Funny side effects: Eating More Yummy Stuff

dogmeat

The funny side effect of a food journal is that I generally end up eating more often the stuff that I really like (and I've done journalling before I came to MFP).

When not counting, I eat a lot of plain cheese sandwiches. When counting, I generally slap eggs, ham and bell pepper on them while I'm at it. It tastes much better, fills you up better, and if you've set it up as a "meal", it's just as easy to enter.

When not counting, I tend to eat a lot of fast food. I hate the taste and texture, but its easy and quick. When counting, I'll go for something home made and much more delicious (even if its home made burgers).

When not counting, I can eat a box of doughnuts without blinking. When counting, I might get a doughnut less frequently and I actually pay attention to eating it and enjoy it more.

When not counting, I might do a box of mac&cheese for supper. When counting, I generally go through the trouble of preparing something a little more complex and delicious (like my all time favourite food, Biff à la Lindström - ground beef mixed with shredded beetroot).

When not counting, my breakfast generally consists of coffee and nothing else. When counting, I tend to make yummy smoothies (milk, frozen fruit, plain yoghurt, whey).

The fact that the delicious alternatives are also more healthy is more of a side effect than a goal. All said and done, it's not a "healthy diet", but it's "healthier than before". I wouldn't do counting if it meant I had to consciously deprive myself of stuff I like to eat, I do it because it pushes me to go for the little extra effort in getting the delicious stuff over the boring or gross easy alternatives.

jrbowers83

Wow. I love your take on this. This is the kind of attitude that I really need to keep in mind because I think that is what can make the difference between this being a true lifestyle change and just another failed diet. I've been wavering in my determination, so this kind of positive outlook was just what I needed. My example of late: I ate 4 girl scout cookies the other day for dessert. I don't even LIKE girl scout cookies, they taste so fake and leave a residue on the tongue and the back of the mouth. But I think there must be something that causes addiction added in, because once you try one you want more. So today I veered away from the box, not going to allow myself a nibble. It's just not worth it. And instead I had a cup of fresh pineapple and berries with a generous dollop of Cool Whip Free. Now that is a satisfying snack, and oh so healthy too...

cmriverside

So true, and very well said!

I've been on maintenance calories for a little over a year (after re-losing those last ten pounds because I stopped logging food), and after a while, I find that you know which foods have the nutrients that will fill your daily quota.

I got frustrated with the amount of time I was spending logging food. Even tho MFP has - by far - the best food journaling system on the web (I've looked around a lot: trying to simplify) - it is still time-consuming. So I tend to eat the same foods day after day in the name of simplicity. Which suits me just fine. I change the combinations, and I do veer off the path, but mostly it's just easier to find favorites, and keep the numbers in my head.

However, I found that if I don't log food, soon I am rationalizing and forgetting what I've eaten. It doesn't take much to "go over" by several hundred calories. So, even tho I don't log my food every day, I try to write it down on a pad of paper in my purse. So when I get home, I can look at it and estimate (within a couple hundred cals) how much I've eaten.

Bottom line: you have to write it down at least. And when you're new to journaling food, you need to actually log it into the Food Diary. Soon you will know most of the nutrients of your favorite foods.

I still come back once a month and log religiously for a week. Call it a "Refresher Course".

Great post, Thanks!

pettmybunny

I love your attitude. I'm taking a class called health seekers through the Y. We meet once a week for nutrition classes. I'm amazed and saddened by the people who don't know how to journal (food log, whatever) or even why we do it. Admittedly, we're only a week or so in, but I really hope that some of the others can get the gist of what's going on. I tried to share MFP with everyone, but most people are doing it on paper. OK, so you can take paper with you wherever, but to really learn initially what your body needs, I think the computer sites are the best.

Kinda rambled, sorry... But yes, I find that I too eat better, and yummier, when I log as well.

I do miss macaroni and cheese though....

dogmeat

Being excessively lazy is kind of curse and a blessing in one package.

In another post I mentioned that when I'm at work, I prefer to pass on a slice of home-made chocolate cake in favour of a banana just because it's too much work and guesswork to figure out how you enter crap like that. Banana's pretty easy.

The downfall is that creating my (more) complex meals is definitely more work than doing the Mac&Cheese. What saves me here (partially) is my love for statistics and numbers. Keeping my numbers pretty is a kind of motivator to begin with. Another helpful thing is a bit of pre-planning; when I know what I'm going to have for supper (and I drool over thinking about it half the workday) sort of leaves me with no alternatives when I finally get to the stove.


I don't ever *crave* for sweet things (I think that's a man thing), but I've been known to eat a pound of white chocolate on the couch while watching a movie. When I don't mark stuff down I just don't care that much. When I do counting, I prefer things like frozen yoghurt. Again, not health food, but a cup of frozen yoghurt is better than a pound of chocolate