Do you eat what you want?
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prattiger65 wrote: »Something that I think is sometimes lost or not said by those of us that "eat whatever we want" is that we make conscious decision daily. We regularly have donut day at work, sometimes I eat one, sometimes two and sometimes I choose to not use calories for that. There are foods I used to eat that I very rarely eat now because the "bang for the buck" isn't there, or too many calories for the enjoyment. Heh, I ate breakfast twice today. Once when I normally do, the a friend called out if the blue asking if I want to meet up, so I ate a lite breakfast again. If I go over for the day I'll shave a few calories over the next few days to make it work out. That's moderation to me.
Very good points, and here is another thing that people may not understand about those of us who "eat whatever we want", which you kind of alluded to. When you say that we make a conscious decision daily about what we want to eat, many of us plan this out ahead of time. When I know that I am going to have a special event - date night, or cocktails with friends, a birthday party, or like this weekend - a trip planned with my family... I save up calories during the week. I am mindful that later on, I am going to be more indulgent, so I may eat lighter during the week to prepare for it. We also plan our day to day indulgences as well - I know many of the "ice cream group" who prelog their entire day, including their serving of Talenti, so that they can make sure it fits.
I think the key difference between what people believe "eat whatever you want" folks are doing, and what we are actually doing, is that we are always doing it with an eye toward the calories, toward the satiety, and toward how it fits in the overall plan, both short term and long term. We also make those conscious decisions to forgo something. There are days where my team decides to run out for lunch at work, that I decide to stay and eat a frozen meal at my desk, because I know that night is pizza night with my family.
It really is all about mindfulness and planning, and not just impulse and spontaneity. Not that there aren't some days where the plan changes on the go - as you said, it can be done, but then we adjust for it later on. We don't say "to hell with it, I blew it, might as well continue eating everything in sight for the rest of the week and start over next week".
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Not really. I find that if I allow myself free access to every single thing I will be eating bagels for breakfast, grilled cheese for lunch and pizza for dinner. And feeling completely miserable.
Eating low-carb makes me eat healthier. Carbs/sugar are now special treats for special occasions.0 -
Sometimes, yes.
Nowhere near as often as I used to, and in much smaller portions, like the suggested serving size (which I used to triple or quadruple probably.)2 -
On the whole, yes. Just different amounts and/or frequency. There are a few things (Pop-Tarts come to mind, thanks to a recent thread) that I cut back on enough that I really don't eat them - or, at least, very rarely eat - anymore.1
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Yes I eat what I want every day. I like lots of different foods and I do not actually eat food I don't like.
Typically I eat things like this:
Breakfast- low prep foods like Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese
Lunch- things like sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers
Dinner- something different every night of the month. Soup once a week usually.
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, dark chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese
Things I have planned and had for dinner in recent months include:
chili, tomato, fassolatha, cheese, potato soup, black bean soup, lentil soup, beans & rice, broccoli cheese casserole, tator tot casserole, chicken noodle casserole, breakfast casserole, French toast, breakfast sandwiches, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, chicken gyro, batsaria, Greek potatoes & chicken, falafel, fish & mac & cheese, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken yakisoba, hot dogs, veggie burgers, grilled cheese, chicken, quesadilla, tacos, burritos, salsa chicken rice casserole, fried rice, black bean potato nachos, Mexican manicotti, tandoori chicken, chicken legs, burgers, stuffed bread, French dip sandwiches, pizza, ravioli, stuffed cabbage
I prelog my food and adjust portion sizes to fit my goals. I look at calories first then meeting my protein goal. I try to eat several servings of vegetables or fruits a day. I generally have 100-300 calories for snacks.
I pair higher calorie foods with more lower calorie vegetables. I reduce calories in foods by using less cheese, less oil, lower fat milk, thinner crust for pizza. I might skip rice or bread if it doesn't fit well that day. I don't try to have doughnuts, stuffed crust pizza, fried chicken, bacon cheeseburger and a peanut butter shake all in one day.1 -
Curious how somebody eats what they don't want...0
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WinoGelato wrote: »Yes.
*Nutrition is important!
** I eat healthy foods too!
I like how you made sure to tell the whole story...Lol2 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »Lol I know this thread is probably a dig at those who decide to cut certain things out of their diet, and by "eat what you want" you probably mean junk food, ice-cream, pizza etc (judging by the responses above) - but yes, I absolutely eat what I want. And what I want is meat, green vegetables, avocado, eggs, cream, cheese, bacon, olive oil, pate, oysters and seafood and other such terrific healthy food.
