To think healthy food actually tastes better than unhealthy food?

[takemebackto1800]

It amazes me, I'm pretty overweight and trying to eat healthily/low carb and I notice that whenever I eat like this, the food always tastes better and I'm not left feeling like crap afterwards. However, I always seem to slip back to unhealthy eating/loads of carbs even though the healthy meals taste 1000x better to me. I wonder why that is? Anyway does anyone else think healthy food tastes so much better than unhealthy?

I’m
The same OP! I started 2 weeks ago with MFP. I have 9 stone to lose, but would be happy with 6. I’m down 11lb so far and really do enjoy good food.

But god I’m craving pizza and toast. Weighing and chopping is a pain in the arse.

YABU! Unhealthy food isn't necessarily processed junk. Yes, healthy, nutritious homemade food is delicious, but certainly not always as delicious as homemade cakes, brownies and other rich, sugary or fatty foods!

I’d be inclined to agree but it’s the effort required, as a PP said, give me a private chef and I’d be sorted for life. I’ve ditched what I thought were the best Chinese take always on a Friday night for a decent steak with some veg and home made chips and I genuinely do enjoy it more but miss slobbing on the sofa waiting for someone to bring it to my door and not having the washing up afterwards.

I think it's like the difference between making love with a long term partner and a dirty fuck with a FWB

If you only do the latter it's not healthy long term, if you only do the former it can be a bit boring.

I don't think it's just the effort, at least for me. There's something going on in my head that makes me choose certain foods over others I like more. Maybe it's an ingrained perception of 'treat', I don't know.

To give you an example, if we go out for a meal I will be drawn to meat and feel slightly panicky at the thought of choosing the fish option. But I genuinely enjoy the fish more. But something inside me screams 'no! no! no! get the steak!'.

I agree.
But it takes a bit of commitment to buy and prepare.

@Thehop

I’m The same OP! I started 2 weeks ago with MFP. I have 9 stone to lose, but would be happy with 6. I’m down 11lb so far and really do enjoy good food.

But god I’m craving pizza and toast. Weighing and chopping is a pain in the arse.

You can still have pizza - just go with an italian style bases, and like the Italians, keep the rest of your meals small that day.

@FatCatThinCat

I don't think it's just the effort, at least for me. There's something going on in my head that makes me choose certain foods over others I like more. Maybe it's an ingrained perception of 'treat', I don't know.

To give you an example, if we go out for a meal I will be drawn to meat and feel slightly panicky at the thought of choosing the fish option. But I genuinely enjoy the fish more. But something inside me screams 'no! no! no! get the steak!'.

I agree with this. I always feel that weekend food needs to be special, which is logically ridiculous. Something in me feels decidedly cheated having something "normal" on a Friday night.

Thankfully, i've discovered those Mayflower curry sauce mixes that are really low calorie, so i've been leaning towards a Chinese "fakeaway" which is really nice, quick to make and cheap, but I still feel like i've had a Friday Night Tea.

But god I’m craving pizza and toast. Weighing and chopping is a pain in the arse.

And that's why dieting and weight loss plans fail. Few people can cope with denying themselves the food they like long-term, and few people can be arsed to closely monitor their food intake forever either. But once they lose the weight (if they do), they vow to maintain by just 'eating healthily' and soon slide back into old habits.

I'm about to turn 50 and I'm sick and tired of losing and regaining the same stone or two for the last umpteen years. And even more than that, I'm sick of thinking about what I should and shouldn't be eating. Weight loss seems almost like it's a crap, self-inflicted hobby for many people!

New plan: eat literally whatever I like and however much I like at lunch and dinner. Fast between dinner and noon the next day. No snacks between meals. One day off at the weekend. No weighing, no measuring, no portion control, no foods are banned. No restrictions on what I eat, only on when I eat. If I'm tempted by biscuits etc, I can just think 'Yes, but not now - save them for dessert'.

Unhealthy food tastes better. However, the way you feel afterwards is worse.

It all depends on what you remember more strongly - the taste as you eat the fried junk, or the sensation of bloating and heaviness afterwards.