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.

Sorry to hear, I hope you are okay now and you have help with your son.

my friends who seeked CBT after years of fad diets also had a trauma trigger, I don’t know that it will work for you but it might if it’s something you’re able to look into.

life is too short to be unhappy!

Yes I'd say I eat what I want. I've been on a few diets in my life, but never for long. I'd say that the food I like isn't particularly healthy but just normal - porridge, pasta, salmon, cottage pie, chicken sandwich, lots of fruit & veg. Probably too carby for some. I like biscuits, cake and crisps but I don't feel the urge to eat loads in one sitting. If I'm at a buffet or similar I'll pig out to get my money's worth! But that's rare.

I'm a size 12, with a 10 month old baby so still got some baby weight to lose. I'm not doing any formal exercise right now though - with previous pgs I found it easy to drop back to a size 10 once I started just a bit of exercise even for 20 mins a day.

No, I don't anymore sadly. I was always very very slim until I hit my late 40's. I ate what I wanted when I wanted up to then too.

Perimenopause changed that. I'm 5ft 9" and went from 10st 13 to 13st 7 and was very unhappy.

I am now very mindful of what I eat as I'm on a diet to lose this extra weight.

I at the end of September and got down from 13st 7 to 12st 10 but lost momentum and regained some over Christmas.

Since Jan I have been very mindful and I am now 12st 1oz and hoping to get into the 11s very soon.

I eat very simple things like porridge or weetabix with low fat milk for breakfast
Vegetable soup for lunch - today was Moroccan chickpea and spice, water to drink
Dinner tonight will be a salmon darne cooked in the oven with seasoning, steamed potato and asparagus and sauteed spinach. water to drink.

A slice of fresh pineapple later watching tv.

Eating daily like this allows me to lose between 1 -2lbs each week.

When I reach my goal weight I will continue to eat like this mon-fri and be more relaxed over the weekend, which will allow me to maintain and I have come to accept it will probably be like this from now on...

I eat when I want between the hours and 12pm - 7pm. After that I don't eat unless special occasion etc.

No, I can't eat what I want when I want otherwise I'd be morbidly obese.

I also find that if I fall off the wagon it's in spectacular style and I can go from being really healthy and making a real effort to control my portion sizes to a complete Fuck it mentality, eating junk food every day.

I've had an unhealthy relationship with food for a long time.

Now I'm in my 40s I try to make a concerted effort not to overindulge, to eat healthy and not drink. It's hard!

yes, mostly. Luckily I know I feel better with lots of fruit and veg, and awful with lots of sugar, so I find it easy to eat healthily. I plan each week and day meals mostly, which helps a lot as I only buy ingredients for those meals.

And do a period of fasting overnight, so generally don't eat between 8pm and 10am.

Why do people insist that if you of a healthy weight for your height it means you are denying yourself or have lived a life free of trauma?

I enjoy all sorts of food and I bet I eat a far more varied diet than most people here including those who say they are overweight. But it's not a competition.

I don't care what you weigh because it's not like I'm going to have to give you a piggy back to the chip shop. My diet and weight is not a problem to me. If yours is to you then only you can solve it.

I like chips, by the way.

No. I did without any cause for concern until i had my second baby. I had gestational diabetes in that pregnancy and after that seemed to gain weight and struggle with blood sugar. Therefore I now have to eat a lowish carb diet.

Why do people insist that if you of a healthy weight for your height it means you are denying yourself or have lived a life free of trauma?

I agree! I enjoy a very varied diet with lots of delicious seasonal produce including wine and chocolate! I have never 'dieted' or felt restricted! (and my bmi is around below 20)

Why do people insist that if you of a healthy weight for your height it means you are denying yourself or have lived a life free of trauma?

Im not sure anyone is saying that. I referenced my trauma as part of my story, not as a comparison to anyone else. I’m sure many people (including yourself) have dealt with trauma far better than I have and haven’t resorted to stuffing your face, well done for that.
I am actually a healthy weight now after my period of over eating, but the question in the OP was whether we eat whatever we want. No I don’t, as if I did I’d probably go back to the 2 stone overweight I was after a difficult period in my life. I track my calories every day, every week to avoid that. I’m not unhappy though and am not comparing myself to anyone else. I answered the question in the OP for myself, not for anyone else.

