I don’t find my diet stale and because I vary it, don’t find it repetitive. “ So delicious “ often means it’s not a heart healthy food, which my cardiologist strongly advises me to avoid. In the Winter, I have a repertoire of soups that taste delicious and are healthy.

Like Tim, I’m going to challenge the underlying assumption that a healthier diet gets stale over time. (I’ve been mulling this one over since it was first posted, so this could get long - particularly knowing me.)

I’m going to start by paraphrasing a point Steve Hendler (a.k.a. Tall Steve @shendler @count_curt) used to make which is essentially “people lose or manage their weight when it’s a priority for them.” For me, that has been true - I’m effective at it when it matters to me, and when it’s a priority I make better choices about food.

That means my food choices are a mix of what’s good, and what’s good for me. The foods I generally eat are foods that I’ve found over time that I enjoy. I eat very much the same thing for breakfast and lunch most days, but I enjoy those things. My dinner is varied, but it’s a mix of recipes at home and eating out 3-4 times per week.

To get concrete, when I eat out my criteria is not what’s the best tasting thing on the menu, but rather what’s the best tasting thing for me on the menu. For example, when we’re traveling sometimes the best thing in terms of flavor potential is a big, juicy burger and seasoned fries. The best thing for me - because I’m prioritizing not gaining large amounts of weight on a trip despite lower activity - may be a salad with grilled chicken or salmon. Either meal fills me up. One has more flavor and a weight penalty, and the other has decent flavor and also supports my health.

The key, though, is that it’s never “I can’t have _____ “ but rather a choice that “I’d rather have ______ and keep my weight under control.” The burger is always an option, but it’s not worth it on a regular basis - because if eaten on a regular basis it would blow up my scale (and my BP, and my cholesterol, etc.) It doesn’t get stale because I’m not ruling anything out, and I know there will be something decadent or indulgent in my future - but maybe not today.

For context, keeping my weight under control is less and less about vanity and more and more about health. My weight is one lever I can push to move my health in a direction in want it to go. I’m doing better at prioritizing my choices so far in Q1 at least in part after gaining about five pounds over Q4 through some poor choices, and that’s motivated by the fact that my BP is up about five points per side over last years first nine months, I can manage that, and I’m doing it. When I’m not priotizing me weight and health, I have to ask myself “what am

crewahl wrote: »

I’m going to start by paraphrasing a point Steve Hendler (a.k.a. Tall Steve @shendler @count_curt) used to make which is essentially “people lose or manage their weight when it’s a priority for them.” For me, that has been true - I’m effective at it when it matters to me, and when it’s a priority I make better choices about food.

Thanks for reminding me of this. I am currently in the midst of several weeks in a row gaining weight. I need to really think about why weight is not a priority for me right now.

88olds wrote: »

Eating the same stuff a lot doesn’t bother me. I got tired of salads & grilled chicken, I switch to steamed veggies & grilled chicken. After 20 yrs I switched oatmeal for eggs, chicken sausage & toast. After about 2 weeks I went back to oatmeal. Just how I am.

You rebel, you.

😉