this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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It’s what I have to remind people when they are trying to change their diet to get in shape and lose weight.
I tell them, your not eating for enjoyment, your eating to fuel your body.
I was very fit, but I was eating like canned tuna and Greek yogurt, not mixed but one after another. That’s not a delicious lunch, but it was just the nutrition that was needed.
Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like uh, your opinion, man.
This is the number one cause why diets get abandoned and people gain weight again. Adding a little enjoyment to the diet goes a long way towards long term compliance.
I feel fortunate because to me what that person described actually does sound enjoyable and satisfying. I will straight up eat handfuls of raw spinach because I enjoy it. You'd be surprised by how many people feel compelled to share their disgust, though, which is one reason I prefer to eat alone.
This feels like a really bad mindset to me, it's absolutely possible to eat healthily and still enjoy food and i see little reason to not do so.
Your right, it just depends on your goals. I always have myself a cheat day.
Dinner would be decently big. Like quinoa and a bunch of chicken breast.
That's dry af. I think some people are just ok eating something that has literally no flavor. A lot of "healthy" recipes need: salt, pepper, garlic, onion, oregano, paprika, chili powder, oil, mustard, honey, etc.
Like literally sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken, garlic and oregano if you're feeling crazy. Stop eating plain chicken!
i think many people have this idea that healthy food somehow has to be boring and flavourless, and that if you make it in any way enjoyable it for some reason automatically becomes unhealthy.
Which is insane and a terrible idea to spread, at this point i think healthy food tastes better.
For some of us, the joy of good food is the only reliable joy we have.
Oh, yeah. I totally eat for comfort and enjoyment now. But if your trying to lose weight and have a flat stomach it’s hard work and most people need to sacrifice comfort food.
Once you get there, you can eat a bit better. It’s just getting there that’s tough.
Careful with tuna. It's an important part of my diet as well but I try to mix it up because of heavy metals.
Yes, you really shouldn't eat tuna more than like 2-3 times a week because of the mercury content.
My scrawny ass, turning my banana smoothies into 1,000 calorie shakes to get gains:
I have a super tall friend who can’t gain weight. No matter what he tries, he is super lanky.
Eat more is usually the correct advice there. If you're used to eating at a low maintenance intake it can be very difficult to actually get used to eating a surplus of calories, so you end up feeling full and eating way less than you think. Count them calories.
I've had success with drinking calories (big thousand calorie shakes) and spreading out meals/snacks every 2 hours.
Yeah, he was doing some kind of shake at some point.
It isn't too hard to lose weight if that is your main goal, it just takes time. You don't have to give up food that tastes good or that you love. Just eat under your TDEE and you'll lose weight. Every meal can be a cheat meal. A food scale and counting calories are the only things you need. I've lost 30 pounds so far without doing any exercise and have lost 6 inches off my waist. There was a whole sub dedicated to it called r/CICO. I only need to lose 20 more pounds until my goal weight. I don't eat food I don't enjoy, that would be like torture to me.
Hell you don't even need to count calories, simply eating things that are higher in fibre and generally lower calorie will help bias you toward weight loss.
For example the weight watchers have made fruit a freebee, because it's basically impossible to get fat from eating fruit.
I've never properly counted calories, i just make sure the base ingredients of my diet are generally healthy and that has worked extremely well.
No stress, easy to manage, and i've been able to get back in tune with my body's feedback so i can eat intuitively. I viscerally feel what nutrients my body needs the most (and very much doesn't need), like how people in survival situations get cravings for stuff like fish eyeballs because it has vitamins they need.
Yeah that doesn't work for me, I actually enjoy eating food so eating "intuitively" makes me eat too much. That was a common complaint on r/CICO that eating intuitively made people regain their lost weight. There is a reason why people like me got fat in the first place lmao. Over-eating tasty food.
Once I learned what actual serving sizes are supposed to look like it got much more easy. It's not stressful to count calories, I found it immensely stressful when I thought I was eating healthy low calorie meals but when I counted the calories using an actual scale I was actually over-eating and hated every second of it since I still felt hungry all day and the food tasted bad. Now I eat whatever I want or crave, including cheesecake, ice cream, burritos, spaghetti, burgers, and pizza. I'm not on a diet, I just adjust my portions. Once you get the hang of it, you can visually confirm you are eating too much or too little. This is how I like eating, nothing is off limits and very easy to tap a few times on my phone. My cheat day is everyday and I still lose weight. If I ever crave fish eyeballs, you can safely shoot me in the head lol.
I also enjoy eating, i need to eat good food to enjoy the rest of the day.
But you can absolutely eat intuitively while enjoying food, i think the mistake many people make is confusing "intuitive" with "follow every single urge no matter what".
no, you have to learn to interpret your bodily feedback, it takes like maybe a year to learn what your body actually wants because at first you will simply be following surface level psychological desires.
Part of this is simply weaning yourself off of sugar
I used to constantly drink cola and eat snacks and candy, nowadays after a glass of soda i feel a profound urge to drink nice cold water and i barely eat snacks or candy because actual food is more satisfying.
As for overeating and learning what serving sizes look like.. that's just like the definition of intuitive eating? simply knowing how much you want.
I mostly drink water and tea so soda now feels too icky to drink but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying other desserts. I don't see myself giving that up lol I love it too much. If it works for you, then kudos to you. I just can't dedicate myself to it. Especially not an entire year. I hope you don't think I am putting you down or anything, if it works for you then you should stick to it.
That's not the definition of intuitive eating, at least I'm pretty sure it isn't. I look at the serving size of whatever I am eating on its packaging label, weigh it, log it, and eat it. I only eat that predetermined amount the manufacturer came up with. I don't say maybe I'll eat double this amount or half because my body feels differently that day. I eat the exact same thing of something every time I eat it. I stop eating when I've met my calorie count, not when my body feels sated. That's calorie counting. As long as I eat throughout the day, I don't feel much hunger. I'm pretty sure I have a slow metabolism and eating whatever I want in smaller portions has been working for me.