Anyone willing to help?

Cait_G
Cait_G Posts: 66 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been going to the gym for a month now, 3 days a week for an hour. I've been trying to change my eating habits as well, but seem to have a harder time with this part of it all. I use to be able to eat anything and everything and not gain a pound...after kids, that changed. Unfortunately, my eating habits haven't. I still eat a bunch of crap, crave it, LOVE soda,...all the typical bad stuff. I know some people are going to say, if I want it bad enough then I will just do it...go away. I'm trying really hard, and maybe I'm over thinking it too much, but it feels like eating "healthy" takes a lot of work, and time, and a lot of knowledge.

Basically, I would love it if someone wanted to help me out (I can't afford nutritionist/personal trainer at the gym) and maybe give me some basic tips to start, what is most important to start, meal ideas or plans...

Right now, I'm going to work on cutting out the soda and drinking more water. Any help you can give is appreciated.

Replies

  • vvendy_darling
    vvendy_darling Posts: 75
    Use. the. search. feature.
  • pianolover2012
    pianolover2012 Posts: 168 Member
    Basically, you need to count your calories and if you decide to eat unhealthy foods, count those too! At the beginning of my journey, I was more prone to eat unhealthy, processed foods. Because I have Celiac, my body actually CRAVES certain foods sometimes. Being malnourished and trying to lose weight have been a difficult balance. a few things that have helped me are listed below:

    1) eat plenty of protein to curb hunger
    2) measure and weigh everything that goes into your mouth
    3) Incorporate some light weightlifting into your routine (I even use a band sometimes at my desk)
    4) You will find that your cravings will disappear (or become less frequent) when you replace your processed or junk foods with higher, more dense foods.
    5) If you fall, get back up!
    6) Drink your water!
    7) Add extra steps each day- park further away at stores
    8) Failure to plan= planning to fail

    Being healthy does take more work. It is so much easier to run through the drive through! Motivation has to come from within sometimes. Log EVERYTHING! You will eventually see patterns in your eating and you will find certain foods that actually "make" you hungry. Spend a few minutes every evening packing lunch for the next day. Simple steps will lead to VICTORY!!

    I still have a long way to go, but I hope my advice will help you in the future! Keep up the hard work!
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
    When I met husband, he are mostly chicken nuggets and drank a monster energy drink every day. He was super proud of himself if he made something like jambalaya from a box. What worked for him was focusing on eliminating one difficult thing at a time (like soda), while adding in healthy things he liked. Once he didn't crave the thing he was cutting out, he worked on something else. It has been about two years and he has completely changed how he eats. We still indulge in pizza about once a week and go out to eat a couple times a month, but the foods he eats daily are much better for him (he has family history if heart problems).

    I'd suggest just focusing on cutting out soda first. Try making mason jars of highly flavored iced teas and add some honey or agave to sweeten them. Work on cutting the sweetener down as you go. When he was out of the home, my husband would get an iced tea from a fast food place, or one of those canned green teas for a gass station. They also have alot of sugar, but the idea is also to get over the mental aspec of the craving.

    Think about off of the healthy foods you like and start adding them to your cart at the grocery store. Try to increase your grocery budget, if you have to, since it costs less you eat healthy than to pay for medical bills, plastic surgury, or weight loss shakes (this is what I tell myself because I'm really cheap). Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
    There is so much information you can find on here that will help you.

    Yeah if you can cut the junk out, then great! But if you are not ready to do it then just limit it. Use MFP and log absolutely everything that passes your lips. If you stick to a calorie defecit then you should still lose weight. Once you have a grip of sticking to the calorie defecit you can start working on not eating so much junk.

    Take tiny baby steps, improve one thing at a time rather than everything at once.

    I still eat junk but just less of it. I always like to have some calories at the end of the day for a treat, sometimes it will be a bar of chocolate, or a glass of wine. Sometimes like on a weekend when I have had longer to exercise it can be a big slice of cake and a vodka and coke!

    Don't focus on the big picture, pick one or two smaller things you would like to improve and just keep working and always improving.
  • 55Megamus
    55Megamus Posts: 40
    Nutrition is important, the hard part is the millions of different opinions and fad diets out there that make finding the right info difficult.

    If you want a starting place that is very simple, start with this....

    You know you don't eat great, you even said you eat a lot of crap so you know what's not the best for you. Don't cut anything out unless you can happily do so, that is you could eliminate it and be happy for the rest of your life.

    What you should do is limit these "crap foods" to the least amount that will still leave you a happy person. ask yourself if you need a whole pizza or can you be happy with 2 slices? simple decisions like this will have you eating "healthier". Not perfect but healthier than your current state, Be aware of what your eating, you don't need to feel bad about it, but be aware and you might notice trends or situations that lead you to not so great eating. Being aware of these situations will let you prepare in advance.

    By tracking accurately and over time, the nutrition knowledge will come, you don't need to be a dietitian. some beginner tips:

    limit "crap foods" as much as you can

    try to cook from scratch, not prepackaged foods

    drink lots of water, limit sugar sweetened beverages including juice

    fruits and veggies are great,

    try to have a protein source (meat, dairy, nuts etc) in all meals including snacks, it will help keep you fuller, longer and curb some of the cravings.

    The rest will fill in as you go,

    Feel free to check out my food diary or add me
  • Cait_G
    Cait_G Posts: 66 Member
    Wow, you guys are awesome! There is some really great info in all of these posts, some great motivation, and a lot of support. Thank you so much!

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