When You Want to Eat Healthy, Then Don't.
JennFit5K
Posts: 21 Member
I need a new approach to nutrition. I've been ultra lazy and really eating too many calories of garbage. I want to eat healthy, and then I don't. I know I can eat healthy, I'm just doomed with inconsistency. Maybe I can hold my self more accountable for my daily nutrition posting here.
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Replies
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I need a new approach to nutrition. I've been ultra lazy and really eating too many calories of garbage. I want to eat healthy, and then I don't. I know I can eat healthy, I'm just doomed with inconsistency. Maybe I can hold my self more accountable for my daily nutrition posting here.
Depends on your idea of healthy. I track nutritional goals rather than calories, and turn it into a challenge game. Can I get 20 grams of fiber today? Can I eat 3 servings of fruit? Can I get in 5 servings of vegetables? I also make simple swaps. Bown rice instead of white, millet instead of rice, chickpea pasta instead of regular.3 -
What is your definition of healthy? I'd say everyone has a different definition for that, and I'd guess that any nutrition that meets the needs of your body well enough should be fine. You don't need to eat a salad every day if you don't like it. If you like pizza or burger then why not try to make your own and add things you like. I personally like burgers with good-quality beef, avocado, pickles, and a spicy greek yogurt sauce. Fits within my calorie budget, keeps me full and happy.3
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I agree with @sollyn23l2's suggestion of setting goals and making hitting them a fun (and satisfying) challenge. Since I have a real problem with sometimes eating too many calories from junky, processed foods, I track the calories from them daily (off site in my own spreadsheet). It hasn't kept me 100% away from the unneeded garbage, but it has helped motivate me to eat healthier. Experiment and find what works for you to change your approach to reaching your nutritional goals.1
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I need a new approach to nutrition. I've been ultra lazy and really eating too many calories of garbage. I want to eat healthy, and then I don't. I know I can eat healthy, I'm just doomed with inconsistency. Maybe I can hold my self more accountable for my daily nutrition posting here.
Yeah, most people do need a new approach to nutrition. The standard American diet was basically the solution to a problem 50 years ago and now were basically the victims of our own success. Ultra processed foods have hijacked our ability to control our eating. Now there's a case to be made that we are overfed and under nourished. If we associate health to food then I don't think many would disagree that reducing the type of food in the standard American diet and replacing them with foods that are whole and actually look like food from nature that this would be considered more healthy or just healthy, period. Good luck going forward. Cheers3 -
Truth, once you reach your RDA's you DON'T get "extra credit" for eating more of them. If you have calories left to spare, eat what you like.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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What causes you to make less healthy choices? Too busy/lazy to cook? No healthy options in your fridge? (Those are my own excuses!)
Make sure you ALWAYS have a few meal options that are healthy, fast, and appealing to you.1 -
IMO, "eating healthy" is about overall eating, on average, not about individual food choices or all-or-nothing constant orthorexic perfectionism.
If I get plenty of protein, enough healthy fats, boatloads of nice, varied colorful fruits and veggies . . . some Doritos or candy or wine within calories and within reason is not going to be a deal-breaker.5 -
I wish it were that easy. There are several obstacles I'm dealing with, the biggest one being my own BS.
1. I live alone, no one to be accountable to. Living alone has made me loathe cooking because of the time it takes out of my day. I just worked for 12-18 hours and NOW you want me to start working in my kitchen again AND have to clean it? Is that a joke? I just don't have it when I get home.
2. I have plenty of healthy meal options here at home, heck I don't even drink soda or alcohol or buy junk food (I don't eat chips and such). Lean protein, fruit, veggies, my fridge is to be admired. But it all goes in the trash.
3. I'll order take out anyway and throw everything in the veggie drawer out every week. I have probably thrown out bananas every week for 10 years now and might have managed to eat 2. When you leave the house at 6am and get home after 6pm, it's hard to start even the "easy" meal.
