Does Anyone Here Ever Eat For Pleasure?

'worry' i s not the right word. I don't worry about food. It is just somewhat important to me to eat somewhat healthy, so I just try to make it happen. No Worries though.

and I rarely eat for pleasure, never have. Only time I do that is when on my hot date wants to have a snack or treat... or SmirnoffIce...LOL. Or my son offers makes homemade soft pretzels for me! ((or whatever deliciousness he concocts in the kitchen to share)

but, I also have never had a weight problem. I just have a few vanity pounds to lose.. and my MAIN goal is to be FIT and Strong- more than lose weight.

I eat for pleasure all the time. I love food. I grew in a house where stuff like cheddar souffle, asian stir fry, and clafouti were meal standards and things like casserole and spaghetti were out of the norm. My mom actually spent time in France working in a kitchen there for a few weeks...just for fun. I only eat foods that I truly enjoy eating, even as I watch what I eat and always look forward to the times that I go out someplace nice and get to have something truly decadent.

I actually gained the weight that I did when I moved out of my parents house and was eating crap food in place of all of the amazing home made goodness I had growing up. I switched over to fast food, junk food, and whatever just happened to be cheapest at the grocery store that week (usually sodas, chips, hot dogs, etc). None of which I ever at growing up. Heck, I didn't even consume my first Twinkie until I was well into my teens. Even our cereal as kids was stuff like Grape Nuts or Shredded Wheat - but not the little bite sized pieces, the big ones that filled the entire bowl with just one huge log of shredded wheat. My sister and I would jump for joy the one week each summer we stayed at my grandparents because we got Cap'n Crunch that week. lol

Once I joined MFP, started cooking for myself at home, and stopped eating fast food all time, I actually started gaining an even deeper appreciation of really good food. Moreso than I had ever had before. Now I can't wait to try new restaurants of any kind, hit up local food trucks to see what they've come up with, and splurge on amazing meals like the Farewell to Fois Gras menu the hubby and I enjoyed before the foie gras ban locked down in California.

So yes, food is always about pleasure for me. What's the point of eating something if it's not pleasing to the taste buds and/or the soul?

Most of the time I eat for pleasure. Still do, even while losing weight. I log what I eat, try to meet my calorie goal and don't worry about the macros too much. They tend to work out for themselves, especially over a week (one day I eat a lot of sodium, the next day not so much, same with fat.)

I eat for pleasure just about every night, I've just changed the things that I'm eating. I've always been a snacker at night and I've simply learned to embrace that as a meal of its own. Instead of a pint of ice cream, a bag of skittles and most of a box of cookies (yes this is how I really used to eat) now I snack on apples, almonds, cheeses, pickles, popcorn, cottage cheese or (recently) no pudge brownies that I make with plain Greek yogurt and vanilla extract 1 serving at a time in the microwave (so there's no temptation to eat half the pan straight out of the oven).

I'm a foodie. I don't eat ANYTHING just to fill myself up. Everything I eat tastes delicious. I just eat a little less of it now. What's the point otherwise??

Oh yes, I love food and I love cooking. I couldn't diet if I thought I had to deprive myself, so for me losing weight is about seeking out the most delicious but low calorie meals, controlling my portions (and NOT going back for seconds) and ensuring I build in some treats in my calorie allowance or making sure I have a work out on days where, for example, I am going to a party / out to a restaurant. I also see a lot of people have "cheat days" where they have a higher calorie intake, which might be worth considering say once a week or every time you reach a milestone.

What do you miss most? Is it specific food or just eating without care?

To quote my mom (when I was a kid and saying I didn't want her "gross" dinner): "I don't eat things that taste bad."

In other words, if pleasure isn't involved, I'm not eating whatever it is. Everything I eat is enjoyable. It's when I was hurting and punishing myself with food--pizza, chips, soda, candy, things that people tend to say are oh-so-good--that it wasn't pleasurable. Not when I knew it was killing me (since that was the whole point, really).

