BORED BORED BORED!!! SOS
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littledante
Posts: 85 Member
I am so bored with being good and eating healthily.... help... I have zero resilience (It has only been 3 days!) :0) My diary is public so anyone can see it and comment on how I could make it more exciting. I think focusing away from food would be a good idea. I think I am bored of calorie counting and being so food focused.
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I went to look - your diary is hidden! So I can't really comment specifically on what you're eating.
It might help to move away from a bad vs good dichotomy. Healthy/nutritious/lower calorie food doesn't have to be boring. And you can still have food that you enjoy, just smaller portions for example. Are your calories set too low? Being overly restrictive is a recipe for frustration, boredom and being hungry.0 -
oh_happy_day wrote: »I went to look - your diary is hidden! So I can't really comment specifically on what you're eating.
It might help to move away from a bad vs good dichotomy. Healthy/nutritious/lower calorie food doesn't have to be boring. And you can still have food that you enjoy, just smaller portions for example. Are your calories set too low? Being overly restrictive is a recipe for frustration, boredom and being hungry.
That is strange... it says it is public..
Yes perhaps they are a little too low. I know, I hate the bad and good language... it is so easy to slip into using those terms.
It is quite good creating recipes.
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http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/littledante
my diary link... it says it is public in the settings but hey ho0 -
I can see your diary. You seem to eat a lot of salads which I know I can find quite depressing if I don't branch out a bit. I'm assuming you're vegetarian? For lunch you could roast some veggies and have with lentils/beans/meat substitute? There are loads of delicious, low calorie vegetarian/vegan recipes at Tinned Tomatoes from which I've had some amazing meals. Another fun thing to do is go to your nearest Asian supermarket and pick up some unusual ingredients that will force you to cook in a new way. For example, gyoza dumpling cases can be picked up for next to no money and are lots of fun to make. You can get great thai curry pastes as well that make delicious bases for soups or curries.
The only problem is that you need to be organised to plan meals like this, especially when you're learning to cook new ones. I'm definitely guilty of returning to my old, easy favourites again and again, just because it becomes routine. FWIW I'm also from the UK, my diary is public and it goes back to 2011 (on and off... mostly off). I don't have the most varied diet, but I think it helps to look at what other people are eating. Just don't judge me for the amount of crap I ate last week
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littledante wrote: »I am so bored with being good and eating healthily.... help... I have zero resilience (It has only been 3 days!) :0) My diary is public so anyone can see it and comment on how I could make it more exciting. I think focusing away from food would be a good idea. I think I am bored of calorie counting and being so food focused.
stop thinking about it as being 'good' and think of it as things you do and behaviours that you have as part of a healthy lifestyle.0 -
I'm just bored haha0
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I can see it now. Are you vegetarian? I'm seeing a lot of faux-meat products. Your calorie allowance is really pretty low. Do you really need to do 1200? Or could 1300 or 1400 still work? I do a menu plan each week and try hard to rotate meals and try new ones, even though we definitely have favourites. It keeps it from getting too repetitive.
Salads don't have to be boring - mix it up with quinoa, roasted vegetables, marinated tofu etc. Frittatas are great, I make mine with eggwhites (so I can add plenty of fetta!) and green vegetables. Don't forget about soups too. Perfect for cooking in bulk and freezing. There are so many amazing recipes that you make while keeping within your calorie deficit. I noticed that you're having pasta. I'm also on a quite a low calorie allowance, I've replaced pasta with spiralized zucchini so that I can eat a pile of it. You definitely don't have to, carbs aren't the enemy, I just prefer the bulk. And get creative with your snacks! Smoothies, make your own protein balls, air popped popcorn etc.
I really love food, so I put the effort into making my calorie allowance work to the max - so I hit my macros and also don't feel deprived. I still have 15+kg to go, I don't want to be miserable and deprived.0 -
Then don´t focus so much... don´t worry... log what you eat.... spend a few days getting used to the concept of being real about it. Then eventually you can analyse your intake and begin adjusting how to get the most out of your cals and begin seing the results you want. The boredom can also be chased away with some nice cardio. Dancing running, jogging. Music or a nice audio-book while you burn some cals, and you won´t be bored anymore?? Good luck
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littledante wrote: »I am so bored with being good and eating healthily.... help... I have zero resilience (It has only been 3 days!) :0) My diary is public so anyone can see it and comment on how I could make it more exciting. I think focusing away from food would be a good idea. I think I am bored of calorie counting and being so food focused.
Go to your local grocery stores and markets and other places you can acquire food. Walk up and down the aisle and read labels.
You might be surprised what is available out there.
Since I started with MFP, and did that exercise to find low-cal food, I've been eating a whole lot more variety than I did before. I was bored with the same ol' dinners etc. ... but once I really looked at what was available, my selection has become so much more interesting.
