No apetite / stereotypical foods [*TLDR WARNING*]

HaibaneReki
HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
in Recipes
[RANT] Recently it occurred to me how stereotypical my menu is. I basically have three options for breakfast, 4-5 for lunch and dinner combined. And the worst time is when I realize I only have below 600 cals left for dinner because of an after lunch treat and I don't even know what I want to do with those.

It's a pain trying to log local foods (Czech republic) and weighing a spoon of butter every time I don't want to have the bread plain is sometimes not even worth the effort.. I used to snack on Fornetti and some other bakery, but that's completely unloggable and when sweet, utterly empty calories. MFP got me to try and love some new things, but those are getting old pretty fast. Even my precious yoghurt with honey! A glass of milk - 143 calories?! WTH? I loved milk, used to drink it by whole packs!

So I've fallen into a stereotype - trying something new means more searching for data, often even more expensive stuff and the only things that I might find myself liking are probably calorie-ridden anyway.. I'm tired of research, and caring. "Give me my meal plan, I'll follow it, log it in, burn some of it, done.." [/RANT]



I guess what I'm trying to say is that food became just fuel to me. I often don't even care to have any seasoning with my salad. So the only thing left to cheer me up food-wise are treats that I know are just mindlessly blowing up cals.

I feel this is not a healthy mind-set towards food. Had anyone here struggled with this before? I'm sure I'm not the first.. (but the rant was worth starting a new thread right?) Any tips on how to enjoy eating again?

Thanks. If You've read the whole thing - you're awesome!

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    [RANT] Recently it occurred to me how stereotypical my menu is. I basically have three options for breakfast, 4-5 for lunch and dinner combined. And the worst time is when I realize I only have below 600 cals left for dinner because of an after lunch treat and I don't even know what I want to do with those.

    It's a pain trying to log local foods (Czech republic) and weighing a spoon of butter every time I don't want to have the bread plain is sometimes not even worth the effort.. I used to snack on Fornetti and some other bakery, but that's completely unloggable and when sweet, utterly empty calories. MFP got me to try and love some new things, but those are getting old pretty fast. Even my precious yoghurt with honey! A glass of milk - 143 calories?! WTH? I loved milk, used to drink it by whole packs!

    So I've fallen into a stereotype - trying something new means more searching for data, often even more expensive stuff and the only things that I might find myself liking are probably calorie-ridden anyway.. I'm tired of research, and caring. "Give me my meal plan, I'll follow it, log it in, burn some of it, done.." [/RANT]



    I guess what I'm trying to say is that food became just fuel to me. I often don't even care to have any seasoning with my salad. So the only thing left to cheer me up food-wise are treats that I know are just mindlessly blowing up cals.

    I feel this is not a healthy mind-set towards food. Had anyone here struggled with this before? I'm sure I'm not the first.. (but the rant was worth starting a new thread right?) Any tips on how to enjoy eating again?

    Thanks. If You've read the whole thing - you're awesome!

    Try to cook something new for dinner or lunch a few days a week, go out to new restaurants and try new foods. Food monotony sucks
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    Good grief. Try being a wife, mother, grandmother who has cooked meals EVERY DAY for 40 plus years for self and others' nutritional needs and enjoyment. Believe me --"what's for dinner?" are fighting words in my house. Whatever I cook is for dinner! /rant over

    Luckily, I have not tired of creating and cooking meals nearly as much as I've tired of being asked what the meal recipient is going to eat.

    Make a stew, make pulled pork, make a stir fry with chicken, make a fish zuppa, make cioppino, make chili (both red and white), make a huge salad with meat and cheese. Or ravioli, or chicken and noodles, or vegetable lasagna.

    I buy ingredients then figure out what to make from them. Cookbooks are great for ideas. Just sit and browse through them when you aren't starving. Most recipes are online. If you use a recipe site like allrecipes.com and put in the name of any dish, soon you will segue into other ideas. Most dishes can be made to fit in our daily calorie goals with just a few tweaks.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    It takes a little time and experimentation, but the only way to get out of this is to go ahead and force yourself to try new things! There are plenty of recipe databases online that can help with any number of requirements.... need to feed on a budget, not a big veggie fan, don't do beef.... lots and lots of options out there!
  • HaibaneReki
    HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
    Thanks for your kind answers. Pushing on, stream vented. :smile:
  • StephIntrepid
    StephIntrepid Posts: 34 Member
    Get creative in the kitchen, man! You should check out some of the recipes on the thread here. While there are some recipes that are seriously questionable, most of them sound seriously delicious. I don't know how picky you are, or what your tastes are, but it's time to open up your spice cabinet. Curry powders, chili powders, basil, garlic....oh man. Add a little curry powder to a chicken salad that's made with light cream cheese instead of mayo, and boom! You've got curried chicken salad! Fresh chopped basil mixed with sliced tomato and a little bit of mozzarella cheese topped with a little bit of balsamic vinegar is a delicious salad.

