"Dieting" with normal food

yesthistime

But everyone has a right to do this their own way, of course.

Best part of the thread so far.

kassied09

While I agree with not eating things that are specifically for dieting or stamped with "low cals", etc I think that you SHOULD be eating a lot healthier. Whole, natural foods as much as possible. Not eating a lot of crap in general is a good way to live...not just diet.

ninerbuff

Get in your essentials, exercise, get enough rest and stay within calorie limits and you can maintain your weight for years on in. Personally I've stayed within 10lbs-15lbs of my current weight (it's at the high end right now) for over 28 years eating practically anything I want.

A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cramernh

Real butter
Not a mayo fan but if I use it, its gotta be the real deal.

No artifical sweetners, period!

No soda, alcohol is fit into my daily intake. I love a good beer with my steak dinner! Wine with my chicken dinner!

I have been cooking from scratch for many years and almost a year ago, had to eliminate certain foods due to medical problems.

Ive dropped over 60+ pounds eating real foods only.

You wont find any processed, prepackaged, SF/FF/Low-this/that in my house. Aint happenin'!

mummyv811

Hurrah for normal food! I'm definitely a fan of the 'real' stuff :happy:

jreimund

Ohh....thank you for posting this! I would rather be in the red for fats than have a bunch of "fake" stuff!! (I make an exception for my coffee creamer....which I am addicted too.....but I am trying to find a delicious alternative!).

It's all about moderation But everyone has a right to do this their own way, of course.

If you are looking for a "real" creamer, the simply natural kind that coffeemate just came out with is good! And it's real dairy, no hydrongenated oils...

MayMaydoesntrun

Right on! Love this post!

sharleengc

I totally agree! I eat regular food with normal sugar and I've had no problem. I made a few changes but they aren't "sugar free" or things like that....Personally, I think stuff that is sugar free or sweetened with other types of "sugar" are just nasty. I can't eat them at all! The times I actually tried, I had like 1 bite then tossed it. Blech!

Normal food works fine for me! It's all in moderation!

I'm currently visiting my mom and she keeps saying "Oh, i shouldn't have cookies or we shouldn't have desert" and I keep telling her this isn't about cutting out stuff you like, it's about being smart. I think I've proved that because since I arrived, I've lost 2lbs so I think she's starting to believe it works just fine with "normal" food and not cutting anything out. She thinks I should encourage my step-dad to use this site.

jadedone

I don't eat sugar free or fat free foods generally speaking. I will get something that is reduced fat if the ingredients are comparable to the regular one (i.e. milk, yogurt, occasionally reduced fat butters -- Kerrygold's has the exact same ingredients as regular butter, occasionally reduced fat cheeses -- trader joes has a yummy reduced fat sharp cheddar as well). I mostly only eat lowfat dairy since it tastes better.

I use sugar, honey, maple syrup and even agave (thinking about cutting this one out but I like the lose texture and the fact it is neutral tasting and doesn't crystallize). I do use stevia occasionally. Mostly in my tea.

My general goal is to recognize all of the ingredients in my food as other foods (or spices). I make a handful of exceptions: almond milk, some of the multigrain noodles.

So keep using "normal" food, pay attention to portion size, eat lots of produce, and shop the outside of the grocery store; you'll do fine.

gemiwing

I love 'normal food' and love eating it. Why not just enjoy what you eat and espouse the happiness rather than the disdain with those who don't follow your idea? People are smart and will see the happy and they will say 'hey, they are eating real food and losing weight. I wonder if I too could do this?" Then- there will be two happy people. This is a win-win.

I cant' have sugar so sorry- no sugar for me. Perhaps some have medical conditions you are unaware of? I couldn't say, but it's a possibility.

I will join you in enjoying real butter and at feeling like you are the 'only one' who eats real food. This is not true though- butter needs no commercial so we see no butter on tv. They have to push the fake stuff so it's put up in marketing everywhere. This goes double if the product is aimed at women.

littleworm23

For me (and my husband) portion control and exercise has been the key. We still eat everything, although we do tend to eat more fruits and veggies now. But I have found that if I don't allow myself the "bad" things that I want now and then I at some point will go overboard on them. A little bit now and then won't hurt me. Besides, I don't want to think of myself being on a diet for the rest of my life.

