Health eating vs Yummy food

[Devils'Advocate]

I was always big. My parents fed me well, so I was very much an overweight kid. We always had plenty of chips and cakes in the cupboards. And once I moved out on my own, well then I got REALLY big because every night was pizza of some variety. Pizza pops, pizza burgers, pizza subs, mini-pizzas, etc. It got so bad that I ballooned up to 350 pounds.

In July of 2009 I decided to give it one more concerted effort at losing the weight. And by July 2010 I was down to 170 pounds and I have been able to stay at 170 for 8 months. Everyone says how great I look now and it has certainly been easier getting dates.

However, it's amazing how much I miss all of those rich foods. I have had french fries once since July 2010. I've not had ice cream. Chocolate bars are out. If a friend has ice cream cake at their birthday party, I'll decline. And if I break down and order pizza, I feel guilty about it for a week after and punish myself for it. So I have conditioned myself NOT to order pizza.

Before, food was seen as a joyful thing. I enjoyed ordering a greasy gooey pizza every Friday night. I enjoyed having a big breakfast of an omelette with toast and home fries. Cinnibon was a weekly weekend treat and I'd not have any guilt over having a Beaver Tail. Now I have conditioned myself to feel that food is a negative thing, something that should be followed by guilt.

The way I lost the weight was with the mantra "Exercise is good. Food is evil." My daily caloric intake must have been 4000 to 5000 calories a day, which I immediately dropped down to 3500 and then reduced gradually over that year to 1800. Now that I am maintaining 170, I can have 2500, but if I go over, I beat myself up for it, so it's not worth it. I'll feel like an alcoholic that falls off the wagon, or a smoker that has quit for two months and has a moment of weakness.

I guess where I am going with this is that I think I was HAPPIER before. Maybe it was the same way as an alcoholic finds happiness at the bottom of a bottle. But maybe living a decadent life for 50 years is better than following a healthy lifestyle for 100.

[1stLand]

Good on you for changing your lifestyle.
You are not only changing your lifespan, but you are also improving your quality of life.
Like you said, you have been on alot of dates since losing the weight.
Sure beats the alternative.

[Pinner]

2500 calories can get you lots of yummy in your tummy. Relax, you can trust yourself now, you won't let any weight gain sick around. I don't think you will fall "off the wagon".

[Cheese]

why cant healthy eating be "yummy"? I eat many fantastic meals as a Vegetarian and dont miss the foods I used to eat at all.

[Sample00]

Wow, did you just describe exactly how I feel.
I have been going through this process since October of last year.
I am still in the weight loss mode as I feel I have another 20-25 to go.
But my wife and I are planning a couple of trips this year and its the food thats got me almost to a point of "panic mode".
The thing is, I want to be able to enjoy some foods while on holidays but the "new regime aholic" says NO WAY, YOU CANT DO THAT! You'll be back to what you were.
My wife thinks I am acting like someone who has anorexia now.
UGH!
having said that, I share your pain!

[SeeBass]

its funny how food works for different people.

for me food is one big battle after another too. I envy the person who can have one slice of pizza and walk away or keep a bag of chips in their home for more than a night. But that same person I envy may not be able to have one beer and leave the rest alone like I can.
Food truly has an addiction for some but the problem is you can stop smoking and drinking booze and live but you can't stop eating.

[WilsonFourTwo]

First off - the big congrats, you've done phenomenally on the weight loss. It takes a ton of effort, learning and dedication to accomplish that level of change. You can ignore everything else if you wish, but I've bolded the two key thoughts.

Go have a chocolate bar!

From the outside looking in, I'd say you've clearly figured out calories, exercise, and habits (the keys to these transformations), but perhaps lifestyle needs a bit of work.

Within the framework of a healthy lifestyle, there's no reason that you should ever have to deprive yourself of Ice Cream Cake at a birthday, or the occasional chocolate bar, or even (dare I say) a Pizza Pop. They are treats, and you need to "Treat treats as treats".

If you can understand whats in the treat (cals, fat, sugar), identify why you're having it (reward, celebration, just because), and adapt your life to accommodate it (slightly alter your exercise or meal plan), than you should absolutely take part.

