I've discovered, as I continue down the weight loss path, that even with my trips and falls my definition of a "bad" food day is much different than that of others. Also, my diet is radically different than those around me.
Even "thin" people seem to eat differently. I never took notice of what the woman ahead of me in the checkout line had until I started buying "good" foods. I was self-conscious about it at first, and I always investigated what others were buying. Was I doing something wrong?
Today, I went on one of my annual stock up sales. I buy a TON of clearance meat during the late summer months {to avoid the higher prices in the winter} and clean, trim and individually package it. So, I had about $100 worth of chicken, pork and beef in my cart, on top of the fruits, veggies and dairy. The woman in front of me had a similar dollar amount, but I was a little struck by what she was buying.
Chips, chips, cookies, crackers, "fruit" drinks, ice cream, etc etc...and not a portion of produce or fresh meat to be seen. I'm not trying to be judgmental, because I know everyone's family eats differently - what they eat isn't any of my business. What I found interesting was the thought : what's her definition of a "bad" food day?
I realized that her definition now probably isn't too different than what mine was pre-clean eating - you've had a bad day when you're bloated, cranky, headachy and nauseous. It's not about what you eat, but how you feel after you eat it. You feel good? Then that chocolate bar was good food!
Anyway, the long winded post over with, it was kind of strange to think of how far I've {we've} come.
I think more in terms of choices being bad than items being bad. Premium ice cream can be bad or good, depending on the context. On the one hand, I try not to be too hung up on words like "bad" and I don't expect to be perfect. But on the other hand, making better choices depends on that kind of judgment. I think the bottom line is that there's a trend toward better things. It can kind of be a gray area deciding what's bad and a problem, and what's just a little imperfection. But really, I mostly *know*
When I eat too much pasta it is a bad food day...it makes me feel bloated, cranky, headachey and all those other symptoms of a carb binge. That is a bad food day for me. I am avoiding pasta entirely; it is impossible for me to eat just a little, at least for now. Now that I am eating so many vegetables, a day without enough veggies can be felt, too. On the road, traveling food is generally bad food day food, too. I am learning to plan ahead and pack good food when I travel so that I am not tempted to eat stuff I know I shouldn't or get in a situation where I am so hungry that I will make poor choices.
Hm. This is an interesting question, because on the one hand, I'm really working towards the idea that food is not "bad" in and of itself. Even chips aren't bad - I have had chips as part of a lunch with a low fat turkey sandwich and soup. I actually had ice cream (real ice cream, not low-fat yogurt) this evening. It was 1/2 cup and it fit within my calorie limit for the day.
OTOH, I guess if I were pressed I'd say that my idea of "bad" would be foods that are full of processed products, HFCS, chemicals, etc. I tend to class a lot of "diet" food as "bad" because it's really less healthy for you than the non-diet version.
I dunno. That's a REALLY good question. I have typed and retyped my answer a couple of times now as I've thought about it and considered what I think of as a "bad" food.
Be careful judging others by their "cart". I have shopped for organizations (boy scouts, church youth groups, PTA functions) and had some very interesting cart contents.
That being said, a "bad" day for me is when I eat when I am not hungry. Emotional eating, boredom eating, stress eating = a bad day for me.
Being a calorie counter, and having made a lifestyle change - all foods are permissible and eating something that is less healthy is not "bad" in my book. As long as it fits my calorie allotment and can be incorporated into my plan for the day.
I try not to think of specific foods as "good" or "bad", but rather that the amounts I eat certain foods in is either "better" or "worse".
Let me explain this way. Lasagna. A delicious food, indeed. Even a lasagna stuffed with many vegetables can still have a lot of calories, but if I had a slice of that lasagna, a side of grilled vegetables and a lovely salad for dinner, that's not really bad at all. In fact, it's "better". If I ate the whole pan of lasagna because I didn't plan what to have for dinner and gave into a binge... well that's "worse".
It's not the food itself. It's the amounts & the reasons that I'm eating that are a positive or negative. A "bad food day" is when I eat with abandon. It could be Melba Snacks and salsa and carrots... but if I'm not aware of the amount, and conscious of my satisfaction level... it's "bad".
Oh totally! I agree with this. My response above is based on bad for ME - that's an important qualifier.
I mean, if you want to get right down to it, a cart full of things like milk, cottage cheese, and yogurt would be "bad" for someone who was lactose intolerant.
Or a cart full of strawberries would be bad for someone who was allergic to them.
For me, it was important to take the concept of "bad," and the guilt that accompanies it, completely out of the weight loss equation. I'm not bad, and no food is bad, either.
That being said, there are always choices, and the context of the choice determines which choice is best in any given situation.
For me, I've found that carbohydrates, but especialy refined, low fiber, high sugar or high starch foods tend to make me hungrier. So when choosing my foods I have to decide which will satisfy me longer, without triggering cravings. But also, sometimes I want something that is very carb-dense and could make me hungrier, and I have to decide whether having a bit of that food is worth the risk to my self-control. Sometimes it is, though I try to be extremely aware of eating a high-risk food. I may have a piece of birthday cake at a family gathering, but I'm not going to have cake and ice cream, the slice of cake is going to be thin, and I'm going to eat it, and enjoy it as slowly as possible.
