Do you eat for health as well as pleasure?

[Thevegetarianchef]

I was talking with dh about this week's food shop.
He bought me some low calorie snacks that I have that are half the calories of kettle crisps I love.I tend to mix and match snacks.
He couldn't believe I would eat something less enjoyable and I said many things I eat are due to health tbh.
For context he is overweight anyway.
Got me thinking do the majority of people eat for health ie brown breads high fibre cereal fruit veggies or just because it's delicious which I understand as a chef.
I've always had what's cheapest, healthiest or quickest to get ready.

I make my vegetables interesting. I roast them with spices, I drizzle extra virgin olive oil and seasoning on broccoli. I griddle asparagus on my griddle pan and drizzle with balsamic vinegar, I cook shredded cabbage in butter water with fennel seeds. I eat salad with delicious dressings.

I don't eat healthily because I have to. I eat healthily because I want to and enjoy it.

I could have written this. I have chocolate every day but the rest of what I eat is mostly veg, fruit, fish, pulses, yogurt and kefir, nuts and seeds.

Doesn’t everybody? I find this a really strange question.

Healthy food is enjoyable. Eating only treat food makes me feel unwell. So there’s a natural balance. Sometimes that needs to be rebalanced slightly or temptation resisted because treat food can be tempting in the moment.

I’d avoid processed low fat, sugar etc alternatives though. Yuck. I’d rather eat less of the real thing, or not at all

I calorie count mostly. Probably bit the best way to a balanced diet, but I’m a product of the 90’s when it was what we were fed all the time as being the thing to do. I eat in deficit most days of the week usually with one day ‘off’ and only recently have I started to focus on nutrition as well. I actually don’t feel any different for doing this which leads me to wonder if it’s all just a load of old tut really.

These days I only eat for health. 68 today and fit as a fiddle.

I eat 30 different fruit & veg a week on NHS advice, to boost my immune system.

I thought it would be a major hassle, but instead, it's led to me making/eating far more interesting and enjoyable food.

I'm not sure if it's linked, but my ds18 who eats with me, hasn't had a cold in the last 5 years and didn't ever get covid. Neither of us is over weight.

I always have veg with most meals I don't dislike veg but If health weight wasn't an issue I would sooner have another carb on my plate instead. But I wouldn't eat something I didn't like just for health reasons and if im having a snack/dessert im getting the full fat version as its a treat and I want to really enjoy it or there's no point

Without knowing exactly what you mean by a low calorie chip replacement snack, it doesn't sound particularly healthy to me, especially for someone with ADHD where a whole food, Mediterranean diet is recommended.

As for me, I try to include healthy nutritious food every day, whether I fancy it or not. This is particularly the case for vegetables, which I don't hate per se, but probably wouldn't eat much of at all if I was just choosing food for pleasure!

I do both, but approaching 50 I do try to ‘make sensible choices’ the majority of the time.

I don’t and have never calorie counted. I don’t like being obsessive about food in that way.

But I eat a healthy breakfast - porridge with fruit and nuts, or eggs. If I had my way, I’d have coffee and a pastry or cake for breakfast, but I know that’s not good for me.

White bread and rice are occasional for me - usually stick to whole grain.

I plan my meals to get lots of fruit and veg in to each day.

I don’t eat processed food and I don’t snack. Never have crisps or biscuits. If I’m going to eat ‘unhealthy’ food I’d rather have a dessert or really nice cake and coffee out, or make the odd visit to the chippie/have the odd takeaway.

I started eating for health a couple of years ago. Cut out most sugar, most packaged ultra processed foods and just focussed on whole foods. After a few weeks I found that my taste for food completely changed and I not longer enjoyed the unhealthy food. Vegetables tasted sweeter and seemed to have more flavour, I started to crave things like red peppers rather than crisps. Now I am able to eat for heath and enjoyment at the same time which is wonderful.

As many PPS have pointed out, ‘healthy’ eating means different things to different people. To me, healthy eating would not include a ‘low calorie snack’ because I’m assuming it’s something in a packet as opposed to some crudités. If it’s a processed snack then I wouldn’t call it healthy (that’s not to say you should never eat it though. I eat stuff from packets sometimes but I try to keep it in moderation).

Luckily, the older I get, the more whole foods appeal to me and the less I crave processed foods. As a young woman I could have quite happily lived on takeaways and booze and felt fine on it, but if I tried that now, I’d feel physically terrible and very constipated.

So I eat stuff I like, which also happens to be pretty good for me; mostly fruit, veg and good protein. I never calorie count because it’s not relevant to me, but I do aim for plenty of fibre, protein and good oils.

I eat somewhere between healthy and pleasure. I'm not forcing myself to eat parsnips just because they're healthy, but I couldn't live on what gives a very temporary dopamine boost either.

My definition of healthy is a broad range of foods across different food groups to meet my body's nutritional needs. If my body is off-balance (e.g. fewer vegetables if eating out a lot) then I feel icky within a few days.

