I haven't learned (rant @ myself)

jen_092 · June 2017

As the title says, I have a problem which is that losing weight hasn't taught me to eat much healthier. If I stopped calorie counting I would probably gain the weight back pretty quickly because I don't reach for a lot of healthy foods. I meticulously plan ways to incorporate as much junk into my calorie count as possible. I have learned portion control and that's about it. Since November I have been eating at a 300 calorie deficit and have lost 30 pounds. My BMI is now 23.5. I have never plateaued or had any issues with the weight loss. I feel quite a bit healthier (e.g., my BP is back to normal and I get less winded walking up stairs) and I look better than I have in a while. But there is still something missing.

Sometimes it really bothers me that I'm still lacking a well-balanced or healthy diet. Most of the time my excuses for this are that I don't have time to prep meals (I'm doing my PhD) and that I share a small kitchen with up to 9 other students in my house (yes, 9, but truly most of them are just as lazy as me and don't cook). I know these are just excuses and it comes down to me being lazy and basically really gluttonous. I know that everything in moderation is fine and I don't like to label foods as "bad". But, I definitely am one of those people who takes it too far and forgets to actually eat something green... ever.

I just wish I could look back on the past 8 months and say that I learned to implement all that I know about nutrition. Eating heart healthy foods, or leafy green vegetables, eating less sugar because diabetes is in my family history, less salt because I had hypertension at age 24. I know all of this is important for longevity and disease prevention because I study cancer prevention. I'm just frustrated that I'm not actually following through, at all.

Does anyone have tips for me to start making small changes? Slow change seems to work well for me since the small calorie defect has been a piece of cake to do. I'm moving in with my boyfriend in August and he has some great healthy eating habits so I'm hoping that helps, as well as having a kitchen for just the two of us. But I think this is something I need to address about my personality, or my habits. Can anyone relate at all? I've been thinking about reaching out about this for a while but I'm afraid the post is almost pointless because only I can make this happen for myself. But if anyone can relate and wants to discuss, that would be great.

mph323 · June 2017

Congrats on your weight loss! I think you've got the right idea in making small changes, since you're already proved that strategy works for you. I would start by looking at your macros and picking one to work on (I would suggest protein). Make it your goal each day to get the minimum amount required. Gradually start tweaking your sources so that you're getting your protein from more nutrient-dense foods. When you're comfortable with this change, move on to another. When your macros are balanced to your satisfaction, start working on micro-nutrients (fiber's a good one to start with - it's easy to track). Don't try to do everything at once, it's overwhelming. Good luck!

everher · June 2017

jen_092 wrote: »

I meticulously plan ways to incorporate as much junk into my calorie count as possible.

Yeah, this was a problem of mine until I realized it was a problem and just stopped doing it. Usually, once a week I look back at what I ate and if I feel there were any problems (me consistently not hitting a certain macro goal or consistently being over for sodium or eating too many sweets) I adjust.

I don't label foods as bad either, but I started planning my day around hitting my macros and trying to eat balanced, "healthy" meals and if I had calories left then I could have a treat or some junk food if I wanted. Basically, I had to reverse my way of thinking and how I looked at things.

I don't do a lot of meal prepping myself mostly because it's just me, it can be time consuming, and I'm lazy. I love quick foods. Things I can just throw together and eat. Salads for lunch for example are a great way to load up on veggies and can be low cal if you don't overdo it with the dressing. If you're just cooking for yourself it's easy to just throw some meat and veggies in the oven in one pan on Sundays and meal prepping for dinner is done. I also love soups because I can throw in whatever and load up on veggies. Stir frys are the same kind of thing.

I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't have to take a lot of time.

kommodevaran · June 2017

I think you know, and remember just fine, but don't want to. But I also think you don't want to because you don't know how to do it in a way that you like, and you don't have a good reason why you should do it. A threat of future health implications isn't enough for most of us. Feeling great every day by implementing a few small tweaks, is a much more effective motivation. If you have never noticed any difference depending on how and what you eat, it will be difficult to eat differently. This change can't really be forced, it has to come naturally, through a desire and curiousity and paying attention and letting go of fear and presumptions. This is a personal and individual process, and your mileage can and will vary.

My overall impression from what I read on the forums, is that those who can stop calorie counting are the ones who have embraced "whole foods on normal days, treats are for special occasions". Junk is calorie dense and easy to overeat, and you just need more vigilance if you want to eat a lot of it and often.

I am lazy too and I don't meal prep. What I do is freeze in portions and when needed, thaw/soak components overnight, and cook from fresh every day, usually just a protein, a starch, a veg for dinner. Or a simple casserole or soup (which usually yields enough for two days so I save one day of cooking per week). I rotate my dinners through the week to get variety without having to reinvent the wheel daily. Other meals are sandwiches, yogurt, smoothies, boiled egg, porridge. Once opened, I eat a portion of perishables every day until it's gone.

