ideal v realistic eaters / feel worse about myself

Trish1c

I've been looking at other people's food diaries for inspiration & practically feel food shamed.

Everybody seems to be eating organic this, wheat grass that, 1/2 tsp of dressing on a bowl of kale salad,.

I'm never gonna eat that. Ever, no matter what.

My diary contains food I bought at my local grocery store. It includes the bad stuff. Yes, I ate chips yesterday. I had several drinks at a party over the holiday weekend & pigged out at another BBQ.

I had a smoothie for breakfast today but many of you would probably tell me I had 2 based on the portion size. Fine. It's still better then the can of regular Pepsi & a donut I had for breakfast every day for the past 20 years. My plan for lunch today is a Greek yogurt & a granola bar; again a major positive change from the pizza & McDonald's I've regularly eaten. For dinner I'm planning grilled chicken breast, an ear of corn (yes, with butter) and maybe a baked potato, again with butter & a sprinkle of salt & pepper. That has always been a pretty typical dinner; I'm just paying attention to the size of the chicken & how much butter I use, plus drinking water not wine.

I think I'm improving but parts of this site make me feel WORSE about myself because I'm not eating perfectly.

How do I find diaries & people I can relate to more?

Francl27

Oh Hell no!!!! I haven't even touched Kale. Heck I avoid salad because I find it so boring.

I eat foods I like - I'd never have stuck to it otherwise. You're doing it right.

cinnag4225

So I know I already sent you a friend request, but thought I'd drop a line here as well for others looking for more liberal eaters.

I generally don't feel bad when I see people on my friends list eating the trendy "good" stuff. There have been a couple times where I've actually been interested in learning more about some of the items they have, but in the end everybody has different goals and methods of achieving them.

Joanna2012B

Please don't feel worse about yourself. I don't share my diary, but I can tell you that I do use butter, without guilt. I don't eat perfectly either, what fun is that. I am still losing, that is all that matters for me! Are you losing weight/Inches? If so what is wrong with your diary. They only thing I see that is bad is that Greek Yogurt and a granola bar would NOT satisfy me for lunch!! I would be starving and cranky by mid afternoon. Are you staying within your calories? My diary is something like this today.....Breakfast Steel Cut Oats with Vanilla Greek Yogurt, strawberries and blueberries, Large Coffee with Milk, Morning Snack a Medium Apple. Lunch a cup of steamed broccoli and 5oz of baked pork tenderloin, Afternoon snack is a Mixed Green Salad with a tbsp of Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Dressing. Not sure what dinner will be yet....which I know is not good!! BTW....my evening snack yesterday was a Magnum Double Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Bar....and it was DEEEELICIOUS!!!! Still came in under my calories yesterday!!

Hope you have a super fantastic day!!

Trish1c

Thank you all

Joanna2012B -- yeah that will be OK for lunch. I won't eat them at the same time. So maybe the bar is the snack. But the water during the work day helps. I want to make sure I put something in my system before I head to the gym. I'm meeting with a potential trainer tonight.

adoette

I'll be honest with you, if I see kale show up in a friend's diary I'm snickering. That stuff is so bitter and gross to me!

I'm a firm believer in making choices you can stick with your whole life. Could I switch to organic everything? Sure! But I'm not sticking to it the rest of my life. And given that I make my smoothies at home, one serving size is whatever I consume in one sitting.

For any 'diet' to work, you have to stick to it, or some variety of it, for the rest of your life. I'll still be getting fast food for convenience sake from time to time when I hit maintenance, so it's imperative that I learn to make smart choices in that arena now, while I'm actively counting calories.

And while I do eat a lot of salads, it's because I like the taste of them. I'm with you on the Greek yogurt thing too. Once you find one that you like, it's a wonderful source of protein.

Add me if you'd like. I don't always 'close' my diary in time to have it post to the newsfeed, but it's always open.

puffbrat

I can assure my diary looks nothing like the ones you have described. I do often eat salads for lunch during the work week because I like them, they are relatively easy and help me eat more vegetables. But yesterday was a major junk food binge for me, still keeping me somewhere around maintenance. Most days I have crackers, cheese and dessert.

As for your smoothie, it doesn't matter how many portions/servings people say you should call it. All that matters is you logged the nutrition information correctly, it left you satisfied, and it is helping you in your goals.

