Wonderful article about real food

Xtal · Post by **Xtal** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:51 pm

I found this article while searching for a Google Docs template to track weighted moving average.

The Data Diet: How I Lost 60 Pounds Using A Google Docs Spreadsheet

The author talks about how his relationship to food and his body changed when he started eating "real" food. This reminds me of a lot of the things people have said here about the No S Diet.

Resetting my taste buds was the hardest part. It took months. But now, processed food is something Iâ€™d rather not eat, because all it will do is make me hungry later. I still love a good steak or burger, or a piece of pizza, or an amazing piece of cheese. The big difference these days is that Iâ€™d never eat a burger two days in a row, or scarf down half of a pizza. Itâ€™s too rich. The day after a meal like that, I now crave a salad or a vegetable soup. At first I had to play games with myself to temper my desire for rich food. But it only took a few months before that resistance became automatic. I prefer a great bowl of lentil soup or Greek salad, provided itâ€™s fresh and made with quality ingredients, to another greasy burger, even if that first burger was awesome.

When I slip and make the mistake of indulging too much, I feel it right away, in that I feel bloated and awful, and I see it on the scale. These days I often prefer to wait for a quality meal and be a little (or even a lot) hungry, than to eat some crap at the airport or bad, passed hors d'oeuvres at a poorly catered party. As I lost weight, I knew that my stomach was shrinking too. I stopped trying to finish my plate and, thanks to the quality of the food I sought out, was better able to know when I was full.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:05 pm

I like what he says about still enjoying a burger, just not burgers all the time.

Sometimes people say their tastes change and that they just don't like some food (such as burgers) at all any more. I think this post is just another example of finding moderation, rather than having foods be all or nothing.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:48 pm

I've never lost my taste for all processed foods. I'm not even sure I want to. Some things don't appeal anymore, and that's fine. I'm also glad I love "real" food, too. It's so great to have a panoply of food available at every meal and not to feel I have to have one of the other.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:46 am

Here's my favorite quote:
The only successful way for me to lose weight was to eat less, and the only way I found that worked to eat less was to eat more real food and less processed food.

Maybe this seems paradoxical after my last statement, but I'm just so glad he didn't give ALL the credit to the moving average of his weight.

Jethro · Post by **Jethro** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:21 pm

oolala53 wrote:Here's my favorite quote:
The only successful way for me to lose weight was to eat less, and the only way I found that worked to eat less was to eat more real food and less processed food.

Maybe this seems paradoxical after my last statement, but I'm just so glad he didn't give ALL the credit to the moving average of his weight.

For some strange reason whole food fills me up more and leaves me more satisfied than more processed food.