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.

[Waves to the other] @MrsDoylesDoily

I’ve never been on a diet.
I eat what I want but I don’t sit and eat crap all day because that’s no good for anyone: I have a healthy diet because I like it but if I want a bit of chocolate or crisps I have them. If I go for a meal I eat what I want.

Basically I don’t deprive myself of anything but I do eat a balance diet with lots of nutrients and also some not so nutrient dense food 😂.

Other than restricting my carbs because I have Diabetes, I eat whatever I want. I’m not on a diet and don’t view things as naughty or good foods.

I don't think about right or wrong foods. The only thing I try to consciously keep a handle on is sugar and that's for my teeth. (And I'm not very good at it!) I've never had issues with my weight which is perhaps why I've never thought about restricting my diet.

I do naturally tend towards preferring lean meat, fruit and vegetables though. I don't know if that's learned or innate, my mum was the same. Food that is overly greasy or fatty is off-putting to me. I don't like cheese.

And I have a smaller appetite, I find eating very boring in general and time consuming. I enjoy certain foods but I honestly would prefer to eat a couple of times a week and be done.

I eat what I want and don't exercise because I'm lazy. I'm a size 12, BMI 26. I'm 38

I used to be slimmer in my 20s (size 8-10) when I had an active job & I imagine I could be slimmer again now if I tried a bit harder but I'm not bothered enough. If my weight started to get out of control or affecting my health then I'll do something about it

I have had to recover from prolonged periods of binging and the recovery is hard - I thought I had been cured from the first time and I stupidly went in a diet and back it came - took me about 2 years to get over it. I don’t diet, I don’t weight myself and I eat what I want - but I try to eat nutritionally dense fresh food for general health reasons - I’m about a size 10/12

Definitely not..what I want is to eat pasta and cheese and bread all day long occasionally throwing in a cream cake

I enjoy vegetables but need to force myself to eat fruit

I'm pushing 40 and still eat what I want, which is often savoury, carb heavy stuff. I swear me and one side of my family are wired up wrong - because we all seem to be the same, it doesn't matter how healthy or unhealthy our diets we are all very slim/ lean.

I accept my diet needs to improve for my general health and wellbeing though (it's not all about staying slim!) - it's just hard to get motivated when you know you could have fish chips for the second time in a week or finish off the last of a birthday cake without any visible impact.

Been dieting for about 35 years.

Severely restrictive diets.

weight watchers numerous times
Slimming world numerous times
vegan for 18 months
vegetarian for over 30 years
low carb
Latest is fasting 16:8 & vegetarian

Walking, swimming, keep fit classes, yoga.

Im still hugely fat.

Despite all of the above, I have always struggled with weight so I am very cautious about everything I eat.

If eating out at a restaurant, I go for the lowest calorie foods, force myself to eat slowly, never ever have a starter or sweet, don’t eat all day before going and restrict what I eat the day after.

If weighed, I will still gain 2-3lbs that week.

since hitting my 50’s it is impossible to maintain or lose any weight at all… despite all of the above.

Miserable has been my life with food all of my adult life.

My entire life is one big diet...! I wish I could eat what I wanted, when I wanted but I would unfortunately be rather enormous, rather quickly!

@Showersugar i struggle because i was very used to eating bad stuff with no
impact but then late 30s my metabolism just slowed right down. I have friends who dieted since their teens & know the calories of everything whereas i'm clueless & have found it really hard to adjust the way i've been eating for decades.

Sadly not! What want to eat is masses of carbs - pasta, rice, potatoes. But, if I did, I would be 438 stone, which is absolutely NOT what I want. So, I eat a balanced diet, plenty of protein, whole grains and fresh vegetables plus regular exercise and that maintains my not too fat figure. It’s much harder as I’ve got older!!!

I can and often do. My weight never really changes. I’m mid-50s, three DC. I’ve never dieted, and am sometimes urged to gain weight.

I eat what I want and enjoy food as part of a healthy lifestyle. I also exercise most days.

I do eat what I want in terms of different food groups and junk treats, but I can't eat the amount I want to. I'm currently losing weight because I've cut my portions by almost three-quarters. So yes, I'll enjoy a takeaway curry, but I am restricted to the amount that fits on my portion plate!

