Do you eat what you want?

[shrubgreen]

Just wondering how many of you eat what you want, when you want on a regular basis - or if you tend to view food in terms of what you can/can't, should/shouldn't indulge in?

Was just wondering as I know so many people who have been on some sort of diet for most of their lives and wondering if anyone is really immune from this? Or do some people really not think twice about what they eat - I mean in terms of "guilt" and feeling like there's a right or wrong way to eat.

Yes, but somehow as I’ve got older my taste has become naturally healthier, like too much fried food makes me sick and j find myself choosing vegetables naturally. I’ve always been quite active which means I don’t deprive myself if I fancy some chocolate, but generally I don’t snack that much. I eat big portions at dinner but stop when I’m full.

never had any sort of disordered eating or issues with food so I guess it’s what some people call intuitive eating?

Neither is better for your health, what’s your point?

@WaddleAway it was me who said life’s too short to be unhappy, I read your posts incorrectly and thought you sounded unhappy by some of your language.

I don't understand the idea of eating healthily. Obviously, I don't eat poison, but who does willingly?

One of my hobbies is looking up the Terrible reviews on TripAdvisor for a laugh. There was a brilliant one about an Italian restaurant in Liverpool. Nothing pleased this person who had apparently dined all over the world but I guess doesn't go back more than once.

She said: "Who would eat lard on toast?" and I thought "Oh! I would". Obviously not for my tea every night and I am more likely to go to Florence than Liverpool but they are lucky Scousers.

It was lost in translation as many of these things are when you think the only point of food is a penance you don't like very much.

Neither is better for your health, what’s your point?

Of course a bag of nuts is MUCH healthier than a can of Diet Coke! A million times healthier in fact.

Do explain…

Im not sure if you're genuinely asking about the difference but here you go:

Nuts are packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, unsaturated fats and omega 3 fats.

Diet Coke contains none of these and probably contains some potentially harmful ingredients like artificial sweeteners.

Totally. I'm probably bigger than I should be but life is to short of diet or have 'naughty' food

If you think consuming 600 calories on a snack vs drinking a fizzy drink containing less than 1 calorie is “healthy” then okay 👏🏼

Are you serious? Of course the nuts are healthier than a one-calorie fizzy drink -by miles and miles.

Ughhh I just cannot with this thread. Idiots everywhere.

Nope, if I ate the way my true self wanted to I'd be back to a size 22.

I eat a low carb high fat diet, tonight we went for a Chinese buffet and I stuck to the meat with sauces, vegetables, salad and egg foo yung while everyone else had everything they wanted including puddings. It made me sad that I couldn't just have what I wanted but if I have a "cheat meal" I use it as an excuse to binge so I really try hard not to do that.

I eat what I want and how much I want. I have no idea how much of what is in any meal.

I love food and refuse to be restrictive. I am not much of a grazer, we had set meals as kids and I seem to still follow that pattern. Though not intentionally.

I do a lot of HIIT cardio, but actually found my portion size has naturally decreased from huge to large.

Are you serious? Of course the nuts are healthier than a one-calorie fizzy drink -by miles and miles.

@daisypond are you serious? If I needed sustenance I'd eat the nuts. If I needed hydration I'd have the Diet Coke and if I needed both I'd have them both.

Given the choice I'd opt for different food or drink entirely but that's because I thought about it. Did you think about it?

Of course a bag of nuts is MUCH healthier than a can of Diet Coke! A million times healthier in fact.

@Reddahlias when I passed maths O level early my teacher said I could do one in Stats but I didn't think I cut out for it so did Applied Maths instead. What did you do?

@Reddahlias hint: that's not how stats work, btw

Ha ha, i know I was obviously exaggerating with 'a million times'

I guess I feel so strongly in favour of nuts

@Reddahlias People can go for a few weeks without any food before the body starts consuming itself to conserve the brain. The effects are bad and may be fatal but we can last only three days without water

Diet Coke is coloured and flavoured water. So what would you choose to keep you alive? Nuts or Diet Coke? In that situation to choose nuts because they are full of nutrients seems a bit nutty to me. And Diet Coke is essentially water and not poison.

Making healthy choices is all a matter of balance if you think hard enough about it.

Sorry I misread I see now what you meant!

I agree with you!

I eat 1.5-2g protein for every kg body weight a day and actually struggle to eat my quota of carbs on top of that because that amount of protein can be so filling. If I want a biscuit or 3 I will have a biscuit or 3 but most of the time I just don't want any. Colleagues who dont know me that well are constantly telling me I am "lucky" to have the figure I do and encourage me to eat snacks with them during meetings or coffee times. Soo weird that they automatically assume I am restricting myself in an attempt to avoid putting weight on rather than just...I'm full and don't want anything.

@limitedperiodonly of course I understand that! If I was about to die from starvation I'd drink whatever wasn't poisonous!

But the question was not "what would I choose to stay alive" but rather "are nuts or Diet Coke healthier generally"?

And as my life is not in danger of starvation, I will prefer nuts over Diet Coke. In fact I prefer water over Coke.

Another person I used to sit next to was nicknamed Healthy because she wasn't and tormented me and everyone else in the department thought it was funny.

I'd have a packed lunch every day of salad - lettuce, raw baby spinach or rocket, tomatoes, spring onions, sliced peppers, baby potatoes and olive oil and vinegar with either baked chicken leg or smoked mackerel. Sometimes some sweetcorn or grated carrot.

I accept many people would think it dull but I liked it and I wasn't imposing my choice on anyone else. I'd even sit away from my desk because smoked mackerel is a bit of an anti-social choice. But Healthy used to follow to the kitchen area of the office.

"That looks healthy," she would say while I was in direct eyeline with my giggling department. "I like stodge," she would add, somewhat redundantly.

Sometimes I'd think: "Fuck it!" and join everyone else for a drink when I'd finished my lunch.

She was also called Cheryl after the character in The Royle Family who'd always ask Denise if she'd finished that.

No. I have a very unhealthy relationship with food, I am vegan, so a healthy basic diet, but I crave sugary food constantly.
I binge eat and find it difficult to break the cycle of binge , guilt, hate myself, then binge again.
I have had counselling and seen dieticians, but I fall into bad habits in between support. I hate food so much, but crave it equally.

But the question was not "what would I choose to stay alive" but rather "are nuts or Diet Coke healthier generally"?

@Reddahlias It wasn't.

You said this: "Of course a bag of nuts is MUCH healthier than a can of Diet Coke! A million times healthier in fact."

I explained why I and any other rational person might choose a Diet Coke (essentially coloured and flavoured water) over a handful of nuts and why your grasp of statistics was wonky.

So what do you think?

I think your grasp of logic and nutrition is as wonky as your grasp of statistics.

@Rubyupbeat do you eat enough protein? You should be getting 1g for every lb of target body weight as a guide, if you don’t eat enough then you will be craving sugar. Carbs are burnt off quickly and send you looking for more.

a vegan diet isn’t healthy if it’s full of processed shit like quorn and fake cheese. They all have added rubbish (like sugar) to make them palatable, and so the cravings continue. If this is you, try focussing on raw ingredients like vegetables and increasing healthy protein like beans and chickpeas. Less of the potato, bread and pasta, and more of the lentils :-)

@Rubyupbeat I'm not vegan or vegetarian but Meera Sodha is brilliant. I eat her recipes all the time including this one tonight. www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/08/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-rose-harissa-chickpea-stew-burnt-chard

I used some frozen spinach