I need help eating

Discoveringezra1
Discoveringezra1 Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Like I said in the title. I'm absolutely terrible at eating. I'm used to greasy southern food and fast food, and when it comes to eating healthy I turn into a child and become picky. When I look up healthy recipes my eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down. I actually was doing good at the beginning of the year and had dropped 20lb, but then the shutdown happened.

About my eating, it would be quicker to list the things I do like rather than the things I'm iffy on or don't like lol.

What can I do to get into eating more healthy foods?

Replies

  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    Keep trying new things. Have an open mind.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Southern food is not inherently bad. There are many websites which have swaps to make that style of food a little more calorie friendly. Skinnytaste website comes to mind...

    https://www.eatright.org/health/lifestyle/culture-and-traditions/healthy-soul-food-your-way
    That site has a few good ideas too.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    Southern food can be healthy. Any food can be healthy. It's more a matter of moderation.

    If you'd rather Southern food but want to be more conscious of your intake and how it's prepared, try YouTube. There are plenty of chefs cheffing it up with all kinds of cuisine.

    Try...

    * Fit Men Cook
    * Stay Snatched
    * Food Heaven Show

    While the last one hasn't posted new content in several years, all three of them seem to have authentic dishes (caveat: I live in Canada, have Caribbean roots, and have only been to two Southern states in my entire life - Florida & West Virginia...but I had to Google to see if they even counted as "Southern" 😩)
  • PaintedPlay
    PaintedPlay Posts: 51 Member
    Healthy is soo subjective, what do you like to eat, and why do you need to change what you eat?
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    Keep things simple as much as you can, at least to start with. You're more likely to stick to it if you enjoy the food and don't make it too difficult. After all, this is how you'll be eating for the rest of your life if you want to maintain your weight loss. Perhaps, once a week, make it a challenge to try a new recipe.

    Could you eat greasy southern food but in smaller portions to what you ate previously and then add some vegetables or a salad to bulk out your meal? Shar's Coleslaw (Levi Roots' recipe) is easy to make and really good with burgers or chicken. I make enough for 3 servings and have it for lunch, with some protein, over 3 days.

    Could you make your own burgers and substitute some of the meat with grated beetroot or other veg?
    Coat your own pieces of chicken and experiment with different seasonings?

    If you make the meals yourself you can eat the same foods but grill them rather than fry.
    Are you able to buy an airfryer - they use a miniscule amount of oil.

    Make oven chips or wedges instead of deep fried - slice one potato into wedges, parboil for 3-5mins, melt a small amount of butter (perhaps with some paprika mixed in) in a medium pan or bowl, drain the potato wedges then add them to the butter and swirl around to coat. Place the wedges on a baking tray (I usually stand them up) and bake for 35 mins. Turn them / move them a little, about half way through, to make sure they're not sticking. A spritzor two of spray oil (1cal per spray) on the baking tray can be useful.

    Look for lower calorie alternatives, where possible. If I do a vegetable stirfry, I use 10 squirts of spray oil (10 cals) rather than a tbsp of olive or vegetable oil (lots of cals).

    Look at the calories in the foods that you do eat and steer towards those that are the lowest, as much as possible. I add fruit to my morning porridge / yoghurt / cereal, but I've learned which are the lowest cals and pretty much only buy those now.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    You don’t need to eat healthy to lose weight; you just need to eat in a deficit. Plus as above “healthy” means very different things to different people.

    As mentioned above, you can make some substitutions to make the southern food healthier (lower calorie). You can eat the same foods you always ate, just eat less of them.

    The only dietary changes I’ve made are to eat cottage cheese and yogurt for lunch instead of TV dinners. And I’ve added in some fruits that I like. Everything else is the same as it always was, I just weigh it and eat less of it to lose weight.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,292 Member
    Good advice, above.

    In conjunction with that, may I suggest that you try a "gradually remodel your eating" approach? The idea is to start by logging what you eat now, then use diary review to gradually tweak things in manageable, reasonably enjoyable ways, to dial in appropriate calories and adequate nutrition . . . in balance with feeling full, eating tasty foods, and achieving other food goals important to you (practicality, cost, social connection, whatever).

