Foodie, what is the best way to control it?

ismith1024

So, I have identified my problem. I love food!

cwilber1

Me too! So many colors, smells, textures, recipes...... ugh! Why can't I love knitting or skiing or anything as much??

Unknown

This content has been removed.

kuranda10

I realized I didn't get heavy by eating "garbage food". I got that way by eating really good "foodie type" foods but my portions were out.of.control.

livingleanlivingclean

I love food.
Not all food is calorie dense.
Not all food is worth the calories.
Enjoying something doesn't require eating my body weight in it.
Most of it will be available to me tomorrow, next week, next year... I don't need to eat it all now!

lorrpb

cwilber1 wrote: »

Me too! So many colors, smells, textures, recipes...... ugh! Why can't I love knitting or skiing or anything as much??

Have you tried cultivating other interests? Meaning trying it more then once? Knitting has so many colors, textures, patterns, and you get clothes or stuff for your house or presents to share with others. Plus your mind and hands are too busy to eat. Similar things can be said of skiing or many other activities!

lorrpb

kuranda10 wrote: »

I realized I didn't get heavy by eating "garbage food". I got that way by eating really good "foodie type" foods but my portions were out.of.control.

Portion control is your friend on this journey.

kommodevaran

Everybody loves food.
Food is good.
Love of food is not a real problem.
Overeating is a real problem.
You're supposed to enjoy food, not abuse it.
Abusing food is not joyous. Eating appropriately for your size and activity level, is.

I solved the problem by planning, portioning, cooking and eating regular, varied, tasty and balanced meals, and cutting out (almost all) eating inbetween meals. Waiting for a good meal makes me more selective, I enjoy the food more, and I appreciate it more. It also regulates my weight, makes me feel in charge, and reduces stress.

sijomial

1. I love food. But that doesn't have to be lots of food, just really good food in the right amounts. That doesn't have to be balanced every day to allow freedom to enjoy great meals and social events involving food. Regarding your calorie allowance as a weekly budget works for many.
2. I also love being the right weight, being fit & healthy so moderating #1 is worth it.

amusedmonkey

I love food so much, and I use that motive to reduce my calories. I keep reminding myself that mindlessly shoving food into my gullet does not allow me to experience it properly. I keep reminding myself that "meh foods" are not worth the calories when I can eat awesome foods for the same calories. I keep reminding myself that being a little bit hungry before a meal helps me look forward to the food and enjoy it more. I keep reminding myself that the there are "sometimes foods" and that not having them every day is part of the appeal. It's easy to lose sight of these things, which is why I need to keep reminding myself to shift focus back to the food and how to best enjoy it.

I keep working on eliminating as many eating episodes that don't give me as good of an experience as possible. I never have and never will equate weight management with not loving food, and you don't have to eat things you don't like or stop eating things you like. You just need to come up with a system that allows you to be happy with your food choices within your calories, either by eating smaller portions of higher calorie foods or having said foods in your usual portions but less frequently.

shirleyanngaut

Stick to your daily calories, be sensible with portion sizes and you can't go wrong. I can't even have a glass of wine nowadays without measuring it

scarlett_k

I love food too! Cooking tasty meals helps me to spend time thinking about food without eating it all the time.

ismith1024

Thanks for all the great tips! I am really trying to do the meal prep and keep those portions the right size.

amusedmonkey

Tip: if capable and willing, being more active means eating more.

HeidiCooksSupper

I'm a foodie, too. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to read about food. Food is my hobby! So how do I deal with that while practicing CICO? I have just added calorie counting into my planning and this allows me to use things like heavy cream without guilt.

Address it like a puzzle using the food diary. Here's last night's quandries: How can I have a dill/mustard/sour cream/cream sauce on my pork cutlets tonight? Have green beans as a side instead of dressed peas. Don't make buttery parsleyed potatoes to go with just roast the potatoes in a bit of seasoned olive oil. Have "schnitzel natur" instead of the breading the cutlets. That way we could slather the mustard cream on and chase the last of it around the plate with that final green bean.

We can still eat heavenly food, just less of it. We can still play with our food, just with calorie numbers in mind. I've lost 32 pounds since June doing this. I plan to continue for the next 111 pounds and then into maintenance. Being a foodie is not necessarily a sentence to obesity!