Getting fed up with clean eating?

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  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    What way of eating is going to be sustainable for you, for the next 20, 30, 40+ years? The weight loss phase is for a short period of time, and then you're faced with the many years of maintenance. This is where most people fail miserably. You need to learn how to do this whole thing in a way that's realistic and sustainable, and is doable for the rest of your life. Obviously what you're doing now isn't that. No harm done, but now you need to figure out how to proceed from here.

    There's no need to arbitrarily cut out the foods you enjoy, that only leads to frustration and failure. Weight loss and weight maintenance is about consuming the correct amount of calories for your goals. Eat what you like and hit your calorie goals. Simple as that :)

  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
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    I have to eat a restricted diet for my health. Even after excluding eggs and rice, I still eat more variety than you do . Pinterest and Google are your best friends for recipes. Taco stuffed squash, portobello mushroom burger, chili, spiced butternut squash and apple soup, curry, stir fry, honey cilantro salmon, spaghetti squash or zoodles with shrimp, musaka....you can alter most of these to fit your goals. Just expand your palate.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    It wouldn't exactly be clean, but, frozen salmon filets aren't too expensive. I nuke them in a sealed plastic bowl with pre-sauced frozen vegetables (lightly sauced varieties). Judge me for microwaving fish, but it perfectly steams it and cooks the sauce into the fish. Some combos have been damn tasty.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I started my weigh loss journey in December 2015. Since then I've ate clean 90% of the time and been rewarded with a 60 lb weight loss.

    I don't know if others are like this but I can eat pretty much anything whether I like it or not and well most of what I eat I'm not exactly fussed on and the novelty has really started to wear off. I eat chicken breast and brown rice and veg 4/5 nights per week because it's cheap and easily cooked after a days work, this past few days now I've either skipped dinner and ate chocolate as sick of eating it or I've ate the kids
    leftovers, yesterday's dinner was a 3 musketeers bar for example.

    As I say I've ate the same things daily for almost a year, chicken, rice, veg, eggs, turkey, sweet potatoes and am really sick of looking at them all.

    Anyone experienced this or any advice?

    There are a bazillion more foods out there that qualify as "clean" in the traditional sense. Why on earth would you eat the same 6 things? Also, with the right seasonings, a couple more ingredients and varied combinations, you could probably make nearly a year's worth of dinners out of those 6 things without ever repeating an exact recipe.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    The same old story there :s

    We can do a lot of unpleasant things as long as we are motivated enough, and if it's just slightly unpleasant, we can do it for quite a while, and then we can't figure out why we suddenly can't do it anymore, because it did work, for quite a while?

    We need taste, we need good nutrition, we need variety, we need to make out own choices.

    This is what I think too.

    Although I consider "clean eating" rather pointless--it means whatever people say it means, and I don't think processed foods (which include frozen veg, cottage cheese, smoked salmon, etc., and for that matter, rice) are inherently bad for me, or non processed foods impossible to get fat on--the issue here isn't "clean eating," but that you've been eating such little variety and such a basic "diet" meal all the time that of course you get bored and can't sustain it. The trick is to understand that good nutrition doesn't require such limited fare (in fact, I think it's better nutritionally to eat more variety) and that there are a huge number of delicious meals that will fit fine in your calories and goals--it's not chicken, rice, and veg or a chocolate bar.

    Spend a little time (it really takes very little) thinking of some different things to cook that you would enjoy and have the ingredients on hand so it's a fast after work thing like the chicken or like grabbing chocolate. I'm not sure why the kids have to have different meals, for example -- if there's something you can cook for all of you that would be easier.

    I usually think of dinner as some combination of protein, starch, and vegetables (and use a lot of vegetables) but beyond that the sky's the limit.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Hamsibian wrote: »
    I have to eat a restricted diet for my health. Even after excluding eggs and rice, I still eat more variety than you do . Pinterest and Google are your best friends for recipes. Taco stuffed squash, portobello mushroom burger, chili, spiced butternut squash and apple soup, curry, stir fry, honey cilantro salmon, spaghetti squash or zoodles with shrimp, musaka....you can alter most of these to fit your goals. Just expand your palate.

    Same here. I also have a crazy amount of restricted foods and i could.nevee survive on the variety the op has. Variety is the spice of life after all
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Time to branch out. It's amazing that you ate the same thing as long as you did. Instead of "clean eating" why don't you think of it as "quality eating"? Look up some recipes and have fun.
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
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    I like pork loin ,, it's the other white meat

    Good luck
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
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    kristikitter wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I don't know if others are like this but I can eat pretty much anything whether I like it or not and well most of what I eat I'm not exactly fussed on and the novelty has really started to wear off. I eat chicken breast and brown rice and veg 4/5 nights per week because it's cheap and easily cooked after a days work, this past few days now I've either skipped dinner and ate chocolate as sick of eating it or I've ate the kids
    leftovers, yesterday's dinner was a 3 musketeers bar for example.

