What is a FOODIE to do when trying to lose weight

Become a HEALTHY FOODIE. :happy:

By your definition of FOODIE, I am a FOODIE times 2! I love it love it love it....Here's a breakdown of what I do to keep from being too bad.

1. Mind set - make a decision to eat healthy and STICK with it
2. Excercise
3. ALLOW yourself to indulge from time to time, BUT ONLY if you compensate with more excercise. (I recently at an entire box of Mac-n-Cheese and so to balance that out, I hit my routines HARD and burned of 1,500 calories that same day.)
4. Repeat of #1 BE DISCIPLINED. Eating right and losing weight can be just as much fun as eating all those yummy bad good gooey foods.

I stick to these four rules and they seem to help.

Actually a foodie can be an ideal weight loss candidate as you know more than most what flavors work with what foods and what ones do not. I am a big advocate of clean eating, and it has done wonders for me, so my advice is to research clean eating and then use that info to create healthy meals that taste great, clean eating once you get into it tastes great, half the reason people fail is because of the lack of flavor.

I had that problem when I first started here. I am a SERIOUS foodie, and love to cook, try new flavors, eat out.....and then I realized that that lifestyle really doesn't work well with my nutrition plan, unfortunately. I mean, sure, a nicely marbled cut of beef with some wine reduction over it, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sounds heavenly. Let's not forget the creme brulee for dessert (or any chocolate concotion you can think of). Or how about some Pad Thai for lunch? A pain au chocolat for breakfast? Or homebaked cinnamon rolls, covered in icing? I used to bake one or 2 things/wk. I mean, pies, brownies, bread, you name it.

I don't eat like that anymore. I still get about 5 cooking magazines/month (subscriptions), still have my cupboard full of every Penzey's spice known to man. I look at my mags and see what I could make, that would be healthy, not too calorie heavy, etc. Not much, btw. But I've found that I am now happier and feel healthier when I've had just turkey breast and a hard boiled egg for lunch, maybe some fruits or greens.

Since I make dinner for the family, I've made lots of substitutions. Ground turkey instead of ground beef, more fish, less oil, butter...I rarely ever make anything that requires adding cream to a sauce. No gravies, sauces - just broth, a little wine, seasonings...maybe a pat of butter if I need the texture/mouth feel.

So, all I can say is that I've adapted. Once I started eating healthier (less calories, cleaner, less processed), it's now hard for me to put something into my mouth that is really calorie laden/nutrient empty. I don't think I'm missing anything. I like everything I'm eating. It's just not as "gourmet" as it used to be. But I know I can have that stuff if and when I want it. It's still there, and if I feel like I'm missing something, then I'll have it. It's learning about having what you want in moderation, too.

me too... like _so_ many people who succeed at maintaining a healthy weight... wait 'til you taste how good food can _really_ be

the trick is to stop thinking about how deprived you are on your "diet" and start enjoying this wonderful new lifestyle you are making for yourself! Make it an adventure...Get moving and exploring -- new kinds of exercises to spark your metabolism and maybe try eating things you might never have enjoyed before good healthy choices ...prepared _properly_ = foodie heaven!

Everyones saying excercise, but I personally cant hardly excercise, and im still losing alot of weight (10pounds the last week and a half). And Ive been eating meals like steak and taters, and beef with stir fried veggies over rice, and mozzarella chicken with roasted asparagus and parmesan roasted potatoes, and chicken caesar salads with feta/almonds/veggies/dressing, and salmon with brown rice and veggies... you can have plenty of amazing amazing food, go out to eat, etc.. Its about really counting calories... My mom made dinner the other night, she added salt and oil to the carrots---y would u take a 20calorie veggie and turn it into a 100calorie veggie by pouring it with grease and adding sodium that helps u retain weight? i dont cook with salt or oil anymore, and everyone loves my food! I cook with onions and garlic, red pepper flakes and pepper, and various other seasonings when needed. I spray my pan with olive oil pam spray not pour a few tablespoons in a pan. Its about saying to yourself "I can eat this deep fried chicken breast that it fried in oil with added egg and flour and fat, for 600calories, OR i can bake it in water in the oven at 350degrees with fresh lemon, onion, garlic, some rosemary, and have loads of flavor bursting from it for under 150 calories"
You need to look at everything your about to put in your mouth and just get your mind on the mindset of "could i be making a healthier choice, could i be eating something better for me, be more full afterwards" a 300calorie glass of pop wont fill you, but for the same calories you could have an entire meal and be completly stuffed to the brim!