To be fair though that is generally the opinion many have. Either you're lucky to be a healthy weight or you have a miserable time sustaining yourself on salads and water. The reality around weight in general, both under and over is very distorted.

But there is nothing "lucky" about making conscious decision to eat meals which give you energy and keep you full, not about getting up at 5am to run 10 miles.

The 2 options you've described don't apply to most of my friends and colleagues.

I know, that's what I was saying. A previous poster said my experience I'm not claiming to be that of everyone's, but the reality is that lots of people do have weird and unfounded assumptions around those who maintain a healthy weight.

That’s genuinely not an attitude I see amongst my family and friends. Most of my friends are a healthy weight and remain so by enjoying treats in moderation and living active lives.
I think the ‘trauma’ thing in the PP’s post was an unfair jibe though. I wasn’t saying I’m fat because I’ve had trauma no one else has had. I was admitting I dealt with that trauma badly and over ate. I’ve since lost that extra weight and restrict my calories to maintain it, because once you’ve been overweight science says it’s harder to maintain a lower weight.

There is no luck involved. Making healthy life choices is a deliberate choice and not luck.

the reality is that lots of people do have weird and unfounded assumptions around those who maintain a healthy weight

What? I wonder what weird assumptions people make about me

But isn’t that what PP’s were saying? That people who eat what they want and are a healthy weight, are a healthy weight because they want to eat well? They actively choose a moderated and balanced diet? That’s how I understand it anyway.

The only assumption I make about people who are a healthy weight is that they probably don’t consume more calories than they burn. If I was to care about other peoples weight at all, which I don’t particularly.

I don’t believe that. Virtually everyone I know is a healthy weight and generally slim, with only a couple on slightly the plump side. I don’t think we’re “lucky”. I don’t know anyone who “diets” or spends any time at all in a gym.

I answered the question in the OP for myself, not for anyone else.

@WaddleAway and so did I and I expanded on it in subsequent answers because some people said that to maintain a healthy weight (I don't know what mine is, btw) meant that I was denying myself.

You have no idea what trauma I have suffered or what I have done to cope with it. Why should you? It's none of your concern. You might think it's worse than "stuffing your face" but I'm not going to talk about it because it's my business just like eating things in the amounts that make you happy are yours. If that doesn't make you happy then I am sorry but only you can deal with it because I am not your food monitor and don't want to apply for the job.

What I would say is that I wouldn't lash out with words like: "I’m sure many people (including yourself) have dealt with trauma far better than I have and haven’t resorted to stuffing your face, well done for that."

Why do you think that is necessary or relevant?* *Like I said, you don't know what I have done and I don't care what you have done. Neither do I care how much you weighed in the past; what you weigh now or what you might weigh in the future and if you care about what I weigh then you shouldn't because it doesn't affect you one little bit.

Interesting that those of us in the "eat what we want when we want" are being accused of limiting our diets to "healthy" foods and implying that we are depriving ourselves of the nice foods.

I don't have a sweet tooth, wasn't brought up to eat McDonald's and other fast food and have a naturally small appetite. Chocolate is perfectly safe around me as I don't like it that much. Crisps however (only ready salted) are another story.

I'm certainly not depriving myself of anything I actually want to eat as if I want to eat it I do.

Yes, of course - why wouldn't I? Not particularly slim, but never been on a diet, don't care what I look like and just want to enjoy my food.

You have no idea what trauma I have suffered or what I have done to cope with it. Why should you? It's none of your concern. You might think it's worse than "stuffing your face" but I'm not going to talk about it because it's my business just like eating things in the amounts that make you happy are yours. If that doesn't make you happy then I am sorry but only you can deal with it because I am not your food monitor and don't want to apply for the job

you said ‘life is too short to be unhappy’. I’m not unhappy. Through my own hard work I’m back to a healthy weight and know how to maintain it.
You implied, just after I mentioned putting on weight after trauma, that people use trauma as an excuse. That was categorically not what I was doing. I found myself in a bad place, ate too much, put weight on then reversed it all by myself 🤷🏻‍♀️. I don’t need a food monitor.

Yes but I’m not a big eater anyway. Eat 3 meals a day (between small and average portions, depending on appetite) sometimes only 2. Not because I want to avoid food intentionally but because I am genuinely not hungry. I couldn’t eat snacks, I don’t see the point as I don’t get hungry frequently and can go for hours between meals. I naturally like everything that’s considered healthy and nutritious, so I’m lucky in that regard.