Does anyone just eat whatever you want?

D

diane57

Cathlete
Over the years I've read or seen a few books (Diets Don't Work, The 7 Secrets of Slim People, etc.) recommending the following eating style, which the authors claim is the eating style of "naturally thin" people:

1. Eat only when you are hungry. If you're not hungry NEVER force yourself to eat. Skip breakfast if you're not hungry in the morning, never try to to eat x grams of protein or whatever per day, just eat when you're hungry.

2. Do not eat for any reason other than physical hunger - not when you're depressed, bored, not just because it's mealtime or because others are eating. Be sure you're very hungry (i.e., stomach growling, thoughts of food dominate your thinking) before you eat.

3. Stop when you are satisfied but not full.

4. Eat only what you feel like eating. If you feel like eating ice cream, go ahead and have it, but only in a sufficient amount to make you feel satisfied but not full. Do not make yourself have a "sensible meal" instead of ice cream, and do not make yourself eat "something healthy" before you eat the ice cream. Your body has an innate wisdom and if you really listen to it, it will guide you to the correct food choices, and your diet will be balanced over the long term.

I actually have known a few naturally thin people who eat like this, and they never give food a second thought, and they seem perfectly healthy.

Does anyone eat like this? If so, have you just eaten like this your entire life, or did you consciously adopt this eating style? Is it easy to control your weight this way? Is it hard to tell when you're "satisfied but not full"? (For me I think it would be IMPOSSIBLE LOL...) Do you think you're getting good nutrition over the long term?

Thanks!
 
Well yes, I pretty much eat what ever I want and I've never had a weight issue or a eating disorder.

I think how you view food has alot to do with whether or not you have food issues. Emotional eater's are usually the ones who struggle with weight.

Do I get good nutrition, yes. I don't live on junk food and I don't eat fast food. I think it's all in how you are raised and how you are 'taught' to view food when you are a child growing up.

Too many parents these days stuff their kids with candy, pop, and McDonald's. When you grow up thinking that is a normal diet...you are bound to have weight problems.
 
I would say I eat pretty much what I want too and I've never had a weight issue. My one "fat" area is my stomach and I would love to be able to lose weight there but I'd rather eat what I want and not obsess about every calorie that goes into my mouth.

I can't really explain it but I do tend to eat when I'm hungry and I stop when my body says I'm full. I don't really think about it although I do feel a little guilty when I eat too many sweets.
 
Are you kidding? I wish!!! I won't eat fried foods or cream/butter. I do eat a lot of other stuff in moderation and I try to stay away from cookies/junk food and limit my chocolate intake, as I have a very addictive personality and could easily develop an eating disorder.

If I could eat whatever I wanted - I'd eat chocolate and 10 Yoplait Very Cherry Yogurt every day. I love them both equally!!

I don't realy know how to tell if I'm full enough either. I either eat too much or too little usually!
 
I have tried this recently, with failure. I can't eat in moderation for some reason. It has to be all or nothing with me. So, I relish my cheat days. If I have one cookie, I will end up eating too many. Then, I will continue to eat since I already blew it. Melissa
 
I eat whatever I want. I wish I had the discipline to diet but I don't. I've never had a weight problem, I'm 43 years old, mother of two, and a size 4-6, but I think exercising a lot helps me keep the weight off despite my lack of diet. I think I eat large portions, much larger than any of my friends, but I'm thinner than most of them. Maybe the fact that I don't diet helps. My body has never suffered the effects of yo-yo dieting.

That said, I don't have a sweet tooth and I cook mostly low-fat. So, despite the fact that I eat whatever I want, it's mostly sensible eating.
 
See, when I think of "naturally thin" people, I tend to think of those people who have very high metabolisms. You know, they just don't gain weight.

I worked with a woman like this and she was hungry all the time. She very thin and ate whatever she wanted. She did eat pretty healthy, but not all the time. She didn't eat "birdlike" portions, either.
 
Interesting question... I do eat whatever I want but I take the time to ask myself if I really want the cake or just something sweet or something chocolate. If its just a sweet I want there are always fruit options I go for... If its chocolate I can choose choc smoothie or choc cocoa.... If I know I truly want the choc cake I do it.
 
I do find that during times when I really do eat whatever I want, my food choices are pretty well-balanced. I am under no illusion that eating a piece of cake is good for me, but I find that if I truly have permission from myself to eat whatever I want, I don't feel as though I "need" it so much. I think you still have to consciously make healthy food choices, though. It's all about the attitude.

