Picky Eater - New Member

alexvanmol

hi everyone,
I just joined today and I need some advice.
I am the pickiest eater ever. the only meat I like is friend chicken and beef, I don't like any vegetables, etc. I end up eating fast good a lot because my day is very busy, I go straight from college to work and always have to pick something up. I gained about 20 pounds since I started college (went past the freshman 15 lol) and now I want to lose it, get healthy and look fit. between school and work I'm very busy. any advice would be greatly appreciated
thank you!

4legsRbetterthan2

get over yourself and expand your horizons, there is lots of great food out there

stevencloser

Aye. Try new foods, find recipes with stuff you like, etc.

malenl2007

I am also a very picky eater! Don't like most veggies and like you prefer chicken to most meats. When eating out try healther options or go for the kids meals. I eat out alot as well and have two small kids. Subway is one of our favorites and Turkey has the most protien for the calories so try that. If we have to eat a McDonalds or something I just share my fries with the baby or get a happy meal. I am sure you can do it!

bcovely

You sound like my daughter, she had the same problem last year at college. This year she's doing better. Even tho' her schedule is busy, she makes time to go to the gym on campus. It's free - and she can usually manage to go either before or after classes. She is addicted to fast food - but she learned to make better choices when she eats there. Like, if she goes to Wendys - instead of a hamburger and fries - she gets a baked potatoe and chili. If she goes to McDonalds - and wants a Big Mac - she'll choose a hamburger happy meal instead (smaller portions). Good luck!!

LishieFruit89

You have to be a grown up and get over it.

bcattoes

It's very difficult to fet healthy and fit without vegetables. Don't let being a picky eater become your "thing". Don't define yourself like that.

Experiment with new and different foods and food combinations. Explore new seasonings and flavors. There is SO much delicious food out there once you stop looking for someone to hand you a meal through the drive-thru window.

And if you really and truly can't learn to like any of it, then just eat it anyway because it's good for you.

jessspurr

I don't think you need to "get over yourself", I am also an extremely picky eater- mostly having to do with food texture and gag reflex. I eat very little meat and in very specific ways. Fruit and vegetables (except for a select few and NONE cooked) are very difficult for me to eat. What I do to make sure I get my nutrients is first, take a multi-vitamin and I also drink the little cans of V8. I have to choke them down because they taste really bad (in my opinion) but it makes me feel like I'm at least getting some vegetables! I have also discovered the squeeze fruit- the brands I like are 100% fruit with no additives. There are some that have vegetables masked into them covered by the taste of bananas or strawberries. I feel your pain about picky eating. I really do. It sucks being afraid of going to someone's house for dinner to see something that you are going to have a really difficult time eating but having to eat it anyway (it would be very rude not to of course). I see you are still in college? As I've gotten older, I have gotten a lot better at trying new things and even learning to enjoy some things that I used to think I would hate. However, I still, to this day, have never eaten a citrus fruit!

bandaide

This is how I was when I started college. I was very picky, and never really had to cook for myself. In the beginning, if you don't want to try something new, just count the calories you are eating. You will see that you will have to eat less of the unhealthy stuff to stay within your range.

Once I realized that I could eat more food if I cooked it instead of eating out (because home cooked meals have so much fewer calories) I actually began to try new things. I had NEVER been one to try new things - but it turns out that I started to find things I liked. Have you tried baked chicken? If you put the right spices on it, it's not that different from fried chicken.

So if you are out of the house most of the day, you will want to plan ahead. Pack a lunch and a dinner. Cook simple meals on weekends - I still keep cooking very simple - 5 ingredients max in my meals. It's tough just starting because everything is NEW. But once you take the time to start, you will get the hang of it. Cutting out the fast food will help a lot!

Noamsh

I lost 30 lbs without eating a single veggie - like you I'm very picky. And I even still have fast food, sometimes daily. You just have to make better choices and log everything that goes in you mouth. IMO it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you're not going over your cals.
For example, 2 slices of thin crust pizza have a decent amount of protein and usually are less than 500 cals. I'm not saying you should have pizza everyday, I'm just saying it's possible to lose while having "junk" food. =]

CassandraEldridge

You say you want to get healthy..... part of being healthy is eating many different foods so we can absorb their nutrients.

I suggest you start trying other things. There are many different types of fruits and vegtables. Have you really tried them all and not liked them, or are you like my husband, look at it and say you don't like it.

Open your mind, Close your eyes and take a bite.

You want a quick meal. Try Stir fry throw whatever kind of veggies in a pan, add a little low cal sauce and BAM! Express Meal

SweeDecadence92

Eat smaller portions of fast food so it fits within your calorie goal or learn to like vegetables, really if you don't have an intolerance there is no excuse. There's thousands of varieties of vegetables out there and countless ways to prepare them.