But that's after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting that's left me three stone overweight. After two months I'm instinctively eating less, so I'm hoping that eventually my brain will adopt this as the norm and I won't have to use a specific plate and I'll just eat a little of what I fancy without thinking about it.

eggs cooked in butter after a small workout
lunch is usually cous cous with protein or roasted veg
dinner - veggie stew/soup/lentil ragu type stuff
have to have a mini choc bar like a freddo with a cup of camomile tea before bed, it’s my little treat that I look forward to!

I don’t restrict myself at all, I don’t go out much to eat but if I do I would have what I fancied

Whereas this would be how my day looked if I was being incredibly restrictive!

Kind of but only because I do 16/8 so eat within an 8 hour window. This follows decades of yoyo dieting. Now when it's my eating time I don't restrict myself at all. If I want a cake or chocolate or crisps I'll have them. If I want fish and chips or pizza for dinner that's fine. I will point out that I generally WANT to eat good nutritious food. It's not like I'm craving Macdonalds or want to eat 3 Krispy Kremes a day. I love vegetables! But every day - usually during that mid-afternoon slump, I'll eat chocolate and biscuits. I'll eat any main meals I want without thinking about calories or fat content but I do want them to be full of nutrients because it makes me feel good. By doing 16/8 and walking 10,000 steps a day I've found out (to my delight) that I don't have to restrict my eating.

I fit into the eat what I want category with caveats that I generally want sensible amounts of sensible food, and exercise a lot. There are some foods that really do not like me that are best avoided unless I really want them, have a toilet near by and no plans for the rest of the day.

I think about the effect that food will have on me as in will it give me headaches, or cramps, but I don't have a moral judgement on foods. I don't judge myself for exceeding what I need. I'm human, my body is my vehicle through life and it's a balance of looking after it and enjoying it. I don't feel deprived. If I have a "cut back phase" I'm more mindful about portions, reduce the empty, lower nutrition calories, and focus more on enjoying nutritious foods. I am not punitive with myself.

I'm small and if I was sedentary, my body would only need 1400-1500 calories to sustain itself and that will decline with age. I can't swerve my inconvenient biology. Exercise makes my diet look normal not like someone else's weight loss plan.

It's interesting the way people are viewing "restrictive". I generally don't feel restricted because my choices and wants are within a practical boundary. I can't indulge every whim because I would feel ill for it. We accept reasonable restriction in every other aspect of life I restrict my spending to within my budget. If I need clothes, I can buy high st clothes, but I don't feel restricted that I can't justify buying top designer wear (nor do I want to). I can't buy everything I desire because I want to move in my home, plus it's not an environmentally healthy level of consumerism. I can't go to every place I desire (time, money, family commitments, environment). I don't feel constantly deprived or restricted by the majority of limits that bound our lives.

We need food several times a day, but I don't view nutritious choices and pragmatic portions as being a constant restriction. I also don't view exercise as punitive or hard work (well it can be hard, but as a positive challenge), it helps optimise my body's function and is mentally rewarding. My habits have always been fairly healthy and sustainable and don't take a lot of thought.

I feel like I eat what I want and am happy.

I think the key to being able to eat what you want is not wanting to eat everything all the time. Not thinking about food all the time and being able to eat till you feel comfortable not eating till you are stuffed as if you'll never eat again. It's all in the head, eating massive amounts of food does not make life better but how to convince your head otherwise is the trick

Yes it is! I eat what I want, when I want. I want to eat in the mornings as that is when I crave (mostly sugary high-calorie) food. I find I rarely want much to eat after lunchtime because I've already filled up on calories. If I am hungry later then I'll obviously I'll eat what I fancy.

This!

Some people are obsessed with food.

Don't get me wrong, we love cooking and eat decent stuff but it's not the only high point in my day.

And I have found as I've got older (I'm 52 now) my appetite is reduced.
I can't eat dinner after having lunch out - I'm just not hungry and it now makes me feel a bit queasy to think of eating a meal when I'm not hungry.
And I can no longer eat past the comfortable, just starting to feel a little full feeling - eating beyond this (as I did when I was younger) leaves me uncomfortable for hours.

That's me too.

I eat what I want and am even more conscious of doing that since having a daughter. I really don't want her to have the same terrible relationship to food that my mum and granny have, both of whom are obsessed with being a size 6 into their 70s and 90s which is honestly quite depressing to watch.

I teds to have a high protein, high fat, low carb diet. I eat want I want but do restrict the amount of rubbish I eat. I lost 1 1/2 stone last year by eating this way and have maintained it.