Resisting gourmet food
82EC
Posts: 123 Member
Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
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Replies
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Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
It's called adulting.
Either reduce the portion amounts, choose menu items that are naturally less caloric (but still yummy) or simply avoid those places unless it's for a special treat or occasion. Allow room in your calorie 'budget' by cutting back in other areas that day, giving yourself more calorie 'wiggle room.'
Either way, log everything you eat. Your food diary and your weight will tell you the truth.
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Define gourmet food. Gourmet doesn't have to mean high calorie. Additionally, if you're cooking, there are ways to make what you're cooking have fewer calories.12
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I think one idea (maybe not right for everyone) is to limit yourself to x number of times per week that you will visit these places. For example, going to the market once a week and to one of the great restaurants once a week, or twice a month, or whatever works for you. Especially if you find yourself going to these places too frequently out of habit and they're becoming a part of your routine and leading to overeating/going over your calorie goals. I know for me this is a helpful way to stay within my goals. I typically eat out 2 times per week and look forward to it more because it's not an option in my mind for every day.3
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Try to duplicate recipes at home using healthy ingredients. Easy peasy. ☺2
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What is gourmet food for you? For me, a market sells fresh fruits and veggies, there are usually a few butchers and 1-2 fish mongers. Oh, and a few people are selling crappy cheap clothes and mobile phone things.1
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One of the freeing parts about my weight loss journey was learning that I don't have to sacrifice taste for weight loss. Weight loss doesn't have to be about eating a bunch of raw kale salads. There are plenty of ways to make delicious tasting dishes and have them fit into your calorie goals. There are a million websites out there with recipes for meals that taste good and fit within your calorie goals. You can always make additional substitutions of ingredients to reduce calorie content if needed.
Since you like to cook, this should be a good fit for you. My wife and I have made many fo the most delicious meals we've ever cooked during weight loss.
As far as the other food you like that are made by others? You don't have to completely cut it out. Weight loss is about moderation, not exclusion. So you may not be able to have it as often or in as large a portion anymore, but you can still have it.
We diet to live, not live to diet, and enjoyment of food and losing weight are not mutually exclusive.5 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »I think one idea (maybe not right for everyone) is to limit yourself to x number of times per week that you will visit these places. For example, going to the market once a week and to one of the great restaurants once a week, or twice a month, or whatever works for you. Especially if you find yourself going to these places too frequently out of habit and they're becoming a part of your routine and leading to overeating/going over your calorie goals. I know for me this is a helpful way to stay within my goals. I typically eat out 2 times per week and look forward to it more because it's not an option in my mind for every day.
This is essentially it for my wife and I. Allowing myself to enjoy what I do by having what I want to, but responsibly, makes the rest of the time much easier to handle.
In fairness, gourmet is driven by personal preference. I don't care who rates what what, if I don't like it then I don't like it. How that fits in is that food is food and food has calories. If I eat enough food to meet my goals, but not enough to go over on daily (or weekly if you choose) goals, then there's no issue.1 -
Fit it into your deficit and enjoy!3
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Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
This is me all over, we go to restaurants as a hobby. Havent been for a couple of months now (well even that isnt true) because its difficult. We normally have quite a lot of food to ensure we've eaten enough to sample most things. Cant do that anymore.0 -
One of the freeing parts about my weight loss journey was learning that I don't have to sacrifice taste for weight loss. [b][/b]Weight loss doesn't have to be about eating a bunch of raw kale salads. [/. i]There are plenty of ways to make delicious tasting dishes and have them fit into your calorie goals. There are a million websites out there with recipes for meals that taste good and fit within your calorie goals. You can always make additional substitutions of ingredients to reduce calorie content if needed.
Since you like to cook, this should be a good fit for you. My wife and I have made many fo the most delicious meals we've ever cooked during weight loss.
As far as the other food you like that are made by others? You don't have to completely cut it out. Weight loss is about moderation, not exclusion. So you may not be able to have it as often or in as large a portion anymore, but you can still have it.
We diet to live, not live to diet, and enjoyment of food and losing weight are not mutually exclusive.
One of my favorite foods is raw kale salad. Lol1 -
I like everything I eat but there are foods that I consider to more of a treat or an indulgence. If I indulged all the time it would just be eating normal and no longer something special.2
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Cook healthier things with good ingredients. Tonight I made a chicken/walnut/pomegranate stew. Ate it (weirdly) with potato bread and goat cheese. Was amazingly delicious and 600 calories, which fit in just fine with my goals.
I live within walking distance to a Saturday market. Me and my husband go there and get one thing of choice from the stall. Today we split 4 mini filled donuts. Came out to like half the size of a krispy kreme filled donut, so that's what I logged it as.
