Yes. You CAN eat 'normal' food! (my rant.)

beckyhope

YESS!! I really can't stand people who put certain foods on the "bad" list. I don't eat every favorite food there is every day, but no food is off limits. Thank goodness I'm not the only one who feels this way!

Adshill

This may have been asked, but...what's an OLRB?

ORLB = Organic Rainbow Lettuce Brigade (from the original post)

JadeRabbit08

LOVE THIS! I have lost 60 lbs since April..The only thing I have changed in regards to my eating habits is I eat 1 serving instead of the entire dish! I will sometimes eat lean cuisine meals, smart ones, things like that too. While I know it isn't the BEST choice...it works for me!

I am a firm believer that it IS all about portion control! (of course, I have added excersise too) but in the beginning, just cutting down on my calorie intake, I was dropping weight

Now, I am going to go enjoy my snack for the night...crackers and some cheese!

Losing weight does not equate to good health. Just sayin'.

As much as I would LOVE to look like you..dropping from almost 300 where I am now..I'll take it in baby steps. THanks for your unsolicited input though!..oh..Just sayin...

unsolicited input ?

You posted on a forum, a forum by its nature is about soliciting input.

elizarm

i totally agree. i'm SO sick of the "abs are made in the kitchen" people.

that's my most hated saying on this entire site.

LOL!! I totally agree! I hate that too!

_VoV

Amen, makes me crazy all these people saying no carbs, no fat, no cookies, no ice cream, oh whatever, the nos are endless. Totally baloney, a well balanced mix of food including your treat of choice, (yeah I have chips and cookies) will keep you happy and losing. As they say, calories in calories out but you want to make as many of them are good calories as you can. I'm not going to support over the long run an egg mcmuffin for breakfast, a quarter pounder for lunch, and Outback for dinner. Once in awhile sure, a steady diet, well you won't get healthy that way, lol.

I think this works well if you aren't the sort of person who eats one cookie and it triggers an all-out binge. Personally, there are some foods I can't stop eating, so it's better to avoid them. That might be the reason some people are so adamant about all the 'no-nos.'

auticus

Here's the truth.

Some people can eat garbage food (we can call that "normal" food if you wish, for in our culture it is one and the same) and still look good or do little to maintain a good body.

Other people cannot eat garbage food or else they blow up into human bovines.

If you are fortunate enough to get to enjoy "normal" food and not swell at the waist, get on your knees and thank the 6.5 oz baby jesus now for your genetics. Eat your normal food and work out.

If you are not fortunate enough to do so, then to continue to do so on a regular basis (by regular I mean more than say once a week) means that you will have a hell of a time losing weight and unswelling.

So if you are here to lose weight, get in shape, look good by western european/north american standards, and "normal" food makes you swell, eating it anyway kind of defeats your purpose.

You can feel free to disagree. I followed the road of "i just have to keep my calories less than X" for years and it never worked because of the food I was eating regardless of my caloric intake. Your body latches on to certain types of foods and hordes it as fat easier, esp depending on your genetic structure.

Once I started eating cleaner with a once a week meal of whatever I wanted, the weight fell off. Granted, I am not the world, but if you are having issues losing weight and you just set down a coke can on your desk while reading this, you may have the key to your problems in your grasp.

Good luck.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

LOVE THIS! I have lost 60 lbs since April..The only thing I have changed in regards to my eating habits is I eat 1 serving instead of the entire dish! I will sometimes eat lean cuisine meals, smart ones, things like that too. While I know it isn't the BEST choice...it works for me!

I am a firm believer that it IS all about portion control! (of course, I have added excersise too) but in the beginning, just cutting down on my calorie intake, I was dropping weight

Now, I am going to go enjoy my snack for the night...crackers and some cheese!

Losing weight does not equate to good health. Just sayin'.

So losing enough weight to go from the obesity range on the bmi to a healthy one does not equate to good health?? Hmm, that logic seems a little flawed.

Sure, some health markers will improve. However, eating preservativs, excess sugar, HFCS, grains (especially wheat) all cause damage inside the body that will eventually show up sooner or later.

bradl78

totally agree!! You have to reward yourself here or there or else you will fall of the bus and be right back where you were at.

soccerella

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

I know men on here that eat ice cream every single night and look incredible.

yep, i have one guy on my friends list that constantly is eating cheeseburgers and fried chicken and has abs to die for

ginareejoy

Thank you OP, for this post. LOVE it.

What I can't stand is for people to preach to me about how what I'm eating (to lose weight) is unhealthy, and working against me. Especially when it's worked perfectly fine for me. To each his own. If it works better for you to eat more natural foods, more power to ya. It works for me to eat normal and still drop weight.

itsablondething

I do love the organic lettuce brigade....

I have to say this, you are right.

I try very hard to stick to a 90-95% organic, free range, pastured creulty free diet... and I feel extremely priveledged to earn enough income to do this, because it is so expensive, I had to make it a budgetary priority and revamped my entire budget to support it.

Yet, there are some things that just don't come that way, or aren't that way. I have to give it up when I want a local amish baked piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and inch and a half thick, or when I have the (shameful ) craving for a McDs double cheeseburger. And, I've lost weight eating non-organic banana splits... in moderation.