TinkrBelz

I can say that I am not eating "Diet" Food. I mean....I do drink Skim...but I have for years, so I guess that is a habit and I do use Sweet n Low in my coffee....not because of the lack of calories, because it is SUPER sweet!! haha! Plus, SnL is suppose to be bad right?

But, I eat eggs, real cheese, beef, oatmeal (buy the weight control but it is more filling with 1 packet than 2 packets of normal oatmeal)

I used the cook for the boys and then heat up a Lean Cuisine for myself. Now, I cook dinners that I and my sons can eat. then I eat the leftovers for lunch. So much easier this way.

I do 35/35/30 carbs/protein/fat...so this is super easy to do and very balanced. AND, I eat coconut oil and that has saturated fat in it!! :noway:

witrixie2011

I completely agree!! I'm continually tell myself that this is a lifestyle change and not a diet. So far I've lost 20 pounds and am proud that I've done it using butter, sugar and all the other foods you shouldn't eat when on a "diet". :happy:

Zichu

Great I'm one of those people >.<

I don't buy the groceries, but we have light mayo, light margarine, pure skimmed milk, 0% total greek yoghurt and low fat bolognese sauces... Maybe once a month I will need something and will go get what I need during weekly grocery shopping.

I do look at products before get them. Such as the Bolognese Sauces, Dolmio do a regular and a low fat version. The low fat version doesn't use Olive Oil whereas the regular one does use Olive Oil, so that just adds to the fat. There are no added sugars to the low fat one, there is actually less sugar and carbs in the low fat version compared to the regular version. They are pretty much the same except for the lack of Olive Oil.

The mayo, I don't buy anyway, but there is only an increase of 0.2g of sugar per 15ml in the Helman's Light Mayo, but more than half the amount of fat compared to the regular mayo.


I can understand everyone does it the way they prefer to do it. I'm not trying to judge people for choosing low fat or regular versions of foods. Some people prefer to go for low fat because it has usually means it has less calories. I don't look for low fat foods because it's low in fat, I do it because it's lower in calories compared to the regular version, but I always check the ingredients and see if there is more sugar compared to the regular version.

I need foods that help fill me up throughout the day. I don't fancy increasing my calories from the same foods, but with more fat and higher calories and still feel hungry because I had to be careful what I added. I would rather find healthier options of that same food and still be able to add say more chicken or other meat products to get that extra protein. I just don't think I would feel full from eating hidden calories.

fisherlassie

I've lost 56 pounds eating real nutrient dense food for the most part and lots of it! It fuels my body so I can move which is my main goal! I eat a quite a bit of fat for just that reason. When I eat vegetables I want those vitamins to get into my body! I had blood work done and although I eat three whole eggs most days my doctor said my cholesterol was amazing! What I don't eat is a lot of sugar or white flour. Check out the connection those two have with your cholesterol and other fats.

tdmcmains

Totally agree. i've lost 43 lbs so far eating normal foods. We cook every meal, dont buy processed crap, and don't really ever eat out. I think it's way healthier than snackwells and splenda. Whole foods!!

bilzprincess

Normal's probably in the eye of the beholder. But I'm vegan, and open diary, and I eat stuff u cld buy anywhere, anytime. I'm in a small town and tanking up for green seaweed mulch in a shake doesn't sound appealing. I'm doing vegan for the animals' sakes, and I'm thinking they Wldnt begrudge me some delicious vegan lasagne and yummy vegan hoagie sammiches, or a night out to dinner with my hubby to a favorite Thai food place. If I can't find it in a town of 7000, then I'm probably not gonna eat it. Vegetable tempura in moderation, anyone?

Angiecelina

Bump (Like)

rebawagner

I gave up sweet and low for Lent ( I was on about 12 packs a day, in tea on fruit, etc) and I have to tell you that I think things taste so much better now that I have rid my taste buds of the chemicals! Good post!

BrienJD

The only thing I do diet is soda. Kinda laid off the mayo (cause I like to pile it on sandwiches and egg and potato salad.) I've switched to turkey meats for some stuff and to leaner cuts of pork and added chicken and I use a little more caution with TV dinners and the like.

I haven't done the exchange everything for diet food though. It just wouldn't work for me. I like taste way too much and there will eventually come a time when I say screw it. I'd rather modify along lines I know I can accept.

Diet foods....It's a great deal of smoke and mirrors as the OP suggested.