4. That apple goes to work every day and goes back in the fridge every afternoon. I just don't have time at work to eat, my lunch period is a time to get work done and I can't waste it. I scarf down what I can.
5. I'll eat healthy, hit my macros, then after dinner I'll keep eating healthy stuff and consume another 1000+ calories of stuff. That's my weakness. I just graze. That "Make a plate with a serving and leave the kitchen" is funny and simply isn't reality. I won't have 1 single serving cheese stick for 80 calories and a ton of protein, I'll wind up eating 5 of them.
6. I have a lot to sort out. Writing it out somewhere could help. Losing SparkPeople was a serious blow to my accountability and the replacement sucks. But it doesn't matter if I had it or not, I didn't have time to be consistent with my tracking. (see there's my BS)
7. Yes my job takes more than it deserves and is the root of most of my health problems, but without it, who pays my bills?
9. A lot of it is sheer exhaustion and when you live alone no one is watching you throw out yet another drawer full of salad and cucumbers.
10. I am my own problem since I will order take out before getting up to peel that cucumber. No it doesn't make sense, and 9/10 people will go "damn she's pathetic", but this isn't court and I have no judges. I'm just sounding off and gathering ideas.
11. I don't care about the aftermath when I'm about to binge eat....it's the aftermath that makes me feel gross, bloated and fat.
12. I need to review this list next time I want to binge. I made a promise to make herbal tea when I feel like eating. Ask me how many times that won over eating? Well that was my solution, plain herbal tea. I have plenty of solutions, I just won't do any of them.
13. I need to learn flip the switch, my relationship with food is horrific.
14. thank you for letting me vent somewhere. I just wanted to post, no one has to read it.
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I won't weigh myself today, it's not about the scale. I know I'm feeling very bloated today. I did that binge thing just last night. Ate healthy all day, fruit, lots of protein, but then before bed I wound up grazing 2 cheese sticks, a Whips orange yogurt (my one sweet indulgence, the trade off for pints of Haagen daaz), Instead of having a few pretzels (I had some to ration for the week), I finished the whole pint container. Those pretzels were supposed to last me 2-3 days. Oops.
This is when I'm supposed to brew that cup of tea.
I just hope there's someone out there saying "yeah sister, I totally get you" as they're finishing their 5th cheese stick. My yoga instructor did recently admit to sneaking cookies in bed at night so there's that. We're human, we eat, our bellies wiggle. Why am I so uncomfortable with that? Maybe I need to tackle that part first.
My tummy is bloated this morning. Ouch.
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It's OK. Sometimes people are just not ready. One day you will be, and will make the changes that are necessary.
It's hard for me to be sympathetic because your big problem is that you live alone. I, on the other hand, have family and extended family to cook for--everyday, twice a day. We're talking 4 to 8 people, and 5 are men. I'm cleaning up the kitchen until 10 at night, and I'm exhausted most days. I'm also 68 and exercise everyday besides all the rest. I just do it. At least most days. I think you can too, or will, one day.
Wishing you Good Luck.7 -
Yeah, I agree with Snowflake. If you're not ready, that's ok. Losing weight/nutrition is a choice, and not one you can be forced into.5
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Maybe eating prepped meals you can buy may be a better options. Heck you already spend a bunch of money on food and throw it away, so an option like Factor might work. I did it when I was single and worked 12 hours a day.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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@JennFit5K I could have written your post 100%! I totally get you sister!
I also live alone, work too much, hate cooking, and will absolutely order takeout before I consider even checking the vegetable drawer (which is empty anyway because I don't buy fresh vegetables other than bag o' salad very often anymore....total waste of money for me).
For me, the biggest thing I had to do was let go of the "shoulds". What I eat has to work for me and not anyone else. For me, that means giving up on the idea of "meals" made up of foods that "go together". I need calories in my body, not a gourmet dining experience. I've also seriously downgraded my expectations for food I prepare. I manage edible and aspire to good if it's cooked at home. My focus is really just on getting a relatively balanced plate.
