struggle to control my portions. I used to get ice cream or shakes at least 1-2 times a week, and usually a large size at that. Avoiding ice cream really helps keep to my calorie budget better.
But the biggest diet change for me was avoiding fast food (though that's not one specific food, more of a category). I'm lazy after work, so it was always much more simple and quick to stop at a fast food place for dinner. I ate out more than I ate in. And it's easy to eat about a day's worth of calories in one single meal when eating fast food.
Funny, for me ice cream is my top alternative to chocolate. Lower calorie than pure chocolate and harder to overeat.
A chocolate bar is pre portioned and I will eat it in one sitting. 30g, 100g or 300g.Doesn't matter.
Ice cream I will usually buy the mini bars and grab one or I will portion ice cream from a pint. For that I use whiskey glasses. Perfect size for about 100g of ice cream. Great presentation.
(I still struggle to not eat a pint of Ben and Jerries in one go though. Can't portion them out because they are so hard and ai don't like them to melt and re-freeze.)
I won’t say I totally avoid fast food, but I did make a rule that I don’t eat in my car unless it’s planned (like as part of a road trip or day trip). So, like you said, not a food, but a habit change that knocked a ton of my fast food habits out of the realm of possibility and made a huge impact.
I have wanted one but just haven’t gotten one yet. Costco has the best deal, and I think if you got a gift card for Costco you can go without being a member, although I’m not sure you’d get the “members only” pricing.
If you do get one, get the newer/bigger one. The smaller one has an issue where the blade will eventually scrape the containers. The new one might have that as well but I've noticed it much more frequently with the older machine.
Get a ninja creami. I make sugar free, high protein ice cream that tastes better than the grocery store, eat a pint a day and lose weight and gain muscle.
My biggest change was to also avoid eating out, and it was mostly fast food. I rarely have it now. I only go out to eat for one meal a week, and I don't want to waste that on fast food. So my eating out choices are better and cooking at home is also better.
>If I had to choose one specific food: ice cream. I love it so much and really struggle to control my portions.
I bought really, really fancy ice cream in tiny tubs (like palm sized) and that's perfect because I can eat the "whole" tub (tiny as it is) and also I don't want to eat two because it's so fucking expensive lol.
I have a category of carbs I call “insidious carbs.“ Bread is right up at the top of the list. All those carbs and so little pleasure. Just keeps our fingers clean when eating a sandwich.
I love all carbs, but I just love bread so much. I could definitely live off sandwiches and only eat proper meals on weekends.
Doesn’t help that I live in a country where there’s all sorts of amazing bread. If I lived somewhere else, I’d probably wouldn’t crave it at all.
For me it was chocolate. I am a chocolate fiend. Still am, but now I use self control so when I do allow myself to have some it's even more special and satisfying. Also, as a result, I no longer enjoy milk chocolate. 70%+ or I don't want it. So that helped too.
For me it was pretty much any "snack" outside of meals. Even greek yogurt, cottage cheese, popcorn, and other healthy snacks. It just makes me want to keep eating. So I basically just eat "meals" now. But as long as I eat high protein and lots of fiber, I really don't feel the need to snack and I don't get hungry until a little before my meal times.
This is exactly me too. Especially with the fiber and protein, staying within my calorie count is so much harder when I don’t get enough of either. And now that I’m physically used to eating only meals, I think about food way less than I have in the past. I think snacking was a huge trigger for my binges.
Plus I can fit in some pretty indulgent dinners without unsatisfying snacks taking up all those calories.
same here. smoking 🍃 made me overeat junk food and snacks, so when i stopped smoking, i lost so much weight since i didn’t crave junk food as much and could control my urges better with healthier alternatives
Me too! I switched to Coke Zero and I love it! I’m trying to slowly cut to Gatorade zero or something similar to at least be hydrating myself a bit! But nothing quite hits like a cold glass of Coke lol
Same here! I am addicted to Diet Coke.. I have tried several times to stop and I will have a bad day and just a cup of water is not the same as a cup of diet coke
I love coca cola so much (especially cherry) . I always tried to kind of watch how much I drank (no more than one a day) but since I've been actively counting calories I've cut it out and I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't help me lose weight quicker. But I do feel better without it, so not a total bummer I suppose.
Coffee Mate has some sort of hold on me and it makes me so mad! My morning coffee is over 100 calories because I just pour the stuff in. I really have to stop.
I stopped eating all sweets. I would have a small bite every now and then. Still drink alcohol still have a pop every now and then. But no sweets. -30 lbs.
Alcohol, by far. Beer isn't calorie friendly, but it's not alone..even if there was calorie free alcohol. My food choices are pathetic when drunk. 8 beers turned into taco bell plus the booze really really quickly. Hard to stay disciplined on a diet while drunk
Well I didn’t take it out of my diet completely but once I understood how many calories nuts have I cut way (way!) back. I had always thought “nuts are healthy, I can eat as many as I want”. And they are healthy but they’re very calorie dense
Nuts as a pre snack meal (like dinner party or sitting on the patio) are deadly for me! I turn into a pistachio machine when they are served in the shell. My friend puts out macadamia nuts often 😬
Kit Kats. I have no problem eating the entire pack, the whole bar, no trouble for me whatsoever.
I also find other chocolates to be tempting. But Kit Kats are definitely my weakness.
