Idk what to eat..

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Replies

  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 135 Member
    I think for people starting out it can be very daunting trying to figure out "how to eat". As everyone said you can eat "anything" and still lose weight. Which is true, but if you're like me (and most people) where you're used to eating waaaaaay larger portions of the "bad" (high calorie) foods, it can be hard to grasp that we can eat "anything", we can, the catch is... in smaller portions. Great example is pasta; regular white pasta's small serving size (to easily fit into a lower calorie lifestyle) is about 1 cup cooked, roughly 200-250 cals, depending on the pasta. I was used to eating at least 4+ cups haha, 1 cup is a tease and would make me crave it like no other! This is why weighing/measuring food is so important, we really don't know how much we overeat until we weigh all/most foods (I'm not super strict with weighing low cal veggies, but nuts, proteins, carbs yep! cause calories get high very quick).
    My point with all this is yes you can eat "anything" but you will feel fuller longer and overall less deprived/like you're starving if you fill 1/2 of your plate with low-cal veggies (can be cooked also, you don't have to live on lettuce haha). Then do about a 1/4 plate protein (usually about a 4 oz portion), then split the last 1/4 of the plate between some healthy fats like nuts, olive oil, avocado etc(this can be what you cook with, a salad dressing, topping etc) and a small portion of healthy carbs like whole wheat pasta etc.
    Or even unhealthy carbs or fats(hello cookies!) if you want and if it fits in your daily calories. Just make sure you plan and log it.
    The way i usually look at it is, I'd rather have a larger portion of a healthier food than a tiny portion of a "bad" food for the same calories. Cause I like to eat :) Like a whole green apple with a little PB vs 1 cookie, same cals. But an apple I can eat for 20 min and be full for an hour-ish and the other is gone in 10 seconds and I want more, lots more haha
    Hope some of this helped (sorry its so long!) Just keep logging and learning, it's all a process and takes practice. Make it a fun journey! It won't be as miserable and then you can stick with it for a loooong time to come (took me a few times around at this lifestyle change for that one to finally stick).
  • crystalcassarah315
    crystalcassarah315 Posts: 48 Member
    Thank you lol and it is soo hard because i see my siblings eating whatever they want, and my brother eats a ton of bad food but never gains anything , it's so irritating! Lol and i get what you mean, but I'm not a big vegetable fan, i hate tomatoes, avacado, onions, i can eat a few carrots till they become nasty to me.
    Tricia7188 wrote: »
    I think for people starting out it can be very daunting trying to figure out "how to eat". As everyone said you can eat "anything" and still lose weight. Which is true, but if you're like me (and most people) where you're used to eating waaaaaay larger portions of the "bad" (high calorie) foods, it can be hard to grasp that we can eat "anything", we can, the catch is... in smaller portions. Great example is pasta; regular white pasta's small serving size (to easily fit into a lower calorie lifestyle) is about 1 cup cooked, roughly 200-250 cals, depending on the pasta. I was used to eating at least 4+ cups haha, 1 cup is a tease and would make me crave it like no other! This is why weighing/measuring food is so important, we really don't know how much we overeat until we weigh all/most foods (I'm not super strict with weighing low cal veggies, but nuts, proteins, carbs yep! cause calories get high very quick).
    My point with all this is yes you can eat "anything" but you will feel fuller longer and overall less deprived/like you're starving if you fill 1/2 of your plate with low-cal veggies (can be cooked also, you don't have to live on lettuce haha). Then do about a 1/4 plate protein (usually about a 4 oz portion), then split the last 1/4 of the plate between some healthy fats like nuts, olive oil, avocado etc(this can be what you cook with, a salad dressing, topping etc) and a small portion of healthy carbs like whole wheat pasta etc.
    Or even unhealthy carbs or fats(hello cookies!) if you want and if it fits in your daily calories. Just make sure you plan and log it.
    The way i usually look at it is, I'd rather have a larger portion of a healthier food than a tiny portion of a "bad" food for the same calories. Cause I like to eat :) Like a whole green apple with a little PB vs 1 cookie, same cals. But an apple I can eat for 20 min and be full for an hour-ish and the other is gone in 10 seconds and I want more, lots more haha
    Hope some of this helped (sorry its so long!) Just keep logging and learning, it's all a process and takes practice. Make it a fun journey! It won't be as miserable and then you can stick with it for a loooong time to come (took me a few times around at this lifestyle change for that one to finally stick).

