Food as Fuel
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amy19355
Posts: 805 Member
The subject line "Food as Fuel" is a topic near and dear to the root of my personal success. I'm sharing it for however it might be useful to others who are on the journey of good nutrition.
I think of my physical self as an engine, not unlike a mechanical engine in a motorized vehicle.
Foods are equivalent to gas, oil and other fluids.
In practical application of this idea, it means I evaluate the needs of my engine (body and mind) and feed myself according to need. The corollary to this is that if I am not using my body or mind, I don't need to be eating food. (watching tv I don't count as mind-use).
I think of consuming food as an "eating event", and liken it to gassing up my car.
My desired macros are portioned in a balanced way at each eating event, for the purpose of not ending up with weird 'holes' in my daily nutrition and having to eat nothing but fat for dinner.
The upside of removing some food items from my menu has been no more heartburn or acid reflux (none at all!) which leads to better sleeping and a steadier energy level during the day.
Some of the things I've almost entirely eliminated from my diet because they provide so little benefit over a short time frame: beer, alcohol, added sugars/honey, artificial sweeteners of any kind including plant based extracts, bread products, crackers, and chips, most dairy (except yogurt and hard cheeses).
Some might consider my menu somewhat boring and repetitive; and I'd be inclined to agree since chicken, rice and beans, grits and oatmeal, sweet potatoes, plus some kind of green veggies are the everyday staples. My variety comes from spices and seasonings. On the other hand, to pick back up on the car analogy, my car doesn't much care that the gas from one brand to another isn't much different, but the car keeps going strong.
In the last month or so, I'm able to walk down the cookie aisle at the grocery and not be tempted at all by the shiny sugary sweets. There is an unopened container of ice cream in my freezer that doesn't say a word to me. I got such a belly ache from the last piece of pie I allowed myself that I can't even look at pie with any interest.
The longer I go on feeling good from the food I am eating, it is easier and easier to skip over even the hint of a craving for something that isn't fuel-worthly.
I'm an all or nothing kind of gal, meaning I don't do well moderating myself, and for this reason I believe the Food as Fuel concept works really well for me.
Good fitness to us all!
Amyfb
I think of my physical self as an engine, not unlike a mechanical engine in a motorized vehicle.
Foods are equivalent to gas, oil and other fluids.
In practical application of this idea, it means I evaluate the needs of my engine (body and mind) and feed myself according to need. The corollary to this is that if I am not using my body or mind, I don't need to be eating food. (watching tv I don't count as mind-use).
I think of consuming food as an "eating event", and liken it to gassing up my car.
My desired macros are portioned in a balanced way at each eating event, for the purpose of not ending up with weird 'holes' in my daily nutrition and having to eat nothing but fat for dinner.
The upside of removing some food items from my menu has been no more heartburn or acid reflux (none at all!) which leads to better sleeping and a steadier energy level during the day.
Some of the things I've almost entirely eliminated from my diet because they provide so little benefit over a short time frame: beer, alcohol, added sugars/honey, artificial sweeteners of any kind including plant based extracts, bread products, crackers, and chips, most dairy (except yogurt and hard cheeses).
Some might consider my menu somewhat boring and repetitive; and I'd be inclined to agree since chicken, rice and beans, grits and oatmeal, sweet potatoes, plus some kind of green veggies are the everyday staples. My variety comes from spices and seasonings. On the other hand, to pick back up on the car analogy, my car doesn't much care that the gas from one brand to another isn't much different, but the car keeps going strong.
In the last month or so, I'm able to walk down the cookie aisle at the grocery and not be tempted at all by the shiny sugary sweets. There is an unopened container of ice cream in my freezer that doesn't say a word to me. I got such a belly ache from the last piece of pie I allowed myself that I can't even look at pie with any interest.
The longer I go on feeling good from the food I am eating, it is easier and easier to skip over even the hint of a craving for something that isn't fuel-worthly.
