Are you guilty?
livingleanlivingclean
Posts: 11,751 Member
I thought this was a great article for those getting in to health/fitness, perhaps those starting to be more mindful about food choices in their diet.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/guilt-free-foods-give-us-a-break/2018/03/27/158c12ac-2bc6-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.aca02b68de05
It's easy to get in to a mindset of good and bad food, and thinking we need to be "perfect" to succeed. For me, this mentality made me extremely unhealthy (mentally and physically) and I may have lost a lot of weight, but I also lost a lot of other things (friends included).
Stopping the negative food associations and feelings of guilt was the best habit I was able to let go of!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/guilt-free-foods-give-us-a-break/2018/03/27/158c12ac-2bc6-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.aca02b68de05
It's easy to get in to a mindset of good and bad food, and thinking we need to be "perfect" to succeed. For me, this mentality made me extremely unhealthy (mentally and physically) and I may have lost a lot of weight, but I also lost a lot of other things (friends included).
Stopping the negative food associations and feelings of guilt was the best habit I was able to let go of!
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Replies
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Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
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Thanks for the share. It is so easy to label as good and bad and then feel guilt for eating bad food. Health is about physical health and mental health. We need to look after both.1
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We need to be honest about what we’re eating and why. Our worth does not depend on what we choose to eat.
I love this sentence from the articles. It was probably the hardest lesson I've learned in the past 2 years. It's okay to eat that piece of left over cake for breakfast. It's neither good nor bad. It just is. But I shouldn't be lying to myself about it simple because it was made with a super fancy type of sugar.
Thanks for that link!
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Thanks for sharing
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ThinGoldLineNS wrote: »Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
That's pretty much the opposite pf what the article is saying you should do, but nice try.
Honestly though, I see what the article is trying to say, but that's not a mindset that most people can easily reach - I mean, sure, I enjoyed my cookies and ice cream while I was losing, but nowadays it's hard not to feel guilty about using 200 calories on something that isn't going to fill me up, considering that I'm always hungry.12 -
I hope everyone gets to the point where, if it fits the calorie goal, it can be eaten, guilt free. It’s very liberating. I’m only focused on calories. I eat cake, I eat chocolate practically every evening (and not just a square or two), but I make sure it fits my goal and will sacrifice it if I’m particularly hungry earlier in the day, likewise will sacrifice an uninspiring lunch, if I’m not particularly hungry, for something tastier later. Sending love xx7
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Thanks for sharing that article.
I have never felt guilty for eating something because of what it was.3 -
I don't feel guilty either but there are times that I regret it later. I think pre-logging definitely helps and making sure that you
have the day covered.3 -
ThinGoldLineNS wrote: »Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
That's pretty much the opposite pf what the article is saying you should do, but nice try.
Honestly though, I see what the article is trying to say, but that's not a mindset that most people can easily reach - I mean, sure, I enjoyed my cookies and ice cream while I was losing, but nowadays it's hard not to feel guilty about using 200 calories on something that isn't going to fill me up, considering that I'm always hungry.
Right, the cookies fit in my calorie goal, but don't fill me up, so I'm hungry, and don't like to go to bed hungry, cuz I will wake up in the middle of the night hungry, which will mess up my sleep and thus the next day, so I exceed my calorie goal before bed to prevent that, and if I do this enough, not only will I not lose weight, but I will gain weight.
Better to just not eat the cookies unless I've earned a lot of extra exercise calories and can truly afford them.2 -
Super excited to have a child free night last night with some extra calories to fill at the end of the night. It was lovely to enjoy a special "mama treat" aka a couple of drinks, to close out the day. Guilt free.1
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Scientifically, the difference between HFCS and agave is less than you might think and HFCS might be healthier:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/agave-nectar-is-even-worse-than-sugar
But the marketing/labelling makes agave seem like a much better choice.
Sometimes I think I have too much sugar and too many treats but I hit my macros pretty consistently, log everything and don't cheat.
EDIT - This doesn't mean I don't treat my treats differently. I just had a single soft Chips Ahoy and it took me a few minutes to eat it in small bites, setting it down in between bites. I eat chocolate covered raisins one at a time. I would absolutely feel some guilt if I binged like I used to.1 -
I used to be before I started following flexible dieting and the 80/20 suggestion
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It was paywalled for me since I've read my quota of WaPo articles for the month, but from your post, I get the gist of it, and agree.
I think some posters here are missing something valuable to learn about life in general. Mistakes are opportunities to learn.
So if you've find you've made a choice you've come to regret, learn from it, embrace it for the opportunity it was and be thankful you learned the lesson, and move on with a positive outlook and resolve. And with that game plan, let go.5 -
Not to be too much of a softy, but it really makes me sad that some people feel guilty for the food that they eat. I’m guessing that this is something that people who’ve struggled with their weight can feel if they’ve been shamed for their weight problem (from either within or without) that it’s their fault they’re fat for eating junk food/desserts/etc. It’s not what’s eaten that causes weight gain, it’s excess calories (as we all know here!
). I’ve known people, my mom included, who ate 80% “clean” (bc that’s the type of food she liked and valued) but still struggled with their weight bc calories. My mom was knowledgeable about CICO long before I was born. She knew her struggle was due to excess calories, so I was never raised with the myth that certain types of foods make you fat or thin. Food selection is more about nutrition and personal satiety.
