How do you picky eaters eat good and lose weight?

cameronwheeler

Hi there, I am probably the most pickiest eater there is on this planet. I don't eat seafood, any asian food, mexican, pretty much the only italian i will eat is pizza, (no spagetti, no lasagna or pasta) i don't like a lot of things. Pretty much the only foods that I like are really unhealthy. Since I was young, i've only liked food such as burgers hot dogs fries, macaroni and cheese, ham, and just a few other things. I don't have much variety in my diet and when a google healthy foods they all look discusting.

So what i do is i try to make the same foods i use to eat but make them healthier. like for instance, i bake french fries, use lean meat for burgers and such.

What do you do?

SirBonerFart

time to put on your big boy pants on

Factory_Reset

I pick good food to eat

And eat it

Weight comes off

Pulka_Dot

Edited to delete my comment. Sending in PM.

timbrom

Two things - First, there ain't nothing wrong with a good burger, if it fits your macros.

Second, as aforementioned, if the burger doesn't fit your macros, put on your big boy pants and eat your veggies.

Pearsquared

Go and make a list of foods that you like. Junk and healthy - look up different types of foods online because you might have forgotten about foods that you like. Find recipes that use these ingredients but are "lighter", and make substitutions if you need to (e.g. I hate cherry tomatoes, but a taco casserole I made called for them. I used onions instead).

sharonfoustmills

I have to say that I thought the same thing about myself, until I started to try to eat the healthier food. I realized I love those healthy foods- it was all in my mind that I did not like them. There have to be healthy foods that you like so start exploring some things you haven't tried before and you will find some you like.

feathers20

I used to be an extremely fussy eater, but I have just trained myself to eat the foods I didn't like. It works! after the first few times of eating veg or salad, i'd be disgusted, but now I actually enjoy those foods, not only because I know its good for me but because it makes me feel good and fuller for longer!

A good tip, the unhealthy food you love is full of flavours (like herbs and spices) - find those in the supermarket in dried containers and put a tiny bit on the healthy stuff you don't like, it will taste better and train you to like them without all the added fats and oils.

good luck

glin23

I pick the foods that I like and have found ways to prepare it that are still healthy. The way I see it is there are a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. There's no need to force yourself to eat the ones that you don't like, but that shouldn't turn you off to ones you might like.

nicola1141

They say it takes 21 tastes of something to "retrain" to like it. So I would pick a food that is healthier and you think would help you to enjoy eating. Then commit to trying it at least once every couple of days. If you still don't like it after 20 or so tries, move on to the next food.

lithezebra

My pickiness makes it easier to eat healthily. I have expensive tastes, and I'm gluten intolerant. It can make it difficult to find food at all sometimes. I don't like most packaged foods at all, and I never liked fast food.

What do you do?

I cook, and I take my own food when I travel.

There is nothing wrong with burgers, except the big fluffy bun. They're good made with ground chicken too, for variety.

Mokey41

time to put on your big boy pants on

This.

MinMin97

Probably your eating habits will change. Your tastes in food is not a set thing.
You can eat a McDonald's hamburger, or you can make one at home, with a slice of cheese, on a whole wheat bun, with a fresh slab of onion, tomato and crunchy lettuce....which one tastes better and is healthier?
Just higher quality ingredients will make things healthier.

rahlpn

Your diet sounds like my 2 year olds ideal diet...or mine when I was 5. I agree with the first reply, time to grow up and try new things. You may surprise yourself with what you've been missing. When I met my husband I wouldn't touch seafood, the smell was awful and off-putting. So he brought me to a marina for dinner and I didn't want to be rude, I ordered steamed shrimp. OMG, it was delicious! So I tried some of his crab legs. Again, delicious!! Just recently I tried grilled marinated tilapia, delicious! Doesn't even taste like fish, more like chicken. I still can't do salmon or oysters or even sushi but at least now I can eat at a seafood restaurant and have healthier options at other restaurants. I also eat more veggies as an adult. Know what the problem was? Growing up my dad only served plain canned vegetables. Blagh, mushy, tastless, rubbery. So I started buying fresh or frozen and using different recipes to sautee and roast them. OMG delicious! Really though, just try new things, if you truly don't like it then fine, eat what you like and doctor up the recipe to make it healthier if you can, but you may open up tons of new options by just taking one bite and stepping out of your comfort zone.

thisismeraw

Keep trying things.. even those that you have previously not liked. Your taste buds change after a while. I used to hate "healthy" food but as I started eating more and more of it I began to enjoy it.

