Not enjoying food anymore...?

Natalie49

Don't you miss the days when you used to eat and enjoy food without having your inner calorie calculator counting how many calories your food has?
Of course, counting calories and staying on track is the right thing to do!
..but, i don't find myself enjoying the food i eat!
I miss that!
Can anybody relate? & what to do about that..?

allehp

Oh, my gosh. My head is like a calorie rolodex now, every food I look at is a number. You just get used to it, I suppose. Thinking about food as fuel for your body and not a treat or an activity is a great thing, but I hate the numbers. Haven't found an answer for this yet haha, still waiting for it to go away. :ohwell:

JeanWalker109

Yes, I miss those days. Now, it's kind of living in torture, for me, when I slip up. It's agonizing, but I suppose that's the actual change happening. So, I push on. We're changing habits, it's difficult; but it's not impossible.

*smiles*

Jean

prettyfitchick

I felt this way at first but over time i guess you get use to it and now i feel good about what pick and choose to go in my body and cant imagine not doing it my co wokers usually eat about 1200 cals in snacks before even going to lunch (sometime i get bored at work) but when you see the results it will be worth it

also find ways to make it easier I have 2 sets of measuring cups (in case one set is dirty)
a small food scale (mainly to way home cooked meats)
my fitness pal app on my phone So can i just go thru and scan bar codes of stuff i ate

misslyssx

I think that the calorie counting should be a habit that facilitates getting to the point where one wouldn't need to track calories. Eventually, I would like to be able to just 'know' what I should and shouldn't eat. Getting too caught up in numbers, like calories and weight, is torture, like you said. The point I feel we should all strive to get to is having healthy eating be second nature instead of being so structured.

JulieBoBoo

Well since for me it's about health first and weight second (though admittedly, weight is a nice bonus), I see rather nutritional benefit instead of calories. I look at almonds and avocados and olive oil and see healthy fats that will aid with preventing heart disease instead of calorie dense food (though they are so I eat them in moderation). At least that's what I aim for and most of the time I achieve it.

stef_3

At first it bothered me especially when we had a party to go to or my husband wanted to go out cuz I knew I would go over. I don't let it get to me anymore though. I eat whatever I want just in moderation if it's my not so goodies. When we go out I try to know in advance so I can save up a few hundred cals more and use them for the outing. I rarely go over anymore with the excpetion of our Sunday all day outings right now and I'm getting almost 1,500 cals a day and losing 1.5 lbs on average. According mfp I should only be losing upto 1 with this caloric intake so I'm happy to be losing more. I did however have a 3 month plateau which sucked. It's definitely worth it though to count though I can't even imagine being 35lbs heavier again. I was always tired and my back always hurt.

CharlieBarleyMom

Yes, it's difficult to see food for just one part of it anymore. There are always multi-faceted questions when contemplating food. But the fact that you contemplate is the best part. It's not mindless eating which is more than likely why you decided to take charge of your food intake. Sure, there are those on this site who don't really need to lose weight, never had a weight problem but want to track exercise and just eat correctly... THAT IS NOT ME.

The me that has lost 45.5 pounds enjoys that I look at food as the number of calories and the value of the nutrients before I allow myself to eat it. If I do not do that I am back to the old me. And the old me was depressed, fat, and tired of living in that body and going broke from constantly buying new BIGGER clothes.

And that is how I deal with the fact that food is not just mindless yum anymore. It is yum and I control it.

icemaiden17_uk

It is hard and it does suck a fair bit but I have just found ways of making the food I like have fewer calories so I can still eat it without the counter going!! I find using this site really helps because I don't need to count as I already know!!

maryd523

I, for one, really enjoy counting calories. Maybe it's the sense of being in control and making something good happen, but it's fun and I like doing it. I probably would have quit long ago if I didn't like it. And of course, the results are REALLY fun!

surfrgrl1

I look at food logs of my friends to see if I can get any ideas for changing up some of the stuff I eat. Some things do get really boring. :grumble:

RJSuperMan

Alcoholics always talk about missing the days when they could just have a few drinks. Then they begin to rationalize how they can still do it.... Finally, when they don't hear what they want to hear, they binge "just this once." Just sayin....

kaetra

my fitness pal app on my phone So can i just go thru and scan bar codes of stuff i ate

You can do that!!? I have it on my Windows 7 phone, but I see no barcode scanner thingy. It must be a different version for a different phone maybe?

engineman312

my fitness pal app on my phone So can i just go thru and scan bar codes of stuff i ate

You can do that!!? I have it on my Windows 7 phone, but I see no barcode scanner thingy. It must be a different version for a different phone maybe?

check the little blue button next to where you search for a food.