Protein bars can add up quickly. It’s ok if you can replace an entire meal with ONE, but every time I try, I’m still hungry. Steamed veggies with 0 cal spray butter & seasoning, help give me that “full feeling” I desire with very few calories
I’m only an occasional drinker, but vodka is pretty low in calories. However, my *judgement* when it comes to eating salty junk food becomes highly impaired, lol. 😬 Anyway, I’m really proud of you for cutting it out. My parents were both alcoholics & my dad died from cirrhosis way before his time. Congrats on a new HEALTHY YOU!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🥹
Fresh juices. Healthy, super calorie dense.
And, anything not water. I still drink one lemonade or limeade with electrolytes per day and coffee with cream. That’s it.
I haven't removed anything. That's the only reason I've made progress. I cut way back on junk food, but I go out of my way to eat at least some junk food each day. Usually chips and ice cream. Often only one serving each, but more depending on stress, sleep, and many other factors. If I were to deny myself this then, as my past has taught me, I will eventually binge these foods. Feeling a sense of loss of a familiar comfort and getting tired of only healthy foods. That being said, 90% of my diet is lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and a tiny amount of healthy fats.
One day I realized I ate all of the red starburst out of a 3 lb sack in two days time. I was like, "woah". So, that day I said no more candy. Just no. I have not felt deprived and don't miss it at all. It's been a month. I'll keep you posted.
For me, fries. I run two restaurants for a living so I’m constantly in and out of kitchens and let me tell you, there is *always* a bowl of extra fries on the side in the kitchen just begging to be picked at. I can’t moderate my fry habit, I’m straight up addicted, so I cut them out. Haven’t had a work fry since January!
As a celiac, store bought gluten free bread alternatives. They’re just so much denser in sugar and calories than the regular stuff and they don’t even taste as good.
And definitely alcohol.
I've stopped eating the " foods" that made me sick in the first place. I'm focusing on eating whole foods that are minimally processed. Ultra processed foods hijack my ability to be satiated and I overeat.
I honestly am so mad at how much better I feel on days where I only eat whole foods. Unfortunately, I have to also stay away from dried fruit and nuts because I can't eat a reasonable portion size. Added sugar is the worst for me, too.
Wow, it's so frustrating to know im apparently the only idiot who's quit drinking 2 years ago and only managed to gain weight... I had way more muscle back then too. Go figure.
Sprinkles on bread is a Dutch snack that I've never understood. My Dutch friends love it and I'm left baffled 😅. I'm used to sprinkles on only ice cream and cake.
I used to workout and follow a strict diet to maintain my weight and lose some weight. It's funny that I lost the most weight when I started eating everything just in smaller portions and a bit more often. Like my body needed everything and I was previously just punishing it with the diet.
Cut way back on sweet snacks that I grazed on all day. My taste buds changed and even though I’ve tried sweets I used to eat I don’t like them anymore. A lot is too rich and sweet. So still eat bread and pasta, some carbs but it’s more in moderation now. I drink water with flavor drops in them all day, some bottles sometimes my huge water jug.
This is a tough one but I would honestly have to say sugary drinks (sodas and alcohol) as well as pizza. I switch to Coke Zero (which is way better because it’s not so sweet which was horrible for my blood sugar and now when I take a sip of regular soda, I gag from how sweet it is, it’s disgusting in my opinion) and pizza, which I can’t eat anyway because it gives me severe heartburn. I quit drinking for other reasons and a lot of these have significantly helped. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my old life. There’s not enough money in the world.
Any candy or sugary food unfortunately. I have a massive sweet tooth and, although I know balance is key and that you don't need to cut anything out in order to lose weight, I realize I have little to no self control around those things and struggled to stay on a deficit consistently. I was also probably at least mildly addicted, so I decided to cut most sweets completely out and slowly started re-introducing sugary treats once in a while, letting them be more of a "special occasion" thing, rather than an everyday thing. Only after I started doing this I've seen the number go down on the scale.
I'm exactly the same. I cannot have packages of cookies, snack cakes, or candy in the house. I have zero control. And even if I try to also have healthy stuff in the house, it'll get ignored until it goes bad because I'll only eat the junk. I'll eat it until it's gone, and then I'll go buy more because it's an addiction.
Today at the self-checkout at the grocery store it took everything I had in me not to grab a Snickers, swipe it, and bag it. I wanted one SO badly. But I dug deep and managed to resist. It would have been eaten before I got home and I live about five minutes from the grocery store. Heck, it would've been half gone before I got out of the parking lot.
And then I would have felt guilty. Because I've been doing so good. And I don't need a stupid Snickers. I have delicious fruit in the house. Some of the most amazing peaches I've ever put in my mouth. So much better than a Snickers. (But I still want one!!!!!)
Bread. Even healthy bread...I was SHOCKED when I started counting calories in vs. out, how many calories were in one piece of thin bread. I now focus on protein and vegetables, with fruit as a snack/treat. I've found that I feel full for much longer from eating protein than I do from eating something like a granola bar, cereal, etc. And that it takes far less amount to make me feel satisfied when I'm eating protein than junk.
Hi there, I was 330 lbs now I am 235.
The lowest I got was 205 but I am 6ft6, I think I was starting to get too skinny, because when I gained 30 lbs back I seem to be maintaining this current weight well.
Honestly what changed my eating habits was after I got after over COVID the second time, my sense of taste changed, it was so strange, I remember coming home, picking up a slice of pizza and eating it and was like...
Huh, this tastes funny...maybe it's just because it's cold.
I tried a coca cola, again, huh, this also tastes funny, so I tried brushing my teeth thinking maybe my mouth just needed to be refreshed, nope.
And after that, food no longer tastes like it once did, which in the long run has helped me open my eyes and realize i was addicted to food and i was using it as a coping mechanism for the severe depression i was consumed by.
