For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

[Back2Back]

I am curious to know, if you have met your goal and are in maintenance, do you never eat those high carb meals ever again? What about those sugary treats? Is there not an occasion where you maybe go out to dinner or go to some event, and indulge? What about other types of foods that have been completely off limits? I realize that Atkins is not just a diet, but also a change in lifestyle. However once you have met your goal, here and there it is ok to indulge, no? I am currently 5 pounds away from my original weight (prior to getting pregnant) and I am looking to shed an additional 5 pounds. At my original weight, I never had any problems with the occasional treat that most would consider a big "no no!" here. I still have all kinds of pasta tucked away and I'm looking forward to the occasional pasta dinner.



I am very curious to hear what others have to say on this.

Cheers

[HeidiE]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I pretty much eat everything now ...but with in moderation ...

the only thing I really do try to completely avoid is sugar, white potato, white flour and rice..they are still triggers to eating frenzies for me ..When I do eat them I make sure the moon is right and it is NOT first thing in the morning ..or I will eat all flipping day....

everything else I eat!!!

[sadie147]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I eat whole grains almost daily, the occaisional potato (maybe 3x a year..only because i don't really miss them), fruits, etc. I try avoid sugar and white starches (flour etc) and have not had regular pasta in 3 yrs, I don't really miss it.

That said, at christmas last year I had a very small slice of apple pie, and a couple of pieces of biscotti. This year, I had a small piece of shortbread, and at new years had a couple of phyllo pastry appetizers and a couple sausage rolls. In florida last year I had a biscuit with my breakfast. That pretty much sums up my 'treats' for the past 365 days. I always run the day after having a couple of treats as well.

As far as any other time of the year, occaisionally I will have a few french fries off of my husbands plate at a restaurant, seems to be enough to satisfy me. I don't technically consider this off plan as potatos are a starchy veggie (and it's usually only about 10 fries or less). to control my portions i never order my own plate of fries, and i always wait until i finish my meal first.

One thing to note, is that I don't go beyond this. I had them, then went back to my normal woe. This seems to be the biggest issue with most people, once they start they figure 'oh well, i'm off plan now may as well stay off all day' next thing it's 2 days, 1 week, 1 month and the weight starts coming back. We see it all the time on this board.

Once you are at goal, only you can decided if it is worth it for YOU and if you can handle it. Do you have the self control to stop at only 1 very small piece of pie? That is the biggest part of a 'treat' to me, being able to stop. I have found that i don't have an issue with the self control part. If i didn't it would most likely be my downfall.

Maintenance IMO has been harder than the weight loss portion, and does really take alot of self control. You need to find your own balance with both foods and exercise that works for you. My weight fluctuates constantly so I'm forever tweaking what I eat and my exercises routine (which lately has been lacking which is why).

[Jace]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I also avoid white potato, bread, pasta and rice and added sugar. Everything else is pretty much fair game. There seems to be an influx of new whole grain and multigrain products hitting the market lately so I'm able to eat bread, crackers, bagels, cereals, pastas and rice without any problems as long as I'm within my carb limit for the day.

Only thing I have to 100% say NO to each and every time is chocolate...even the No Sugar Added stuff will send me into a craving frenzy and I'm bound to eat crackers, bagels, cereals, pastas and rice all in one sitting

~Far la bella figura!

[moonwish]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I'm curioous too - do you still eat high-fat in real-life maintenance? Technically as carbs go up, fat should go down - just how much do you usually have it?

[sadie147]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

it just naturally comes down. mine usually ranges between 50-60% when i keep my carbs at maintenance level.

Jace reminded me, i also eat ww crackers and crispbreads, like ryvita etc.

I think the most important thing about maintenance is what you learn about your own eating. There is more to this than just eating 'low carb' It's about learning your trigger foods, emotional eating habits etc.

[sallyseachange]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I'm curioous too - do you still eat high-fat in real-life maintenance? Technically as carbs go up, fat should go down - just how much do you usually have it?

I still eat high fat, yes. Living in Italy the cooking is heavy on olive oil, so my fat count is always a bit on the high side. To counteract that, I keep my carbs between 35/50 and tend not to eat many wholegrains... I mean, I eat them, but not too often.

[HeidiE]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I still eat a high fat diet ..especially my breakfasts are loaded ...it keeps me content and slim if I eat enough fat ..go figure huh?

[jimmie 48]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

i eat pasta about once every two weeks or so. it's wheat pasta.
i eat wheat bread, but i choose one that has lower carbs but isn't specifically advertised as "low carb". i've grown very fond of steel cut oats with fruit like raspberries or blueberries.
what i have learned is to not eat all those in one day. i can't have oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich at lunch and pasta at dinner. not that i gain from that, but my system does not like it. i don't like how it makes me feel.

i don't eat rice or idahos. nothing to miss there.
i don't have sugary treats. i don't know how everyone else reacts to those but since i've not had sugar for so long, it seems i can almost smell it if it's in a dish and to eat something loaded with sugar now would give me headaches.

[AllieCat0817]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

My maintenance plan does include starches, but I do NOT CONSIDER 'SUGARY TREATS' A TREAT! It's not. Period.

[Purple Sage]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

I am actually probably more strict that most people in maintenance...just because I am paranoid about gaining back. I don't eat grains except for the occasional steel cut oatmeal (but I feel hungry all day if I eat it) and the LC tortillas. I eat some fruit, maybe every other day, lots of LF yogurt, cottage cheese etc, lots of veggies, occasional popcorn and maybe a sweet potato once a month or so.

I am content wtih my WOE and not sure why I would consider adding the "sugary treats" that made me fat. However, if your metabolism agrees with that kind of stuff and you were only up in due to pregnancy, then I guess you could see how you react to them....My decision to cut out those foods was not just a weight loss decision but a long-term health decision and that is why I won't be adding them back in.

[miked998]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

What about breaded foods like fried chicken?

[jimmie 48]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

What about breaded foods like fried chicken?

i use soy flour and mix in salt, pepper, garlic powder, ect.

[sadie147]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

What about breaded foods like fried chicken?

regular fried chicken? that would be up to the person, whether or not they could handle the white flour, whether they want to add white flour back etc. From what I've read here I think most of the goalies have cut out white flours and sugars for good, so it doesn't sound like anyone is having breaded foods on a regular basis. I think you would have to decide that for yourself if you want to add white flours back (not sure that's a great idea) and see how you react to it. No one will be able to tell you whether you're going to handle it or not.

if you could make batters with whole wheat flour..that would be a bit better than regular flour. Or as Jo mentioned, with soy flour.

[jimmie 48]

Re: For those of you that have met your goal..question on what you eat.

sadie, would almond flour work? i have't tried that but i remember one member using almond flour in all sorts of things.