How to eat healthier?

racergirl334q

Hi. I was wondering if y'all have any tips for me to eat healthier. I was raised on fast food all my life and didn't gain weight til I got out if high school and put on lots of medication. My husband works 12-18 hours a day so sometimes it's hard for me to cook for just myself. Right now I eat junk(ie chips, frozen foods etc). So my question is how do you eat healthier without feeling deprived? As as far as exercising, since I've been out of high school(2006) I've been pretty sedentary. I do workouts on my wii(wii fit, Zumba, Jillian michaels,) I also plan to use youtube, and I also do walking on Hulu and have a couple fitness videos. I don't really have the time or money for a gym. So how can I stay motivated? I'm very very out of shape and get winded easy. When I first start working out I feel like I'm going to die. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MissBellatrix

Try to eat in smaller portions of the food you used to eat, then add healthy choices of food but not in abrupt manner, you'll be surprised when your food choices changing from time to time.... Ofcourse, dont deny yourself of the foods you'll crave ,moderation is the key...

LyndaSolc

Include more veggies in your meals, protein and some good fats...after a little while you wont feel deprived at all! Drinking 8 glasses of water is good too. Baby steps, first try changing one meal to something healthy i.e. eggs or porridge at breakfast, then increase it slow to 1 meal and a healthy snack until you can maintain it. It is a slow transition but one that I find works for me IMO, but slow and steady does truly win the race

Motivation is an individual thing, mine wavers but I remember why I started in the first place, my goals and I try to think about what I will look like at the end, the clothes I'll be able to wear etc.

Good Luck

awesomek001

The working out question is easy (in my opinion). Just start walking. The winded feeling will go away as you build up your endurance. Then, you'll be able to increase the intensity on those wii fit workouts.

As to the eating healthy, make a commitment to eat a healthy option (like a vegetable or fruit) and pick up an easy-to-cook health cook book and use it (I have Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast - 5 ingredients, 15 minute recipes). Don't say you'll cook or switch "all the time", because that would be unrealistic. Start slowly - like cook once a week and switch one snack. Then, once you've made little switches that become habits you make more switches Soon, it turns into you're cooking with real ingredients and eating more vegetables than the junk that was once the staples in your nutrition plan.

Good luck !

vanillabeans001

Hi! I have recently changed my eating habits from mostly fast food and it has been challenging but so rewarding. Here are some things that have helped make it easier.
1) preparation. I have started going to the grocery store once every 3 or 4 days. I get mostly all fruits and vegetables, for juicing, cooking and making salads. I spend a few hours on those days making meals in advance for te following days. it is time consuming, but time saving in the long run. having healthy food ready made in the fridge makes it easier to make smart choices.
2) following motivational people on IG, Tumblr and/or pinterest. getting ideas for recipes and getting tips and tricks to try are super helpful
3) eating things that I like! finding healthy recipes that I really like, that are quick to make and that store well in the fridge or freezer. if it tastes great I don't have any problem eating it instead of my old choices.
4) juicing. My Vitamix and juicer are my two most favorite things in my kitchen. I find that I actually crave fresh juice now. it's delicious.
5) noticing the difference. Not only seeing it, in the mirror and on the scale, but FEELING it. when I eat healthier I feel great, I have more energy and feel happier.

good luck on your journey!

janelle615

Eat breakfast! It will boost your metabolism and brain activity!
I recommend to eat protein with a complex carb or fruit
For example toast and 2 eggs , greek yogurt with granola and blue berries

Eat every 3 hours small meals
snacks again, protein and carb
almonds and banana, string cheese with grapes something like that
Protein is therogenic meaning faster metabolizing fat cells thus faster to lose weight
Carbs you need it for energy.

Dinner and lunch
Salad with grilled chicken , whole grains, brown rice ,quinoa

Drink water but if you think water is boring add the lemon....my friend stop drinking soda after that.

As far as motivation, I would keep a calender on your wall and record how much activity you did and what the activity was, therefore youre mindful that you are exercising

put up quotes to motivate you as well
And log your food

Jenifer_Duron

Hi. I was wondering if y'all have any tips for me to eat healthier. I was raised on fast food all my life and didn't gain weight til I got out if high school and put on lots of medication. My husband works 12-18 hours a day so sometimes it's hard for me to cook for just myself. Right now I eat junk(ie chips, frozen foods etc). So my question is how do you eat healthier without feeling deprived? As as far as exercising, since I've been out of high school(2006) I've been pretty sedentary. I do workouts on my wii(wii fit, Zumba, Jillian michaels,) I also plan to use youtube, and I also do walking on Hulu and have a couple fitness videos. I don't really have the time or money for a gym. So how can I stay motivated? I'm very very out of shape and get winded easy. When I first start working out I feel like I'm going to die. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello!
Probably working out can reshape you as you want but you still won't be healthy until you eat healthy. I understand, it would be hard for you to cook just for yourself and that laziness is actually the reason why we go out of our shape. When we start ignoring our routine and skip meals or over eat, we gain weight. So, you need to set your routine and strictly follow that, work out daily, take 3 meals a day and make sure you take them on time. Drink water as much as you can. Add more veggies and fruits in your life. Avoid GMO, preservative and junk food. Eat all fresh and organic and you will see the progress. Good Luck!

