Poll: A dietary dilemma I've been pondering

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I don't know if dilemma would be the right word here, but it's the best I could think of. I recently realized that I love gorging on candy, especially chocolate. Which is problematic, since being overweight kind of runs on my mother's side of the family, and I wouldn't want to end up looking like what I've seen the average MtG player weigh. For the time being I'm able to keep it under control, being in my early 20s with fairly frequent exercise. But I know as I get older it'll inevitably start becoming harder and harder to keep up, and then I'm fucked unless I can change my eating habits for good (which has thus far failed time and time again). The question boils down to this:

Should a person indulge in that behavior or specifically refrain from it in their youth? In early adulthood you can still shake the calories off more easily as your body is more fit, and you'll likely have more free time to do it. On the other hand, if you let yourself indulge in that kind of diet, it'll come back to you once you get older. Refraining from it will keep you much healthier, but you'll lose that (very literally) sweet, sweet feeling of stuffing yourself with chocolate, gummi bears and whatever. Note that I don't mean giving up eating sweets altogether, just eating them in much lesser quantity.

I'm putting up this poll because I can't really decide. Thoughts on this stupid question?

 

[tippy2k2]

I can only speak from my own fat-ass experience but I have found a few interesting things about this topic in my own weight-loss journey. I have always been fat (peaking at about 250 or so in college). Now that I'm working out (I'm at 209 right now at age 29 so I'm still not where I want to be but I am getting there), I have noticed a few things...

#1. Skinny does not equal fit. I have a college roommate who was the exact opposite of me in that he's always been rail thin. He can eat and drink whatever and is fine. However, I, at 209 pounds, can out-lift and out-run him. He's got no real endurance so he might be quicker than me for the first bit but I will overtake him even though I've got a good fifty extra pounds (at least, it's not like I weigh him so I don't know for sure).

#2. It's FAR harder to adjust going from eating shit to eating healthy. That's been my biggest challenge; my body is so used to all this sugar and whatnot that I struggle during the day because I need to adjust to better food. I'm on a bit of a crutch right now (zero energy monster) but even that's something I want to eventually kick because that shit's not much better than regular pop/energy drink (and might even be worse depending on who you ask).

#3. Don't forget non-fat-ass things too. Your teeth specifically will suffer from all that junk even if your body can handle it.

TLDR; Healthy living is a lifestyle and the sooner you begin that lifestyle, the easier it will be. That does NOT mean you can't have sweets, just don't have as much. As my nutritionist/sister-in-law says; you can have Oreos, just don't eat the entire box...

 

[sky14kemea]

I think tippy summed up everything I would've said, though I also over-indulge in fizzy cola and chocolate at the moment too.

However, even though I'm pretty much underweight, I'm super unfit. I'm tired a lot and can't kick my caffeine addiction even when I try, because other drinks just don't taste nice to me.

I think you need to try and gradually move into healthy territory while you're still young. Change tiny things at a time instead of ending up stuck somewhere where you need to change a lot at once. Because it's super hard.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I say abuse that youth metabolism as much as you can within reason. Obviously there's a line to cross but I know personally I'll be eating far less junk food in seven years than I am currently. Life is too short to not indulge to a degree but you have to pick the point in which you say "alright, now this activity becomes a rare treat because my health is my dietary priority from here on out". When you figure out that point, phase out your bad habits over time towards it while gaining more healthy habits to replace them.

My love of sushi matches my love of burgers and Pizza. Going out for a meal? Maybe I'll start leaning heavily on the sushi side of things and avoid the golden arches and other fast food establishments like the plague...

Now if you excuse me, I'm going to reheat some deliciously greasy pizza.

<.<

 

[EvilRoy]

I agree with Tippy with regards to developing bad habits. I've been moving through an experience similar to his, and generally I found that forcing yourself to give up certain things is pretty damn hard when its been part of your diet for a long amount of time. I'm very lucky in that I don't have an especially addictive personality, and I was therefore able to cold turkey both sugar and my EXCESSIVE caffeine dependency inside of two weeks, but those two weeks sucked shit for me, and I can only imagine how much worse that would be for others. Recently I've gone back to them in an effort to teach myself moderation (failing, judging by how fast icecream disappears from my freezer), but you have to be able to go without before you can be moderate.

