Can't stand diet food!!!! What to do???

[lovetoscrap]

I don't really know what to do about my major obsticle to weight loss--I CAN'T STAND most "diet" food.

I grew up on white bread and refined sugar and canned green beans. I would rather eat my table than wheat bread! Just the thought of fish makes me tury green. Yogurt (regular or frozen) makes me nauseous. I am suspicious of the health risks of eating all these "fake sugars" and fat free/low fat foods. And beyond that I just can't stand the taste of them. I usually just GAG when I try them. There are only a handful of veggies that I can choke down, and I am so sick of them after 3 weeks of dieting I want to cry!

I am at a point now that I would rather starve than eat the healthy things that I know I should. Neither of these are great options!

I know that they say that it takes time to "get used to them" but I have been trying for 15 YEARS!! I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I am never going to be able to eat Light salad dressing, Low Fat cheese, Splenda, Whole Wheat Bread (bagles, buns, muffins, pasta etc...) brown rice, sugar free anything etc. . . . I try every new thing that comes out, but always end up throwing it away because I just can't stomach it.

Anyone else as picky as I am???? What do you do about it?????

 

[gshoemate]

When I decided to lose weight I went out and stocked up on the Slim Fast food. It was the worst thing that I tasted in my life. I ended up throwing it all out. You have to find what works for you. I do Atkins because it allows me to eat regular food, just less of it. I eat vegtables, cheese and meat, I use 0 carb salad dressing but can not tell the differance. And there is plenty of salad dressing that only have a few carbs per serving, you just have to learn to read the labels. I didn't like the idea of giving up bread (and can't stand wheat bread) but once your off Induction, you can use low carb tortilla's instead of white bread. My doctor actually suggested South Beach because you are allowed a little more variety but I haven't read the book yet. I do miss fruit but again, after Induction you can slowly add things back in. It's all about finding what is right for you. Good luck.

 

[lpcannon]

I was DEFINITELY as picky as you are! After years of white bread I swore I'd never eat wheat. I had to force myself the first time to increase my fiber intake and when I did I nearly threw up, no kidding, it was a horrible experience. I got used to it and now I couldn't go back to wheat.

As far as veggies go I don't like cooked veggies except on rare occasions so I eat raw carrots. Sure, I'm a little sick of them but I know I need to eat them so that trumps everything.

I was addicted to ranch dressing but I have a mind trick that seems to work pretty well and I avoid almost all cream based dressings now. It's pretty disgusting so I won't share it here, but if you really want to know you can PM me. I just don't use any or use cheese.

And I definitely hated low fat cheese, but like the wheat bread I just did it, haven't looked back.

It was all about baby steps for me, replacing one thing at a time and allowing a while to adjust.

 

[KimRaye]

My first thought was Weight Watchers! At least on this program, you CAN have anything you want, with moderation. 1 tbsl of regular dressing Vs. 2 tbsl of 'lite' dressing, can make a big difference on the taste of a salad. And, my salads consist ONLY of the ingredients I like...lettuce, mushrooms, croutons & cucumbers. Beyond that, forget anything green for me! Yick! I also DO NOT get my dairy portions ANY day! Hate milk & yogurt, but I like cheese...but it's too many points to consider.

Like others said, baby steps. I've lost 45+ lbs. being quite the selective eater. Surprising actually.

 

[bubie2.5]

I'm just like you!!! I'm getting used to wheat bread (after six months ); I don't like many veggies or fruits, so there's not a lot of variety in my eating plan. I love pizza, burgers and ice cream, I can have one serving of each once a week, BUT the pizzas and burgers have to be homade.

For me the trick has been, eating the things I like moderately(helps me to stick to my new eating habits), portion control, lots of water and some kind of exercise.

 

[Robinrs]

Most of the time we build these defenses before we really know what they are. I like feeding the naysayers low carb or low fat foods WITHOUT their knowledge so they don't put up the "I don't LIKE this" light.

Believe me, my sister is just like you. I've decided to never let her know that I've used "diet" foods in recipes and she just loves it.