Try cooking things differently. Maybe you don't like certain veggies because they were either cooked too much or not enough... or they were cooked with seasonings you didn't like.

You can also make your favourite foods healthier. Get portabello mushrooms.. take out the steam and gills and than put sauce and some cheese on top for a healthier pizza... or make your own crush. I love pizza on whole wheat pitas. Try loading your pizza with veggies to make it healthier.

For mac and cheese, make your own sauce and make it healthier. Use lower fat milk/cream... lower calorie cheese. Add in some veggies. I love mac and cheese made with pasta, a can of tomato soup, half a can of milk, some low calorie cheese shredded (or get a good regular cheese so you have to use less of it).. add in some peas, corn, etc. Super yummy!

Bake fries instead of fry. Or cut up potatos and make your own. Sweet potato strips and carrot strips baked like fries are amazing. If you like things like chicken fingers make your own. Take chicken breast, cut into strips and bake.

Burgers are great made with ground turkey. Chop veggies like onion, garlic, peppers, etc really small (or puree them) and mix in. My husband loves a burger salad. He will cook a burger, cut it into small pieces and mix it in with chopped lettuce and tomato.

Keep trying things and make changes to your favourite foods. You can eat the "unhealthy" foods and lose weight. A burger can fit into your macros.. as can pizza... just make changes to them.

skylark94

Losing weight for me was not about changing what I eat. Rather, it was changing how much I ate. I still don't eat a whole lot of fruits and veggies. I'm allergic to apples and many vegetables give me heartburn, so I'm usually getting only 1-2 servings per day. I still eat pizza, burgers, and pasta. I just watch the portions and try to go for the slightly better options.

new_beth_2013

You can try and make your food choices work for you, but you will be disappointed in the long run.

Make new food. Try new things. If you stick with what you have been doing then you will continue to get the same results.

No one will be able to make you change, so be a man and do it yourself!!

Try new recipes, buy new things, endulge once in a while with the things you love, but it is time to get a new appreciation for things you refuse to enjoy. You will be surprised.

lyndausvi

I hate spicy foods, I hate foods smothered in sauces. Eating mexican to me means a chicken soft taco or guacamole. Eating Chinese means ordering sweet and sour chicken, sauce on the side and a side of white rice. I seem to losing weight just fine. I eat a fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

My taste buds have changed drastically over time. in my 20's I would not eat sushi (which was a same because my family lived int Japan). Now I love it. I was not really a veggie fan, but now I crave them. Avocados were gross mushy green things, now I eat some 5 times a week.

I would try and revisit certain items. You may be surprised what you like now. Also try different preparations. For example, I do not like raw broccoli, but I love steamed broccoli. Yet I hate cooked carrots, but love raw carrots. I use to live in the "mushroom capital of the world" and hated mushrooms. Now I like them raw and cooked. Go figure. I found out I liked sweet and sour chicken when my DH insisted on ordering it with the sauce on the side. A small amount of sauce was prefect for me. When it's drowned in the sauce it was not appealing.

iwillbetinytea

I agree with everyone. When I was a teen I hated my veggies, but as an adult I understand that I need vegetables in my diet for not only my weight, but skin, for water, for vitamins and minerals. Now I love them. Just grow a pair and get them eaten. Or if you really want to act like a child, put a peg on your nose.

Cre8veLifeR

There are LOTS of different ways to prepare veggies. I like mine grilled or baked in the oven. Be creative. Juice them if you have to and drink them.

I'm picky too btw - I detest all dairy products - even cheese - as well as eggs and most meats! I hear ya.

LAW_714

Hi there, I am probably the most pickiest eater there is on this planet. I don't eat seafood, any asian food, mexican, pretty much the only italian i will eat is pizza, (no spagetti, no lasagna or pasta) i don't like a lot of things. Pretty much the only foods that I like are really unhealthy. Since I was young, i've only liked food such as burgers hot dogs fries, macaroni and cheese, ham, and just a few other things. I don't have much variety in my diet and when a google healthy foods they all look discusting.

So what i do is i try to make the same foods i use to eat but make them healthier. like for instance, i bake french fries, use lean meat for burgers and such.

What do you do?

I would say that unless there's some sort of medical issue (allergy, lactose intolerance, etc) or a psychological one (in which case addressing it would require the advise of someone other than a random internet poster). You should work on broadening your palette. There's a world of good, healthy, flavorful food that you're missing out on because you are habituated to a very narrow selection of food.