Quite often I leave my house at 0820 and aren't back til 0100 because I go to uni and work in a bar at nights. I steam some veggies and portion out some meat, thats lunch, and some leftovers in a separate Tupperware for dinner. It's very doable. With a little bit of time management.

jessspurr

I lost 30 lbs without eating a single veggie - like you I'm very picky. And I even still have fast food, sometimes daily. You just have to make better choices and log everything that goes in you mouth. IMO it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you're not going over your cals.
For example, 2 slices of thin crust pizza have a decent amount of protein and usually are less than 500 cals. I'm not saying you should have pizza everyday, I'm just saying it's possible to lose while having "junk" food. =]

Agree

asciident

You can lose weight eating the same things you've always eaten. You just need to eat at a calorie deficit.

That said, for health reasons (other than weight loss) I would encourage you to expand your food horizons. There are a lot of ways to prepare all the many different vegetables. You can probably find a way to like or tolerate at least a few of them... try experimenting.

mhankosk

Try breading a chicken breast and baking it. Also try baking your own french fries.

jamesalytle

I'm not necessarily a picky eater but there is plenty i won't eat. What's worked great for me is finding ways to enjoy the foods I love while making them healthier.

Prime example, I used to love eating Big Macs. Obvious no no getting them at McD's but I can grill up a delicious turkey burger OR a lean hamburger, a low cal hamburger bun, some lettuce, onion and Walden Farms thousand island and bam i've got a Big Mac at substantially less cals, fat, sodium, etc..

Pizza, if I have to order out I get a thin crust chicken pizza which is much lower in cals and sodium than pep reg crust. However, I usually just buy the whole wheat pre-made crusts, some tomato sauce, tomatoes, shredded mozzarella and tyson fully cooked chicken and bam I can eat more pizza for same calories.

Spaghetti, we switched to whole wheat, and include lots of squash and zuchinni in the sauce which makes it filling but cuts the numbers.

For me, it's all about cheating the smart way!

dani_1977

Joining here is a start, tracking your food will help you realize that staying within you calorie allotment while eating fried chicken is going to be hard everyday. You will need to make some adjustments as packing a lunch so you aren't eating on a whim while leaving school. Some folks find it easier to get the veggies in down in smoothie form, you want to look into that..it may sound gross, but the fruit covers the taste of the veggies.

All this being said.. tracking your food will help you realize to just make better choices. drink more water, small fry instead of large. 3 chicken tenders instead of 6. Wheat bread instead of white.

jessspurr

I will say though, I believe that being a picky eater was a BIG part of why I got so fat. So, I do think that actively addressing the picky eating now will be very beneficial to you. It's hard to stay full when you only eat carbs (like I did), so I just had to eat a ton of them to stay full. If I was able to put some protein and fiber (veggies) into my meals (like I am TRYING to do now), I think I wouldn't have needed to eat so much. Just a thought!

rachaelbarton

Don't get overwhelmed! I think the key to sustainable healthy eating is making small, realistic substitutions. Find a few things you can replace with healthier (but still liked) things, and implement these changes a few at a time (or one each day/week, etc--whatever you can realistically handle). If you don't like fruit, start out by bringing something unoffensive and small to work or school, like half an apple. If you don't like vegetables, start out by bringing a few baby carrots in a Ziploc. Make yourself eat them. I think that there is a good chance your tastes will change over time as you incorporate healthier choices, but at the very least you will find fruits and veggies that are more tolerable to your tastebuds. Make a switch to a granola bar between classes instead of a burger every other day, or order grilled chicken sandwiches instead of fried. Don't compare yourself to anybody else. You have to find a plan that YOU will stick to

CaitlinW19

Don't be mean people. You should all be here to help, not judge and make people feel bad. What if your MFP friends did that to you?

Anyway, while I do think you should try expanding your horizons (I used to be picky but eat basicly everything now...except peas...I still hate those), I think a good way to go about it is to try pairing new things with things you already know you like. This is one of my new favorite recipes: http://www.emilybites.com/2013/10/deep-dish-sloppy-joe-casserole.html

It's a sloppy joe casserole. It has veggies in there, but they are so hidden with the meat and sauce you can't even tell (particularly if you can use a food processer to really get them chopped finely). Look for some things like this that you can try to sneak veggies into. I also make meatloaf muffins regularly and love to add a whole bunch of shredded zucchini...it keeps the loaf from drying out and you can't even taste or see the zucchini. Sneaky ways to get more veg. Maybe you'll start to figure out you actually do like some of these things. :-) Good luck.

dani_1977

Joining here is a start, tracking your food will help you realize that staying within you calorie allotment while eating fried chicken is going to be hard everyday. You will need to make some adjustments as packing a lunch so you aren't eating on a whim while leaving school. Some folks find it easier to get the veggies in down in smoothie form, you want to look into that..it may sound gross, but the fruit covers the taste of the veggies.

All this being said.. tracking your food will help you realize to just make better choices. drink more water, small fry instead of large. 3 chicken tenders instead of 6. Wheat bread instead of white.