Hill-Pumper

This morning I noticed a little sigh on our refrigerator door that said, Food Sober, Day#1. I looked at my wife and asked what the sign was for. First she said, it was day number 3, but then said it was her way to track how days since she started her new nutrition plan. It did get me to thinking it was also a way relate to food. Being "Food Sober" means being clean of bad food. I'm not sure it will help anyone here, but I thought it was a different perspective worth sharing.

skilsaw

Sounds like food boring to me.
You don't get to eat the stuff you love, like Tostitos
And you need to eat the stuff you hate, like vegetables.

Glad it is your house, and not mine.
I would live in Day 1 because I would always brake down and have to start over.

JackoDandy

I 'try' to eat as best as possible but must admit to giving in to cravings. I often wonder how thin people do it - they seem to eat what they want and when they want. Rather than look at diet choice as being drunk or sober, Id probably rather focus on moderation so I can be like one of those 'thinnies'

Bluish Green

Good for her! I think it's a good approach if that works for her. My personal success (down 60 pounds) has come from completely eliminating the bad stuff from my diet, no exceptions, and switching from car commuting to bicycle commuting. I understand that moderation works well for many people, but that was not the path for me. I say good for her, and support her however you can.

phread59

Good deal I wish MRS. Pumper all the success she is aspiring for.

Mark Shuman

digibud

hmmm worth considering. lemme grab a bottle of Whiskey and a candy bar and ponder....

CbadRider

^^This worked for me. Restrictive diets never worked. As soon as I told myself I couldn't have a certain food, I'd crave it. About 15 years ago I got tired of diets and focused on portion control. I lost weight and have maintained my goal weight within 10 lbs since then.

It took about 12 months to retrain my brain and stomach so that eating less became a habit. Now I don't like the feeling of a very full stomach and only eat until I just start to feel full.

Mark Stone

After a while your tastes in food change. I don't know if it's because you're not addicted any more or what, but two years ago I looooooovvvvved burgers and didn't care for broccoli. Now an occasional burger is ok, but I crave broccoli, especially roasted in the oven all crispy . . . What is boring to you now, as your body changes, becomes exciting down the road. If you stop eating refined sucrose, certain vegetables - carrots especially - become very sweet tasting. Once your taste buds are "free" from all this artificial unhealthy stuff, "real" food becomes really attractive.

jazzgeek79

For me being food "sober" is a combonaton of what i eat AND ​how much I eat. If I eat a moderate amount of protein and carbs, with plenty of fiber and green vegis then I feel good. When I eat lik that a little refined sugar doesn't seem to make feel to lousy. So an example would be if I ate 4-5 oz of beef (which is usually considered 1 1/2-2 servings by nutritionists) half a potato with skin and reduced fat sour cream, a salad with vinaigrette, and a cup of broccoli with a teaspoon of butter or a little vinaigrette. This would be a fairly large meal volume wise, but it wouldn't make me feel lazy and bloated. If I were to then eat a single serving of cheesecake then I normally would still feel pretty good, and have decent energy.

on the other hand, on days where I decide to not be food "sober" I might order a pizza, eat 3 or 4 slices, maybe eat a salad maybe not, and then at desert the cheesecake makes me go from feeling full and sleepy to just plain lousy.

Ive even had days where I start with the more balanced meal, but when I want more and go back for seconds, only the starch and meat make it on to my plate. I don't even dislike the vegis, I just think thy don't provide the same experience as meat, fat, and starch/sugar. So when you say food sober that is what it means to me. It is pretty much a seperate issue from weight loss, and is much more about how I feel when I'm done eating.

chefisaac

Agreed 100%. Your taste buds are living creatures and with time, they change.

indyfabz

The refrigerator sounds unhappy about all this.

Agree with others who think everything in moderation, slanted towards the better stuff and portion control.

digger531

I will chime in on the food sober side. I used to drink soda by the case and I especially liked Coke. Gave up soda cold turkey for well over a year and now I cant even drink a full can of Coke. I also gave up all sweeteners for a month and noticed most of the physical cravings and mood swings went away. Then the birthday cake got me. I dont believe in going completely without forever, but breaking the habit takes drastic measures sometimes. I occasionally have a soda now but I never crave it.

Mithrandir

Along the same lines I'm becoming a "Social Eater". I only eat good food when I'm out socially; at home I'm going to be eating much healthier.

Fastflyingasian

last wendsday i celebrated my one year sobriety from fast food and other equaly horrible foods of the sort. its not terrible once you get past the bulk of the cravings. i always feel llike im a recovering drug addict, the difference being i always see the signs for my favorite foods. best of luck for hopefully a life change. the ones who know you begin to want all the good veggies over crappy foods. my tastes have changed. ultra sweet and ultra salty foods are less appealing but that 19" bacon and broccli pizza is always calling to me

Hill-Pumper

I talked to Mrs. Pumper a little more this morning. Her reasoning for the Food Sober has more to thinking of it as an addiction. It makes sense to me in a way. The most important thing is, it makes sense to her. If it helps her meet her goals, then I will give her 100 percent of my support.