I don't know if this is just me, or common, but I've noticed since I've been counting calories and eating a whole lot less than before, food tastes better. This morning I had 1/2c plain yogurt, and mmm, it was SO delicious. Previously I'd eat 1+ cups of plain yogurt because it was healthy, and not really enjoy it.
Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I'm quite happy that even though I'm eating less, my food tastes better.
wow so glad I'm not all by myself in this! I was starting to think I was a little mental - every time I sit down to enjoy an orange its like: Oh my GAWD I love my life lol - seems like the best part of eating healthier
Huzzahforska: I live in Switzerland, so the brands are different then what you have in the states. Sadly, there is only 1 brand of Greek yogurt that I can find here.... at least in the two main grocery stores I shop at.
I know for me eating less carbs makes sweets taste sweeter, more flavorful. My body isn't saturated with sweet stuff, so the tastebuds are more in tune or something, but yes, also when you reach a point of actually getting HUNGRY before eating, I do think foods taste better too.
For me part of it, though, was because I gave up sugar for a long time and I still eat it very rarely. I've found that it really masked the taste of food and I've retrained my tastebuds. Now I can eat something very simple like an apple+cinnamon+cottage cheese and it's a real treat.
I've also started paying attention more to what I'm eating instead of just mindlessly eating. When I would binge in the past I'd barely taste the food, just shove it into my mouth. Now I really work on eating slowly.
I haven't really ever experienced this sort of change, though I know lots of people do. I always loved excellent food, and I still do. And I still love the tactile pleasure of eating, and am very prone to eating just for the pleasure of it, unless I exercise a lot of discipline to control my portions and the types of food I have around me.
Mine is not quite so radical as all that, but for me, I think a lot of it has to do with eating less volume and less frequently so I'm actually hungry before I eat. There's an old saying, "Hunger is the best sauce" that I think is applicable.
I used to eat so much sugar and drink so much soda and crap, plus I was a smoker (approaching my one year as a non-smoker mark in December!), that I hardly tasted my food before, but now I find that a lot of the stuff I used to eat I just kind of gross. It's a bummer, because it's still stuff that my family likes to eat (a lot) and I can barely stomach it. Luckily my fiance (who is a fine dining cook) knows how to make things that are healthy AND delicious!
A lot of the sweets I used to eat are almost gaggy to me now. I'm a baking and pastry student and I've been finding myself making things that are less gross-out sweet and more savory, but I try to make them a little more healthy. I'm even making my own wedding cake so I can make it how I like it, and I'll know exactly what's in it.
Oxia- My sister is in Switzerland right now, actually! She's been there for a little over a week and is coming back on Friday. She says it's wonderful there!
Yep! I agree! Especially "bad" food. When I exercise and eat well all day so I can have an ice cream sundae after dinner, lets say, it seems to be the BEST ice cream I've ever eaten. Good, clean food tastes better too. The other day I absolutely savored some almonds.
Healthy lifestyle= more enjoyable eating experiences!
Totally agree. I pay a lot more attention to my food now too, even as I'm eating it, than I ever did before. As others have mentioned, after drastically reducing the amount of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners in my diet, things tend to taste so much sweeter now. I really notice the sweetness in things like milk or carrots; I never would have described those foods as particularly sweet before (especially when my taste buds are constantly comparing them against milk chocolate and carrot cake ).