Bad tasting, healthy food.

turtledan · January 2017

So today as I was eating a tuna salad I made I started thinking how much I miss the taste of bad food. I though "why does healthy food taste not so good?" I miss the the taste of fried chicken, french fries, burgers, shakes and all pastries. Then it hit me. All the bad stuff taste so good and is so cheap. I mean you can buy two whoppers two fries and two sodas for 10 bucks. You can buy a heap of junk from the dollar menu. Which makes me think that good food doesn't taste bad, however bad food is made to taste good and get you addicted.
Makes me think how crazy it is that poor people are fat now a days. Maybe because how cheap bad food is. I, by no means, am rich. I'm middle class and yes, I'm fat. But a couple of months ago I decided to make a change and slowly but surely I've been seeing progress. I have started eating healthy and working out. I feel a little better about my self and it seems easy to stay on track now. I wish I would have started sooner.
Anyway thanks for reading what was on my mind at this moment. And if you are struggling with your weight, best of luck to you. I hope you find an inspiration that will motivate you to change your life. If you are not struggling with your weight then I hope you help others who are.

leanjogreen18 · January 2017

I think it's great that you are making some healthy changes in your diet. Hopefully you will find a good middle ground to help you not only lose weight but to maintain it!

I personally make room occasionally for what you call "bad" foods. I no longer associate foods with being "bad" nor "good". Some are more nutricious and some less. Some are more calories and some less.

Ready2Rock206 · January 2017

You're doing it wrong if you're eating food that tastes bad. I don't believe in labeling food good or bad - but if I'm craving what you call "bad food" I just make room in my calories for it. No need for deprivation and punishing yourself by eating yucky food to lose weight. That's just a plan for disaster in my book - no way will I stick to anything that makes me miserable.

JaydedMiss · January 2017

prioritize. If i crave fried chicken i eat fried chicken, Just pair it with a veggie instead of fries and a full calorie pop from the store. No need to waste calories on the things i dont really want, Whether that be healthy or unhealthy food

cerise_noir · January 2017

I, personally still eat the foods that I used to eat when I was obese. I just eat less of it.

Also, there are no "good" or "bad" foods for weight loss, just bad relationships/habits with food. There is no need to class foods as good or bad.

I've lost 100lbs including the same foods I over ate when obese. Since I am in this for life, I see no need cutting out the foods that I enjoy. To me, this is an unrealistic approach. I just use a food scale and weigh everything that I eat and hit my calorie goal. I am also on several medications that claim weight gain.

Weight loss is ALL about calorie deficit and energy balance.

Why eat foods that you don't enjoy the taste of?

ccrdragon · January 2017

life is too short to spend it eating bad tasting food - make room for the good tasting stuff and you will not only be happier but you will greatly increase your chance of success!!

Tacklewasher · January 2017

I'm a fussy eater (just ask my wife). If I don't enjoy it, no way am I going to eat it. I can't even find a protein bar that's palatable. But I like tuna (had sashimi for lunch)

I'm eating "better" and less calories, but still make sure I have room for chips and french fries and burgers every so often

CSARdiver · January 2017

Part of the problem is thinking about food in terms of good & bad. What your are experiencing is placebo and there is no evidence to back claims that eating "clean" "organic" "green" whatever label du jour is of any benefit.

When it comes to weight maintenance this is similar to managing your finances. Do you think of your income and expenses as good or bad? These are nothing more than trade offs of your time and energy.

crzycatlady1 · January 2017

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

You're doing it wrong if you're eating food that tastes bad. I don't believe in labeling food good or bad - but if I'm craving what you call "bad food" I just make room in my calories for it. No need for deprivation and punishing yourself by eating yucky food to lose weight. That's just a plan for disaster in my book - no way will I stick to anything that makes me miserable.

This. I still eat burgers, fries, shakes, pizza, donuts, cookies etc. I've just learned how to fit them into my calorie goals. I refuse to label foods- that's a slippery slope to a distorted and unhealthy relationship with food. I eat all the foods I like and don't eat the ones I dislike. I'm doing this whole thing in a realistic and sustainable way for me, for the long term.

kommodevaran · January 2017

You just need to learn how to cook

You can make amazing, delicious, healthy meals from cheap ingredients.

Lounmoun · January 2017

I eat the same food as I always did just more appropriate portion sizes and more vegetables. I don't eat food that tastes bad to me.
Fast food has nutrients too. It can be part of a healthy diet.
Lots of restaurant food tastes good IMO because it has lots of salt, fat, sugar and someone else cooked it.

Francl27 · January 2017

I much prefer my healthier homemade food to fast food nowadays, actually.

But you'll never stick to it if you only eat foods you don't like. Yeah, I have to force myself to eat veggies sometimes, but other than that, I try to only make meals that I actually like... otherwise I would have given up years ago!

callsitlikeiseeit · January 2017

i dont eat any food that tastes bad.

i also eat the same foods I always have. just less of it.