You don't have to like everything. No one does. But you should try foods (often more than once) and broaden your choices. There's probably some things that you would like. Plus, it broadens your experiences. Why unduly limit yourself? There are things that can enrich your life from a flavor profile and from a health viewpoint.

It is and alway will be up to you.

If you're satisfied with what you're eating, fine. If changing is 'too difficult', well, only you can tell what you have motivation to do. It's really a question of what do you want and what are you willing to do... and no one can answer that but you.


(And what do I do? First, I'm not 'picky.' I was as a child, but as I grew up I learned to eat a variety of things. Besides that, I also know how to cook and enjoy doing so.)

scottaworley

time to put on your big boy pants on

Sublimely_Self_Righteous

They probably pick what they want to eat. Following picking activities, they eat it.

TheRealParisLove

Humans are amazing eating machines. We can get used to and even enjoy eating just about anything after about 3 weeks. This is why all the other bi-pedal intelligent apes went extinct, but we are still here (or so the theory goes).

Since you like burgers, try adding finely chopped (or even pureed) veggies to the meat. Use just a tiny amount and probably start with something that is really mild in flavor like carrots or zucchini. Even though you won't be able to taste it, your body is going to develop a desire for those foods after a while. You will begin producing the digestive enzymes to break down the nutrients in those foods, and the added hit of vitamins is going to have you feeling great.

It is like a flavor vaccine.

There is a cook book on the market called "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeild. The idea is to get nutrition into kids who are picky eaters. I bought it to get nutrition into my extremely picky husband. It worked!

After a lifetime of eschewing anything vegetable, I served him a shrimp salad made with bell peppers, quinoa, cabbage, onion, tomatoes and topped with cilantro. He not only ate the portion I served him, he went back for seconds and took the leftovers with him for lunch the next day.

I was shocked and amazed. I know my husband will eat things like the shrimp salad when I serve it to him because he knows it's good for him, but I've never seen him seek out a salad because he enjoyed it. It can be done, you just have to keep at it. :flowerforyou:

rowanwood

Some people have legitimate picky tastes, but most just have bad habits, some going all the way back to childhood.

My TODDLER has a more varied palate, because we experiment and try new things. She doesn't always like it, but she will always try something. She always spits out mushrooms, but we keep trying. She loves curry and octopus and will take broccoli over oreos, even when offered both.

Be braver than my 2 year old, and you'll be fine.

Lyadeia

I also create "healthier" versions of foods that I like, which really only means substituting certain things like Greek yogurt for sour cream. That adds protein yet subtracts total calories.

But in the end, I just make sure that my calorie deficit is in place and eat what I want. As long as you meet your calorie and macro goals, the "what" you eat makes little difference.

QuilterInVA

Its time to grow up and eat like an adult. Little children are picky eaters. Adults do it to get attention.

flitabout

I eat what I want. Just not as much of it. That simple. That said try some new food you might find you like it!

lithezebra

I love mac and cheese, and ham. I just don't have all my not-entirely-healthy foods at the same time, and I do eat the super healthy foods I love, including the vegetables that I've learned to love. Again, I cook, from scratch, and that gives me a lot of control over what I eat.

JenSD6

My father is an extremely picky eater, and I mean extremely. You know what it means? Every single family dinner has to revolve around his picky eating habits. We are limited to the restaurants he can find something to eat at, or Mom has to host everything because even food he loves he won't eat if someone other than her makes it just the way he wants it. It is not fun, and it is very frustrating and at times downright insulting for people who love him and want to enjoy their time with him socially.

I'll give you this thought... is this what you want to subject your current and future family to?

Expand your tastebuds and be willing to try something new. I grew up finicky because of my Dad to the point where going to an ethnic restaurant terrified me, but I've since learned to love and eat almost anything. Be bold and try something new. You never know what you might find that you love and have never tried because you had a mental block about it.

You will find life so much more enjoyable.

lithezebra

Its time to grow up and eat like an adult. Little children are picky eaters. Adults do it to get attention.

I disagree. I think that eating is a wonderful pleasure in life. I don't go out of my way to eat things that I don't like, however I like to experiment with new foods, and with ingredients that I haven't liked in the past. That doesn't mean that I don't like attention. However the reason that I'm a picky eater is that I like to have control over what goes into my body and what kind of experience I have when I eat. I want the enjoyment to be worth the calories.