    I just love that line break... it made me chuckle.

    I eat everything, I just fit it into my calories. Chocolate, chicken, fish and chips, ham rolls, casseroles, roast dinners... everything.

    ETA: my diary is open if you want to have a browse for some ideas.

    How many calories are the kids ? Lol

    Good luck
  • RxDreamer2
    RxDreamer2 Posts: 30 Member
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    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I started my weigh loss journey in December 2015. Since then I've ate clean 90% of the time and been rewarded with a 60 lb weight loss.

    I don't know if others are like this but I can eat pretty much anything whether I like it or not and well most of what I eat I'm not exactly fussed on and the novelty has really started to wear off. I eat chicken breast and brown rice and veg 4/5 nights per week because it's cheap and easily cooked after a days work, this past few days now I've either skipped dinner and ate chocolate as sick of eating it or I've ate the kids
    leftovers, yesterday's dinner was a 3 musketeers bar for example.

    As I say I've ate the same things daily for almost a year, chicken, rice, veg, eggs, turkey, sweet potatoes and am really sick of looking at them all.

    Anyone experienced this or any advice?

    I feel ya! But...I started googling clean eating recipes and cooking a ton of them on Sunday. I even found beef stronganoff over caulirice mixed with brown rice and a General Tso's chicken. Yes it took some time the first couple of meal prep days, butvthen it became much faster and easier.

    Also...I started calorie cycling. Mixing it up so my body doesn't expect it. I'm 45, just quit smoking and weight loss is NOT easy. I've been at Crossfit for a year and a half but am just now on week 12 of getting my nutrition under control. But the weight is coming off. It's slower than I'd like so I started the calorie cycleling. It's much easier than you think. Plus it breaks up the monotony.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,995 Member
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    I never ate "clean". I refuse to eat things that I do not like just because they are "healthy". I eat what I love and I have lost 66 pounds. I don't get tired of my way of eating. That is the beauty of counting calories. I have learned which foods keep me sated and I eat those more often. Sometimes I go over my calories, but sometimes I am under and it balanced out. I believe that people yo-yo because they "diet" in a way that is not sustainable long term. I learned that lesson in the 90's when I thought I had to go low-fat. I did lose weight, but I gained it back. My advice is not to worry about eating clean. Just eat things you like and stick to your goal.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    My goal is to eat what I would eat if I was 200-220 lbs. Maybe a bit less quantity, but I'm not filling up on veggies I hate just to lose weight. I'm eating "better" than I was 3 months ago, but not a whole lot better and not something that will change once I reach that weight.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited November 2016
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    Babies taste best, if we can trust Curtis Everett.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice guys. I've been lifting weights for a year now and it's all about macros. I eat chicken most nights as it's extremely high in protein and lean, It's not easy getting that with meat. At weekends I let myself go a bit it's just during the week I dread. I need 160g of protein per day which as I say isn't easy hit.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I started my weigh loss journey in December 2015. Since then I've ate clean 90% of the time and been rewarded with a 60 lb weight loss.

    I don't know if others are like this but I can eat pretty much anything whether I like it or not and well most of what I eat I'm not exactly fussed on and the novelty has really started to wear off. I eat chicken breast and brown rice and veg 4/5 nights per week because it's cheap and easily cooked after a days work, this past few days now I've either skipped dinner and ate chocolate as sick of eating it or I've ate the kids
    leftovers, yesterday's dinner was a 3 musketeers bar for example.

    As I say I've ate the same things daily for almost a year, chicken, rice, veg, eggs, turkey, sweet potatoes and am really sick of looking at them all.

    Anyone experienced this or any advice?

    That's beyond just "clean" eating...that's *kitten* boring as *kitten*. I eat what most would consider a relatively "clean" diet in that I eat a lot of whole foods and meals prepared from scratch, whole ingredients...that doesn't mean it has to be boring as *kitten*...

    Here's some of the examples of what I consider to be delicious "clean" eating...These are some of my most frequently eaten foods...

    Coq Au Vin
    5622c019083f608a4169d60fcc6aaaa2.jpg

    Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Polenta
    dsc_0089.jpg?w=620&h=932

    Irish Chicken with Cabbage and Potatoes
    chicken-potatoes-cabbage-3f-900x900.jpg

    Curried Lentils and Potatoes with Cumin Roasted Cauliflower
    lentil-and-potato-curry-recipe-1.jpg

    Creamy French Lentils and Mushrooms
    863212ae05ae84b0980ea278b9bbe5a6.jpg

    Potato Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Feta
    gnocchi-with-mushrooms-and-feta-11.jpg

    Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
    e9c62b0e933e586768abbca163f894de.jpg

    And I could go on and on...you're not eating "clean"...you're eating boring as *kitten*...

    I just have to say, this post made me hungry, especially the French lentils and mushrooms!

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