Is this weird?

Hazelnut

Full Member
So my mum knows I'm on a diet, and she keeps pestering me to eat fattening things- cheese, cake etc. I say no, I'm on a diet, and she says even if you're on a diet you need to eat a certain amount of fat or you'll get ill.

I'm sure it's not right, don't I just need to eat low fat things? I'm eating well, three healthy meals a day, so I'm not starving myself!
 
Well, in my opinion and all that, a diet shouldn't necessarily be low fat...just 'normal amounts of healthy fat.

I think the powers that be recommend 30% of calories come from healthy fats (oily fish, nuts etc).

Of course, many of the popular diets are low fat, and work perfectly well. They are fine for short term, though I think its a shame if people plan to do them through maintenance.

as I say, just my opinion (well...government opinion about how much fat should be in a diet:p)
 
Oh the joy of the diet saboteur! I don't know why people feel they need to do this to us, Hazlenut, but they all seem to!

My OH has just told me he thinks I'm going to get 'obsessed' with dieting - I eat more or less the same as him, but I weigh my portions and count WW points. Hardly obsessive behaviour, is it?!?!

Yes, some fat is good for you but NOT the kind you get in cheese and cake anyway. It's omega 3 etc (oily fish, avocado etc) that's healthy fat.

If people are trying to feed you cake they probably have some reason for wanting you to stay thin!
 
There are 2 types of people:

The naturally slim ones who don't understand being overweight and think it's no big deal and fat won't hurt us.

Then there's the diet shy! These can be the most dangerous as they are overweight but for some reason can't or won't diet and think that no one else should lose weight if they're not.

Of course it may not be an attempt at sabbotage, she might believe what she says is true and to an extent is true as KD has said, just not cheesecake!
 
Well, in my opinion and all that, a diet shouldn't necessarily be low fat...just 'normal amounts of healthy fat.

I think the powers that be recommend 30% of calories come from healthy fats (oily fish, nuts etc).

Of course, many of the popular diets are low fat, and work perfectly well. They are fine for short term, though I think its a shame if people plan to do them through maintenance.

as I say, just my opinion (well...government opinion about how much fat should be in a diet:p)

I agree with you 110% KD, long term weight maintenance means you eat "normally" without food on your radar, low fat long term is not really the answer, the key to long term slimness is moderation and not abstination.
 
I agree with you 110% KD, long term weight maintenance means you eat "normally" without food on your radar, low fat long term is not really the answer, the key to long term slimness is moderation and not abstination.

Excellent. That's 2 off us then :D
 
Thanks for the replies, I didn't think it sounded quite right!

I understand what you're saying about the difference between moderation and abstinence. For the moment I feel that I'm moving much nearer to abstinence. I do still eat cheese in very small amounts because I like it, but mostly I'm tending to stick to healthy things. My evening meals probably vary a bit because my mum cooks, not usually very unhealthy things but I probably get in a few fattier things then.

I feel like this is a good way for me to do things at the moment. I'm not really having cravings, in fact I feel I'm enjoying my food as much as ever. Before I started the diet my eating was just really unhealthy, so I guess what I'm doing is making a clean break from that, and then I'll gradually re-introduce things at a sensible level. I think that will be hard, because at the moment I just don't want to go near anything really fatty.
 
hazelnut youve done well thats a good weight loss youve had so far well done
 
For me it's a mixture of things... first, try a food diary. Be really honest with yourself, not just about what you eat, but why you do it. A lot of my eating was boredom or sadness, and once I recognised that I found it easier to say actually I'm not hungry, if I'm bored go and find something interesting to do, if I'm sad do something to make myself feel better.

I'm still allowing myself to eat small amounts of things I really like, which I find helps. I really like cheese, and I think if I tried to cut it out completely I wouldn't manage it, so instead I have a small piece as part of an otherwise healthy meal.

Also, I think sometimes it helps to teach yourself to appreciate the food you are eating- this is the Paul McKenna theory, if you've read his book, of 'consciously enjoying every mouthful'. I was struck when I read it that I often don't taste my food. I'm not doing the rest of his plan, but I like that point. Finding I enjoy healthy food makes me feel that I'm not depriving myself- I'm cutting out some food that I like, in favour of other food that I also like but which is better for me.

Maybe don't think about it in terms of avoiding every single craving, but just try once, when faced with something tempting, to see how it feels to say no. Then build on that success, and see if you can manage your cravings by allowing yourself to eat sensible amounts of the things you like, but then say no before your craving gets out of hand.
 
My mother is just the same, as soon as I tell her I'm dieting she offers me biscuits and cake. I think it's because she doesn't want to admit to herself that she should be on a diet too, and she doesn't want to be the fattest person in the family. If I'm fat too she can pretend it's genetic or something. Also, it could be because your mum is having to cook your meals for you, and fat free cooking is a whole new ball game. How about you cook some meals now and then? I prefer low fat/fat free diets because you can eat more food for the same calories. You could always take an omega 3 pill for the good oils, that might keep her quiet! If you've hit target, its a different story and you should include some good fats in your diet.
 
I don't think my mum would ever consciously sabotage my diet, but I think it may be that- everyone on my mum's side of the family has weight problems, I think we all probably comfort ourselves that it's genetic... and maybe we aren't naturally size eight, but I know most of my weight problem is poor eating habits and lack of exercise, nothing to do with genetics!
 
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