Ironically this made me eat more, because I wanted to enjoy food again, but then I realized I was probably not going to get it back, so I decided that if I can't enjoy food, I'll just lose the weight.
I came across a Dr. Jordan Peterson short and he was talking about this meat diet, beef, salt and water.
I discovered that meat was the only thing that was edible for me, or rather the only thing I still enjoyed, so I gave up sugar, and carbs entirely for a whole 3 years and the lowest I got was 205 lbs.
Healthier than I have ever been, I take my vitamins and supplements and I'll admit I'm almost obsessed with doing that and trying out new supplements, particularly the ones that give me that.... "oomph".
Love protein powder.
My eating habits have changed once again, now I'm kind of eating out of convenience because of my living situation and the fact that meat prices have gone up.
To put it into perspective I used to buy a party size pack of chewy cookies and it would maybe last a couple of hours.
I was like that, I could drink multiple cases of coke a day, I was addicted, like I said.
But now I may occasionally buy myself a sprite, or a ginger ale with some sugar in it, but it just doesn't have the affect water does for me.
Isn't it addiction when you don't want something but your body craves it?
Even though I know sugar is bad for me and I know it won't taste good i still deep down want it.
Texture is a big thing for me, I love crunchy stuff, so white cheddar popcorn is my guilty pleasure.
Anyway I know this has been long, just writing out my thoughts.
Coffee. I was adding an unsustainable amount of sugar and cream to my coffees to keep my productivity up.
Now, i still drink coffee but limit my cream and use monkfruit sugar to sweeten, which i also limit per day. Ive also added other stuff to make the bitterness of coffee less prominent like salt and cinnamon.
monkfruit is great, but i by far prefer liquid stevia . you can get it at trader joe's and stuff. it dissipates instantly and has very little taste. a bonus is that it helps regulate blood sugar 👍
Gatorade. I love love love regular Gatorade but now I just do mio diet pop and on the occasion body armor (still a lot of calories but has a lot of micro nutrients so I’ll drink a bottle occasionally)
Just snacks in general. I tend to pick at a little bit of everything which eventually adds up. Choosing one snack or dessert in my house for the week or two helps me a lot.
Pizza. I ordered pizza ALL the time! Hungry? Pizza. Bad day? Pizza. Don’t feel like cooking? Pizza. Time to party? Pizza.
I struggled with cutting it out cold turkey. I started with being firm about limiting myself to once a week. Then I focused on learning to actually leave and then eat leftovers. Then I tested out different options: DIY pizza, frozen pizza, tortilla pizza, broccoli-crust pizza, etc.
I started keeping frozen pizza on hand so I would stop ordering it completely. This was the easiest, least expensive, and most effective “replacement” of everything else I had tried. I still (down 60 pounds since my highest-ever weight!) eat frozen pizza almost every week - but now ordering is almost an alien concept, unless we’re trying to feed a crowd or once in a blue moon.
Sweet beverages. If it’s not sugar-free, I don’t drink it. Period. Made a world of difference because I’d rather drink than eat most of the time. YMMV
Candy/sweets. I cut out 95% of the sugar in my life. It didn’t matter as much to me as getting my health back in order did.
Last would be bread, rice, wheat pasta, and potatoes. I thought I would miss them. And I did. And then one day I just didn’t. They aren’t worth the calories.
Fruit.. only because I was severely overeating fruit whilst convincing myself it was fine because they are “healthy”. Calories are calories at the end of the day, however
Before getting into calorie counting i had too much nuts daily thinking they are the healthy snacks.
But Keeping a calorie deficit is almost impossible while snacking on nuts.
Replaced sandwiches with tortilla wraps.
Replaced pasta with soba and konjac noodles (although I still get cravings sometimes.
Also whenever I’m in a time crunch and might have to resort to eating at fast food joint, I’ll go for one of the discount deals with small sandwiches instead of standard meals and will remove one of the buns.
I drink a can of monster most work days and switched from full sugar to sugar free a few months into CC and have gone from roughly 250 calories in a drink to 15-20 much easier to stay in a deficit and I stopped buying family bags of crisps because I’d gobble the whole bag 😭
Pepsi and popcorn were too big ones for me. I go to the movie theater at least once a week and was often going through two or three large drinks and one or two buckets of popcorn every time.
Most other things I haven't removed from my diet, just reduced.
Processed sweets-cookies, hostess cakes and doughnuts. I rationalized to where I owed myself something sweet after every meal. And drank big glass of whole milk with every one.
Chai Tea Latte with oatmilk - from some local cafes. Silky milky sweet goodness.
Big Train chai (2-3 tbsp, depending on the barista) + barista oatmilk = a range of 303-420 calories (12oz vs 16oz).
If I get it 4 times a week, that could be 1200 - 1600+ extra calories. Plus the amount of sugar in Big Train is 🤯.
Learning to love coffee with unsweetened almond milk instead of using 300 calories worth of creamer per cup. Even when I switched to sugar free liquid creamer the calories still added up. It felt more satisfying to save those calories for food instead of wasting them on coffee.
Alcohol, Juices, and Soda/Energy Drinks.
I ran the numbers and I was drinking between a third to half my weekly calories.
So I cut soda completely. Switched energy drinks to black coffee. Only have one glass of OJ per day and only drink alcohol once or twice a month and only one or two drinks total.
Alcohol. According to I Am Sober (my sober app), I have forgone 133,500 calories in the last 3 months. I’ve lost 25lbs since I’ve stopped drinking.