    In brief, you log, then see which foods "cost" more calories than the enjoyment or nutrition you get from them. Those are candidates to reduce or eliminate, freeing up calories to "spend" on foods you enjoy that better help you meet your goals.

    If it sounds appealing, more about that concept is in this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

    Best wishes!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Discoveringezra1 wrote: »
    Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Talk about enlightening. I never considered some of the ideas that y'all pointed out. Like making alternative versions of the foods I currently eat. I was on the " Completely change what you eat, and give up what you used to and like" approach.

    I will visit the places you all suggested and start logging what I eat even though I'm embarrassed at how much garbage I do eat lol.
    PaintedPlay wrote: »
    Healthy is soo subjective, what do you like to eat, and why do you need to change what you eat?

    I'm currently 220 at 5'5. Basically, I'm noticing that I'm having digestive issues. Also, my weight is making my joints uncomfortable, knee issues, and weird feeling back joints. Add being winded more at work when usually I'm ok I just think it's time I start getting my bad eating habits under control. I just don't know how to do it properly and with lasting results (Yo-Yo weight isn't fun.)

    Food isn't garbage. Change your mindset about food. It will help in the long run.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    Discoveringezra1 wrote: »
    Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Talk about enlightening. I never considered some of the ideas that y'all pointed out. Like making alternative versions of the foods I currently eat. I was on the " Completely change what you eat, and give up what you used to and like" approach.

    I will visit the places you all suggested and start logging what I eat even though I'm embarrassed at how much garbage I do eat lol.
    PaintedPlay wrote: »
    Healthy is soo subjective, what do you like to eat, and why do you need to change what you eat?

    I'm currently 220 at 5'5. Basically, I'm noticing that I'm having digestive issues. Also, my weight is making my joints uncomfortable, knee issues, and weird feeling back joints. Add being winded more at work when usually I'm ok I just think it's time I start getting my bad eating habits under control. I just don't know how to do it properly and with lasting results (Yo-Yo weight isn't fun.)

    Lasting result come from sustainable changes. For example, if you hate tofu and Brussels sprouts and you love pizza but you decide you HAVE to eat tofu and Brussels sprouts to lose weight, you’ll only be able to do that for so long before you give up on it.

    I love pizza. I incorporate it into my meals in smaller quantities. I would have given up (yet again) if I was forcing myself to stop eating the things that I love. Balance is key to finding a sustainable method to lose the weight and keep it off.
  • Discoveringezra1
    Discoveringezra1 Posts: 5 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »

    Food isn't garbage. Change your mindset about food. It will help in the long run.

    Your right. Thank you

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,292 Member
    Discoveringezra1 wrote: »
    Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Talk about enlightening. I never considered some of the ideas that y'all pointed out. Like making alternative versions of the foods I currently eat. I was on the " Completely change what you eat, and give up what you used to and like" approach.

    I will visit the places you all suggested and start logging what I eat even though I'm embarrassed at how much garbage I do eat lol.
    PaintedPlay wrote: »
    Healthy is soo subjective, what do you like to eat, and why do you need to change what you eat?

    I'm currently 220 at 5'5. Basically, I'm noticing that I'm having digestive issues. Also, my weight is making my joints uncomfortable, knee issues, and weird feeling back joints. Add being winded more at work when usually I'm ok I just think it's time I start getting my bad eating habits under control. I just don't know how to do it properly and with lasting results (Yo-Yo weight isn't fun.)

    To the bolded: Many/most foods have some nutrition. Some foods have more nutrition than others. It's fine to combine foods in any way that suits you, that adds up to decently well-rounded nutrition over the course of a day, at appropriate totals calories for the bodyweight goals you have. Anything that contributes is not "garbage". Even things with nearly no nutritional value can have a role in a decent overall way of eating: It's a question of portion size and frequency, typically.

    IMO, emotion about it (embarassment, guilt, shame, whatever) isn't an especially helpful tool: It's just food, not sin or spawn of satan. (YMMV about emotions, though.) Just experiment to find your personal happy balance of enjoyment, nutrition, calorie intake, satiation.

