My husband and i are kind of picky eaters
tashamontgomery24
Posts: 4 Member
Hello my husband and I are kind of picky eaters and both need to lose weight. He does not like seafood or any type of fish, onions and peppers, salads, plain types of chicken such as only seasoned or plain. I do not like seafood or any type of fish or plain types of chicken like my husband. I do like salad but since it's just him my 16 month old and i. I can not get through salad stuff fast enough. Since we are picky we often settle with convenient stuff we know we like and I'm afraid our daughter is picking up on our picky tendencies so I'm looking for help maybe with some recipes or ideas that can help us out we both snore and have a hard time with strenuous activity and we both need to lose 50+ pounds. We struggle to find motivation to exercise. Any tips or ideas that could get us moving in the right direction?
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Replies
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Use MFP to get a daily calorie goal to lose 1.5 lb a week. Log everything you eat, using a food scale to determine how much you're eating whenever possible. Eat what you want, but stay within your calorie goal. If you get to hungry within your calorie goal, figure out what types of food you find more satiating (high-volume, fiber-filled foods? protein? fats?), and eat more of those within your calorie goal. If you still get too hungry, try adjusting your goal to 1 lb a week or 0.5 lb a week, or earn more calories by exercising. When you've got that much down, you can start worrying about about expanding the kinds of foods you are willing to eat and setting a better example for your child.
Tip: when your child hits four or five, you can start letting him add measure/weigh and add ingredients and do a little stirring, and add tasks as he or she ages -- kids are much more likely to eat foods they help fix.
Some people find snoring improves or even stops as they lose weight.
Begin with moderate activity and work your way up to strenuous.1 -
Sounds like you need a family overhaul - perhaps find non exercise activities that will get you moving and having fun together? Take your daughter to a park, go for bike rides, walk together etc. Plan it in to your schedule and do it - no convincing each other that the couch is more inviting!
There are no rules about types of food to eat - you need to stick to your calories. Working with you likes/dislikes, budget etc is important. That said, you need to be willing to try new things. Prepare vegetables in different ways (roasting is great!), find new recipes. Buy healthier options that can be stored - frozen options, tinned, jars, dried etc or make things in bulk that can be frozen to save you resorting to convenience foods all the time.7 -
That's not terribly picky if you only dislike 5 or 6 things. There's stir frys, buddah bowls, roasted veggies, etc. You can pick and choose what veggies, grains, and proteins go in. Chicken in stir fry is covered in sauce so it's not plain and you can sauce it up in bowls too. Just get creative! I use pintrest to mark recipe ideas.
As for the exercise, I think many people struggle with motivation. You just have to start doing it. It helps if you do it together. Pick something you like to do: walks in the park, dancing, biking, kickboxing, swimming. It doesn't have to be strict regime at the gym. And if you're just starting out it doesn't have to be torture or intense. Just something you enjoy!4 -
As far as recipes are concerned, pork tenderloin is a surprisingly lean and low calorie meat. So is ground turkey. Pork tenderloins are particularly great when you have no time to cook because you just pop it in the oven and take it out when it's done. You can certainly manage to lose weight on a diet with no seafood or chicken - vegetarians do it every day. You might try looking up some vegetarian recipes.
I hope you'll consider training yourselves to like more foods because it will make healthy eating so much easier for you. Some studies have found that it often takes a child seven to eleven times of trying a food to learn to like it. The brain actually has to form new pathways. Parents who serve a food once and then decide not to serve it ever again because the child "doesn't like it" are quitting too soon. Even as an adult you can train your brain to appreciate new foods. It's not a matter of forcing yourself to eat food you hate, but of growing to love it. Just one or two bites, then if you don't like it, try it again another time. Maybe you have some friends who would let you have a bite of what they're eating.4 -
tashamontgomery24 wrote: »Hello my husband and I are kind of picky eaters and both need to lose weight. He does not like seafood or any type of fish, onions and peppers, salads, plain types of chicken such as only seasoned or plain. I do not like seafood or any type of fish or plain types of chicken like my husband. I do like salad but since it's just him my 16 month old and i. I can not get through salad stuff fast enough. Since we are picky we often settle with convenient stuff we know we like and I'm afraid our daughter is picking up on our picky tendencies so I'm looking for help maybe with some recipes or ideas that can help us out we both snore and have a hard time with strenuous activity and we both need to lose 50+ pounds. We struggle to find motivation to exercise. Any tips or ideas that could get us moving in the right direction?
Weight loss is about calories not type of food. Eat foods you like. You do not have to eat plain food.
You should start with just logging what you normally eat and sticking to your calorie goal. You want to eat in a way you can sustain. You can alter your diet in small steps like getting more protein or having more vegetables on your plate.
Try one new recipe a week. Try a new fruit or vegetable and different ways of preparing it. Get an ethnic cookbook and try several recipes from it.
Buy frozen vegetables if it is hard to use them up quickly.
Look at recipe sites or food blogs.
Visit a farmer's market or plant a garden.
