Complicated

sandeegriffin

How do you eat healthier when all of the bad food look and smell so delicious? That's my struggle right now. So far I've managed my sweets pretty well. Instead of going for that cookie I go for a natural fruit or instead of going for everything on my burger I get just meat and no toppings or bun. Instead of fries I ask for mixed veggies that aren't fried. My other weakness is plenty of water. I don't like water too well. I'll drink it if its ice cold but I gotta have some sort of flavored drink to go with my meals. Anyone have any suggestions as to helping me steer away from the unhealthy and steer towards the healthy. When it looks and smells and tastes delicious how do you avoid it especially if you're in a restaurant? Any ideas?

JeromeBarry1

Oh, cookie! Yes, there's a cookie in there and I've exercised enough for it. Thanks!


There's a bunch of different zero-calorie water flavorings you can find. Do that.

This really isn't as complicated as you believe it is. Use the food diary to honestly, accurately, promptly, and completely log your food. MyFitnessPal has already told you how many calories you can eat to lose weight. Use the food diary to plan your meals, then use your kitchen to eat your plan. You really can't go wrong this way. Stay in a comfortable calorie deficit and be patient.

Another idea, I purchased last week a Copper Chef crisper basket sort of thing. It's a small baking sheet with a wire basket that fits over it. The idea is to put stuff in the basket and bake it in the oven to get a sort of "air fryer" effect without oil. I've been using it for potatoes and found that slicing a potato into "french fry" shapes and cooking them in the basket for 30 minutes at 400F makes a nice little batch of potatoes that go well with ketchup. That's something I'm going to use a lot more often.

Restaurant: Know what you're going to get before you go.

MommaGem2017

I think the key for sustainable weight loss is to still incorporate foods you love ve within your calorie budget. Healthy/unhealthy... can you fit it within your calorie goal? I eat a small portion of sweets each day. I find days to schedule in some Taco Bell or a slice of pizza. At a restaurant I might split a meal with someone or just pack up half right away.

I find that if I'm too restrictive I lose motivation and morale. Also, you don't have to drink just plain water - all liquid counts. I drink coffee, decaf unsweetened iced tea, La Croix flavored waters. Be gentle to yourself.

JeromeBarry1

It's an Arby's Salted Caramel & Chocolate Cookie, btw.

MichelleSilverleaf

Don't focus on "healthy" and "unhealthy" so much. There's nothing wrong with opting for fruits instead of sweets but don't make yourself miserable either. Have the burger with the toppings, the biggest calorie part of that burger is the patty anyway. Plan your day if you know you're going to a restaurant and likely to have a very calorie-dense meal. There's nothing wrong with enjoying food in a good way. Having the odd day of "unhealthy" isn't going to ruin your whole effort.

kommodevaran

What has helped me, is insight. I learnt how to stop struggling, by getting a better grip on what "healthy food" really means, and what it is that makes "bad" food so delicious, and how to make healthy=delicious.

First, there are no healthy or bad foods. For good physical health, we need a range of nutrients every day, and over time, not get in too many calories. Different foods contain different amounts and compositions of nutrients. "Junk" food is called that because it's typically high in calories and low in nutrition, and it's made to just taste good and not to nourish, so it's easy to overeat. This means that many of us have to be extra careful around those kinds of foods. But it's not poisonous or fattening, it's just about not eating too much. You get fat by eating too much, no matter what you eat.

The notion of "bad" combined with "delicious" makes us really really want it, and it's also cheap and easily available, and our cultural norms tells us it's okay to indulge anytime. This means that we have to be even more careful, and that we just can't "try to avoid", we need a good strategy.

For mental health, we need enjoyable food. We need good taste, to be relaxed, to like what we eat and eat what we like.

So, we need to make our normal/healthy food delicious. It's not that hard, but it takes a drastic change of mindset, habits and environment. It means for most people that you have to do more of your own cooking. It may mean that you have to allow more fat, sugar and salt when you cook. When you eat a wider range of "natural" foods, and less "junk" foods, your tastebuds will come to life. You may pick up nuances that you haven't noticed, and appreciate nuances you used to hate.

We need to work on our environments, which means buying foods we intend to eat and leaving foods we don't intend to eat, at the store. It means that we have to plan our meals to some extent, and plan meals that we actually want to eat. It means that we need to learn how to cook, at the very least, follow recipes.

Water has no taste, so you will have to get used to drinking for thirst, not as entertainment. This will be easier when your diet is better and you are used to eating for pleasure and nourishment, not to chase boredom or quell emotions.

HeidiCooksSupper

Enjoy your food; just count your calories. That's really all there is to it. What will probably happen naturally is that you will make some better food choices as you decide how to use those precious calories.

There's no need to drink plain water. There are plenty of low calorie alternatives. My personal favorites are unsweetened iced tea and the carbonated waters that are increasingly available on the grocer's shelves. If you drink something with calories in it, just count them.

try2again

MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »

Don't focus on "healthy" and "unhealthy" so much. There's nothing wrong with opting for fruits instead of sweets but don't make yourself miserable either. Have the burger with the toppings, the biggest calorie part of that burger is the patty anyway. Plan your day if you know you're going to a restaurant and likely to have a very calorie-dense meal. There's nothing wrong with enjoying food in a good way. Having the odd day of "unhealthy" isn't going to ruin your whole effort.

Lol... agree about the burger. When I make a burger at home (my version of a whopper), it's hard to find the burger underneath all the stuff I put on it! Of course, if you're talking cheese, bacon, etc, we could debate about that, but I still might have some of it if I was in the mood and could fit in in my day.

You've gotten good advice, OP. Don't focus on avoidance so much as balance. If you find yourself struggling, it could just be because you are pursuing an overly aggressive goal (2 lbs/week, for example) that's giving you a calorie allowance that's too hard to work with.