I am more of a Foodie now than I was before I started all this. I used to eat food and think it was good, but it was really pretty crappy. I now enjoy a whole host of herbs and spices, and am much more discerning in my food choices than I was before. This will not make you less of a foodie, but a more discerning one. Watch portion size and food content.

Agreed. I'm also a fellow foodie, which has given me the advantage that another member mentioned, i'm not picky so i can eat almost anything, so it was easy to adapt to a healthy lifestyle. I love trying new things and i eat healthier than ever (i've recently gone organic and partly raw) and i've never felt better than i do now and feel like i eat like a queen!!! Now that i've adapted to "clean" eating (i've completely cut out fast food, processed food and only eat out when it's an organic restaurant) i don't even crave the crap, and it would probably make me sick if if tried to eat it! I love it!!!!

I agree with everyone here. I believe my only saving grace for about 10 years was getting exercise. I joined a gym and my reward was to go and sit in the sauna. I still ate too much, dated an overweight man, drank too much with him, etc. I am about 20 lbs overweight, but if it weren't for exercise, I would be heavier by now.

Also, as foodies, we can learn to enjoy new foods! I found a recipe for wheatberry salad with a vinaigrette and edamame that I really want to try sometime. I can imagine the taste, texture and aroma of it already! It would go great with a lean, grilled steak (properly-proportioned, of course).

As far as enjoying foods in general, when you have something that is kind of a break from your diet, taste the heck out of it. Food is a spiritual experience for many of us. We should savor and give thanks for every bite. There are people all around the world who go without such good food on a daily basis. There is a spiritual discipline called "mindfulness" - a practice that says we should slow down, savor, practice our awareness of every gift that comes our way. We can do that, although it is in stark contrast to a society that requires us to hurry up, stress out, then fall out at the end of each day.

My Wii Fit Plus told me (it talks to me) that when we eat too fast, we tend to over eat. This is because it takes about 20 minutes for our bodies to send the message to our brains when we are actually full! Yet one more reason to slow down and savor every bite.

All of these are just ideas for inspiration. They are easier said than done! :grumble: Good luck.

By your definition of FOODIE, I am a FOODIE times 2! I love it love it love it....Here's a breakdown of what I do to keep from being too bad.

1. Mind set - make a decision to eat healthy and STICK with it
2. Excercise
3. ALLOW yourself to indulge from time to time, BUT ONLY if you compensate with more excercise. (I recently at an entire box of Mac-n-Cheese and so to balance that out, I hit my routines HARD and burned of 1,500 calories that same day.)
4. Repeat of #1 BE DISCIPLINED. Eating right and losing weight can be just as much fun as eating all those yummy bad good gooey foods.

I stick to these four rules and they seem to help.

I FULLY agree with this! I'm a big time foodie. I LOVE flavours more than anything. For me nothing (well except for the really bad stuff) is out of bounds but I moderate it and I try to eat colourfully (is that a word?).

Portions, moderation, exercise. That's it!

We are gourmet foodies. We have found that Cook's Illustrated has Light recipes, worth it to buy, their recipes are the best out there. We are serious foodies, we have a LeCreuset baking dish that's divine, we own Staub (better than LC according to many), we have All Clad cookware, we want a Blue Star double oven eventually, We belong to Cooks Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen, and Cook's Illustrated Editor's Choice.

The cookbooks we are using:

America's Test Kitchen Light & Healthy Cookbook (available now in your local bookstores)

Cook's Illustrated The Best Light Recipes

There was a Cook's Illustrated Light & Healthy 2011 magazine we bought.

We are eating delicious food and it's light & healthy & tested by Cooks Illustrated & Americas Test Kitchen (all one group).

Check out my food diary.