Case in point......we had birthday cake last week for a gal at work. I recognized that I wanted to join the group (and eat cake!), took a reasonable slice (reconciled that there was ~300 cals in the slice), and made a small adjustment to accommodate (had a bit less meat and a little more vegetable at supper). My nutrient count for the day was skewed of course (so what....), but my calorie intake remained where it ought to be and I got to enjoy an occasional treat. That's what the long-term healthy living is all about (imo).

In closing I'll mention a line that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY over the years.

You need to be good, not perfect.

[Pinner]

Good point SeeBass.

After I posted I was thinking DA really does sound like an addict going through withdrawal.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Cheese

why cant healthy eating be "yummy"? I eat many fantastic meals as a Vegetarian and dont miss the foods I used to eat at all.

(A) I'm a vegetarian. Have been since I was 17 (I'm now in my mid-thirties).
(B) I'm sorry, but as good as nice veggie wrap with tofu-beef tenders is, that greasy pizza is just oh so much better.....

Sample: Good to know I'm not the only one.

I was at a weight loss conference last year and one guy got up and said that he made his living as an addictions counsellor getting people off alcohol or gambling or drugs. But he was 280 pounds. He felt like a hypocrite. He was addicted to eating and he knew it. But in all his experience, overeating is the hardest addiction. Because if the person was an alcoholic, the solution was to get them to stop drinking. If the person was gambling the solution was to get them to stop gambling. You can't quit eating. So you *HAVE* to eat in moderation. It is much easier to get a gambling addict to quit gambling than to get him/her to gamble moderately. By removing the temptation completely and getting their lives away from what they are addicted to it is more likely that they won't relapse into their old ways. But with food, there is the constant concern about "if I go on my holiday... and these hotels have all you can eat breakfasts.... and the eating out for dinner with these wonderful 3 course meals.... I'm going to gain it all back and I'll fall back into my old habits and all of the hard work I put into losing the weight will be lost.....".

What I did at Christmas last year... I went back east for Christmas for the first time in 5 years and I knew the family would have out big meal after big meal, so I starved myself for the three weeks before. I went down to 155. So when I came back I was at 165. I still felt like crap for gaining 10 pounds even though I was still 5 under the goal my doctor had set for me. I still felt guilty about eating all that bad food.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Cheese

why cant healthy eating be "yummy"? I eat many fantastic meals as a Vegetarian and dont miss the foods I used to eat at all.

A vegetarian named Cheese?

I wonder if we can get a Mod to change it to "The Consumer Formerly Known As Cheese".

I totally agree with your point though. Learning to actually cook made a huge difference for me, and also resulted in me (consistently) eating the tastiest and most savory meals of my life.

[Pinner]

Maybe you should see an addictions counselor.

[red sky]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

What I did at Christmas last year... I went back east for Christmas for the first time in 5 years and I knew the family would have out big meal after big meal, so I starved myself for the three weeks before. I went down to 155. So when I came back I was at 165. I still felt like crap for gaining 10 pounds even though I was still 5 under the goal my doctor had set for me. I still felt guilty about eating all that bad food.

That isn't healthy, I hope I don't need to write that for you to know though.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Pinner

After I posted I was thinking DA really does sound like an addict going through withdrawal.

That's exactly how I feel. I've considered joining "Overeaters Anonymous", but I'm not sure how the group would feel having someone join that is 9% body fat. And other thing is that it seems quite overly religious.

[justkidding]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

That's exactly how I feel. I've considered joining "Overeaters Anonymous", but I'm not sure how the group would feel having someone join that is 9% body fat. And other thing is that it seems quite overly religious.

What about seeing a dietitian? Maybe they can help you balance things out.

[troutman]

How tall are you? Is 170 lbs the goal? Are you muscular?

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I was always big. My parents fed me well, so I was very much an overweight kid. We always had plenty of chips and cakes in the cupboards. And once I moved out on my own, well then I got REALLY big because every night was pizza of some variety. Pizza pops, pizza burgers, pizza subs, mini-pizzas, etc. It got so bad that I ballooned up to 350 pounds.

In July of 2009 I decided to give it one more concerted effort at losing the weight. And by July 2010 I was down to 170 pounds and I have been able to stay at 170 for 8 months. Everyone says how great I look now and it has certainly been easier getting dates.