My go-to is freezer food. I pile a bag of frozen vegetables, some kind of frozen protein, and usually part of a package of ready rice or ready pasta. Top it all with some kind of sauce and microwave. Only thing dirty is a bowl and a fork and half a bag of rice/pasta to put in the fridge. My other default is a bag of salad and usually either frozen grilled chicken or frozen cooked shrimp.
I also sometimes mix a bag of wild grain ready rice with a can of beans, add some kind of something frozen green, and some chunked up cheese. Last time I did this I made "Greek" with chickpeas and feta and some chopped up red peppers from the jar. I've also used the Spanish rice bags with black beans, cheddar cheese and some drained canned diced tomatoes and/or copious amounts of green chile and salsa. I can usually get 2-3 dinners out of that. One good thing about these is that they can all be eaten out of a bowl which means fewer dishes and quicker eating. My other compromise option is to strategically over-order takeout to get multiple meals out of it.
It sounds sad and dreary, but like you, after 12+ hours of work, it's the best I'm willing to do. I try to make myself eat home food at least 4 nights a week, which is usually manageable. I'm just no longer under any illusions that I'll come home and cook from scratch, so I keep working on what works for me. Like you said, this isn't court and I have no judges.
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I'm curious about your job, and how much choice you have there. When I started creating the habit of exercising at lunch time, it was difficult because we all took lunch at different times and so people would ask me questions all day long. At first I stayed to answer them. I initially struggled with the discipline to push away from my desk and go exercise. However, once this habit was in place it was better for everyone, because this break allowed me to be more focused and productive for the rest of the work day, and the afternoon munchies and sleepies stopped. I was also more energetic into the evening.
My not taking lunch was entirely self-imposed.
Obviously, if you are an air traffic controller and lives are at stake, there is no choice but to be at your desk and focused at your assigned times. Most of us have more flexibility, however.
When I had jobs with long hours there were tradeoffs. It was fine to take a long lunch, as long as I made up my time. When we worked 12-18 hour days in the military, this was for a limited amount of time, and then we got extra time off. How many days per week do you work those long hours?
Also, the choice is not a consuming, demanding job and no job.
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Microwaves are your friend! Seriously. Whether it's a ready-to-eat, store-bought meal stored in your freezer, or you cook a large batch on the weekend and divide it in Tupperware containers for individual servings, you just throw one into the microwave the moment you get in the door and it's ready to eat once you've had time to kick off your shoes. Alternatively, there are dozens of meals you can take under 10 minutes in the morning to prepare in a crock pot (about as long as it takes to brew a pot of coffee), leave it simmering as you go to work, then it's ready to serve when you get home.2
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I make overnight oatmeal with blueberries and protein powder. It works better for me because it's ready to eat when I'm hungry, then I assemble the next batch after I eat. The recipe is:
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1cup almond milk
1 scoop protein powder
Generous cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon?)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon honey
Stir and let sit overnight. Then stir again. Eat it out of the bowl, rinse, and mix up the next batch.
You might have to adjust the amount of liquid for frozen blueberries, and adjust the honey depending on the sweetness of the protein
powder.
The other thing you might try is smoothies with frozen fruit. I add fiber powder to my smoothies.
Good luck! Remember baby steps are progress. See if you can skip takeout three times a week, and keep a tally note on the fridge about the money you save. Just an idea!
Annie2 -
I wish it were that easy. There are several obstacles I'm dealing with, the biggest one being my own BS.
3. I'll order take out anyway and throw everything in the veggie drawer out every week. I have probably thrown out bananas every week for 10 years now and might have managed to eat 2. When you leave the house at 6am and get home after 6pm, it's hard to start even the "easy" meal.
There is pretty much nothing easier to eat than bananas. Not having time or energy to start a meal is not the reason you're not eating bananas. I'm guessing it's that you don't like bananas as much as what you eat instead.5. That apple goes to work every day and goes back in the fridge every afternoon. I just don't have time at work to eat, my lunch period is a time to get work done and I can't waste it. I scarf down what I can.