    I love food, and being a mad scientist in the kitchen...I've flipped that to work in my favor when I'm counting calories. Love your food, too.
  • HaibaneReki
    HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
    Thank you. Should have mentioned our 11-month-old rascal won't give us much time to do almost anything, but I just remembered the time we made that tzatziki dip from the white yoghurt with chicken. That was actually great! I'll experiment some more :)
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
    [RANT] Recently it occurred to me how stereotypical my menu is. I basically have three options for breakfast, 4-5 for lunch and dinner combined. And the worst time is when I realize I only have below 600 cals left for dinner because of an after lunch treat and I don't even know what I want to do with those.

    It's a pain trying to log local foods (Czech republic) and weighing a spoon of butter every time I don't want to have the bread plain is sometimes not even worth the effort.. I used to snack on Fornetti and some other bakery, but that's completely unloggable and when sweet, utterly empty calories. MFP got me to try and love some new things, but those are getting old pretty fast. Even my precious yoghurt with honey! A glass of milk - 143 calories?! WTH? I loved milk, used to drink it by whole packs!

    So I've fallen into a stereotype - trying something new means more searching for data, often even more expensive stuff and the only things that I might find myself liking are probably calorie-ridden anyway.. I'm tired of research, and caring. "Give me my meal plan, I'll follow it, log it in, burn some of it, done.." [/RANT]



    I guess what I'm trying to say is that food became just fuel to me. I often don't even care to have any seasoning with my salad. So the only thing left to cheer me up food-wise are treats that I know are just mindlessly blowing up cals.

    I feel this is not a healthy mind-set towards food. Had anyone here struggled with this before? I'm sure I'm not the first.. (but the rant was worth starting a new thread right?) Any tips on how to enjoy eating again?

    Thanks. If You've read the whole thing - you're awesome!

    Food for me has never been for pleasure, it has always been just because if I don't eat I'll die. I have a very limited list of foods I will eat because I have Selective Eating Disorder. I am with you though, I feel like my food has been even more limited because now I am constantly looking at calories and carbs on labels and pass a lot of things up because of how many calories or carbs it has.
  • CynthiaT60
    CynthiaT60 Posts: 1,280 Member
    I know what you mean about food just being fuel (well, mostly anyway). But for me it's a relief because it allows me to "let go" of it. (I used to have a binge problem.) You're getting some good tips here; think you'll be fine.

    BTW, love your ticker, especially because my belt has gotten 4-5 holes tighter and I enjoy that every day. :bigsmile:
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    Good grief. Try being a wife, mother, grandmother who has cooked meals EVERY DAY for 40 plus years for self and others' nutritional needs and enjoyment. Believe me --"what's for dinner?" are fighting words in my house. Whatever I cook is for dinner! /rant over

    Luckily, I have not tired of creating and cooking meals nearly as much as I've tired of being asked what the meal recipient is going to eat.

    Make a stew, make pulled pork, make a stir fry with chicken, make a fish zuppa, make cioppino, make chili (both red and white), make a huge salad with meat and cheese. Or ravioli, or chicken and noodles, or vegetable lasagna.

    I buy ingredients then figure out what to make from them. Cookbooks are great for ideas. Just sit and browse through them when you aren't starving. Most recipes are online. If you use a recipe site like allrecipes.com and put in the name of any dish, soon you will segue into other ideas. Most dishes can be made to fit in our daily calorie goals with just a few tweaks.

    What is fish zuppa and cioppino? And what's the difference between a red chilli and a white chilli? I have literally never heard of these things.
  • CynthiaT60
    CynthiaT60 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Good grief. Try being a wife, mother, grandmother who has cooked meals EVERY DAY for 40 plus years for self and others' nutritional needs and enjoyment. Believe me --"what's for dinner?" are fighting words in my house. Whatever I cook is for dinner!
    Wow.
  • HaibaneReki
    HaibaneReki Posts: 373 Member
    BTW, love your ticker, especially because my belt has gotten 4-5 holes tighter and I enjoy that every day. :bigsmile:

    lol, good for You, that's actually what inspired me to do that - down from pants size US38 to US32 :bigsmile:
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    I know what you mean OP. Are there any chefs whose food you like? I've heard good stuff about the Hairy Bikers, "Love food and lose weight" low calorie recipes.

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