Day off from diet - what would you eat? (Period)

[Normye]

I know this is going to sound insane but I literally don’t know what to eat/treat myself with. I’ve been on a diet for 6 month (no WL drugs). I guess I have developed an aversion to junk food which I don’t think is healthy. I will occasionally order a takeaway with friends but most days just stick to my very boring diet.

I realised I’ve kind of started to develop a fear of “bad food”. Which I know is a sort of misnomer of itself. So plan to nip this in the bud today by treating myself. I’m on my period so feel like o should be able to consume comforting food without feelings of guilt or a fear I am on the verge of losing control. I don’t want this psychological issue to deepen.

What sort of munch things would you treat yourself to?

Having extremely bad period pains so going to camp out on my sofa and watch some comfort films.

I can’t believe how scared I am to eat a big bag of my fav crisps. Given how that’s I gained the weight to begin with!

Typically I would get crisps and dip or hummus. And a choc. But the idea of that actually scares me. Which in turn scares me!

My advice would be to “don’t do it,” but I can go totally off the rails permanently after one bad day. That’s why Mounjaro is working so well for me.

You don’t sound like you actually even want any “bad” food, so why do it? I could understand if you were craving something but you’re not.

I know what you mean, and I'm not sure it's healthy, to start labelling stuff as bad etc. Also a day of eating some comfort food isn't necessarily going to ruin you.

I'm trying to think more in terms of stuff that's fresh and tasty and got a variety of ingredients. (I have had to cold turkey crisps).

So I might make myself a thai (ish) style noodle soup - as I'll usually have garlic, ginger, and chilli in and often have coriander and lime.

Or make a mac cheese - or a spaghetti carbonara or a pasta sauce with lots of veg and tomato and chilli.

I've been ill for the past 3 weeks with a virus - and I've been eating a lot of soup, nice bread and cheese...

Weirdly I’m not craving food. Which is a huge win given I definitely have had to over come comfort eating and very mild bingeing tendencies.

It’s just that I decided I would veg out on the sofa with a water bottle with junk food. But the idea of treats actually caused anxiety. Which freaked me out completely. Back in the day I’d have ordered a McDonald’s (multiple burgers) and baked myself something I would pick at all day.

100%. I definitely think it’s not great that food should have this hold over me.

Oh a nice big plate of spicy, tomato pasta sounds amazing tbh. Pasta is on my no go list so it would feel like a treat

The best advice I ever heard was have a cheat meal not a cheat day!
if I was having a treat I would go for an incredibly delicious pastry or freshly made donut from our local bakery!

I would go fit something calorific but healthy-ish then. Date slice. Flapjack bites. Something nutty. 70% chocolate. So you are getting nutrients and not just empty calories. Still luxurious but also good for you.

I would spend time thinking about what you actually want rather than what "bad foods" you actually want.

I would go for comforting but semi healthy. Jacket potato, real butter, cheese, beans, side salad. Plus small treats like lighter crisps (wotsits, quavers or skips) and a mini bag of malteasers. This is treat territory whilst maintaining limits and control.

I can’t believe how far I’ve come. A few months ago I had got myself into such a bad fixation with deliveries and uber eats. I would literally obsess over what I could order each day. I can’t believe I’ve shaken that! It was getting scary tbh.

Just order a takeaway. I’d want Thai food or sushi.

Sounds like you are doing really well. There's so much out there about 'healthy' food, what you 'should and shouldn't eat' you can start to lose all sense of perspective!

I’d go for a fancy box of chocolates or a curry delivery for dinner. Something that I don’t associate with previous bad habits.

I also wouldn’t, I’d just continue to eat healthy meals, food should not be seen as a treat, as it is what causes many problems, bad day, treat yourself, good day, treat yourself, feeling sad, treat yourself.

instead why not search vinted or something snd buy something nice to wear.

An individual trifle and a punnet of berries.

What do you fancy though? That's what's most important.

I could go for a hot sausage roll with a salad right now too, now that I'm thinking about it.

Or homemade mexican. Pico de Gallo, guac, Sour cream, cheese and a quesadilla.

So sort of half healthy half not treats.

If it is meant to be a treat or to make you feel better you need to think about what you actually really fancy not what is good or bad. I am on MJ and if I really fancy something sweet or a takeaway I do have it but it tends to be a smaller portion than before and sometimes it can be quite disappointing.

If you are genuinely changing your mindset so that you no longer want/fancy unhealthy foods and you are not craving anything, surely that is a good thing. That is what is meant to happen over time, your tastes change so that big bar of chocolate or whatever is too sweet/too much or those chips too greasy/stodgy etc.

What about high calorie quality not crap foods as cheat foods? So something made with double cream, a creamy carbonara with good bacon, cream, cheese, pasta and a load of ground pepper. Nigella’s crab mac n cheese is delicious.

Or if you are thinking sweet - really good chocolate, ideally dark with fresh raspberries. could you bake some scones and have with clotted cream.

Go for high calorie but real food, cream, butter, cheese etc. Nothing fake.

That sounds incredibly restrictive. Surety whole wheat pasta with a vegetable forward sauce would be a healthy meal?

To answer your actual question, if I was going to eat whatever I wanted with no consequences one day it would be chips and gravy, with some of the chips in a buttered white roll. And later in the day maybe a crisp sandwich with the remainder of the crisps eaten in front of the tv with a bottle of wine.