I prelog my food and adjust portion sizes to fit my goals. I look at calories first then meeting my protein goal. I try to eat several servings of vegetables or fruits a day. I generally have 100-300 calories for snacks.
I very rarely eat fish or beef. I eat chicken, turkey, bean or lentil dishes more often. I eat eggs sometimes.
I eat chicken thighs more often than chicken breast.
I pair higher calorie foods with more lower calorie vegetables. I reduce calories in foods by using less cheese, less oil, lower fat milk, thinner crust for pizza. I might skip rice or bread if it doesn't fit well that day. I don't try to have doughnuts, stuffed crust pizza, fried chicken, bacon cheeseburger and a peanut butter shake all in one day.
I find food ideas on Pinterest a lot.
http://www.budgetbytes.com
http://www.skinnytaste.com
http://www.allrecipes.com
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/
http://www.saveur.com/recipes-search5 -
Others have given the advice I was going give--set your calorie goals in MFP, eat what you like, log carefully, don't exceed calorie goal--but I am curious about what you mean when you say you don't like "plain types of chicken such as only seasoned or plain". If you don't like it seasoned and you don't like it plain, what's left?
As for recipes, it might help us if you told us what you do like! What are your favorite proteins, carbs, and fruits and veg? Do you like spicy? What parts of the world have flavors you like?1 -
I know you probably didn't list everything you don't like but it doesn't sound bad to me. You don't have to eat seafood and salads to lose weight. I don't like seafood either, I never eat it. Occasionally I will have salmon but that's basically it.
Just start logging your food and see where it gets you, and then adjust accordingly. You will find ways to swap different things or leave certain things out to make it in your calorie range. You just have to start. I think once you start seeing the scale go down you will find the motivation to keep going.
Maybe you could buy some cookbooks or pin a bunch of stuff on Pinterest and vow to try something new each week. Something like that, to expand your menu a little bit. It's important for both you and your daughter.
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It seems to me like the problem is you only view flavorless chicken, fish, and salad as healthy. That gets old for everyone!
Check out the recipes board, there are tons of different threads in there with different recipes. Eating healthy is about eating a variety of foods and within a calorie limit where you maintain a healthy weight. It does not have to be as restrictive as most people think. I have successfully lost weight and I eat tacos, hamburgers, steak, casseroles, crock pot meals, whatever else I can come up with. I have made some substitutions to slim some of my favorite recipes down, but often times I just eat what I always ate but monitor it much better.
I agree with finding exercise that doesn't really seem like exercise. Family walks or days in the park, time at the pool, get step counters and start a family competition. Try to think outside the box a little bit
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Skinnytaste is a decent recipe blog. Have a look through the recipes there, you'll probably find something that appeals.1
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so you have a list of things you don't eat. Great.
As someone else said, you have this idea that you have to eat flavorless foods, lettuce leaves, and fish in order to "eat healthy" and lose weight. WHy do you think that?
(also: I"m thinking "Plain chicken" means "chicken that isn't breaded and fried?" There are so many delicious ways to cook chicken breasts and thighs that aren't breaded and deep fried!)
What DO you eat? You're eating something - lots of something. What are you eating?
How can you eat less of what you already eat?
What are some different things that you like (or don't mind) that may have fewer calories?
With that list of things you don't eat, are you getting all your nutrients? Are there things you like (or don't mind) that you could eat more of to get all the nutrients your body needs?
How do you hope your child eats when they're your age? What do you want to model for her? Kids grow up thinking that what happens in their home is "normal" - do you want what you eat and how you eat it to be "normal" for your daughter?
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Just eat less of what you like.... easy2
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I vote for logging all your food for a week to see what MFP tells you about how much you are eating and what the quality is like.
Decide on one change to healthier eating each week.
Try one new recipe a week, and flag the winners. Winners are repeats.
There are a million ways to prepare vegetables that are not in salads. There's raw with dips, too.
Chicken comes in sauces, too. You can start with jarred sauces then work your way up to your own creations later.1 -
As others said, losing weight is about calories, not types of food. If you struggle with knowing what to make, I highly suggest Pinterest, there's endless ideas on there. Maybe pick up a cookbook from the library with a different cuisine you haven't had much before to get you some variety and different ideas for how to prepare veggies. Asian food is highly sauced usually, so that would take care of the plain chicken problem.
Go for family walks and/or bike rides to start getting some daily movement in together.1 -
What foods do you like? What do you typically eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?0
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I do like chicken if it has a sauce or breading I try to eat healthier things for breakfast when I have them around like a banana peanut butter smoothie or sometimes yogurt but often times especially lately I've had cold cereal but I like oatmeal and maltomeal lunch and supper vary a lot anywhere from something baked or convenient I'm trying to find recipes that my husband and I can try that may be healthier options0
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Two different topics.
As to what you can eat to lose weight, its not about the what but the how much. If eating less of the foods you eat now leaves you feeling too hungry, then think about the calorie content of the foods you are eating now. Increase portions of low cal foods and decrease portions of high cal foods so you can increase your overall quantity of food without having higher calories.
