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You and Food

Rail Tracer

Freaking Ratchet
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
3,031
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Food is just food to me. While my appetite for food isn't big.... I am conscientious about it.

For a person who has a harder time gaining weight than losing weight, I tend to eat as much as I can per day. I generally don't each huge portion sizes (nor do I eat until I'm bloated.)
 

Zoom

Self sustaining supernova
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
1,045
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9w8
During my teens: Obsessive, controlling and life-consuming, a prime example of what can happen once one falls off the "healthy" end of the spectrum and into a disorder.

Now: Food is half fuel, half pleasure - with automaticity in calculating the needed components (fat, protein, carbohydrates, nutrients) into a meal without having to think, and the result still being damn tasty. When cravings do occur they are for steamed vegetables or a bite of extremely dark chocolate. It is at the point where listening to the body's subtle and obvious signals results in good feelings and eating only till one is satiated feels perfect.

Tradeoffs: Hypersensitivity to excesses of most kinds, like sugary food or high levels of caffeine.

This situation is so much lovelier and well adjusted than a few years ago it is almost difficult to believe.
 
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violaine

Guest
^Good to hear. Really good to hear. :) I'm a total foodie and always have been which lead to very strict eating habits when I was growing up. Food wasn't enjoyable because of my rigid attitude. I'm balanced now, it took a long time to get there.

I've been reading a lot about food sensitivities lately. I have a little theory that food intolerances may be associated with weight gain or an inability to lose weight easily for some people. In googling, it seems there is some support for the idea.

I started to think about the connection between food intolerance and weight gain after experimenting with my diet and realizing that dairy foods don't agree with me. Weight has dropped off me without me even trying. It went from all of the places I would want it to and none of the places I want to keep it as well. Such a strange experience. I wasn't overweight but I've never been the kind of person who could drop weight without a concerted effort.

I like the idea of food as medicine too.
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
God and Appetite

Margaret Mead said that changing our diet is more difficult than changing our religion.

Well, I have changed my religion and now I am changing my diet, and Margaret was right, it is harder.

My latest foray is the idea that sugar is the trigger for appetite, and made all the more a trigger by adding fat and salt.

So I still start my day with a weak coffee without sugar and a warm, wholemeal roll, mainly because it is a ritual for me to break my fast every morning alfresco at the Bakery.

But then I get serious with a fruit salad with natural yogurt, washed down with fresh vegetable juice, as I read the newspaper.

In the evening I have steamed vegetables or vegetables sautéd in coconut oil with an egg, together with fresh nuts or seeds.

And once or twice a week I have fish, chicken or a scotch fillet steak.

But world wide, very few of us change our religion or our diet. They seem to be out of our control. It's as though our beliefs have a mind of their own along with our appetite.

So God bless you and bon appétit.
 

swordpath

New member
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Oct 24, 2007
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Is there anyone like me that would much rather eat a giant Asiago cheese bagel, toasted with a bodacious amount of cream cheese on it, than any type of dessert out there?
 
V

violaine

Guest
I prefer savory over sweet by far. In fact, if I eat anything sweet I have to eat something savory not long after.
 
V

violaine

Guest
Margaret Mead said that changing our diet is more difficult than changing our religion.

Well, I have changed my religion and now I am changing my diet, and Margaret was right, it is harder.

My latest foray is the idea that sugar is the trigger for appetite, and made all the more a trigger by adding fat and salt.

So I still start my day with a weak coffee without sugar and a warm, wholemeal roll, mainly because it is a ritual for me to break my fast every morning alfresco at the Bakery.

But then I get serious with a fruit salad with natural yogurt, washed down with fresh vegetable juice, as I read the newspaper.

In the evening I have steamed vegetables or vegetables sautéd in coconut oil with an egg, together with fresh nuts or seeds.

And once or twice a week I have fish, chicken or a scotch fillet steak.

But world wide, very few of us change our religion or our diet. They seem to be out of our control. It's as though our beliefs have a mind of their own along with our appetite.

So God bless you and bon appétit.

Absolutely agree that changing one's diet is that difficult. I think food can be akin to an addiction for some and just the rung below for most. I read that if you can consistently stick to a change for three weeks then the change has a really good chance of taking because one's tastes adjust. Don't know how true that is but I tell myself that when I'm trying to drop something.
 

MacGuffin

Permabanned
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Apr 19, 2007
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sx/sp
I enjoy food, it's one of the daily experiences I really enjoy. I do not like it when I have a meal that doesn't have one item I think tastes good. Taste is the paramount thing to me when it comes to eating. Consequently, I don't eat as healthy as I should. Fat and carbs are delicious. I've been able to cut down on carbs, and I mostly eat chicken as my primary animal protein, so I've been able to cut down on fat too. I'd ideally like to try everything once. If I'm ever in a country where they eat dog, I will try it.

I hate green vegetables. They taste like mild soap.
 

