Living They Lifestyle - Monday 7/22/24

crewahl

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.

Monday - crewahl (Charlie)
Tuesday – Wildcard
Wednesday-misterhub (Greg)
Thursday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday - Wildcard

Today's Topic: Food - for thought?

What is food to you?

1. It’s just nutrition, dude.
2. It’s a source of great joy and pleasure.
3. It’s a trap that bites me in the butt on a regular basis.
4. Something else?

crewahl

If I have to pick one, it’s #2. My goal is to get the maximum pleasure from the points/calories available to me. It owes sometimes bit me in the butt, but not as often as it used to.

Flintwinch

For me, it used to be 100% #2. Now that I have heart disease, which I am trying to manage (so far successfully) with lifestyle, it has become important to pay attention to #1. While I still look to enjoy food, that has to be in balance with healthy nutritional goals. I follow the guidelines from the American Heart Association with lower saturated fat consumption, increased fiber, decreased added sugar, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. This seems to mirror the WW point system. So far it's a standoff between numbers 1 and 2.

steve0mania

I think it's a bit of each one of these.

Sometimes I eat just because it's time to eat, or I know if I don't eat I'll be hungry and cranky. At those times it's primarily nutrition, and I'm not looking to get great joy or pleasure out of it.

At other times, for example, on Friday night or Saturday (Shabbat), it's meant to be "joyful," and thus our meals are more special than they would be otherwise. To be honest, while I really like delicious food, I'm not a foodie and I'm pretty happy with anything that's generally tasty, even if it wouldn't qualify in a foodie's eyes as "outstanding."

Finally, food does trip me up sometimes, and that's when I'm not eating for either of the first two reasons. I recognize that I snack a lot out of either habit or boredom. If I'm not eating to satisfy a need, like hunger, then the boundary line for "stop-eating" seems be missing, or at least, blurred, and I end up snacking too much.

misterhub

I am a foodie. I love delicious food, and I love to cook.

That said, I concentrate on having my delicious food be very healthy and nutritious. It is very much possible; although, it often does require a change in mindset. I have had the privilege and pleasure of traveling through much of the world, and I have been exposed to a lot of different cuisines. As a result, there are very few foods to which I turn up my nose. If I do, it's usually a texture thing or a very specific flavor. (I hate licorice flavors.)

Plus, we were incredibly poor when I was a kid. My mom fixed Texas farm girl food, which was always tasty and filling. I still have a taste for that sometimes. As long as I didn't have to eat her fried salmon croquettes, I was pretty happy. But, a lot of that food was not particularly healthy; so I revisit it carefully.

One YouTube, I have found the vegan cooking channels on to be the most inventive cooking channels. Flavor is a big deal, and most of it is not mock meat recipes. I would direct your attention to Rainbow Plant Life, which is particularly good. And, another outstanding YouTube cooking channel for non-vegetarian cuisine is Laura In The Kitchen, which is one of my favorites.

Food is good. Being healthy is good. Doing both is better.

imastar2

Number 2 for sure but because I have congestive heart failure, afib, I certainly incorporate #1. #3 without a doubt many foods bite me in the butt.