Hunger is the Best Sauce

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:32 pm

Any No-Ser knows the effect of hunger on one's pleasure in food, of course, so I know I'm kind of preaching to the choir here.

But I had one of those, "Oh God, that was delicious!" moments this morning after a very mundane meal just thought it was funny.

Now, I'm primarily a swimmer when it comes to exercise. One of the things rather notorious to swimming is that you're hungry after a good, hard swim. It's one of the reasons I prefer to do it before breakfast.

So I had oatmeal this morning with some nuts and raisins. No sugar. I know I could, but I'm training myself out of it. (Coffee is next on my list for that. I use Splenda, but I want to retrain my taste buds). Dried fruit is pretty darned sweet, anyway.

So here's this incredibly plain and mundane breakfast, and I'm scarfing it down pretty heartily, and after the bowl was done, I declared to myself, "That was delicious!" It was just oatmeal, for goodness sake.

I think that's one of the things I like best about No-S. I simply enjoy my food more. I'm guilt free because I know darn well I'm not going overboard in terms of volume, and I'm free to enjoy my meals heartily three times a day.

While I am losing weight (very slowly!), it's almost worth it just to have eating habits in order enough that I can still have food as a pleasure.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:53 pm

ITA, Noel. Before No-S, I always ate with a nagging voice in the background telling me that "I shouldn't...it's too much... that's fattening..." etc. It really ramped up when I ate anything remotely "treat-like." I sometimes found myself eating with a sort of "So there!" defiance, but more often with a guilty, hang-dog feeling. Neither was healthy.

On No-S, food is less complicated. I eat food. I generally eat pretty decent food, because it's more sustaining, but if one meal isn't that healthy it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And I'm allowed to actually enjoy my food, and I do.

As you point out, it feels GOOD to be hungry at mealtime. That's how we were made to work, after all. I also find that clearing out the excess sweets means that my taste buds are more acute. Fruit is incredibly delicious. (And so are other things.)

So yeah, I'm with you. I eat less, but I enjoy it more. That's enough of a win to keep me on No-S.

DaveMc · Post by **DaveMc** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:05 pm

KCCC wrote:Fruit is incredibly delicious.

This is the one that I've been marvelling at, in recent months. Fruit tastes *amazing*! I doubt there have been huge improvements in apple technology since I started NoS, so it's probably me that's changed.

I'm also learning that eating fruit comes with a considerable exercise component, as well. When you have several people in a household eating fruit regularly, and you do most of your shopping on foot, you spend a lot of time hauling fruit into the house! ("We're out of oranges *again*?") Nutritious and muscle-building ...

M's sick of dieting · Post by **M's sick of dieting** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:39 pm

I do know what you mean! Just had that feeling this morning:) I had 1 egg sunny side up, a few pieces of Turkey bacon, and a piece of toast with a little bit of "real butter" (gasp!!!) on it...Amen. Have you ever avoided something for so long you forgot how totally delicious it truly is? I'm learning that i have. Hope everyones having a good day.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:39 pm

I was just thinking we should have a thread where people write about a recent meal and how delicious it was. I bet there'd be a lot of simple ones. Yesterday I was in a hurry and just smeared good mustard on a still-frozen piece of Trader Joe's Tuscan bread and added a hunk of leftover pork roast. In the plastic bag, I also threw in a handful of raw pea pods and a scrubbed carrot. By the time it was lunchtime and I heated the sandwich a bit at work, I was hungry. I took my time and chewed and savored. It was heavenly! I even forgot to eat the 1/2 banana and peanut butter I had brought as well. Had that at dinner.

librarylady · Post by **librarylady** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:19 pm

Well for some reason I am incredibly hungry this afternoon. It is odd, because usually I am fine at this hour and I ate my usual breakfast and lunch. It was super busy here since students are in their last push to the year's end; so maybe that is it. Anyway the sauce on my dinner tonight is really building up spectacularly right now! Strangely enough however I am not tempted to hit the snack machine - I know that I will not gnaw off my arm - no matter how much it feels like I need to!! Bring on supper!!

Bonham · Post by **Bonham** » Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:39 pm

I'm new here but have been browsing the forums for a few weeks. Just wanted to chime in and say, great post Noel! This is the kind of cool yet seemingly simple insight the whole No-S diet seems to offer. It allows us to peel back the complexity of the last 30+ years of diet noise and get back to basics, like coming into meals hungry, and savoring each bite.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:48 am

Yes, that's definitely one of the great things about No S!

By the way, oatmeal with raisins and nuts is one of my standard breakfasts. I like to play around with adding spices to it, like cinnamon, cloves, all spice, or nutmeg. I think my favorite combo is cinnamon with a hint of cloves.

SimpleLife · Post by **SimpleLife** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:54 pm

Oh yes this is so true. I think allowing yourself to get hungry opens your pallet. I can pick up hints of sweetness in so many things..white potatoes have a faint sweetness and even brussells sprouts have a hint of sweetness. A raw carrot taste like a fruit.

It is wonderful!