Can you be a bit of a foodie and yet still be slim?

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Oh I don't know where to start, really, have suddenly got tears in my eyes writing this. I need to tackle my weight problem but I do love food. So I'm wondering if I actually take more of an interest in what I'm cooking and eating, ie. get into asian cookery and do a few more vegetarian things and soups etc, it would help me?

Any slim foodies out there can reassure me it is possible to be both?

Yes, definitely.
As well as being a foodie I am a terrible food snob and that helps me avoid junk food as it seldom reaches my exacting standards.
For instance I generally only eat cakes if either they are very very good quality (eg from Betty's) or I have made them myself!
There are some things, like chocolate, where it somehow seems easier to eat less if they are high quality - one really posh chocolate can be more satisfying than a whole pack of cheap ones without much flavour.

There's no category of food I avoid - eg I am happy to eat things with lots of fat, like sausages - but I will try to always keep the portion small and bulk it up with lots of veg.

Good luck

my SIL is a mega foodie and is thetiniest person I have ever met I am fidning that being more discerning about what I eat has helped me lose weight

yes it is possible
i dotn have much advice but would say :
cut down on carbs
eg: if having pasta, sauce and veg, id have roughly 75%veg and 25% pasta...

with a roast, reduce the amount of roast pots and yorkshires you have and add another veg

asian food can be good but same there, less noodles more bean shoots and mangetout.

and watch portion sizes, dont fill your plate just to use the food up, most things you could prob freeze/ fridge for lunch next day

:Dhope that helps..(but sorry if crap advice.)

I'm definitely a foodie and definitely slim! I love food and cooking. But I do try not to make too many cakes and puddings and to concentrate on making healthy meals with lots of vegetables.

I'm definitely a foodie and I have to say that it would not be possible to eat like I eat if I didn't exercise like I do.

I do bellydancing twice a week, swim once a week and walk to work every day.
I used to do a lot of digging (ie gardening) but at the moment my garden is tiny and I don't seem to have time to do it.

So, your answer is, yes, be a foodie and exercise to work it off!

(and food always tastes better if you feel you deserve it!)

I'm a bit of a foodie. So is dh. Sod dieting and rules.

I run. DH is a triathlete. We're pretty slim and eat/cook what we like. Luckily what we like is generally healthy but if I want to bake and eat cake then I shall.

Absolutely. I love food, eat tons and am slim. My DH nicknames me the 'machine'. The trick is as you say become more interested in your food and you'll naturally become more choosy and a bit of a food snob. The results is usually liking 'good' food, not cheap food that makes you fat.

FWIW, I've never done it but from what I've heard weight watchers really works in that you can still enjoy your food but you control it more and think about it so when you do have a treat you really savour it.

Good luck!

I'm a foodie and a size 10-12. I used to be a lot fatter (comfort eating). I love cooking, but svoury food is my thing. And I love fish too. I cook with quite a lot of butter, so it isn't exactly low fat. I think the main thing is to be disciplined about eating rubbish. Don't buy packets of chocolate biscuits...do eat expensive cakes from Betty's

Yup, me too, absolute foody, food snob and spend all evening reading cook books.

I think the best "secret" is the time of day you eat. Since moving out here, my main meal is lunchtime. I know that's not always feasible, but when I worked in Liverpool I would eat a teeny tiny sandwich at lunchtime and literally eat everything in sight when I got home, from the moment I got home to the minute I went to bed!

dittany I think I've been following that diet without even realising it!

I think it is possible. Another suggestion (which kind of fits in with being a foodie) is to take time with your meals; savour them rather than wolf them down. It takes time for food to reach your stomach and for you to realise that you are no longer hungry. If you eat more slowly, then you will feel when you're filling up and not eat as much.

bibbitybobbity, your post reminded me of where I was a few years ago. I love food and always have, but soon around the time I left home I started to put on a lot of weight.

With hindsight I can see that as soon as I was responsible for cooking for and feeding myself, my diet changed and became quite unhealthy.

Now I'm like Kathy, in that I'm a bit of a food snob. I eat pretty much whatever I want, but I try to make sure it's something I cooked myself. If I didn't cook it, I try to buy good quality ready made food. We try not to get take away, but have lots of home made pizza, Indian and stir fries, which I'm sure are healthier.

I've definitely made the effort to learn lots of interesting new dishes, especially things that are heavy on the veg as that cuts down the calories. I like soups but DH doesn't feel like they fill him up. Instead we tend to eat a fair bit of fish and veg (ratatouille is popular but I try to think of different ways of cooking the veg to make it interesting), pasta in tomato based sauces, vegetable risottos, and vegetable curries with rice or chappatis.

For puddings, I try to make things that will keep so there's no urgency to eat everything before it goes stale. Otherwise, I portion it up and put it in the freezer. It's still there to eat if I want (so I don't feel deprived) but I only have it if I really want it as it's a bit of hassle to defrost etc.

Lastly, I've cut down my portion sizes. Went out and bought smaller plates so I don't eat as much! Sounds silly but I think it really helped make the difference!

Thanks all.

I don't have a huge weight problem (just gradually creeping up with the years plus another 10lb after giving up smoking last year!) and am already quite a food snob.

For lunch today I made myself a smoked salmon sandwich, for eg.

I do not like sugar at all - almost can't stand it, infact, never make cakes or puddings, almost never eat chocolate.

My favourite foods are potatoes, meat, cheese, bread, wine, casseroles, things like fish pie, curries, thai food, samosas, pastry, all that sort of stuff. I know I need to tackle the carbs thing. I almost always have seconds of my evening meal - am greedy pig .

But am going to tackle this by reading more recipe books and cooking more, if anything, rather than less.

aw bibbity, sorry you're feeling down about your weight.

I'm slim and the most terrible greedy guzzler (of good food - can't be doing with shop bought cakes or biscuits or crisps). tbh I hold becoming gigantic at bay by:

Walking (with oomph) for 30-40 mins every day
Trying not to cook huge oversized lovelies (think Marsy's LDC) that will sit in my fridge and call to me everytime I open the door.

I have had to drastically cut back on my baking activities and only do puddings on the weekend.

I also looked at where I was getting my calories during the day and lunch can be a bit of a bugger (so home made light soup is just as filling as pasta/sandwiches etc but has WAY WAY less calories).

Oh and I try to say off the booze during the week too.

The exercise is the main thing I think though.

ah x posts.

carbs is your thing I see.

Hateful carbs

Yes, Dittany, you are right. I probably eat 60% of my food after 6pm. That's all wrong too.

yes

I like nice food I just don't eat a lot of it

why do you ghave seconds? do you not feel hideously uncomfortably full afterwards?

one compromiise irs to wait half an hour before allowing yourself to think about seconds - gives you time to respond to feeling full

I like nice food and a lot of it so I am not much help(I am neither slim nor overweight) but I do want to know who this Betty person is in relation to nice cakes....

doesnt mention sauvignon blanc though