JocktheMotie

Habitual Fi LineStepper
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
8,491
I don't really think about it that much. I really, really enjoy well prepared food and good food, like if the chef/whomever knows what they're doing. I love trying new things. It's as much as creative art as anything else, really. However, I don't eat a lot, I don't self-medicate with food [I self medicate with escapism], and I have healthy enough habits where I'm not overweight or anything like that.

My dad and my sister are addicted to food in terms of comfort, which I can't understand.
 

Aquarelle

Starcrossed Seafarer
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I really like to eat meals that are healthy and balanced, but I have a weakness for sweets and Icees. :-D I can eat totally healthy for a while, but then I just want a treat and bake cookies or something. I'm not overweight per se, but am probably ten pounds over being in bikini shape. And I Do. Not. Care. I know I could probably have a really fantastic body if I never ate anything that tasted good, but it's not worth it. I'll never be happy eating a plain grilled chicken breast with some Mrs. Dash over romaine, with a spritz of oil and vinegar. Just shoot me already.

I also do not get forgetting to eat. I definitely get low-blood-sugar-induced crankiness.

This is me as well. I am lucky in that I have pretty high metabolism and I don't have to be tooo careful what I eat, although I am pretty health-conscious in general. I don't eat a lot of junk food EXCEPT sweets. I have a major sweet tooth. And coffee. I have a mocha at Starbucks probably about half of the days in any given week. That's a habit I'm trying to break for budget reasons as well, and I am trying to cut down on the sweets. I'm still in pretty good shape, but I could probably be in REALLY good shape if I was willing to diet. But I'm really not. :shrug:

I know I also use food as comfort. If I'm bored, I crave food, and if I'm sad, I want something sweet, preferably chocolate. I don't always give in, but more than I should.
 

Qlip

Post Human Post
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Jul 30, 2010
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Food has a lot of meaning to me. I don't really consider myself very culturaly Mexican, but when I was older and started feeling as if I had no roots and no home, I learned to cook the dishes I grew up with. That was enough to make me feel at home. I have not been very conscious of my nutritional cravings and desires, until I realized that my ex's menu plans were not working for me. Her idea of what was edible early one was odd: things from cans and boxes, frozen chicken nuggets, deep fried potatoes. A nice meal was as exciting as ham, potatoes and corn (Nebraska here). I eventually got things a bit more interesting, spicier, textured and threw in some nice vegetables (she would never touch them), but it was always in the name of a good meal, not health. And, even after, macaroni with velveeta cheese was a lot easier to eat than having to fight the entire family to get something 'strange' on the table.

My diet is a bit on the odd side now that I'm single. I've got some sorely needed me space and am paying attention to what my body tells me, but I'm also on a very tight budget. And even though I like to cook, I'd rather spend my energy on other things than going gormet every night. My body has prompted me to make some very interesting changes. First of all, I've elimated almost all prepackaged goods.. double especially any goods making use of corn syrup. I always feel sluggish after ingesting that sort of stuff. Second, I've mostly lost interest in meat. Almost all my protein is from eggs, beans, tofu, or dairy. I'm not a vegetarian, though, and I grab a burger every once in a while. Mostly, I end up making various things with what I have in the fridge. A bed of rice or noodles is conductive to all improptu dishes. Also, the tortilla is amazingly versitile.

Lately I've been getting into having food rituals. I really like my morning bowl of oatmeal. And my favorite time of the day is having tea in the evening when I'm winding down. I'm going to make scones tonight to go along with it.
 

Such Irony

Honor Thy Inferior
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Jul 23, 2010
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I don't really think about it that much. I really, really enjoy well prepared food and good food, like if the chef/whomever knows what they're doing. I love trying new things. It's as much as creative art as anything else, really. However, I don't eat a lot, I don't self-medicate with food [I self medicate with escapism], and I have healthy enough habits where I'm not overweight or anything like that.

My dad and my sister are addicted to food in terms of comfort, which I can't understand.

I'm the same as you, I like good food and trying new things but also eat in moderation and mostly healthy. I'm still about 20 pounds overweight though. I think its more due to bad genes and a slow metabolism.

I can understand why people self-medicate through food but its not my preferred method of self-medication. Actually, I don't self-medicate at all. It creates a new problem by attempting to escape another problem. If you eat junk because you're stressed for example, then you're likely to gain weight and compromise your health.
 

Ulaes

loopy
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
850
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crak
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sax
i'm pretty monk about it. if i feel like eating, i ask myself if i'm actually hungry and if i'm not and am just bored, i make myself over come it. usually. i don't like to go hungry and i don't like to overeat. i try to avoid bad foods, especially sugary ones, because they're addictive and induce cravings. I go for food that will keep my body strong and healthy. I'm bit of a calorie watcher, on the food label and on the workouts i do. i'm somewhat strict on the exercise/food balance.
 
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