And also ... exercise. I told my husband today that if we do a certain amount of cycling on Saturday, we can have pizza. Incentive!!
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Sparkrecipes.com has great healthy recipes, search around it, I'm sure you can find some to liven up your day!0
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3 days is a bit soon..... I'd address the issue now and learn how to focus. As said above being good and bad instead of a lifesyle is a bit dull and will make your journey harder. Remind yourself why you are doing it, focus on each day and commit. When you start getting resilts it gets less boring.0
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EdTheGinge wrote: »I'm just bored haha
lol0 -
I can see your diary. You seem to eat a lot of salads which I know I can find quite depressing if I don't branch out a bit. I'm assuming you're vegetarian? For lunch you could roast some veggies and have with lentils/beans/meat substitute? There are loads of delicious, low calorie vegetarian/vegan recipes at Tinned Tomatoes from which I've had some amazing meals. Another fun thing to do is go to your nearest Asian supermarket and pick up some unusual ingredients that will force you to cook in a new way. For example, gyoza dumpling cases can be picked up for next to no money and are lots of fun to make. You can get great thai curry pastes as well that make delicious bases for soups or curries.
The only problem is that you need to be organised to plan meals like this, especially when you're learning to cook new ones. I'm definitely guilty of returning to my old, easy favourites again and again, just because it becomes routine. FWIW I'm also from the UK, my diary is public and it goes back to 2011 (on and off... mostly off). I don't have the most varied diet, but I think it helps to look at what other people are eating. Just don't judge me for the amount of crap I ate last week
Thanks... your ideas are really really useful... I love the idea of going to get random food and then learning how to use it :0) ta very much - yes I am a veggie.0 -
oh_happy_day wrote: »I can see it now. Are you vegetarian? I'm seeing a lot of faux-meat products. Your calorie allowance is really pretty low. Do you really need to do 1200? Or could 1300 or 1400 still work? I do a menu plan each week and try hard to rotate meals and try new ones, even though we definitely have favourites. It keeps it from getting too repetitive.
Salads don't have to be boring - mix it up with quinoa, roasted vegetables, marinated tofu etc. Frittatas are great, I make mine with eggwhites (so I can add plenty of fetta!) and green vegetables. Don't forget about soups too. Perfect for cooking in bulk and freezing. There are so many amazing recipes that you make while keeping within your calorie deficit. I noticed that you're having pasta. I'm also on a quite a low calorie allowance, I've replaced pasta with spiralized zucchini so that I can eat a pile of it. You definitely don't have to, carbs aren't the enemy, I just prefer the bulk. And get creative with your snacks! Smoothies, make your own protein balls, air popped popcorn etc.
I really love food, so I put the effort into making my calorie allowance work to the max - so I hit my macros and also don't feel deprived. I still have 15+kg to go, I don't want to be miserable and deprived.
I am a veggie yes. Yeah I just let MFP work out my plan. It set itself quite low. Perhaps I'll increase it.... not sure i'm organised enough to do a menu plan. What is a macro? I could try your salad ideas in the weekend meals. Week has to be kept very low prep as I work long days. I love cheese, so I will try and get inventive with that.
How do you make protein balls??? :0)
I have noticed that dropping carbs like bread/cakes/crisps means that they weight just falls off.0 -
Then don´t focus so much... don´t worry... log what you eat.... spend a few days getting used to the concept of being real about it.
Thanks for the advice... I think mainly it's about not lying to oneself e.g. secret eating... I've lost a fair bit since i've stopped pretending that drinks don't have calories in them. lol0 -
Herbs! Seasonings! (And a new non-food hobby or two, preferably active so you earn more calories.) I'm also a vegetarian (ovo lacto - since 1974), eating 1200 net right now, and I hate fake meat. My diary isn't public, but I think you can see it if you friend me. I'm boring at breakfast (I like an unchallenging morning - heh) and sometimes lunch, but more varied at dinner. It may be hard to tell what I'm actually eating, because oftentimes what's logged is a list of ingredients.0
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Apologies in advance: What follows is long (too long) and very focused on your original post, @littledante, and *completely* vegetarian-centric. Maybe it should've been a personal message. Certainly I should've posted it quicker!
My first reaction to looking at a few days in your diary is that your diet is kind of like a meat eater that doesn't eat meat, if that makes any sense. There's sort of a "meat + veg or salad + carb" cast, especially to dinners, except that the meat isn't actually meat. I'm definitely showing my prejudices here, but I don't much like fake meat. To me, it isn't, frankly, as tasty or satisfying as actual meat (assuming one likes that sort of thing) and it gets kind of same-y after a while. But if you really like the meat substitutes, they may be just the thing for your meals, I don't know.
