Picky eating habits make it hard to lose

Hey, Matt;
I have the same problem. Most healthfood cookbooks totally blow because they don't have food that REAL PEOPLE would like to eat. I recently found a cookbook called "Now Eat This" by Rocco Dispirito that has TOTALLY BLOWN MY MIND. The big draw for me was that they have all the foods I love--mac and cheese, sloppy joes, beef stroganoff, chicken parm, reubens, etc.--and they are ALL under 350 calories per serving!! It's phenomenal: I can eat the foods I want, and keep my calories way down. Another BIG plus for me is that they use a lot of similar and pretty basic ingredients as well as utensils, so I don't have to go on a wild goose chase for anything crazy. Also, they are fast and EASY to make (even for a non-cooker like me). This cookbook has completely changed dinner in our household....EVERYBODY loves these foods. They are SO flavorful; your wife won't even know she's eating health foods!

I just looked this book up on amazon.com - looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing!

Ashbroom, I know for a lot of people who have poor diets but start slowly by working out eventually want to change their eating habits. I would think after she starts working out with you on a daily basis, her diet will improve slowly but surely!

I am an extremely picky eater- most of my foods are carbs: potatoes, noodles and bread. The way I manage it is to just really watch my portions. If I know I'm going to be eating potatoes for dinner then I will skip the extra granola bar that I would have before heading home. I don't work out that much because I am just too lazy but if I know we have dinner plans with family or a party I try to burn at least a couple hundred calories on the treadmill before hand. And its not so much that she isn't eating healthy foods but to cut out the junk food- candy, greasy foods and chips. Find a healthier chip and eat the portion size. And make sure she doesn't DRINK her calories. Sodas and milk and juices are such a waste of calories. Even if she doesn't like plain water try flavored or switching to diet sodas. Good luck!

I used to eat like crap. My veggies included lettuce, corn, potatoes and green beans. That was it! I finally made a decision that I wouldn't live much longer eating like that. SHE needs to make the choice.

I started introducing new foods into my meals - much like you would for a toddler. Literally. One bite bits. Then two. You get the idea.

I choose one food per week, and try it a few times....

I have this cookbook and it is great. The onion rings are amazing, my teenagers even love them.

I hate to sound like a jerk, but if your wife wants to be healthy she is going to have to grow up. As was posted above, vegetables are "normal everyday foods". In fact, fruits and veggies should make up a good percentage of what she's eating. What we "like" is simply what we are used to. If she is accustomed to highly processed carbs and fats she needs to learn to try other sources. Over time she will develop a taste for them and actually enjoy them. Invest in a good selection of spices and seasonings, and try cooking new things. It sounds silly but unless you grew up with it, eating healthy (I would argue that this is "normal") takes practice!

It sounds like there's not much you can do for her. She's going to have to decide that her happiness is worth learning some new habits. Just support her 100% when she does start to make changes!

If she's so afraid of new foods that she won't even take a taste of a new soda, she may need therapy. I'm not trying to be mean (I spent time in therapy for fear). Maybe she's so afraid of failure that she won't even try. I lived for years like that. I decided that if I didn't try, I couldn't really fail. Problem was, I was still failing.

I have to agree with this, if she's left Pepsi Max for months she's probably really really scared - and I'd maybe hazard a guess that she's scared of all new things, not just new foods. It will take a long long time and a heck of a lot of work from her to make small changes. It can be done, though.

yep.

how can she lose weight and maintain her crappy diet but still get the required nutrients?

short answer is, she can't. Sorry, but to be healthy and lose extra fat, your diet is a huge part of it. Calories in vs calories out is a valid concept, but there's such a thing as being thin and unhealthy. Vitamins and minerals are super important to your body as well as to how you look and feel. Ever see someone with iron deficiency, or scurvy (vitamin C deficiency)? Yes these are extreme examples, but they highlight the facts, you can eat the right amount of calories, but if you're eating crap, you're not healthy. And no, you can't replace veggies and whole grains with supplements, that doesn't work, supplements are just that, supplemental, they are for people who want to "top off the tanks".

Thanks for the tip on the book! I'll be ordering it today. I too am a very picky eater, but I'm getting better all the time. I think it's important to make the changes that are easy to make along with the ones that are more challenging. Moving in the right direction is always good, even if you never reach perfection.

I'm a really picky eater too. Veggies..dont like them..and fruits..I like the taste but its something about the crunch texture that makes me feel like I'm gonna barf. Any suggestions for me?

since there is such a wide variety of veggies with a huge difference in taste and texture, and add to that that these can also change when cooked, I'd say that saying you don't like veggies is a bit of a cop out. That isn't meant to be mean, it's just the truth, I mean, if you don't like one veggie, or one type of veggie, there's literally hundreds of others to choose from.
are you saying you've tried every conceivable veggie out there and like none of them? I would be very surprised at that. As to fruits, it's a very small subset of fruit that actually crunch, in fact most don't crunch at all, melons, berries, peaches, plumbs, cherries, grapes. None of these crunch at all.

I'm a really picky eater too. Veggies..dont like them..and fruits..I like the taste but its something about the crunch texture that makes me feel like I'm gonna barf. Any suggestions for me?

since there is such a wide variety of veggies with a huge difference in taste and texture, and add to that that these can also change when cooked, I'd say that saying you don't like veggies is a bit of a cop out. That isn't meant to be mean, it's just the truth, I mean, if you don't like one veggie, or one type of veggie, there's literally hundreds of others to choose from.
are you saying you've tried every conceivable veggie out there and like none of them? I would be very surprised at that. As to fruits, it's a very small subset of fruit that actually crunch, in fact most don't crunch at all, melons, berries, peaches, plumbs, cherries, grapes. None of these crunch at all.

No havent tried all veggies but I have tried alot and I just dont like them. I've also tried all the fruits you mentioned and its something about the texture. I just cant eat them. I guess the skin or something?

No problem on the book rec, all! Try the chicken cordon bleu and the mac and cheese--they're exquisite!

Mine's scheduled to be here by June 16. Can't wait!

I'm not the most adventurous eater, but I do like fruits/veggies, etc. For me though, starting to exercise really put my eating habits into perspective - realizing that eating something bad or something on top of my daily calorie intake would take x amount of time to work off. Once you exercise, you don't want to waste the day and make bad choices.
For your wife, I would slowly start adding in fruits and vegetables - example: carrots with ranch, celery with peanut butter. Eventually, she will probably be able to cut down on the amount of dressings used with it.
However, I do have to agree that if she is very picky, it's definitely a problem that therapy or a consultation with a doctor could help with. Since you're not her keeper, she will have to make the choice to get help on her own, but picky eating is an eating disorder and there are treatments for it. I'm not sure if you have any kids, but if you do or are thinking about having kids, you don't want her habits passed onto them. If she starts eating healthy for anything, it should be the thought of that!