Being a foodie and trying to lose weight can seem impossible. Being surrounded by food all the time while trying to lose weight can feel like your particular version of hell, whether you’re trying out new recipes for your food blog, throwing amazing dinner parties, or being the go-to mom for bake sale goods.
However, despite the fact that it may appear as though you must give up your love of food in order to lose weight, our experts are adamant that this is not the case.
In fact, according to JD Roth, host of Z Living’s “The Big Fat Truth” and executive producer of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” ABC’s “Extreme Weight Loss,” people who enjoy food may even be better able to lose weight.
“Because they have a passion for food, it’s simpler for them in many respects to make that shift to healthy living to healthy life and nutritious eating.”
It may seem difficult to convert your passion into something that genuinely improves your health. Fortunately, our specialists have some advice to make it automatic.
1. Get to know the flavour of your meal
Frequently, we become accustomed to consuming foods that are high in salt and sugar that we lose sight of how the dish itself tastes. Picking high-quality foods will help you reduce the amount of salt and sugar you consume, and choosing seasonal, local produce is a terrific way to bring taste back into your meals.
According to Stephanie Dunne, MS, RD, CDN, IFNCP, “We frequently don’t realise how many items have sugar or other sweeteners added to them, including spaghetti sauce and salad dressings,” and she likes to encourage individuals to gradually take out these unnecessary sweeteners.
Give your taste buds three weeks to adapt, and you’ll find that you don’t need as much extra sugar and salt.
You might even come to the conclusion that, like Houston-based gym owner and self-professed chocolate aficionado Justin Singer, you prefer the less sweet option.
I gradually began consuming darker chocolate, which has less calories and less sugar, the author claims.
My taste buds have shifted over time to favour very dark chocolate. I used to just want to eat milk chocolate a few years ago. Now, I find that chocolate with 50% cacao, which is halfway between dark and milk chocolate, to be overly sweet.
Even Roth, a lifelong carnivore, discovered that he could gradually transition to a plant-based diet; today, he claims he’d never go back.
When someone tells me, “I would love to eat plant-based, but I need flavour in my meals,” I always go insane. Where do you suppose the flavours in your food come from?
Start Right Now:
Try to reduce the amount of salt, sugar, and bad fats in your diet. Reduce the amount of sugar in your coffee, replace the milk in your cereal with plant-based milk, or prepare your own sugar-free tomato sauce rather than buying it in a jar.
2-Discover the effects of eating on your body.
Food enthusiasts frequently equate food with how it tastes first and foremost, but when health is a goal, there is a second, even more crucial factor to take into account: how food makes you feel.
Laura Klein, editor-in-chief of Organic Authority, underwent this journey and learned how crucial it is for her to consume a diet rich in whole foods and protein first thing in the morning.
You start to comprehend how the body and brain are impacted by diet, she claims.
It’s simple to say no once you start to experience these changes, she claims.
Dunne concurs.
“Our choices will change once we learn to enjoy everything about food,” she says. We make decisions based on the entire food, not just the act of putting it in our mouths and briefly tasting it.
According to Klein, you’ll also have the extra benefit of feeling more content and experiencing less cravings once you learn which foods nourish your body and mind.
“The more your body feels satisfied with the nutrients that you’re eating, the less you really need to eat,” she says. “I found that the portions I was eating naturally reduced in size because I was feeling more satisfied.”
Start Right Now:
All day today, pay special attention to what you consume and when. Write down the meals you consume, as well as how you feel every few hours: are you hungry? Irritated? Tired? Use this data to deduce which foods are good for you and which ones aren’t.
3-Not everything or nothing.
Finding a balance between your love of food and your love of your skinny jeans is key.
Many foodies start to deprive themselves while they’re alone so they can fully appreciate these shared meals, especially those who love to entertain and enjoy cuisine with others.
There’s no need, though! Finding foods that are high in volume and low in calories is the key; the majority of these foods are plants.
According to Dr. Caroline Apovian, Director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at the Boston Medical Center, these foods have the additional benefit of taking longer to digest than other foods.
She points out that doing so enhances your metabolic rate, which causes your body to naturally burn more calories and increases feelings of satiety.
It’s hardly surprising that chefs, who are always surrounded by delicious cuisine to taste, choose these foods to control their weight.
Cat Cora is a well-known chef, restaurateur, author, TV personality, and philanthropist.
When she cooks at home, she enjoys cooking “a lot of fresh fish, whole grains, local vegetables that are lightly sautéed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, maybe a fresh herb sauce like chimichurri,” among other things.