So I realized that I don't want food that tastes bad or that I choke down because it's "healthy" and for no other reason. But that doesn't mean junk food. When I make tostadas with chicken, cheese, beans, sour cream, avocado, and homemade salsa, that's healthy and it's certainly pleasurable. Or a buttery baked potato with a heaping pile of garlic- and pepper-seasoned broccoli and meat (of some kind), that's incredibly enjoyable. Not only is the flavor much better than any I've ever experienced while downing a bag of Doritos, but I feel good about eating it because I know it's healthy as well.

I think that developing a healthier lifestyle definitely includes redefining what we think of as good or bad, pleasurable or a chore, desirable or obligatory. It's not a matter of figuring out what tastes good v. what's healthy; it's a matter of finding those foods that you would gladly eat for both reasons.

I have always eaten for pleasure, and that's part of why I've been fat since I was 12.

However, I take more pleasure now in more healthful foods, and have learned to make somewhat better choices about what I choose to enjoy and stop eating when I've extracted sufficient enjoyment from the food I'm eating.

I've had a lot of fun finding new foods to enjoy on this journey, and adapting the foods I have always enjoyed to be a little healthier.

But every now and again I extract great enjoyment by demolishing a cheeseburger and a load of french fries and a big beer. And I enjoy it all the more because I've planned for it, I've prepared for it, and I don't have to feel guilty about eating it any more, and it's all the more enjoyable because I don't do it every day any more.

vegetables, grilled chicken, brown rice, water etc isnt pleasurable to me. i want to eat fried foods, chips, and candy. I want to eat candy all day like i used to.

i miss those days

Well, no, you can't eat candy all day like you used to and still accomplish your weight loss goals, but you can still eat the foods you enjoy. I don't eat a lot of plain veggies, grilled chicken, brown rice, etc. Sometimes I eat those things, sometimes I eat meals that are healthy but a lot more flavorful, and sometimes I eat unhealthy things. I had the red velvet cake cheesecake from cheesecake factory last weekend. I made it fit my macros for the day and ate only 1/2 of it one day and 1/2 the next. Granted, I didn't have fried food and chips and greasy stuff that day, too, but I had what I really wanted, plus I had tacos for lunch (one of my favorite foods ever) and homemade buffalo chicken pizza for dinner the other.

Did eating fried foods, chips and candy all day really give you pleasure? Or did it just make you feel happier for a moment? If it really gave you pleasure, I don't think you'd be here trying to lose weight.

Of course. My top priority is always that my food tastes good. I don't want to eat food that doesn't taste good.
And on saturdays I eat snacks and such that has no benefits regarding health whatsoever, but I don't care. It's my snack day. I still lose weight, and I still get the nutrition I need.

I love eating for pleaure but I don't anymore because I'd go crazy as soon as I got a taste

i wish i could go back to eating the way i ate before i started this weight loss thing, but, i would gain back every pound i loss.

do u guys constantly worry abt calories, sodium, carbs, etc in everything u eat?

Yes, I eat for pleasure in the sense that I only eat things I like.

"Worry" isn't really the right word. I am aware of the calories and other components of what I eat, but once you learn what's in the majority of foods you eat regularly, it becomes second nature. I do have to monitor myself on portions sizes though. When I was younger, I was able to get away with less monitoring. Now in my 40s, I need to pay more attention. But it's more akin to the way you watch the gas tank in your car--you know what you need in the tank, but you don't fret about it.

I always eat for pleasure, but that isn't the same as eating excessively (although that happens too, why i'm here!). Life's too short not to. Food is there to enjoy (in moderation) because that is also a heathy and sustainable diet..

Eat a bite or two of something bad for you and throw it away. If you can't, then avoid totally. Once you get to a maintanence level, you can eat whatever you want again, in moderation and just exercise it off. I work out six or seven days a week so I don't need to deprive myself of occassional treats.

Gaining back weight is always on my mind since I worked so hard to lose it in the first place. I do eat for pleasure though....thats what a cheat meal or cheat day is for....that being said I dont eat "diet" food so I enjoy most everything I eat but I save the really bad treats for special occasions.