Yes. You CAN eat 'normal' food! (my rant.)

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  • AdenaJ
    AdenaJ Posts: 58 Member
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    Well said. After years of trying –and failing – to lose weight, I have finally been successful because I'm not denying myself the foods I enjoy. Of course I eat much less of them and aim to get most of my calories from nutritious foods, but nothing is off limits. In the past, I would try to avoid a "bad" food, eat it, and then throw in the towel. Moderation works much better.
  • rubygarcia86
    rubygarcia86 Posts: 73 Member
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    awesome post! i agree that if you just start eating better portions you will end up losing weight :D
  • MericoX
    MericoX Posts: 199 Member
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    Dear sir, I think I love you.
    LOL
  • leeshults
    leeshults Posts: 223 Member
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    Lost 47 pounds eating NORMAL food in less than 6 months......I have an ice cream bar almost daily and still hit only 1200 calories... It can be done!!
  • beckyskeens
    beckyskeens Posts: 16 Member
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    I agree! Since I still have to cook for my very slender daughter and string bean husband, I can't afford to make two different meals every time we eat! Moderation, portion control and consistent exercise - it's been working for me and I've lost 42lbs since
    Nov '11. Thanks for the logical "rant" - keep doing what works for you!
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I guess I need to clarify what you mean by 'normal.' It's really such a vague term.

    Is shopping the perimeter of the grocery store 'normal'?
  • silversong24
    silversong24 Posts: 409 Member
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    the organic rainbow lettuce brigade.

    I almost killed my keyboard! This made me laugh so hard I damn near spewed forth a fountain of water.....

    I do have to agree with you, eating "normal" food is... well normal in my house. There is no way I can instantly change the ways that my 3 children, my spouse, and my grandmother eat completely over night. What I have done is add in many more vegetables, made fruit easily accessible, and use healthier ingredients to make a lot of the same stuff that we already enjoy. No it's not perfect, but it sure is better than it was! Good post man, good post!
  • dodd319
    dodd319 Posts: 228
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    Well said!
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
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    The late Jack LaLanne (sp) said it best: "Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen."

    For me, though, I have had to work on the food first. I feel better when I eat better, but there are days when I'm not a member of the Organic Lettuce Rainbow something or other.

    I lost 10 lbs a few years ago, kept it off. Joined MFP a year ago and have lost 20 lbs since then for a total of 30. I changed a thing or two at a time. Nothing earth shattering.

    But I noticed one thing...I did not start off the New Year with plans to lose 80 lbs in two months with 7 days a week of "Biggest Loser" type exercise and extreme dieting. (In fact, I surfed tv tonight and saw some Biggest Loser contestants getting weighed, and lamenting that they'd only lost 2 lbs last week. I now think of 2 lbs as a good week!)

    This year, I recommitted to MFP, and felt very calm.

    With each pound I lose, I roll back the clock. My current weight is where I was in 2006. My next goal is to reach 1998) and that would be 43 lbs from now.
  • Nana_Booboo
    Nana_Booboo Posts: 501 Member
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    they must stock their fridge with organic lettuce grown under the sunshine reflected off a tropical rainbow.

    That cracks me up a bit.


    Well said.:drinker:


    Eat, exercise and lose.

    It works.
  • annaeboli
    annaeboli Posts: 1 Member
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    Word! I still eat pizza and pasta but instead of 4 pieces pf pizza I have two and a salad. I say if you can't figure out how to incorporate your favorite "real" foods into your weight loss plan , you will never be able to keep it off!
  • jhyan
    jhyan Posts: 59 Member
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    "Normal" appears to be processed, calorie-dense food according to the examples listed here. If your goal is to simply lose weight with no regard to performance, overall health, and body composition then by all means, keep eating "normally"

    If your goal is visible abs, athletic performance-related, or a fitness competition you'll need to abide by that annoying saying because good abs truly are made in the kitchen. Unless you're genetically gifted you won't get ripped eating pizza for dinner (and if you can do that, I'm jealous). You get out of your body what you put in to it.

    I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but there are many different ways of eating and many reasons for doing so. if you honestly, truly can't live without this magical food in your diet I'd take a good look and figure out why. Food is nourishment, oftentimes delicious, and it shouldn't be a source of struggle.

    :heart:

    Obviously, our modern society has a huge problem seeing that what is considered ''normal'' by most is processed crap food.
    Too many people base their happiness on food. They say ''omg, I would never give up junk because I'd feel so deprived''.
    It's just food.
    If you really feel like you can't enjoy life without junk food, I'd try to find the reason why.
    There is a misconception about the ''organic rainbow lettuce brigade''. I've read comments stating that people who don't eat junk must be so unhappy. Is it so hard to believe that some of us enjoy kale, lean turkey and avocado without feeling deprived?
    Don't let food take over your emotions. Don't let it be the reason why your happy or unhappy.

    -Proud member of the organic rainbow lettuce brigade! :wink:

    Very true.

    We should eat to live, not live to eat.

    Food is merely fuel for my body.

    This makes me sad.
  • breeanreyes
    breeanreyes Posts: 228 Member
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    i love this post! i am a big advocate on eating "whole" foods instead of processed ones, but I love me a quarter pounder with fries on occasion and believe that every now and again is not going to hurt me and in fact it helps me get right back on the healthy train the next day. This site is supposed to be about support, not putting people down for trying their best and figuring out a way to make healthy choices work for them... moderation is key in EVERY aspect of life, the goal here is to help people, not make everyone see things your way.
  • tataliciousd89
    tataliciousd89 Posts: 465
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    I do agree about this, but I'm super stubborn and don't want to start rewarding myself with "normal food" until I'm down another 10 lbs. You definitely can lose weight that way, but my self control only goes so far. There is a fine line between a handfull of flaming hot cheetos and the whole bag. Until I can get that binging behavior under control I'm sticking to the rabbit food.