So you are assuming we only eat meat, green vegetables, avocado, eggs, cream, cheese, bacon, olive oil, pate, oysters and seafood and other such terrific healthy food because it's necessary rather than what we want?1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »prattiger65 wrote: »Something that I think is sometimes lost or not said by those of us that "eat whatever we want" is that we make conscious decision daily. We regularly have donut day at work, sometimes I eat one, sometimes two and sometimes I choose to not use calories for that. There are foods I used to eat that I very rarely eat now because the "bang for the buck" isn't there, or too many calories for the enjoyment. Heh, I ate breakfast twice today. Once when I normally do, the a friend called out if the blue asking if I want to meet up, so I ate a lite breakfast again. If I go over for the day I'll shave a few calories over the next few days to make it work out. That's moderation to me.
Very good points, and here is another thing that people may not understand about those of us who "eat whatever we want", which you kind of alluded to. When you say that we make a conscious decision daily about what we want to eat, many of us plan this out ahead of time. When I know that I am going to have a special event - date night, or cocktails with friends, a birthday party, or like this weekend - a trip planned with my family... I save up calories during the week. I am mindful that later on, I am going to be more indulgent, so I may eat lighter during the week to prepare for it. We also plan our day to day indulgences as well - I know many of the "ice cream group" who prelog their entire day, including their serving of Talenti, so that they can make sure it fits.
I think the key difference between what people believe "eat whatever you want" folks are doing, and what we are actually doing, is that we are always doing it with an eye toward the calories, toward the satiety, and toward how it fits in the overall plan, both short term and long term. We also make those conscious decisions to forgo something. There are days where my team decides to run out for lunch at work, that I decide to stay and eat a frozen meal at my desk, because I know that night is pizza night with my family.
It really is all about mindfulness and planning, and not just impulse and spontaneity. Not that there aren't some days where the plan changes on the go - as you said, it can be done, but then we adjust for it later on. We don't say "to hell with it, I blew it, might as well continue eating everything in sight for the rest of the week and start over next week".
The stuff we "eat whatever we want" folks are eating is important, but equally important is the stuff we're *not* eating. I'm always the person who skips the candy at the meetings because I know from experience I'd rather have wine with dinner. I usually skip the rice when I go out for Indian or Asian food because it isn't worth the calories to me. When I go out for coffee, 99% of the time it's black coffee or with just a packet of Splenda. I plan my meals out for the week so I understand what days I should plan to have a lighter breakfast or lunch.
I can and do change things on the fly, but most days happen pretty much like I planned and that's what makes it work for me.7 -
Prelogging my days helps a lot too. There are some days where my protein is too low, calories too high or there's not enough fibre or fat etc etc That's when i begin my tweaking mission until i get the numbers where i want them.
I also do my own versions of things, particularly dessert which i have every night.
Regular cheescake gets subbed for my own homemade protein cheesecake which has better macros and half the calories, and still tastes delicious.
Chocolate pudding/mousse, i sub that for homemade choc/peanut butter sludge.
Regular ice cream, i now get Halotop or a no sugar added icecream, both taste just as good as regular ice cream.
I add a tin of high fibre and protein Black beans in a lot of dishes, they have no taste and go with many things.
Regular pasta- I now buy a high protein/fibre version.
I can't remember the last time we went out to eat or had take away, all my meals are made at home from scratch. I make an effort to have veggies and fruit everyday, which means i can afford the occasional splurge here and there.
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I eat what I want...what I want is pretty varied and includes many healthy foods. I don't eat things because I feel some kind of dietary obligation to do so...I enjoy eating well and generally crave healthy foods...I also like having my pizza on Friday nights and having desert a few nights per week and craft beer.
At this moment I'm eating exactly what I want which is a nice salmon filet with lemon, dill, and capers with quinoa and some steamed broccoli and 1/2 an avocado...1 -
I just had two Gardein chicken strips in a flour tortilla with light mayo and relish and a piece of cornbread on the side. Earlier, I snacked on Tam Tam crackers with low-fat veggie pate. (Basically, a lot of green beans, mushroom, and onion sauted in 1 tsp of oil and then pureed with 1/4 cup of walnuts, water, salt, and pepper). Assuming I work out as usual, I'll have some oranges with brandy and marmalade sauce later. (95 calories to the half-cup serving; there are a lot of low-cal desserts you can make that are basically fruit in syrup/sauce, with or without booze.) If I don't, then I'll skip dessert. Having a vegan version of jambalya tonight, using red kidney beans instead of meat.0
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Well I'm diabetic so naturally I have to cut carbs alot, but I'm not saying I dont eat cakes or cookies or chips or fries, etc. Just moderation and if I know I have an event that has food that I need to limit, I will be strict about what I eat the rest of that day. Moderation and not deprivation is the key.1
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Curious how somebody eats what they don't want...
