My Diet: I Cant Eat Normal
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Dennis4766
Posts: 470 Member
My diet is nearly always the same. Protein Powders, Oatmeal, Broccoli probably makes up 85% of my diet. I will also eat egg whites, (sometimes a whole egg on days I am stronger), veggies, and cereals. I get enough calories, but its almost always the same old stuff. Take yesterday for example - 9 scoops protein powder, oatmeal, egg whites, 1 egg, cole slaw, then I broke down in the evening and had a large banana and a handful of cereal.
I dont recall last time I had a cheeseburger, slice of pizza, bowl of chili, bowl of spaghetti, piece of lasagna, a slice of pumpkin pie. This isnt freaking normal. I had a bowl of ice cream this weekend, but only after I ran 26.2 miles in a marathon. People dont live like this do they?
Rant off. Thanks to all in this group that understand eating disorders.
I dont recall last time I had a cheeseburger, slice of pizza, bowl of chili, bowl of spaghetti, piece of lasagna, a slice of pumpkin pie. This isnt freaking normal. I had a bowl of ice cream this weekend, but only after I ran 26.2 miles in a marathon. People dont live like this do they?
Rant off. Thanks to all in this group that understand eating disorders.
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That sounds like me. But I'm slowly adding different foods into my diet. I started out with 2-3 protein shakes, tilapia with evoo, & hummus with pita chips a day. The protein shakes are what made me hit my calorie goal. Like you, I get enough calories but eat the same thing everyday, so I totally understand.0
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Do you like your current diet? What keeps you from eating other foods? Is it time & effort involved in making other foods? Fear?0
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It's fear. Their are "safe" foods I can eat and foods that if I eat I fear will cause me to gain weight. And I know thats not logical. Its nuts.0
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It's actually very common to feel this way.
This is something that if you want to work on you can do so by making a fear hierarchy and tackling foods one at a time. This is best accomplished working with a therapist, but you can do it on your own too.
http://coastalcenter.org/the-fear-hierarchy-breaking-your-fear-into-small-steps/
So for this you could make a list of scary foods and order them by discomfort in eating them from 0 to 10. Start with a food around 4 and build up from there. Each time you eat a food rate your discomfort before during and at the end of eating. You want to stick with it long enough for the discomfort to go down about half way.0 -
I might be able to try that - would have to think about what to rate some foods. Ice Cream & Pizza would be 10's. I'd imagine some fruits that contain higher calories and sugars would be the lower numbers - healthier foods...
1 - Green vegetables, zero calorie soda, unsweetened / low calorie calorie jell-o, unsweetened almond milk.
2 - Oatmeal, Protein Powder, egg whites
3 - Raw pumpkin, green or un-ripe bananas, low-fat greek yogurt
4 - Green apples, 100% whole wheat breads, lean chicken / salmon / turkey. eggs.
5 - red apples, ripe bananas, other fruits.
6 - starchy veggies, corn, potatoes, salad dressings
7 - most cereals, granola bars. catsup or bbq sauce. Milk.
8 - White flour foods (breads, pasta, etc)
9 - Red meat. Pop-tarts.
10 - Peanut Butter, Ice Cream, Pizza, Pumpkin Pie, M&M's and other candy.
SO with this list, I should start working with 4's and 5's first.
Thanks!
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Good luck in working on it. Let us know how you go.0
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Yep, it looks like you have a lot of options to choose from. I'd love to hear how it goes!0
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I certainly understand. I eat the same thing day in day out... porridge, salad, low cal meal with veggies...
I hate how restrictive it is and how horrible I feel when I cave in an blow out on chocolate and ice cream and cake and everything I spent 95% of my time avoiding...
The amount of running you do though, you really need the fuel. Maybe try introducing a weekly bowl of ice cream? then you will see that it really wont cause you to gain weight..
I allow myself ice cream on a saturday night for example.0 -
Thank you rc38 - you nailed it - restrictive and then I blew it last night and struggled today with depression. I'm tapering due to a 3rd marathon in 3 weeks, so I'm not running 60-70 miles a week. Therefore my running miles & intensity are also down. I agree, I need to start expanding diet and enjoying a treat once in a while. I can imagine oatmeal, veggies and protein powder day in and day out is as healthy as I make it out to be.0
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i had a muffin while out today with a coffee... I never do that!! I felt guilty but i really need to make an effort to do this kind of thing more often without it leading to full on binge. I feel quite proud of myself at the moment.0
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I get where you're coming from, Dennis. I have a bit of a wider range of "safe" foods, but also a very long list of things I cannot eat, for fear that A) I will automatically gain weight, or B ) I will be triggered to binge. Of course, B tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some of my feared foods are the ones you'd expect: baked goods, pizza, candy, etc. Others are more "unusual": grapes, bananas, white rice, bread, etc. Some are more frightening than others...
Do let us know how it goes if you experiment with new foods in your diet!0 -
Dennis, I am not sure we will ever be normal. We all have to find our own normal and what is safe for us. Don't worry so much about being like others who do not have an eating disorder. There is nothing wrong with sticking with safe foods as long as you are staying healthy physically and mentally. If it works for you, keep it going. If you are longing for other foods, find a safe way to occasionally have these other foods without guilt or shame. Hope some to the suggestions given work for you too! keep up the good work friend! You are very inspiring indeed!
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