Feel free to add me as a friend.

kommodevaran

It was trying to do what you think you have to do, that made it impossible for me to succeed, because I ended up doing what you used to do. It's doing what you are doing, but think you shouldn't be doing, after I decided that good enough has to be good enough, that made me succeed.

ouryve

You have to be realistic. Your goal isn't just to lose weight, but to keep it off, which means re-training your eating habits for the long term. So, while you do need to find better habits, they have to be sustainable.

I've taken a 2 pronged attack
1. Cutting out the sugary shite, because much of the time I didn't really enjoy it.
2. Taking care of portion sizes and only snacking if I'm sure I need a snack. A slightly rumbly tummy or a craving doesn't cut it, here.

Apart from that, I've merely shifted to a better version of what I normally eat. That includes wine (sometimes, still, too much!) and still includes a fair bit of convenience food - partly for variety and partly because various circumstances dictate that I'd be living off toast or fish fingers if I didn't keep the odd prick with a fork package in the fridge.

If I want a lovely creamy chicken korma, I will have that chicken korma in all its full fat glory - with brown basmati rice and a pile of cauliflower or salad. Filling, enjoyable, nutritious and far from busting my calorie allowance for the day. Low fat chicken korma is beyond disappointing and not how I intend to eat for the rest of my life.

Unsurprisingly, I've found that the snack cravings have all but vanished since cutting out the sugary shite.

Oh - and I love green veg but kale is like eating plastic.

StarryJD

Feel free to friend me - I'm somewhere in the middle. I definitely do not do the wheat grass smoothie type stuff but I am careful about when during the day I consume my beer & desserts
Too early and I end up having a sugar crash followed by a hunger emergency.

Gallowmere1984

Feel free to look at my diary if you want to feel better. I'm actually more likely to dodge a product listed as organic, for more reasons than just the cost difference.

ETA: oh, and sausage, eggs and cheese are delicious

Sept111944

Each of us has different needs and tastes beyond the required nutrition allowances. After looking seriously at what I was eating I realized that I was following old dogmas in eating habits. I ate cereal milk and fruit because "You have to start with a good breakfast". Not! I feel better when I don't eat breakfast and the carbs set me up to crave more. Bread is supposed to be a requirement for every meal. Not. I realized I was choking down the bread on a sub roll when I didn't want it so I still order a sub but take off half the bread. I was raised on potatoes at every meal and had to add lots of butter to choke it down. 1/2 a med potato satisfies me now and I don't worry about the butter. Long story short, listen to your body. Eat smaller portions and if you're hungry you can always have more.

Kimo159

Don't feel bad about your diary!! You're making changes to your eating habits that you can sustain for life! I generally don't eat organic, I'd rather not pay up the behind because something is organic. I eat butter, I eat bacon, yesterday I ate chocolate cheesecake mousse. I'm sure a lot of people would scoff at my diary, that isn't my problem. By the sounds of it you're making the right changes that are sustainable FOR YOU! That's awesome! You do you! Perhaps in the meantime you could avoid looking at other people's diaries until you get comfortable with where you're at and the results you're getting.

Joanna2012B

Trish1c wrote: »

Thank you all

Joanna2012B -- yeah that will be OK for lunch. I won't eat them at the same time. So maybe the bar is the snack. But the water during the work day helps. I want to make sure I put something in my system before I head to the gym. I'm meeting with a potential trainer tonight.

I just meant that would not be enough food for me, it's a good choice though. I tried the whole Kale in my salad and still can't do it.....so I don't! I wouldn't ever want salad if that is what I had to eat.

Lounmoun

You can look at my diary. Open to the public. Not trying to win a perfect dieter award.
I eat the same foods I always did just in more appropriate portion sizes for my goal. I even have fast food once a week. I eat desserts. You should make small changes and eat in a way you can sustain. If you can't imagine giving up a food forever then don't give it up to lose weight.

I typically eat stuff like this:
Breakfast- Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese (about 200-300 calories)
Lunch- sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers (about 300-500 calories)
Dinner- something different every night of the month. (about 500-600 calories) I have soup once a week usually.
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese (about 100-300 calories)

Weight loss is about calories not type of food. Type of food you eat is about preference and meeting your nutritional needs.
Pizza has plenty of nutrition. You probably can't eat a whole pizza but 1-2 slices with a salad is a decent meal. A doughnut doesn't have much nutrition and isn't very filling for the calories so you have to think if that is the best use of your calories every day. Maybe you decide that you meet your needs fine and a daily doughnut fits. Maybe there are other foods you like better that fit your goals better so you drop the daily doughnut.