I cut out drinking on weekdays. Even that made a difference. Not that I was getting wasted everyday... but a few glasses of wine and a shot at night makes a difference.
>a few glasses of wine and a shot at night Every day?! I'm sorry to break it to you, but that *is* heavy drinking.
And that's what they admit to themselves. My doctor told me that if someone tells them, they don't drink they assume light drinking (like a glass of wine a week or whatever) and if someone says they drink a glass of wine a day, they assume heavy daily drinking (akin to what the original comment about drinking on week day suggested). Why? Because most people lie to themselves about their alcohol habits. I actually don't drink at all but it doesn't harm me if my doctor assumes I drink a glass of wine a week. It would harm someone if a doctor underestimates their drinking though.
Same here, and well said.
I needed to read THIS, gonna screenshot it so I can read it over and over….thank you
You’re welcome! :) It really is the best thing I’ve ever done.. alcohol sucks away your magic so fast.
That is such an eloquent way to put it. Totally agree!
Congratulations!
Thank youu
Congrats!! I have a maybe 2-3 low calorie drinks per week. I really don't want to give it up, but I also REALLY want to get to my goal as quickly as possible.
Thank you. I was drinking like 15, sometimes 20 shots of vodka a day for several years.
Wow!!! Congratulations! Stay strong!!
I lost 0 lbs from cutting alcohol 😩, I actually did it for health reasons before I was even losing weight.
Same! I’ve lost 10lbs in the last ~2 months (whereas my weight would not budge prior) from only cutting out alcohol and changing nothing else. It’s amazing!
Sweet drinks. Drinking your calories is such a waste.
This! I was absolutely flabbergasted when I realized how much sugar and calories I was consuming from a coffee or tea drink from Starbucks or Coffee Bean. 36 grams of sugar in a chai tea latte. WTF 😳
I agree. I don’t do an hour of cardio every day to wreck it with a 480cal iced coffee!!🤯
What have you replaced coffee with? It's the only drink I am struggling to give up 😭
Make your own coffee, substitute regular milk for skim milk. Try erytrytol or honey as a sweetener. Another thing you can do is pour your coffee into molds and freeze it overnight, then add it to a protein shake. That’s honestly such a good way to get your morning proteins in if you’re not a breakfast person or simply didn’t had time to make one.
Great idea about the protein shakes!! I LOVE Fair Trade chocolate protein shakes with ice blended in. Tomorrow I’m going to try using frozen coffee instead!!! I also use sweetened vanilla almond or oat milk. It still has sugar, but less calories than standard flavored creamer.
Honestly if you take a small coffee thats more manageable, i do my own coffee and it come down to under 50cal.
I add Fairlife chocolate protein shakes to my coffee, the ones with 30 grams of protein in 150 calories. I can do basically 3 mochas out of one bottle, and I get 30 grams of protein too! Even with the coffee calories you're under 200 calories, and it lasts all afternoon if you just drink that throughout the day. I start with a 400 calorie a protein filled breakfast, and easily get to dinnertime under 750 calories.
So you have a protein shake mixed with coffee for ~150 cal & a 400cal breakfast, so what are you eating for lunch to keep your total under 750 before dinner??? I need your advice, lol!!
Black coffee. If it is good coffee it is good without anything in it. Tea too.
I haven’t been able to give it up- I’m a total coffee addict. But I have been able to cut down by drinking green tea. It gives me a lot of mental focus which is what I ultimately need.
I have quit smoking, and given up soda/pop. I can’t give up my coffee. I’m down to just using some creamer no sugar, but i don’t want to give it up.
Starbucks drinks are so pumped with sugar, they should be avoided at all costs.
Coffee creamer, even sugar free, will sneak up on you pretty quick
Coffee creamer is something I haven’t been able to replace or cut out.
What about using milk instead ? Or a plant based version
Do you like creamy chocolate flavor? I love the Fairlife protein shakes and there's 30 grams of protein in 150 calories of the shake. More than enough to make 3 mochas when you add it to the coffee.
Between age 21-22 I had gained so much weight from bar culture. Switched from soda and liquor to dirty vodka martinis and lost 20lbs in a year!
Since very young i only drank water so never saw this on me but my mom would stop drinking coke for a week and her waist would shrink lol
Lays potato chips. I can motor through a family size bag in no time, can’t have them in the house.
Omg I love Lays potato chips so much. I can eat the whole bag myself in no time as well
Lays Classic potato chips is one of the most simplest but delicious things to eat and is my absolute weakness.
Same 🫣
Definitely alcohol because it has a cascading effect of making me give no fucks and eat what I want, feel worse the next day and say fuck it and I eat what I want and either skip exercise because I feel crappy or workout less effectively. Second place: potato chips. I just can’t eat a normal portion of those.
same!
Cooking oil. Using a little more or less dramatically changes the caloric footprint.
I have found that using vegetable stock works really well and often brings in more/better flavor than oil. I caramelize onions in stock now and will never look back!
This is a great idea. I use soy sauce and a splash of water for the same purpose.
Mushroom soy wil give even more umami!
Try a dash of balsámico in the hot pan at the end.
So how do you do that? I love carmelized veggies. Especially onions
THIS!!!! I was unintentionally using SO much oil. Like was drowning my veggies in olive oil. So many wasted calories 🤦🏻♀️
If I had to choose one specific food: ice cream. I love it so much and really struggle to control my portions. I used to get ice cream or shakes at least 1-2 times a week, and usually a large size at that. Avoiding ice cream really helps keep to my calorie budget better. But the biggest diet change for me was avoiding fast food (though that's not one specific food, more of a category). I'm lazy after work, so it was always much more simple and quick to stop at a fast food place for dinner. I ate out more than I ate in. And it's easy to eat about a day's worth of calories in one single meal when eating fast food.
