I'm getting picky with food suddenly!

Slightly_Amusing
Slightly_Amusing Posts: 41 Member
edited November 13 in Food and Nutrition
Before counting calories I would eat just about anything and regardless of age... Sometimes gross I know but whatever.

Anyhow, it seems like everyday I look at my foods before I complete my entry and think "Well that's a lot of calories! What a waste, guess I'm sticking away from that now so I can fit better food in." Example:A monster Java, which I would drink about two a day before, cost 200 each!! Seriously, I could have a double double for less than that. A slice of pizza is something like 300. Or I could have a 6" sub for around 360 and actually feel full and not greasy.

Anyone else start off this way? If so did you ever find your "happy place?". I still have days where I go ham and eat what I want within my goal but the feeling of guilt pushes me harder the next day.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited November 2016
    No guilt here, I whatever the hell I want! No problems maintaining my weight as long as I eat the right amount of calories, of course!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    For me, it's less "picky eating", and more that I now have a better idea of what will give me the most satisfaction and performance out of a given calorie allotment. Why the hell would I piss away 450 kcals on a single, relatively small slice of pizza, when I can have a bowl of sludge and some rice cakes for the same amount, and do a much better job of hitting macros? Not to mention better volume and weight on the latter (which tends to equal better satiety for me).
  • jadelois
    jadelois Posts: 28 Member
    I suppose its a learning process. I personally didn't put my weight on by eating chicken salads so to eat those for the rest of my life would result in me sacking the whole "diet" mentality off. Ultimately i still want to eat cake on occasion.
    I like MFP because it doesn't tell me what i can't eat but it makes me very aware of what it is I am eating and better equipped to make informed choices.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    I don't think of it as picky so much as "discerning" or "curatorial." You only have a certain food budget, and you have to learn to edit out the crap, however you define crap, in order to be successful. I still fit in the pizza and doughnuts and such (but keep them very limited), but I also fit in a lot more fruits and vegetables. I used to be a big fan of juice but that is almost completely edited out of my diet, and although I still love bread and pasta and carbs of all kinds, I eat them far more sparingly than in the past. I have found that my taste has evolved greatly over the past year that I have been focused on losing weight.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Well, yeah... you could say pickier or just making more thoughtful choices because I haven't totally eliminated any foods from my diet. I don't feel guilty.
    I used to eat a sleeve of plain saltine crackers. There are about 40 crackers in a sleeve. Just 5 crackers is 60 calories. Those crackers have very little nutrition and are not very filling. Not a great choice to spend 480 calories on. That could have been a sandwich or a slice of pizza... or so many other foods.
    I have a limited number of calories (1200) so I want them to count more. If I'm not hitting my protein goal then a cookie or slice of bread is a poor use of my allotted calories when there are lots of other choices that I like that would help me reach my goals.
    Prelogging my day helps me make better choices.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2016
    I don't feel guilty, but I am a lot less likely to waste calories on things that are just available or I don't like that much, which I think is a good thing. If I want to eat something high cal just because it tastes good (which I do), I am more careful about how much and tend to make it more special, so again a good thing IMO. I'll eat some good cheese with appreciation as a post-dinner snack, not just shove it in my mouth without thinking while I'm doing something else.

    I'm not picky, IMO, because I like a good variety of foods. I've always been kind of selective in what I eat and am probably more so now.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    jmbmilholland wrote: »
    I don't think of it as picky so much as "discerning" or "curatorial." You only have a certain food budget, and you have to learn to edit out the crap, however you define crap, in order to be successful. I still fit in the pizza and doughnuts and such (but keep them very limited), but I also fit in a lot more fruits and vegetables. I used to be a big fan of juice but that is almost completely edited out of my diet, and although I still love bread and pasta and carbs of all kinds, I eat them far more sparingly than in the past. I have found that my taste has evolved greatly over the past year that I have been focused on losing weight.

    This is very much my approach.

    I think of my calorie budget very similar to the way I think of my monetary budget. Necessities (for me, meeting my protein/fat/fiber goals) are top priority and if I have extra I can either splurge on something fun or save for another time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I don't think "picky" is the right word...I choose more wisely because I am more knowledgeable...but sometimes I don't choose wisely but as long as I'm choosing wisely most of the time, everything is good.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    It's a good thing. You understand what fits and what does not. I gave up soda because that was calories every day I could use for something else. This does not mean that i never have soda.
  • fidangul
    fidangul Posts: 673 Member
    It takes much longer to come to a decision of what to eat/cook. And what's worse is that if I didn't really like something I definitely don't eat it and (unfortunately) it could end up in the bin. I can't waste my calories. Before I would have just eat it anyway not to waste it. That's not good but calories are gold for me now.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited November 2016
    The point of calorie counting is to get picky with food. There will be many surprises to start about how many calories some of your go-to items actually have.

    The money analogy is a good one. You only have a limited amount to spend so make it count.

    Some days I'm willing to splurge on an item and some days I'm not. Some things I used to eat in large quantities are now eaten as a small treat.

    No guilt involved, just choices.
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