    We should never reward with food.........

    Reward with a new shirt, lipstick, massage, pedicure, etc.......
    Not what I meant at all. My reward will be new clothes because none of my old ones fit anymore, but I'm not going to start eating normal food again until I can prove to myself that I can handle it. And yes, that will be a reward in itself.
  • thatkatt
    thatkatt Posts: 6
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    I, too, have lost weight eating NORMAL food. I LOVE FOOD. I love french fries. I love chocolate. I love cookies. I love candy. I dream about these things. That's one of the reasons I hesitated to diet before... I didn't want to give these things up. With MFP, I see that I don't have to!!! Today I ate hash browns, a slice of Papa John's pizza, had 5 Hershey Miniatures, 3 Reese's Miniature Cups, and I was STILL under my calorie goal. I had to make better choices for dinner, but I still got to eat the food that I love! No, it wasn't a "healthy eating day", but if I ate everything healthy all the time I would NOT be successful because I would be crabby and hungry for the food I love! I used to eat french fries 3 times a week. Now I eat them maybe once a week. Now instead of bringing the bag of cookies into bed and eating them until I feel like I'm going to pop, I take the number of cookies that equals 1 serving out of the bag, and eat them, then stop. Do I want more? Yes, usually. But after seeing the weight I lost just by watching what I ate, it really seemed to help motivate me to stop overeating just because it felt good. It feels good to eat what I want, in moderation, and still lose weight.
  • jhyan
    jhyan Posts: 59 Member
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    I do agree about this, but I'm super stubborn and don't want to start rewarding myself with "normal food" until I'm down another 10 lbs. You definitely can lose weight that way, but my self control only goes so far. There is a fine line between a handfull of flaming hot cheetos and the whole bag. Until I can get that binging behavior under control I'm sticking to the rabbit food.

    We should never reward with food.........

    Reward with a new shirt, lipstick, massage, pedicure, etc.......

    Again, your outlook on food makes me sad.

    This is why so many people have a tough time getting healthy, they think they have to either think like you, or not do anything... and since your viewpoint is so narrow and rigid, they just don't do anything at all. How about we celebrate anyone's willingness to make positive choices of any kind with regards to food and health?

    For me personally, my life is food (well, actually it's my third place priority). I am excited about losing weight that I have carried for over 20 years, but there is no way I'm going to deny one of the basic pleasures of life to do it. And luckily I don't have to... I just have to enjoy in moderation.
  • hollyeverhart
    hollyeverhart Posts: 397 Member
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    Some of us like healthy food. It annoys me when people call it rabbit food or that its 'weird'. I love salad I eat 2-3 a day huge ones with tons of veggies, I don't eat meat, I don't drink dairy, I love soy/almond milk, it is delicious, If you haven't had chocolate soy/almond milk you are missing out. I grew up eating tons of veggies so to me that is 'normal' to me 'normal' is NOT a mcdonalds cheeseburger. But I do have a sweet tooth, I love dark chocolate/cookies/non dairy ice cream, so no I don't always eat super healthy at all times if I want something I eat it in moderation. But in general I prefer healthy food over all greasy fatty food, I'll take a garlic hummus vegetable sandwich on wheat bread over a crappy fast food meal or processed crap anyday. It freaks me out when food has a million ingredients and I can't pronounce half of them, thats not food to me.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    I eat chocolate regularly. :)

    What's normal?
  • visiri
    visiri Posts: 173 Member
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    Hear!!! Hear!!!

    I haven't changed my diet one iota - except I eat a lot less. I drink wine every.single.day!!! I exercise enough to ensure I can drink my wine and still be at or under my calories.

    I'm in this for the long haul. How am I supposed to be successful once I've lost all the extra weight if I still don't know how to eat once I'm done?

    Thank you so much for spreading the message.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Some of us like healthy food. It annoys me when people call it rabbit food or that its 'weird'. I love salad I eat 2-3 a day huge ones with tons of veggies, I don't eat meat, I don't drink dairy, I love soy/almond milk, it is delicious, If you haven't had chocolate soy/almond milk you are missing out. I grew up eating tons of veggies so to me that is 'normal' to me 'normal' is NOT a mcdonalds cheeseburger. But I do have a sweet tooth, I love dark chocolate/cookies/non dairy ice cream, so no I don't always eat super healthy at all times if I want something I eat it in moderation. But in general I prefer healthy food over all greasy fatty food, I'll take a garlic hummus vegetable sandwich on wheat bread over a crappy fast food meal or processed crap anyday. It freaks me out when food has a million ingredients and I can't pronounce half of them, thats not food to me.

    I used to eat a lot of 'normal' foods, if 'normal' means cheese, meat, pizza, soda, French fries, ice cream, chocolate, cakes and cookies.

    But, honestly, those foods don't have the same effect on me they once had. I have gradually learned about new plant foods and ways of cooking that I ENJOY. It's not deprivation. If someone told me ten years ago that I would be eating this way and LIKING IT, I would have told them that would be impossible.

    I'm not saying anyone should do what I did. If you are happy and healthy eating a standard American diet, continue. Just don't think that people who are eating so-called 'rabbit food' are suffering. Tastes can change, and frequently do.

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