I recall my mom feeling bad about herself for having “too big” an appetite. Her mom would sometimes tease her for how much she needed to eat to feel full. It’s not even that my mom ate much, objectively speaking. It’s just that she was really short and only lightly active so needed few calories. Her mom was even shorter but had a tiny appetite and ate what was probably only 1000-1200 calories a day.
Guilt and shame around food makes me sad.7 -
ThinGoldLineNS wrote: »Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
So did you not read the article, or was this meant to be ironic?
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I'm a firm believer that removing morality from eating is a big step towards a healthy relationship with food. Especially for women, I think there is so much shame around what we choose to eat, how much we eat, and how it's reflected in all the judgement on our bodies.
I often get remarks from other women at the office when I come back from lunch with a fast food cup that they would feel guilty if they "indulged" like I do, and that I'm so "blessed" that I can remain slim while indulging so much.
So many people end up accepting obesity as their fate because they aren't "strong" enough to eat whatever they've been convinced is the right way, and that really is sad.7 -
kshama2001 wrote: »ThinGoldLineNS wrote: »Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
That's pretty much the opposite pf what the article is saying you should do, but nice try.
Honestly though, I see what the article is trying to say, but that's not a mindset that most people can easily reach - I mean, sure, I enjoyed my cookies and ice cream while I was losing, but nowadays it's hard not to feel guilty about using 200 calories on something that isn't going to fill me up, considering that I'm always hungry.
Right, the cookies fit in my calorie goal, but don't fill me up, so I'm hungry, and don't like to go to bed hungry, cuz I will wake up in the middle of the night hungry, which will mess up my sleep and thus the next day, so I exceed my calorie goal before bed to prevent that, and if I do this enough, not only will I not lose weight, but I will gain weight.
Better to just not eat the cookies unless I've earned a lot of extra exercise calories and can truly afford them.
Food’s impact on satiety is something my mom didn’t pay attention to until late in life. She spent decades stuggling to adhere to her healthy weight’s calorie level. To her, being a healthy weight meant being disciplined with calories. It’s like she took for granted that a “balanced diet” with all food groups at most meals was the right way to eat, and that if she felt hungry when eating like that, it was bc she had too big an appetite. It wasn’t until she was in her 50’s that she noticed that a breakfast of scrambled eggs prepared with butter kept her very full for many hours and made it *signficantly* easier for her to eat at her healthy weight’s calorie level. She lost and maintained until her death about 10 years later (ALS).
That’s why I at times find the CICO chorus a little dangerous for newbies when personal satiety isn’t emphasized. Although CICO is the science of weight, what we eat can be so important for individuals’ success at eating fewer calories. Macros don’t seem to matter for many people in terms of satiety, but for some it’s night and day.
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I'm a firm believer that removing morality from eating is a big step towards a healthy relationship with food. Especially for women, I think there is so much shame around what we choose to eat, how much we eat, and how it's reflected in all the judgement on our bodies.
I often get remarks from other women at the office when I come back from lunch with a fast food cup that they would feel guilty if they "indulged" like I do, and that I'm so "blessed" that I can remain slim while indulging so much.
So many people end up accepting obesity as their fate because they aren't "strong" enough to eat whatever they've been convinced is the right way, and that really is sad.
So well said!1 -
I think most people just eat. They don’t even consider calories or if it’s “good for you” or if it’s “ fattening “ or whatever. That’s why we see so many overweight people. If anything their hearing kittens from their doctor or family members or a commercial is telling them they should pay attention to what to eat. I see people eat like theirs no tomorrow. We here on MFP keep track of our calories and try to either keep our weight in maintenance or out trying to cut some pounds and think everyone else is trying to do the same. I do t think they are, or they even care. I see couples walking together hand in hand both could loose some weight but smiling and eating ice cream. They don’t seem unhappy.0
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This is a great article thanks for sharing. I can totally relate. Before mfp and when doing other diets, food I enjoy such as chocolate cake etc was always considered bad food so I would feel bad if I consumed such food which would completely throw me off the diet and I'd gain weight. Now I eat everything and don't feel bad when I eat my chocolate etc on a daily basis.1
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ThinGoldLineNS wrote: »Another reason why I've switched to a whole foods, plant based lifestyle. I know where my food is coming from and what's in it.
As in the farm where your produce was grown and who distributed it? I mean that's totally possible, but that's just as possible if you're eating meat as well. I don't see what a "plant based lifestyle" has to do with that.1 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »I thought this was a great article for those getting in to health/fitness, perhaps those starting to be more mindful about food choices in their diet.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/guilt-free-foods-give-us-a-break/2018/03/27/158c12ac-2bc6-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.aca02b68de05
It's easy to get in to a mindset of good and bad food, and thinking we need to be "perfect" to succeed. For me, this mentality made me extremely unhealthy (mentally and physically) and I may have lost a lot of weight, but I also lost a lot of other things (friends included).
Stopping the negative food associations and feelings of guilt was the best habit I was able to let go of!
We just got back from a 100 mile off-road ride. I ate pulled pork nachos, a cheeseburger and fries for lunch. I regret nothing!
I eat the exact same things I've always eaten - just less of some and more of others. I consider nothing off-limits.6 -
Guilt-free labeling = "Now with 70% reduced happiness!"
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The "crime" I feel when I eat something "unhealthy" is if it causes me to have taken in too much of something like fat, sodium, etc because I feel like I'm just hurting my body and health. It's like a crime to myself lmao5
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