Halp! I hate the taste of pretty much all "healthy" foods...

Maybe as you're trying to get accustomed to new "healthier" foods you should try working on portion control and figure out how much mac and cheese or chicken nuggets you can eat and still stay in your calorie goal. Try something new everyday, one a week, whatever works for you. By the way fruits and veggies take almost no time to prepare. losing weight is from a calorie deficit so really it can happen with whatever you eat as long as you eat less. However these foods will leave you hungry faster and you wont be able to eat as many nuggets as you could seasoned baked chicken. If you could spend one day to prepare a lot of chicken or other dish you could pop that in the micro in minutes also. Hope that helps somewhat..

Start by SLOWLY making changes... it is hard and your body will crave the old foods. But it will be much easier if you take baby steps. Also, there are DELICIOUS healthy recipes that taste like desserts and all those Unhealthy foods. I have the biggest sweet tooth and struggled with finding the "healthy" versions of my favs. I follow a ton of healthy foodies on instagram and subscribe to their blogs. I get super easy recipes that are healthy but don't taste "healthy". Good luck on your health journey!!

Hi - I can tell you a few things that worked in my house. Couple of questions first - Would you prefer to cook or buy healthy? If cook do you have a day during the week that you would be able to prepare some food for your freezer so that you can grab quick healthy ? It would make your life much easier.

When I introduced brown/multigrain/rye bread the sandwich had one slice white one slice of the new bread - i did the same with brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Easiest way to add veggies - salad or chopped veggies with lunch or supper or in spaghetti sauce, soup and stew. For chicken nuggets you could buy a pre cooked chicken or if feeling adventurous make a batch of you own for the freezer then cook as needed. Cereal add oatmeal couple times a week have a super quick recipe.

Ask away would be glad to help

Every recipe on this site: skinnytaste.com is excellent. It's healthy food that doesn't taste like sadness and cardboard.

Agree with everyone above - the best way to succeed in retraining your tastes is to go SLOW. Start adding veggies to the things you are already eating. Make one healthy substitution a day/week/whatever you can handle.

I'd also encourage you to spend some time in your kitchen and learn to enjoy preparing food for yourself. Just because it takes a little longer than 3 minutes in the microwave doesn't mean that time is wasted. You can learn to really feel rewarded and relaxed while making yourself food.

Look up beginner cooking classes in your area (adult ed, kitchen stores, etc. will have them), start reading healthy food blogs even if you're not ready to get in the kitchen just yet.

One of my faves, that makes cooking hilarious, is Thug Kitchen: http://thugkitchen.com/
(NSFW, profanity).

Make bargains with yourself -- "before I eat that delicious whatever, I have to eat a cup of vegetables." Then cut some veggies into large chunks and put them into a glass bowl. Add 2 tablespoons full of water and cover with plastic. Microwave two to three minutes. Salt and eat. There -- healthy food under 5 minutes. After a while you'll find stuff that you like, and it will be easier.

I'm not the best but I've made what seems to me to be amazing changes over the years. I like my coffee with no sugar, I don't like candy any more except for very dark chocolate that tastes almost as bitter as coffee. I like homemade whole wheat bread, can't stand the supermarket stuff any more. I can put a teaspoon of butter on my toast and be satisfied, where I used to put a tablespoon or more. I almost never eat pastries any more -- cake, cookies and all that stuff. Except I eat Belvita which isn't very sweet and has a lot of fiber. I really like brown rice and oatmeal.

You start eating healthily, like green salads, vegis and fresh fruit and you will learn to love them. In fact you can get addicted to them, and eventually you will choose them over pop tarts. You just have to keep eating them.

Pretty much said what I came in to say. You like what you like, because that's what you're used to eating.

It, also, helps to stop lumping all 'healthy' foods in one category. There are a LOT of them out there. I'm sure you haven't tried them all.

And lastly, there's nothing wrong with indulging in mac n cheese and chicken nuggets. Why not still eat those, but have some fresh vegetables on the side? Or why not try your hand at homemade chicken nuggets? Might be time consuming, but worth it.

For less time consuming options, there is no law that says home prepared foods cannot be made quickly and/or in the microwave. There are a ton of recipes online that can be.

I admit. Right now, I'm eating junk. That's more budget (ramen noodles and oatmeal... yum.. [I'm actually sick of both of them]) than preference. I miss my broccoli and apples and can't wait to get back to them.

You are an adult, time to grow up and deal with it. Or don't and continue to be fat.

