Why CAN'T you eat whatever you want?? *Little* rant...

momof8munchkins

*Climbs on soapbox*

It's frustrating to read posts where people are saying "I can't eat what my friends eat" or "I can't eat what my family eats". Why not? If this is truly a lifestyle change for you (which it should be) you need to learn how to not only eat healthier but ALSO account for the unexpected.

EVERYTHING is okay....in moderation! So it's not about what you CAN'T eat, it's about how you CAN eat everything! Deprivation will lead to binging and failure. Make it a real life change and teach yourself how to do this thing for the long haul!

Thank you.

*Climbs off soapbox*

Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.

I *can* eat whatever I like in theory, but I also know that I will feel like absolute crap if I eat certain things.

Of course I'm not the type to sit and whine about it either. I just eat what I need to eat and don't purposely draw attention or point out to those around me that it's not what they are eating. THAT annoys me.

well said!!

love22step

Okay, not "I can't," but "I won't." It's okay to be different if you don't want processed/junk food to be the mainstay of your diet. It's nothing to whine about, it's just a personal choice to support a healthy lifestyle. Generally, that can be accomplished without making a big deal of it.

graelwyn

I wish it were that simple for someone who has had over half a lifetime of eating disorders. I have tried many times, to moderately eat the things I enjoy that are less healthy. I bought in chocolate and ice cream and biscuits, and managed a few days of having just 1 small bar, or a few biscuits or a serving of ice cream, but then days later, ended up binge eating the whole lot and feeling like crap. It is very frustrating when you know what is healthy, what is moderation, how it should be, but cannot put it into practise.
I cannot even have a box of healthy cereal at home, lest I eat bowl after bowl in the evening, most likely due to boredom, depression or a lack of other enjoyments in my life.

It is at a point where I cannot have any sugary or wheat based foods around me,and just buy in one ice cream, or one small chocolate bar a day as a treat. Only way to moderate myself, even if it means I binge on fruit and tuna instead or feel deprived and miserable.

SmartAlec03211988

I could eat what my family eats, but I choose to be healthy instead. That isn't to say I don't indulge (I have a spike day every Sunday, and in many ways eat worse than they do on those days), but 85% of the time I'm on point.

KilikiMom

i've been eating what i want...in moderation of course...but i still enjoy my little pleasures like gummie bears!! LOL but i know not to go overboard...in 70 days im down 16lbs and i am def on target for my goal for next week that i originally set for myself i wanted to be 145lbs by April 13th...and right now im 146.4 so you CAN eat what you want but just dont over do it

callmeabeast

totally needed to see this right now, I've been contradicting myself so bad about this exact situation!

kyle4jem

There have been some wonderful feedback on the OPs rant and it's true that nutritional needs and food relationships are highly individual and one cake for one may lead to a total binge for another.


However, I'm not comfortable with the distinction between healthy and unhealthy foods. Yes there are foods which are nutritionally richer and more diverse than others, but anything eaten to excess is ultimately unhealthy.

There was a really dreadful diet show on the uk called "Diet Doctors: inside and out". They took both fat and skinny people with poor diets and tried to educate them to eat better, but their methods and beliefs as to what constituted healthy was so warped that it really made a mockery of things.
Once they had an overweight woman who liked cheese which she ate more or less daily. So to try and scare her (and there's no other way to explain their actions) they had this super-fit show jumper eat 1lb of cheese every day for 2 weeks. This bloke never ate cheese normally so obviously making him eat something that has body was not used to and in such high quantities was enough to make him nauseous and make his skin break out.
But that doesn't make cheese bad or unhealthy; it just shows that too much of a good thing can be detrimental. The Dutch eat cheese every day and they are not a sickly nation by any means (but they do cycle a lot so get plenty of exercise too).

happypath101

I plan on getting drunk tonight! I'm on a weightloss program...not a death program....I'm human and I'll do what other humans do...live my life.