AJ_G

Eat breakfast! It will boost your metabolism and brain activity!
I recommend to eat protein with a complex carb or fruit
For example toast and 2 eggs , greek yogurt with granola and blue berries

Eat every 3 hours small meals
snacks again, protein and carb
almonds and banana, string cheese with grapes something like that
Protein is therogenic meaning faster metabolizing fat cells thus faster to lose weight
Carbs you need it for energy.

Dinner and lunch
Salad with grilled chicken , whole grains, brown rice ,quinoa

Drink water but if you think water is boring add the lemon....my friend stop drinking soda after that.

As far as motivation, I would keep a calender on your wall and record how much activity you did and what the activity was, therefore youre mindful that you are exercising

put up quotes to motivate you as well
And log your food

Do your research, meal timing is completely irrelevant, makes no difference if you have one 1500 calorie meal a day, or six 250 calorie meals a day in terms of body composition. Also, you absolutely do not need to eat breakfast, has no effect on your metabolism.

WellForte

When you get up in the morning, your metabolism rate is the best. The food that you consume in the morning is digested perfectly, that's the reason why they say that one must have a heavy breakfast. When it comes to the meals, make healthier choices. If you work out everyday, then make sure that you have sufficient calorie intake.

9thChakra

Hey, Racer!

1) I was raised on fast food all my life...

2) ...it's hard for me to cook for just myself.

3) ...how do you eat healthier without feeling deprived?

1) I can relate to this. We had some "healthy" foods...but looking back on my childhood I was raised with lots of sugar, McD's and BK, canned products, meat and very little variety.

2) It's also just me and my partner and we don't always eat together. By your statement do you mean a) you find cooking hard? or b) there aren't many recipes for one? I'm assuming you mean the latter (b). Therefore, I suggest this is NOT a good reason to not cook well. There are many healthy recipes for four that you can make. Either modify it to 2 and/or freeze the rest for later. The more you do this, the more you'll learn what works and what doesn't. Also...sometimes I have to buy a food that is required for a recipe in an amount that doesn't use up the food. I know that's tough too...but I use it as an opportunity to find a different recipe that uses up that food. Again, the more you do it the more you learn. AllRecipes has a search by ingredient tool that is really helpful for this:

http://allrecipes.com/search/default.aspx?ms=1&origin=Home Page&rt=r&qt=i

3) Are you really asking me how I eat healthier without feeling deprived or do you mean YOU want to know how to eat healthier without feeling deprived. Here's the thing...NO ONE can tell YOU how to eat healthier without feeling deprived...only you can decide if you feel deprived and if you are making what you consider healthy choices.

With that said, here is the first definition of DEPRIVED from Dictionary.com:

de·prived [dih-prahyvd]
adjective
marked by deprivation; lacking the necessities of life, as adequate food and shelter: a deprived childhood.

When you read this, do you think that replacing fast food with healthy food is deprivation, or something else?

For me, it really helped me to educate myself about what was IN what I was eating. I used to be able to eat a pound bag of Twizzlers in one sitting (and lots of my family members still do this). I slowly switched over to all natural products that offered me the same texture and sensation - Panda licorice or dried mango or papaya.

I say slowly switched b/c I would still go back to eating Twizzlers sometimes. But as I broadened my tastes and got more mindful about what I was eating I realized that I didn't really like Twizzlers (or other things) as much as a real food.

If I want a burger now, I don't go to BK...I go out to a nice restaurant and get myself a $12.00 grass fed beef or bison burger and I enjoy every minute of it!

I know that seems expensive...but I don't eat impulsively or emotionally as much as I used to...so the amount of my intake in lower as well.

That's a whole other issue, which, in brief, I was helped with, in part, by listening to the audiobook "Intuitive Eating."

Best to you!

9thChakra

9thChakra

Krista916

If cooking for one is a problem, then just cook once a week. I do all my major prep work on the weekend. I poach a bunch of chicken, put together ingredients for crock pot meals to freeze. Does your husband not eat after working 12-18 hours? He'd probably appreciate being able to come home after working that hard to a home cooked meal, even if it is a prep ahead one.

