Living the Lifestyle - Thursday, September 15

MICHGOLFER2

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday -- crewahl / Charlie
Tuesday --60in2017 / Millie
Wednesday -- minimyzeme / Kim
Thursday -- MICHGOLFER2 / Jane
Friday --Jimb376mfp / Jim

Topic: When food and/or eating is your greatest pleasure (almost)

Most of us are here because some aspect of our relationship with food is off kilter. For me, eating is a pleasurable experience – the planning, shopping, prepping, plating, sharing, eating, and on and on. Food and food related activities can take over my thoughts and spare time. I have to wonder if “normal” people wake up thinking about what they will eat, and when they will eat, and how they will prepare their food.

Question: Was food (and/or eating) high on your list of pleasurable things? Is it still? If not, how did you move it down the list? Or, if it is still way up there, how do you manage combining that with weight loss/maintenance?

Rachel0778

Food is definitely still high on my list and I'm okay with that. I love trying out new recipes, finding good deals at the grocery store, and eating delicious homemade meals. I consider cooking to be a hobby. This lends well to weight loss/maintenance because I can make lots of healthy homemade food to help me with my goals. It's hard to justify eating out when I have something delicious already made at home.

I also find eating to be a pleasurable social experience. I love sitting around the dinner table with family and friends or going out for a special meal with my significant other. Food is a part of the social experience and it adds to the enjoyment of the occasion.

The one thing I did have to change was when I ate to avoid emotions. I used to eat to fill a void (loneliness, sadness, etc.) It's a rough transition to have to feel your emotions instead of using food to distract yourself, but it's by far been the best transition I've made for long lasting weight loss. I now make a big cup of flavored tea with cashew milk and stevia and curl up with a journal, book, coloring book to work things out. Otherwise I get out of the house and take a walk, go to the mall, or call someone. It's been helpful to have these healthy habits in my back pocket for when I start to crave stuffing my feelings down with cookies.

leeless511

Food continues to be high on my list of pleasures. The entire process is fun for me. Shopping at farm markets for new fruits/veggies. Occasional visits to really nice grocery stores, my local grocer is excellent but I like to see other high end grocery stores and the new things they offer. Cooking the food and finding new recipes etc. and lightening up old favorites -- I love it all.

It does not seem to be a problem for me because I was always a pretty healthy eater. My issue was that thinking I ate healthy stuff, I did not realize you could not have as much as you want of it. So portion was my problem.

I believe if you like to cook, explore new foods, create recipes etc., it actually helps you be successful in losing weight & maintaining the loss, because you are more in control of what you consume.

My all time favorite food experience now is to consume a really nice pastry with a cappuccino at an Italian bakery in our Little Italy area when I have the points to cover it. Love the taste, experience and lack of guilt.

gadgetgirlIL

Food is certainly high on my list of life's pleasures. I do enjoy cooking and baking. I'm rather picky about what I think is worth eating. I don't eat out much because I enjoy my cooking better than most things I can get at a restaurant, at least the ones in my price range.

I think what has shifted from when I was morbidly obese to now is that I'm more likely to use food as fuel to nourish my body to be able to do the endurance activities I love. In addition, I'm less likely to use food as a band-aid to deal with life's issues.

MICHGOLFER2

Sorry – I got called away from my office before I posted my response.

I am curious to see how other people handle this.

As I said in the intro, I love most things having to do with food. Sometimes I am fine with that. At other times it seems as if I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about food and eating. I have shifted to a “healthier” approach to planning my meals and entertaining - reworking favorite recipes, balancing heavier entrees with lighter sides. And, I only bake when there will be multiple people around to consume the results. Portion control is an ongoing project.

Part of my curiosity stems from the fact that I am finally starting to truly accept the “for a lifetime” aspect of weight loss. Can I live with a particular change for decades (hopefully)? If not, how do I work the things I love into a plan that works for me.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Kramti386

I too have food high on the list of pleasures. Social events in my family always included food. Good Tasting is very important and creates more of a challenge.

