Everything's always been about food... Anyone else?

Francl27 · June 2016

I'm sure I'm not alone here - does anyone else have such a passion for food that pretty much everything in your life has always been about food? (notice I didn't say I was addicted to food, lol).

How do you/did you deal with it?

My situation - grew up doing grocery shopping with my mom who let me buy what I wanted and sample everything when we got home (usually random puddings, cookies, chocolate - I grew up in France and the amount of puddings in the stores is incredible). When we went on vacations we made sure to eat the local specialties... pretty much all the time. We'd go to the beach and I'd eat a donut there every day (plus local desserts after meals, of course). When we visited my grandparents, we'd buy the same local foods every time or my grandmother would make the same dishes we loved (man I miss those so much!). Oh yeah and I often ate cake for breakfast. And we ate out a lot (bunch of favorite restaurants).

It took me 10 years to stop buying a snack every time I go out. When I go somewhere though, I still look at restaurants and bakeries first thing (I grew up with French bakeries... always looking for one everywhere I go in case they sell something I haven't had in years). I plan my meals in advance so I have something tasty to look forward to... when I don't really crave anything it's hard for me to be satisfied. We still go out a lot when my mom visits (mostly because it's easier than finding something that 6 people will eat and well, because it's tasty). Finding new restaurants is a hobby and I possibly spend too much time on Yelp. I still think of hitting the local bakeries for a donut or cupcake or croissant pretty much every day. I've never been much of a social person at all and don't really have friends anymore so when we're invited to cookouts or whatnot I just get really excited about the food.

I like cooking but often get burned out too and there are some dishes that are just too complicated for me to attempt, and I just don't bake unless there's a special occasion because it always ends up with me eating all the things.

Seriously, how do you deal with it? I mean, I don't use it as an excuse as I've lost the weight I wanted to lose, but it's just tough at times. I have other hobbies, but it's mostly TV shows and some movies and not something that can really keep me busy every day (I play some games on my tablet and I like reading, but with kids I just can't focus on reading enough to enjoy it lately, unless it's a book I've really been looking forward to).

Kudos if you read all that.

tomteboda · June 2016

I think being a foodie with weight problems stinks.

vincema01 · June 2016

I try not to think of how good it tastes and I put it in my mind telling me one serving of desert will just slow me down that much more on my goal to keep healthy, I make the choice to be healthy or at least try my best , I can relate to the bakery experience .. I am Italian and it can get deadly at times with the food ..

tbonethemighty · June 2016

Ha, not only did I read all of that, but I identified with all of that. I don't have a great solution for you, I'm sorry to say -- my life still revolves around food. Vacations are often planned around local food/finding amazing new restaurants. On the other hand, I do also love outdoorsy/active stuff (bouldering, biking, running, dance). The key there was finding something I really loved to do. You name it, I've tried it. And the more you do it, the more friends/acquaintances you make there -- which, voila! provides you with non-food-based activities to get in some social time.

That being said, I love to cook and try out new recipes -- and my new high is finding awesomely delicious recipes that take under 30 minutes to make and still provide a decent amount of food on the plate. (I enjoy volume in my meals.) I'm getting pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself. And for me, a decent part of the fun is the planning/anticipation, which helps limit the actual eating time.

I live in Germany and am moving back to the US this week (almost 10 years down, 3 days to go -- EEEEP) -- oh dear God, do I feel you on the bakery thing. I'm struggling not to go nuts this week with the baked deliciousness that I know I won't be able to get in California...if you have suggestions, I'm open for all of them right about now...

megzchica23 · June 2016

I understand how you feel. As a child I ate whatever I wanted. I was super skinny growing up. My dad spoiled me and let me have M&Ms every time I went to the gas station or store with him. Late in high school since we had vending machines I still had them everyday. I also drank like 2 2 litter bottles of dr. pepper or mt dew a day. When it came to food I hardly ate anything. But never anything very good. Mom worked a lot so we had TV dinners or mac and cheese and stuff for dinner most of the time. That is why Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, the only day in the year mom made real food. HAHA. When my parents paid off dads medical bills and had more money we started just eating out a lot. Then when I moved out I worked in food but couldn't afford food. So like when I worked at a hot dog place, I ate lots of that food before going home because I had no food at home.

When everything started catching up to me and I put on weight I would try to be better. Since I didn't really eat a lot at once, just ate the wrong stuff it was super easy to lose weight if I just changed what I ate. I didn't have to count calories or try very hard at all. But I always reverted and the weight crept back, each time gaining more than the time before. 3 years ago I lost my gallbladder and had a hard time eating. I felt horrible all the time for the first year. I felt nauseous a lot. I didn't like the upset stomach after eating and so I barely ate anything. I dropped down from 150 to 130 very rapidly.

Then I met my fiance 2 years ago. He loves food. He eats like he has a black hole in his stomach. So he was always wanting to eat with me and order a dessert to share or appetizers. I started learning to bake because it made him happy and we had brownies and cakes and cookies and stuff all the time. He got me to start trying all kinds of foods I never had before. And I began to eat more and more and more. Finally I went up to 180 and decided I had to stop. So I made the change and I'm totally okay with eating the way I do most the time. But my fiance gets sad if I don't eat things with him and it makes me sad. Eating together was always something we enjoyed. So what I do is be strict on the weekdays and on the weekends I don't worry as much. I just let us be happy and eat or cook the fun stuff on weekends or go get ice cream whatever. It is slower weight lose that way but I'm still losing weight and I'm happy. And, I get very burnt out on my own cooking too. I can't make a lot, I never like what I cook much. The good stuff is too time consuming and I don't have time for it.

Everything's always been about food... Anyone else?

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