Does anybody really enjoy eating anymore?

I do enjoy eating, but I've suffered the consequences of mistakes often enough that I am careful by habit now. Like Pavlov's dog, if I am looking at a big plate of delicious disaster, I will not eat it because I've been "trained" by my own body to recognize the pain it holds for me.

Like overeating. I don't know if you realize it, but eating to the point of fullness isn't really healthy for anyone. I don't do it anymore. Sometimes I get carried away and I always always always regret it. Take advice from the Japanese - eat as much as you want until you are 80% full and then stop. You can have a snack later if you're still hungry.

I am more challenged by the different tastes I have to cook for. One kid hardly likes anything. My husband only likes highly spiced and salty foods. My other kid will eat anything except highly spiced and salty foods. I'm gluten free and really don't like meat more than once/week. Fun times in the kitchen!

I love food and love to try new things. I don't eat meat or poultry but will try any vegetarian or seafood dish. I know that I can't eat too much heavy or fried food and will usually stop before I overindulge. For example tonight I ordered Penne a la Vodka. I can't handle too much cream sauce so I also ordered a large salad. I ate the whole salad and had about 5 -6 bites of the penne.

Hmmm...I guess I am in the minority here. I still really appreciate food. I guess I was lucky in that growing up we ate pretty bland, so I don't know what I am missing on some of the funkier spicier dishes. I do really miss my broccoli and carrots, but I am almost veggie and fruit free because they cause issues. I thought I missed Chicken Wings (I am from the Buffal area originally), but having suffered on a few recently, have no taste for them.
But I do still really enjoy the things I do eat. I am lucky and can eat things like cake and cookies and milk products. I think because what I eat is so bland, flavors really are noticeable and I revel in them when I do get them. I had a piece of rye bread yesterday and I forgot I loved that taste. I also enjoy the kitchen comraderie when a group cooks together and I like dining out for the experience regardless of my diet.

I'm with gumby on this one. :)

If my chosen career path hadn't worked out, I probably would have ended up in the culinary world. I love food and I especially love preparing food. So for me, while it has been very hard to lose the ability to enjoy many of the foods that I once enjoyed--and especially the ability to eat out at restaurants, which I very rarely do--I really love the process of making the best tasting meals that I can that won't upset my stomach. Obviously, this requires a lot of trial and error, but over the years I've come to learn my biggest triggers and my best safe foods and I've been able to experiment within an increasingly larger range of ingredients. For me, this means doing things like finding ways to remove things like butter, cream, and other high-fat ingredients; not using red meat; peeling vegetables and removing seeds. Flavor can be replaced with spices. I make some killer curries with low-fat coconut milk (you don't need much!) and homemade stock. I make "milkshakes" with frozen bananas and vanilla almond milk that taste better than with ice cream.

Yes, it really does suck sometimes that we can't eat what we really want to have--or we could and suffer the consequences--but there are creative ways around it that can make our meals much more enjoyable.

I enjoy eating at this point in time but through the course of my crohn's disease it hasn't always been that way.I have had a lot of bowel obstuctions and during these episodes food is my worst enemy.There is a list of foods that I avoid including turkey,milk products , red meat,greasy foods and vegtables that cause gas.I now have a colostomy and gas collecting in my pouch is not fun.I can understand why food is sometimes not appealing

HI
"It's not been all unicorns and rainbows. "
You have such a way with words. I have written a lot over the years and I have never used that phrase.

Nice to hear you are getting a bit of relief
Remember to really pay attention to your body, not your taste buds. Go slow if introducing new foods, please.

Dave - fingers crossed you continue on an upward path

That's a good question. It seem like every social event revolves around food and drinks. When my husband and I get together with friends, it's a 2+ hour meal at a restaurant. I enjoy the company and my husband loves good food, but I skip most of the courses and don't drink and then pay for way more than my share of the food. It's frustrating, but it's just the way it is. I keep it very simple and try not to think how much a piece of fish is going to end up costing me. So in answer to your question, I still enjoy food, but I eat to survive, rather than survive to eat these days.