    To the final paragraph: Speaking as someone your height who started out only a bit lighter, you will see major improvement in all of those things, and you won't have to weight for final goal weight to start feeling them. There will be many small victories all along the way, though it may take a few pounds down before you *initially* start noticing them.

    You're getting your head to a good place, which is a good start. Wishing you much success!
  • braymendeeres
    braymendeeres Posts: 4 Member
    I have done very well using keto. Basically by following that lifestyle you eliminate a lot of things. Mostly sugar and gluten. Gluten is very inflammatory on joints and your gut. Setting macros in MFP helps you a lot. Because you eat foods that are heavier and not full of carbs you stay satiated. There are some really good books to follow. Basically it is a very good tracking tool. My one word of caution on it is that if you eat carbs then you can knock yourself out of ketosis and then the heavier foods are pretty bad for you. I don't know about being keto for life but it is a great tool to lose weight then you have to figure out why you eat poorly. I fell off after my dad died and the family fell apart. At least that's what I allowed myself to use as an excuse. Not pushing keto, it is just a tool you can use.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    braymendeeres wrote: »
    I have done very well using keto. Basically by following that lifestyle you eliminate a lot of things. Mostly sugar and gluten. Gluten is very inflammatory on joints and your gut. Setting macros in MFP helps you a lot. Because you eat foods that are heavier and not full of carbs you stay satiated. There are some really good books to follow. Basically it is a very good tracking tool. My one word of caution on it is that if you eat carbs then you can knock yourself out of ketosis and then the heavier foods are pretty bad for you. I don't know about being keto for life but it is a great tool to lose weight then you have to figure out why you eat poorly. I fell off after my dad died and the family fell apart. At least that's what I allowed myself to use as an excuse. Not pushing keto, it is just a tool you can use.

    I agree it's a tool. But when someone is picky, it's far better to eat familiar foods that you like, either in smaller portions or cooked in a different way / bulked out with lower cal veg, than to try changing your entire diet and eliminate a lot of foods in one go. That's likely to result in failure quite quickly.

    Some people find keto works, others do not, however it only works if you're in a calorie deficit. You only have to look at the 'General' forum to see that people eat keto and put on weight.

    The only thing that DOES work with regards to losing weight is to reduce your calorific intake. There are many ways to do that though.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Discoveringezra1 wrote: »
    Like I said in the title. I'm absolutely terrible at eating. I'm used to greasy southern food and fast food, and when it comes to eating healthy I turn into a child and become picky. When I look up healthy recipes my eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down. I actually was doing good at the beginning of the year and had dropped 20lb, but then the shutdown happened.

    About my eating, it would be quicker to list the things I do like rather than the things I'm iffy on or don't like lol.

    What can I do to get into eating more healthy foods?

    I still eat foods like pizza, I just have smaller servings plus a large salad. Tonight we're having spaghetti and meatballs, but instead of eating 8 oz cooked pasta, I will have 4 oz plus roasted asparagus.

    I find veggies very useful to help me fill up instead of overeating higher calorie foods. Many people here swear by roasting vegetables. I find foods like canned green beans inedible, but love them steamed.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,488 Member
    Hitting the pizza angle (because I loooooves me some pizza) making my own is a fraction of the calories of takeout or delivery and is really tasty.

    I use lavash bread as a crust, smear some tomato paste on, sprinkle with pizza spice. Fresh mozarella (sold in logs or balls at the “better cheese” area of the grocery store) tends to be a little lower calorie than shredded and it takes way less because the flavor is SO much better. If I’m running high on calories for the day, I sub a little ham on de Serrano ham or some prosciutto for the pepperoni. Stick it under the broiler for a minute or two and you have a darn good thin crust pizza.

    If you use a wholeJoseph’s Bakery Lavash, and sub out a couple ounces ham, and just use an ounce or two of the fresh mozarella, you can bring a tasty, nice sized, dinner plate filling pizza in for about 500 calories.

    That’s not garbage! That’s some fine eating there.
  • brianpperkins131
    brianpperkins131 Posts: 90 Member
    Food is fuel. Some is decadently delicious, calorie dense fuel ... but it is fuel nonetheless. The challenge is finding the balance so that the weight trendline moves in the right direction while still enjoying life.

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