All that said, if you are a teenager, hormones raging in all their glory, then now is probably the time to indulge if its an option. Being careful to avoid dependance of course, but as you get older the fat gets harder and harder to shift. Your metabolism will slow down as you age no matter what, hence why very old people tend to either eat almost nothing or have a fair sized belly. This is your only real time to abuse yourself and still be able to get off scott free, because when you get to about 25+ (yeah, that young) you will start to suffer more and more for poor dietary choices. Eat poorly and be active with the understanding that as time goes on you will have to eat less and less poorly and be more and more active to maintain the same body.

 

[lechat]

me personally i'd be more worried about diabetes,
as long as you have a decent amount of willpower you can kick a habit pretty easily later on when you need to but there is no turning back from serious illness.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Basically what most here said. I have a fast metabolism my self. Still avoiding unhealthy stuff you like as if it were radioactive is actually probably worse than anything else you can do. Why? Because depriving ones self of such things leads to binging when it it's available, followed by a compulsion to continue binging, especially if you have self control issues. Where as if you have something as a treat, or personal reward on a fairly frequent basis, or indulge from time to time, it becomes less like: "When am I ever gonna get icecream cake again!?" The point is to get the idea out of your head that you're never going to have a favorite indulgence ever again, which is what justifies extended binging.

When you're young especially it's important to learn moderation. Going for either extreme can ultimately lead to problems with self control later in life.

 

[lacktheknack]

I'm lucky because I (involuntarily) succeeded at Option 1. Cambodian river water is a hell of a drug dietary aid, lemme tell ya.

That said, I say go for Option 3 - Mission impossible! Because it's not impossible any more.

I just made low-fat fudge two days ago that actually tastes nice and makes me feel like I ate fudge, and here's the thing - I've eaten three pieces in the last two days. That that's all I've really eaten on the sweets front. Do I feel deprived? Nope! Am I gaining wait or becoming unhealthy? Nope! That's a win both ways. All it takes is some patience and some kitchen know-how. Totally worth it.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Eat whatever you want, it just isn't advisable to eat America-sized portions at every meal. True, you would have really good health if you also ate great, but just eating the right amount will at least stave off obesity-related health problems.

 

[Twintix]

Yeah, everyone here has said what I wanted to say.

It's OK to indulge in sweets and junk food sometimes as long as you don't do it all the time. In all other cases, moderation is key. Remember, eating too much of anything is unhealthy.

 

[Euryalus]

Definitely not the first one. You can't just flip on moderation and good habits like a switch. Every action you take contributes to your character, which makes it easier or harder to do something since habits are essentially just the body's "automatic mode."

Doing everything "manually" takes a lot of work.

Also, Indulgence in moderation isn't indulgence. It's just moderation.

It's OK to indulge in sweets and junk food sometimes as long as you don't do it all the time. In all other cases, moderation is key. Remember, eating too much of anything is unhealthy.

Like this. There's a proper way to go about sweet shoveling. Once in a blue moon or in smaller quantities more frequently XD

 

[visiblenoise]

If by "indulge" you mean to stuff yourself with candy, I don't see a reason to ever do it. I always felt physically and mentally shitty afterward, so pretty soon I convinced myself that it would never be worth it. Only the first few pieces are truly enjoyable, anyway. The rest is just a slow march to the inevitable regret.

 

[Olas]

I don't see any reason to try to change your diet right now if it's working for you. I know that keeping weight off gets harder as one gets older, but is there any reason changing your diet is easier now than later?

I'll admit I'm too young to have any firsthand experience with this, but it seems to me the best thing to do is just gradually change to your diet as you age to fit with your nutritional needs.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Yup, i used to eat entire 200 gram chocolate bars, drink 1,5L colas and things like that, eat extremely salty popcorn, a whole five liter salad bowl or whatever it was i put them in, bigass 550g pan pizzas, etc

Now it seems i can barely eat half a mars bar before i feel like dying, my metabolism definitely hit the wall at 22-ish

 

[Yopaz]

You need to step in the middle ground.

Make sure you keep a mostly healthy diet and then indulging yourself every now and then won't be a problem. If you have an unhealthy diet, don't substitute your diet with candy as often.

