FFS women, eat!
Posted at 17:39 in Food
As a member of numerous diet & fitness websites, something I see recurring time and again is women eating just enough food to keep a sparrow alive. I don’t know what it is with the female species (I’ve been there myself in the past before anyone jumps on me for being judgemental!) that makes us think that losing weight MUST = starvation.
I’m not sure whether it’s a feeling of trying to be superior to others or if they really are just kidding themselves but one thing that is sure to make me laugh out loud is when people proclaim “I’m struggling to eat all of my 1500 calorie allowance”. Give me a fucking break! You’re overweight – unless there is a medical reason for it, you have obviously not had a problem with eating your maintenance calories AND MORE prior to trying to lose weight.
I know mostly it comes from cutting out everything that is “bad” and trying to fill up on low fat, diet, lite, health products that contain very few calories and even fewer nutrients. This is why I am forever urging people to “ditch the diet mentality!” I will always tell people to cut out anything that uses a health claim as a selling point – if it was genuinely healthy, it wouldn’t need to be marketed. I can’t recall the last time I saw an advert on television for broccoli or bananas – I wonder why that is? Because everyone already knows they are good for us!
I will admit that last year, when I was at the height of my weight loss journey, my diet was super strict. I had plans to enter a figure competition so was eating and training for aesthetic purposes rather than just good health. Since my goals have changed, so has my mentality. I don’t want to live on a diet of plain chicken breasts and vegetables or egg white pancakes – I want food to be a joy to eat! Life is too short to be spending it eating food that makes us miserable.
Wouldn’t you rather eat something full fat and eat less of it than something that has had the fat sucked out and replaced with a bunch of sugar or artificial sweetener just to make it palatable? I know I would.
Not only will eating REAL food be more pleasurable to eat, it will encourage better long term eating habits. The person most likely to succeed at losing weight and keeping it off is the person that enjoys meals out with friends, indulges at Christmas and drinks a glass of wine or two at the weekend, rather than the person that banishes anything “bad” from their diet. If you can’t manage these events without freaking out, life is going to be a pretty miserable affair.
As I have already posted – weight loss does not have to mean starvation. Most people when trying to lose weight drastically slash calories right from the off in the hope of losing weight as quickly as possible. In reality, all you’re going to succeed in doing is hitting a plateau pretty early on and because calories are already so low, you won’t be able to lower them in a healthy way. A 10 or 15% reduction in calories (from diet and exercise) is plenty to ensure a steady weight loss without starving yourself or feeling so deprived that you constantly “fail” at losing weight and continue the yo-yo diet cycle.
I’m proof that food can be delicious whilst remaining healthy…
Everything I just posted was made by me, at home, from scratch with natural ingredients. Food should be something we enjoy, something to share with the people we love and not the source of misery.
The day people realise that fat is good will be a good one!
“I’m struggling to eat all of my 1500 calorie allowance”
….. I want to scream sometimes when I hear people saying that and have the same thoughts running through my head as you have just put into writing.
At the moment though I am doing boring chicken/veg/rice small meals to shake up my metabolism :-( seems to be working but I know its just for the short so can handle it.
I totally agree, I am a member of weight loss resources, and I noticed today the person you are talking about and there is no way she got to that size eating less than 1500 calories.
I started on weight loss resources two years ago and when I started all I was interested in was dieting and exercise, I was so scared of going out in case I had to make ‘bad’ choices. I went travelling for 8 months and learnt to enjoy myself, I put on some weight but i’ve lost it all now and have my figure back, I’m not where I want to be yet but getting close :D
Now I exercise and go out and drink and eat what I want but balance it out. I stick to around 1700 calories a day during the week and then I have calories left over for alcohol, meals out and treats and I don’t feel guilty i’ve earned it and I’m enjoying life.
Plus I love cooking thai food and steaks yum :)
I can relate so much to your post and how you were before.
Well, I have to say I believe that these people *are* (now) struggling, but mentally/psychologically, rather than physically with the amount of food.
The diet industry relies on people thinking it’s hard to lose weight, it’s a big struggle, and you’ll need help or a quick/magic fix – which of course comes in the form of more classes, more “diet” foods, more books, more DVDs, etc. How do people know this? Because of all the advertising and “news articles” based on dodgy science, the latest diet or “miracle fat cure”, and stick insect celebs. It’s everywhere and once you’ve absorbed and accepted it, it can take a big effort to turn your thoughts around.
All this tells us that if we’re fat (or we think we are) then we should be paying in some way to lose weight – in money, and/or by depriving ourselves somehow. Advertising tells us skinny = good, therefore getting skinny = being virtuous, and doing more to get skinny (either eating cardboard food, or tiny amounts, or both) = practically sainthood. If you’re not used to hearing sense talked about eating less and moving more, it sounds foreign – you think the choice is between chips and chocolate, and rabbit food, with no middle ground.
And, changing the subject, I think the reason you never see ads for bananas and broccoli is nobody makes huge profits from them…
Yes, I am a cynic :)
Well said hun, there is people on my course who think living off salad going to keep them healthy ello a balance diet will do that, just cut the crap and get a grip. I enjoy food more some days more then others, but it is all about balance.
The best saying is eat less and move more. xx
Great post! I totally agree.
I sometimes get comments, mostly from men, about how I can eat “so much”, meaning more than a tiny salad. Well, I do have a hearty appetite, but I balance it with lots of fruit, veggies, and salads, and some exercise. That has helped me to stay at a healthy weight for over two years.
Diets really don’t work. Been there, too.
Here Here!
Damn, all those pictures of the food you’ve cooked me in the last week have made me hungry again, I’m going to come upstairs and wake you up to cook me some jambalyo, on second thoughts you would kick my ass so I’ll let you sleep x
I really want pancakes now :p
Another great post Jag’s! And this belief of yours is one of the reasons I fell in love with your blog in the first place :)
It shocks me at times to see how little some people eat, i could never do that, love my food far too much!!! Great post and all your food looks yummy x
Totally agree with you, your blog is a great inspiration to eat healthy homecooked food and really enjoy it! I always found in the past that when I tried to eat ‘diet’ food I would end up scoffing loads of chocolate late at night because I was so miserable and hungry. Eating tasty balanced food is the way forward :)
That’s fantastic! The pics of the food you put made me hungry as a bungry :)
Totally agree with what you’ve said- great post!
And I am drooling over your food pictures…especially those (chocolate?) pancakes! :)
I totally know what you mean, especially when it comes to special occasions – why don’t people understand that as long as you don’t use Christmas, for example, as an excuse for a 3 week booze & sugar binge, 1 day of celebrating with your family won’t derail your healthy eating efforts? Just rescinded membership of another weight loss programme as was made so cross by their ‘Healthy Christmas’ suggestions – things like – give the family Christmas pudding and have a low calorie chocolate dessert yourself – of course you won’t feel deprived >:-(
You have sure made me hungry, I see you like pancakes! I sadly have a constant battle with food. One day I will find my sanity where food is concerned I am sure! Mich x
Totally agree with you, your blog is a great inspiration to eat healthy homecooked food and really enjoy it! I always found in the past that when I tried to eat ‘diet’ food I would end up scoffing loads of chocolate late at night because I was so miserable and hungry. Eating tasty balanced food is the way forward :)
Thanks so much Jan :)