Fussy Eater

swtstaci

Hello all! I'm very new to MFP but I am loving it so far. I am in a wedding in 10 days and wanted a loose a little weight before that but overall need to anyway. My biggest problem is that I am a VERY fussy eater. There are very few fruits and veggies I will eat. I will eat corn, canned french style green beans (both not great for you) cooked carrots, apples and bannas but in small quantity, can't eat everyday. For some reason I have a major problem with something crunchy, raw carrots, celery, salad, etc. I'm finding it very hard to keep my calories down since I can't eat a salad for lunch or munch on carrot sticks for a snack. I know I need to get my body adjusted to the lower food amounts, it was a real eye opener how much I actually eat in a day once I started keeping track. Does anyone have any suggestions on lower calorie/fat items?? I seem to be eating too many calories at breakfast. My typical breakfast is a whole wheat english muffin with skippy natural pb and chocolate 1 % milk. I didn't think it was that bad but it's alot of calories! BTW my chocolate milk is my coffee so no I can't cut that out Any suggestions would be great to hear!! Thanks!

mcb816

go to trader joes and try to find better n' peanut buttter it's soooo good.
http://www.betternpeanutbutter.com/index.php

for a snack I like making myself a smoothie with all kinds of fruit and greek yogurt to sip on throughout the day.

hope this helps good luck

tararocks

Are there no other fruits/veggies that you like? I have texture issues (onions, peppers, etc) but I will say this journey has changed my tastes, started small, one bite here one bite there and now i LOVE them. What about yogurts? Also sometimes changing brands of english muffins, or peanut butter or some of the the things will help reduce your calories.

swtstaci

No other fruits/veggies that I like, very much a texture issue for me! I can't even buy Ragu spahetti sauce, when you strain it you'd be surprised how many onions are actually in there! I actually make my own sauce now from canned sauce. Just tried yogurt for the first time yesterday and did not like the bitter taste of it at all. I try all the time, especially with salad and just can't get myself to eat it.

I will try the better n peanut butter, I have heard of that before. I am trying to stay away from hydrongentated oils and that is why I eat the skippy natural.

iloveaj1019

I'm new as well.and i don't really like to eat broccoli or brussels sprouts without cheez whiz(i know.....bad for you)or a kraft single on the veggies.as far as yogurt goes,i've gotten turned onto chobani by a friend(i haven't found a bad flavor yet) who was dieting for her rapidly approaching wedding.as far as a salad goes,try putting a protien on it(chicken,pork or steak) try the bbq chicken salad from panera.i'm hooked on it.also cutting out a lot of your fast food consumption(if you eat a lot of it) or modifying your choices when you go can also help you out. water intake is also important.if you can't stand boring plain old water, try the crystal light sticks(the wal mart brand is really really good and are about a dollar less).but as far as fruits and veggies go,be open minded and try new things.fresh is always best for veggies but frozen will work as well.the frozen will have more nutrients and vitamins in them than the canned varieties.also,instead of butter,try i can't believe it's not butter.it tastes good and has less calories as well.as far as a snack goes,i've gotten hooked on the cracked pepper and olive oil triscuits and the cracker barrel cracker cuts cheese(1 serving of each.6 crackers and 3 cuts of cheese)can provide a satisfying snack to curb your appetite.and with the limited fruits,what about blending them up in a smoothie or protien shake?these are just some ideas you can use and try out.hope these help you out :happy:

mcb816

oh! and have you tried chocolate skim milk plus? My little cousin loves it

epoint

I will say that tastes sometimes change, even for somebody my age (53)! I joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) about 6 months ago, which means that weekly I get a box of fresh seasonal vegetables. I decided right from the beginning that I was at least going to try a little bit of anything that I got. Things that I like now that I had never touched before: Turnips, sweet potatoes, swiss chard. Things that I was so-so about before that I LOVE now: Cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus, and all fruit. It's strange, I never really used to like fruit much at all and now I absolutely love it. Anyway, for me, I have found quite by accident that eating less processed foods allows me to eat far more and still stay within my calorie goals. I absolutely prefer meals centered around very simply prepared veggies and whole grains, and this from somebody who once ate Krystal hamburgers for lunch every day for months! Tastes really can change, so don't limit yourself only to what you think you like. Just keep trying new things with an open mind -- it can be so freeing. Good luck to you on your journey!