A lot of people find getting plenty of protein, fats and fiber to be more satisfying. I'd advise trying to hit your protein goal and getting several servings of vegetables or fruits a day. Make small changes that you can sustain.

Sharon_C

Yesterday I ate Chipotle for lunch then had a big, juicy chicken sandwich for dinner. At work today they're catering pizza. I will skip the pizza and eat my turkey, ham and cheese sandwich. I agree with what others said. You have to do what is sustainable for a lifetime. Sometimes that's making healthy choices, sometimes its not. Don't let it make you feel bad. You do you and let everyone else do themselves.

I don't have an open diary. Actually I haven't been logging lately anyway, so it doesn't matter

kbmh611

Trish1c wrote: »

I've been looking at other people's food diaries for inspiration & practically feel food shamed.

Everybody seems to be eating organic this, wheat grass that, 1/2 tsp of dressing on a bowl of kale salad,.

I'm never gonna eat that. Ever, no matter what.

My diary contains food I bought at my local grocery store. It includes the bad stuff. Yes, I ate chips yesterday. I had several drinks at a party over the holiday weekend & pigged out at another BBQ.

I had a smoothie for breakfast today but many of you would probably tell me I had 2 based on the portion size. Fine. It's still better then the can of regular Pepsi & a donut I had for breakfast every day for the past 20 years. My plan for lunch today is a Greek yogurt & a granola bar; again a major positive change from the pizza & McDonald's I've regularly eaten. For dinner I'm planning grilled chicken breast, an ear of corn (yes, with butter) and maybe a baked potato, again with butter & a sprinkle of salt & pepper. That has always been a pretty typical dinner; I'm just paying attention to the size of the chicken & how much butter I use, plus drinking water not wine.

I think I'm improving but parts of this site make me feel WORSE about myself because I'm not eating perfectly.

How do I find diaries & people I can relate to more?

I feel the same way. I went on a thread to get meal ideas and was blown away by how many people just eat a hard boiled egg. Or salad with next to no dressing or a handful of nuts. One person says she just dumps Salsa on her salad. (Sorry, but that just sounds YUCK to me). Sufficed to say, I didnt leave those threads with any good meal ideas. It made me feel like I'm dieting wrong cuz I'm still eating food that taste good to me and doesnt make me feel like the equivalent of a rabbit. I'm eating way better than I used to and am losing weight. The only thing I can assume is that most of these people don't have a considerable amount of weight to lose anymore and are mostly trying to maintain or don't have many calories per day so they have to drastically cut back and be very cautious of what they eat. They could also be on special diets for health reasons. Like you, I was a little jaded that I wasn't doing enough or eating right, but everyone is different and you can still lose weight as long as you stay within your daily calories and exercise. I was on weight watchers years ago and lost a lot of weight still eating normal foods. I would even still eat fast food on occasion as long as it kept me within my points. Plus I exercised, but not much more than walking or going on the treadmill. Keep it up! We can do it! Just do what is working for you.

Escape_Artist

What others eat is a pesonal choice and you should't feel bad about what you eat. Some will choose organic, plant based diets and will feel good doing so while others will just eat whatever they want as long as it fits in their calories and that is absolutely fine as well. One is not more ideal than the other.

I'm the organic kale and salad vegetarian in the house while my husband eats loads of meat, chips, pizza, sodas and so on and that's just fine! We have both equally been able to achieve our goals and he doesn't feel bad for eating what he likes just as much as I don't feel like I'm better for eating kale

pjb58

Trish1c,
I'm with you!!! I keep my diary private just for this reason. I cannot eat the way some people do. I am simply too hungry and I like food too much. I do my best to eat right, don't do the "organic" thing, I exercise hard and then have learned to forgive myself for days like the 4th when I binge! I'm healthier and happier than I was 3 years ago, so Ive just decided to do my best then enjoy life.

UpEarly

Things you find in my diary regularly: pastries, beer, pasta, pizza, fries, burgers, tacos, chips, sour patch kids, ice cream, etc. They don't make up the majority of my food entries, but they're consistently present in my day-to-day eating. I follow more of an 80/20 plan - 80% of what I eat is 'healthy' whole food - the other 20% is whatever I want!

I lost about 60 pounds over four years ago and have kept it off eating in this manner.