I'm an all or nothing kind of gal, meaning I don't do well moderating myself, and for this reason I believe the Food as Fuel concept works really well for me.
Good fitness to us all!
Amyfb
20
Replies
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This strikes me as absolutely joyless, but people vary. I'm glad you've found something that works well for you.28
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janejellyroll wrote: »This strikes me as absolutely joyless, but people vary. I'm glad you've found something that works well for you.
That's the word I was looking for, but couldn't find it...13 -
This would make me sad. I prefer to eat 80-ish% "healthy" and 20-ish% "dirty". Mentally healthy is important, too, and chocolate and ice cream make me happy.23
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janejellyroll wrote: »This strikes me as absolutely joyless, but people vary. I'm glad you've found something that works well for you.
I agree 100%. I fuel my workouts for sure, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the rest of the food I eat. Balance is definitely the key for me, and what has made my progression sustainable.10 -
janejellyroll wrote: »This strikes me as absolutely joyless, but people vary. I'm glad you've found something that works well for you.
I totally get that reaction - it's absolutely not for everyone.
In my personal struggles with food and weight over the years, I have struggled with negative concepts like cheating, or being bad, or suchlike. It upsets me to find myself feeling guilty , or , requiring permission to behave poorly. Many posts in the community talk about tips or challenges in dealing with cravings for certain foods, sugar/sweets being the one that floats to the top in almost every case.
As stated in my OP, with an all or nothing kind of personality such as I possess, there is no room for "just a couple pieces of candy corn". Today, a couple of pieces of candy corn would make me feel unwell, but a couple dried apricots would seem like the sweetest thing on planet earth.
I am often surprised, and others find it hard to believe, how very much I enjoy a bowl of corn grits with two soft fried eggs stirred into it. (guilty pleasure - I lick bowls clean)
The joy that comes from eating differs for each of us, as you already noted.
good fitness to us all, however we find it on our personal journey.
amyfb
5 -
Why can't ice cream be fuel? It has carbs, fats and protein. I just don't get the need to restrict this kind of item in an appropriate dose and in the context of an overall healthy diet.20
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Why can't ice cream be fuel? It has carbs, fats and protein. I just don't get the need to restrict this kind of item in an appropriate dose and in the context of an overall healthy diet.
The reason for ME is two-fold: balanced eating events, and, I'm not going to eat 250 + calories (1 cup of ice cream) of mostly sugar for any reason. Less would be a flat-out tease that would annoy me, and more would be the likely effect of having any at all.
YMMV.13 -
The subject line "Food as Fuel" is a topic near and dear to the root of my personal success. I'm sharing it for however it might be useful to others who are on the journey of good nutrition.
I think of my physical self as an engine, not unlike a mechanical engine in a motorized vehicle.
Foods are equivalent to gas, oil and other fluids.
In practical application of this idea, it means I evaluate the needs of my engine (body and mind) and feed myself according to need. The corollary to this is that if I am not using my body or mind, I don't need to be eating food. (watching tv I don't count as mind-use).
I think of consuming food as an "eating event", and liken it to gassing up my car.
My desired macros are portioned in a balanced way at each eating event, for the purpose of not ending up with weird 'holes' in my daily nutrition and having to eat nothing but fat for dinner.
The upside of removing some food items from my menu has been no more heartburn or acid reflux (none at all!) which leads to better sleeping and a steadier energy level during the day.
Some of the things I've almost entirely eliminated from my diet because they provide so little benefit over a short time frame: beer, alcohol, added sugars/honey, artificial sweeteners of any kind including plant based extracts, bread products, crackers, and chips, most dairy (except yogurt and hard cheeses).
Some might consider my menu somewhat boring and repetitive; and I'd be inclined to agree since chicken, rice and beans, grits and oatmeal, sweet potatoes, plus some kind of green veggies are the everyday staples. My variety comes from spices and seasonings. On the other hand, to pick back up on the car analogy, my car doesn't much care that the gas from one brand to another isn't much different, but the car keeps going strong.
