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Sometimes clients come in and apologize. “It’s terrible, I
just love food.” They’ll elaborate, “I enjoy restaurants and trying new foods.”
I sit back waiting for the part they should be sorry for. Other times, in a session, I’ll talk about a recipe and clients will look at me surprised “wow, you really
know about food.” Where did we all get this notion that being healthy or losing
weight requires divorcing ourselves from food pleasure? I come bearing good
news; nothing about Foodtraining or weight loss requires staying home eating
undressed greens, sad yet skinny.
In many ways, I think my foodie clients do better. If you
like a lot of foods, chances are you like a lot of healthy foods. Give me the
fearless foodie over the picky eater any day. Foodies like flavor. I can get a
foodie excited about a farm egg, oysters or the most delicious finishing salt.
If anyone knows how to make healthy food exciting it’s the foodie.
But, yes there’s a but. I wish there was a way that life
could involve daily cheese courses, free flowing cocktails (farm to bar
movement anyone?) and loads of “freshly baked” everything but it can’t and
shouldn’t. For most people you really cannot eat out every night, sample
everything (trust me you don’t “have to”) and stay slim.
Amber Valetta, in a recent Allure interview, said that she loves great food (I believe her
another misconception is that if you’re thin you must not) but that’s not what
she eats day in and day out. Brown rice, quinoa and vegetables are staples for her. I like this way of looking at things. In a week perhaps
there are some restaurant meals. There is a time for treats. But we also need
those less exciting slightly Spartan options to balance it out. Maybe it’s my
turn to apologize but I promise that even quinoa and vegetables with a miso
dressing or harissa will be ok.
Do you consider
yourself a foodie? Do you like that term? Do you think this is an asset or
liability when it comes to weight?
I am definitely one of those people who really enjoys food - all kinds of it. I like a good plate of veggies (I went to a party recently where the raw veggie platter included chayote - I had to ask what it was and it was delicious!), but I can't resist a new restaurant in town and the more pasta the better. Tapas are my downfall, as are sweets. Sometimes I have conversations in my head to talk myself down: "This is not the last chance I will ever have to eat [insert food here, cookies, pasta, crostini, you name it]." Some days I do better than others.
ReplyDeleteI do NOT like the term foodie! But I guess I am one. I agree that it comes with the benefit of also making a nice healthy meal that's also tasty.
I love good food, but I have found that eating out frequently doesn't work for me. I actually used to write about the restaurant scene in San Jose, but eating out frequently and going to media events quite often didn't make me feel my best. I still enjoy a good (and unusual - something I wouldn't necessarily make at home) meal out, but it's very infrequent these days...
ReplyDeleteGood point Andrea. Sometimes what we like and what our body likes are different. I feel off when out too much to eat but my family loves...
ReplyDeleteAnother good point, most of the time we can eat a certain food again and can work on waiting for those instances where it's truly unique. Don't like the term foodie either but many people use it. Didn't like "gourmet" either back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote from Amber Valletta. Fantastic words to live by! I do love good food, especially very fresh and carefully prepared. Not necessarily "fancy". I think that a true test of a chef or restaurant is how they prepare simple things. That said, most good simple things in restaurants contain tremendous amounts of butter/oil/etc. David Leibovitz said that he can always tell if a recipe originated in a restaurant; there is always a lot of butter. I bet same is true for sugar. A beautiful and indulgent meal once a week is probably all we need.
ReplyDeleteI liked the quote too Julie. I think it's misleading when it's the simpler foods (quinoa, kale) at restaurants because people feel it's "right" when it's still so different from home cooking.
ReplyDeleteBeing a foodie has to help with weight management. For me, foodies are not only picky about what they will eat, they are also in tune their feelings and the satisfaction they derive from really good food. I was at a conference yesterday where Dominique Ansel, the creator of the "cronut" was speaking. He is very slender - and clearly never overindulges...
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of determining what's satisfying, that's definitely a key Johanne but does slender mean "clearly never indulges"? Or did he say something to make you think that's that case?
ReplyDeleteIt was the way he described his new pastry design process (which involves at least a million opportunities for nimbling) that made it clear that he is anything but a mindless eater.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being positive about loving to eat a variety of foods and trying new ones. I am one who cannot cut out a certain food because I love food but with that being said, I also try to eat a reasonable amount and focus on the fruits and veggies vs. sweets! I really try to instill in my children that all foods are good for us in moderation - even treats are good for us because they make us feel good!
ReplyDelete