Come on, surely you've been to a potluck where a friend who'd never cooked before brought their mother's 'famous casserole' that turned out to be '*kitten* on a shingle' and eagerly talked up how much they've looked forward to you trying it and giving your opinion, then would not leave you alone so you could discretely toss it and lie about having taken a bite ...
Oh. Just me, huh?
OP, yes. I fit things like cookies into my diet. Pretty frequently, actually. I'm one of those that does better planning on a small cookie every night instead of a plate of cookies every month.2 -
My goals are to continue to lose weight for a few more pounds, and to eat in a manner that gives me enough protein, carbs and other nutrients to enable me to live the life I want to live. With those parameters in mind, yes - I eat what I want every day.0
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I eat anything that gets me within -200 to 50+ per day. Candy is fine. Alcohol is fine (not before long run day). Veggies are fine. Can't stomach deep fried food though.0
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I do not eat everything I want because I'd be big as a house if I did. Even if I only had one bite, I'd be overeating if I ate everything I want. But I do eat what want most, and everything I eat is something I want. I don't waste calories on things I don't like.0
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Not really! I can at times make things work but for the most part when I want to see results I try and eat what I need and what will be the most beneficial for me. The part of me that does eat what I want, eats food that I cook using ingredients that I like and I don't sub low fat or sugar free things in my diet. If I want Ice Cream it will be real, full fat ice cream although not in the amount that I would like but what does fit.
I think when people say that they forget to add the details, yes I ate a whole pizza by myself - but it was a WW low-fat . . . whatever but someone new to weight loss and calorie counting doesn't necessarily get that.0 -
Yes, kind of, mostly, it usually takes a bit of planning.
I had to get new tires today and there is a chicken restaurant nearby, I knew I really wanted some buffalo chicken wings for lunch.
I really thought about what I was realistically prepared to do the rest of the evening (working late, then headed to yoga class, I will probably have a Greek yogurt and veggies for dinner).
Looked up the nutrition info on the chicken restaurant's website, and calculated what portion of their buffalo chicken finger meal I could fit into my calories for the day.
(Had two chicken tenders, most of the fries, half the ranch dressing, and, if I skipped the coleslaw, I could eat all the Texas toast because I love it too too much.)
On 'normal' days, when I end up with extra calories in the evening I love indulging in a small serving of fancy ice cream or a couple cookies.0 -
Caloriewise? To an extent.
Unless something changes, TMJ will keep me from eating the raw baby carrots I'd want and forces me to stick to softer foods during flare ups.
Money keeps me from eating more seafood.0 -
Gimsteinn1 wrote: »Nope.. If I did this would be my life:
Shouldn't laugh but .. Lmao! This *kitten* is funny.
And yes, I do largely eat what I feel. However if I know a particular cookie of such is likely to cause me to surpass my caloric allotment due to my love for them, I'll peacefully do without it.0 -
Something else that is missed is that we all follow up "I eat whatever I want" WITH "if it fits our calories and macros". There are things I'd love to have, but they don't fit. If it don't fit don't force it.0
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Uh.. I just finished making 45 chocolate chip cookies.. and I ate one. It fits into my plan, so hooray!
But mostly, yes. I just have to make sure I know it's going to occur so I can look at my "plan" for the day, if you will.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »The stuff we "eat whatever we want" folks are eating is important, but equally important is the stuff we're *not* eating.
Well, there is that. Knowing that we'll want to fit certain foods into our calorie limits usually means that we have to choose not to eat other foods, to ensure that we can. Am I going to want that piece of cake my sister-in-law made and is saving for me? Then I'd better not have that chocolate earlier in the day. (Even if, on other days, that chocolate will fit in perfectly well.)
The point of the question is usually if there are any foods that MUST be avoided if we're to lose weight. Even if we're in a calorie deficit, will anything make us gain? The real answer to that is no, but that doesn't mean we don't have to make choices once in a while.1 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »joemac1988 wrote: »
. I eat clean enough to hit my macros and "dirty" enough to retain my sanity and enjoy life.rikkejanell2014 wrote: »If it fits into your calories like cookies, chips, ect:? I don't mean every day obviously.
I'm using this answer from now on.
Agreed. Perfect description.2 -
Absolutely. Ice cream makes the world go 'round.0
This discussion has been closed.
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