Calorie counting alone is not automatically healthy. I'd rather enjoy moderate amounts of an "unhealthy" snack than eat a "low calorie" heavily manufactured alternative like a "Skinny Whip" (sounds absolutely disgusting; makes me think of school custard skin). I'd rather have a decent piece of chocolate that hits the spot, and is probably only something like 50cals more anyway.

On a side note, I hate when women's exercise is reduced to "burning calories". Yes it's a benefit, but there's so many, much more important benefits that get over-looked.

I want to be decently healthy to enjoy life for as long as possible, and I want to do what I can to enjoy decent quality of life for the last few decades. I also want to enjoy life while the going is good as the future has no guarentees.

I don't like fish in any form, taste or texture so wouldn't eat that, equally I don't eat ready meals. I much prefer a seeded bread but wholemeal for me is just as enjoyable.

People recommend popcorn as a lighter snack, again not something I like so wouldn't eat 'just because'.

While a better choice than say chicolate some fruits are high in natural sugar so while I have a handful at lunchtime daily eating a punnet of grapes wouldn't be overly healthy either.

Water is my choice of drink during the day, again as it's something I like.

I do eat what you could term as unhealthy foods but don't consider foods to be unhealthy as such, where I'd maybe I'd eat a bowl of Greek yogurt, strawberries, watermelon and grapes I wouldn't eat the same weght in biscuits, brownies or ice cream.

Food is really just a fuel for our bodies but should equally be enjoyable to you. Moderation with all food groups.

It’s healthier to avoid highly processed foods under the label “snacks”. This would include kettle chips and any less calorific alternatives. On the other hand, even people who east healthily are often not purists.

Some people I work with have zero ideas about what is healthy and what isn’t. Then they wonder why their poos are awful and they feel crap.

I am 'meh' about blueberries but I eat them for the sole reason that they are good for me.

I would definitely eat for health if I had to choose one. Luckily I enjoy vegetables more than cake.

I love eating plants and keeping an eye on nutrition. I am vegan and quite active so need to make sure I eat enough protein and foods with iron. I use Nutracheck and have it set up so i have a protein goal alongside calories. I stick to calorie and protein goals most of the time with the odd day where I don't and just accept that and get back on with it the next day. I eat very very little sugar, just when I bake, about once a week.

I choose to be healthy through diet and exercise because I am going to be single and living alone in later life and want to stay as independent as possible.

Having said all of that, about twice a month I go out, drink too much white wine and have a big bag of salted crinkle cut crisps. There is no way I would want low fat version in that instance.

i eat mostly for health but I wouldn’t buy low fat snacks - they still nutritionally empty so what’s the point?

Are you very young? It’s quite surprising that you have never before had the thought that making better food choices might help your weight! Most slim, healthy people do not eat lots of processed food or junk food on a regular basis- if they did, they too would be overweight and more likely to suffer poor health.

But better late than never, I’m really glad the thread has opened your eyes to the idea of helping your health through good nutrition.

I’ve never bought low fat anything. Full fat tastes so much better and is less likely to have additives. We have whole milk, butter, full fat yoghurt etc. we just don’t eat loads of it. All of us are a healthy weight.

Healthy food can be delicious and first choice if you know how to prepare it, but as I know from personal experience, even healthy food will make you fat if you eat too much of it.

I love fruit and veggies, eggs, nuts and whole grain foods, fish, sesame, seafood, dark chocolate and lean meat. Herbs and spices are an essential. I’m fairly active but still slightly overweight because my Achilles heel is sugar and the odd glass of wine!

I don’t enjoy preserved meats or takeaways like Macdonalds, although I’ll eat them if I have company and the others want to. I sometimes fancy a ready meal for the convenience but they are usually disappointing, so I batch cook to make sure I have something easy for those times when I get home feeling starving with no energy.

SEN aside, I don’t think there’s any adult in 2026 who “has zero idea” what constitutes healthy eating. People eating burgers, chips and chocolate cake are not oblivious to the fact that these are unhealthy foods. They know, it’s just some don’t care, as they prioritise enjoyment.

I wouldn’t eat crisps at all rather than eat ones of lesser quality. I fortunately love salads and veg and half my meals are vegetables. I love bread and butter, but it’s not good for me so restrict the amount. But quality wins over quantity - and as the veg is generally lower calorie I can eat a lot, and yes I weigh out my food; I enjoy sweet potatoes with onion and chorizo (and a big salad), but weigh the potato and only use a small amount of chorizo.

My tip is to start with just one meal per day, such as breakfast.

Your base could be porridge, or Bircher muesli if your mornings are hectic as you can make a batch to keep in the fridge.
You can then add to it:

• Fruit of your choice (can be fresh or dried)
• Nuts or seeds of your choice (or stir through nut butter)
• Flavourings - eg cinnamon, vanilla extract, small blob of honey or jam.

If you buy plain nuts, you can toast them lightly in a hot pan (no oil) for a few minutes to improve the flavour if desired.

Or if you prefer a cooked breakfast, something like poached egg and roast tomatoes with olive oil on whole grain toast.

I find that eating these kinds of things for breakfast keep me fuller for longer and I’m less inclined to snack.