Making this a habit allows you to indulge in small luxuries like fine wine, cheese, and chocolate (which, Singer notes, have a self-regulating aspect thanks to their higher price tag).
It’s an 80-20 tradeoff, in Lein’s opinion. For example, she sets higher standards for herself for her breakfast and lunches during the week and allows herself to indulge a little more on the weekends.
Avoiding excessive restrictions, which can backfire, is crucial:
Roth asserts, “I don’t believe individuals should be on a diet. “I am aware that all they are contemplating is how soon their diet will be done. When your diet is done, if that is the scenario in your head—which I believe is true for every dieter—you will return to the same bad habits that brought you where you were.
Above all, give yourself the benefit of the doubt and don’t punish yourself if you make a mistake.
There will be times when you fail, and it will require some self-discipline, according to Klein. You just say, “You know what, next time, I’m going to do a lot better,” instead of berating yourself.
Start Right Now:
Hold yourself responsible for making one or two lifestyle adjustments. For instance, remind yourself that you’ll always have a protein-rich breakfast of two poached eggs and half an avocado or that you’ll only eat fruit in between meals if you stock up on it.
4-Hydrate:
For several reasons, developing the habit of drinking water continuously will benefit your weight. First off, a lot of us confuse hunger with thirst.
“You can be saying to yourself, ‘I’m hungry, I’m hungry,'” “Klein explains. “However, you might only require water.
Before starting to eat, Singer advises drinking two glasses of water.
He claims, “It’s excellent for you and it makes you feel more satisfied.” “A significant element of not consuming too many calories, which encourages weight loss, is portion control.”
But there’s also the issue of oral fixation. If you’re frequently surrounded by food, you could feel the urge to nibble before you’re even hungry. Having a glass of water nearby controls these desires.
Start Now:
To make drinking water mindless, buy yourself a fun water glass or Klean Kanteen and create a permanent space for it on your desk.
5-Evangelizing to your friends is nothing to be afraid of:
Many people who are changing their eating habits might be reluctant to tell others. It can be annoying to hear from folks all the time that you don’t need to diet. or “I could never give up my favourite (wine, cheese, chocolate, bread, etc.)”
However, you need not be reluctant to express to your pals your enjoyment of nutritious cuisine.
Everything depends on how you frame it, according to Roth. “I have some of the best dinner parties around, and nobody gets hungry and goes to McDonald’s,” the host said.
You may alter or reframe your conception of entertaining, and it need not necessarily involve serving a cookie cake as dessert “He claims. “Enjoying yourself doesn’t necessarily require eating a dinner laden with substances that cause cancer and other diseases.
Start Now:
Invite your friends over for a potluck featuring a single seasonal ingredient, like zucchini, or a kitchen garden harvest celebration.
6-Recognize the difference between your love of eating and your love of food:
You don’t have to eat all the time just because you enjoy food — growing it, buying it, cooking it, and talking about it.
I can categorically state that individuals don’t have to give up their love of food in order to lose weight and be healthy, adds Dunne, who admits that she was a foodie before she became a dietician. But this is distinct from a love of food.
You don’t have to finish everything on your plate whether you cook, host a dinner party, or test recipes. Our experts point out that sharing meals with others is really what food is all about, and you can do so without overindulging.
According to Roth, “What’s reflected in all of those sit-downs and dinners is an emotional connection to people, and that’s lot more significant than the food that you offer.”
Start Today:
Decide to chat more with the people around you and pay less attention to the food itself during your next dinner party (or family supper!).
Actually Enjoy and appreciate:
We frequently multitask so much that we hardly even notice what we’re consuming. You’ll feel more satisfied if you take the time to appreciate your food.
Beryl Krinsky, MBA, MS, RDN, LDN, and founder and CEO of B.Komplete, advises taking a time to savour the meal you are about to eat before focusing only on it when you are eating.
She offers some advice for improving your eating awareness, such as slowing down before you eat by taking a few deep breaths, and making eating the only activity you perform at a time (that means putting down your phone and turning off the TV).
Apovian concurs, saying it’s crucial to concentrate on enjoying your food and paying attention to its flavour, texture, and aroma.
According to her, it might take up to 20 minutes for our bodies to realise they are full. During a meal, chewing gently is a great approach to give our body time to signal that we are full.
She even cites a study where individuals who chewed their food for 30 seconds every mouthful lost up to 5.7 percent of body weight over the course of six months. The study was published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.
Start Right Now:
When you’re eating, try to be more mindful of the moment. Chew your meal thoroughly and savour its flavour and texture.