My husband thinks this is hilarious. When you started to get used to this new lifestyle...and getting used to the new foods....did you have to force down the food? I dunno if this makes any sense or not...but I always need a glass of water on hand to help chase most bites. And some times I even gag. I don't know if it purely psychological...or I just have to get used to all thse veggies and stuff. Does this happen to anyone...or am I just a freak? LOL

If it is making you gag...try something different! Different preparations, different veggies, different different different. You shouldn't have to gag down your food. I'm sure with some experimentation you can find some veggies and other healthy foods that taste good to you. You will find it really difficult to stick with a way of eating long term that you find icky, so I'd encourage you to experiment away until you find something both healthy AND tasty.

Maybe you could start experimenting with healthier versions of foods you enjoyed before. For example - spaghetti and meatballs - make the meatballs with ground turkey or ground turkey breast, use a whole wheat pasta, watch the pasta portion size, and bulk up your serving with some onions and bell peppers. Its still spaghetti and meatballs, just with some healthy changes. I make meatloaf with ground turkey, shred in some carrots or zucchini to add some bulk, season, and top with a little ketchup, then bake (in muffin tins so its quick!) - bam, healthy meatloaf!

What kinds of foods did you enjoy prior to your decision to eat more healthfully? I might be able to adapt some for you...

A freak, no doubt.

I'm betting you're in good company, Gina. While I'm pretty open about new foods, iced tea is hard for me. I read that it's good to drink black tea so I've been trying to drink a cup of iced tea a day. It's really hard to get down, and I always have to have a water chaser. Even put lemon in it, and it's still tough. The idea of drinking something like energy drinks and even soda makes me cringe and mentally gag so I guess I'm kind of weird about drinking new things (although new cocktails don't bother me--go figure!).

Mandalinn...
Thanks for your suggestions. I hate really "bad" before. Lot of fast food, lots of fried stuff.....and I agree with you that with some experimentation I will get it right. I guess I just have to wait till my tastes change. I am not gagging the entire meal...so i is really not as bad as it sounds. heheheh. The muffin tin idea with the meatloaf is a great suggestion.

Sheila, I am glad I am not alone in this and you know what I mean.

Sometimes getting the textures the same really helps....sweet potato fries, for example, baked on a rack, can sub for french fries (sometimes). Make a turkey burger, stuff it with a laughing cow cheese wedge, grill, and serve on a wheat bun (I made this exact meal the other night...just get a lb of ground turkey and divide it into 8 equal parts (2 oz each). Make each of these into a really flat circle the diameter of your bun...then put a laughing cow cheese wedge on half of the circles. Put a circle without cheese on top of one with cheese, pinch the edges to seal...mmm, moist turkey burgers that taste cheesy.

Have you tried breading foods (in white or, better, whole wheat crumbs) and baking at high-heat on a rack? If you dip the food in some egg white or egg beaters first, then dredge in the whole wheat crumbs, then bake elevated on a rack, you can get that crispy "fried" texture.

Hi Gina, I'd start looking for new recipes right now! I couldn't stick with food that made me gag.

I love food, so can't say that I ever experienced any real aversions to any of it. What I HAVE noticed though is how much longer I am taking to mentally tally calories, fat, carbs, etc. when I go to a restaurant and need to make the best choice from what's available. I also read labels constantly in the grocery store. Trips there take SOOOO much longer!

It makes me ashamed of how I neglected nutrition for so many years and used only one filter to decide what to eat...WILL IT TASTE GOOD?

I'm also THINKING before I eat, while I am eating and after I eat. Before I think I just zoned out in FOOD-Land!

Cheryl

Sorry.. I can always eat no matter what.. I love veggies... I can sit down and eat a can of spinach with no problem..
But really maybe you should try different foods that might be a little more enjoyable.. Find some low calorie foods that you like and always keep that on hand.. So If you just do not like something you have a speedy back up..

For me this absolutely would not work if I was not enjoying my food. I love the food I'm eating now. I did have to change it and tweak it a bit to find out what I do like and don't like. But there's no reason for you to eat what you don't like. How could you possibly do this forever if you're not enjoying it?

I bought a cast iron flat grill that goes on my stovetop. It is fantastic for grilling chicken cutlets. I "marinate" them with fresh crushed garlic cloves, some onion powder and a little pepper. It tastes better then when I used to fry it. I cut that up over a big salad, sometimes I squeeze some fresh lemon over it. I also broil tomato slices and put that on top of the cutlets, yummy or put the cutlets on a bed of garlic sauted spinach. I eat the cutlets about 4 times a week. I cook my veggies with a big of powdered consomme - yummy. My lunches often consists of MorningStar Farms soy products, the Chicken Patty and the Spicy Bean Burger are the 2 that I eat the most often. Very, very tasty.

I think you've got to experiment a bit and find out what you do like. Or perhaps try modifying what you used to make to get it to be healthier. There's something out there for you.

You've gotten some great feedback so far (especially from Mandalinn), and I have to echo that if I didn't like my food, I wouldn't be able to stick to my plan for any length of time. I don't eat anything I don't like (but I do try things every so often even if Ididn't like them in the past--taste buds can change). I so often hear people say things like, "I hate [fill in any healthy food/drink here], but I know it's good for me, so I choke it down--any suggestions?"