Using my daily bank of points/calories I am having luck controlling when I am done for the day. I could sit at dinner and eat two dinner or more before. By keeping the budget in my head it helps me say "I done for the day." It has been working for a few weeks now.

podkey

I love great food. Great food can be served in amazingly small amounts and be delicious.
I am not a slave to feeling like I have to have great food all day every day. I adore a great steak but can go months in between having one.
I am too lazy to make much "recipe" food but do a good job with my usual staples. DW on the other hand wants more elaborate foods daily. I would think exercise and sex could definitely rank higher than food.
Food as well as being potentially exquisite and superbly tasty IS FUEL. I agree.

podkey

I had a best ever chicken pot pie last night from a specialty restaurant and it was worth it. Would I take a frozen one home??? Uh not on your life. Would I eat there again tomorrow or next week?? Nope. It would be a rare treat which I could enjoy and I will keep it that way.

Johnkaz63

Like most of you, food is high on my list also. Settling back into the program was not easy, especially with the changes in the WW program. It caused quite a bit of stress when I realized that most of my "go to" snacks were now off limits. That has forced me to try different things, some I've really enjoyed others I haven't. So I guess it's a mixed bag.

Part of my curiosity stems from the fact that I am finally starting to truly accept the “for a lifetime” aspect of weight loss. Can I live with a particular change for decades (hopefully)? If not, how do I work the things I love into a plan that works for me.

This is something that I am grappling with also.... Especially with the holidays coming up. Do I try to adapt my favorite recipes to be point friendly and be kind of ...meh that was an OK treat? Do I cut back on what I normally do and pick one or two really good things?

podkey

For Thanksgiving and eating at our daughters MIL's place I don't substitute per se. I eat one sliver of real pumpkin pie or some years two slivers for the taste. I am not deprived but do early smaller portions of most things and can skip most of the rolls etc. It is just one meal and not more than that for me.

This year with changes we may go somewhere else for Thanksgiving anyway.

gadgetgirlIL

Johnkaz63 wrote: »

Do I try to adapt my favorite recipes to be point friendly and be kind of ...meh that was an OK treat? Do I cut back on what I normally do and pick one or two really good things?

I have not modified any of my favorite recipes. But I will eat a smaller portion than I used to. Life is too short to settle for "meh" food.

As for the holidays, I'll focus in on the things that I don't normally get at other times of the year and take a pass on the ordinary stuff that I can have anytime. I also keep in mind that it is a holiDAY not a holiWEEK or holiMONTH. That means I usually go over my budget on the actual day, but for the remaining days of the holiday weekend, I'm back to my normal food pattern, just working in leftovers into my budget. The freezer is my friend with many of the leftovers.

minimyzeme

Food has long been pleasurable for me but somewhere in the mix it also became somewhat of a crutch that helped me escape unwanted emotions, deal with stress, etc. It was this murky mix of enjoyment combined with some qualities of an addiction--a form of self-medication. Of course, in retrospect, it did nothing to medicate and in the end, the way I was using it made whatever stresses or pressures I felt worse, not better.

In this 'switch-flipping' transition I've done while losing weight, I was able to put food in a more fitting role: one that returned it to pleasure and fuel, and less of a mindless, somewhat numbing crutch. I still eat fast a lot, but I really try to be aware of each bite. More importantly, I try to restore the related aspects of eating that can make it social--really focusing on conversation and time with family and friends when that's the case. If I'm by myself, I try to be aware of flavors, textures, and nourishment.

Related to this, I have moved my behavior from mindless quasi-constant consumption to 'it's just food'. In the days prior to WW, I would plan my day around it (as per the LTL the other day), unhealthily so. Now, for the most part, I let food have proper context as fuel combined with more present and aware enjoyment of the whole experience when I'm eating.

My key to weight loss was and is tracking. WW provided for me a structured approach that gradually transitioned me to eating a reasonable amount of food. Most days I find that amount is plenty; I'm amazed at how much less it is than what I used to eat. I find I am pickier now. I eat a lot (LOT) less junk than I used to.

All in all, my enjoyment of food has evolved over time. I feel like I'm back from the brink with respect to using food as a crutch. Even though I eat far less than I used to, being mindful, making good choices and being more present while eating helps me enjoy it more.