What does 'normal eating' mean to you?

LoraF83

I'm going to echo a few other posters and say that you have some food/guilt/emotion issues to work on.

Normal eating for me does encomplass all of those things that you listed. I'm at a calorie deficit but I can do everything you listed. And I don't feel any guilt over it. I can't necessarily do them all in one day - but someone eating "normally" wouldn't either.

For me, normal will be exactly like I'm eating now - just a few more calories. No guilt, no stress. Just enjoying food, trying to make as many good choices as possible, not denying myself the things I want, being able to eat socially, etc.

My new motto: Food shouldn't be that hard.

Edit to say that I will be counting calories probably for a very long time (even after I get to maintenance). For me, it will be needed so I'm always aware of what I'm eating. But that's ok, because counting calories doesn't stress me out. It's just a tool to use for self-improvement.

Koldnomore

For me, 'normal' eating is what I have always done. I cook at home and have since I was old enough to safely use the stove. I rarely eat 'fast food' I don't have a huge sweet tooth.

My issue has always been that I love food and I love to eat. Eating for me is something that has always been associated with family and love. I'm Italian so food has always been a central part of my life, big dinners with family, getting together and making up huge pots of sauces and rolling out miles of pasta by hand.

I still do all those things but I have learned that if I SLOW DOWN when I eat that I am less likely to eat too much. Portion sizes are generally OK and I did manage to maintain my weight for a large number of years when I was younger. My gains started because I used to work a very physically demanding job and then I went to University for a career change but my eating never slowed down to match my situation - this is what I am getting back to now.

When I get back down to my goal I will have re-trained myself to eat the right amount for what I am doing and I 'shouldn't' need to keep logging every day or weighing everything but as someone else said..If I find that I DO have to do it then I will continue for the rest of my life if it means I can not be fat again

neverstray

I haven't read any responses because I wanted to at this fresh.

1) you sound like a baby with all your wants. Some people want to be able to walk, but they just can't becaus ether legs don't work. Wanting something doesn't make it so.
2) if you want it badly enough, and you are able to do it, then it is a reasonable goal to have. I've tried more than once since I've hit my GW, and I fail every time. Tracking my calories seems to be the only sure path to success. That doesn't mean I don't do some of those things you mention though.

Some people are wired better to understand when they are full and to automatically eat the right foods. I am not one of those people. So, tracking just seems to work for me, and I am beginning to understand that I'll probably have to track for the rest of my life, or just be happy being fat.

Brunner26_2

I think normal will be different for everyone. To me, it's about not obsessing over my food to the point where it causes me psychological or emotional distress. I can still be counting calories and watching macros, cutting, bulking, or maintaining, and still be eating normally.

lem_orc29

Original Poster--I get exactly where you're coming from! I want that too.

jcstanton

"Normal" to me means eating to live not living to eat. I want to be able to eat a meal and know when I've had enough BEFORE I've eaten too much, then be able to engage in other activities without being distracted by daydreams of my next meal. We've all heard it said at some point that men think about sex every seven seconds or so (which may or may not be true)....well, I think about food about as often. I always have as far back as I can remember. I'm tired of thinking about it. One's life should not revolve around food.

kenazfehu

Having lost all the weight that I needed to lose, then returning to "normal" eating and gaining all that weight back plus extra 4 times in my past, normal eating is exactly what I DO NOT want.

Intuitive eating? My intuition thinks I'm a whale.

This time I'm paying really close attention to what my meals look like while I'm weighing and measuring, and by the time I've lost all the fat that I need to lose, I want to have it firmly in my head what my meals are supposed to look like and keep eating like that. I do plan to be able to eyeball my portions by then instead of breaking out the measuring tools all the time. I practice already (serve myself a portion, then measure it). Oh, and no eating between meals - ever.

johnny059qn

Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life counting calories. My goal is to get to a point after I've reached my weight goal where I can eat intuitively, eat healthy because I like the taste of good-for-me food, satisfy a craving without guilt, etc.

I am the complete opposite. MFP has changed my life. For me, eating normally now is, wherever possible, knowing exactly what I'm eating and how much of it. Even when I reach all my goals I will never, ever stop tracking. I know how quickly and easily I put on weight if I let myself get slack even for just a couple of weeks (I gained 14lb in a two week holiday in Vegas in June where I was reckless and didn't track and I still haven't managed to get shift it). Even if I reach the stage where I just want to maintain forever, normal for me is a set of kitchen scales, a macro breakdown and a monthly report. I wouldn't ever have it any other way.

^^This^^ I am with Zomoniac on this one!!

mareeee1234

Wow this is such a great topic. I also wonder the same thing, of course I won't want to be counting calories forever.

I think normal eating is:
- Enjoying a variety of foods on a normal average day-to-day basis
and
- Stop eating when full

But this isn't to say that on some days you won't over-indulge, cause over-indulging is normal!! Just don't make a habit of it, and don't COUNT your calories the next day to 'make up for it', but accept that your body probably doesn't need any more high-calorie foods, cause you want your body to be strong and HEALTHY.

