FOOD!

cpnknight

I have seen so many "diets" in so many adverts.
Celebrities banging on about paleo this, low carb that or less fat the other.
After looking into countless "plans" I have come to the conclusion that it is all so much guff!
I believe that my goal should not rule out any of the awesome foods that I know and love (I'm looking at you Devon cream teas) but that I should merely control the amount that I consume of these delicious meals.
Is it not more beneficial to teach yourself (and your stomach) portion control and condition your body to this so that the desires for these foods are manageable and no longer pose a problem?

fstrickl

Yes! I agree. Unless it’s for a medical, religious, and/or a personal ethics reason no food should discounted. I believe that eating as much real unprocessed food is probably the healthiest (restrictions about applying) but don’t think you should never ever have junk food. Balance and moderation. I also think it’s important to listen to your body when you eat. So maybe ice cream every day makes you feel a bit bloated, maybe try Greek yogurt with fruit on some days instead.

Most importantly *gets on 🧼 soapbox* when we call certain foods “bad” and then we eat it we start to view ourselves as “bad” and wrong. We can’t demonize food then eat it and not expect our mental health to be affected. Everyday we see “bad” foods and so when we eat more of it then we want we put ourselves down. No! What you do or do not eat does NOT determine your worth as a person. I hate how diet culture has taught us to believe this. What we put in our mouths does not determine our worth as a human. Of course I think there are foods that are healthy and unhealthy, but stop calling foods bad and good and then determine your value or demon feeling on that.

*steps off soap box*

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk

fstrickl

🤦🏻‍♀️ Next time I’m on a soap box I’m promise I’ll use spell check.

janejellyroll

Some people find a more structured plan to be helpful either long-term or for a season of their lives. But for those of us who don't find them helpful, I don't see a good reason to do them.

I will say that sometimes a structured plan can be good for thinking about different ways to think about food or new ways to try food, even if you decide not to stick with it. For example, it's been years since I've done South Beach, but I still eat some of the recipes that I discovered via the plan. I no longer try to eat raw vegan (that was a short couple of weeks!), but I still make some recipes that I tried from that period and it played a big role in altering some of the judgments I had about food and proper meals. So from that perspective, I would say I'm someone who loves to read about different diet styles and thinking about what they might bring to my life, but I'm skeptical about the need for me to adhere strictly to anything besides trying to generally balance my calories in/calories out.

I don't think we can say that it's "better" universally for us to train ourselves on portion control. There are some people who genuinely seem to do better when they strictly limit/eliminate certain foods. But I would say that if you feel like it's better for YOU to learn to exercise portion control (instead of eliminating foods), then you're probably right.

The more I read about long-term maintainers, the less I believe there is a single right way to lose weight and maintain the loss. There are things are I believe are more successful for a larger percentage of people . . . but there are still going to be people who are outside that majority. I think paying attention to what you want, how you can see yourself living, and what makes your life feel easiest is important.

Beautyofdreams

You sound like you would like flexible dieting. The IIFYM (If it fits your macros) might be worthwhile for you to look up. No food is ruled out, you eat in such a way to make allowances( calorie and macro wise) for your food choices. So the diet teaches you to be aware of the effect of your food choices on calories and macros. Remember that the best diet is the one that you can stick to. Hope this option helps you.

Dogmom1978

CICO is all that matters in the end. If you wanted to eat 1500 calories of cupcakes a day, as long as that’s a deficit for you, you can do that. It’s not a healthy option, but it’s an option.

I’m a big fan of sustainable eating. I can’t stick to it if it doesn’t include the foods I already want to eat. 😊

glassyo

fstrickl wrote: »

🤦🏻‍♀️ Next time I’m on a soap box I’m promise I’ll use spell check.

ROFLMAO! I had to reread your post to see where you went wrong. It's pretty hidden!

OP, you are wise for one so young. (In number of posts.)