Wanna lose weight but you are a foodie !

harleenarang

I really need to lose 66 lbs (am overweight by that much) you can see my profile pic. But the biggest problem as usual is - I love food. i am a big foodie. I love to cook and experiment with new dishes.

And as said - All good things in life and fatty, expensive or married to someone else - I am working on the fatty part :ohwell:

Any great ideas how to keep myself off all that lovely food ?

PS: I love sweets - cheesecakes and chocolates are my biggest craving.

Fayve

I too, am a foodie. Trying to lose weight while in culinary school was a nightmare! My recommendation is to eat those things and try all the new recipes you want, just drastically reduce how much of it you have. It's tough, I know, but if you truly love food, I think that depriving yourself of all your favorites will almost inevitably end in binge and a swift kick off the wagon. Good luck!

Krisengel

It's really hard. Check out websites like www.skinnytaste.com and try some new, better for you recipes. You can also tweak your favorites to make them healthier. If you pay attention to portion size, than it's ok to indulge once in a while.

FitBridget

I'm a huge foodie too - you can't keep yourself off all that lovely food or you'll just feel deprived and binge. The trick to being a lean foodie is portion control. Make and enjoy the fabulous food, but weight or measure proper portion sizes, then enjoy! I've lost 13 pounds so far (10 before joining MFP) through portion control and very irregular sporadic exercise.

For sweets - never have a dessert that isn't shared, and eat very slowly to get all possible enjoyment from a much smaller piece.

christy_frank

http://www.dashingdish.com/category/recipes/

cppeace

yeah try experimenting with lowering the calories of these fatty foods and try reducing serving sizes... Also increase your activity and work work work out... Don't like Jillian but her calorie in calorie out saying is easy to understand. If you're gonna eat it you need to work it off lol Feel free to friend me I have more to lose than you but know I'm gonna get it done

kendernau

As a foodie myself, I have found one benefit to getting my weight under control.

I still cook the same amount of food (even if I have modified the recipe to make it healthier), so since I am eating smaller portions, I have more leftovers and can enjoy it more times before it is all gone.

howmyworldruns

I love to eat too, I always ate like it was my last meal on earth. What I did, since I can't give up all my favorite foods is 1) allow a few cheat days per month, not per week 2)when you cheat, don't completely blow it, make sure you exercise that day 3) since you love to cook and experiment, try new ways to make your favorite dishes.

Good luck!

Onesnap

We are big foodies in our house. We have an ENTIRE wall of cookbooks in our TV room. We also have a large veggie garden and I volunteer at a local farm once per month.

It's all about moderation.

You can LOVE food and really amazing food and still lose weight. Don't deny yourself what you love.

You'll laugh (or agree) but every time I plan a business trip I always plan where I'm going to eat (I read reviews first) and I love when I can find gourmet food walking distance from my hotel. I'm back to Buffalo for a work trip in November and I can't wait to go back to this wine bar that has the best risotto on their small plates menu (it was topped with Duck and fall squashes). MMMM!

romping

I´m doing 100 grams of good carbs and it seems to ease the craving.

sinilau

I am a fellow foodie, I don't just love food, I love good food, exotic foods, really anything new! I am learning that everything in moderation! Love the others suggestions.

Food can be a beautiful experience, one that doesn't have to ruin your figure! Best wishes!

vegasaims

I am the same way! I still try things but what the portions. I am also a huge baker. I love making cakes and treats. I've turned it into a game almost to see how I can adjust the recipes to make them better for myself. Good luck and hang in there!

hello77kitty

Ugh, I have the same problem. My advice: stay off yelp.com and don't watch food network.

rosebarnalice

Become a "fab food" foodie!

Learning to cook healthy and filling foods that still dazzle the sense may be the biggest cooking experiment of your life!

Experiment with veggies you've never used before! Scour skinnytaste or hungrygirl web sites for interesting recipes and then give them your own style!


Me, I'm a spice-head-- I have a cupboard full of curries, peppers, herbs, weird international spice blends . . and I experiment with them all the time.

pftjill

Find healthy ways to cook your favorite dishes. Healthy eating isn't a sentence to horrible bland food. Trust me there are soooo many things out there that are amazing and you can spice it up. So many sights for this. As someone said-moderation in all things. I agree, I give myself one cheat day a week. I don't even log on that day and I don't feel guilty.

sdwelk11

DITTO!!!!!!!!! I have learned to find alternatives to the foods I love, whether lower calories and fat or a completely different version of the food. I have learned never to deprive myself of something and I have learned patience and trial and error. Now I eat 4 meals a day at 400 calories a meal every 4 hours. I don't have food cravings anymore and i drink lots of water. I love chocolate and I have it every morning for breakfast!!!!!!!!! I eat 1 1/4 cups rice krispies with 3/4 cup fat free lactaid and 2 tablespoons of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips on top (gives me chocolate and sweetness)! this is my breakfast every day and I love it!!!

carrie564

I'm exactly the same. I bake. Killer stuff. Everyone begs for my best recipes in the world for cookies, breads, brownies, cheesecakes, etc.

