Trouble getting started ---> FOOD
 

;)Hi all! :wave:


I am having some trouble getting started with any real or consistant weight loss. I have pinpointed my problem with food. I'm hoping to share some of my thoughts and concerns here in an effort to get some genuine feedback and suggestions. Please bare with me I will try to keep this short.

I am 5'3" and weigh 278 (as of this morning). I am trying to lose weight and do it slowly and in a sustainable way. I have plenty of work out options ranging from walking outside, a bike and elliptical at work that I can use, and a slew of workout DVD's at home. Exercise is not my problem....I have the move more part covered....its the eat less part that I am struggling with. ;)


So here are some things I'm struggling with on the food front:

#1. I absolutely refuse to do any drastic or fad diet. I will not cut out food groups or certain foods. I want to learn how to eat properly and from time to time indulge in things that I like. I believe this is a doable thing. If I cut foods out entirely then I know I will fail.

#2. I have a really bad habit about being too lazy to cook or pre-prep meals. Then when I am running late for work....I end up not eating breakfast....not having prepared snacks and lunches. This means I resort to school food (I'm a teacher) and vending machines.....or fast food as it is quick and easy but equals lots of calories.

#3. I am too picky....If I have to eat crap like cottage cheese and fruit, I will throw up. I really don't like fruits or veggies....so I'm struggling making myself eat these things.

#4. I feel like I don't stay full or satisfied long enough. I try to eat 3 meals with two snacks (1 between each meal), but I still feel like I am starving all the time.

#5. This is the biggest one....I have NO CLUE what to eat. I feel like I eat the same things over and over and then I get tired of it and quit. Usually something like....grilled chicken, green beans, and corn on the cob or something like that.

Anyways...if you have any suggestions please suggest them...LOL!

You've come to the right place. Plenty of people here who know their stuff and have "been there". I'll address your points one at a time...

#1. Calories dictate fat loss or gain. I'd suggest starting with a free calorie counting program and the foods you currently like to eat.

#2. See #1 and track everything you eat whether it comes from your kitchen or a vending machine.

#3. See #1 then Google the "twinkie diet".

#4. You don't know what starving is. Really, you don't. You might have a broken ticker. I'd go to a doctor and get it checked out. That said my guess is your diet is primarily consists of processed foods which do little to satisfy.

#5. See #1. You can get started with "unhealthy" foods and over time begin eating less processed foods.

You're starving because you're feeding your body stuff it has absolutely no idea what to do with!!!

Our bodies need FOOD. Not corn syrup, not monosodiumglutinate, not chemicals. FOOD.

You can lose weight eating nothing but Snickers and Big Macs but you're going to feel like booty, your insides are going to be a mess, and you're going to be starving.

Start slow with the healthy stuff, never say never!!!

Grilled chicken and green beans are great! What else do you like? You say you hate fruits and veggies, what have you tried? What is it that you hate about them? You will be so much more successful if you have an open mind about food :).

You can do this!

@ JohnP - Thank you so much for all of your suggestions!

Not really sure what you mean about a broken ticker. I have recently had full lipid profile ran. My total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure all fell in the normal range.


I know you are right....I know I'm not really starving. Many times I'm probably not even hungry. I know I'm an emotional eater.....I'm bored...I eat....I'm stressed...I eat....I'm mad...you get the point. I gotta fix that. AND I need to drink more water. I have heard sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger.

Again thank you!

I know your right! I'm just stubborn!!! I like strawberries, apples, seedless grapes, watermelon, and bananas. I think my problem is that I have to prep them by washing and cutting, etc AND lately it seems like no matter what I get it tastes really tart/bitter/sour. I have wondered if it is due to pesticides, but there isn't anywhere around where I live to buy organic fruits.


I'm not opposed to eating things like squash and zuccini; however, I just don't know what to do with them other than a little EVOO and some salt/pepper/seasonings. That gets so boring. I need some ideas for side dishes that use veggies that aren't all carb/starches like corn and white potatoes.