FreeToBreathe

Hi. I was wondering if y'all have any tips for me to eat healthier. I was raised on fast food all my life and didn't gain weight til I got out if high school and put on lots of medication. My husband works 12-18 hours a day so sometimes it's hard for me to cook for just myself. Right now I eat junk(ie chips, frozen foods etc). So my question is how do you eat healthier without feeling deprived? As as far as exercising, since I've been out of high school(2006) I've been pretty sedentary. I do workouts on my wii(wii fit, Zumba, Jillian michaels,) I also plan to use youtube, and I also do walking on Hulu and have a couple fitness videos. I don't really have the time or money for a gym. So how can I stay motivated? I'm very very out of shape and get winded easy. When I first start working out I feel like I'm going to die. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The great thing is -- when you do eat healthier, you do feel less deprived! MFP is a great tool to understand how much of what nutrients you're consuming. Increase your protein and other good nutrients and cut back on the sodium, bad fats, sugars, etc.

Fast food is merely dog food that's put through many processes to make it human-edible -- seriously!! (Google it!) So, by eating that crap, you're consuming TONS of empty calories and you still feel hungry when you're done eating...or at least within an hour or so.

Not trying to sound blunt, but I used to live on fast food and am now getting accustom to the realizations of healthy eating. You should be able to justify cooking for yourself alone. You could cook a weeks worth of lunches at one time...

Good luck! You will feel waaaaaay better and your body will work more efficiently if you start eating healthy. Eliminate the dog food! )

marisbowen

I grew up cooking like my mom - large meals. Even if there was only a couple of us at home. So since I live alone now, I look for healther meals or even better crock pot recipes. They still turn out large but thats my lunch for the work week. I absolutly LOVE to bake, so if I make something I'm craving but isn't exactly healthy. I'll have my piece than knock on my neighbors doors or take it into work. I still get that satisfaction but its no longer sitting on my counter.

I also learned to slowly change out food for healthier options. Instead of an egg mc muffin, I'll have 2 boiled eggs and an apple for breakfast. Instead of chips for snacks, baby carrots or string cheese. I'm still learning healthier options but after awhile I noticed I stopped craving the junk food. Good Luck!

bcattoes

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Information on healthy eating from the Harvard School of Public Health. Lots of information, with plenty of clinical references, but presented for the layman in a very understandable format.

PRMinx

Lots of good advice here.

I love to cook, so I don't let the fact that I'm cooking for one stop me. This is why we have freezers!

Make some healthy soups, stews, chilis or slow cooker meals that you like and then freeze (in single portions) what you don't eat. My freezer is always stocked with goodies.

I also roast a bunch of chicken on Sundays so that I have it for salads during the week.

racergirl334q

Thanks everyone for your input. Yes i do love to cook and try to cook more than I eat out. I used to be a major bored eater. I've noticed lately I'm snaking much less and eating usually only 3 means and one snack. I went from drinking regular pop, to diet poo and have for probably a year now. I want to give up soda all together. My question is, how do you deal with the headaches, ect? As far as feeling deprived, like what to substitute for chips, chocolate, sweets etc? I'm going to check out some cook books to see what I can make myself for lunch and breakfast and even supper. My mother has a crockpot she doesn't use and she fixed turkey breast in it and it is amazing! Ii can use the leftovers for sandwiches for lunch. I find myself craving salt and chocolate a lot. Especially once a month. (Y'all females know what I'm taking about) . Again, thanks for the input you all have given me a lot of ideas.

DancingMoosie

Thanks everyone for your input. Yes i do love to cook and try to cook more than I eat out. I used to be a major bored eater. I've noticed lately I'm snaking much less and eating usually only 3 means and one snack. I went from drinking regular pop, to diet poo and have for probably a year now. I want to give up soda all together. My question is, how do you deal with the headaches, ect? As far as feeling deprived, like what to substitute for chips, chocolate, sweets etc? I'm going to check out some cook books to see what I can make myself for lunch and breakfast and even supper. My mother has a crockpot she doesn't use and she fixed turkey breast in it and it is amazing! Ii can use the leftovers for sandwiches for lunch. I find myself craving salt and chocolate a lot. Especially once a month. (Y'all females know what I'm taking about) . Again, thanks for the input you all have given me a lot of ideas.

You get headaches when quitting the soda because you are addicted to the caffeine. If you really don't want to drink soda anymore, just stick with it and the headaches will go away. A little ibuprofen or acetaminophen could help in the mean time.
Substitute for chips/chocolate? I go for pretzels(count out the serving size, don't take the bag with you) and Lindt touch of sea salt chocolate bars are awesome:) Just eat a square or two. I also like Emerald cocoa roast almonds 100 calorie packs, fiberone brownies and protein bars.

