I've been on my weight loss journey for four months now, and I wondered what other people had learned/rediscovered about food so far? Here are some of my thoughts:
- Some protein bars are actually nice, and a cheat's way to get more protein into your diet, especially if you don't eat meat. I regularly eat chocolate protein bars to boost my protein macros, and I really enjoy them. I'd never have considered eating protein enriched food before. They're not cheap, but neither were all the takeways I used to buy...
- Packaging lies. I buy a half loaf where the slices look broadly the same, and calories are measured per slice (44g). An average 'slice' is more like 1.7 slices. I've never found one that weighs 44g to date. If you think your food is lying to you, whip out the food scale...
- Home made soup is the most amazing thing ever. Especially carrot soup. It's low in calories and you can get yourself to eat a bunch of vegetables you don't even like normally. Everything tastes better in soup.
- Curley parsley is my absolute favourite herb. Try it in carottes râpées, a French salad that should be lame because it's grated carrots, but actually tastes amazing.
- If a meal doesn't bring you joy, don't finish it. Your health is important, so don't feel like you have to 'waste' calories on something you don't like, and that will lead you to want to snack later. Every failed food experiment teaches you something about your cooking/tastes, and there's success in that. Be selfish. Bin the nasty food and eat something nicer.
- When you cut your calories, increasing your allowance as you get closer to goal feels like the best thing ever. Even just another 100 calories can give you more options over a whole day, and the delight at having more calories to play with shows how you have learned to appreciate all of them. Whatever your allowance, you want to aim to enjoy it. Mindless food shovelling is how many of us got fat in the first place. Whatever you eat, you want to be able to savour - this journey isn't about cutting out food, it's about re-learning to value it properly.
- You can lose significant amounts of weight from just controlling what you eat. You don't have to exercise for weight loss - I mean, it's great for general health, and you should do it if you can, but you shouldn't see an inability to exercise as a blocker.
- Make food changes gradually and it feels so much easier to change your attitude. I do CICO, and I started very much by counting calories only. It was really, really tough. I then worked at making it healthier, e.g. by trying to get more fruit/veg in, to cut down on salt, to eat more protein... Whatever you're doing as part of your journey, it's probably better than what you were doing before. And you should be comparing what you're doing now, to what Past You was doing before, not anyone else. This is about making changes to your life in a way that work for you, to make yourself a healthier and happier version of you. Don't fall into the trap of comparing yourself with anyone other than Past You. Gradually try to improve upon Past You, and you will end up feeling like you're living a new life, as opposed to a temporary diet.
- Let people help you. Whether that's the people you live with or just some small corner of the internet, share your progress with at least one other person. Reciprocate. Your journey is you and the plate, you have to live with the results, but talking things through (including when you have bad days) is so helpful. Be inspired. Inspire others. Letting people in makes everything feel so much more sustainable. You can also discuss what food choices work for you, and it might lead you to broaden your food horizons. Weight loss doesn't mean you can't try new foods - we're here to get healthier, and part of that involves a varied diet.
Anyone else have anything to add?
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