I keep apples and peanut butter and a half gallon of skim milk at work for my breakfast. Monday - Friday I eat a gala apple with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a cup of skim milk. I heard somewhere that a 300-400 calorie breakfast was best. So that one is mine. It's just under 400 calories and has protein, fat, fruit and dairy.

I'm using the Lose It! App and started not far from where you are now. I've lost more than 50 pounds in 6 months simply because of this app. Well, and my continued desire to use the app. I liked it because I eased into the way I eat now.

At first, I ate Taco Johns 3 or 4 times a week. 3 softshell tacos for 570 calories was perfect for me. Now, I only do tacos on Taco Tuesday. Not to mention that my desire to prep my own food has gone up a lot. For me, it's convenient. When my coffee is brewing in the morning, I put 6 slices of land of frost ham or turkey between two slices of 35 calorie bread along with lettuce and tomato. I have 27 cheezits, a serving of veggies (i'm in love with sweet peppers) 12 dark cocoa dusted almonds and another cup of skim milk.

This is my routine. I like it for now, but totally get where you are coming from about getting bored with food.

During the winter, I was really digging the light progresso soups.

I've never stuck to anything this long in my entire life, and I've been chubby since my teens. I've never lost this much weight. I've never felt like this is a new way of being versus I'm on a diet.

I still indulge plenty - no one love bourbon, wine, cheese, and chocolate more than me. I just make sure it's high quality and worth it!

You can do this. I highly recommend Lose It. It's what has worked for me.

I actually have that app! It is amazing! I only have internet on my iPod when I'm at work though so I can't take pics of barcodes at home and record my food that way. I need to give that a try and stick with it!

Thanks

Hormones control hunger so I thought perhaps something was up. Based on your other post I just read it is clear this isn't the case.

Yes it starts with eating foods you like, but counting the calories. If you are feeling hungry you should add foods with more fiber and protein. Also, soup is a fabulous way to make you feel a lot fuller. Only downside is LOTS of sodium, but if you are heart healthy you will be ok to start.

Soup would be the easiest thing to bring to work...Like the healthy choice or campbells healthy request are good..soups 200 calories and under for the whole can. Bring a micro bowl and spoon..and you're done! I find it fills me up way more than a lean cuisine.

All in all the food starts at the grocery store. You should take some time when you go next, and read EVERY label. What is a serving, how much, what is in it for protein..fiber..calories per serving. I also recommend for home a digital scale...far easier to prep food and just measure out yourself a bowl a cereal. Good luck!

Thanks everyone! I feel much better! NowI just need to find some ideas for different foods.

I can relate to this. When I first started, in October, I can tell you that for about the first 3 weeks to a month, I felt hungry all the time but I figured my appetite HAD to adjust some time, stuck it out and it did. I can now no longer eat the portions and some of the types of food I used to.

I know sometimes fruit tastes sour - after you have been eating it all the time and not sweets it will taste a lot sweeter. The other day my brother in law told me the oranges my parents had on the counter were really sour - I had one and it was super sweet to me! Doesn't meet I don't eat sweets - I do still sometimes - but I don't crave them all the time and fruit satisfies that sweet craving like it never did before.

Hang in there! It gets easier!

Jen

Hi! I have been doing this for about 6 weeks. So, I am no where near a rocket scientist on this. However wanted to say....

#1. I have not cut out anything. Well, that isn't true...I gave up sweets but, that was for Lent not for the diet. I eat anything I dang well please. But, lets say I have a 800 calorie breakfast(almost did that yesterday at Golden Corral.) Well then, I only have 400 the rest of the day. So salads become my friend. As long as I stay within calories I eat what I like.

#2. We eat out almost every single meal. I know that sounds bad but, we are busy. Work, school for us(hubby and I), school for kids, kids activites...etc. There are healthy options at the fast food places. My trainer said...check their website for their nutritional info. I eat a lot of salads. Taco Bell has great chicken soft tacos. If you get them on the fresco menu they are 150 calories. If you like chicken you can get grilled chicken most places. It gets easier with time...I promise.