What are you scarfing down that is easier and quicker than scarfing down an apple that's already on your desk (since you're only putting it in the fridge in the afternoon)?
If you can't even make the choice to eat the things that are healthy when they're immediately available and require no time or effort to prepare, it's not surprising that you can't carry through on other solutions.
Those who say that you may not be ready (and that's OK) could be right.
I don't mean this to be a criticism or harsh. I don't know if I have any advice, unless it's just to focus on these really easy things, and when you master those most of the time, try to find something else that requires minimal or no effort. Maybe find something else to do after dinner or just go bed. Then you'll wake up early and can maybe do a little prep for an easy meal before leaving the house. Or just getting more sleep. Personally, when I'm short on sleep, I find it a lot harder to control my appetite.
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The honesty is appreciated. It helps me to reflect on solutions when I've seen angles I can't see on my own. It's a great community here. When you're ready you do it right? My period came hard and early which explains the recent bloating and cravings but not the long term. Which would be me just not being ready. Long term health wise, I do need to be more mindful about my nutrition. I've gone years of good eating, but lately I've been lazy and it's catching up to me. I start great in the morning and afternoon, then I tumble downhill in the evenings. The herbal tea trick works and it's a small habit I can start with. I've been striking a much better work life balance that I plan to continue in September so dinners have been getting more homemade and less take out. I've been working on a long term plan for better dinners and much less take out. But now to work on the after dinner boredom binges.
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It might be worth buying vegetables already prepped/cut if that makes it easier to use them, rather than buying and eventually tossing because you didn't have time to prep.
Microwave meals? One of those meal services (I've never used them, I don't know how much they ease prep if at all)
Don't buy or bring home bingeable quantities of the things you know you will binge.
Is meditation or some other way to deal with stress available to you? Stress takes such a toll on us, and you sound very stressed! Hope you find what works for you
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@JennFit5K - sometimes it’s helpful to remind yourself why you want to eat healthy and mind your calories.. Longevity? To be in shape? Defy illness? Fit in a slinky dress? Look good,feel good? Whatever the reason.. that has to be more important then undisciplined munching. You are in charge.
Is it possible you are using these excuses and are just being lazy? No judgement.. I gained weight in college working 80 hrs a week and then I would eat a bagel and then some at 2am because it was good cheap and easy.
Ideas- Make 1 pot meals, sandwiches, frozen veg, throw any meat you like in broiler for a few minutes in each side and slap it in a plate. Don’t like dishes.. get some paper plates and call it a day.
If you are eating out of boredom.. are you really that exhausted from working? think about why you are making these choices. Sometimes it’s just easy and comforting to indulge..
Make your health the priority (if that’s your goal) and no excuses why you failed. You are in charge.
Wishing you best of luck!4 -
The honesty is appreciated. It helps me to reflect on solutions when I've seen angles I can't see on my own. It's a great community here. When you're ready you do it right? My period came hard and early which explains the recent bloating and cravings but not the long term. Which would be me just not being ready. Long term health wise, I do need to be more mindful about my nutrition. I've gone years of good eating, but lately I've been lazy and it's catching up to me. I start great in the morning and afternoon, then I tumble downhill in the evenings. The herbal tea trick works and it's a small habit I can start with. I've been striking a much better work life balance that I plan to continue in September so dinners have been getting more homemade and less take out. I've been working on a long term plan for better dinners and much less take out. But now to work on the after dinner boredom binges.
Those sound like positive steps on the food front.
Since you mention evenings being especially challenging, I'm wondering whether fatigue - possibly subtle fatigue - may be part of the picture. Fatigue tends to make our body seek energy, food provides energy . . . cue appetite/cravings.
If your sleep quality/quantity is sub-par, maybe try to improve that.
If your life is high-stress, consider some good stress reduction or stress management techniques, because stress is fatiguing.