Personally, all the joy would go out of my life if I couldn't go our for a non-organic pizza on a white non-whole wheat crust with friends every now and then.

Or, when the holidays roll around, I want REAL candied sweet potatoes cooked with a cup of sugar and a stick of real honest to God butter... don't be substituting the olive oil there, for heavens sake. What is the point? And then I am going to lick the residual goo out of the pan. But if I do that every day, I am going to have issues.

I think the idea is balance.

nikolaim5

All these low carb, low fat versions of food are bandages for a bigger problem. The nation's weight problem can be solved in 5 words. "Put less food in mouth"

auticus

+

"Get your *kitten* off couch"

chrisdavey

I'm an IIFYM guy as well so I definitely agree with this.

I love to cook & I love to modify "normal" recipes to "healthify" them a bit to make it more macro friendly I guess. Result: get to eat delicious food all the time while still fitting into my nutritional goals.

Same thing goes for people trying to gain weight. A guy at my work has NY resolution of putting on muscle. Someone at his gym told him he now has to eat every 3 hours with chicken/broccoli & brown rice & at least 2 protein shakes a day. I've tried to explain a bit but it's like hitting you're head against a brick wall

FitCoachJen

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

But you assume that we all want ripped abs and be in competition form. I just want a reasonably healthy diet that includes some of the traditional foods I love IN MODERATION. I have gone from eating fast food a couple times a day to once every couple of weeks. I have a sweet treat every evening for my snack but its a 100 calorie cookie pack or sugar free pudding instead of a king size pkg (or 2) of peanut butter cups. I go to the gym for a couple hours a day (and work hard) vs going, well, never. I may not have the cleanest, healthiest diet and certainly not going to run an ironman anytime soon but I've lost a lot of weight, I'm happy, and I do not live in fear of analyzing every morsel that goes in my mouth for nutritional content.

If it works for you and your goals, more power to you. I'm genuinely happy that you and many other have found sustainable lifestyle changes that work for you. I was merely offering a counter-point, that some people have different goals and thus different eating patterns.

chrisdavey

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

This is why I healthify recipes Had some pizza/burrito cravings lately. Just made them fit to the macros I wanted. Easy as

stayxtrue

Same thing goes for people trying to gain weight. A guy at my work has NY resolution of putting on muscle. Someone at his gym told him he now has to eat every 3 hours with chicken/broccoli & brown rice & at least 2 protein shakes a day. I've tried to explain a bit but it's like hitting you're head against a brick wall

I used to have this line of thinking... And Now I dont! I have seen the light, One day I will check this IIFYM you speak of Chris

KathyEarhart

LOVE this post! Making a lifestyle change isn't about changing everything overnight. It's slow changes, that are maintainable. For me, I eat convenience food that's not that great, but it's better than what I would be eating. I eat candy every.single.day. I will not give up chocolate, not possible. I could give up chips and salty foods, no problem, but sweets heck no. I've lost close to 50 lbs and eat unhealthy junk sometimes. I had a donut Sunday, cheesecake last night, had M&M's and a Dr. Pepper today.

However, I have also make lifestyle changes. I now eat brown rice, wild rice, steamed veggies without seasoning, chicken breasts (I used to hate white meat), drink 12-16 cups of water a day (19 cups today.) I work out now, though I lost my first 35 lbs without working out at all. I knew me and knew if I tried to change it all at once, that I would fail. My body fat percentage is very low. If I lose 10 more lbs, I will be underweight on the BMI scale. I have muscles and I feel good. I'm doing better than I was a year ago and I'm a work in process. A lot of times I will eat the healthier option because I can have more food, but sometimes that Snickers bar is worth not being as full. If eating healthy and being fit means I don't get to enjoy food, then I wouldn't make it. If it fits in your calories, eat it. Bottom line.

jennifershoo

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

Obviously, our modern society has a huge problem seeing that what is considered ''normal'' by most is processed crap food.
Too many people base their happiness on food. They say ''omg, I would never give up junk because I'd feel so deprived''.
It's just food.
If you really feel like you can't enjoy life without junk food, I'd try to find the reason why.
There is a misconception about the ''organic rainbow lettuce brigade''. I've read comments stating that people who don't eat junk must be so unhappy. Is it so hard to believe that some of us enjoy kale, lean turkey and avocado without feeling deprived?
Don't let food take over your emotions. Don't let it be the reason why your happy or unhappy.

-Proud member of the organic rainbow lettuce brigade!

mrsdizzyd84

WHERE IS THE ORLB?! I was so looking forward to a food fight. It would have provided some much needed entertainment as I lay here trying to get well.

jenny95662

I freaking love this post because A.) It's hilarious... and 2.) it has been my mantra for 2-1/2 years now. I eat "NORMAL" food and over the last 2-1/2 years I've lost me nearly 240 pounds. If that isn't a success story to put in your book of a calorie is a calorie, I don't know what is.

