The most important thing that I did was adjust my thinking. Hunger is a feeling, not a mandate, and you have to select your difficulties Do you want the difficulty of hating the way you look and feel, or do you want the difficulty of maybe missing out on the immediate pleasure of eating trash or overeating? You have to choose; most people cannot have both. Food is not for enjoyment; it is for fuel. Break the habit of eating for pleasure (don’t eat in front of the television, for example).meal isn’t providing you the pleasure you think it is since you wouldn’t be able to eat one or two chips and close the bag; instead, you eat one or two and are still “hungry” when the chip didn’t satisfy that feeling because it isn’t the meal your body is looking for (if that makes sense). The best way to reduce weight is to change your thinking!!! Diets are ineffective; instead, a lifestyle shift is required.
I completely get what you’re saying. And reading “hunger is a feeling, not a command” was just what I needed to hear. I’m a really anxious person, and hunger may sometimes resemble anxiousness for me, so I feel compelled to eat. I’m trying to figure out whether I’m hungry, bored, stressed, or anxious. The most difficult aspect of my weight loss journey has been changing my thinking!
Food should be something you like, not something you overeat. Food is viewed as fuel for the body, similar to engine oil for a car, which is a damaging perspective. Similarly, eating food to conceal melancholy is bad.
I should have specified that I didn’t mean all food in general; I meant poor eating habits and meals. I love what I eat and certainly enjoy eating it; I’m not saying I don’t. In the past, I used to turn to junk food and unhealthy eating habits to cope, feel better, or get a momentary fix. I was just putting down some brief thoughts that I felt could help some individuals, that’s all.
I feel there is a balance. I employ the slogan “food is fuel” for breakfast and lunch, and “food is love and comfort” for supper and possibly dessert. It’s the best of all worlds since it allows me to stay calorically deficit while still enjoying meals.
It all boils down to balance and moderation. In the end, do whatever works best for you.
I support this. I LOVE food and will prepare lovely dinners, but what bothers me is eating in between, snacking at work because I’m bored, or ‘treating’ myself every day lol.
I challenged myself to avoid processed sugar for two weeks to see if I could break my sugar addiction and stop it from gripping me so tightly.
I finished it, and the “food is fuel” approach helped tremendously! I cooked healthy entire meals and snacked on fruit instead, and I noticed a variety of benefits. If I wanted a sugary snack, I was just extremely self-conscious and thought to myself that I had eaten enough to get me through to the next meal and understood why I wanted the snack (bored, wanted to pass time, wanted the sugar rush).
We completely disagree. I shed 48kg (105ish pounds) and went from a BMI of 41 to 22. This happened roughly five years ago, and I have kept it up ever since.
Food is my greatest love and joy. I fucking adore cooking and eating wonderful food. To be fair, I enjoy eating whole foods and am a 5’2 lady weighing 56kg (125lbs). I don’t get to eat much during the day. But what I eat is fantastic, and I appreciate it. Life is too brief to have a “food is fuel” perspective. However, I do feel like I want the best stuff to nourish my body, such as whole meals, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. But food is certainly more than just fuel.
I, too, experienced a significant adjustment in thinking. I spent the majority of my life obese before making significant long-term changes over the course of three years, and I’ve now lost and maintained 130 pounds.
I would disagree with the eating for pleasure/fuel concept. It is entirely feasible to enjoy eating wholesome foods. It’s simply a matter of rewiring your brain and taste buds to prefer nutrient-dense foods over ultraprocessed junk. It’s also about knowing how to properly make your own food. Be creative and explore in the kitchen! Try various spices and flavour profiles, experiment with new dishes, and so on…there are plenty of delicious and nutritious foods/recipes out there; it simply boils down to sacrificing convenience for health.