So, I plan my meals. I use a spreadsheet. Breakfast and lunch have three "slots"; two of them are colored - pink for fruit, green for veg. I plot in what I want to eat for each meal. Main grocery "hauls" are twice a week (I need amazingly small amounts after I started eating it up), and I buy just what I need of perishables for 3-4 days, whenever possible.

My fruit and veg portions are pretty small - equivalent of medium apple, 80 grams of raw vegetable, except dinner, which has at least 100 grams veg, often more, if I make a casserole/soup - but I get in enough, effortlessly, because it's steady, every day.

I never eat anything I don't like. This is important. But I also like a lot of different things, and I try something new now and then. I'll try anything once. If I like it, I incorporate it. If I hate it, I don't have to touch it again.

Francl27 · June 2017

I agree, you know what you should eat... you just don't want to. I'm not judging, by the way, because fresh veggies are too expensive right now and frozen veggies bore me (unless they add too much stuff to them...but then for the calories I'd rather have mashed potatoes)... so it's very rare for me to get my 5 servings of fruit and veggies (and it's supposed to be 9 now? Pfffft).

My advice is to look at sites like skinnytaste to find lower calorie recipes for things you love (and honestly... it's typically good enough to satisfy me). Find ways to make veggies tasty too - it can be a salad, those seasoned frozen veggies bags, and roasting everything makes it delicious if you take the time to do it. Something simple and healthy I made this week end for example were grilled kebabs of marinated chicken with peppers and onions... we had friends over and they gobbled it up - great change from burgers and hotdogs! Then I made two of skinnytaste's salads (red bliss potato and the cilandro lime bean and corn one). It was all lower calorie and delicious... although it did take a bit of time to put together, but it used up a lot of the same ingredients (red onions, scallions, peppers), so I was able to prepare several things at once. But it keeps in the fridge and is easy for leftovers too...

If you like soup, buy some broth, a bunch of cheap bags of frozen veggies, dump in a pan, warm it up and blend it all together. It only takes a few minutes and it's filling and tasty too.

TavistockToad · June 2017

jen_092 wrote: »

I meticulously plan ways to incorporate as much junk into my calorie count as possible.

so why not meticulously plan the odd banana or apple at the same time?

jen_092 · June 2017

mph323 wrote: »

Congrats on your weight loss! I think you've got the right idea in making small changes, since you're already proved that strategy works for you. I would start by looking at your macros and picking one to work on (I would suggest protein). Make it your goal each day to get the minimum amount required. Gradually start tweaking your sources so that you're getting your protein from more nutrient-dense foods. When you're comfortable with this change, move on to another. When your macros are balanced to your satisfaction, start working on micro-nutrients (fiber's a good one to start with - it's easy to track). Don't try to do everything at once, it's overwhelming. Good luck!

Thank you! I think I really like this suggestion. I used to track my protein when I lifted, but an injury and then going too broke for the gym set me back and I gave up on it. I definitely felt like I ate healthier when I was doing that.

jen_092 · June 2017

everher wrote: »

jen_092 wrote: »

I meticulously plan ways to incorporate as much junk into my calorie count as possible.

Yeah, this was a problem of mine until I realized it was a problem and just stopped doing it. Usually, once a week I look back at what I ate and if I feel there were any problems (me consistently not hitting a certain macro goal or consistently being over for sodium or eating too many sweets) I adjust.

I don't label foods as bad either, but I started planning my day around hitting my macros and trying to eat balanced, "healthy" meals and if I had calories left then I could have a treat or some junk food if I wanted. Basically, I had to reverse my way of thinking and how I looked at things.

I don't do a lot of meal prepping myself mostly because it's just me, it can be time consuming, and I'm lazy. I love quick foods. Things I can just throw together and eat. Salads for lunch for example are a great way to load up on veggies and can be low cal if you don't overdo it with the dressing. If you're just cooking for yourself it's easy to just throw some meat and veggies in the oven in one pan on Sundays and meal prepping for dinner is done. I also love soups because I can throw in whatever and load up on veggies. Stir frys are the same kind of thing.

I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't have to take a lot of time.

All of these suggestions are great! Thanks. I should drag out the ol' crocpot again.

jen_092 · June 2017

@kommodevaran @Francl27 thank you both for the input! You're right - I just don't want to but I should learn what I like because that will work for me. Time to look at recipes.

PaulaWallaDingDong · June 2017

I'm also very lazy. Most of my home-cooked meals consist of salmon and sauced frozen veg, cooked together in the microwave. Counting calories has led me to decide that most pre-made convenience foods and "junk foods" are not worth the calories, rather than to struggle to cram them into my calorie goal.

JeromeBarry1 · June 2017

@jen_092 a simple way to get a wide variety of healthy eating tips, information, and recipes is to visit the "hello healthy" feature on your mfp home page.

I haven't learned (rant @ myself)

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