I just re-read what I wrote and realized that it seems like I'm saying that I want to just eat candy bars and soda and lose weight. I plan on continuing a healthy diet of lean protein and vegetables, but I wanted to know if anyone else is getting any good results with adding some junk to their diet...
Ok guys. I used to eat whatever I wanted and work out and I lost about 20 pounds. The problem was I didn't look any different and I was still wearing the same clothes as ever and as far as I could tell they didn't feel any looser...it was really weird.
I eventually had to quit due to some personal drama (car wreck) that knocked me off course.
I am now 180 pounds and have decided to start over.
For this entire week I have been following Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean principles which are basically to try to eat only "natural" foods ie no preservatives, mostly vegetables, lean meat, fruit and if you eat packaged food it's supposed to be made from only ingredients you can "pronounce" or recognize as something that could occur in nature.
Here is my issue as it stands. I HATE cooking. I hate most vegetables. I hate dishes. I hate missing out on the things that other people are eating. I hate. Period. Ha.
I feel like I have done nothing this week, but cook and cook and cook and cook. And I am not ready to throw in the towel yet, but I wanted to ask those of you who are losing, what are you eating?
Do you eat fast food, packaged food, etc?
The first time I lost 20 pounds I did it by eating really very little home-cooked meals. I just ate whatever I wanted as long as it was under 1,400 calories a day. The only thing(s) I cut out of my diet entirely was chips, ice cream, soda and McDonalds. Frozen pizzas, hamburgers, whatever. I ate it and I felt ok and I was losing, but like I said I didn't notice any difference in the way my clothes fit or anything...
I'm naturally lazy (there. I said it) and I just really need some input from others on what people really eat. Thanks.
Last edited by ChristinaMR; 06-25-2010 at 05:09 PM.
Reason: More Detail
I don't cook. Once a week my husband bakes me about 10 lbs of chicken breast and I eat that all week. It's easy to make: he just dumps powdered onion soup on it and bakes it for an hour.
Besides that, everything I eat I can eat "as is": cottage cheese, mostly, and carrots, and triscuits, and microwave popcorn. Oh, and I microwave broccoli and cauliflower. Buy the steamer packs for all your veggies. I don't really eat "meals"--I eat one thing at a time, mostly.
Basically you have to experiment to find foods that meet all your requirements--flavor, nutrition, preparation. These are mine.
A lot of people will tell you that you absolutely have to cut out all junk food in order to lose weight. I will tell you the opposite! Different things work for different people, and as much as I wish I could cook all the time and eat healthy, organic whole foods at every meal and snack, it's just not going to happen. And yes, I've tried it. And yes, I know I would be far healthier in the long run if I could do it. But I have to do what I can do to lose weight, and what has always worked for me is setting a calorie allowance and sticking to it but not letting ANYthing be off limits. Otherwise, I'll go crazy. I lost 110 pounds that way a few years ago and now I'm relosing a big chunk of it because I gained it back with my pregnancy.
Don't get me wrong -- I think it's completely wonderful when people can stick to a whole foods diet, and I try to eat as many whole, natural, healthy foods as I can, especially now that I'm a vegetarian. But I use the 100-calorie packs, I eat sugar, I carb it up like a madwoman. And I'm losing about 2 pounds a week on around 1800 calories a day. If I stop losing, then I'll reevaluate.
I don't like to cook either but we (my husband and I) have to eat, so I do. When I am doing well I eat out about once or twice a month. I eat some organic packaged food with real ingredients. Everything else, I cook.
If you don't currently like vegetables then maybe find some recipes that you like better.
I don't cook at all. What I eat varies day to day but my menu choices are yogurt, veggie burgers, peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, microwave popcorn, cottage cheese, frozen vegetables, raw vegetables, canned tuna, instant oatmeal, pickles, grilled chicken wraps (reheat the chicken and throw on a wrap lol), south beach protein bars, frozen fish (that you can cook in a microwave), grape nuts cereal, salmon, and maybe a piece of fruit (i am not really fond of that much fruit).
I just make sure I have all of this stuff available so that I can have choices. It's like having a grocery store in my pantry. I have totally eliminated all prepackaged frozen meals from my plan. I have no desire to eat candy bars or fast food or anything like that. After awhile you just don't crave the stuff anymore, but that is just my experience.
I don't 'cook' either. It's just my husband and I so I 'assemble' meals. I buy almost everything in individual portions. He can have what he wants and I can have what I want. I buy individual salads for him. I buy a big box of field greens for me. I keep a variety of cheeses and dressings around. At most, I will cut up some fruit or veggies for a salad. For the most part I keep frozen veggies and fruits on hand and just nuke what I'm going to eat for each meal. I use the george foreman grill alot too. I will split a package of pork chops, chicken breasts, burgers, fish, etc into individual portions and freeze. One chicken breast or burger thaws really fast!
I'm alot like Kendra in the way I eat. Maybe if you sat down and made a list of the foods you like to eat all the time you could figure out a way to 'assemble' meals too. You don't have to love every vegetable out there. I do encourage you to experiment but really if you only love green beans then just eat green beans.
For example, prepacked oatmeal for breakfast every morning. Big green salad for lunch (add boiled eggs or deli meat). Grilled meat, nuked frozen veg of your choice for dinner. You could have plain greek yogurt and fruit (if you thaw frozen fruit in the microwave it gets really juicy and yummy) for dessert. Prepacked 100 calorie pack of nuts for snacks or a wedge of lite laughing cow cheese with a few whole grain crackers. Now, these might not ever be any of the foods you'd eat but it is an example of how to eat with very little cooking.
You could also double batch cook. It usually doesn't take much more time to make 2 of the same item and then throw the extra in the freezer. If you portion it out into individual servings it will thaw really fast too.
Now, having said all that, I'm going to say something a little harsh. SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE. You do get to decide what changes to make. It can be calorie counting so we can eat whatever we want. It can be eliminating certain foods. Whatever you want, whatever works for you, whatever you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Most of us have to really work hard at accepting what changes we are willing to make. But, I have to tell you it's worth it. It really is. Give it time and find out what changes you are willing to make. Because, if we don't make long term sustainable, liveable changes then we're right back where we started and the wt loss is not permanent.
I dont like vegetables either...but i dont buy any packaged foods. I cycle my calories tho and have about 2 meals out or takeaway per week. Either a plain hamburger from a local chicken shop (529 calories) or what we call a yiros or kebab which is 500 calories...I dont feel either is too bad a option. As to not liking vegetables...think outside the box...for me i like caramelised onions...so i make them with just a teaspoon of oil and then i add grated brocolli to them...i like tomatos so i often roast a container of cherry tomatos and sprinkly feta cheese over them...if i make any pastas, stir frys etc i thow lots of vegetables in them but chop them small (mushrooms, capsicums, onions, spinach, asian vegies etc) I have done this and to date have managed to lose over 116 pounds so it can be done
Advice on Nuitrition
