Substitutes for foods I hate?

Caroline393
Caroline393 Posts: 71 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
So I'm about to start this 15-day challenge of exercises and meal plans. I want to stick as close to the meal plan as possible to achieve the best results, but there are a couple of foods that I dislike or just simply hate in a lot of the meals. The foods in question are eggs (I don't like them in any form unless they're baked into something and I can't taste them) and bananas (don't like the texture, the flavor, anything about them). These foods make the basis for at least 3-4 meals or snacks in the meal plan, and it says not to skip meals, so I don't really want to skip them.

Does anyone have any ideas of foods that are similar in nutrient makeup and caloric value that I could substitute for eggs and bananas? Haha I know this is such a weird thing to be asking

Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Trade eggs for fish or chicken and bananas for whatever fruit you like.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Eggs are protein with a little fat. Look up the nutrition profile of a single egg. Then sub out a different protein with the equivalent nutrition profile. I'd sub out Greek yogurt or dessert style soft tofu.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    2% cottage cheese would be a good option, depending on what the rest of the meal looked like. You can also find small salmon packets that I think have similar macros to a single egg.

    Trade the banana for any other fruit serving. Personally, I'd take an apple over a banana any day. If you want to do something like berries or melon, make sure it's the right serving. You're likely allowed about 100 calories.
  • Caroline393
    Caroline393 Posts: 71 Member
    edited August 2017
    @kommodevaran @TavistockToad It's not filled with them, there are just several days where breakfast or lunch involves a banana smoothie or hard boiled egg, and I don't like those food. Almost every other meal in the plan sounds like stuff I'll enjoy.

    I'm doing the challenge because 1) it was free to download and is developed/run by a personal trainer and has an online support community, and 2) I think it'll help motivate me and kickstart me back into healthy eating. This summer I've been really consistent with working out, but have had a really hard time keeping my eating in check. I hope that if i follow a stricter plan for two weeks, I'll lose a few pounds and it'll motivate me to continue eating healthy. I've found that when I eat well consistently, I'm less likely to want to eat junk food and snack, but if I have something "just this once" then I'll keep falling into that mindset and pretty soon I'll blow my eating goals.

    As for my expectations, the plan says to expect to lose between 4-8 lbs, so I'm hoping for at least the low end of that. Nothing too crazy, just a way to jumpstart myself back into healthy habits.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Caroline393 wrote: »
    @kommodevaran @TavistockToad It's not filled with them, there are just several days where breakfast or lunch involves a banana smoothie or hard boiled egg, and I don't like those food. Almost every other meal in the plan sounds like stuff I'll enjoy.

    If you like almost every other meal in the plan then just sub in a meal from the plan you do like for one you don't. Slightly less variety but also less work figuring out alternatives since you know they already fit the plan.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    edited August 2017
    Caroline393 wrote: »
    @kommodevaran @TavistockToad It's not filled with them, there are just several days where breakfast or lunch involves a banana smoothie or hard boiled egg, and I don't like those food. Almost every other meal in the plan sounds like stuff I'll enjoy.

    I'm doing the challenge because 1) it was free to download and is developed/run by a personal trainer and has an online support community, and 2) I think it'll help motivate me and kickstart me back into healthy eating. This summer I've been really consistent with working out, but have had a really hard time keeping my eating in check. I hope that if i follow a stricter plan for two weeks, I'll lose a few pounds and it'll motivate me to continue eating healthy. I've found that when I eat well consistently, I'm less likely to want to eat junk food and snack, but if I have something "just this once" then I'll keep falling into that mindset and pretty soon I'll blow my eating goals.

    As for my expectations, the plan says to expect to lose between 4-8 lbs, so I'm hoping for at least the low end of that. Nothing too crazy, just a way to jumpstart myself back into healthy habits.

    For consideration:

    1) Personal trainers aren't necessarily all that knowledgeable about diet. Is the PT also a registered dietitian?
    2) Is this plan tailored specifically to YOUR needs based on your height, current weight, and activity level? If not, it may not be a good plan for you, even in the short term. There may be too many or too few calories to make it a sustainable challenge for you.
    3) MFP has a great online support community ;)
    4) (I say this will all kindness) You don't need a kickstart. You simply need to come to the realization that your body needs different fuel than what you've been giving it and then you just start to change your habits. It's okay that you have a hard time keeping your consumption in check right now - most of us either still do or did when we started. Consistently healthy habits are built over time, not in a two week challenge.

    I propose a different strategy for you - design your own challenge that it specific to your needs ;). If you like, take the ratio of suggested macros in the plan you downloaded and change them to reflect a reasonable deficit for you. Depending on your stats and how much you have to lose, that will be anywhere from 250-1000 calories below your maintenance level (not lower than 1200 in any event). Based on that you can lose between 1 and 4 pounds over two weeks. (ETA: enter your information into MFP to get your daily goals.) Fill your daily plan with foods that you love that meet your macro and calorie goals. There is no magic food out there that will help you; all food is made up of one or more macros and the foods themselves are essentially interchangeable.

    You can still benefit from the psychological push that you feel you need in a challenge, but it'll be a much better start to your goals if you're truly trying to make a lasting change. You can even call it a 'kickstart', although in reality - it's just a START, and a good one!
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