liking "health" foods

Posts: 135
9/21/12 3:48 P

awesome ideas everyone! thank you!

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9/21/12 10:33 A

ETHELMERZ, I've never seen a "all things in moderation" tag quite as direct and fitting as your last sentence. It's going on my favorite quote list!

current weight: 161.4

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Posts: 1,344
9/20/12 10:27 P

We do calorie counting, my husband won't buy that business about blueberries tasting better than Doritos, because they don't. If they really did, no one would buy Doritos. That is the problem with "Healthy" foods, they don't satisfy as well as the other foods. But no diet plan or book will be honest and admit it. So, count calories and fit in some healthy foods every day, but also some not so healthy foods, so you can continue with it the rest of your life.
Just eating healthy food is like having a not so good lover, it's ok, but doesn't satisfy you, so you go looking for more!!

Posts: 983
9/20/12 9:59 P

I think you have already discovered the answer when you noticed Doritos don't actually taste that good. After a little time eating fresh non-processed food, all that junk tastes bad by comparison. A handful of fresh blueberries beats Doritos any day!

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9/20/12 8:35 P

I don't separate good food v bad food I look at nutrition. Some days I knock the value around and try not to beat myself up when I do. A few ways I have helped myself change bad habits are with the Hungry Girl books (she has some awesome substitutes for favorite foods) I own three books now! Also for pizza we still order my favorite naughty pizza at least once a month and yes I eat 4 slices that day but we went from twice a week to once a month. (I hate leftover pizza) if I want pizza otherwise I get a lean cuisine one. They have a bbq chicken and a margarita one I really enjoy. My weakness in life is dessert. Surprisingly I am not a huge ice cream fan. Even more surprising, the "sundaes" from Smart Ones (weight watchers) are the perfect size and even with the ice cream taste amazing to me and help with any chocolate or sweet tooth I have.

Even "healthy" food can be naughty just by adding too much cheese, salt, sauce of any type, hummus and not accounting for it. You really can enjoy the foods you love. Chips are somewhat hard to curb but there are a few rice cake flavors now that I enjoy. The biggest learning curve was cutting off fast food for 8 weeks last year. I ate Taco Bell right after and was sick for hours (stomach) and my mouth felt dirty. I have since tried to eat it a few times and still feel gross when I do. I wish I could say the rest for other fast food places lol.

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Posts: 236
9/20/12 7:36 P

Actually, veggies really are much more healthy than pizza or pasta. Try cooking a variety of veggies, try them crunchy or mushy, try different spices and seasonings. Frankly, moving to whole wheat is only marginally more healthy than regular wheat -- a little more fiber is all.

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Posts: 129
9/20/12 3:15 P

When I think of "health food," I think of styrofoam-like rice cakes, wimpy-looking chicken, and so on..who wants that? Pizza, pasta, and sweets can all be part of a healthy diet, either in the form you already recognize or in versions that come with less calories and more nutrients. The biggest (and hardest) thing that helped me approach healthier eating with a more open mind was to stop thinking of fruits, veggies, lean meats, and so on as "health food." It's all just food. That seemingly minor switch in internal thinking altered the approach and enthusiasm toward choosing a single-serving yogurt or grabbing an entire bag of potato chips when I wanted a snack. Before that, one of them was an item I only cared about when I was "dieting," while the other was salty and delicious. The yogurt is tasty as well, but since it was in the "health food" category, I wanted it less.

GAYEPB's suggestion is one of my family's favorites! We grab whole wheat pita bread (unsliced or just do not pull open) or flatout bread, layer one side with pizza sauce, sautee some onions and green peppers for a bit to soften then layer onto the pizza, dice ham and sprinkle, top with a bit of mozzarella cheese, sprinkle of oregano, and after 10 minutes in the oven, we each have our individual size pizzas. Each family member can have an entire one because the calories in that whole thing are roughly the same as one tiny slice of most restaurant chains' pizza.

There's nothing wrong with pasta in moderation, particularly a good whole wheat version. You have to pay a bit more attention when cooking the WW versus white, but it is tasty and more filling than its white noodle cousin. Likewise, pay attention to portioning with any pasta (put it in a side bowl versus filling a 8-9" plate) and top with a nice marinara. A nice side salad with it? That's comfort food, but it will fit in a reasonable calorie budget.

Sweets are also doable, so long as you plan for them. Some days - it will happen at some point - you will not be hungry earlier in the day, and by 8PM, discover you're 200 or 300 calories short. So long as the rest of your nutrients are in fair shape, why not indulge in something sweet? Even if you do not have that many to play with, do you like fudgecicles? Hit the freezer section and grab some of the 40-calorie ones and plan one each night. Pudding with whipped cream - get a 60'calorie pudding cup, top with fat-free whipped cream. Dice some melons, mix into a sweet fruit salad, and put in the freezer for ~20 minutes. Top with fat-free whipped cream.