Nerdy_Rose

I don't have a smart phone to do the bar code thing, but, I find that when I pre-plan my food choices for the day and enter them, I can still enjoy my food very much, because they worrying part is over... I know I will be under calories if I stick to the plan :-)

WKenL

I don't know. I still eat my share of stuff for taste, just less of it.

Maybe it's because I've been trained to think like an economist, but I've learned that having a taste of ice cream is really no less satisfying than the giant sundae. I'll eat the stuff, but keep it to about 100-150 calories. No, that's not a lot, but I still enjoy it.

Knowing that I ate ice cream and chocolate pudding this past week and still lost 7 pounds counts for a lot.

shaj316

There have definitely been a few no no foods, like pizza and donuts, that I haven't had in a month but haven't missed them yet. I'm sure its coming soon. My calorie allotment is still pretty high so I haven't had to go out of my way to curb calories. However, as I get thinner I know that number will change and I will have to be much more judicious on how I "spend" my calories, esp if I want to be healthy about it.

I'm hoping by making small changes I can gradually adjust to the new lifestyle so that its PERMANENT!

gingersd

Yes I really do miss eating a lot of foods I used to eat, especially when I am out with friends. I do still eat things I enjoy and go over, sometimes way over my allotted amount but not every day like i used to. i also plan ahead and eat fewer calories early on in the day if I know that later i am going out then i will choose something I enjoy but also know isn't the worst thing on the menu. Exercise has been difficult to do regularly for me because I HATE IT. but when i go way over I am sure to get some exercise in.

shaj316

my fitness pal app on my phone So can i just go thru and scan bar codes of stuff i ate

You can do that!!? I have it on my Windows 7 phone, but I see no barcode scanner thingy. It must be a different version for a different phone maybe?

check the little blue button next to where you search for a food.

I know its definitely on the iPhone but not sure if it made it to other phone apps yet...

LorinaLynn

I still enjoy every morsel of food that goes into my mouth. Healthy food doesn't mean flavorless.

Just because you aren't eating everything you want doesn't mean you shouldn't want everything you eat.

cdstadt

I got so tense recently about counting calories I decided to take a break. I feel like I hit bottom when I was counting how many *mini* semi-sweet chocolate chips I was melting into my almond milk.

I've had a "limited" diet for years now and I don't feel like I'm missing out. I just like to think of it as having found new foods that make me happy.

avsingleton

i feel u. there will be times when u'll eat and just not feel satisfied. i have those moments too. one way to get a satisfying meal....eat light through out the day and treat urself to a nice fulfilling dinner meal, with something that sticks to ur ribs as the country folks say


ps make sure u stay within ur calorie goal




Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

epoint

I really just changed my eating habits while tracking my calories, in an effort to both lose weight and get healthier. I'm eating far less processed food now than I did before, and my tastes have really changed. Now I love fresh fruit, for instance, and before I was just so-so about it. Once I hit my goal weight (back in early July) I stopped logging calories to see if I had TRULY learned to eat the right choices. Yep, I've maintained, and even lost some more inadvertently. I find that now I have to make it a point to add in more healthy calories during the day. Crazy, huh? And I still absolutely enjoy food, maybe even more than I did before. I'm meeting friends at Red Lobster for lunch later and I already know that I'm getting the grilled shrimp skewers with broccoli. If I really wanted a big ol' platter of fried food I would get it, I guess, but that's the point -- I just don't want it anymore. Life is good. :-)

prettyfitchick

my fitness pal app on my phone So can i just go thru and scan bar codes of stuff i ate

You can do that!!? I have it on my Windows 7 phone, but I see no barcode scanner thingy. It must be a different version for a different phone maybe?

check the little blue button next to where you search for a food.

I know its definitely on the iPhone but not sure if it made it to other phone apps yet...

My phone is a samsung galaxy and its power by anroid so if you have the app from the anroid maket it should be able to do it to

iElliie

I think of it in a whole different way. I love eating what I eat... Though I wish I could have that delicious cheesy pizza I tell myself that what I eat is so much better. No one should have a mind set of eating just certain foods, that's not the joy in losing weight. I find it easier if I know what I eat can be portioned out for the ability for me to eat it. That's usually the problem, never portioned my food ahead of time, so I ate it all.
If you need to get off your diet or anything, what you learned should go towards any good possible... Yes we count calories but to be honest, I feel way better eating something I made, or something someone made in front of me, it just makes it that much more my choice.
Great example: yesterday I knew I was going to eat pizza, instead of ordering in, we went to a new place that's around the area, great thing was, we customized our own pizza. As "personal" as the pizza is, it's too much for just one person. The better choice it too cut out most of the cheese, checked. Thin crust also is a must. What I'm saying is, you are learning how to eat anything in a more healthy and portionate way.
Keep up the great work, it's not hard when you enjoy making the food.