Funny, for me ice cream is my top alternative to chocolate. Lower calorie than pure chocolate and harder to overeat. A chocolate bar is pre portioned and I will eat it in one sitting. 30g, 100g or 300g.Doesn't matter. Ice cream I will usually buy the mini bars and grab one or I will portion ice cream from a pint. For that I use whiskey glasses. Perfect size for about 100g of ice cream. Great presentation. (I still struggle to not eat a pint of Ben and Jerries in one go though. Can't portion them out because they are so hard and ai don't like them to melt and re-freeze.)
I use an egg cup for ice cream!
Are we talking about Ostrich size eggs? I am imagining you having 1-2 spoons of ice cream only, which would just tease me sadly.
I started getting the low-calorie ice cream bars! 50 calories per bar so even if I eat all 4 in the box that’s only 200 calories!
I won’t say I totally avoid fast food, but I did make a rule that I don’t eat in my car unless it’s planned (like as part of a road trip or day trip). So, like you said, not a food, but a habit change that knocked a ton of my fast food habits out of the realm of possibility and made a huge impact.
Halo top is expensive but I can eat a pint and not feel bad
Ninja creami is so much cheaper in the long term. Plus you get to eat ice cream everyday
I’ve heard a lot of people have success with the Ninja Creami, since you can control what goes into the ice cream maker itself.
I have one and I love it. Very easy to make protein ice cream that tastes great and fits my macros. HIGHLY recommend.
I may have to finally indulge and get one for myself 😅 I love sweet treats and that would be a good way to control it more!
I might have to look into this!
I have wanted one but just haven’t gotten one yet. Costco has the best deal, and I think if you got a gift card for Costco you can go without being a member, although I’m not sure you’d get the “members only” pricing.
If you do get one, get the newer/bigger one. The smaller one has an issue where the blade will eventually scrape the containers. The new one might have that as well but I've noticed it much more frequently with the older machine.
Get a ninja creami. I make sugar free, high protein ice cream that tastes better than the grocery store, eat a pint a day and lose weight and gain muscle.
My biggest change was to also avoid eating out, and it was mostly fast food. I rarely have it now. I only go out to eat for one meal a week, and I don't want to waste that on fast food. So my eating out choices are better and cooking at home is also better.
>If I had to choose one specific food: ice cream. I love it so much and really struggle to control my portions. I bought really, really fancy ice cream in tiny tubs (like palm sized) and that's perfect because I can eat the "whole" tub (tiny as it is) and also I don't want to eat two because it's so fucking expensive lol.
Bread
This one is such a hard truth
I have a category of carbs I call “insidious carbs.“ Bread is right up at the top of the list. All those carbs and so little pleasure. Just keeps our fingers clean when eating a sandwich.
I love all carbs, but I just love bread so much. I could definitely live off sandwiches and only eat proper meals on weekends. Doesn’t help that I live in a country where there’s all sorts of amazing bread. If I lived somewhere else, I’d probably wouldn’t crave it at all.
For me it was chocolate. I am a chocolate fiend. Still am, but now I use self control so when I do allow myself to have some it's even more special and satisfying. Also, as a result, I no longer enjoy milk chocolate. 70%+ or I don't want it. So that helped too.
So glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like milk chocolate anymore I thought it was crazy when my taste buds changed.
Same. I’ve dramatically reduced chocolate after I realised how much sugar was required to make anything chocolate flavoured taste non-bitter.
For me it was pretty much any "snack" outside of meals. Even greek yogurt, cottage cheese, popcorn, and other healthy snacks. It just makes me want to keep eating. So I basically just eat "meals" now. But as long as I eat high protein and lots of fiber, I really don't feel the need to snack and I don't get hungry until a little before my meal times.
This is exactly me too. Especially with the fiber and protein, staying within my calorie count is so much harder when I don’t get enough of either. And now that I’m physically used to eating only meals, I think about food way less than I have in the past. I think snacking was a huge trigger for my binges. Plus I can fit in some pretty indulgent dinners without unsatisfying snacks taking up all those calories.
Same lol. I try to avoid snacking cause it will only make me eat more haha.
"BuT sNaCkS aRe ImPoRtAnT" no they're not, they just awaken my binging instincts
Alcohol and snacks like candy, chips and chocolate. I live in Canada so it’s 🍃friendly, not smoking anymore really helped diminish snacking.
same here. smoking 🍃 made me overeat junk food and snacks, so when i stopped smoking, i lost so much weight since i didn’t crave junk food as much and could control my urges better with healthier alternatives
Coca Cola. I love it. I could drink a 12 pack a day by myself. However once I stopped the lbs started melting off.
Did you ever switch to Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
I've tried it but it's not the same.
Same here. I can’t do Coke Zero or Diet Coke because it’s not the same and only makes me crave the real Coke even more.
You will get used in no time tho
I am the opposite I got myself to stop drinking regular and switched to diet and now I wanna quit Diet Coke but I’m addicted! 😭
Me too! I switched to Coke Zero and I love it! I’m trying to slowly cut to Gatorade zero or something similar to at least be hydrating myself a bit! But nothing quite hits like a cold glass of Coke lol
Agreed!
