Not eating for pleasure

KGRebelRanch wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

Why? And how does it work out?

I see quite often people in here stating that they now eat only to fuel their bodies, not for pleasure. Are those the same people who used to be overweight? And eat for pleasure then? How can you just switch? Isn't that a recipe for disaster...? Making it sooo easy to slip back to old habits? I am eating both for health and for pleasure now, trying to be sensible and kind to myself at the same time. I cook most of my meals from scratch, and they all taste delicious. I never eat anything I don't like, but I don't eat everything I like at once either.

I don't eat for pleasure. That is not to say I don't enjoy eating once in a while. I eat when my blood sugar drops, or I get hungry. Then again, I grew up poor and now I live self sufficiently so food is not a luxury and never has been here. In my house, you eat what you need, no more. There are times the garden does poorly or the meat-raised animals don't grow as fast as you'd like so you have to stretch what you have until everything is straightened back out. Eating is just a necessity, not a hobby or a pastime. It's not supposed to be fun or exciting-it's supposed to keep you from dying.

If that's the case, then I wonder how you put on the extra weight that you've now nearly (congrats!) lost?

I honestly would not want to live if I could not enjoy my food. I look forward to every single meal I eat.

Eating things you don't enjoy, will not make you live longer. It will just make it feel that way.

KGRebelRanch wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

Why? And how does it work out?

I see quite often people in here stating that they now eat only to fuel their bodies, not for pleasure. Are those the same people who used to be overweight? And eat for pleasure then? How can you just switch? Isn't that a recipe for disaster...? Making it sooo easy to slip back to old habits? I am eating both for health and for pleasure now, trying to be sensible and kind to myself at the same time. I cook most of my meals from scratch, and they all taste delicious. I never eat anything I don't like, but I don't eat everything I like at once either.

I don't eat for pleasure. That is not to say I don't enjoy eating once in a while. I eat when my blood sugar drops, or I get hungry. Then again, I grew up poor and now I live self sufficiently so food is not a luxury and never has been here. In my house, you eat what you need, no more. There are times the garden does poorly or the meat-raised animals don't grow as fast as you'd like so you have to stretch what you have until everything is straightened back out. Eating is just a necessity, not a hobby or a pastime. It's not supposed to be fun or exciting-it's supposed to keep you from dying.

I'm sorry, but this seems very sad to me. I cant imagine a world where I didnt enjoy my food or the social aspect of a good meal with friends or family. Yes, it's main purpose is to sustain life, but why on earth can't it be enjoyable while doing that?

MarziPanda95 wrote: »

Nah, I think the problem is a lack of education. At school I wasn't taught that it was calories in and calories out. I was taught that vegetables are good and chocolate is bad. So whenever I tried to diet I'd end up maintaining my overweight state on 'healthy' foods because I was always taught that it's 2000 calories for a woman and 2500 for a man, way more than I should have had. I wasn't taught about BMR or BMI or TDEE. Many people don't understand how weight loss works and this is WHY they ignore calories and macros.
Also, there's nothing wrong with 8000 calories of Christmas food if it's just one day. As long as someone doesn't eat that every day and only once a year, it's fine.

Very much this, I was in my mid 20's before I had any real concept of calories or even realized there was a formula for how much I should eat in a day. I didn't care to read nutrition labels because I had no idea what to do with the information that was given by them. I was always really active as a child/teen so I never needed to worry about how much I ate but once I hit college and a desk job I consistently gained weight without understanding why or how to stop it.

kommodevaran wrote: »

whether eating healthy food you don't like, is a common reason people give up their diet/new lifestyle. People who have succeeded in their lifestyle change, do they (we) as a rule, aim to find healthy enough alternatives that also taste good and fit in with our everyday life?

Not sure what other people eat/try to eat, but I get the impression a lot of (non-fitness-minded) folks think "eating healthy" means kale smoothies and bean sprouts and rice cakes and whatnot, 1980s "diet food" nonsense. So the whole idea seems repugnant to people who don't know any better.

Shouldn't that be taught, preferably in school, but at least be addressed in the government nutrition leaflets? I feel the guidelines are way too "lean and green" for most people's taste, and unnecessarily so as well.

Yeah, I think you're right. These "healthy eating initiatives" I see, seem to focus on things like home gardening and fresh produce and... kale smoothies. "Healthy snacks! Don't eat potato chips, instead eat... kale chips!" Argh.

If they were serious, they'd be pushing TDEEs, calorie tracking, and basic bodyfat measurement with a tape measure. Simple, effective, dirt-cheap things that anyone can do and understand.

kommodevaran wrote: »

What I initially wanted to discuss - although a lot of interesting stuff has come up - was whether eating healthy food you don't like, is a common reason people give up their diet/new lifestyle.

I suspect so. I think it's common for people to have an idea of "diet food" that is basically not that tasty or interesting--I also think this is related to a kind of puritan idea that if it's too delicious it must be bad for you (see also descriptions of food as "sinful" or of eating as "being bad"). I get the impression that it's not that uncommon to have diaries that are all boneless skinless chicken breast with diet foods all the time, and I know years ago that was kind of my impression of what dieting involved, if not some weird set meals such as Beverly Hills Diet or whatever one saw in women's mags in the '80s. I also think this is why many people diet for a time and then go back to their former ways, as the diet isn't a sustainable way of eating, since there's no concern for taste. (I think it's normal for humans to care about taste--it's not like the effort to cook foods in the most tasty way is a new-fangled thing.)

Of course, I think lots of stereotypically healthy foods (veggies) are important to eat whether one is dieting or not, but the trick is to find out how to make them delicious. I actually care more about eating delicious foods when I'm watching what I eat, as you can't just go eat something better if you waste calories on something disappointing.

For me, food is fuel, but I eat foods that I like. I am enjoying the taste of new things, like whole grain wild rices and Tabboulah, but I eat realistic portions and I am loosing weight and feeling better overall.

I dunno - I've had some of my best lifting sessions after a monstrous bacon guacamole burger. I also happen to really enjoy a good salad. And I can make a tiny piece of super high quality cheesecake last half an hour and savor every bite. When I first started my weight loss journey I saw it as a choice between eating and not eating. I chose not eating and wound up anorexic. Then I started eating everything I wanted and gained a ton of weight. But I, too, thought healthy eating was just kale and juice fasts and that was boring. I've finally come to realise that I can make my macros fit all kinds of delicious dishes and I've learned how to savor my splurges. So I think it's totally possible to eat to fuel my body AND savor my food. Meatloaf and veggies might take a lot more effort to prepare than ordering pizza, but I will really enjoy it once it's fixed, and I know I'll feel better the next day, too.

I eat chocolate for pleasure .. otherwise no. It is just what needs to happen to prevent death.