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.

I hear you. I love cooking and experimenting with food, eating out etc and being on a diet really sucks the joy out of it for me. It's just not possible to cook the type of food I enjoy on a diet.

No one trusts a skinny chef 😁 it sounds like cooking lots of delicious food, and sharing it with loved ones, is a big part of your life and personality. Are you sure you want to lose weight? Maybe you should just stay as you are, unless it's giving you some kind of a serious problem.

I've been on holiday this week, lots of pub meals. For quite a few I chose the steak pie and asked for it with no chips or mash, but extra veg if possible. And I honestly enjoyed them a lot more than if I'd had a mound of spuds on my plate too. Unless you're about to do hard physical work who needs both pastry and potato?
We stayed in a nice hotel last night, my dinner was salmon with various veg with sweet potato - no 'white carbs' at all. I've noticed that at quite a lot of good restaurants recently, things like beans or lentils instead of cheap carby fillers rice, pasta or potato - healthier and tastier.

I'm doing loads and loads of running at the moment. If you run a lot you can be more relaxed with diet and still lose weight.

I do think that IF or 5:2 would really work for you. It works by dropping quantity not quality. It also allows you to eat full plates of food so you are full and satisfied. The difference is you only do that once or twice a day in stead of 3 times.

The 5:2 diets is a longer version so you eat 500cals 2 days a week then normally the other 5 so you can indulge then. Delay don't deny!! If you only have a stone to lose I would start with 5:2 and see how it goes, switch to 16:8 intermittent fasting if not.

Also agree with pp. Use your skills and foodie nature to explore new delicious things. Roasted broccoli, pan fried cabbage, veggie gratin, couliflour cheese, creamy baked fish etc etc. eat the butter, the cream, the olive oil. It's very nutritious and will keep you full and satisfied.

Dairy and animal fats are not the enemy. It sounds like you are eating some really good foods. Baking is more difficult as sugar probably is not helping. See Why We eat (too much) by Andrew Jenkinson or Michael Moseley’s summary of the Mediterranean diet.

Cut down on carbs, keep the portions reasonable, have lots of vegetables.

I have fruit and yoghurt for breakfast now so very few carbs there (or if I have time maybe eggs and mushrooms/tomatoes etc). I try and have a low carb lunch (meat, lentils and veg) and then am more relaxed about dinner but cook real food. For me it’s the snacks outside of meals that are the problem.