Trying to eat healthy while deployed!

fatalis_vox
fatalis_vox Posts: 106 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I'm deployed overseas, and I'm having a really hard time keeping on my diet. Mostly, it's the limited options--And anything that would be heakthy (like the fish) is often so overcooked as to be nearly inedible.

Breakfast is usually two hard-boiled eggs, fruit, and tea.

Lunch is usually spinach salad with black olives, carrot shreds, broccoli, cucumber when it's available, and cubed baked chicken. I top it with balsamic vinegar.

When I snack, I try to keep it to dried fruits (without extra sugar, if I can get it) raw or plain roasted nuts, and sometimes beef jerky.

Dinner is usually a wrap--turkey, spinach, carrots, olives, cucumber, and sometimes a tiny bit of cheese on a wheat tortilla, with a little mustard.

I use Sunday as my cheat day, and I also allow myself one cheat meal randomly during the week, whenever I want. It keeps something interesting, at least. Besides that, a scheduled cheat day hardly feels like a real cheat.

You can see how this could get to be trying. Has anyone ever had to deal with trying to eat healthy when limited to a deployed military dining facility? How do you keep it interesting?

Replies

  • berthabunny
    berthabunny Posts: 251 Member
    I wish I could help you! I am looking commission through a service academy or ROTC though, so please keep us posted on how it works.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Can you get canned oily fish sent out, a wider range of seeds and nuts, dairy products? That sounds low in both healthy fats, minerals and probably vitamins - a healthy diet is not largely white meat and a little, that's a restrictive imbalanced diet. Neither whites (your diary says one yolk not two) nor chicken breast contain much more than protein, few vitamins and minerals.

    It might actually be healthier to relax a bit and be more consistent instead of veering between super strict and super lax. Your cheat day/ meals/ morning coffee/ snacks actually add up to quite a high percentage of your total calories - should average under 10% - whilst you are removing things like nutritious yolks and eating meals under 200 cals.

    Sorry if that sounds harsh but it just seems such a shame you feel deprived and bored yet are not having a nutritious diet - it almost seems more sensible to just eat the regular savoury meals plus a multi vitamin/ mineral/ triple strength fish oil and count calories. I'm not sure it would be any less healthy overall.
  • Unknown
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  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    just accept only MRE's - that way you are so grossed out by the food options you will only eat what's necessary to survive

    When I was in the AF, we had the added benefit of one kind having bacteria in it and we all got food poisoning on top of it being repulsive!
  • lgwilliams77
    lgwilliams77 Posts: 12
    I remember that I only ate cream of wheat in boot camp and lost 10 lbs. Stay strong. Even the dieter civilians have a booooring diet.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    OP, I did struggle with eating healthy with military provided food. It was really very unappetizing - regardless of the overall 'health' of the meal. If you are doing a lot of PT or activity while deployed, you should probably be eating a lot more than you are, and you should be getting some fats into your diet as well. Best of luck and stay safe!
  • fatalis_vox
    fatalis_vox Posts: 106 Member
    Thanks for the advice everyone! I've never actually been on a diet before. But since I quit smoking, the extra weight has slowly been sneaking up on me and I'm not much happier with my health now than Iw as then. So now I'm in totally new territory and trying to figure out how to do this, haha.

    I do take a solid multi-vitamimin every day, so I get that nutrition. I know it's not a substitute, but a supplement. I wish that this site had an option of tracking actual nutrition, rather than calories, carbs, and fats.

    The problem is that there isn't a "happy medium" option here. It's salads, or grossly overcooked chicken and fish, or something breaded and fried or full of unnecessary everythings. (And some of the more medium foods that they do have, like yakisoba or something, are full or peppers, which I am allergic to.)

    I've been skipping the hard workouts the last couple of weeks due to some physical issues that I don't feel the need to discuss here--But when I work out regularly I do eat a lot more, and give myself more freedom. I've actually ordered a fitbit that I'm waiting on, and am looking forward to seeing how that works with this.

    I've got a friend sending me more fruits and ntus (Which I seriously need to keep me frome ating more of the hundreds of cookies my office has received--Not exagerrating. We received another gross of them this week.)

