I don't know what I would have done if I didn't cook my own food! And I want to know!
I am from India and the only restaurants that have calorie estimations are the fast food chains. Indian food is very rich and greasy and we don't really have healthy bowls of salads in most restaurants here. I can't imagine this journey without me cooking all my food. But I am sure there a lot of you here who have successfully dealt with this situation. If not all the time, atleast at some point in your journey. I want to listen to your tips!
My journey:
My weight loss of 26 pounds over the past five months has been pretty steady. I did some exercise initially but now the weight loss is just through diet. I plan to incorporate exercise once I reach goal weight because I don't want to feel hungry or weak as I am doing CICO 1200 and I am happy with my loss rate.
Here's the thing though- I plateaued at 66kg in September and October. There were two weeks where I had to break my routine-A week in September and another week in October. During these days, I was away from home. I did not prepare my meals or weigh myself. I guesstimated all my calories. Though I did not go absolutely nuts with food in front of me, I put on some kilos at the end of it (including water weight I am sure). With all the yoyoing weight loss had come to a standstill those two months.
We are now in November and I have recovered from those vacations and have steadily begun losing again. I eat 3X meals a day at regular times. I cook all my meals. If we eat at a restaurant, I eat less during other meals. If I have already eaten, I don't order. If I haven't eaten AND I suddenly eat out, I make up for it on other days with a deficit.
This has worked fairly well for me. BUT I eat only 1-2 meals from restaurants per week. I am assuming this is WAY below average. I don't do lunches with colleagues, I join them for coffee everyday. I don't usually do frequent dinners with friends. I go to the movies or go to the theater or go on a drive. I have slowly shifted the focus away from food because it need not go together AND it has worked out for me.
When I came back from these vacations, I noticed the spike in my cravings. I am so content with my home cooked food. I don't crave restaurant food. When it is scheduled- like a Friday or Saturday, I can deal with it. However, after calorie dense tasty meals 3X a day from restaurants, the switch to low calorie food after I am back home is hard. Which is why I think those plateaus lasted two months. I stepped on boundaries a lot more (chips, second servings, sodas, etc) and forgave myself more easily for doing that after the vacations. But over time, I am able to correct it which is why the graph is low again.
I have noticed that me having total control over my food is THE HUGE reason I am losing weight. I really don't know how I could do this if I had to eat out everyday.
Tl;Dr: Those of you who don't cook your food, how do you do maintain a deficit? Is your weight loss rate really low? Do you exercise a lot? Are your portions itty bitty? What are the challenges you face? What are your cheats? Is Intermittent Fasting your way to go?
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