What does 'normal eating' mean to you?

lisab0864

TL;DR? Probably. I just found this quote though and thought I'd share. Maybe someone will read it.

"Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it -not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life." - Ellyn Satter

LOVE THIS!!!!!!!
And even though I count my calories (I'm very active in my daily life so I have quite a few calories to burn), I do all of the above.

aphid

i am hoping to eat without counting calories once i have reached my ideal weight too. i think that at by doing this, i am realising more what i am eating and making healthier choices... also i noticed that my portion choices tended to be very large, so even if i won't be counting calories, i'll have a better idea how much i should eat. i'm also enjoying my food more, because i wait until i am a little bit hungry before i have my meal, and eating slower because it is smaller and i want to taste it for the same amount of time. this also makes me notice i'm full a long time before if i ate quickly. so i regard this as a sort of way of learning how to eat properly, and getting in the habit of exercising, and i aim ot keep taht up even when i reach my ideal weight and stop logging everything.

BernadetteChurch

Yes, interesting topic. And I can totally relate to everything you've said.

At the moment I'm trying to teach myself moderation, and to just say no, and I'm also learning a lot about what I eat and why I'm overweight. I already know that my diet is basically good, though my portion sizes are too big.

I hope that I will take all these lessons with me to life after goal, and be able to do all the things you mentioned, but deep down I think I know that I won't be able to maintain without continuing to count and weigh and monitor.

CaseRat

I just realised that 'normal' isn't by any means what I do.

My food diary goes back 591 days without missing a meal or a morsel of food that entered my mouth...

I think I need a break.

hellmama5

Feeling satisfied and not bloated is normal eating. Being able to say no to the treats on the break room table because the lunch I packed is going to be a delicious balance of foods that I am looking forward to eating. Being able to prepare a meal and recognizing that each sampling along the way counts as part of my portion size and still needs to be counted in the yield when entering serving sizes for recipes on MFP. Knowing that a piece of gum or hard candy is calories in but not having to log because it is easy to work off just opening the wrapper and chewing. Understanding that every body is different but generally works the same and reserving criticism for my own behavior instead of others with compassion for my own struggle...that is humble eating. More over, exercising for the endorphines alone and not because I need to work off a negative in my deficits.

wrevhn

I guess that goes with what one defines as "normal". Usually we define this by what the majority of us do. So since its currently "normal" for ppl to eat fast food, soul food, home cooking, etc...we consider that normal.

If it were a 3rd world country, or post apocalyptic world...normal would be quite different I guess.

I'm in the south, GA Peach. So normal around here is southern cooking. Which means lots of fats meats and carbs. lol.

mulderpf

I think the biggest problem is convenience and living in a big city, I think I'll probably always have to use MFP or at least just be mindful of what I'm eating.

I could always eat whatever I wanted without picking up any weight. But, there's a catch. Until I started picking up weight, fast food and takeaways wasn't "normal eating" for me. If I wanted chips, it would mean having to get a potato, peel it, cut it up and deep frying it. If I wanted a burger, it would mean having to get the meat, making a burger patty out of it and making up a burger. If I wanted fried chicken, I'd have to bread the chicken myself and deep fry it. (Much of this is a lot more effort than cooking something else - oil tends to just be messy).

At some point, fast food started becoming "normal" - and I never want to go back there.

When I was growing up, I could probably count the number of take away meals we had as a family in a year on one hand and probably the number of times we'd go to a restaurant with the other.

Right now, McDonalds and KFC is a 1 minute walk from where I am and Burger King is probably a 2 minute walk from here. It's become "normal", but it's not. Before starting my weight-loss, I'd say that my meals consisted of either restaurant food, pub food, takeaways for most days of the week. Maybe one home cooked meal and the rest was microwave meals. It's NOT normal. I suppose I have forgotten that I was brought up on home-cooked food and I should go back to that, because for me, that is normal eating.

Even thinking about Christmas - we always used to eat a lot, but when I was growing up, it was all the decadence in things that people would make from scratch. Nowadays, more of the food is pre-made with ingredients that you would probably never put in, in your own kitchen.

Sorry, so after all that - normal eating for me is about going back to my youth and looking at the way my parents would do things. Take-aways and microwaves meal were never an option. If my mom didn't cook, we didn't eat (not that she would ever do that!).

For me, much of my weight loss journey, was trying to get back to normal eating and rediscovering that - as opposed to doing the weight-loss and then learning about normal eating.

hbunting86

Normal for me is just eating without consciously being aware of what I'm eating. Intuitively I'll eat my veggies, whole grains, meat/fish and everything else along the way. I don't call things 'treats' because then I'd feel I have to deserve having something - for me normal eating is not ascribing any food into a 'good' or 'bad' dichotomy. Food just IS. It's fuel, it's pleasure, it's emotional. Some days it plays a big role in my day, others not so much. I don't have to think about balance because it just happens.

cmacphee3

I have come to the conclusion that I am not able to eat "normally" like "normal" people. I have lost significant (112lbs, then 69lbs) twice and regained (87lbs, 60lbs) TWICE. I lasted a year at my last "low" (still overweight) weight, then I had a stressful situation and depression hit, and BAM, back to eating how I "naturally" eat.

I know that if I want to get healthy and stay that way, I cannot try to be "normal" because I just am not. I will never be the person who can have a couple cookies and leave the rest. I will never be able to "forget" to eat a meal to make up for overeating like some people just seem to do naturally. That isn't me, I have accepted that I am just not that person. This will always take effort for me, and I will always have to put effort in if I want it to work.

nikilis

before MFP there was nothing "normal" about my eating at all. I ate junk in between not eating. my hair was falling out. in the past I have eaten entire baking trays of muffins, backs of cookies, chips, sweets, you name it until I felt physically sick, and then waited for it to subside and do it again. I couldn't just have one and it didnt matter how buch I bought, it would be gone in a day. add smoking, drinking, not sleeping and hard drugs in there, and you have the full picture.

since coming on MFP its changed my life, Its hard for people to understand how much. I have learnt how to eat properly, how to cook meals, portion sizes, control over myself to stick to a healthy diet, understanding micronutrients and how eating a balanced diet really can make you feel better. I don't feel guilty if I eat cake or junk food (not that I do often) but the major change for me is I can take it or leave it. when I look at it now I see something that other than taste, gives you nothing to fuel your body.


for me, a healthy relationship with food is something you want to teach your kids. that vegetables are good, that protein makes your body strong, that healthy fats fuel your brain, that its something to be enjoyed, something that fuels your dreams. your relationship with it can be the key to your enduring health and longevity, or a grievous burden bestowed on ones self. it is survival. it is as easy or as hard as you make it. make it work for you and find peace and happiness one bite at a time. if you feel positive every time you eat or drink, those are happy moments you have throughout the day that can bring you up when things are bad. maybe I dont have "this" but I'm having my favourite snack before lunch today. it can taste good, and be good. its a core part of your life, all facets. if you can embrace it and have a good relationship with it, you will be happier and live longer.

eating makes me feel good, because I know I'm doing something good for myself and I enjoy the act of eating also. I'm happy with food.


I don't think its about normal.

its about how you feel about it. it makes me feel good. it makes me feel happy.

I guess what I think normal should be is people feeling good about it. not guilty, not stressed or sad or constrained.

normal eating should make your body, and your mind happy.







theres a monk levitating somewhere. that monk is me. lol

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.