some thoughts about diet

[ultraman]

It is hard to refrain from what is pleasurable. Especially since, with respect to food, this is not a single decision that can be made, but constant temptation. I pretty much have the option to eat bad foods any time I think of it

Comments

[_spider_]

I hate to break it to you, but exercising and eating healthily will not make you happy. At least not for any significant length of time. I would like to think you have a broader, more rounded view of happiness than that though, so I guess you already knew that.

Also, one of the hardest things I find about eating healthily is not really my desire to do so but the extra time it takes to make healthy food and such. One of the most useful things you can probably do is find a bunch of healthy and fast snacks/small meals which you can make, that way when you're hungry you will know that you can do that and it is easy. Apart from being tasty, the other big draw of junk food is convenience, so if you can remove that draw it'll help... I think...

Good luck!

[ultraman]

I wasn't claiming that diet and exercise are sufficent to make me happy, I was claiming that the biggest roadblocks to my (health and happiness) have been issues surrounding my diet and exercise, including frustrations arising from my inability to get those issues under control. The exercise has made me much much happier, so I'm not just speculating; regaining control of these things really does impact my happiness.

I am pursuing a career path that I love, I have good relationships with friends and family, and I have outlets for my creative energies. I have no shortage of things to be happy about, but I still have some things which are legitimately barriers to increasing my overall happiness. That is what I was talking about.

[_spider_]

And thus my assumption that you had a well rounded view of happiness is confirmed :D

[rachiestar]

Yeah, the big trick I've used in the past year is to identify really tempting stuff and viable alternatives to it and keeping said alternatives in the house. Fat-free sorbet instead of ice cream and 1/4 of an avocado instead of salad dressing were my two big victories here. Also: low-fat and low-cal versions of dairy stuff instead of fully loaded or fat-free versions (yogurt, cream cheese, etc). Another thing I do is keep lots of fresh produce around and hit the Farmer's Market regularly, but you seem to be substantially less fruits-and-veggies oriented than me.

Two other things that have helped:
- Making a No Fast Food Rule and not breaking it more than once a week.
- Frozen food that's portion-controlled and not awful.

[tabsq]

As a result of the whole me not having a job thing, we're tied to a very strict list of "things we can buy at the grocery store" with a few items that are ok once in a while. This has significantly decrease my intake of soda (only one can a day now) and other processed sugary foods which was an interesting way to fix many of my bad eating choices. I didn't even realize that this was helping until people kept asking if I lost weight (although I don't actually know if I lost weight since I don't weight myself and don't want to know how much I weigh). Anyhow, sorry for the long post, the point was just that it may help to limit what you buy so that you don't have the stuff to make what you would rather eat. Also, CONGRATS on your exercise time so far. You look GREAT.

[findingophelia]

So you're only happy when your life is completely in control?

[ultraman]

Lacking control over elements of my life that should be in my control (what I choose to eat, what exercise I choose to do, etc.) interferes with my happiness.

I don't need to control everything; which is good, since otherwise I'd never be happy, but lacking self-control is definitely a source of unease for me, and I have been much happier since making inroads into gaining more of it.