Amount of food you can eat (healthy)

bren3jet

I weigh all my food and prefer to eat pretty plain stuff so that I can eat as much as possible. I don't want to waste calories on sauces and condiments if I don't have too. Is anybody else surprised sometimes at how much food they actually get to eat when eating mostly clean??? It really (pleasantly) surprises me sometimes. Anybody else?

GolfsOften

I agree. Use calories wisely and plan next meals around balancing nutrient intake.

seltzermint555

Yes, while I don't "eat clean" I do strive to eat healthy and I'm often very pleasantly surprised by the amount of food I "can" eat! Especially when my husband and I make burrito bowls or salads, we'll make them in big mixing bowls, lol. When you rely heavily on vegetables/greens it's awesome how much bigger your portions are.

ew_david

Yes, but I can't sustain that long term. Life is too short for boring food.

neanderthin

You mean whole foods as opposed to highly refined packaged and fast food. Yes whole foods are generally nutrient dense as opposed to calorie dense and you increase your chew time for sure.

Capt_Apollo

i've been eating a lot of fun healthy food, and have found it to be pretty enjoyable. lots more fruits and veggies thrown into my diet, lots of healthy dinners.

for non-boring healthy food check out budgetbytes.com

Need2Exerc1se

I wish! I am constantly astonished at how little I must eat to lose weight.

LeslieB042812

_dracarys_ wrote: »

Yes, but I can't sustain that long term. Life is too short for boring food.

So not true! While I agree that it would get boring if that's all you ever eat, eating this way certainly helps balance out the occasional splurge and keeps eating in check without going hungry.

My husband used to make fun of me when I'd make my salads in a mixing bowl and eat the whole bowl.....so satisfying!

Freedm16

I agree with not wanting to eat boring food, but you can add a little Himalayan salt and all sorts of spices to make things taste better without adding the calories of salad dressings, ketchup and other things like that. I find 1200 calories is plenty of food for me if I cut out all the little extras most people use to jazz up their food.

ElusivePete

Yes, definitely. I cook my meals in large batches as much as a week in advance, and incorporate a lot of vegetables. It's amazing how filling and satisfying a 300 calorie meal can be if it's crammed with tasty veggies.

prattiger65

Everything is a trade off for me. I cant eat that way all the time. I like flavor too much.

MakePeasNotWar

When I first started to eat more nutrient dense food, I was stuffing myself silly and not even reaching 1200 calories most days. I had to start adding in more calorie dense stuff just to get enough energy. Now I pretty much eat as much as I want and usually end up between 1500 and 1750, unless I go out for a meal.

I definitely don't find it boring; I eat tons of fruit and veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, and sometimes whole grains. Without the fruit it might be hard, but I love fruit, especially with a bit of seeds mixed in to make it rich and filling.

ew_david

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

_dracarys_ wrote: »

Yes, but I can't sustain that long term. Life is too short for boring food.

So not true! While I agree that it would get boring if that's all you ever eat, eating this way certainly helps balance out the occasional splurge and keeps eating in check without going hungry.

My husband used to make fun of me when I'd make my salads in a mixing bowl and eat the whole bowl.....so satisfying!

I meant that not adding condiments and sauces for the rest of my life would be boring and not sustainable.

lemurcat12

seltzermint wrote: »

Yes, while I don't "eat clean" I do strive to eat healthy and I'm often very pleasantly surprised by the amount of food I "can" eat! Especially when my husband and I make burrito bowls or salads, we'll make them in big mixing bowls, lol. When you rely heavily on vegetables/greens it's awesome how much bigger your portions are.

Agreed. To the extent one is a volume eater it's quite easy to make low calorie meals that have lots and lots of volume,

However, going back to the OP, I don't think this means one must avoid sauces and condiments, as there are plenty of sauces you can make that are healthy and reasonably low calorie, and same with condiments. I use lemon and vinegars and mustards, for example, and sriracha and pepper sauces and sauce made with soy and fish sauce and lime, of course, lots of herbs and spices.

One can cook healthy and low calorie without sacrificing flavor at all.

Hornsby

ElusivePete wrote: »

Yes, definitely. I cook my meals in large batches as much as a week in advance, and incorporate a lot of vegetables. It's amazing how filling and satisfying a 300 calorie meal can be if it's crammed with tasty veggies.

I'd need 12 of those meals a day...no thanks