Debunking the naysayers

Poking around online, I keep running into people 'debunking' CICO, saying that healthy weight loss isn't as simple as counting calories, and that the content of the diet is more important.

Maybe this is a weak analogy, but to me that's like saying "it wasn't a daily budget that helped her save money, it's just that she stopped buying flimsy, expensive things and now buys more durable, reasonably priced things." This is a habit that most of us pick up precisely because we have a limited budget.

I have been doing CICO for two months (lost 10 lb!) and here are some of the habits I've picked up:

• First of all, it was a no-brainer to reduce portion sizes for things like corn chips, cookies, and rice. I just never realized how many calories they were, and I'd rather spend my budget on something else.
• To make my budget stretch further, I focus on small meals that are filling and high in protein.
• I've reduced the calorie-dense parts of my favorite dishes and added more veggies instead.
• I eat more slowly, and drink more water.
• I have been more focused on building muscle, because this increases my resting metabolic rate... and just because it feels good!

After two months of making these adjustments, it's become second nature. It's really not as hard as I was expecting. At the end of the day, I still have the same variety in my diet (even junk food, just in better portion sizes), I enjoy all the same flavors and textures, the same amount of time spent eating, and in fact I actually feel MORE full and energized because I am getting better nutrition and drinking more water.

So yeah, CICO didn't lead to me eating half a pizza and calling it a day simply because that comes in under budget. It totally transformed the way I think about food and appetite. I am feeling way better now, and the only thing I set out to do was to follow the program on LoseIt. This isn't purely about numbers, it is about changing your mindset after you understand how calories work.

submitted by /u/westghost9
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2MwL4aN