    Firefox --I -seriously- appreciate your advice. Please, be harsh! I need to figure this stuff out and find out how to be healthy while meeting my goals!
  • Athena4E
    Athena4E Posts: 13 Member
    I stayed on a base once for about a week ( :-P) We ate oatmeal with a scoop of peanut butter in it and an apple for breakfast. That was delicious. I don't remember anything else being that good at the dfac.

    It sounds like you are doing alright with your choices. Calories in nuts add up quick! You only need a tiny handful to reap the benefits. Chew gum! Drink warm tea or warm water. I used to smoke and I find I freaking put stuff in my face all day. Like, I constantly am drinking something. I contribute it to the past smoking habit, but I've found that tea helps a lot. I drink herbal tea all day. Have someone mail you some tea! :-D

    Best of luck to you and THANKS FOR SERVING!

    p.s. I couldn't imagine being allergic to peppers. I consume cayenne daily (at least a teaspoon full....because it taste good yo!)
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Thanks for the advice everyone! I've never actually been on a diet before. But since I quit smoking, the extra weight has slowly been sneaking up on me and I'm not much happier with my health now than Iw as then. So now I'm in totally new territory and trying to figure out how to do this, haha.

    I've got a friend sending me more fruits and ntus (Which I seriously need to keep me frome ating more of the hundreds of cookies my office has received--Not exagerrating. We received another gross of them this week.)

    Firefox --I -seriously- appreciate your advice. Please, be harsh! I need to figure this stuff out and find out how to be healthy while meeting my goals!

    Glad I did not offend, and well done for quitting smoking if you can do that you can almost anything! The more food you can get mailed out the better, can they mail canned oily fish or is that too heavy/ bulky? That would supply essential fatty acids, protein, vitamins and even minerals if you eat the crumbly bones.
  • Corkline
    Corkline Posts: 107
    You can actually add calcium, iron and vitamins under the setup ab.

    Try tuna, it was almost always on the sandwich bar.

    You can peel the breading off the chicken. Not the greatest, but a solution.

    Cottage cheese, is that on your salad bar? Or soup?

    Check the shoppette, sometimes they'll have tuna in packets, or semi reasonable snackage.

    Accept that you have limited choices, and go for smaller portions. Try and find a buddy stationed in Germany and exploit the free APO-APO mail system.

    Good luck, Afghanistan was hell on my diet....
  • Wolverine13ft
    Wolverine13ft Posts: 19 Member
    Make friends with the cooks, when I was in the Army we would try to help when soldiers asked.
  • fatalis_vox
    fatalis_vox Posts: 106 Member
    There is canned fish at the BX, I'd have to go and check what type there is. They also have canned / pouched tuna. And in the DFAC they have those tuna-salad-to-go packages, so sometimes I eat those (I hate that kind of packaged tuna, but tuna is -so good for you- that I make myself eat it anyway) The salad bar sometimes has a tuna salad, but I'm...a little wary of it. Who knows how long it's been sitting? Chicken is a little more hardy. Thankfully it's baked, not breaded. I think they just cook chicken breasts, cube them, then season them. It's pretty basic.

    Unfortunately they do not have cottage cheese (which I kind of hate, because I love the stuff!) and they seriously put peppers in almost literally every kind of soup. I guess it's a cheap way to add color and flavor?

    And unfortunately, we don't have military cooks. We contract out to a local company, so I think the food arrives in giant steamtrays, pre-cooked, and are just heated up. I do know a couple of the people who work in the dfac, and they always say it,. "Well we don't cook it."

    But finding someone to exploit the APO-APO system might be a good idea. I do think I have a buddy in the army who's in Germany...

    I'll definitely check out the oily fish. Thanks for the continues help and advice, anyone! Keep it coming, if you have it! <3
  • Corkline
    Corkline Posts: 107
    Ooh, does your DFAC have a comment/suggestion box? Type up what you want, write it out 20 times, and drop them once a day. Go to the DFAC council and complain. Get some others on board. And if you PM me your address, I'll send you a care package :)

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