#3. Not a fruit or veggie eater either. I have started eating some. A banana here. Some broccoli there. Start slow. Don't go full on veggies and fruits all day everyday.

#4.The fullness thing may be what you are eating. I used to eat a huge breakfast burrito(or2) every morning. I now eat a small bowl of oatmeal. It was a huge change at first. But, I learned I needed to not THINK about it. I willed my mind to think it was enough food. It will take time. You may be hungry for a few days. It will get easier. I suggest you make sure you eat things that are more filling when you first start. Eat a salad with a meal. It helps a lot.

#5. On days when I am lazy I do eat the same things. But, if I invest some time(10-15 mins on the weekend) I can come up with ideas for the weeks worth of food. Go to the grocery store and check the labels. There is so much stuff that is low cal that you would never think you could find.

Good luck.:hug:

Fair enough. Do you understand proper portions? How's the drinks?

So is frozen food not an option? Do you have microwave at work? Or microwave at home and pack up in the Mr Bento type thermal jar?

Are you a texture person? It matters to my DH -- raw apple, fine. Applesauce? No WAY.

Are you also calorie counting? Could you be too low? It's usually 4 hrs or so between meals, and mixed meals with protein, carbs, fats are best for satiety.

Maybe you'd do better on exchanges? Then you know you need to cover X fruits, Y veggies, Z protein, etc.?

A.

I have to try especially hard to find healthy meals that meet the picky eaters (me & hubby) in our house.

To eat healthier, I started by subing foods, for example: egg whites & turkey sausage/Bacon for breakfast. By doing this, I'm cutting some of the bad stuff but keeping our lives normal (for us).

It is hard, we aren't big veggie eaters, but we're getting there. We had grilled solder tenderloin (beef) with baked broccoli and corn on the cob for dinner tonight. This type of change wasn't easy for either of us but we worked and worked to build up to this type of meal.

Some people need snacks & others don't. I found I don't do as well when I have snacks, so i stopped packing them in my lunch & I feel better.

About the eating out... I make breakfast & lunch for both of us each day. It takes time but it will become a routine.

Can you prep all your food one day a week?

My husband lives out of country so I've been playing single, full time student, mom for the last year.

I found a local organic farm that delivers every week (LIFESAVER). So, on Wednesday night I prep everything and organize it into meals. Some of them get popped into the crockpot, and some are easy to just pop into the oven or pan when I get us home and settled for the evening. It takes me a couple hours on Wednesday evenings but it saves me so much time during the rest of the week. Our eating style probably wouldn't suit you (I've stripped it down to protein + veggie + fruit for our dinners) but there are a lot of blogs and recipes online for once a week, or once a month prepping. There are some with freezer meals too. I used to do that, and it worked out great! We only eat out once a week now, tops. Even with the organic food delivery I've saved TONS of money not grabbing stuff on the go all the time.

A great way to incorporate veggies into your life is with homemade soups. You can make a big pot of it and have enough for a dinner one night, and a couple of lunches to bring to work during the week too. Pair it with some whole wheat bread and a bit of cheese, and you have a great, portable, easy-on-the-budget and incredibly healthy meal.

I got into soup making because of my first child, a very picky eater and veggie-hater. Turns out he will eat virtually any vegetable, as long as it is cooked and pureed into a soup. So we have soup once a week, and I eat it fairly often as lunch or a small cup to supplement a dinner for either me or my son.

It's easy to make, just follow this general recipe:

1. Chop (and if you find chopping time consuming, invest in a food processor) onions, celery and carrots into small pieces.

2. Saute in olive oil (measure out a tablespoon or two, depending on how many veggies) in a non stick pan until halfway cooked but not brown.

3. Add other veggie of choice - your 'star of the week'. It could be a whole bunch of carrots, even a whole bunch more celery, a head of broccoli, a couple of pounds of tomatoes, some butternut squash. Really - whatever catches your eye or is on sale at the grocery store!

4. Add chicken or beef stock to cover - either liquid or stock cubes. Just keep an eye on salt count as you add the stock - some are worse than others.

