All or nothing

horsesdontjudge

I'm young, in college, and struggling a lot with keeping consistent. I have no problems incorporating exercise and am able to get in about an hour daily (if not a little more some days). My problem is with eating.

I'm a vegetarian and very picky (I've been like this my whole life so I'm not trying to cut anything out on purpose). This has led to me being very reliant on certain foods for certain nutrients (ex: dairy is my main source of protein) and certain other foods just to keep my calories up (ex: if I try to not have any carbs in my diet I end up eating very little to nothing throughout the day). I want to try to eat healthier, but with my small build people always get concerned if I start to say no to foods that are higher in calories. They'll say things such as 'you could use some meat on your bones' or 'you don't have to worry about eating x...you're so skinny'.

This has led to a frustrating cycle where I'll try to eat healthier (more fruits/veggies, less processed stuff) and then end up eating a lot of that unhealthy stuff I was trying to avoid in the first place the next day or two. I'm not unhealthy (in terms of weight) nor is it my intention to lose weight. But I need help with how to both keep myself on track in eating healthier, with less carbs. Also any advice on getting people to understand that just because I don't want seconds on pasta or opt out of dessert that night, doesn't mean I'm suddenly gonna waste away to nothing. It doesn't have to be an easy overnight solution. I'm just sick of this cycle where I don't eat junk all day and then go out with people or just have it in front of me (my mom buys it all despite me asking her not to because she wants me to gain weight when I don't need to) and just eat it all. Thanks!

vespiquenn

Why do you not want carbs? Unless you have some medical condition, there's not necessarily a need to cut carbs.

With that being said, what are you actually attempting to achieve? You say you want to eat healthy, but that term is subjective. Are you looking for an all raw diet? Otherwise, you are going to end up with processed foods (hell, even your fruits and veggies have a degree of process to them). Essentially, that had just become a buzz word to scare the masses.

Ultimately, it comes down to self control. If you want something bad enough, you won't eat it. You can't expect people to conform to your standards, like telling your mom not to buy junk. It's her house. It's your battle and your's alone. So you can chose to eat junk as you put it, or don't. Simple as that.

cerise_noir

^All of this.

When I tried doing what you're attempting to achieve, I would fail every single time.
I eat nutritious foods, my favourite foods and my favourite snacks, aka junk food
.
I eat carbs. Lots of them.

I've lost almost 100lbs.

Also, ignore the others who think that you're going to waste away. You're doing this for you, not them.