It's been very interesting to see how my behavior has evolved as I've had to restrict my diet to absolutely no suger. Never in my life have I been obsessed with my food the way that I am right. It's been kind of surreal to see what kind of war I wage with myself when I have these kinds of restrictions. There is a huge difference between making healthy choices and forcing healthy choices upon yourself, if that makes any sense.

Sara
 
I pretty much eat what I want .. and when I want .. that being said .. I eat pretty good .. but I am not what I would call thin .. built more athletic.. (maintained the same wieght for 20 years give or take a few pounds)

I do eat fried foods, CHEESE }( .. {LOVE cheese) ..pizza .. and hot wings!}(

I don't eat sweets (maybe the occasional b-day cake slice or an occasional ice cream treat) ..

I do drink alcohol (the biggest no - no and diet ruiner and the reason I have a "pooch") ..

.. I think I eat when I am hungry .. my job .. pretty much has trained me to eat at specific times (breaks and lunches) .. and I usually eat about the same time on the weekends ..

My portions ?? .. don't think about it .. probably small to normal portions .

I do have cravings (usually for pizza or hot wings).. and I don't deny them .. if I deny them I only try to eat anything to satisfy it .. and end up giving in and eating the craving anyway .. LOL ..

overall .. I think if you ask my friends they would say I eat healthy ..

I say I eat moderatly healthy .. b/c honestly sometimes there is nothing better than a steak, baked potatoe and cold beer!

I think the biggest thing is to eat for life/health .. eat for fuel to get the most out of your workout .. try to eat healthy but don't obess over your food!! :)
 
Thanks for all of these really great and thoughtful replies! Everyone has made some really good points. It's so great that some of you can just listen to your bodies and eat what you feel like, I really envy that! I think that would be my ideal but I was brought up to clean my plate, have three balanced meals NO MATTER WHAT, etc., and I also will eat whatever looks good even if I'm not hungry. I'm going to dip my toe in the water and start by just paying more attention to whether I'm really hungry or not when I eat - when it's lunchtime at work I'm just BORED so I go ahead and have lunch whether I'm hungry or not, and I eat in a lot of other situations where I'm not hungry. I've been sort of indoctrinated with the "must keep the metabolism burning" BFFM philosophy, which works really well for some people and seems to be really healthy, but it does get tiring having all those small perfectly balanced meals. I think I'll start by just putting off my meals until I feel really hungry. My worry is that this will lead to eating massive quantities later, I think that's a theory, I hope I don't succumb to that... It should be an interesting experiment!

BTW Poochy I can't believe you would not call yourself thin - I checked out your picture trail and you're gorgeously slim! Obviously what you're doing is working perfectly for you so keep on keepin on!

Thanks again everyone. It's good to know there are a number of different philosophies that work for people...
 
Diane, I think I do kind of eat what I want, with certain exceptions. Over many years, I've trained my taste buds towards healthier foods, so I really enjoy everything I eat and never feel deprived.

The only foods I would really like to eat more of are cheese and peanut butter. I sometimes order a cheese platter when I go out to eat at a great restaurant, and I just love it, but I rarely buy or eat cheese at home. I occasionally eat peanut butter, but I find myself measuring out a tablespoon to be sure I don't go nuts. I guess I should add peanuts to that list too. I really like them, but the fat content makes me wary.

All in all, I have my eating in a pretty comfortable place. Now if only I could get to that place with exercise!

Nancy
 
<<<BTW Poochy I can't believe you would not call yourself thin - I checked out your picture trail and you're gorgeously slim! Obviously what you're doing is working perfectly for you so keep on keepin on!>>>

Thank you sweetie .. guess when I think "thin" . . I think no muscle .. LOL .. I am "average" .. size 6 .. 5'6" .. and if I can keep mainting it I will be one happy camper!! LOL
 
Hi, well, I guess I'm also one of the ones who is lucky enough to not put that much thought into what or how much I'm eating. I'm 37, an apple shape, probably meso, have been about the same weight since I was 15 or so, and never had any weight problems growing up. However, it wasn't like I was ever all that toned, either ;) .

It's only within the last two years that I've started exercising and becoming more thoughtful of what I'm putting in my mouth, and it's really only in thanks to that that my body feels more taut (not naturally, like from birth).