I believe, you can still be a "normal eater" while still wanting to be HEALTHY and take care of your body - which of course includes weight gain for a number of reasons regarding health!

samanthawarren

For me, normal eating is what I was doing before I gained all of this weight. For most of my life I was a healthy weight. I didn't start putting on weight until my 30's and even then I really gained with each of my kids.
When I was thin, I ate well without thinking about it. I never drank soda. I didn't grow up like that. We ate lots of veggies and whole grains. Sweets were treats for special occasions, although I did eat a piece of dark chocolate just about every day. My typical breakfast was oatmeal, lunch was a tomato with tuna or cottage cheese and dinner was whatever my family ate. Plus I was pretty athletic. I ran, played basketball, worked out and took dance classes. It seems to me that the heavier I got, the more I wanted to eat and the less I wanted to move. I am hoping that as I lose weight I will stop craving all of the junk I crave now and maintain an active lifestyle.

asyrinsgirl

Not here to start a debate (cue starting a debate), but I'm curious to see what everyone thinks. I'm not about to argue with anybody (unless they say something incredibly stupid).

What do you think of as normal eating? The way you're eating now? Counting every last calorie and eating only whole grains, lean meats, low fat dairy, veggies, fruit, and the occasional treat? Proper food pyramid right there!! How about eating based on hunger? Or cravings? Nutrition? A combination of all three?

Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life counting calories. My goal is to get to a point after I've reached my weight goal where I can eat intuitively, eat healthy because I like the taste of good-for-me food, satisfy a craving without guilt, etc.

*Warning: some of these scenarios aren't to be enacted every day of course, but they're not to be planned either. They're not to be dangled above my head, taunting me because I've already had my treat for the week and I don't deserve another until next week or the next.)

1.) I want to be able to go to a bakery, look in the display case, and pick something that looks delicious. I want to eat it without a single feeling of guilt or anxiety about calories and weight gain. And if I don't like it, I want to be able to throw it away without feeling like I NEED to eat the rest. I want to feel like one cupcake is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, but hell, if it's not, there's no harm in having two.

2.) I want to be able to go to the movie theater, order a small popcorn, and nibble mindlessly during the previews. I want to share a box of candy with a friend without counting how many pieces I've had or how many servings.

3.) I want to stuff myself silly on Thanksgiving and laugh about how much I ate and how thankful I am. I don't want any guilt or any urges to restrict afterwards or before.

4.) I want to sit down for dinner every night with my balanced meal and eat until I'm satisfied. I don't want to base my dinners solely on calorie content. I don't want to care that the tacos are less calories if I'm really dying to have pasta or that this soup is 20 less calories per serving than another. I want to eat food, not calories if that makes any sense.

5.) I want to pick up a banana and not try to gauge if it's a 105 calorie banana or a 120 calorie banana. It's just a damn banana, and that's it.

6.) I want to be able to have a healthy snack whenever I'm hungry, despite time or past meals. I don't want to spend the rest of my life waiting until 1:00pm when I'm "allowed" to eat lunch even though I'm starving at 12:30.

7.) I want to be able to try a bite of somebody else's food instead of just asking if it tastes good.

8.) I want to 'pig out' on junk food with friends on game night or watch a chick flick with my best friend, surrounded in tissues and chocolate wrappers.

9.) I want to order a diet coke and not have everyone at the table taste it and make sure it's diet coke because I'm beyond paranoid that I got regular by mistake.

10.) I want to eat cake at a birthday party (especially my own!!).

11.) I want to eat a spoonful of peanut butter, close the lid, and walk away without imagining myself bingeing on the entire jar.

12. ) I don't want to label foods as good and bad.

13.) I want to say goodbye to MFP! Not because I don't love it, but because I don't need it anymore. :P

I want to be normal. Is it too much to ask? Maybe. But I can strive for it. I can think of hundreds of other scenarios that I want to be able to face without fear and anxiety and guilt. I think it's kind of funny that most of the scenarios I post have to do with junk food; probably because it's been drilled into my head that it's the devil.

^^ All of This. My goal is to be more active in my regular life, continuing with healthful eating and working out, but not feeling like I have to be vigilant about everything. I'll have an outfit that, when it gets too tight, I know I need to step things up a little.

bcattoes

What do you think of as normal eating? The way you're eating now? Counting every last calorie and eating only whole grains, lean meats, low fat dairy, veggies, fruit, and the occasional treat? How about eating based on hunger? Or cravings? Nutrition? A combination of all three?

This ^^ description is pretty much how I eat, now and for the few decades. So, yeah, this is normal eating to me.

I eat when hungry and most of the time stop when I'm full. If it's a holiday or occasion like a family reunion where I want to try a little of everything or Thanksgiving, I usually eat way past the full mark. I don't stress about these occasions.

I stick to vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and fruit for the bulk of my diet. I eat more fish than poultry and more poultry than mammals. I try to eat a variety of vegetables of various colors to ensure proper micronutrient consumption.

I eat plenty of vegetable fats and limit animal fats, especially fat from dairy and red meat, and avoid trans fat when reasonably possible.

I drink wine or beer most days and I occasionally have treats or days where I eat something not normal for me, and I don't stress about it.

RoadsterGirlie

I plan on tracking my calories for the rest of my life. It's really not that hard, and doesn't eat up too much of my time.

nklunk

It will get easier.....at first I measured out everything now since I have been doing it for a long time I know what a serving size looks like. I also think the more you think out food the more you want to eat. If I plan what I'm eating for the whole day I never once have any cravings or let me mind think about food. You have to let yourself cheat alittle bit so dont beat yourself up about that. Good luck!