Absolutely... in fact, it's the best way to do it.
PROVIDED you make GOOD decisions about what it is you WANT to eat.
I advise a lot of people to keep a journal of EVERYTHING which passes their lips for a period of one week. Meals, snacks, beverages, condiments, EVERYTHING. Be as specific as you can: What time you ate it, the serving size, how many calories, the composition of it (carbs, protein, and fat being the big three), and even if there was a particular reason for consuming it (as in "I went out to eat" or "I was bored" or "I just wanted it" or "It was my only choice at the time.").
Once you have this information, you can start to see the patterns in what you CHOOSE to eat, given no restrictions in your nutritional intake. And I believe the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle (as opposed to being on a "diet") is to incorporate what you truly WANT into that lifestyle.
If you want to eat some pizza and drink a beer or three (which is what I'm doing as I type) that's fine... but you have to look at in the overall scheme of things. If you ate NOTHING but pizza and drank NOTHING but beer, I'd say what you propose to do is impossible. But as part of a healthy lifestyle, you CAN keep those things and not lose total sight of your goals.
After all... you are committing to doing the exercise part four days a week... so why not reward yourself a little bit for sticking to that. But remember... if you DON'T do the exercise part and eat "whatever" you want... you won't be able to do what you set out to do either. Too many people make that mistake: "I'll just work out more to make up for what I eat." Then they don't do the exercise and wonder why their healthy lifestyle goes out the window.
I think people should tackle ONE part of a healthy lifestyle at a time. Stop smoking? Great. Quit drinking? Fabulous. Exercise regularly? Wonderful. Make better nutrition choices? **********r. But do yourself a favor and pick ONE and make that an ABSOLUTE part of your life FIRST... when it comes to your lifestyle, multi-tasking doesn't work for MOST people. Ever know anyone who woke up and said "I'm going to change X, Y, and Z in my life, and I'm going to start today!"? How long did THAT last?
Hope this advice helps. If you DO keep a journal like I suggested, and need help deciphering the data to find the trends and results, let me know.
hey phllydude! ur like..my hero! haha. i kinda thought the same thing, but everything i see is like "diet!! diet!! diet!!" eat only egg whites and tuna or something rather! lol
yea, i'vae been doing that for about two years now. i workout 5 days a week, and i eliminated pop and fast food from my diet. other than that i ate whatever i want: ice cream, candy, pizza, hamburgers etc. at first i lost about 10 pounds, but then i hit a plateau. i've been at the same weight for about a year now, so if you want to maintain it works fine. recently i decided i wanted to lose the last 5 lbs (which seems to be the hardest to lose) so i've had to restrict my calories a little bit. i still eat whatever i want, i just watch how much of it.
hey phllydude! ur like..my hero! haha. i kinda thought the same thing, but everything i see is like "diet!! diet!! diet!!" eat only egg whites and tuna or something rather! lol
It's funny... but tuna and egg whites ARE two things I pretty much I eat on a daily basis... but I also happen to like them. And that's the whole point.
I looked at what I ate, and what I liked to eat, and what was convenient for me to eat, and then made subtle changes to my eating habits to make them healthier. Fast food is a great example. I am often in situations where fast food is my only option. So I gathered up the nutritional information from each place I frequented, and looked over the menu, and made a mental list of the things that weren't "bad" choices.
So when I go in, I know what I'm going to order, and I know what the nutritional value of it is, and I still get the convenience and satisfaction of fast food without totally destroying what I have been working so hard to achieve. And once in a while, I still "treat" myself to things I like but aren't the best choices.
Life is to be enjoyed. And one of the main benefits of a healthy lifestyle is living longer. But where's the fulfillment in living longer if you are not enjoying it?
I wouldn't say I eat what I want whenever I want. I eat fast food around 2 times a week and plenty of cookies and snacks and soda, but I also enjoy really healthy food, lot of water, and try to balance things out for the sake of nutrition, if not for weight concerns. Ideally I think I would be healthier if I ate a little bit better, but I'd rather enjoy my fast food I exercise 6 days a week.
I exercise 5 days a week, cut out all soda, and only drink water. I try to control my portions of food which seems to work well in helping me maintain my weight. I can't cut pizza, chinese, and cheesecake out completely. I just incorporated more fruits and vegetables in my diet. I can't deprive myself of food that I love.
man, i wish it wre possible to eat EVERYTHING you wanted and still lose all the weight you want. it's really funny, but whenever i want to eat more sugar than i know i should, i imagine what i'd look like if i kept it up...one big old fat ball! yeah, that thought will make you cut back on the junk food!
a lot of it has to do with genetics and knowing your body. I know a guy who is in OUTSTANDING shape while his diet consists of Mountain Dew, M&M's, cheeseburgers, etc. The guy is just a freak to me--how he can eat like that and be in that kind of shape is beyond me. He's obviously got outstanding metabolism and genetics. Most of us, however, aren't quite as blessed and have to be aware of our diet. My advice is to keep a strict diet but allow yourself to cheat once in awhile just so you can keep your sanity.
the concept is simple. if you lose less calories than u gain by eating then u'll gain weight. if you lose as much calories by exercising as u do by eating then u'll maintain ur weight. if u burn more calories than ur intake then u'll lose weight. think about that when u eat and excercise.
I exercise 6 days a week.