Now it's fine that when you're young you're better able to maintain your body despite not being healthy, but don't take that as a free pass. It's great that you don't need to be as healthy, but when you're young it's a lot easier to learn habits. If you teach yourself to have bad habits when you're young you'll have a harder time shaking it when you're older.

Personally I find broccoli, pineapple, carrots, cabbage, apples, fruit smoothies and orange juice to be among my favourite snacks.

Still, eat candy when you feel the need to, but eat healthy as often as you can.

 

[tippy2k2]

I don't see any reason to try to change your diet right now if it's working for you. I know that keeping weight off gets harder as one gets older, but is there any reason changing your diet is easier now than later?

I'll admit I'm too young to have any firsthand experience with this, but it seems to me the best thing to do is just gradually change to your diet as you age to fit with your nutritional needs.

Habit and crutch

There are people with the willpower that will be just fine but as a fatty working on it, your body gets used to having certain things put into it (tee hee!...MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER TIPPY!!!). My biggest crutch in life has been pop; I have cut back greatly (going from 5-6 cans per day in college to 0-1 per day today) and I swear this must be what smokers feel like when they're quitting cigarettes. There are days where I literally am telling myself that I can't have pop because it's so bad for me and yet my body continues to move towards that machine with cash in hand...

Some people can adapt better than others but it's real easy to stay in the habit and not notice that you're now 250 pounds and haven't seen your toes in months...

 

[Olas]

I don't see any reason to try to change your diet right now if it's working for you. I know that keeping weight off gets harder as one gets older, but is there any reason changing your diet is easier now than later?

I'll admit I'm too young to have any firsthand experience with this, but it seems to me the best thing to do is just gradually change to your diet as you age to fit with your nutritional needs.

Habit and crutch

There are people with the willpower that will be just fine but as a fatty working on it, your body gets used to having certain things put into it (tee hee!...MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER TIPPY!!!). My biggest crutch in life has been pop; I have cut back greatly (going from 5-6 cans per day in college to 0-1 per day today) and I swear this must be what smokers feel like when they're quitting cigarettes. There are days where I literally am telling myself that I can't have pop because it's so bad for me and yet my body continues to move towards that machine with cash in hand...

Some people can adapt better than others but it's real easy to stay in the habit and not notice that you're now 250 pounds and haven't seen your toes in months...

I think the problem for most people is an idle mind. Rather than focusing on the food you can't eat, find an activity to focus on instead. The root of the problem is the mind, not the body.

But regardless of how hard it is, it seems like it'll be hard no matter when you do it. If bartholen is healthy now, and what he/she eats today won't still be impacting him/her 6 - 10 years from now anyway, what's the rush to change it?

Now it's fine that when you're young you're better able to maintain your body despite not being healthy, but don't take that as a free pass. It's great that you don't need to be as healthy, but when you're young it's a lot easier to learn habits. If you teach yourself to have bad habits when you're young you'll have a harder time shaking it when you're older.

I think by your early twenties your brain is pretty much past the elastic developmental phase where it's significantly easier to learn and unlearn stuff.

 

[tippy2k2]

I think the problem for most people is an idle mind. Rather than focusing on the food you can't eat, find an activity to focus on instead. The root of the problem is the mind, not the body.

That's easy to say when you're not sitting at work, watching the clock and just waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

Hurry up you stupid clock! Spider Man told me I only have three hours left!

Spoiler: Wait...what was that Spider Man?

DAMN YOU SPIDER MAN!!!!!

 

[BytByte]

Hoo boy, fat and sugar is super awesome and it always will be. But, yes, like everyone and yourself has said, the older you get, the more wtuff sticks. I too have some issues with candy in general. Somethibg I do is relegate those cheat days to eat that unhealthy stuff without feeling guilty. It works on occasion but you have to control how many cheat days you can have (i usually have a cheat meal once a week and maybe a full blown cheat day once a month).

As for changing your habits, yes, it is just like weening yourself off of an addiction. After putting the worst of my candy days behind me, the first 2 or 3 days without them gave me very bad headaches and irritability in addition to insane cravings.

It is not easy, but nowhere near impossible and definitely worth it, especially if you work out regularly because you start getting abs and stuff. Exercise in general coupd also help with changing your habits because if you're exercising you may be more inclined to eat well so as not to see all your effort put to waste because of some greasy gut bomb.

Good luck and remember heapthy eating is not a diet.