I LOVE food and HATE dieting. This is a really hard change.

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  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    michaelmelo wrote: »
    I don't think you are ready to diet or make a life change.

    This.

  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    I love food too and still eat like complete crap sometimes but I eat smaller portions. Did you know 2 KFC chicken Littles are only 600 calories? Not bad if eating 1900 like me. I also try to make healthier choices that are still tasty. Like at the grocery store yesterday I bought spicy coconut chips and tomato basil lentil crisps. Should be pretty tasty and still be better for me.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    jessicarobinson00 wrote: »
    I love to feel full...so I have found ways to eat a "regular" meal a little different by making healthy swaps. So instead of having lasagna...I might have meat sauce over a huge bowl of steamed veggies. Swapping beef/pork out for chicken/fish is great too because they aren't so calorie dense. Ricing cauliflower and broccoli and using it in place of steamed rice (AMAZING!). AND incorporate more spices into your food: My favorite is Hidden Valley Ranch Powder...and Cajun. They are delicious and kick every "bland" recipe I have up a notch to make it more satisfying. Healthy food should be delicious and filling, but it's up to you to make it that way.

    Different strokes......

    I like the taste of lasagna more than I like the feeling of being stuffed. Marina sauce topped veggies wouldn't do it for me. My approach would not be to ditch lasagna forever (lifestyle change) instead I have a small portion of lasagna with a salad. The salad with all its fiber is quite filling.

    I choose to eat rice too. Portion control will be the forever thing for me....not elimination.

    OP - look up "volumize." There are lower calorie ways to bulk up some meals that you will find acceptable. Other meals you might not want to tinker with. There are trade-offs. You will need to experiment to find what works for you.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    jessicarobinson00 wrote: »
    I love to feel full...so I have found ways to eat a "regular" meal a little different by making healthy swaps. So instead of having lasagna...I might have meat sauce over a huge bowl of steamed veggies. Swapping beef/pork out for chicken/fish is great too because they aren't so calorie dense. Ricing cauliflower and broccoli and using it in place of steamed rice (AMAZING!). AND incorporate more spices into your food: My favorite is Hidden Valley Ranch Powder...and Cajun. They are delicious and kick every "bland" recipe I have up a notch to make it more satisfying. Healthy food should be delicious and filling, but it's up to you to make it that way.

    Different strokes......

    I like the taste of lasagna more than I like the feeling of being stuffed. Marina sauce topped veggies wouldn't do it for me. My approach would not be to ditch lasagna forever (lifestyle change) instead I have a small portion of lasagna with a salad. The salad with all its fiber is quite filling.

    I choose to eat rice too. Portion control will be the forever thing for me....not elimination.

    OP - look up "volumize." There are lower calorie ways to bulk up some meals that you will find acceptable. Other meals you might not want to tinker with. There are trade-offs. You will need to experiment to find what works for you.

    This! You'll figure it out. Some things you might not be able to swap, some things you might find delicious "substitutions" for. Many on here HATE shirataki noodles but I love them so much I eat them even when I'm gaining weight. Just do a little research. The first step is to log everything you do eat. Then you can see where you can compromise, and where you don't have to.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    In addition to the other excellent advice described above, I would add that you should find some other things in life that give you great joy. Food isn't the only joyful thing in the world. As for food, I did not give up any food that I enjoyed. I just ate smaller portions of them and filled up on more veggies and fruit. I often start a meal by eating several bites of steamed veggies, so when I enjoy my favorite dish, I'm not as hungry. But in the end, you do have to decide what you want. I want to be healthy, feel energetic, and live a long time. I consciously make that choice every day. . . in the grocery store, at restaurants, and at the table.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Some people find that a low carb high fat diet reduces their appetite and cravings thus making it easier to eat smaller portions. It is mainly the sugars (added sugars and tropical fruits) and some grains and starches that are cut back on when eating low carb.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    i'm a foodie...you're used to gigantic portions being "normal"...it's not...just cut back on portions a bit and actually savor the food. i actually enjoy my food much more now that i have smaller portions and eat slower and really savor and take it all in.

    now when i go to a restaurant or something and get some gigantic "normal" portion of food i wonder how i ever used to do it...it's just too much food.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    You don't have to change overnight. Make one change at a time, and give yourself time to get used to it before you change something else. You could start by finding a healthy, quick recipe that you like, and making it once or twice a week, for example.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    i'm a foodie...you're used to gigantic portions being "normal"...it's not...just cut back on portions a bit and actually savor the food. i actually enjoy my food much more now that i have smaller portions and eat slower and really savor and take it all in.

    now when i go to a restaurant or something and get some gigantic "normal" portion of food i wonder how i ever used to do it...it's just too much food.

    So true for me as well.

  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    i'm a foodie...you're used to gigantic portions being "normal"...it's not...just cut back on portions a bit and actually savor the food. i actually enjoy my food much more now that i have smaller portions and eat slower and really savor and take it all in.

    now when i go to a restaurant or something and get some gigantic "normal" portion of food i wonder how i ever used to do it...it's just too much food.

    YAAAASSSSSS!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I would also add that I have found being satiated much more satisfying than feeling full...these days I hate that full feeling that just leaves me tired and lethargic.