TCD01

A sure way to go healthy lifestyle is do Paleo. If you don't know it. You can google it, or youtube it. Paleo is cutting out all breads pastas grains sugars or processed foods. It's not a diet but a healthy lifestyle change.. Oh here I remembered this video link.. check it out if you want to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4szMonkUNWw
I wish you luck on your journey.

bulbadoof

As a former fellow fatty food junkie, one of the easiest ways I found to cope with not having what I want was to find ways to "almost" have it.

For example, I don't eat sour cream anymore - instead, I use Greek yogurt since it's about the same consistency and has that tangy taste I liked sour cream for, but it's far lower in calories and very high in filling protein.

Instead of French fries I've come to enjoy baked Hasselback potatoes sprayed with a little bit of cooking oil and salt to get that french-fry experience. Works great with sweet potatoes, too!

I've also come to turn most sandwiches into egg white omelettes. Bread is a source of empty calories that I try to cut out whenever possible. I've had sloppy-joe omelettes, bacon cheeseburger omelettes, chicken caesar omelettes, taco omelettes, pepperoni and cheese omelettes.. if you can put bread around it, you can put it in an omelette.

I've found that Lebanese-style pitas (not fluffy ones, but thin ones) make a perfect thin-crust pizza crust in the perfect size for one person. I keep my favorite pizza toppings in tupperware containers in the fridge so I can throw together a pizza whenever I want (bake at 300 for 10 minutes-ish. I bake for a bit less because I like the crust chewy.) It's ridiculously cheap and great for feeding groups of people, cause everyone gets the toppings they want. You can do the same thing to make quick garlic sticks, but I prefer fluffy pitas for that.

Pickles are great for those once-a-month salt cravings, if you don't mind them. I like to cut them up and pan-fry them in a little bit of cooking oil. They're very low in calories and they satisfy my salty-crunchy craving.

As for chocolate, for the once-a-month cravings I usually just set aside the calories and deal with it - let's be real, good chocolate is worth it and there is no replacement. The rest of the time I eat kids' chocolatey cereals. They're not really that great a choice, but they're pretty well fortified with nutrients (especially iron, which is REALLY hard to come by from my experience) and fairly reasonable as far as calories go.

Hope this helps! You can add me if you want, my diary's open and I'm happy to share tips/recipes/advice.

shunsoku2013

I can relate.

Here's what I did, maybe you can use some of this to help you.

First off, I had to get my goals straight, why did I want to eat healthier? Mainly it was to lose weight, after doing some research, healthy eating is awesome, but actually not necessary to "lose weight." Losing weight, for most people is a simple calories in/out calculation where 3500 calorie = 1 pound. Ie. eat 500 calories less per day for a week and you'll have a 3500 calorie deficit at the end and lose a pound a week.

So I got my TDEE with some online calculators, averaged the result and started tracking calories. I still ate fast food, I just had less of it. I tried to eat about 500 calories less per day and with fast food, it's actually easier since all of the calorie information is available. The hardest part will be to force yourself to stop.

From there, I started exercising with just walks. In fact here's a guy that basically stopped here (fast food + walking) and lost weight (http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/fat-head/). You can also stop here! There's no need to go too much further! I was losing weight with this at the rate of about .5-1 lb a week and I did this for a month or two.

But I wasn't very satisfied with the weight loss since I had no muscle and was looking terrible. Pecs were saggy and such. From there I looked into exercise (lifting/cardio/etc) even the fad routines and chose one to build muscle. Building muscle = higher BMR = easier weight loss.

Finally, kicking fast foot. Fast food, while calorie dense, didn't make me feel great, so I started looking into making food. Chicken is relatively easy to cook/grill, just buy some breast and throw it in the oven or counter top grill. Also very little fat. Frying stuff is actually kind of time intensive (you have to keep watching the fryer to make sure you don't overcook it. So I started boiling and grilling veggies/meat because it was easier. I'm not a great chef, but it gets the job done. You can still eat out, just make sure you track the calories.

After "kicking" fast food, I realized my main problem was sugar. I really love sugar and it is calorie dense and too much of it is really bad for you. I started eating less sugar. Chocolate, Ice Cream, etc. I still have it, it's just a lot more controlled because I was looking better and feeling better.

It wasn't until I really hit my plateau (now) that I'm having to dig deeper into nutritional information to try and preserve my muscle while cutting down the final 8-10% (trying to get to 12%) of my fat. When you reach this position, I don't have great advice, I'm in the same position. My approach has been trying to make sure things meet certain macros and for that I'm having to cook more simply because it's too hard to measure otherwise.