Over-exercise for current fitness level can also trigger fatigue.
You also mention boredom as a trigger. Usually, it's easiest to kick a bad habit (like bored eating) by adopting a new, positive replacement habit. Can you consider a new or revived hobby as a distraction? Especially good are things that require clean hands (like needlework, sketching, coloring, playing a musical instrument, etc.) or create dirty hands (like carpentry, painting, gardening, etc.). How about some very mild exercise? Yoga or stretching might be good as potential stress-busters as well as distraction. If your neighborhood is safe, just an easy walk around the block might help.
Overall, your idea of making a series of gradual changes is really good IMO, and starting with changes that are relatively easy for you is also good. I'm not trying to overwhelm you, rather just to encourage you to consider whether there are other root causes of the current situation that might be among the easy alternatives for change, somewhere along the way. If eating is more of a symptom, something other than food can be a good solution.
If your concern is long term health, then gradual changes in routine habits - your patterns of eating and activity - are almost ideal. Patiently and gradually accumulating small changes can lead to patterns we can continue almost on autopilot as other parts of life get complicated (because they will). By contrast, "revolutionize my whole lifestyle" tends to fall apart when some other even slight challenge enters the picture.
I'm convinced that you can do this, and that you're thinking through the "how" in a more productive way. I'm cheering for that success for you, too. Best wishes!0 -
Shed a few pounds, starting to be more conscious of what I'm doing in terms of my nutrition during the day. Working on the evening tea habit.1
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Shed a few pounds, starting to be more conscious of what I'm doing in terms of my nutrition during the day. Working on the evening tea habit.
Try a high protein and low carb dinner with a ton of veg and from whole foods if possible. This satiates me personally and generally have no desire for the munchies and keeps me full right up until bed time. Keep it simple with nutrition, the more balls you have in the air the harder it is to juggle. Cheers2 -
There are several obstacles I'm dealing with, the biggest one being my own BS.
I just worked for 12-18 hours and NOW you want me to start working in my kitchen again AND have to clean it? Is that a joke? I just don't have it when I get home.
I have plenty of healthy meal options here at home,
But it all goes in the trash.
When you leave the house at 6am and get home after 6pm, it's hard to start even the "easy" meal.
I'll eat healthy, hit my macros, then after dinner I'll keep eating healthy stuff and consume another 1000+ calories of stuff.
I have a lot to sort out.
Yes my job takes more than it deserves and is the root of most of my health problems, but without it, who pays my bills?
A lot of it is sheer exhaustion
I am my own problem since I will order take out before getting up to peel that cucumber.
9/10 people will go "damn she's pathetic"
I recognize a lot of my "old self" in what you wrote.
My take on your situation: you are overworked and undersupported. You're at the extreme end of your rope, doing more than what is humanly possible, and you're beating yourself up for not being superhuman.
My suggestion: forget about healthy eating and cooking for the moment. Get take-out or prepared dinners, quick snack foods for work, whatever you gotta do to feed yourself. Buy things that actually appeal to you and which you will likely eat. Stop buying foods (no matter how "healthy") that you already know you won't be able to eat. Everything else just wastes your money & time and makes you feel guilty, and you gain nothing (!) at all from that.
Then focus on finding a job that will allow you to live like a human being. You deserve to have enough time and energy to care for yourself. Working 12-18 hours in a row clearly is not that.
And above all else, cut yourself some slack. You're not horrid, pathetic, whatever other words you wrote there. You're a mess because your job doesn't allow you to take care of your basic needs. You have a job that basically kills you. You're worth so much more than your labor.
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takinitalloff seriously, thank you for that.
Started my day today with fresh pineapple and a bowl of cheerios w/skim milk. Didn't graze after dinner last night and was pretty hydrated. I have about 2 months off now with arrangements at work to be much different when I return. I'm also building a new support system. People need people, and I don't really have people. I'm also coming off a long term health issue and I'm relearning how to live I guess. Being here has already helped too, my head is slowly coming out of my butt too. I have a whole new chapter to write and it can be completely different from how it used to be.