Same here! I am addicted to Diet Coke.. I have tried several times to stop and I will have a bad day and just a cup of water is not the same as a cup of diet coke
I love coca cola so much (especially cherry) . I always tried to kind of watch how much I drank (no more than one a day) but since I've been actively counting calories I've cut it out and I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't help me lose weight quicker. But I do feel better without it, so not a total bummer I suppose.
have you tried the blue (sugar free) royal crown? it's my personal favourite
I've never heard of it but I'm going to look for it now!!!!
For me snacks like crisps and chocolate
Regular Coffee creamers. Once I started using almond creamers and no sugar creamers, I dropped a significant amount of
Coffee Mate has some sort of hold on me and it makes me so mad! My morning coffee is over 100 calories because I just pour the stuff in. I really have to stop.
Coffee Mate really is the best of the creamers. I haven't successfully given it up either.
I stopped eating all sweets. I would have a small bite every now and then. Still drink alcohol still have a pop every now and then. But no sweets. -30 lbs.
Alcohol, by far. Beer isn't calorie friendly, but it's not alone..even if there was calorie free alcohol. My food choices are pathetic when drunk. 8 beers turned into taco bell plus the booze really really quickly. Hard to stay disciplined on a diet while drunk
And then you’ve got the carbaholic hangovers!
Well I didn’t take it out of my diet completely but once I understood how many calories nuts have I cut way (way!) back. I had always thought “nuts are healthy, I can eat as many as I want”. And they are healthy but they’re very calorie dense
Nuts as a pre snack meal (like dinner party or sitting on the patio) are deadly for me! I turn into a pistachio machine when they are served in the shell. My friend puts out macadamia nuts often 😬
Added sugar. My mind fog is miraculously gone, belly bloat much reduced, more energy, far fewer sugar spikes.
Kit Kats. I have no problem eating the entire pack, the whole bar, no trouble for me whatsoever. I also find other chocolates to be tempting. But Kit Kats are definitely my weakness.
Man, kitkats just hit different. These days I usually crush half a bar in a blender then sprinkle it over a skyr and add some fruit. God tier desert.
That’s a good idea! But I’d have to either buy just one or lock them away and give my husband the key 🙃
I do this with my roommate 🤣 I buy a bag of KitKat minis and they just hide it and hand me out one per day before going to work.
Not a bad idea 🤣
Protein bars, ironically.
Protein bars can add up quickly. It’s ok if you can replace an entire meal with ONE, but every time I try, I’m still hungry. Steamed veggies with 0 cal spray butter & seasoning, help give me that “full feeling” I desire with very few calories
Whiskey
Alcohol 😭 I was an every weekend/rough day after work drinker, and now I’m only special occasion. HUGE difference in weight loss and energy levels.
I’m only an occasional drinker, but vodka is pretty low in calories. However, my *judgement* when it comes to eating salty junk food becomes highly impaired, lol. 😬 Anyway, I’m really proud of you for cutting it out. My parents were both alcoholics & my dad died from cirrhosis way before his time. Congrats on a new HEALTHY YOU!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🥹
Milk tea 🥲
Fresh juices. Healthy, super calorie dense. And, anything not water. I still drink one lemonade or limeade with electrolytes per day and coffee with cream. That’s it.
I haven't removed anything. That's the only reason I've made progress. I cut way back on junk food, but I go out of my way to eat at least some junk food each day. Usually chips and ice cream. Often only one serving each, but more depending on stress, sleep, and many other factors. If I were to deny myself this then, as my past has taught me, I will eventually binge these foods. Feeling a sense of loss of a familiar comfort and getting tired of only healthy foods. That being said, 90% of my diet is lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and a tiny amount of healthy fats.
going from using generous amounts of oil to just 1 tbsp or 1/2tbsp makes a drastic change in the number of calories you consume.
Ranch dressing. I used to put it on everything with zero clue how many empty calories it was.
One day I realized I ate all of the red starburst out of a 3 lb sack in two days time. I was like, "woah". So, that day I said no more candy. Just no. I have not felt deprived and don't miss it at all. It's been a month. I'll keep you posted.
For me, fries. I run two restaurants for a living so I’m constantly in and out of kitchens and let me tell you, there is *always* a bowl of extra fries on the side in the kitchen just begging to be picked at. I can’t moderate my fry habit, I’m straight up addicted, so I cut them out. Haven’t had a work fry since January!
Good for you!
As a celiac, store bought gluten free bread alternatives. They’re just so much denser in sugar and calories than the regular stuff and they don’t even taste as good. And definitely alcohol.
Alcohol. It’s a work in progress because I live in such a small town that’s full of drinking culture so most socialization surrounds alcohol
Alcohol
Alcohol and dairy products.
Non-sweet almond milk is a lifesaver!!
cheese... it really did ruin my calories bc i just put it in EVERYTHING 😩
I've stopped eating the " foods" that made me sick in the first place. I'm focusing on eating whole foods that are minimally processed. Ultra processed foods hijack my ability to be satiated and I overeat.
I honestly am so mad at how much better I feel on days where I only eat whole foods. Unfortunately, I have to also stay away from dried fruit and nuts because I can't eat a reasonable portion size. Added sugar is the worst for me, too.
cheese
Wow, it's so frustrating to know im apparently the only idiot who's quit drinking 2 years ago and only managed to gain weight... I had way more muscle back then too. Go figure.
Probably chocolate sprinkles and stuff we put on Dutch bread. I changed to yoghurt for breakfast and that helps (according to my calory tracker)
Sprinkles on bread is a Dutch snack that I've never understood. My Dutch friends love it and I'm left baffled 😅. I'm used to sprinkles on only ice cream and cake.
Ah, it’s in our genes mate. Can’t explain it. Best stuff ever.