By the way, you can still eat that stuff just use self control.

have you tried celery with peanut butter? celery and carrot ssticks in humus or aioli? homemade potato chips thin sliced potato baked in olive oil with mixed herbs or lemon pepper sprinkled on them? fruit salad with sugar on top? (coconut sugar if you dare) or mixed in yoghurt... dried fruit? honey? gosh I hope these things help thinking of u

Some good suggestions, such as fitting the food you like into your goals and making it yourself versus the kind you buy in the store. I know you say you don't want to have to take too much time to prepare food, but you don't have to do it on a daily basis to be healthy. Maybe pick one day of the week, like Sunday, where you take the time to prepare and freeze food that you can still grab and plop in the microwave.

Also, if you eat like a 9 year old, maybe you need to be creative the way a parent does with a 9 year old. If you like burgers, make your own where you steam carrots, peas, and broccoli that you blend in the food processor and add it to the hamburger meat. We've done this with my son (he's only 2 but already deciding what he likes and what he doesn't) and he loves them.

Same problem was with me, I hated vegetables, I thought they tasted plain, but I started slowly adding them in my regular meals, and now I enjoy them, you can do the same start adding small sizes of "healthy" foods and before you know it you'll be eating healthy

I agree with this

Maybe as you're trying to get accustomed to new "healthier" foods you should try working on portion control and figure out how much mac and cheese or chicken nuggets you can eat and still stay in your calorie goal. Try something new everyday, one a week, whatever works for you. By the way fruits and veggies take almost no time to prepare. losing weight is from a calorie deficit so really it can happen with whatever you eat as long as you eat less. However these foods will leave you hungry faster and you wont be able to eat as many nuggets as you could seasoned baked chicken. If you could spend one day to prepare a lot of chicken or other dish you could pop that in the micro in minutes also. Hope that helps somewhat..

My biggest problem, by far, is that I have the tastebuds of a 9 year old.

I need some advice on "retraining" my tastebuds. I WANT to like foods like celery, broccoli, whole grain bread, etc. But they just taste so awful!

unhealthy and processed foods is because they're so easy to prepare.

I kind of chopped up your post to highlight the main points.

First and foremost the definition of "healthy" foods can vary from one individual to another. Even if you do eat seemly "healthy" foods that does not mean you are getting adequate nutrition or consuming less calories than you burn.

What are your goals? This will largely help you determine what your definition of healthy will be. If you just want to lose weight and make sure you are getting proper nutrition, there's no reason to cut out processed foods and yes you can even have the mac'n cheese and chicken nuggets.

I recommend for you that you consider following the flexible dieting technique IIFYM (If it fits your macros). You eat what ever you want during the course the day while 1. Eating at a calorie goal appropriate to your goals, then 2. Making sure you are getting your recommended amount of protein, dietary fats and carbs.

With IIFYM I personally strive to at a minimum hit my protein and dietary fat goals for the day and the remainder of my calories go into anything I want, more fat/protein or carbs.

You do not have to eat broccoli, celery or other "health" foods to lose weight or be healthy in general. That being said I have nothing against veggies and whole foods, I think they are amazing, but not a requirement unless that's one of your goals. To someone on the Paleo diet, you would want to minimize the amount of processed foods you consume, if you just want to lose weight, that's irreverent, calories in vs calories out matters.

Healthy foods don't have to be bland or unfulfilling! Celery isn't the end-all be-all of healthy eating. I hate celery. I never eat it.

Try a bunch of things. Try salads made of tons of flavorful veggies, with (a healthy amount of) delicious dressing on top. Try cooking yourself big batches of healthy things that you can eat all week - my lunches this week consist of this awesome curried tofu salad I just discovered. It has a nice creamy, zingy sauce that is just SO tasty.

I also eat a lot of spicy hummus. I know a lot of people don't really like hummus because it CAN be kind of bland, but there are so many kinds out there that you just have to keep trying them. When you try a "healthy" food that is bland or boring, ask yourself how you could make it better. Are you a hot sauce person? Would you like a little melted low-fat cheese on top? Could you turn this into a sandwich with a little bit of wheat bread?

Maybe there are also ways to make the things you already like a little bit healthier? What about macaroni and cheese with wheat pasta and low-fat cheese, in reasonable portions? What about trying to transition from chicken nuggets to a nice grilled chicken salad? I LOVE pancakes and waffles, for example. Not usually the healthiest pick. But now I make my waffles from scratch with whole wheat flour and soy milk, I cut the sugar in the recipe drastically, I use real maple syrup (no high fructose corn syrup!), I add in some nuts for protein, and I watch my portions more. And I still get to eat my waffles some of the time!

I think you just need to keep trying things. As you get used to eating them, you'll crave them more, too... quitting soda and coffee was really hard for me, but now there's no way I'd drink either of them when there's a delicious cup of tea available to me. Once your body gets out of the habit of eating them, you'll want them a lot less. it's a tough transition to get through, but it does get easier!