Lost 80 pounds without eating anything that didnt taste good.

ClosetBayesian · January 2017

Last night was burger night. Tonight wevhad pizza. Both fit into my calorie and macro targets for the day. Lost 100 pounds by paying attention to serving sizes and tracking what I eat. It will be a cold day in hell before I eat tuna salad.

Noreenmarie1234 · January 2017

Francl27 wrote: »

I much prefer my healthier homemade food to fast food nowadays, actually.

But you'll never stick to it if you only eat foods you don't like. Yeah, I have to force myself to eat veggies sometimes, but other than that, I try to only make meals that I actually like... otherwise I would have given up years ago!

same my own healthy food tastes much better

Rebecca0224 · January 2017

ClosetBayesian wrote: »

Last night was burger night. Tonight wevhad pizza. Both fit into my calorie and macro targets for the day. Lost 100 pounds by paying attention to serving sizes and tracking what I eat. It will be a cold day in hell before I eat tuna salad.

And this is why people should eat what they like and not what is considered healthy. I love tuna and wouldn't give it up but I also love burgers, fries, and chocolate. You hit the nail on the head it's about portion size and tracking. Great job on losing 100lbs!

kommodevaran · January 2017

Lounmoun wrote: »

Lots of restaurant food tastes good IMO because it has lots of salt, fat, sugar and someone else cooked it.

Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »

same my own healthy food tastes much better

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

And this is why people should eat what they like and not what is considered healthy. I love tuna and wouldn't give it up but I also love burgers, fries, and chocolate.

I just want to expand on my previous replies by commenting these: I struggled A LOT with "healthy" food which I believed to be (had to be) the opposite of tasty food. And I thought of myself as a lousy cook. No wonder, I was so afraid of salt, fat and sugar, so I avoided it as much as possible (and of course I took it to the extreme). At the same time, I felt I could relax when someone else had made the food, like it was out of my hands. (Not really distorted thoughts, but pretty in denial.)

Worry took away so much of my enjoyment. The stress of never feeling "good enough" lead me (paradoxically, but not at all unusual) to overeat.

Then (around the time I discovered MFP) I just decided that I wasn't going to be afraid of food anymore. It was difficult. I had been afraid of food for more than twenty years. But all of a sudden, food started to taste amazing. And cooking was fun. And easy. I started to prefer my own food. And my food budget plummeted because I stopped buying and throwing away "good intention" food. Instead, I bought meat and produce I had plans for, and cooked and ate. Everything tasted great. I intentionally eat a lot more fat. But I also eat a lot more vegetables and whole grains.

Oh, and I lost 50 pounds and have kept them off for more than two years now.

Gianfranco_R · January 2017

turtledan wrote: »

So today as I was eating a tuna salad I made I started thinking how much I miss the taste of bad food. I though "why does healthy food taste not so good?" I miss the the taste of fried chicken, french fries, burgers, shakes and all pastries. Then it hit me. All the bad stuff taste so good and is so cheap. I mean you can buy two whoppers two fries and two sodas for 10 bucks. You can buy a heap of junk from the dollar menu. Which makes me think that good food doesn't taste bad, however bad food is made to taste good and get you addicted.
Makes me think how crazy it is that poor people are fat now a days. Maybe because how cheap bad food is. I, by no means, am rich. I'm middle class and yes, I'm fat. But a couple of months ago I decided to make a change and slowly but surely I've been seeing progress. I have started eating healthy and working out. I feel a little better about my self and it seems easy to stay on track now. I wish I would have started sooner.
Anyway thanks for reading what was on my mind at this moment. And if you are struggling with your weight, best of luck to you. I hope you find an inspiration that will motivate you to change your life. If you are not struggling with your weight then I hope you help others who are.

Also healthy food can be delicious, if you can cook.

unsuspectingfish · January 2017

Healthy doesn't HAVE to taste bad.

Machka9 · January 2017

One of the decisions I made when I started with MFP was that I wouldn't eat anything I didn't like. I wouldn't waste my calories on foods that didn't taste good. And I've stuck to that!

Take tonight, for example ...

I made a really delicious slow cooker meal with some great spice and taste to it for dinner and we're following it up with an apple-cherry crumble.

trisH_7183 · January 2017

No expert here, just wanted to say "well done" to those who found their way to losing weight.The more I read,the more I believe there is no one way.Finding what works for you is a job,but once the lightbulb comes on,the easier it goes.

My med's are also on the "weight gain"list. Having to keep track of food is enough of a job,the med's will just do what they do.I was fat long before med's were needed,so refuse to blame anything but my own taste buds

Ming1951 · January 2017

turtle dan..I understand what your saying. Fast food is cheap , its tasty and its high in calorie. I also believe it makes you want to eat more. Sure as others have said you can still have it if you fit it into your calories but for me I find its sets me off, down the wrong track of continuous eating. I actually don't crave it or think about it anymore. I read an interesting article the other day that said Taco Bell, was quietly revamping their menu to healthier choices. On my weight reduction journey I find that planning my meals out for the day helps me more than anything. If I am out and won't get home for my meal I either prepare and take it with me or have some type of protein bar orchard boil egg to tide me over. LOL

SusanMFindlay · January 2017

I think, to some degree, your taste buds adjust to what you eat regularly.