I've gotten so many people hooked on what you call "diet" foods when they had no idea that they were diet foods.

Like you I am not a veggie fiend and neither is my 11yo son. He likes broccoli so I feed it to him in different ways, just about every day. I did raise him to like fruit so that's easier, but veggies have been a job so I work with what I can.

I've found a combination of Equal and Splenda to taste better than just one. Try it one packet at a time in tea or coffee till you find a combination you can stand. Too little can be tasteless and too much can be bitter.

I think any diet can work if you use what you like in moderation. What you have to concentrate on is just what YOU want out of it. My first diet was over 30 years ago and none of these foods existed. You CAN lose weight eating what you want just limit it to the amount of calories, carbs, points etc whatever system you are following.

I would advise that you do some research, also. I think you feel you HAVE to go the simple route to weight loss. Believe me there are MANY routes. Also, exercise will give you the option to eat more of the foods you love without the sacrifice.

Good luck!

 

[thotfulspot]

I think the problem is that you've made a connection between 'diet' foods and 'healthy' foods. You think that the choice is between eating yummy food which is bad for your body, and eating sawdust and wallpaper paste because it's low-whatever. No wonder you're bummed!

The thinking behind a number of current plans, such as Atkins and South Beach, and I think Weight Watchers as well (I'm not as well-read on Weight Watchers, but I've heard many encouraging things), is to cut back or totally eliminate processed foods and emphasize whole, fresh, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and meats. This definitely includes entire grocery store shelves full of 'low-fat', 'low-carb', 'no-cholesterol' products that do nothing for your actual health.

You can probably lose weight on any number of diet plans, but the only one that will work for you long-term is one you can stay happily on for a long, healthy, trim lifetime.

Seriously, when you stay away from the processed stuff for a while, your tastes completely change. I took a sip of my son's Diet Coke after being on Atkins for a couple of months and nearly gagged.

There are so many luscious foods out there that you may not even know are going to become favorites. I used to have a salad every day with mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, red or yellow pepper, fennel, and feta cheese, tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, and I looked forward to it every morning. Mmm, fennel. When I added strawberries back after the first stage on Atkins, I couldn't get over how sweet and delicious they were. I rediscovered how flavorful zucchini is.

If you have decided that the time is right to make a change for yourself, check out several different plans and see if you find them appealing. Then give it a try, and see how you feel about the results after a couple of weeks.

Hope that helps!

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Focus on increasing your exercise for awhile. Eat whatever you want in reasonable portions and try to decrease the amount of fast food, junk food you take in. For instance, if you eat fast food 3 times a week, decrease it to once or twice. Eat a few Hershey Kisses instead of half the bag (I could do that easily in front of the tube or while reading!) Don't try to take on something that will make your lifestyle changes unpleasant cuz you won't want to stick with it. Ask for sauces, gravies, and salad dressing on the side and dip your food into it. And sip on water all day...it helps your appetite.

Just some suggestions from a fellow picky eater...

 

[swilphil]

I am an extremely picky eater, but one thing that has helped me lose weight is to focus on different flavors. I try to make foods that have spicy or savory flavors, instead of sweet and rich. I like whole grain bread, NOT diet bread, but good whole grains. I don't do splenda, but I add cinnamon to things and eat whole fruit. The best way to get my vegetables in is to eat fresh instead of canned or frozen and to find easy recipes. I use allrecipes.com a lot because they have reviews. You can also use their advanced search function to find recipes with or WITHOUT certain ingredients. For salad dressings, I buy lots of different kinds until I find ones that I like. I also buy bags of romaine lettuce now because I got so sick of iceberg.