Need2Exerc1se

Trish1c wrote: »

I think I'm improving but parts of this site make me feel WORSE about myself because I'm not eating perfectly.

How do I find diaries & people I can relate to more?

What makes wheatgrass and kale 'better' than bbq and yogurt and smoothies and corn and potatoes? Don't compare yourself or your diet to others. Statistically we are all likely to fail at maintaining weight loss. Eating foods you don't enjoy is not going to help you beat that statistic.

try2again

Now *I* feel guilty, because I happen to have kale often! But it's also not unusual for me to have 300 calories worth of chocolate or ice cream, so there you go! Sharing diaries with friends is a wonderful thing. I have discovered so many interesting and yummy things in them! I also completely ignore the stuff I have no interest in

quiksylver296

Kale is for suckers...

I eat what I like. And 0% of it is organic.

xmichaelyx

Why are you so concerned about what other people are doing?

Chef_Barbell

xmichaelyx wrote: »

Why are you so concerned about what other people are doing?

So much this.

Need2Exerc1se

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Kale is for suckers...

I eat what I like. And 0% of it is organic.

I guess that makes me a sucker. I love kale.

ninerbuff

Trish1c wrote: »

I've been looking at other people's food diaries for inspiration & practically feel food shamed.

Everybody seems to be eating organic this, wheat grass that, 1/2 tsp of dressing on a bowl of kale salad,.

I'm never gonna eat that. Ever, no matter what.

My diary contains food I bought at my local grocery store. It includes the bad stuff. Yes, I ate chips yesterday. I had several drinks at a party over the holiday weekend & pigged out at another BBQ.

I had a smoothie for breakfast today but many of you would probably tell me I had 2 based on the portion size. Fine. It's still better then the can of regular Pepsi & a donut I had for breakfast every day for the past 20 years. My plan for lunch today is a Greek yogurt & a granola bar; again a major positive change from the pizza & McDonald's I've regularly eaten. For dinner I'm planning grilled chicken breast, an ear of corn (yes, with butter) and maybe a baked potato, again with butter & a sprinkle of salt & pepper. That has always been a pretty typical dinner; I'm just paying attention to the size of the chicken & how much butter I use, plus drinking water not wine.

I think I'm improving but parts of this site make me feel WORSE about myself because I'm not eating perfectly.

How do I find diaries & people I can relate to more?

I eat ANYTHING I want. Last night I had Panda Express and the day before KFC. It all comes down to CICO when it comes to weight loss.
All the "clean" eaters are eating more nutrient dense foods, but once someone's met their RDA's, eating extra of it won't give someone extra credit or make them "healthier".
Balance is what you should look for. I only turn down foods I like if I know it's going to really exceed my calorie intake.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cwolfman13

You don't have to eat organic this or that...just eat a balanced and overall nutritious diet...make sure you're getting your veggies in (pro tip, it doesn't have to be kale)...eat a couple servings of fruit daily...eat some whole grains and lean sourced protein and get some good fats...and enjoy your chips...they don't magically undo all of your nutrition.

Also, you need to look at your diet as a whole over time...don't live in singular days. I went buck wild on the 4th (actually the 3rd)...all the BBQ with all the fixin's...about a 6 pack of beer and 4 shots of tequila...I nursed a nice little hangover on Monday but otherwise I'm no worse for the wear and back to my normal daily.

StarryJD

Ps I eat kale sometimes because I like it. I only eat things I like . Let's not judge people harshly on their food choices.
Sometimes I eat organic food too. I have kids and sometimes that's what I choose to buy for them and in some cases I think it tastes better.
Once again, different things work for different people and we can all learn from each other.
I know I sound like a hippy here

robininfl

I like food, healthy food, gourmet food, "bad" food, food food. I do think it's important to feed your body good stuff to make it run better. Food with vitamins and minerals and proteins and fats, and I think that there is room in most everyone's diet for some junky stuff too. I would not eat mostly or all low-nutrition foods, but eating some isn't going to hurt anything. Eating too 'clean' is not healthier, in my view. Just like everything else, your body is stronger and more resilient if it is sometimes challenged, it's good to be able to handle eating a piece of cake without negative effect.

cwolfman13

I'd also suggest that 1/2 tsp dressing on a kale salad is less than ideal...a lot of people don't actually know about nutrition and that on it's own is pretty lacking in many areas...so I really wouldn't use that as an ideal approach to nutrition.