  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 135 Member
    I soooo hear you on the sibling eating issue! I'm the only one of my siblings that has to watch what I eat, very annoying!
    As far as vegetables go, try to have an open mind (forget you used to hate broccoli or whatever other veg when you were younger, hard I know haha) and try a new veg every week or so, look up recipes and new ways of cooking them, it helps to change it up. Use spices! They're so useful in making vegetables tasty! I dont like spicy things so I use garlic powder, salt and pepper on most things and it does wonders. Roasting vegetables in the oven with a little oil makes most of them muuuuch yummier too. Roasted cauliflower is one that's totally different roasted than steamed! Or like bell peppers, I hate them raw but when they're cooked down til theyre soft with onions like in fajitas they're so good!
    I try to find a new recipe or 2 every week and it makes it fun, experimenting and trying things out.
    Buuuuut, if you really don't want to eat veggies, don't eat them. This is a lifestyle change and you can't/wont eat foods you hate forever. Veggies are worth the effort in trying to finds one you like though cause they keep you so full for so few calories compared to other foods.
  • crystalcassarah315
    crystalcassarah315 Posts: 48 Member
    What do you usually eat? I don't really know what to buy because I'm getting tired of salad, tuna and stuff like that..
    Tricia7188 wrote: »
    I soooo hear you on the sibling eating issue! I'm the only one of my siblings that has to watch what I eat, very annoying!
    As far as vegetables go, try to have an open mind (forget you used to hate broccoli or whatever other veg when you were younger, hard I know haha) and try a new veg every week or so, look up recipes and new ways of cooking them, it helps to change it up. Use spices! They're so useful in making vegetables tasty! I dont like spicy things so I use garlic powder, salt and pepper on most things and it does wonders. Roasting vegetables in the oven with a little oil makes most of them muuuuch yummier too. Roasted cauliflower is one that's totally different roasted than steamed! Or like bell peppers, I hate them raw but when they're cooked down til theyre soft with onions like in fajitas they're so good!
    I try to find a new recipe or 2 every week and it makes it fun, experimenting and trying things out.
    Buuuuut, if you really don't want to eat veggies, don't eat them. This is a lifestyle change and you can't/wont eat foods you hate forever. Veggies are worth the effort in trying to finds one you like though cause they keep you so full for so few calories compared to other foods.

  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 135 Member
    It varies alot. I love soup with lots of veggies and some chicken. I make it myself so I control the flavor and additives and most canned soup is too salty to me, and expensive. I like doing the Bell peppers cooked down with onions and I'll usually add some cooked ground beef or turkey to it for some protein and eat it with some quinoa or beans for healthy carbs. I like salad but only eat it a few times a week so I don't get burnt out, and when I do I make it when yummy toppings like avocado, tomato, shrimp, chicken, etc. I usually batch cook large amounts of one or 2 foods on weekends for my lunches. I use the MFP recipe function for this, its very useful. I usually eat the same main meal(like the soup or fajitas) I made over the weekend, throughout the week(and freeze some for later) but might have something different on the side, like cucumbers with a little Italian dressing or carrots and hummus or small salad. I eat 1-2 oz of almonds or walnuts (preweighed 1oz in a bag) for my fats, throughout the day.
    I do occasionally incorporate small portions of grains, but some people would still call it a "low carb" way of eating, which I don't really care what its called its just how im doing it lol. But you could incorporate small portions of wheat pasta or bread (or regular but the fiber in wheat will keep you fuller).
    But like I said before, I'd rather eat an apple or orange or grapefruit etc than a slice of bread. But that's just my preference Haha.
    This is just how I do it, you can take whatever tips work for you and tweak it so you can stick with it.
    I would open my mfp diary but I'm pretty bad about logging Feveryday, sometimes they're incomplete, etc. I write in a paper food journal so I use that usually cause I eat basically the same thing alot.
    As a rule now I don't force myself to eat things I don't like cause they're "healthy" or whatever, I've been trying new foods alot, and if I don't like them I don't get them again. It's made it much more enjoyable really loving the food I eat, and looking forward to it.

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