    You don't have to be hungry OP...learn how to feel and enjoy being satiated rather than full.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    You can still love food and don't have to "diet", in fact you shouldn't feel hungry all the time. All you have to do to lose weight, is to eat a little less. You aren't going to stop eating. You just have to stop overeating.

    Plan out in advance meals of foods you like in appropriate portion sizes. Buy everything you need to prepare tasty and balanced meals and cook from scratch as much as you can/like. Sit down to regular, planned meals every day. Cut distractions and enjoy your food.

    I used to think I loved food, but I just ate compulsively. Now I aim for structure and variety, and real food tastes so good! I am happy with smaller portions too.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I like to have large, high calorie meals. So what works for me is eating very little during the day, and saving my calories for dinner.
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I would also add that I have found being satiated much more satisfying than feeling full...these days I hate that full feeling that just leaves me tired and lethargic.

    You don't have to be hungry OP...learn how to feel and enjoy being satiated rather than full.

    Same here. I have found that the feeling I used to associate with "full" is actually quite unpleasant.
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
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    For me, it is the chewing process. I have no idea why, but I don't chew my food. I have had people ask if I was raised in an orphanage because it seems that I eat fast so I can go back for seconds... but I have no idea where the habit formed. I try to conciously chew my food more and enjoy the flavor instead of just shoveling it down.

    And believe me, I LOVE food. I used to eat it just to eat it, not because I was hungry. It will take time. Smaller portions, more savoring, more enjoying.
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    I like to have large, high calorie meals. So what works for me is eating very little during the day, and saving my calories for dinner.

    And this. This is what I do. I have a smoothie in the morning and then eat nothing all day. Then at dinner I can sort of "pig out" to get my calories. And I love it! I may be going to the OMAD method soon because the smoothie really does nothing for me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Don't diet; eat a bit less. And eat the foods you like. That's actually the best solution.

    If you don't have much to lose, sure. I had to go from eating 2500 calories to 1600 to lose weight (and only 1 pound a week). That's hardly 'a bit less' and pretty often, it means that if you keep eating the same foods, you will be hungry.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    smartparker wrote: »
    So when I say I love food, I LOVE FOOD. I get such a joy from eating. The hardest part about losing weight is the fact that I feel I have to be hungry all the time. Is there a trick to being able to eat the things I want to eat and not in microscopic-sized portions while trying to lose weight/maintain weight? The whole "life-style change" response may be true, but it's kind of annoying. Any foodies about there who still eat delicious regular sized meals without looking like a Oompa Loompa?

    I'm a foodie. I love to cook and I love to eat. But each meal does not have to be a gastronomic masterpiece. I see my fiance four nights a week and put the most effort into those meals. Foods I used to overeat I make an effort to chew more slowly and eat low cal/high volume food with them so they seem to last longer.

    I tweaked my macros so that I am eating more protein and less carbs, and don't feel hungry except right before a meal. I exercise so that I get more calories.

    Also, now that I am getting a lot of happy hormones from exercise, I'm not inclined to seek them from food.
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    I love food too! But what I have found is that I am still pretty satisfied I am just making a conscious choice.... I don't want to "waste" my calories on mindless eating. I am seldom hungry but I am also not mindlessly eating just because food is in front of me. Which is apparently the reason I gained weight in the first place. Yesterday I had chocolate, fried rice, coffee with cream, greek yogurt to name a few. Im not doing without anything I want.
  • ivy6154
    ivy6154 Posts: 32 Member
    edited December 2015
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    I think making one or two small changes, periodically will be more beneficial then trying to reboot your whole diet with mega changes all at once. For most of us who have issues with food, we need to work thru them and consider all the information that is out there and try out new things. For instance, giving up spaghetti with meat sauce is unthinkable, but I convinced myself to try steamed zucchini instead of pasta. I found I liked it quite a bit. I still had a piece of garlic bread with it so things weren't super different but it's enough to make a difference! Little changes (could) over the long haul be less painful and can exchange a not so healthy habit into a life changing better choice for the rest of your life.
  • CalorieCountChocula
    CalorieCountChocula Posts: 239 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Don't diet; eat a bit less. And eat the foods you like. That's actually the best solution.

    If you don't have much to lose, sure. I had to go from eating 2500 calories to 1600 to lose weight (and only 1 pound a week). That's hardly 'a bit less' and pretty often, it means that if you keep eating the same foods, you will be hungry.

    I second this. I've lost a 135+lbs already. To continue to lose I have to eat 1700-1800 calories at this point (or run 5 miles a day I guess which frankly I don't feel like doing). When I see all the "you can still have pizza" posts I have to roll my eyes a little. Sure, I CAN have pizza but do I want to waste half my days calories so I can squeeze in two decent slices (don't give me any of that thin crust no sauce plain cheese crap and if you say the word cauliflower I'm cutting you).

    That said, the answer to the "what's a foodie to do?" question is the one the first guy responding gave. Something has to change. It sucks but that's the way it is. As others have said after, you get used to things the further along you get, both mentally and physically. I had a heavy small slice of pie Christmas day that made me feel so bloated I can't imagine how I'd of felt if I had the slice I THOUGHT I wanted before deciding to halve it.

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