Yeah, I have a suggestion--stop choking it down! There are so many foods and drinks out there that you have got to be able to find some perfectly healthy foods you DO like. Not having one certain food in your diet will NOT kill you

That said, I am a SUPER picky eater. I don't like 99% of vegetables (and I have tried them fresh, frozen, canned, raw, boiled, steamed, roasted... ), and the only meats I really eat are chicken (but never plain--needs a topping/flavoring of some sort), turkey (only ground--I don't like roasted turkey), and a few pig parts (bacon and ham--don't like pork chops or roast or anything like that). I don't care for much seafood except the unhealthy stuff (tuna with LOTS of mayo and stuff, crabcakes, and fried scallops), so I tend to avoid it.

So, what DO I eat? I fill my menus with:

• peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (all-natural no-salt peanut butter and no-sugar-added fruit spread on 100% whole-grain bread)
• burgers (turkey burger w/thin-sliced Swiss cheese and center-cut bacon on wheat bun)
• pasta (latest favorite is whole-wheat spaghettis w/a jar of low-sodium marinara, a tub of Trader Joe's bruschetta, and a bag of Trader Joe's thaw-and-serve small shrimp)
• reduced-sugar instant oatmeal
• organic red pepper and tomato soup
• all-natural fat-free yogurt
• whole-wheat pitas with lean nitrate-free sandwich meat, hummus, and Swiss cheese
• fat-free hot dogs (higher in sodium, so not all the time, but they're good on light wheat buns w/reduced-fat American cheese melted on top--YUM!)
• pizza (low-sodium sauce, reduced-fat cheese, and turkey pepperoni on a Boboli whole-wheat crust)
• fabulous smoothies (favorites are a banana and frozen strawberries w/skim milk or a frozen banana and vanilla protein powder w/skim milk)
• lots of baked chicken breast (I choose to bake because it's easier for me--just plop the chicken in a pan, pour on a bit of some kind of sauce--a marinade or tomato sauce, usually--and throw in the oven. Recent favorites in my house have been chicken marinated in honey dijon marinade then baked with bacon and Swiss cheese on top--toss on a wheat bun, and it's better than a chicken sandwich from most restaurants!--or chicken cooked in salsa and then topped with a little shredded cheddar cheese served over whole-wheat couscous or brown rice).

So yeah, as you can see, my menus are generally just healthier versions of "normal" food--and none of them take much time to prepare because I am not much of a cook, nor do I care to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My menus are far from perfect according to some people's standards, but it's certainly a LOT better than the fried, greasy, fatty, sugary junk I used to eat, and I love everything I put in my mouth.

Hi Gina,

On my Southbeach diet plan, I have to eat veggies at breakfast time. I can't eat eggs...so omelets with mushrooms, onions, pepper etc are not an option...so my way of getting my my veggies is to drink 6 oz of V8. At first, I had the hardest time getting this down! After a week, I am starting to get used to the taste and its no big deal now. Your tastes can change and become accustomed to new foods. If you have never been a big veggies eater or have a hard time with dairy foods, etc...it may take a little time for you to develop a taste for these things. Hang in there.

I am the odd ball here. I like EVERYTHING. I don't remember ever eating something that I didn't care for. (and I eat a lot of different things!) That is how I got to be 270 pounds I am sure.....by NOT being picky!! I do take more time now to eat - paying attention to the flavors and the textures of the food I am consuming instead of eating blindly.

As all have stated above, there is no reason for you to have to "choke down" your food. Do some experimenting and find things that you like to eat - otherwise you will not keep at it. Splurge on some new cooking utensils and try different ways of cooking things too, that sometimes helps. I prefer the Boca burgers cooked on a stove top rather than mcirowaved - they are more appetizing that way!

Good luck!

Here are some of my favorites of late:

Baked sweet potato w/ FF half & half and a bit of I Cant Believe Its NotButter

Kashi hot cereal w/ walnuts and 1/2 cup berries, cooked in microwave

Kashi Go Lean Crunch (this cereal is REALLY tasty) or any kind of organic cereal like Peace brand; go to a whole foods store: the cereal costs the same as commercial brands but far more fiber and less bad stuff

Fat free milk (I PROMISE you'll get used to the taste soon and will no longer like regular milk); the FF kind is better tasting than the skim milk

Frozen sweet potato cakes

Morning Star Soy Veggie Sausages

40 calorie per slice Arnold's Lite Whole Grain bread

I don't think I'd be very helpful as I eat strange things and I know they are strange but I can eat them because I know they are healthy, even if I don't enjoy the taste as much. That isn't to say that I don't enjoy all of my food, but I'd say about 20% of my food is food I enjoy only because I know it is healthy.

I used to be a major veggie avoider. I'd avoid veggies at all costs. Broccoli drowned with cheddar cheese? sure. Steamed broccoli? I think not. Anyway, I started with veggies that I enjoyed and ate more of them in a healthy way. I then expanded to veggies I didn't care for much, just to eat them. Then I found after eating them for a while (not forcing myself though), I started to enjoy them. I never ever ate spinach and if I did, it was never when it was cooked. I slowly started adding spinach to my salads, then I started experimenting with cooked spinach and found that I really like it. It isn't my favorite green but it is really good for you so I will usually try to eat it at least once in a while.

So my recommendation is like others. Try healthier versions of things you like, try expanding out a little and see what you may like. If you don't like something today, your taste buds may change and you may like it next month.

LOL! I had a conversation with my DS the other day~he brought up the fact that he used to like broccoli with my broccoli sauce (sour cream, vinegar, dried minced onion and a little sugar) and since I've started my diet, he actually PREFERS it plain! DD still drowns hers in ranch dressing which I only keep to appease her and DH!