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MyFitnessPal Community

Any Serious Cooks Who Have Lost Weight?

ducky125

I have been a member for a bit and have the exercise thing down I think. Walk my dog 3-4 miles per day, run 2 miles 4 days per week and hit the gym for weight training at least twice per week. I have not logged my food consistently and I know I need to do that. The last time I was thin for an extended period of time was before I remarried. I did not cook much and ate a fairly rigid diet and obsessed over calories. I did feel and look great though.

Fast forward 20 years, almost menopausal, hypothyroid and now love to cook. Think Taunton's Fine Cooking, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, etc. Cooking is a big part of my married life as my husband also loves to cook.

I am wondering if there are other serious cooks on MFP and what approach you have taken to losing weight. Have you dramatically changed the way you cook? Reduced your portion sizes? Both? I am thinking I will make some of the more calorie laden recipes less frequently, and focus on trimming portions, which I know are too large. I do not want to give up cooking.

Thanks for any replies.

By the way, now mid 50s and need to lose 30 pounds.

Replies

Sprout23

I find that keeping up my exercise routine and diligently logging my food intake is the key for me. I've been doing triathlons, half-marathons, and century bike rides, so the training schedule is pretty rigorous. I realize not everyone has the time or the patience to do that kind of training. However, I know myself well enough to know that I have to indulge my food cravings sometimes, and I can't completely stop eating some foods that I love that are bad for me...that just sets me up for failure, really. So I just keep burning more calories than I take in, and I cook whatever I feel like eating -- as I've lost weight and ramped up my physical activity, I find my body craves different foods. My diet has naturally moved towards greater balance, with an emphasis on lean protein, fruits and vegetables.

Good luck!

retirehappy

My mom's co-worker once said, "If it's not amazing, it's not going in my mouth, because the calories need to be worth it."

That totally works with a foodie / gourmand / gourmet version of MFP, I think.

This ^^^^^^ My new motto, thanks!

I also like " I never eat at McDonalds in case I get run over by a bus, I don't want that to be my last meal" :laugh:

I am a serious foodie, I love to travel, eat, and drink good wines. I also love to cook and have been doing so since I was 4 yrs. old.
I am a yoyoer, I can gain weight but I have also been able to drop it. I just never did tracking, I am loving MFP because with tracking my portion/cals, I think I can enjoyably take off the weight and keep from regaining it. I just always resisted tracking wanting to eat what I wanted when I wanted. Thus the yoyoing and the miracle is I am not morbidly obese all the time. :devil:

I read recipes for ideas, my husband swears he has not seen me follow one to the letter in all our years together. Probably true, I cut back on this, add that, and might even roast something that is supposed to be sauted or vis versa. I love books by Michael Ruhlman, Julia Childs, Rick Bayless, Madhur Jaffrey, and The Escoffier Cookbook is my idea of a fun read. I'm not a fan of the Food Network, I do like most of the PBS chefs. I also love the blogs that are now available for foodies. I have recently decided to restrict wheat, because it causes my joints to hurt when I eat too much of it, so the gluten free blogs have been very helpful to give me new ideas. There are some good blogs for every eating type, style, ethnicity, etc.

I keep a kitchen garden, herbs, shallots, and garlic so I have lots of flavors to play around with, makes it so much easier and cheaper to get creative.

dejamos

I love to cook; in fact I have had a food blog for the past 7 years: http://www.cookingwithoutanet.com/.

Like most who have responded, I have found that cooking my own food has made it easier for me to lose weight. But, the changes I have made in my cooking over the years have had more to do with health than weight (although they are inter-related), and I don't necessarily use less butter, oil or other ingredients. The main difference is that now I measure everything so I know exactly how many calories are in a portion of something I have made. I have found that if I pay attention to macros and calories in/calories out I am able to lose weight no matter what I cook or eat. Portion control and mindful eating have been the biggest factors for my success. That and doing some kind of exercise for at least 30 minutes a day every day.

whatjesseats

I certainly wouldn't consider myself a serious cook, though I do enjoy cooking and expanding my cooking knowledge. I like to try at least one new recipe each week.

Living a healthy lifestyle is what got me in the kitchen in the first place. At the time I was eating a lot of Lean Cuisines and the like, and I was always frustrated by the small amounts of vegetables or the low quality of the ingredients, so I decided to start making my own.

The recipe builder on this site is a really fantastic tool for the home cook! Between that, my digital food scale, and the bar code scanner on my phone, figuring the nutritional info for a given dish I create is pretty simple.

ktlinn4

Hi! I've been in foodservice for just over half my life now. I picked up awesome cooking skills 10 years ago...and by all accounts I'm pretty good!

I just started eating very healthy 3 weeks ago and have enjoyed cooking just as much, if not more than I used too!! It's really awesome to take a your first bite into an all veggie Eggplant Parmesan and be like...wait...there's only 400 calories in this whole serving?!? The best part about it is that if you use healthy ingredients, you pretty much can bet the out come is healthy too!

QueenWino

Serious foodie as well as frequent hostess to small and large dinner parties, open houses, etc. I refuse to use non-fat or skim anything, but I weigh the cheese, portion everything out, and account for the calories accordingly. The best thing I am doing now is buying cookbooks with delicious healthy recipes in them from people who also refuse to use inferior products. The only way I would make a turkey meatloaf is if I roasted a heritage bird and ground the leftovers myself. I have found enough similar minded cooks willing to share recipes out there that I am fulfilled. I have made a few recipes featuring a lot of heavy cream and butter that I used to adore, but now am not as in love with; a pasta w/simple grated zucchini and a touch of real butter, great parmesan, garlic and chili flakes is more enjoyable than a homemade alfredo made from a pound of butter and a pound of parmesan. I still want roasted veal marrow bones as my last meal, w/a bit of the best baguette on the planet, but tastes do evolve and the body sort of rejects previous loves!

doomspark

I'm the chief cook and bottle-washer in the Doomspark household. And while I'm no paragon of weight-loss, I've shed 20+ lbs, So it can be done.

Acg67

I like to cook and am not that fat anymore