Which is more important to you: Quality or quantity?

Quantity. I eats loads of veggies - and bulk up everything with more veggies - and have a salad - and more veggies, leaner meats, occasionally fruits/yogurts. I also eat a fair amount of beans/lentils which are a little higher in calories but pack a ton of fiber which, along with a decent volume of food, helps me feel full more than protein and fat. I tend not to eat a lot of bread or pasta because I’d prefer to use those calories on more meat or just plain more food (I don’t find bread or pasta particularly satiating).

As for the “good” stuff-I am training for a marathon and have one long run a week that in currently in the neighborhood of 20 miles and burns about 2000 calories. I have my “good” food on this day because 1. I’m ravenous after a long run and 2. With the extra calorie burn, I can eat foods that I find satiating and properly fuel me AND have a donut that is really tasty but leaves me hungry again 7 minutes later.

I started out with a preference for quantity. My former fat self was a volume eater and that's what I was used to so that's what I continued with up until the 60 pound loss mark or so. Then I started noticing that I was feeling satisfied by "normal" sized portions. I didn't adjust my portion sizes intentionally, but I did realize that I was naturally moderating myself and felt satisfied before I finished eating something. So now I'm not really eating the lower calorie volume foods (tons of vegetables, shirataki noodles, etc.) to bulk up my meals anymore. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe my appetite adjusted itself with the needs of my smaller body.

Right now .. quality. I will save calories for a decadent meal or wine. I will eat sad low calorie things all day to indulge later. I go through phases.. I sometimes like high volume, but this time around it's about quality and hitting my protein goal.

Quality most days. Most days I don't snack much and I can get by with lower calorie breakfast and lunch so that I can eat whatever I want for dinner or dessert. There are a few days per month, however, where I feel hungry constantly and I choose quantity over quality on those days.

Both. My food needs to taste good and there is no reason the two should be mutually exclusive. In my case, personally, the "really good stuff" fall on a large spectrum calorically from the very low to the very high.

I handle food differently according to function.

- If I'm hungry, volume becomes my main focus, but you'll never catch me bulking up the volume with foods I don't care for or eating a modified version of something trying to convince myself it's the real thing. For example, I only eat zucchini noodles when I specifically want zucchini noodles. If I want pasta, then pasta is what I'll have, and there are many lower calories pasta variations that I really like.

- If I'm simply eating for the sake of enjoyment, not to satisfy hunger, quality becomes my main focus, but I have the smallest amount that truly satisfies me mentally and not a gram smaller. For example, a scoop of ice cream is enough to satisfy me so I can have that more often if I want to, but a tiny sliver of cheesecake wouldn't do - I need at least 400-500 calories of that to feel mentally satisfied, so I just have that less often.

I am a bit of both. I love a range of vegetables which helps so eating huge salads gives me some quality food to go with it. Right now I am eating a 4 servings worth of salad with balsamic vinegar vinegar and some yummy frittata on the side.

kommodevaran wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

Interesting questions. The volumetrics camp has a large propaganda machinery I often cringe when I read stuff like "fill you up", "stave off hunger", "lean protein". I feel satiety in body and mind, not just in stomach. I can't personally live off cake and candy, but as long as what I eat is varied and nutrient dense, I don't shy away from grains and tubers, fatty meat and fish, nuts and seeds, whole milk and full fat cheese, butter and oil. I eat only moderate portions of vegetables and fruit, but several times per day and every day.

I used to be a quantity person, but vegetables wasn't what I craved, so I was overweight.

I feel closest to the quality camp now. To avoid overeating, I choose the treats I like and want most, and savour it, and I don't buy more than I can moderate.

Some people truly do need volume to feel satiety in body and mind, so bulking up on vegetables or eating leaner protein is one way to make weight loss achievable. Imagine yourself eating a single cherry for dinner, that's how I feel if I don't get enough volume in my meals. If I ate only moderate portions of vegetables and fruits I would be constantly hungry, and I mean real gnawing hunger. This one is easy for me, though, because I like fruits and vegetables so eating more of them is something I welcome, not force myself to do.

I'm grateful you shared how it feels, it was a good description, easy to understand even for someone who feels differently.

Doesn't mean I never eat high fat foods, it just means when I do I brace for a larger calorie hit than usual, like my breakfast today.

I go back and forth - I like to eat popcorn at night because I can eat a bunch of it and satisfy that need to munch I get sometimes. I like hearty at lunch - I find that if it doesn't have a warm element I'm not satisfied, so often I will have coffee or tea with lunch.

Similarly to DomesticKat, I'm at about 70lbs down and am noticing that it takes a lot less to make me feel satisfied than it did before. My husband is freaking out because he thinks I am starving myself but I'm quite content. I also have to say there is something for using salad plates!

Depends on what I'm eating, but typically going with quality over quantity.

I'd prefer to have a smaller portion of real decadent custard than a larger portion of ice milk.

stfpa wrote: »

Do you need a lot of food in order to be successful or a smaller amount of food that tastes great? (I know you can have quality and quantity at the same time, but let’s be honest, the really good stuff has a ton of calories)

If you’re a quantity person, what are some of the lower calorie things you eat?
If you’re a quality person, how do you feel satiated with a small amount of food? What do you do to avoid overeating?

quality...but that has nothing to do with the amount I would eat. I can easily eat 1/2 a medium pizza from my favorite local pizzeria...very hi quality. I could easily eat a slice or forgo completely something like pizza hut or papa john's.

Also, a lot of the things I believe to be the "really good" stuff isn't super high calories. One of my favorite dinners is an Asian inspired seared tuna steak salad...it's awesome, and not particularly high in calories.

See I feel like I can balance both. I could lose weight faster by cutting more calories but that would just leave me hungry and feeling deprived. Instead, I eat more (smaller cut in calories) and lose a little slower. To me it is totally worth the trade-off.

Quality for me. I've never been a volume eater. I can eat a huge bowl of vegetables and end up with a tummy ache, but still hungry. A slice or two of full-fat cheese will satisfy me.

Quantity on most during day, so I can get some quality stuff in there on remaining calories.

I blame mom for burning out taste-buds (hey, not just me, dad's semi-joke), so for the most part of meals I can easily get by with same boring stuff no problem.
Allowing something I appreciate some part of the day, or week.

Mostly quantity. I want to enjoy my meal, and I don't usually enjoy salads. But sometimes I'll "force" quality because something is healthier, e.g. carrots/celery over fries (while I'm eating my greasy chicken wings ).