I don't like tofu and weird foods... but I've learned to make normal foods work for me. It's all about keeping track of your calories and moving. PERIOD... END OF STORY!

this is why i love you u r such an inspiration and i total agree

lu136mickey

AGREE

PaleoPath4Lyfe

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

Obviously, our modern society has a huge problem seeing that what is considered ''normal'' by most is processed crap food.
Too many people base their happiness on food. They say ''omg, I would never give up junk because I'd feel so deprived''.
It's just food.
If you really feel like you can't enjoy life without junk food, I'd try to find the reason why.
There is a misconception about the ''organic rainbow lettuce brigade''. I've read comments stating that people who don't eat junk must be so unhappy. Is it so hard to believe that some of us enjoy kale, lean turkey and avocado without feeling deprived?
Don't let food take over your emotions. Don't let it be the reason why your happy or unhappy.

-Proud member of the organic rainbow lettuce brigade!

Very true.

We should eat to live, not live to eat.

Food is merely fuel for my body.

tataliciousd89

I do agree about this, but I'm super stubborn and don't want to start rewarding myself with "normal food" until I'm down another 10 lbs. You definitely can lose weight that way, but my self control only goes so far. There is a fine line between a handfull of flaming hot cheetos and the whole bag. Until I can get that binging behavior under control I'm sticking to the rabbit food.

techigirl78

Completely agree 100%. It is not a diet, it is a new lifestyle. When I see people say they messed up and ate something bad it irritates me. Nearly all the healthy people I know eat "bad" things. Just in moderation and limit portions. That is key.

I really like Fooducate. When I got that app, I wondered why nothing got a F grade. Then, I read their explanation that everything is food and will provide some nutrition - even if just empty calories - and there are people that don't even get empty calories in a day.

IrishHarpy1

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

But you assume that we all want ripped abs and be in competition form. I just want a reasonably healthy diet that includes some of the traditional foods I love IN MODERATION. I have gone from eating fast food a couple times a day to once every couple of weeks. I have a sweet treat every evening for my snack but its a 100 calorie cookie pack or sugar free pudding instead of a king size pkg (or 2) of peanut butter cups. I go to the gym for a couple hours a day (and work hard) vs going, well, never. I may not have the cleanest, healthiest diet and certainly not going to run an ironman anytime soon but I've lost a lot of weight, I'm happy, and I do not live in fear of analyzing every morsel that goes in my mouth for nutritional content.

Yep. This.

I have absolutely no desire to get "ripped" and look like She-Hulk -- neither I nor the love of my life find it attractive, and dropping 100 pounds in the past three years has left me with too much loose skin anyway. And I'm perfectly fine with that... because I have medical stats that are the envy of people half my age, I have strong well-defined muscles, and I enjoy eating.

Life is too damned short for me to spend it nibbling on carrot sticks and quinoa because someone tells me it's "good for me."

Eat, drink and be merry... for tomorrow you could get run over by a cement truck while jogging on your way to Whole Foods to pick up your soy milk.

tsh0ck

"Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

Obviously, our modern society has a huge problem seeing that what is considered ''normal'' by most is processed crap food.
Too many people base their happiness on food. They say ''omg, I would never give up junk because I'd feel so deprived''.
It's just food.
If you really feel like you can't enjoy life without junk food, I'd try to find the reason why.
There is a misconception about the ''organic rainbow lettuce brigade''. I've read comments stating that people who don't eat junk must be so unhappy. Is it so hard to believe that some of us enjoy kale, lean turkey and avocado without feeling deprived?
Don't let food take over your emotions. Don't let it be the reason why your happy or unhappy.

-Proud member of the organic rainbow lettuce brigade!

wow. didn't at all expect to go to dinner -- subway. I hope that's ok. -- and come back to so many posts. was more getting it off my chest and venting was all. but in response to this, I'm not worried about eating junk food. I don't sustain myself on junk food. I eat food. and I eat less of it than I used to. you want to know the reason many people want to eat what they like and not food that they think tastes bad? really? it's not about food taking over emotions. it's more about being able to eat a meal without holding your nose and gagging.

Very true.

We should eat to live, not live to eat.

Food is merely fuel for my body.

and I agree. but my car needs a certain kind of fuel or it doesn't run well. so does my body. I'm not asking for premium. but mid-grade? yeah, I'll run on that just fine.

Lorie66

This is exactly how I lost all of my weight......I refuse to eat rabbit food or take pills, shots, bands,HCG drops or any of the other rip offs out on the market. I want to lose it like I gained it only in reverse..

wk9t

I eat "normal" food every day, pasta, peanut butter, pizza, hambuger, etc. I just control portion sizes and keep below my calorie goal along with a trip to the gym 4 days a week. I've lost 44 lbs eating "normal" food.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I saw my doctor last week and my BP, my cholesterol and my blood sugar are all in a very healthy range. She told me to just keep doing what I am doing.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I do agree about this, but I'm super stubborn and don't want to start rewarding myself with "normal food" until I'm down another 10 lbs. You definitely can lose weight that way, but my self control only goes so far. There is a fine line between a handfull of flaming hot cheetos and the whole bag. Until I can get that binging behavior under control I'm sticking to the rabbit food.

We should never reward with food.........

Reward with a new shirt, lipstick, massage, pedicure, etc.......