How do you manage weight liss if your a foodie.

[Imtoooldforallthis]

I know irs all about self control, but just wondering how others manage it. I cook from scratch every day, spend a lot of time deciding what to cook.i love to be inspired and hate that I am restricted. Things I would have liked to have cooked this week are, crispy belly pork on bbq, homemade bread. A lovely old recipe I have for ginger cookies. Homemade pizza. Just to name a few. I get so much enjoyment out of eating and cooking, it's what I discuss with friends. I know to lose weight permanently I would have to cut these things out permantly or cut portion size so small it's not worth having.

Fasting 16:8 and doing swaps into the food. So I'd eat the pork but I'd have with a salad not the bread for example. Make the cookies but perhaps half the sugar and only have one and freeze the rest.

Also swapping things like cream for yogurt and using intense flavours in lieu of fat/carbs. So I make a spicy carbonara with a bit of cayenne that disguises that it's not a rich creamy cheesy affair.

I'm not a foodie but surely you take the same approach as everyone else - eat less, move more.

I love cooking and baking too but I try to exercise most days and eat sensibly.

I do keto.
Lots of meat, butter, olive oil, full fat Greek Greek yogurt, fish cooked in butter. Plus lots of greens.

I restarted 10 days ago and am 10lbs down

I cook from scratch as well but I choose carefully what I cook.

If I bake, I choose a recipe from one of my mum's cook books. Just as delicious but sometimes half the sugar.

If I'm cooking savoury things, I choose better quality ingredients rather than relying on rich or sweet sauces, and I grow lots of fresh herbs. I buy spices from Indian markets, they tend to be fresher (and less expensive). It's possible to add intensity of flavour without adding calories.

I know your all right, I just sometimes feel restricted. I'll ofter pick one of my many cookery bookes and go through all the recipes deciding what to cook and nearly everything that appeals is because the ingredients and not low calorie. Like slow roast shoulder of lamb or a rib eye steak, or a perfectly baked pie. I would be happy losing a stone and know I could do it, but then it would just creep back on.

I think you need a change in mindset. Nothing needs to be completely off limits but the pie should be for special occasions. The lamb or steak you can still have with vegetables, just skip the potatoes to go with it, and be mindful of portion size.

I would eat all those things but as you say, watch portion size. I think cooking from scratch and enjoying the art of food is really important - food is an individual pleasure and a social connector - and any diet/way of eating has to fit into and around your enthusiasm.

you mention bread and pizza - I would only make one of the two in a week because they are so carb-heavy and very more-Ish.

i think you should also offset, so on a day you want to eat your ginger cookies you need to offset elsewhere (for example, skip breakfast so you can enjoy a mid morning coffee and cookies; or make your other meals that day light, with no other sugar-rich food.)

The truth is to lose weight you are restricted. I also bake and make bread but if I’m trying to lose weight I just can’t eat them regularly. I do eat loads but it’s more low carb as above so lots of meat, vegetables, salads and full fat dairy. I do still have wine and a piece of cake most weeks as we well. Seems to work

You are so right, but here's the problem, I would have steak salad and air fridge chips, if I cant have the chips I wouldn't want the steak. If I didn't have mash to mop up the gravy in the pie I'm not sure I'd want it. Plus I could have to make chips ir mash for my DH anyway. Having said all that I do realise this is why I'm struggling to lose the weight.

I’m like you and I’m not sure I should be giving diet advice as I’m a bit over where I’d like to be but that comes from peri menopause rather than anything else I think.

The thing which works for me for weight loss is reducing carbs. So you can still eat the pork belly, steak, lamb etc - just have them with salad, or green beans, or broccoli instead of potatoes/carrots etc.

It does cut out the sugar so you need to more focus on savoury stuff, but once you get into the swing of it there are some nice keto deserts based around nuts and dark chocolate which are naturally sugar free.

I do find that my weight gradually goes back up once I eat normally again, so I do it a couple of times a year to maintain

I’m a foodie, I just have a strong awareness of what foods should be occasional treats (pie, steak and chips). You can still cook healthy and delicious meals-now it’s summer; you can look at salad recipes and things like grilled fish.

But could you have the steak with butternut squash gratin? Or the pie with a cauliflower mash? Both are delicious!

It’s portion size, you can have all the tastes/experience but half the portion, and the rest is veg, salad. Freeze half the pie, turn the left over lamb into something else and freeze.

also, ad I’ve found this most difficult, you have to kind of stop thinking about food so much. I try and think of creative veg stuff now (hfw veg every day). I love cooking, etc, but there’s only 2 of us….so I cook simpler nice stuff, more veg and be creative with that. And cook extravagant meals for guests.

IF may be for you then. Have the meal the way you want but don't have breakfast too.

I cook from and love food, your best options are either eat smaller portions of what you want (I’d fill the rest of the plate with veg/salad and eat those first) or cut out an element (I often have the meat but leave out the carbs). If you don’t want to do either of those things then you’re going to struggle.

I make pizza every week & have reduced the weight of the dough ball for mine from 220g to 150g, it is still a decent sized pizza and I don’t feel stuffed like I would if I ate the “normal” one. You might find (like I have) that a smaller portion of what you love will still be a good meal.

I eat a big salad with protein for lunch each day (previously would have had a filled baguette, maybe with soup), which keeps me satisfied until the evening.

Great idea will defiantly do that.

All very well to do this, but not very good for heart health or if you've high cholesterol?

I'll look into this.

Will have a look at that HFW book now.

I absolutely love cooking, baking and everything to do with food.

I just don't eat many carbs. So I don't eat bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes etc - I do sometimes have a small portion of rice if I use made a really good curry.

So I tend to eat all the good stuff just half the amount I serve everyone else and with salad or green veg. I eat cake - just not every day

I'm 5'3 and 8.2 stone but if I eat carbs I'm easily over 9 stone without even trying!

I have the hairy bikers diet books , they are pretty good as full of flavour and address exactly what you are talking about. Unfortunately I'm rubbish at sticking to recipes, portion size and my issue is beer on a weekend. Drinking 5 or 6 pints (in total) over a week = 1500 calories + so wrecks my low cal meals!

I’m not sure being a foodie is the whole issue, it’s also wanting to eat what you like. You can approach it as a foodie challenge ie researching new (low fat, low calorie or whatever you decide) recipes, thinking about how to adapt things etc. but this means accepting you have restrictions now.

i have health issues which mean I can’t eat high fat food/ dairy. Has been a massive pain (I’m also a foodie!), particularly as my partner needs to eat calorie dense meals. But I’m quite proud of the array of meals we’ve come up with. Eg tonight I’m having Vietnamese banh mi with belly pork - I will pad out the pork with jackfruit so I’m not having too much fat.

I hear you and struggle with similar. My husband and I love talking about and trying food and recipes (and are both overweight!)

Two ideas:

1. Get really into being the absolute best low cal / low carb foodie- research new recipes and try them instead
2. Allow yourself to make one thing a week but if it’s eg a batch of cookies halve the recipes and then freeze some?

I’ve pretty much given up baking unless there’s a reason….which involves other people eating most of it.

there was a reason I put on 3 stone over lockdown, cakes and sourdough for the 2 of us….