DIET DANGER: Beware of Yummy Low-Cal Food
One major misconception is that dieting is boring, tasteless, unfulfilling and borderline torturous. Although we really don’t consider the way we eat “dieting”, but just “eating clean” – it’s more than satisfying and definitely not tasteless or boring. However, sometimes yummy healthy food can be too much for a dieter to handle. So, for some people bland may be better. Here’s why.
Bland is Better
When something tastes great, we want more of it – plain and simple. I don’t care how low-fat, low-cal, high-protein, organic, paleo, it is. If you are trying to lose weight, sometimes it’s best to keep foods a little boring so you don’t overeat. Does this mean you don’t enjoy your food? No. It means, that every single meal doesn’t have to be a celebration on your tongue.
I believe we think WAY too much about what we WANT to eat and what we WANT to taste, when we should be focusing on what kind of fuel our body needs. Since our body needs the same thing day after day, I venture to say there are some components to your eating habits that should remain the same too.
Sadly, when people go on a diet, it’s like they are so fixated on what they are going to be missing, that they spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out a way to still get what they want, and get the results they want too. Is it possible to eat yummy healthy food and lose weight? YES. Is it harder? YES. So why make it harder on yourself?
Keep It Simple Stupid
Of course, meals don’t have to be yucky, but they should be simple. It’s hard to mess up whole foods & simple meals, like a meat and green veggie. However, if you start getting too fancy with the cooking, before you know it you have not only added more calories, but you’ll likely eat more of it. That’s two unnecessary obstacles you don’t need if you are trying losing weight.
In addition to food being too yummy for you to resist seconds, adding too much variety can make tracking calories more difficult. Repetition is easier to manage. When you repeat meals and snacks, there is less chance of missing calories or messing up.
Lastly repetition frees our mind from thinking about food more than we already do. As soon as you start exploring new things, our mind goes WILD. If you want to spend less time thinking about food, stick to what you know so you don’t have to think about it at all.
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Bonnie Pfiester
Owner of Lift Vero and motivational "pfitness, pfood and pfaith" blogger in Vero Beach, Florida.
11 Comments
Priscilla
10000% agree on you with this! I can barely eat around people because I eat raw and they look at me funny… but WHATEVER! I know what Im doing is good for my body!
LifeWorthLiving
Excellent Post!!! I have been trying to clean up my diet for a little while now…and I am honestly beginning to prefer the taste of fruits, veggies, and water- over baked chips and low fat desserts! When I eat something “good/ but bad for you” it’s almost like taste overload! =)
GiGi Eats Celebrities
Wait? So do I have to be careful of spaghetti squash and spinach? These are two VERY YUMMY low calorie foods that I happen to ADORE!
Ah ha ha ha! Of course I don’t! 😉
Laura Brasile
Ohhhhhhhhh pistachios…..lol
Bonnie Pfiester
haha It’s a serious issue at our house. ha!
Tina
I find it’s all about balance. I eat some foods because they’re nutritious and others because they’re nutritious and taste great. Sometimes my meals are simple and on the bland side (usually my breakfast) and other times they’re more jazzed up. I think the key is understanding which jazzed up foods are triggers and shying away from those. Otherwise, I don’t see any reason why your diet can’t be healthy and yummy!
Bonnie Pfiester
Totally Tina. As long as we can control ourselves around the foods we love, then dieting can be more yummy. But unfortunately, not everyone has that kind of willpower. Poor steve can’t control himself around Pistachios so they are banned from the house when dieting. haha 🙂
Laura Brasile
This is absolutely true! And that pic of the chicken and asparagus looks amazing btw…some people would find that boring but I’ve grown to love “boring” foods simply for the way they make you feel!
Bonnie Pfiester
I SO agree!!!! I’ve grown to love “boring” foods too!!
weightwatchergirl
I agree! I make the same thing for dinner just about everyday of the week. I think you almost can’t appreciate healthy things if you try to make everything taste gourmet and extraordinary. Bland things are going to taste really bland if you do this all the time, ala Hungry Girl crap.
Bonnie Pfiester
…and I also think we adjust and begin to enjoy “bland” food when we quit dousing our food in junk and hiding natural flavors. I know my sister once said that she always was trying to eat ooey-gooeyer foods because she constantly needed to stimulate her tastebuds more and more. Then when she started eating cleaner, it didn’t take as much to make food enjoyable. Of matter of fact, the ooey-gooey grossed her out.