However, it's amazing how much I miss all of those rich foods. I have had french fries once since July 2010. I've not had ice cream. Chocolate bars are out. If a friend has ice cream cake at their birthday party, I'll decline. And if I break down and order pizza, I feel guilty about it for a week after and punish myself for it. So I have conditioned myself NOT to order pizza.

Before, food was seen as a joyful thing. I enjoyed ordering a greasy gooey pizza every Friday night. I enjoyed having a big breakfast of an omelette with toast and home fries. Cinnibon was a weekly weekend treat and I'd not have any guilt over having a Beaver Tail. Now I have conditioned myself to feel that food is a negative thing, something that should be followed by guilt.

The way I lost the weight was with the mantra "Exercise is good. Food is evil." My daily caloric intake must have been 4000 to 5000 calories a day, which I immediately dropped down to 3500 and then reduced gradually over that year to 1800. Now that I am maintaining 170, I can have 2500, but if I go over, I beat myself up for it, so it's not worth it. I'll feel like an alcoholic that falls off the wagon, or a smoker that has quit for two months and has a moment of weakness.

I guess where I am going with this is that I think I was HAPPIER before. Maybe it was the same way as an alcoholic finds happiness at the bottom of a bottle. But maybe living a decadent life for 50 years is better than following a healthy lifestyle for 100.

For a while, I missed fast food as well but these days I have no yearning at all for McDonalds or that kind of thing and on the rare, rare occasions when I might indulge for expediency, it really just tastes like crap.

I think the saltiness of it all is really the thing you yearn.

However, I love chocolate and eat too many BBQ potato chips.

Generally, I eat what I want, with some moderation, and go running, biking, hiking, etc, etc, which I love equally as much as chocolate, BBQ potato chips, etc, etc . . . .

It's a balance though. Live your life. Enjoy good food. Get out and do things and be active. It all evens out.

Cowperson

[Tron_fdc]

Balance balance balance.

Going to either extreme, whether it's overeating or starving yourself, isn't healthy (mentally or physically). If you have a burger or some pizza, don't beat yourself up over it. There are a number of ways to counter the affects of rich foods, as long as you're not binging on pizza and ice cream every day.

If you gain a few pounds who cares? The whole point of life is to be happy. I'd way rather be around someone who is happy and carries a few extra pounds, than some a-hole that always preaches about calories and has a breakdown when they use real sugar in coffee instead of sweetener.

[CaramonLS]

My advice DA, and this is something I have to live with as well - stick to what you're currently doing and slightly augment.

If you're on 2500 calories a day, consider the average chocolate bar is only 200-250 (normal sized) or same with the average bag of chips. It can be the large course meals (ie a homemade pasta, which can run you heavy on the calories for the day.

Plan it out - maybe eat your normal lunch / breakfast and have some snacks during the day, but have a later, lighter dinner. Or build one snack into your daily routine (even cut it in half and have it a couple times through the day). I find it is so much easier to stay with it, when you've just had a 'taste'.

I have been on the other side too though - you have to say no to that 3rd slice, because too easily it can become 4.

Anyways, that is one of the ways I cope - I've fought it all my life too.

[Weiser Wonder]

Maybe not even an addictions counselor but any type of counselor might serve you well. Maybe you used to use food to fill an emotional void, and since you can't do that anymore you feel less happy.

[scotty2hotty]

I personally believe that your overall health and well-being will come from 80% of what you eat. Trying to be eat 'clean' 100% of the time is destined to failure.

I eat nothing but fruits, veg, nuts, seeds and grass/ground fed meat from Sunday evening until Friday afternoon. Absolutely no sugar or processed carbs. The weekends, no holds barred. Pizza, icecream, beer, whatever.

This has worked extremely well for me over the years. I'd estimate I'm at about 11% body fat ... but I also exercise vigorously 3-4 times per week. The funny thing is ... the longer I eat this way ... the less 'junk' food I eat on the weekends. You just gradually lose the taste for it. Knowing I've got the opportunity for a freebee weekend coming up every week makes the the strict weekdays simple though.

Not saying this is the only solution. Just an example of what works for me.