Love that! Thanks!

guamSUPERgirl90

I was that person... worrying and then binging later... which made my life 10x worse. I def agree! Eat things in moderation and explore the variety of how other ways that certain food can be eaten in a healthier way.

vixeybell

Why I agree with the original post BUT why I used to disagree........Please bear with my long story as there is a point and I hope my learning experience can save someone else the trouble. Then again, take from it what you will because we are all individuals who react and respond differently to different things.....
About 5 years ago I started a certain type of diet that boasts itself as not really being a diet but a healthy way of living. It started out with a couple of weeks of banning several foods and dropping a lot of pounds fast (about 10 in those first 2 weeks), then went into a period of slowly reintroducing a select few of those foods back in (slowing the weight loss but still a very acceptable 1-2 pounds lost per week). The idea was to stay that course until the entire desired amount of weight was lost. After that, you were supposed to be able to maintain the new weight by continuing to avoid certain foods completely or having them rarely (1-2 times a year) in very minimal quantities (a couple of bites). But at least if you messed up, you could forgive yourself and "go back" to where you needed and get back on track. The big "no-no" foods were things like potatoes, corn, anything with white flour and sugar....etc. When I started, I was so amazed at how well I responded and how much weight I lost. That initial weight loss had me hooked. I stubbornly stuck to it by the book (literally). It took about 6 months for me to get to my ideal weight (I lost 35 pounds). But about a year after getting to my ideal weight, I lost my ambition. I became so tired of missing out on things others were enjoying. I even started to become resentful as my social life had suffered because there were many occasions I would not even attend due to the temptation (I am a major carb junkie). Eventually, I ended up just caving. I think my friends and family were glad to not have me obsessing about it all anymore. A few months later, After gaining back about 1/2 the weight and my cholesterol going from 163 back to 220, I decided to start at the beginning again. I believed it was the only thing that could work for me. Once again, I resigned myself to being rather isolated and figured it was just how it would have to be to get healthy and stay healthy.......unfortunately, I mindlessly repeated this process several more times for about 5 years. Each time I'd start at the beginning, the weight loss was slower than it was the time before. It almost seemed like I had become resistant to it. I never again got back to my healthy weight. And each time I "fell off" the process again, I'd gain back even more weight and end up heavier than I had ever been before. INSANE!!
Recently, the proverbial light bulb came on when I finally began to realize that what I need is to learn portion control & moderation (BUT NOT RESTRICTION). I also need to learn to stop blaming events, occasions, family, friends and such for MY inappropriate eating. What I believe though is that people can and so have food addictions that vary just as much and as complex as any drug or alcohol addiction. I believe I am a food abuser and have tended to swing from one extreme to another, neither being very healthy in the grand scheme of it all. So, what I am learning now is to not be restrictive, critical and such. Rather, just to enjoy life and use common sense....you know listen to my inner voice versus some words in a book. I think we all know what's good for us. It's when we start doubting and second guessing that we get into trouble. I think that all the food commercials are misleading, but no more misleading than all the diet commercials. Interestingly, since I've been retraining myself to trust myself, I am eating a greater variety of food and losing weight slow but steady. I let myself have what I want and somehow I am choosing a lot more healthy stuff on my own and craving other stuff far less (while going ahead and having it when I want to).

tsh0ck

love the rant ... and it's one that is familiar to me!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/473746-yes-you-can-eat-normal-food-my-rant?error_user_id=13605134&error_username=tsh0ck

AeolianHarp

For some of us, it's an addiction. It's like telling an alcoholic he can have *just one* beer.

If you think food "addiction" is the same as alcoholism then you have no clue. "Addiction" of food is psychological, not physical. Alcoholism is a physical addiction which can result in withdrawal. The only way food is addictive is through reward pathways but this is true of ANYTHING. This isn't the same as the physical addiction of cocaine, alcohol, and caffeine. Someone might cite dopamine release from sugar but dopamine is a neurotransmitter which mediates psychological dependence. Texting, lifting weights, kissing, sex, running, etc. all release dopamine. Are you going to say you're physically addicted to all these things? Food really isn't physically addictive like alcohol or cocaine. This is why people who insist that "chocolate" or "sugar" is addictive make no sense.

Now, some people will have a harder time getting over these psychological hurdles but we should be careful how we refer to things. Food isn't the same as alcoholism or drug addiction. People just need to learn that the pleasure signals do not need to be constantly on when eating. It's hard to explain because we live in an era where psychological disorders have raised exponentially. This is something I studied a lot in sociology and it has become a problem since everyone thinks they are damaged goods and cannot be culpable for their actions.