For the most part, I prefer home cooked food and/or good quality restaurant food. Home cooked and healthy does not have to mean flavourless or bland. e.g. We made a delicious spaghetti sauce from a blend of ground beef and italian sausage meat (drained). It also had onion, fennel, carrot, tomato and variety of herbs/spices. *So* much yummier than a bland burger from McDonalds.

kommodevaran · January 2017

SusanMFindlay wrote: »

I think, to some degree, your taste buds adjust to what you eat regularly.

For the most part, I prefer home cooked food and/or good quality restaurant food. Home cooked and healthy does not have to mean flavourless or bland. e.g. We made a delicious spaghetti sauce from a blend of ground beef and italian sausage meat (drained). It also had onion, fennel, carrot, tomato and variety of herbs/spices. *So* much yummier than a bland burger from McDonalds.

I was thinking about this too

One of the appeals of fast food is that it's "easy" - easy to buy, easy to like, easy to eat, easy to digest. The chains promise, in fact one of their selling points is, that you can get the same items everywhere, with no surprises. Good restaurant food and home cooked meals can be an "aquired taste" - more diversity, more resistance, unpredictable. It takes time and commitment to get used to. To "untrained" palates it can taste bland and/or too strong (possibly even at the same time), but as you get more adventurous and learn more, you can pick up more and more nuances. (A little like reading cartoons vs novels - nothing wrong with neither, there's a time for both; but they are different, reading them just takes more or less effort and what you get out of it will not be the same.)

ljmorgi · January 2017

You can have my tuna salad sandwiches when you take them from my cold, dead hands. Don't go picking on tuna salad. :P

Weightwatcher6314 · January 2017

Fast food is cheap and the industry knows about food addictions, they base their food on those addiction, such as salty sweet, salty savory (the bacon craze), sweet and gooey, etc. I dont think good food tastes bad, we just need to adjust our habits and eventually when you see a Carls Jr commercial you can recognize how awfully unhealthy they are. I eat a lot of tuna, it is one of my staples. bad food is an aquired taste as is healthy food.

MelanieCN77 · January 2017

Weightwatcher6314 wrote: »

Fast food is cheap and the industry knows about food addictions, they base their food on those addiction, such as salty sweet, salty savory (the bacon craze), sweet and gooey, etc. I dont think good food tastes bad, we just need to adjust our habits and eventually when you see a Carls Jr commercial you can recognize how awfully unhealthy they are. I eat a lot of tuna, it is one of my staples. bad food is an aquired taste as is healthy food.

Yes, making you crave more of their food is a legitimate scientific endeavour.

ClosetBayesian · January 2017

Weightwatcher6314 wrote: »

Fast food is cheap and the industry knows about food addictions, they base their food on those addiction, such as salty sweet, salty savory (the bacon craze), sweet and gooey, etc. I dont think good food tastes bad, we just need to adjust our habits and eventually when you see a Carls Jr commercial you can recognize how awfully unhealthy they are. I eat a lot of tuna, it is one of my staples. bad food is an aquired taste as is healthy food.

Oh gawd, no.....

Hyperpalatibility is a thing. Food addiction is not. Yes, the food industry wants food to taste good - that's kind of the point. If fast food was addicting, drivers of McLane's trucks would need to be armed instread of drivers of Wells Fargo trucks. I was an assistant manager of a fast food place for several years; only time my staff was ever held up at gunpoint was when they were taking a deposit to the bank; absolutely zero holdups during truck deliveries.

RedheadedPrincess14 · January 2017

Please read the book salt, sugar, fat. Will change your life. Literally

jennybearlv · January 2017

Why are you eating bad tasting food? Buy a cookbook. I can make broccoli hyperpalatable. Buy fresh, don't overcook, add salt. Not that hard. It also costs less than a dollar for four servings. A whole chicken is less than five bucks and I can get two really good meals out of it plus stock for the week. I don't get this whole fast food is cheap nonsense. Ten bucks for one meal is a bit outrageous compared to cooking at home. The reason people with less money may not be eating as well is more of a matter of time and access. You try cooking a healthy dinner for your family while juggling three part time jobs with no car, maybe not even a fridge and stove.

ottacat · January 2017

I disagree with many of the comments that there is no 'bad' food. Processed chemicals stripped of nutrients are not food. Big thumbs up to you for taking up calorie counting as its a great start. Read and learn more about food and nutrition. Losing weight and being healthy are not synonymous if all a lot of your (restricted) calories are coming from junk.

My biggest suggestion is to learn to cook foods that you genuinely like. There is a certain amount of trial and error but you will soon build a personal recipe collection.

Bad tasting, healthy food.

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