There are plenty of ways to make it work. Moderation, making good choices, saving up for the treat. It's what you'd need to do at maintenance anyway so might as well start now!2 -
I’m also a self proclaimed foodie. I watch cooking documentaries while exercising on the rowing machine😂. I’m currently experimenting with eating less meals so that I can budget more calories per meal. Instead of 5-6 mini meals, I eat 2 fuller meals and 1 snack.0
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corinasue1143 wrote: »One of the freeing parts about my weight loss journey was learning that I don't have to sacrifice taste for weight loss. [b][/b]Weight loss doesn't have to be about eating a bunch of raw kale salads. [/. i]There are plenty of ways to make delicious tasting dishes and have them fit into your calorie goals. There are a million websites out there with recipes for meals that taste good and fit within your calorie goals. You can always make additional substitutions of ingredients to reduce calorie content if needed.
Since you like to cook, this should be a good fit for you. My wife and I have made many fo the most delicious meals we've ever cooked during weight loss.
As far as the other food you like that are made by others? You don't have to completely cut it out. Weight loss is about moderation, not exclusion. So you may not be able to have it as often or in as large a portion anymore, but you can still have it.
We diet to live, not live to diet, and enjoyment of food and losing weight are not mutually exclusive.
One of my favorite foods is raw kale salad. Lol
Then you're a step ahead of the game . My point wasn't to hate on it, or think it can't be delicious for some people, but I think that a lot of people have a certain idea in their head of what "healthy" food is, and they feel like they need to eat that food, even if they don't really enjoy it. When in reality there is an awful lot that can be part of a healthy and calorie control diet, and people shouldn't have to give up enjoying food to have one. 2 -
Agreed.0
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For me gourmet means more variety and higher quality food, like instead of just cheddar and processed cheese in the supermarket, the chance to get Red Leicester, goats cheese, good quality Brie, Camembert etc. At my local Woolworths the feta cheese tasted bad so I stopped buying it, until I discovered the market down the road that sells delicious feta cheese. I don’t have much room in my calorie budget for indulgences but I have been going over because I’m finding the delicious gourmet food hard to resist.
Can you drop your rate of loss and give yourself a higher daily goal? What about banking calories and having your indulgences less often?0 -
Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
I stick to my calorie goals by choosing a variety of delicious things everyday in combinations and amounts that hit my nutritional and caloric goals. There are so many delicious things, and many of them are things that naturally fit easily within a reasonable caloric goal. A well-made burger topped with veggies and even a sane amount of good cheese. Grilled fish. Seasonal fruits and veggies, cooked (or raw) in a zillion different ways. Fresh-ground, well-brewed coffee. Cracked green olives. Lebneh. Eggs. Savory kefir or yogurt drinks. Chocolate. Lentil soup.
I'd suggest thinking of your calorie goal as a budget, and ask yourself, "How many delicious things that I love can I fit into my budget in this meal/today/this week?" and "Which delicious thing(s) that I can't fit into my budget into this meal/today/this week will I work into my budget for my next meal/tomorrow/next week?"
Even if I weren't trying to hit calorie goals, there are physical limits to what I can eat in a meal/in a day/in a week, and all the delicious foods can't fit within those physical limits for any given meal/day/week.2 -
Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
Today I stuck to my calorie goals with a ton of produce. Grapes, strawberries, vegetarian Hawaiian pizza, roasted asparagus, spring mix salad.
Also ice cream.
It was awesome.
As far as restaurants go, I save calories during the week if I want a big meal on the weekend. I usually only eat out once a week, maybe twice if I’m training for something and have the extra calories.3 -
Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
Today I stuck to my calorie goals with a ton of produce. Grapes, strawberries, vegetarian Hawaiian pizza, roasted asparagus, spring mix salad.
Also ice cream.
It was awesome.
As far as restaurants go, I save calories during the week if I want a big meal on the weekend. I usually only eat out once a week, maybe twice if I’m training for something and have the extra calories.
Vegetarian Hawaiian Pizza.... isn’t that just pineapple pizza?1 -
For me gourmet means more variety and higher quality food, like instead of just cheddar and processed cheese in the supermarket, the chance to get Red Leicester, goats cheese, good quality Brie, Camembert etc. At my local Woolworths the feta cheese tasted bad so I stopped buying it, until I discovered the market down the road that sells delicious feta cheese. I don’t have much room in my calorie budget for indulgences but I have been going over because I’m finding the delicious gourmet food hard to resist.