Honestly, I offended a plethora of binge eaters already (in a different thread) but I don't feel particularly bad about it. Most people have no idea what the causes of binge eating are. The majority of binge eaters aren't biologically damaged individuals. Anyways, I'm getting off topic but the point is this: people need to stop comparing eating food to actual, physically addicting things such as alcohol. It's absurd.

tania2287

*Climbs on soapbox*

It's frustrating to read posts where people are saying "I can't eat what my friends eat" or "I can't eat what my family eats". Why not? If this is truly a lifestyle change for you (which it should be) you need to learn how to not only eat healthier but ALSO account for the unexpected.

EVERYTHING is okay....in moderation! So it's not about what you CAN'T eat, it's about how you CAN eat everything! Deprivation will lead to binging and failure. Make it a real life change and teach yourself how to do this thing for the long haul!

Thank you.

*Climbs off soapbox*

I agree within moderation you can eat what ever you want

LilRedRooster

Every now and then, I want a burger with everything on it. So I eat it. And it's awesome.

In other words, preach on. Preach on.

minkakross

while I understand the rant those of us who are diabetic respectfully request the right to object. I CANNOT eat what my friends and family eat unless I'd like to be on insulin in the near future controlling my carb intake most importantly for means they can eat out just about anywhere I can't, they can eat potatoes, rice and pasta at home I can't.

catjrow3

I think this is very true.

I however do have to complete take some things out for a while. Because I just go over board to easy.
Granola bars, cereal, and such are those products. I don't crave if I just don't eat them. Whatever works for you ^-^

I have to remove things for a bit too. Nothing nearly as good as cereal, more like "Oh, my darn, I've had pizza six times in the last month, time to let it go for the next month or two." I just have a habit of clinging onto a certain set of junk food and even when I log it and it fits into my allowance, I know it hurts my body to eat like that that often.

Interesting! Pizza I can control easy - make it once in a while and deliciously homemade.
I can eat a whole box of granola bars in one sitting though xD did it with fiber one bars once. BAD idea xD

This is so me too.. Pizza... no problem. Put a box of cereal on the table... uh oh!!! I love love love cereal and granola... they are the devil for me too!!

LovingLisa2012

i agree .. like today, my mom and niece came by with lunch .. "fried chicken"
i looked up the calories and instead of 2 thigs for 660 , i had a leg and thigh 440
i also had a small portion of beans/rice and mashed potatoes.. but i fit it into my calories and i enjoyed that lunch (which pretty much never happens, my mom never hangs out here..lol ) i also enjoyed good company

i did the "eat only good foods/ no salt / no soda diet .. 6 months 50 pounds .. then went off track BIG time gained 80 pounds
now im doing this in baby steps ( i have 140 /150 to lose )

AeolianHarp

I could eat what my family eats, but I choose to be healthy instead. That isn't to say I don't indulge (I have a spike day every Sunday, and in many ways eat worse than they do on those days), but 85% of the time I'm on point.

This ... is ... so ... *kitten* backwards.

Do you understand how asinine this belief of "spiking" (or cheating) on a single day is? If you distributed that over every single day then it would be no different. People don't seem to get this. There should be no cheat day because this signifies that certain foods are inherently "bad" for you but this simply isn't true. If people were smart enough to simply moderate their eating then you could eat here and there instead of going on some "spike" at the end of the week (or beginning).

I'm so tired of this nonsense of "eating healthy." Most of these people have no clue what healthy is and they use the word to put themselves on a pedestal. Good for you. You're eating restrictively for no reason.

mzhokie

I had beer and pizza for dinner and still under my calories. No I can't have everything I want all day long but I can have some of the things I love once in a while if I plan for them. I put in some exercise today because I knew we would be going out and I wanted pizza. I haven't had this particular pizza since I started dieting in Jan. It's a yummy Gyro pizza at a local Greek restaurant.

Like I said.... I don't eat like that as often as I use to but I will be damned if I will never have it again. I will get up tomorrow, take the dog on a long walk and drink a little extra water to work it off. We go out on the weekends for dinner but I know that. Sometimes I get salads, grilled chicken, steamed veggies, etc. with unsweetened ice tea. It just depends on how my day and week has gone... this week was a good week so I got pizza!

mandypooh2103

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