5. Simmer for 10-20 minutes or until everything is tender.

6. Puree with a hand blender (a must-have. They're cheap, easy to clean, and SO convenient).

7. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with something to make it special and pretty - a tablespoonful of shredded cheese, a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream, a few croutons, even just a few nice crackers.

GL and hope you like it! :)

Hi Melissa,

It could be that you have low energy and that is why you don't want to prep food as in wash it. Being overweight saps your energy. One thing you can do is just start with apples and banana's Those are fairly low prep. Use the Loseit! app or any calorie counter you want and track all that goes in your mouth. Start out with what you eat then the better you feel the more you will want to eat right. Also do baby steps... start out with just counting your calories. then the next week change it up a little say eat an apple everyday. Every week or so set a goal and do that goal til it's stuck. It may take longer then a week. I know for me it takes a couple weeks or I start to feel overwhelmed and give up.

Also the only person that can make you change is yourself. You have to want this. You have to stop making excuses and just do it. Why haven't you changed or lost weight up until now? Take that reason and make the necessary changes. When you don't feel like eating an apple and want to eat a cookie. Think about this reason again and eat the apple. =) We never really WANT to do what is good for us. Sometimes we do like to but mostly we don't. DO IT ANYWAY. =)

Here's what I did - maybe this can help you, too.

I decided that calorie counting was the way to go, because the math is simple and I find it fairly easy to add.

3500 calories = 1 pound. We all know this.
It takes X amount of calories for me to maintain my weight.
And if I eat too many calories per day, then I gain weight.
To lose weight, I need to decrease my calories, or "create a calorie deficit."
Take in less food; expend more energy = calorie deficit.
See? Simple.
But HOW to apply that simplicity? :?:

First, I kept track of my normal eating habits - not trying to diet at all! - for about a month. I thought I was averaging around 1500 or so calories per day. HA! -Then I entered everything into FitDay, to my surprise I was eating about 2300+ (heavy on the plus!) calories PER DAY! No wonder I was fat! ACK!!! :o

Then after that part of my "experiment" was over, I sat down with a good old fashioned pen & paper. I proceeded to write down every single thing I could think of that I enjoyed eating (or drinking!!) I mean everything! Fruit, veggies, meats, desserts, beverages, condiments, etc. EVERYTHING.

The point is I wrote down EVERYTHING that I would consider putting in my mouth. And I decided what I could "substitute" & still be happy (Diet Mtn Dew instead of regular Mtn Dew, for instance ... but not fat-free ranch dressing... icky poo!!!- but I do like Hidden Valley Ranch LITE ) Then I went on-line & looked up the calorie count for a regular serving of all those foods. Some are harder than others to decipher, because hey... I make my own sweet tea and I put 1.5 cups sugar to a gallon, and I am not math-minded enough to decipher what an 8oz serving glass would equal in calories. And going out to eat can be pretty tricky sometimes. But with some practice (& looking up everything online! - & coming here for guidance! ) I finally got the hang of it. ;)

I went online to find a calorie calculator - to find out how many calories *I* should eat for my size & to lose weight (healthy, safely!). Then I built my own food log in FitDay (just one of many calorie trackers out there!!!) and now I adjust that caloric intake for however much weight I lose so I can keep on losing, until I'm ready to maintain. (192 lb me ate a different amount of calories than the current 153 lb me eats.)

I EAT ALL THE FOODS I LOVE. I never eat anything I don't like! No "puffy rice cake" shall ever pass these lips!! No gagging-reflex crappy low-fat anything! Is it OK for me to eat a cheeseburger from time to time? YOU BETCHA! I enjoy pretty much everything - just less of it. And it also makes it easy for me when it comes down to "Do I REALLY want a frozen margarita for 700 calories?" - usually I choose NOT to imbibe, but have a nice 150 calorie glass of wine or a 100 calorie light beer instead.