 

[HairsprayHon]

I think it is helpful to concentrate on the foods that you like to eat and figure out how to make them a part of your heallthy food plan (don't even say the work diet!) I am also finicky and every diet plan that I ever read has lots of fish. I hate fish (except for tuna with lots of mayo). So I eat more eggs and chicken that someone who likes fish.
When I started my fitness journey almost 2 years ago, one of the things that I did was to watch how the people in my family and my office who stayed the same healthy weight all the time ate. I saw that they did not eat "diet" foods, they ate what they wanted, but they seemed to have a built in calorie adjuster. If they ate a big breakfast, they ate a small lunch. If they splurged and ate desert, the next day they ate light. It was amazing to me.
But I decided to see if I could teach myself to have my own "calorie adjuster". It takes more thought than these naturally thin people put into it. But I prefer trying to figure out how to eat a moderate amount of things that I like than trying to eat cottage cheese and other so called diet foods. For instance I love chocolate, for a night time snack, I would much rather have one mini Dove bar at 60 calories than a pint of fake ice cream. Maybe if you made a list of some of the foods you like and looked up the nutrition info (I like fitday.com) that would help you to plan how you can put those foods into a healthy way of eating.
If you force yourself to eat foods you hate, you can be successful for a short time, but figuring out how to eat healthy with food you like can last forever! Good Luck

 

[kennancat]

If you don't like the "diet" foods, then I'd say go for the real thing and be more vigilant about your portion sizes. I also can't stand the low-fat cheese (the stuff just doesn't melt right) but I don't have problems with reduced fat mayo, sour cream, or cottage cheese. I'd also suggest staying away from the low-fat and no-fat products and trying the "reduced-fat" ones instead. From what I understand about the low-fat or no-fat foods, a lot of times so many calories have been added to make the stuff palatable that the calories are the same or close anyway. And in the end, calories are what count, not low-fat or low-carb or whatever label they've slapped on the package.

I agree with thotfulspot that healthy and diet foods are two totally different categories. I define diet as any item that has fewer calories/fat/carbs than its original counterpart. Healthy on the other hand, it fine as is. You say you don't like vegetables or fish. My next question would be where have you had these items? In a restaurant, or have you cooked them yourself at home? I ask because it does seem that healthy items are a lot easier to cook poorly, and I wonder if you maybe haven't had them prepared properly. Fish is pretty delicate, and I'm sure everybody's familiar with at least one cook who takes fresh vegetables and turns them into mush. If you think this might be your issue (or even if it isn't), what about finding a local cooking class that specializes in healthy cooking? You might find some new items that you enjoy or just better ways to prepare the foods that you already love.

One more thing I'd pull from your original post - you mention that you're 'suspicious of the health risks of eating all these "fake sugars" and fat free/low fat foods'. Personally, I've always approached this issue from the viewpoint of risk estimation. For the artificial additives, the FDA has approved all these products, and the majority of the scientific community believes that they are safe. On the other hand, the vast, vast majority of the medical community believes that obesity is extremely dangerous to your health and can list many medical problems that it can cause or worsen. To me, if the choice is between consuming artificial additives or obesity, the risks are clearly higher with obesity. Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[disneygoof]

When I first started ww I didn't like yogurt, skim milk, and tomatoes among others, and now they are all staples. I can't stomach whole milk now, and even 2% makes me gag. It's just a matter of changing habits, including tastes for certain foods and distastes for others. Give healthy foods a chance and I bet you'll develop a taste for them.

Good luck!

 

[webray]

Funny you don't like low fat, since most of them are loaded with sugar..it is the other fake stuff they use that makes them taste bad.

You may want to see a nutritionist...that can help you design a menu around food you like that will give you the options you need.

splenda...wow...do a taste test, side by side with splenda and sugar...made from sugar..tastes like sugar.

 

[eeyore45]

I'm a horrible eater too, not into veggies, but I have learned to like aspargus of all things - which led to fresh green beans prepared the same way - I microwave them so they are still crunchy and sprinkle balsamic vinegar over

I also love white bread, so I've made a baby step and have tried to replace my white flour with oatmeal, ground in a blender, or I can get it at teh Whole Foods store.

I know I need to be healthier first, and to pass down healthy habits to my kids, that is what is driving me...

dont know how I'm going to eat fish, but i have to try, for the health of my family!

and instead of the dairy, I've gotten the viactive, 500 cdalcium per chewy carmel (or chocolate...) calcium is necessary, and it is suppposed to provide lots of benifets, so try that, just remember we need 1,000 and our bodies can only absorm 500 units at a time...

Good luck!