I need help eating

Keep trying new things. Have an open mind.

Southern food can be healthy. Any food can be healthy. It's more a matter of moderation.

If you'd rather Southern food but want to be more conscious of your intake and how it's prepared, try YouTube. There are plenty of chefs cheffing it up with all kinds of cuisine.

Try...

* Fit Men Cook
* Stay Snatched
* Food Heaven Show

While the last one hasn't posted new content in several years, all three of them seem to have authentic dishes (caveat: I live in Canada, have Caribbean roots, and have only been to two Southern states in my entire life - Florida & West Virginia...but I had to Google to see if they even counted as "Southern" 😩)

Keep things simple as much as you can, at least to start with. You're more likely to stick to it if you enjoy the food and don't make it too difficult. After all, this is how you'll be eating for the rest of your life if you want to maintain your weight loss. Perhaps, once a week, make it a challenge to try a new recipe.

Could you eat greasy southern food but in smaller portions to what you ate previously and then add some vegetables or a salad to bulk out your meal? Shar's Coleslaw (Levi Roots' recipe) is easy to make and really good with burgers or chicken. I make enough for 3 servings and have it for lunch, with some protein, over 3 days.

Could you make your own burgers and substitute some of the meat with grated beetroot or other veg?
Coat your own pieces of chicken and experiment with different seasonings?

If you make the meals yourself you can eat the same foods but grill them rather than fry.
Are you able to buy an airfryer - they use a miniscule amount of oil.

Make oven chips or wedges instead of deep fried - slice one potato into wedges, parboil for 3-5mins, melt a small amount of butter (perhaps with some paprika mixed in) in a medium pan or bowl, drain the potato wedges then add them to the butter and swirl around to coat. Place the wedges on a baking tray (I usually stand them up) and bake for 35 mins. Turn them / move them a little, about half way through, to make sure they're not sticking. A spritzor two of spray oil (1cal per spray) on the baking tray can be useful.

Look for lower calorie alternatives, where possible. If I do a vegetable stirfry, I use 10 squirts of spray oil (10 cals) rather than a tbsp of olive or vegetable oil (lots of cals).

Look at the calories in the foods that you do eat and steer towards those that are the lowest, as much as possible. I add fruit to my morning porridge / yoghurt / cereal, but I've learned which are the lowest cals and pretty much only buy those now.

Good advice, above.

In conjunction with that, may I suggest that you try a "gradually remodel your eating" approach? The idea is to start by logging what you eat now, then use diary review to gradually tweak things in manageable, reasonably enjoyable ways, to dial in appropriate calories and adequate nutrition . . . in balance with feeling full, eating tasty foods, and achieving other food goals important to you (practicality, cost, social connection, whatever).

In brief, you log, then see which foods "cost" more calories than the enjoyment or nutrition you get from them. Those are candidates to reduce or eliminate, freeing up calories to "spend" on foods you enjoy that better help you meet your goals.

If it sounds appealing, more about that concept is in this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

Best wishes!

Discoveringezra1 wrote: »

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. Talk about enlightening. I never considered some of the ideas that y'all pointed out. Like making alternative versions of the foods I currently eat. I was on the " Completely change what you eat, and give up what you used to and like" approach.

I will visit the places you all suggested and start logging what I eat even though I'm embarrassed at how much garbage I do eat lol.

PaintedPlay wrote: »

Healthy is soo subjective, what do you like to eat, and why do you need to change what you eat?

I'm currently 220 at 5'5. Basically, I'm noticing that I'm having digestive issues. Also, my weight is making my joints uncomfortable, knee issues, and weird feeling back joints. Add being winded more at work when usually I'm ok I just think it's time I start getting my bad eating habits under control. I just don't know how to do it properly and with lasting results (Yo-Yo weight isn't fun.)

Food isn't garbage. Change your mindset about food. It will help in the long run.

I have done very well using keto. Basically by following that lifestyle you eliminate a lot of things. Mostly sugar and gluten. Gluten is very inflammatory on joints and your gut. Setting macros in MFP helps you a lot. Because you eat foods that are heavier and not full of carbs you stay satiated. There are some really good books to follow. Basically it is a very good tracking tool. My one word of caution on it is that if you eat carbs then you can knock yourself out of ketosis and then the heavier foods are pretty bad for you. I don't know about being keto for life but it is a great tool to lose weight then you have to figure out why you eat poorly. I fell off after my dad died and the family fell apart. At least that's what I allowed myself to use as an excuse. Not pushing keto, it is just a tool you can use.

Discoveringezra1 wrote: »

Like I said in the title. I'm absolutely terrible at eating. I'm used to greasy southern food and fast food, and when it comes to eating healthy I turn into a child and become picky. When I look up healthy recipes my eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down. I actually was doing good at the beginning of the year and had dropped 20lb, but then the shutdown happened.

About my eating, it would be quicker to list the things I do like rather than the things I'm iffy on or don't like lol.

What can I do to get into eating more healthy foods?

I still eat foods like pizza, I just have smaller servings plus a large salad. Tonight we're having spaghetti and meatballs, but instead of eating 8 oz cooked pasta, I will have 4 oz plus roasted asparagus.

I find veggies very useful to help me fill up instead of overeating higher calorie foods. Many people here swear by roasting vegetables. I find foods like canned green beans inedible, but love them steamed.