Is it possible to be a foodie and also be slim/ lose weight

[SeeooelllaaaCola]

Following from my post on another thread. I have only managed to lose weight for the first time by 'breaking up' with food. In the past I could take or leave chocolate and most cake, I ate probably ten bags of crisps per year, I never enjoyed fast food. My typical Sunday would be sourdough bread toasted, eggs and hot sauce, lunch would be an avocado wrap, snacks would be olives, dinner would be a roast dinner.
I now try to see food as fuel and choose foods that will fill me up but not use up much of my tiny calorie allowance. Taste rarely comes into it. I don't go until local businesses and browse the shelves for inspiration. I don't read recipe books. I don't (even when I could) travel to food markets and street food stalls. I feel like I've had to give up a side of myself, and a hobby, but I now fit into size 12 jeans. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it.

Anyone managed to combine a love of food with losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight? Please tell me how!

Following because I'd love to know the answer too

Yes, I love food and I am slim. I do the 5:2 diet, so by fasting on 2 days, it means I can enjoy food on the other 5. It works for me as I’d never be able to be disciplined 7 days a week!

I had to drastically reduce the frequency of often I ate delicious food. There was no other way around that for me. Now on the way to losing the stone that has hung around for a decade....

Absolutely! All good things just need to be enjoyed in moderation and in reasonable portion sizes.

Have you tried make really delicious meals that takes prep/time and only have an appropriate portion size!

I have always been slim and eaten whatever I want but in moderation. I also rarely drink alcohol but that’s more a cultural thing as getting drunk is relatively frowned on. My food is mainly Chinese food but not like the stuff you get in a Chinese take away so it’s just quite healthy.

@CuriousSeal could you outline what you might eat on a typical day, weekend and weekday. Also how do you cook with butter and make things taste good and stay in your calorie limit?

Anyone managed to combine a love of food with losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight?

Cook delicious healthy food. That’s what I do. Anything with spice is usually easy to make healthily.

It’s possible - but probably not with three meals a day (I actually don’t understand how anyone can lose weight on three meals a day unless they’re exceptionally active). Weight loss is just numbers - you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your calorie limits.

I’ve lost about 3 stone in the last year and eat all the same foods I did before, just much less of them.

I try to stick to quality rather than quantity when it comes to food.

For example... I'd rather have a really delicious slice of cake once a week than a crappy slice of cake every day.

Hugh fearnley whittingstall's new book is good for this

@DivGirl that's the only way I've managed it, eating one meal a day. Then I can go all out on that one meal and don't have to make any healthy swaps which make it taste shit. It does make me sad that I have to eat like this just to stay a weight that is still a high BMI to most.

Yes you just need to count calories, you can eat anything you want but make sure it doesn't go over your daily calories for losing weight

@SeeooelllaaaCola I alternate OMAD/2MAD (so one day breakfast and dinner, next day just lunch) but I keep my calorie limit (not goal, it’s an absolute limit) at my BMR (about 1250). Still have a stone or so to lose but it seems to work for me.

To begin with I weighed every single thing to help me readjust me expectation of what a “normal” portion looked like, and tracked calories religiously. When my weight either rises or plateaus I go back to this for a couple of weeks.

It sounds like boring hard work but I like numbers so it’s actually quite fun.

I guess it depends on what you’re calling a “meal”. I have toast for breakfast, soup or leftovers for lunch and a big main meal every day, plus some snacks.

Nope. Never trust a thin chef.

Yes. The book French Women Don’t Get Fat is basically this in a nutshell. Eating as well as you can, seasonally, unprocessed, and being active. It’s a mindset really.

I have to say though that I think it’s probably much easier to do if you are only feeding yourself, and you have money to spend on food. I think gentle intermittent fasting is helpful too - I rarely eat breakfast, so that helps.

I think these measures that are being proposed are in direct contrast to when people say 'it's easy! Just eat less and move more.' When people have to eat one meal a day and count the calories of every single thing they put in their mouth and use an app to keep a track of it. That is the very opposite of the 'it's easy to lose weight!' argument happening on the other thread.

Well obviously you can’t eat like that all the time, because as you know, although most of the things you mentioned are high quality possible even ‘clean’ they’ve also got a lot of calories in them. And as you also seem to have realised losing weight is mostly a case of eating less calories.

I don’t eat very exciting things during the week and tend to have the same things most days for breakfast lunch. But you can make some exciting/tasty low cal dinners, curries from scratch, slow cooked casseroles, I eat a lot of pan fried fish dishes with herbs and lemon juice which are lovely and fresh and low cal.

On a weekend I treat myself to some of my favourite and more exciting likes now that I’m at my target weight. I only do it on one day though and for two meals. So this weekend we had pastries for breakfast on Sat and a cook at home box from Mexican restaurant Remedy for dinner and I treated myself to some Tony’s chocolate for pudding but for lunch I just had a stock based soup and no snacks.

I've always been slim and passionately love food, drink and cooking.

I think part of it is genetics but also, I eat normal sized meals and don't really snack and if I do snack I'll have a boiled egg and mayo, or couple of tomatoes with salt pepper and olive oil.

I'm not at all drawn to sweet sugary food.

Also if I'm not hungry I don't eat a full meal. If make a soup, baked eggs or something like that and eat a light meal.

When people have to eat one meal a day and count the calories of every single thing they put in their mouth and use an app to keep a track of it.

That’s not how I lose weight. I hate counting calories. I eat a lot. It’s mostly veg though.

Keto! Ditch the carbs and sugar and focus on delicious meat, fish, vegetables and good fats.

I don't eat much meat so I don't think keto would work for me.

If you go 'low carb high fat' and stop counting calories it is absolutely possible to enjoy food and lose weight.

Yes, it’s hard to eat less, but if what you do eat is absolutely delicious it’s much easier than if it’s ‘diet food’ or things you don’t really like. What’s nicer, snack a jacks or a few almonds? Sliced supermarket bread or real sourdough? Muller light or a small helping of Greek yogurt? A fun size Mars Bar or a couple of really good chocolates? And so on. Real food is more satisfying.

I’m not mega slim or anything, just a healthy weight and I like eating and hate dieting, calorie counting etc.