After 40 years (yikes!) as a vegetarian, I don't really even think of meals in that "meat + veg + carb" way; I think it's kind of boring. I'm more likely to put together a range of things, and just try to make sure there's enough protein by the end. This isn't necessarily more cooking, but it's different cooking. Like maybe
* a salad with some beans and a bit of sunflower seeds (or pepitas or almonds or what have you), and/or
* a stir-fry of veg with a little tempeh (or tofu. or seitan if you eat gluten, or it's combined with a high-protein grain like quinoa), or
* a casserole with veggies and cheese and quinoa, and a side of edamame, or
* some bean/pea soup with a little cheese in it, and a salad of broccoli (more protein for a veg) and other veggies with a few nuts or seeds.
You can even add in some dessert protein: fruit and greek yogurt (or cheese), or fruit and nuts if there's enough room for the calories, for example. And don't forget protein options for salad dressings, like creamy dressings based on greek yogurt.
For dinner, I tend to make one more prep-oriented thing, and one or two other easy things, each of them kind of like veggie side dishes but with protein woven through.
If you think of vegetarian meals this way - which is hard at first! - you get really lots of variety. You tend to develop some basic go-to items that can be seasoned up or accessorized in a lot of different ways, and mixed and matched. You know, basic ideas like: A stir fry, a lasagna-like casserole with veg slices instead of pasta, bean-based salads, soups, ethnic things (not necessarily seasoned in their ethnically-traditional ways) - like enchiladas, different kinds of dips (bean or cheese based) for raw veggies, things like cabbage rolls but with various wraps (other greens, eggplant) and fillings, stuffed vegetables (peppers, summer squash, tomatoes), various egg dishes if you eat eggs.
If you're willing to experiment with different international foods, there are a lot of options. Mexican food has some amazing vegetarian stuff (mostly bean based), Indian food is fabulous (curry sauces with nuts in them, yum, and the dals with different kinds of beans/lentils/peas), Japanese or Chinese (think about flavoring a stir fry with peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar), Middle Eastern or Mediterranean food has things like hummus, mujadara, foul mudammas . . . .
This is really daunting & bizarre, I guess, at first. I went through a long period where we joked that I was cooking "unidentified patties with brown sauce" all the time, kind of in that meat-centric way but without meat. But I feel like once we get out of that rut, vegetarians actually have more options, and more varied ones, than the meat-eaters. Nowadays, since I'm living alone (widow), I'm simplifying somewhat, especially while calorie-restricting, but it still tends to be the case that there isn't a;ways a clear & obvious "main dish" let alone "main protein dish" to my meals.
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littledante wrote: »oh_happy_day wrote: »I can see it now. Are you vegetarian? I'm seeing a lot of faux-meat products. Your calorie allowance is really pretty low. Do you really need to do 1200? Or could 1300 or 1400 still work? I do a menu plan each week and try hard to rotate meals and try new ones, even though we definitely have favourites. It keeps it from getting too repetitive.
Salads don't have to be boring - mix it up with quinoa, roasted vegetables, marinated tofu etc. Frittatas are great, I make mine with eggwhites (so I can add plenty of fetta!) and green vegetables. Don't forget about soups too. Perfect for cooking in bulk and freezing. There are so many amazing recipes that you make while keeping within your calorie deficit. I noticed that you're having pasta. I'm also on a quite a low calorie allowance, I've replaced pasta with spiralized zucchini so that I can eat a pile of it. You definitely don't have to, carbs aren't the enemy, I just prefer the bulk. And get creative with your snacks! Smoothies, make your own protein balls, air popped popcorn etc.
I really love food, so I put the effort into making my calorie allowance work to the max - so I hit my macros and also don't feel deprived. I still have 15+kg to go, I don't want to be miserable and deprived.
I am a veggie yes. Yeah I just let MFP work out my plan. It set itself quite low. Perhaps I'll increase it.... not sure i'm organised enough to do a menu plan. What is a macro? I could try your salad ideas in the weekend meals. Week has to be kept very low prep as I work long days. I love cheese, so I will try and get inventive with that.
How do you make protein balls??? :0)
I have noticed that dropping carbs like bread/cakes/crisps means that they weight just falls off.
I work long hours as well, including shift work and so does my DH. That's why I make the time to do a meal plan and meal prep on my days off, because I really don't have the time on the days I work. Sure it's boring and I'd rather be doing something else but I prioritize it. It means I often eat the same lunch or dinner 2-3 days in a row but it's either that or eat poorly. I also cook in bulk and freeze.
Macros are macronutrients - so protein, fats, carbs etc.
Carbs aren't the enemy. I eat them - oats, vegetables, wholemeal bread, quinoa etc. I need the energy for gym! Cut them if you want, but don't do it just because you think it's the only way.
There are so many recipes for protein balls online - google protein balls or bliss balls and find a recipe you like. I make ones very similar to these: http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-protein-balls-recipe/0
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