Could you incorporate it into your dinner/other meals in smaller amounts instead of just snacking on it? For goats cheese for example:
Yesterday I cooked Orzo pasta in a white wine reduction and added pre-cooked beetroots, added a bit of mild goats cheese in the end. Then served everything with that goats cheese, smoked salmon and avocado. Lots of deliciousness in one bowl, not going over my calories, total cooking/serving time less than 30 minutes. This is what it looked like:
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For me gourmet means more variety and higher quality food, like instead of just cheddar and processed cheese in the supermarket, the chance to get Red Leicester, goats cheese, good quality Brie, Camembert etc. At my local Woolworths the feta cheese tasted bad so I stopped buying it, until I discovered the market down the road that sells delicious feta cheese. I don’t have much room in my calorie budget for indulgences but I have been going over because I’m finding the delicious gourmet food hard to resist.
Could you incorporate it into your dinner/other meals in smaller amounts instead of just snacking on it? For goats cheese for example:
Yesterday I cooked Orzo pasta in a white wine reduction and added pre-cooked beetroots, added a bit of mild goats cheese in the end. Then served everything with that goats cheese, smoked salmon and avocado. Lots of deliciousness in one bowl, not going over my calories, total cooking/serving time less than 30 minutes. This is what it looked like:
I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night
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ladyreva78 wrote: »For me gourmet means more variety and higher quality food, like instead of just cheddar and processed cheese in the supermarket, the chance to get Red Leicester, goats cheese, good quality Brie, Camembert etc. At my local Woolworths the feta cheese tasted bad so I stopped buying it, until I discovered the market down the road that sells delicious feta cheese. I don’t have much room in my calorie budget for indulgences but I have been going over because I’m finding the delicious gourmet food hard to resist.
Could you incorporate it into your dinner/other meals in smaller amounts instead of just snacking on it? For goats cheese for example:
Yesterday I cooked Orzo pasta in a white wine reduction and added pre-cooked beetroots, added a bit of mild goats cheese in the end. Then served everything with that goats cheese, smoked salmon and avocado. Lots of deliciousness in one bowl, not going over my calories, total cooking/serving time less than 30 minutes. This is what it looked like:
I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night
You're welcome 1 -
Today I'm eating the leftovers of the goats cheese and precooked beetroot:
Cook gnocchi. At the same time cook bacon strips (similar in size to my salmon above) in a pan on low heat to just release the fat.
Put gnocchi in pan when ready and crisps them up.
Add beetroot and a bit of pear
Serve with goats cheese.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
Today I stuck to my calorie goals with a ton of produce. Grapes, strawberries, vegetarian Hawaiian pizza, roasted asparagus, spring mix salad.
Also ice cream.
It was awesome.
As far as restaurants go, I save calories during the week if I want a big meal on the weekend. I usually only eat out once a week, maybe twice if I’m training for something and have the extra calories.
Vegetarian Hawaiian Pizza.... isn’t that just pineapple pizza?
No, I put veggie ham on it.0 -
corinasue1143 wrote: »One of the freeing parts about my weight loss journey was learning that I don't have to sacrifice taste for weight loss. [b][/b]Weight loss doesn't have to be about eating a bunch of raw kale salads. [/. i]There are plenty of ways to make delicious tasting dishes and have them fit into your calorie goals. There are a million websites out there with recipes for meals that taste good and fit within your calorie goals. You can always make additional substitutions of ingredients to reduce calorie content if needed.
Since you like to cook, this should be a good fit for you. My wife and I have made many fo the most delicious meals we've ever cooked during weight loss.
As far as the other food you like that are made by others? You don't have to completely cut it out. Weight loss is about moderation, not exclusion. So you may not be able to have it as often or in as large a portion anymore, but you can still have it.
We diet to live, not live to diet, and enjoyment of food and losing weight are not mutually exclusive.
One of my favorite foods is raw kale salad. Lol
Ya, I'm having Thai Beef Salad tonight using raw kale. Can't wait!0 -
Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
I eat smaller portions of the high calorie stuff and add low cal bulky or chewy veggies.
For example, I recently got three meals out of one Chicken Pad Thai entree by adding Asian coleslaw to each serving.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Finding it hard to stick to my calorie goals lately because I’ve discovered two new (to me) markets and several nice restaurants in my city that sell delicious gourmet food. I’ve also been enjoying cooking more. How do you stick to your calorie goals when everything tastes so delicious?
Today I stuck to my calorie goals with a ton of produce. Grapes, strawberries, vegetarian Hawaiian pizza, roasted asparagus, spring mix salad.
Also ice cream.
It was awesome.
As far as restaurants go, I save calories during the week if I want a big meal on the weekend. I usually only eat out once a week, maybe twice if I’m training for something and have the extra calories.
Vegetarian Hawaiian Pizza.... isn’t that just pineapple pizza?
Maybe it has some kind of ham-like veggie meat substitute?0
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