Thought I'd share

firegirlred

I wanted to mention something that I noticed about my food choices.

What I've found is that through the use of this website, I make healthier choices regarding what I eat and plan to eat automatically. By making those healthier choices, I've been able to shift from splenda to sugar in the raw, and from margarine to butter without compromising my caloric intake for the day. That has been the most impactful change to me. Smaller portions and healthier eating means no "diet foods."

Another post brought up high fructose corn syrup and how it really isn't any worse for you than other sweeteners.

By managing my food choices, I now use raw sugar in my coffee, rather than splenda. That 15 calories doesn't cost me as much as it did before. There are so many other examples. Rather than purchasing the more expensive 100 calorie packs, I measure/count out my food.

By eliminating diet foods from my "diet" I can make better decisions when I eat something I didn't prepare.

Just thought I'd mention this. Hopefully someone can benefit from it.

sheri3762

Ya know, I'm become much more aware of my choices as well. For example, I sometimes have trouble getting in all my calories like I know many of us do. I try to treat myself to a turkey sub sandwich at Subway once or twice a week. For a long time i was not having cheese added to it. At the end of the day I always had extra calories and everything else to use up. I figurered I might as well have the cheese when I need the extra calories and besides, I love cheese! so why should I deprive myself when I REALLY can have it?!! Took me a while to figure this one out. Of course, my only problem with this that I try to play close attention to is the sodium. If I think I'm going over what i allow myself (1800), then i forget about the cheese.
Isn't is great when we figure out exactly what we can have and really not have to deprive us of the foods we love!!!

msarro

I actually wanted to make a post a long time ago about the stages people go through on MFP. Exactly like you're saying OP - I started with splenda and sweet'n'low on everything, chemicals everywhere.

Then after awhile people start realizing that the chemicals aren't the best way to go, they start cooking a little more. Then eventually it leads to real foods - butters, whole fats, etc but in proper portions. Some people even end up becoming raw foodists.

I think goes with knowledge, experience, and habits formed over time. That's where MFP really pays off - if you keep coming, and you keep reading, eventually it starts to soak in.

muth3rluvx2

funny.
my house never saw margarine until my b/f.
i've always loathed fake sweeteners.
hate diet & almost all fast foods.

I'm really starting to wonder about the value of the hard & fast numbers. Not that they aren't a good guidance tool - but if someone goes over their cals by 90 because they had a banana - is that such a bad thing? or even goes over 300 because they had a high protein snack that was about that much? If you crave something - for goodness sakes - pay attention to it and forget the numbers for a second.. Usually, that's your body's way of saying "hey, there's something in there we need right now!" I mean, use common sense - if its M&M's, that's one we can probably ignore. But if it's ... I dunno... pasta... maybe even though your carb #'s are over, your body needs more that day.

I've always liked my "natural" foods - I just wasn't eating enough of them and far too much starchy stuff. I am so glad to see people realizing that the chems are not worth saving cals over... thank you thank you thank you for posting this!!! Perhaps no one else thinks the way I do, but your post definitely shows when to count cals and when not to in making a food choice (not the same as not tracking!).