In the last month or so, I'm able to walk down the cookie aisle at the grocery and not be tempted at all by the shiny sugary sweets. There is an unopened container of ice cream in my freezer that doesn't say a word to me. I got such a belly ache from the last piece of pie I allowed myself that I can't even look at pie with any interest.
The longer I go on feeling good from the food I am eating, it is easier and easier to skip over even the hint of a craving for something that isn't fuel-worthly.
I'm an all or nothing kind of gal, meaning I don't do well moderating myself, and for this reason I believe the Food as Fuel concept works really well for me.
Good fitness to us all!
Amyfb
Uhhh... can't it be fuel with a little fun mixed in? Hmmmm.. I was all or nothing once, then came to realize, its nearly impossible to sustain long term. Call me soft I guess...🤔
*edit* I am all for a diet full of whole foods, but come on...9 -
Why can't ice cream be fuel? It has carbs, fats and protein. I just don't get the need to restrict this kind of item in an appropriate dose and in the context of an overall healthy diet.
The reason for ME is two-fold: balanced eating events, and, I'm not going to eat 250 + calories (1 cup of ice cream) of mostly sugar for any reason. Less would be a flat-out tease that would annoy me, and more would be the likely effect of having any at all.
YMMV.
Enjoyment would be a reason. So that not all food is required to be looked at as just fuel.
10 -
The car metaphor is nice until you consider your car isn't sentient.20
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »The car metaphor is nice until you consider your car isn't sentient.
...and humans aren't machines, and don't function like them.12 -
Why can't ice cream be fuel? It has carbs, fats and protein. I just don't get the need to restrict this kind of item in an appropriate dose and in the context of an overall healthy diet.
The reason for ME is two-fold: balanced eating events, and, I'm not going to eat 250 + calories (1 cup of ice cream) of mostly sugar for any reason. Less would be a flat-out tease that would annoy me, and more would be the likely effect of having any at all.
YMMV.
Oh.... not meaning to be a complete douche, the sugar you get from the fruit you eat gets treated just like the sugar in ice cream.... noticed I stated, "complete douch." Honestly I am one soo.. well.....🙋♂️12 -
If I am a car, then I am a Ferrari and my fuel would be all the food in Italy
16 -
We had pizza and a sundae bar at work today. I did an hour on the ARCTrainer and a little circuit training early this morning and had a banana for breakfast, though it ended up augmented by a donut (also part of the office celebration). I fueled up to the tune of ~1100 calories for lunch. I will eat a light dinner (Sea Pak shrimp spring rolls; 227 calories for 4), still manage another snack and end up in deficit; I am in maintenance but want to be a little lower in my range. Anyway, it was a fun social thing besides being delicious. I turn down a lot of treats and whatnot at the office but I like to join in sometimes.1 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »The car metaphor is nice until you consider your car isn't sentient.
...and humans aren't machines, and don't function like them.
I love analogies for explaining difficult concepts people have trouble understanding using things most people do understand. When people start using them to explain something no one is confused about to start with, it seems like they are muddying the water to make their point seem more reasonable.7 -
I wish I could look at food as fuel. My food bill would be small and I'd be at a weight with loose skin instead of hanging flab.8
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »The car metaphor is nice until you consider your car isn't sentient.MelanieCN77 wrote: »The car metaphor is nice until you consider your car isn't sentient.
...and humans aren't machines, and don't function like them.
I don't know. I get your points, but I think OP's analogy is a lot better than the anthropomorphizing you see so often that attributes sentience to parts of your body other than your brain, so that it is susceptible to being "fooled" or "confused" by various dieting tactics.3 -
Curious. How long have you been at this particular thought exercise?6
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My meals have a pattern of foods which I eat frequently. For example a protein and two veggies or a big salad or eggs and fixings. Most people would think it’s super boring
However, I only eat food that I love.
When I bite into my food I go mmmmm5
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