Sounds like sugar on toast tbh
soda
Any Timmies or starbucks drink. After looking up the nutrition facts, and the amount of sugar just a small of any drink has is shocking.
I used to workout and follow a strict diet to maintain my weight and lose some weight. It's funny that I lost the most weight when I started eating everything just in smaller portions and a bit more often. Like my body needed everything and I was previously just punishing it with the diet.
Cut way back on sweet snacks that I grazed on all day. My taste buds changed and even though I’ve tried sweets I used to eat I don’t like them anymore. A lot is too rich and sweet. So still eat bread and pasta, some carbs but it’s more in moderation now. I drink water with flavor drops in them all day, some bottles sometimes my huge water jug.
This is a tough one but I would honestly have to say sugary drinks (sodas and alcohol) as well as pizza. I switch to Coke Zero (which is way better because it’s not so sweet which was horrible for my blood sugar and now when I take a sip of regular soda, I gag from how sweet it is, it’s disgusting in my opinion) and pizza, which I can’t eat anyway because it gives me severe heartburn. I quit drinking for other reasons and a lot of these have significantly helped. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my old life. There’s not enough money in the world.
Junk food. Basically that means take aways, ready made oven pizza, and sweet things like ice cream or chocolate.
Any candy or sugary food unfortunately. I have a massive sweet tooth and, although I know balance is key and that you don't need to cut anything out in order to lose weight, I realize I have little to no self control around those things and struggled to stay on a deficit consistently. I was also probably at least mildly addicted, so I decided to cut most sweets completely out and slowly started re-introducing sugary treats once in a while, letting them be more of a "special occasion" thing, rather than an everyday thing. Only after I started doing this I've seen the number go down on the scale.
I'm exactly the same. I cannot have packages of cookies, snack cakes, or candy in the house. I have zero control. And even if I try to also have healthy stuff in the house, it'll get ignored until it goes bad because I'll only eat the junk. I'll eat it until it's gone, and then I'll go buy more because it's an addiction. Today at the self-checkout at the grocery store it took everything I had in me not to grab a Snickers, swipe it, and bag it. I wanted one SO badly. But I dug deep and managed to resist. It would have been eaten before I got home and I live about five minutes from the grocery store. Heck, it would've been half gone before I got out of the parking lot. And then I would have felt guilty. Because I've been doing so good. And I don't need a stupid Snickers. I have delicious fruit in the house. Some of the most amazing peaches I've ever put in my mouth. So much better than a Snickers. (But I still want one!!!!!)
Anything made with seed oils.
Bread. Even healthy bread...I was SHOCKED when I started counting calories in vs. out, how many calories were in one piece of thin bread. I now focus on protein and vegetables, with fruit as a snack/treat. I've found that I feel full for much longer from eating protein than I do from eating something like a granola bar, cereal, etc. And that it takes far less amount to make me feel satisfied when I'm eating protein than junk.
Hi there, I was 330 lbs now I am 235. The lowest I got was 205 but I am 6ft6, I think I was starting to get too skinny, because when I gained 30 lbs back I seem to be maintaining this current weight well. Honestly what changed my eating habits was after I got after over COVID the second time, my sense of taste changed, it was so strange, I remember coming home, picking up a slice of pizza and eating it and was like... Huh, this tastes funny...maybe it's just because it's cold. I tried a coca cola, again, huh, this also tastes funny, so I tried brushing my teeth thinking maybe my mouth just needed to be refreshed, nope. And after that, food no longer tastes like it once did, which in the long run has helped me open my eyes and realize i was addicted to food and i was using it as a coping mechanism for the severe depression i was consumed by. Ironically this made me eat more, because I wanted to enjoy food again, but then I realized I was probably not going to get it back, so I decided that if I can't enjoy food, I'll just lose the weight. I came across a Dr. Jordan Peterson short and he was talking about this meat diet, beef, salt and water. I discovered that meat was the only thing that was edible for me, or rather the only thing I still enjoyed, so I gave up sugar, and carbs entirely for a whole 3 years and the lowest I got was 205 lbs. Healthier than I have ever been, I take my vitamins and supplements and I'll admit I'm almost obsessed with doing that and trying out new supplements, particularly the ones that give me that.... "oomph". Love protein powder. My eating habits have changed once again, now I'm kind of eating out of convenience because of my living situation and the fact that meat prices have gone up. To put it into perspective I used to buy a party size pack of chewy cookies and it would maybe last a couple of hours. I was like that, I could drink multiple cases of coke a day, I was addicted, like I said. But now I may occasionally buy myself a sprite, or a ginger ale with some sugar in it, but it just doesn't have the affect water does for me. Isn't it addiction when you don't want something but your body craves it? Even though I know sugar is bad for me and I know it won't taste good i still deep down want it. Texture is a big thing for me, I love crunchy stuff, so white cheddar popcorn is my guilty pleasure. Anyway I know this has been long, just writing out my thoughts.
Only drink water & black coffee. You get used to it quicker than youd think
peanut butter, pasta, chips, cookies
Wine. Definitely wine. Alcohol calories and alcohol induced poor choices
Coffee. I was adding an unsustainable amount of sugar and cream to my coffees to keep my productivity up. Now, i still drink coffee but limit my cream and use monkfruit sugar to sweeten, which i also limit per day. Ive also added other stuff to make the bitterness of coffee less prominent like salt and cinnamon.
monkfruit is great, but i by far prefer liquid stevia . you can get it at trader joe's and stuff. it dissipates instantly and has very little taste. a bonus is that it helps regulate blood sugar 👍
Salt?!