This is working for me. My weight is decreasing slower than some, but I'll take it... as opposed to not decreasing at all, or worse yet... gaining. And I KNOW I can do this "for the rest of my life" because when you eat what you love, there's no "going back to old eating habits". Is it a perfect plan? NO of course not. There are still times when I eat too much. I can pretty much never say no to a bigger portion of macaroni & cheese (3/4 cup... puh-leeze!!!) and sometimes I DO have that 700 calorie frozen margarita... But the basic bottom line? "the perfect diet is the foods you'll eat" :D :D :D

I love to mix my veggies into my meals - good for kids and non-veggie lovers. Squash and zucchini can be grated into ground meat to make meatballs, grated into ground chicken and coated with breadcrumbs to make baked chicken nuggets, grated into burgers, peeled into ribbons and mixed with pasta with sauce, and cut into pieces in chili.

Cauliflower is great to mash with potatoes, baked potato soup, puree and mix into cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese, grate to make faux rice, chop finely and add into ground chicken for baked chicken nuggets.

Food-processed mushrooms can be mixed 50:50 with ground beef in shepherd's pie, "beefaroni," etc.

All kinds of vegetables can be pureed and mixed into tomato sauce without detection, and soup is always a good way to get in veggies.

Roasting vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, kale are great ways to get picky eaters to eat them. Just a little olive oil, fresh cracked salt and pepper and a 425 oven for 12+ minutes until they're done.

I keep sliced mushrooms, peppers, and fresh spinach on-hand to saute and toss into nearly everything from eggs to pasta, pizza or polenta toppings.

Amen, sistah! I think this is the best diet advice anyone can give. None of this "must do this" and "can't do that" rules that sabotage long-term weight control. Just eating less. That's all it takes.

F.

I understand your challenges. From my experience, it takes a long time to really change habits and tastes. For the past fifteen years or so, I haven't regularly drank soda---just water, coffee, and wine. Same for sugar in my coffee---haven't touched it for years. Same for actually enjoying fruits & veggies (have been for more than 20 years). In my 20's, I only consumed the aforementioned regularly when I was formally "on a diet." But somewhere along the line, I started liking water, no sugar in my coffee, and fruits & veggies---so much so that even when I was in full regain mode (aka eating anything and everything in sight as part of diet rebound), I still drank water, had no sugar in my coffee, and ate plenty of fruits and veggies regularly. The moral to that story is that sometimes it takes years to change habits (for some it may be faster; for me, it has taken years). That's why, I'm glad to hear that you aren't considering fad diets and plan to start slowly. Good habits do take hold eventually, so be patient for the first several months.

Why not decide on a goal weight, use an online calorie calculator to figure out the maintenance calories for that goal weight (freedieting is a good site for this), and eat at that level until you get to your goal? This idea is explored in book called Calorie Queens; a mother and daughter who lost approx. 100 lbs. each by doing that. The idea is that most people tend to start losing on a low calorie level that is difficult to stick with. But if you start by eating the maintenance calories for your goal weight, not only do you eat more calories (so you're less likely to fail on your plan) but the mindset of this really being a LIFESTYLE change hits home. Since there's no difference in calorie level when you finally do reach goal, you see it as a lifestyle change from the beginning. Yes, you lose more slowly, but hopefully permanently. You can get the book on Amazon (someone on here recommended it to me). (BTW, I don't agree with everything in that book---just the recommendation to start at one's goal weight maintenance calories).

Best wishes!

You don't have to do fad diets to lose weight, in fact I'd stay away from fad diets because they're the main cause of yo-yo dieting. It's great that you've analyzed your situation, you know your strong points and you weak points, that's a good start! As for being picky with your food, there's nothing wrong with that, but I suggest getting out of your comfort zone and trying foods you don't believe you'd like. For instance, I always imagined I'd hate steamed vegetables, especially carrots and broccoli. One time though I was out at a restaurant with a friend and she had steamed broccoli, I tried some and I loved it! Try out different foods, experiment a bit and you might be surprised. Your taste changes over time, so if you didn't enjoy something a few years ago, you might really like it now.

I understand that you have a busy schedule, but a healthy breakfast doesn't have to take too long to prepare. If it does, try and do some of the work in the evening (or at least plan what you're going to have for breakfast).