The main thing is moderation. You can still have your tasty food, but you've really just got to start taking a small scoop & then being done. Also, you can't have it all day, every day. Focus on having super healthy meals/snacks all day, to sort of 'earn' your right to indulge in a super tasty dinner. Let yourself look forward to it all day, planned out. People eat way less when they plan their food! But when you get it, don't blow your whole day. Don't eat until you're stuffed (NEVER eat until you're stuffed if you're trying to drop weight- stop when you're satisfied & then move on to activities to keep you busy so you don't think about it).

The thing I've learned with sweets is that you can't completely cut treats out forever. BUT it does help to get a little kick start by cutting them out for at least a week:, to let your body adjust back to natural sugars and fat intake! (ideally more like a month). I'm in the middle of a no-treats month right now, with a one-night exception for a Halloween party... but see? it's planned! It's really really really REALLY hard for the first few days to break the bad habits & avoid the cravings, not letting yourself whip up cookies in the evening or grab donuts that are out on a table for everyone. But after only a few days you adjust & you start feeling AMAZING from the inside, out! It's really worth the reward! Then start adding treats back into your diet in normal SMALL quantities (two cookies, and freeze the rest of the dough, or give the rest of the batch away), at special occasions (a slice of birthday cake- not 2nd or 3rds with 4 scoops of ice cream), or splitting dessert at a restaurant. No more shameful eating in private, eating 4 slices of cheesecake in a sitting. MODERATION. Treat naughty foods like they're porn: because it's bad for you, it hurts you, you're ashamed of it, you feel terrible afterwards, etc. The girl version of porn. Haha I think it's a good analogy!

You can totally do it! It takes total adjustment of course, but people are made to grow/change/adapt! You CAN do it! ALSO put the scale AWAY at least for a month. People ususally don't see results for 4-6 weeks. The first week is always the hardest, so you'll feel like you did a ton of work... and if you don't see results on the scale you'll get ticked off & give up. DON'T GET SUCKED INTO THAT. It gets easier the 2nd week, much easier the 3rd, etc. Then when you look at the scale, you'll actually see results & be able to be super proud of yourself- and want to continue!

Bigaug

I think being a foodie will be a big help in the long run. You will have a much better understanding of what works and what doesn't taste wise. I've been taking my favorite recipes and reducing them in size and calories. It has also been an excuse to explore the wonderful world of Indian cuisine which happens to be mostly vegetarian. I made a Saag Paneer that has only 300 calories per serving.

melsinct

Hello fellow foodies!

I am an avid cook, bake my own bread, etc. but have learned portion control. Sounds cliche but it is true. I still make all of the stuff I used to but just eat less of it. That will power is a beyatch to wrap your arms around but when you finally do, it is liberating! Also, as time has gone on I have learned some swaps to make some of my favorite dishes less caloric. I will scale down the amount of butter or oil in a recipe and I never, ever free pour oil anymore like I used to.

I used to default to Epicurious, Food & Wine, etc. when hunting for new recipes. Now instead, I start with websites like EatingWell.com that keep an eye on the calories while still using real foods that taste good (not fat free this, and fake sugar that).

rachelleahsmom

I really need to lose 66 lbs (am overweight by that much) you can see my profile pic. But the biggest problem as usual is - I love food. i am a big foodie. I love to cook and experiment with new dishes.

And as said - All good things in life and fatty, expensive or married to someone else - I am working on the fatty part :ohwell:

Any great ideas how to keep myself off all that lovely food ?

PS: I love sweets - cheesecakes and chocolates are my biggest craving.

Not to hijack your thread, but you sure don't look 66 pounds overweight!

AKosky585

I too am a huge foodie! I tried to do the Atkins diet to get off these last 10 pounds, lasted about a month and a half and hadn't lost anything, so I decided I would go off of it slowly. Psh...the past 3 days have been a 'enjoy everything I have deprived myself over the past 2 month' I haven't binged, but I have had a little of everthing I have been craving. lol

Like others have said, the key is to have everything in moderation....weigh and measure portions, Depriving yourself will lead to failure....I have learned this from experience!

jodiratliff

Try challenging yourself to come up with low calorie foodie dishes!

SteffiLoulou

I love my food, always have. I havent been doing any 'fads' or anything. I have found that changing a few little things to start with helps. Plus a big thing is making sure your portions are correct! I found, after measuring my food for a while that I was originally eating enough for four :O After a few small changes tho I have lost around 6 stone this year, another 20 pounds to go and I am there! Also remember that you wanna eat now kind of like how you will eat for the rest of your life, so make sure your portions are correct and moderate a lot of stuff. You say chocolate is a big weakness, how about dark chocolate? Proper dark chocolate, over 70% is good, better than milk etc. Like I say, little changes go a long way.

Also, another HUGE thing, exercise plays a huge part in weight loss. You can eat pretty much what ever you like as long as you are willing to do the exercise Good luck and I hope this helped in some way

mrdawn

Hey, I know it's hard. There are good fitness/nutrtition programs out there... i have used the weight loss grail program and it's worked for me. you can read a reviews about it at http://weightlossprogram-reviews.com

Good Luck

shauna121211

You just have to learn moderation!

Also, challenge yourself in the kitchen and learn how to cook great tasting healthy food! You can make some awesome dishes minus all the calories and fat, you just have to learn how!

And dark chocolate is the best for daily chocolate cravings