If I need to buy little baggies of apple slices because, for some odd reason, I don't eat a whole one...then buy the little baggies of apple slices.4 -
One day at a time. Planning, no night binging. Increasing my weight training is a must again. I fell off of that for too long now. There is a lot I need to reorder.2
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sollyn23l2 wrote: »I need a new approach to nutrition. I've been ultra lazy and really eating too many calories of garbage. I want to eat healthy, and then I don't. I know I can eat healthy, I'm just doomed with inconsistency. Maybe I can hold my self more accountable for my daily nutrition posting here.
Depends on your idea of healthy. I track nutritional goals rather than calories, and turn it into a challenge game. Can I get 20 grams of fiber today? Can I eat 3 servings of fruit? Can I get in 5 servings of vegetables? I also make simple swaps. Bown rice instead of white, millet instead of rice, chickpea pasta instead of regular.
That's a good idea and sounds like a better way to manage weight.0 -
takinitalloff seriously, thank you for that.
Started my day today with fresh pineapple and a bowl of cheerios w/skim milk. Didn't graze after dinner last night and was pretty hydrated. I have about 2 months off now with arrangements at work to be much different when I return. I'm also building a new support system. People need people, and I don't really have people. I'm also coming off a long term health issue and I'm relearning how to live I guess. Being here has already helped too, my head is slowly coming out of my butt too. I have a whole new chapter to write and it can be completely different from how it used to be.
If I need to buy little baggies of apple slices because, for some odd reason, I don't eat a whole one...then buy the little baggies of apple slices.
I never eat a whole apple. I eat part of an apple with cheese and/or peanut butter. When I have fruit, I add protein and fat to feel full.
Cosmic Crisp apples take forever to brown and taste delicious - better than my previous favorite, Honey Crisp.
I was wondering how you get two months off - are you in education and off for the summer?
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The honesty is appreciated. It helps me to reflect on solutions when I've seen angles I can't see on my own. It's a great community here. When you're ready you do it right? My period came hard and early which explains the recent bloating and cravings but not the long term. Which would be me just not being ready. Long term health wise, I do need to be more mindful about my nutrition. I've gone years of good eating, but lately I've been lazy and it's catching up to me. I start great in the morning and afternoon, then I tumble downhill in the evenings. The herbal tea trick works and it's a small habit I can start with. I've been striking a much better work life balance that I plan to continue in September so dinners have been getting more homemade and less take out. I've been working on a long term plan for better dinners and much less take out. But now to work on the after dinner boredom binges.
Often when women say they start great and binge in the evenings, they are not eating enough earlier in the day (or not eating macros that are satiating to them,) which easily triggers a binge.
Like this, only Wed, Fri, and Sunday is every day:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »The honesty is appreciated. It helps me to reflect on solutions when I've seen angles I can't see on my own. It's a great community here. When you're ready you do it right? My period came hard and early which explains the recent bloating and cravings but not the long term. Which would be me just not being ready. Long term health wise, I do need to be more mindful about my nutrition. I've gone years of good eating, but lately I've been lazy and it's catching up to me. I start great in the morning and afternoon, then I tumble downhill in the evenings. The herbal tea trick works and it's a small habit I can start with. I've been striking a much better work life balance that I plan to continue in September so dinners have been getting more homemade and less take out. I've been working on a long term plan for better dinners and much less take out. But now to work on the after dinner boredom binges.
Often when women say they start great and binge in the evenings, they are not eating enough earlier in the day (or not eating macros that are satiating to them,) which easily triggers a binge.
Like this, only Wed, Fri, and Sunday is every day:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
Yes. Or possibly there's a sleep quality/quantity, over-exercise, or stress management issue causing fatigue.
Fatigue can trigger appetite (energy seeking) while lowering inhibition to over-eating.
Shooting for fast loss can be a trap, counterproductive in various ways.0
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