Atlantique

Hello all! I'm very new to MFP but I am loving it so far. I am in a wedding in 10 days and wanted a loose a little weight before that but overall need to anyway. My biggest problem is that I am a VERY fussy eater. There are very few fruits and veggies I will eat. I will eat corn, canned french style green beans (both not great for you) cooked carrots, apples and bannas but in small quantity, can't eat everyday. For some reason I have a major problem with something crunchy, raw carrots, celery, salad, etc. I'm finding it very hard to keep my calories down since I can't eat a salad for lunch or munch on carrot sticks for a snack. I know I need to get my body adjusted to the lower food amounts, it was a real eye opener how much I actually eat in a day once I started keeping track. Does anyone have any suggestions on lower calorie/fat items?? I seem to be eating too many calories at breakfast. My typical breakfast is a whole wheat english muffin with skippy natural pb and chocolate 1 % milk. I didn't think it was that bad but it's alot of calories! BTW my chocolate milk is my coffee so no I can't cut that out Any suggestions would be great to hear!! Thanks!

I grew up in a household that had basically NO fruits or veggies. If my mother wouldn't eat it, it didn't enter the house. So we were left with frozen peas and corn, iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. NO fruits, either.

So I was once like you--didn't eat any fruits or veggies at all. Hell, I couldn't even IDENTIFY most of them when I saw them!

What I found was that over the years if I tried new foods, I found many that I liked. If you haven't tried something in a few years, try it again. How fresh the item was and how it was prepared turned out to make a very big difference for me. I evenutally learned to like a lot more things, although I'm still far from a stellar consumer of fruits and veggies.

If it's the texture that gets you (as it is for me with many fruits) try them blended into a smoothie. Virtually all fruit I eat is in a smoothie, outiside of melons and pineapple. Frozen berries are wonderful in smoothies, making them thicker and adding a touch of sweetness.

Yes, you can cut out the chocolate milk. What's wrong with regular milk or skim milk?

dustyhockeymom

Hello all! I'm very new to MFP but I am loving it so far. I am in a wedding in 10 days and wanted a loose a little weight before that but overall need to anyway. My biggest problem is that I am a VERY fussy eater. There are very few fruits and veggies I will eat. I will eat corn, canned french style green beans (both not great for you) cooked carrots, apples and bannas but in small quantity, can't eat everyday. For some reason I have a major problem with something crunchy, raw carrots, celery, salad, etc. I'm finding it very hard to keep my calories down since I can't eat a salad for lunch or munch on carrot sticks for a snack. I know I need to get my body adjusted to the lower food amounts, it was a real eye opener how much I actually eat in a day once I started keeping track. Does anyone have any suggestions on lower calorie/fat items?? I seem to be eating too many calories at breakfast. My typical breakfast is a whole wheat english muffin with skippy natural pb and chocolate 1 % milk. I didn't think it was that bad but it's alot of calories! BTW my chocolate milk is my coffee so no I can't cut that out Any suggestions would be great to hear!! Thanks!

I think that the key is eating things that maybe aren't your favorite or you think you don't like, but trying them with different preparations. My husband is a very fussy eater, and says he doesn't like a lot of things that he eats all the time and just doesn't know it. For example, he says he hates mushrooms and would never eat them. However, I chop them in my food processor and put them in dishes he eats all the time. It's all in his head. Like you, he doesn't like the chunks in pasta sauce, so I puree it in my food processor before I cook it. All the onions, peppers and mushrooms are still in there and he loves it.

I would also suggest not being so quick to say you can't give something up. LIke chocolate milk. I don't drink coffee, so used to drink soda. I haven't had a soda in 3 months. I would have said it would have been impossible to do that too, but after the first three days it was pretty easy. If something isn't working for your diet, then you should find an alternative. I drink chocolate milk as a treat after my workouts a couple times a week, so it is possible to work that in, but I don't think I could successfully do it everyday.

Good luck!

swtstaci

thanks for all the suggestions! I really should try smoothies, that would probably be my best bet.

wonnder1

Why can't you take what you DO eat and make it healthier? I was raised in a house that was strictly meat and potatoes. I didn't even know a green pepper wasn't hot until I was TWENTY FIVE.

The fact is, if you force down food you hate to hit a goal, it's not going to get you far. You may find as you progress you open your mind to healthier alternatives.

If you open your diary we might be able to give you ideas to tweak what you do eat.

allybtucker

Have you tried spaghetti squash? It has a very starchy, potato like texture, gets softer the more you cook it. Very low in calories, and relatively flavorless. If you whizzed it in a food processor, it would probably have a very similar texture to mashed potatoes, then you could flavor it however you like. Mind you, I haven't tried it like that, I eat it straight up spaghetti stringy.