As to the example you set for your child, in my opinion the only way for you to avoid teaching her to be a picky eater is to force yourself to expand the foods you eat. Is it a matter of texture, taste or just things you are not familiar with? I ask because I was a picky eater growing up. I didn't like plenty of stuff, though admittedly much of it I was not even willing to try.
Your child will probably greatly enjoy getting 'treats' off of your plate and your husband's. So one thing you can try, for your child is to put food on your plate and share with her, even if you're not eating it yourself. This is a good way to introduce new veggies/fruits especially.2 -
You guys don't actually seem that picky. Most recipes can have things added or eliminated from them and still taste perfectly great! Everyone has already mentioned that calories are most important so I'll skip that except to say try adding sides of vegetables to meals so you get the same volume and then eat less of the main dish.
Perhaps you can all try hiking, going to the zoo, or just even taking a walk together each night?0 -
tashamontgomery24 wrote: »I do like chicken if it has a sauce or breading
Then eat your chicken with a sauce. There are lots of options out there, and they aren't all as calorie-dense as full-fat Alfredo. We regularly have chicken breast in some sort of sauce over rice with a vegetable side dish. Tomato-based sauces will be the lowest in calories, but we also like some of the Asian sauces.
Or eat beef or pork or ham or eggs or even sausage. Weight loss is not about eating bland food. The key is portion control. You can do this!1 -
A little meal planning before you hit the stores might be smart. Then you will have healthier options available when you want them. Like I said, start small like pick up a couple of new dinners a week. Sometimes I will pick up a meat or a veggie I've never tried and google a recipe to go with. If you do that in the store you can pick up the ingredients for the recipe at the same time.
You'd be shocked how many calories are in a peanut butter smoothie. Try logging it in to MFP next time.
Recipe ideas:
www.skinnytaste.com
I also think going for a daily walk to the park with your sixteen month old would be great exercise for all three of you.0 -
I would highly recommend you keep trying various ways to cook some of the stuff you don't like. I used to also not eat any type of fish aside from shrimp. But I could tolerate tilapia because it isn't as "fishy" as others. I season it with lemon pepper seasoning and bake it. I kept having to force myself to try that (same with brussel sprouts). Now I love them both. I agree that you can eat better if you have a wide variety of foods to eat. But at the same time, as long as you are under calories you will lose weight.0
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tashamontgomery24 wrote: »I do like chicken if it has a sauce or breading I try to eat healthier things for breakfast when I have them around like a banana peanut butter smoothie or sometimes yogurt but often times especially lately I've had cold cereal but I like oatmeal and maltomeal lunch and supper vary a lot anywhere from something baked or convenient I'm trying to find recipes that my husband and I can try that may be healthier options
I kind of feel like this is the same as saying "I do like birthday cake if it has icing." If you are eating chicken with breading, at some point you are eating whole mouthfuls of chicken that is not breading and not hating it. Is the problem dry chicken? Because properly cooked chicken shouldn't be dry, even without a sauce.
Okay, thinking of some quick and easy recipes for lower calorie sauces with chicken - tomato based marinara sauce is good, and goes well over spaghetti squash. Since you have a young child and limited time to cook, check out some jarred sauces. Many of the ones you can buy have a lot of added sugar so watch the labels. If your local stores don't have healthy brands, these days you can order almost anything online. Spaghetti squash cooks well in the microwave or you can bake it in the oven with toppings already on it.
My favorite Chinese chicken sauce would be a big fail with your husband, since it involves onions and peppers. I'm trying to think of what to put in it instead. The basic sauce involves ginger, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. All my Cajun dishes are out for the same reason. Does he like squash and zucchini?
How do you all feel about various bean dishes, such as chili or red beans and rice? Those can be filling and low calorie.
As someone else mentioned, be careful with the peanut butter, it has way more calories than seems fair. If you don't have one already, buy a kitchen scale, and weigh a serving of peanut butter to see the size. Then make sure you're not accidentally eating 400 calories of just peanut butter, which is way too easy to do.0 -
I wouldn't survive without convenience foods, not because I'm picky, but mostly because I'm busy. I eat a lot of prepackaged and frozen foods, but I don't bother with weird diet foods or fad foods. I rarely eat salad. I do eat fast food.
I also plan and prep a bit with foods I like so it's easy to grab and go within my calories.
My advice is keep eating foods you like, but eat them within your calorie goal. Make sure your calorie count is accurate by weighing solids on a digital food scale and liquids with measuring cups and spoons.0 -
There are a lot of activities you can do as a family to get some exercise. Daily walks are great. Do you have a dog? He'll love it too. Bike rides. Swimming. Skating. Dancing in the living room. Hiking. Rock climbing. Volleyball or badminton or tennis. Get a Wii so you can do a lot of activities with your daughter. You don't have to belong to a gym to get more fit. Just move.1
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Roasted/bbq veggies are delicious and easy. adding bacon to salads sometimes makes them more appealing and bacon is surprisingly not that high in calories. Take turns choosing one new thing we week to try, you may find a new favourite, who knows?0
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