I can only imagine that my "luck" comes from certain tendencies I've always just naturally had all my life:

1) I don't drink. In fact, I don't not only dislike alcohol, but I also dislike sodas, sweet drinks and juices. Somehow I've always preferred drinking just plain ol' water, or herb tea.

2) I happen to dislike the taste of butter, whipped creams, thick creams and mousse, so I naturally tend to eat things that don't have those in them.

3) I've never really particularly loved red meat, for whatever that's worth LOL.

4) I've also never been particularly fond of deep-fried or oily things.

5) I don't much like the feeling of feeling full.


From your question :

A) There's never a question of not being hungry at breakfast. The thought of not eating breakfast totally scares me LOL. Sometimes I'll wake up BECAUSE I'm hungry.

B) If I'm not that hungry but see someone else eating something I want to eat, I'll probably have some. However, if I am hungry, I want to...no, I need to eat asap. If my stomach is growling loud, someone's in trouble and better watch their hands and other extremities :*

C) Since I don't really like feeling full, I'm usually able to stop eating before it happens.

D) I actually used to do this, and only recently had tried doing something else, like instead of eating crap, eat a sensible balanced mini-meal...but what ended up happening for me was that I'd instead choose the sensible balanced mini-meal, and then think about crap until I ultimately ate that in addition to the mini-meal I didn't want in the first place. So these days when I want to eat crap, I try to choose something that I love to eat but that is healthy (like a banana with a big ol' dallop of organic peanut butter with a cup of soymilk, or dates with tahini and unsweetened cocoa powder).


Now, that being said, I LOVE good food. :D I also freak out over dessert. :D I think before I started to be more thoughtful in my eating, I wasn't eating enough veggies or protein. Over the last two years, I tried counting my P, C and F, balancing this and that, watching calories and what I ate, having a cheat day once a week...and ultimately, it just made me ultra-aware of food. In some ways it was good because I learned TONS about nutrition and now I can make much wiser choices in general, but it also made me think about food ALL THE TIME, and that just didn't work for me. At least not this time around.

Okay, so I don't know how I'm to end this post LOL.

I'm finished now. :)

ETA : Okay, nope, I guess I'm not done LOL. I wanted to add that in the last year I've made a conscious effort to stay away from processed foods...and although I have stayed the same weight, I have had comments from people asking if I'd lost weight.
 
I totally wish I could eat whatever I wanted. Actually, I tried that about 5 yrs ago (as I was getting out of the Navy) and ended up packing on about 50 lbs!!!

Over the last 2 yrs I have done what Nancy has done and "re-trained" my tastebuds to want healthier stuff. I still have a "free" evening about once a week, but have to be very, very conscious of what I eat the rest of the week.
 
If the question really is, what I want in lieu of what I trained myself to want...no way in hell could I eat what I want and not gain weight :)

Right now I eat a lot but mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein...what I've trained myself is enjoyable and good for me :)

What I want is ice cream, pie, cookies....
 
>I eat whatever I want but in moderation.

Oh, Silbow, good for you! No offense but I hate that word. My mother was always saying "everything in moderation", but I have never been a moderate kind of person, and probably never will be. My Mom could smoke one cigarette a month and eat two tablespoons of ice cream per evening. x( x( No fair. Why didn't I inherit the moderate gene? I have an addictive personality, and that's just the way it is. I can't eat one cookie; I have to eat the whole box. Fortunately, if I stay away from cookies, I don't miss 'em at all, and don't feel deprived.
Nancy
 
Interesting posts here.....

I guess I crave odd foods....

I crave pasta!! I love red sauce and angel hair pasta - meatless or with Italian Sausage

I crave chips and salsa and black beans...

I don't enjoy sweets and they usually upset my stomache - I will have a bite of snickers if I really crave sweets, but never the whole thing - makes me sick. Last weekend I ate a piece of white cake my MIL made at my nieces's bday party and immediately was miserable - stomache just gets upset :( I do like strawberry cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting, but one tiny little sliver will do me.....

I rather have a plate of spinache dip if I am going to blow my diet.

I do eat kind of what I want, but mainly its sensible now..

I eat eggs or cereal or oatmeal EVERY morning - I never ever skip!
I eat red sauce and noodles or a turkey sandwich for lunch
Dinner is usually salad, chicken tacos, or pasta....

For snacks if I am really hungry its granola bars or chips and salsa - I am a HUGE salsa fan - it even goes on my scrambled eggs :)

I have never had a real huge weight problem, just really toned it up over the last two years and increased my strength and that dropped me a dress side or two :)
 
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