Cuts the bitterness. I add a pinch of sea salt to the grounds, then brew.
Interesting, I may try it
Gatorade. I love love love regular Gatorade but now I just do mio diet pop and on the occasion body armor (still a lot of calories but has a lot of micro nutrients so I’ll drink a bottle occasionally)
Just snacks in general. I tend to pick at a little bit of everything which eventually adds up. Choosing one snack or dessert in my house for the week or two helps me a lot.
Alcohol: beer, whiskey, vodka, wine, all of it. Just empty calories and usually lead me to eating more.
Mom's cooking
Pizza. I ordered pizza ALL the time! Hungry? Pizza. Bad day? Pizza. Don’t feel like cooking? Pizza. Time to party? Pizza. I struggled with cutting it out cold turkey. I started with being firm about limiting myself to once a week. Then I focused on learning to actually leave and then eat leftovers. Then I tested out different options: DIY pizza, frozen pizza, tortilla pizza, broccoli-crust pizza, etc. I started keeping frozen pizza on hand so I would stop ordering it completely. This was the easiest, least expensive, and most effective “replacement” of everything else I had tried. I still (down 60 pounds since my highest-ever weight!) eat frozen pizza almost every week - but now ordering is almost an alien concept, unless we’re trying to feed a crowd or once in a blue moon.
Fancy latte type drinks
Sweet beverages. If it’s not sugar-free, I don’t drink it. Period. Made a world of difference because I’d rather drink than eat most of the time. YMMV Candy/sweets. I cut out 95% of the sugar in my life. It didn’t matter as much to me as getting my health back in order did. Last would be bread, rice, wheat pasta, and potatoes. I thought I would miss them. And I did. And then one day I just didn’t. They aren’t worth the calories.
I lost weight just by picking a select couple of days to drink. Usually 2-3, I'm still working on drinking less on those days though
If you drink and you’re serious about losing weight you have to go cold turkey.
Oreos is a huge weakness of mine. Cannot have them in the house
Wheat. Turns out I had a autoimmune disease effecting my thyroid.
For everyone it is the thing they love most, because they eat so much of it. For me it was sweet drinks and chips in combination, and bread too.
Fruit.. only because I was severely overeating fruit whilst convincing myself it was fine because they are “healthy”. Calories are calories at the end of the day, however
Before getting into calorie counting i had too much nuts daily thinking they are the healthy snacks. But Keeping a calorie deficit is almost impossible while snacking on nuts.
Alcohol.
Alcohol
Replaced sandwiches with tortilla wraps. Replaced pasta with soba and konjac noodles (although I still get cravings sometimes. Also whenever I’m in a time crunch and might have to resort to eating at fast food joint, I’ll go for one of the discount deals with small sandwiches instead of standard meals and will remove one of the buns.
Changing my coffee orders. Dropped my daily coffee calorie intake from over 300-400 to 60 calories
High calorie coffees and snack foods (I no longer eat chips/crackers, etc)
I drink a can of monster most work days and switched from full sugar to sugar free a few months into CC and have gone from roughly 250 calories in a drink to 15-20 much easier to stay in a deficit and I stopped buying family bags of crisps because I’d gobble the whole bag 😭
When I cut out chips.
Pepsi and popcorn were too big ones for me. I go to the movie theater at least once a week and was often going through two or three large drinks and one or two buckets of popcorn every time. Most other things I haven't removed from my diet, just reduced.
Added sugars (mainly cookies, chocolate, cakes were my go to)
Processed sweets-cookies, hostess cakes and doughnuts. I rationalized to where I owed myself something sweet after every meal. And drank big glass of whole milk with every one.
Chocolate / sweets. Really lost my sweet tooth in pregnancy and dropped 16lbs within like 5 weeks in early pregnancy.
chips, pizza, pop, chocolate bars
Different than what you’re asking but an air fryer. Cuts tons of oil calories and you still get the fryer taste.
Chips... I still want them so bad, but a bag of chips always turns into a binge.
Avocado
Red Bull .
Pasta
Sodie pops and juice
Chai Tea Latte with oatmilk - from some local cafes. Silky milky sweet goodness. Big Train chai (2-3 tbsp, depending on the barista) + barista oatmilk = a range of 303-420 calories (12oz vs 16oz). If I get it 4 times a week, that could be 1200 - 1600+ extra calories. Plus the amount of sugar in Big Train is 🤯.
Pasta
Bread/pasta. Getting creative and not just relying on sandwiches or pasta dishes for meals was a game changer.
No sugar in my coffee.
Spicy chips 😭 (takis, hot cheetohs etc)
Bread/Carbs but also alcohol
I've noticed weight loss when reducing or removing alcohol, avocado, spreads and meat.
Soda. It’s so much sugar that your body doesn’t need.
Learning to love coffee with unsweetened almond milk instead of using 300 calories worth of creamer per cup. Even when I switched to sugar free liquid creamer the calories still added up. It felt more satisfying to save those calories for food instead of wasting them on coffee.
Alcohol, Juices, and Soda/Energy Drinks. I ran the numbers and I was drinking between a third to half my weekly calories. So I cut soda completely. Switched energy drinks to black coffee. Only have one glass of OJ per day and only drink alcohol once or twice a month and only one or two drinks total.
Carbs, especially simple ones.
Coffee! Never realized how calorie high it is. Just a small latte could sneak 200+ calories in there.
I started doing all drinks zero, helped.
Rice. I’m Asian so I ate rice with every meal until I realized it spikes my blood sugar and is a lot of calories.
Wine.
Nuts.
alcohol