I still haven't decided whether there will be a point at which I decide to eliminate every food that triggers hunger, or whether I will learn to enjoy them in moderation and exert more self-control over those situations. I'm still learning, and I probably will continue to do so all my life.
Personally, I do have a mostly "whole foods," approach to eating. My guideline for food selection is asking myself whether my great great grandparents would have eaten (or even recognized) what I put in my cart.
I figure if it would have stymied someone 150 years ago, I should generally avoid it.
I do buy items that don't fit that "rule," but I still ask myself how far away from the natural food my choice is. What did they have to do to it to get it in its present form?
Artificial sweetener is my main exception. Crystal Light, sugar free jello - they are frankenfoods, and I usually have them in the cupboard, but I don't use them every day, either. Cream of mushroom and tomato soup are a "gray area" for me, as well, but I use those occasionally too.
I don't ordinarily buy organic, unless it's economical to do so, but I buy the freshest produce I can (or buy frozen). If an organic item looks fresher and the price difference isn't humongous, I'll buy the organic. If the organic is more expensive, but looks like it's past its prime, I'll buy the fresher non-organic.
For example I buy Sam's Club organic baby spring mix all of the time, because it's under $4 for a huge container. Cheaper than any other bagged lettuce, and much tastier.
My choices are evolving, and so are my husband's, even thoug he is at a different place in that evolution as I am. He is much more a "junk food junkie."
When my husband is craving cookies, he will buy them or make them. When I'm craving cookies, I have a bowl of "Cookie Crisp" cereals. To my husband Cookie Crisps is a nutritious breakfast. For me it's an only slightly less junky junk food (that I do eat occasionally).
I try not to think of any choice as bad, but even when I make what I consider mistakes, instead of thinking of myself or the choice being bad, I asked myself how I could have made a healthier choice - for next time. I find that for myself, being prepared is most of the battle, so that I make the best choice, not just the choice that seemed best in the moment.
Be careful judging others by their "cart". I have shopped for organizations (boy scouts, church youth groups, PTA functions) and had some very interesting cart contents.
That's so true. I buy groceries for myself and my SO, who can eat whatever he wants and not gain weight (it's like his body is incapable of storing fat). I often think people looking at my cart must think that either 1) I'm not very smart about dieting because I buy all these low cal, healthy, whole foods and then also buy a lot of very high fat, high sugar, processed foods or 2) that I have a multiple personality .
But I don't really classify foods as "good" vs. "bad." They're either "on plan" or "not on plan." And with the off-plan foods, sometimes the calories are worth it.
When I first started improving my diet, I used to have grocery envy. I'd look at what other people were buying and wish I could eat those foods too. But now, three years into this, I don't experience that nearly as much.
Last edited by BlueToBlue; 09-15-2008 at 08:59 PM.
LOL on judging others by the cart contents. Like I said, I wasn't being judgmental. It just got me to thinking.
Quote:
My choices are evolving
This line gets across my point best, I think. I wasn't saying that anything in particular was "bad" but our definitions of "bad" are changing as we work towards weight loss. For example, one large piece of cake with a large scoop of ice cream used to be "good" - because I stopped at one. Now I recognize it for it's content rather than its emotional value.
Before, every day was a bad food day regardless of what I ate because simply eating made me feel guilty. Simply existing as a fat person made me feel bad.
Now, I'm trying so very hard to be gentle with myself, both in how I eat and how I treat myself when I don't make body-friendly food choices.
Personally, I do have a mostly "whole foods," approach to eating. My guideline for food selection is asking myself whether my great great grandparents would have eaten (or even recognized) what I put in my cart.
I figure if it would have stymied someone 150 years ago, I should generally avoid it.
i dont really have "bad" foods, i just have "excess" Chocolate is fine, excess is not. Bread and pasta is fine, excess is not. There are things i try to avoid, mostly becuase they drive my skin nuts, like excessive amounts of caffeine, sugar and fat, but small amounts are ok
I often think people looking at my cart must think that either 1) I'm not very smart about dieting because I buy all these low cal, healthy, whole foods and then also buy a lot of very high fat, high sugar, processed foods or 2) that I have a multiple personality
Haha ditto! I shop for myself and for my dad and brother, both of whom can eat entirely bad foods and are still very slim. So half of my trolley is fruits, veg, lean meat, and low-cal treats, and the other half is cakes, crisps, ice creams, etc.
I get very very paranoid about the checkout lady trying to suss me out by what I'm buying - it makes me very nervous. My one weakness is Reese's peanut butter cups, and there's only one shop I know about near me that sells them. For a while I was buying one pack of 3 cups a week as a treat for doing well, but I would buy them from the same lady in the same shop. I got paranoid that she would recognise me as the 'peanut butter cup girl' and so stopped eating them, which is probably for the best, but I do miss them
I think just cause she eats all that, she probably does it in small amounts so it's not a big deal. For her a bad day, I guess, would be if she ate a ton of it XD Uhm, my version of a bad day is when I go over my calorie amount that I allotted myself, or when I eat everything for the day in the morning, so that I have to be hungry the rest of the day. I hate when I do that... But it gets less and less as time goes by. But REALLY BAD is when I just give up all together. I've had a few days where I went over calorie, but I just kinda shrugged it off. It could have went from bad to horrible
What's your definition of "bad"?
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