You can have the things you've listed, while still eating a healthy menu. Try to look at all the foods in front of you as just "food," not "health food," and the options seem to open up a bit more.

current weight: 161.4

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Posts: 152
9/20/12 2:52 P

Pizza is great! Make it yourself, whole wheat crust, load it up with veggies and fresh herbs. My Aunt used to tell me, Pizza is the Food Pyramid - slice is shaped like the pyramid, has everything that is of the food pyramid (maybe not meat if you choose a veggie pizza). Add a salad on the side and it is fine. Be creative with the pizza toppings and salads. You will find a great combination.

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9/20/12 2:45 P

One book I found really helpful for inspiring me to eat better is Jonny Bowden's "150 Healthiest Foods". It is divided up into food categories (e.g., vegetables, fruit, etc) and then it has descriptions of great foods combined with some mouthwatering photos of some of them. I like to flip through it from time to time to get ideas for new things to add to my repertoire. I certainly don't like everything he lists, but I have expanded the range of foods I eat.

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9/20/12 12:43 P

You might find some answers in the book The End of Overeating. The author is a pediatrician and has battled weight issues, and examines how the popular foods in our society reinforce overeating and make it hard to choose a healthier diet. What it boils down to is the more you eat lots of added fats, salts and sugars, and foods that are "layered and loaded" with these three components, the more we build in the physiological and psychological wiring to crave and overeat these things. Reducing your intake of processed foods can make more natural, healthier foods much more appealing, and eventually it will taste better to you than overprocessed, over-sweetened, oversalted junk food.

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Posts: 135
9/20/12 12:31 P

good idea about just getting more creative. ive never been much of a cook and like fast,convienent better lol but i will take the time to research more ideas!

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Posts: 99
9/19/12 3:34 P

So, eat pizza, pasta, and sweets. Trader Joe's has good whole wheat pasta. You can add some vegetables to it, a little bit of oil, and a sprinkle of cheese and limit it to one serving. Or make spaghetti and meatballs but make the meatballs out of very lean meat and maybe add some spinach or kale to them.
Make your own pizza or buy individual servings. I make my own whole wheat crust, marinara out of crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, and onions, and measure the cheese I put on. I usually top it with veggies. I also make English muffin pizzas sometimes. Look around at the spark people recipes for healthier versions of your favorites and experiment. Ther are desserts and snacks on here as well. I really don't think many people are eating unseasoned baked chicken with a side of limp broccoli like dieters in old sitcoms did. They may be eating Delicious marinated grilled or baked chicken with a yummy broccoli salad, though. You may find that you absolutely love some "heathy" food.

Edited by: OMENDER at: 9/19/2012 (15:36)

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Posts: 10,781
9/19/12 3:32 P

if you like pizza, make pizza. it's easy to make a whole wheat crust, and even a half whole wheat crust is better than plain white. or you could use a whole wheat tortilla/english muffin/bagel/pita for the base. pay attention to whatever jarred sauce you buy, make your own, or even just use thin slices of tomato with herbs as that layer. then go a little bit lighter on the cheese. and add sauteed veggies as the toppings. and if you really like some of the meatier things, consider sauteeing the veggies with the same herbs that your favorite sausage is flavored with.
if you like pasta, make sure you are using it as a vehicle to get more veggies in you. zucchini, chopped up or sliced is a great way to cut pasta but still get pasta. in other words, start with however much pasta you usually use and then add a half cup of zucchini [some people like to par boil, i like mine raw so it's barely slightly crisp once i add a sauce to it]. the next time you make it, cut out 1/4 cup worth of cooked pasta [ie cook a little less pasta] and still add that half cup of zucchini. then, work your way down to a little less pasta and a little more zucchini. and keep cutting down the amount of pasta you're using and increasing the amount of zucchini.
if you like pasta sauces [pesto, alfredo] have them over things like pepper or steamed broccoli or cauliflower.
mashed potatoes or potato soup is the best way to introduce veggies you aren't sure about. any dark green leafy is easy to add to the potatoes while they cook to steam the greens. beans do well mashed in there. any root veggie does well. broccoli, cauliflower and carrots do well. i should note, that when i make mashed potatoes, i cube up the potatoes, fill water halfway up, cook until tender and mash in the remaining cooking water. then you can add in a little butter or milk or greek yogurt, but you don't have to add a lot of other things and you still get creamy potatoes.
if you love chocolate, buy the good stuff, heat it up and coat fruit it in.

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Posts: 49
9/19/12 2:06 P

Have you tried a variety of "healthy foods?" Sometimes the problem is that you've only tried one or two -maybe you don't like carrots as much, but would really like green beans, or some other substitution. Also, I'd try different ways of preparing them - some steamed veggies are really gross, for example, but fried with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper they're delicious. I'd just encourage you as much as possible to keep experimenting, and to figure out ways to make things incrementally better.

current weight: 154.8

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Posts: 135
9/19/12 10:12 A

i love to eat all the wrong kinds of food(pizza,pasta,sweets).
although iam doing MUCH better cutting those out,why cant i get just as excited about eating veggies and other "healthier" foods??? why cant i "overeat" on veggies instead of pizza??
i know it really is a battle with my mind,is that why they have hypnosis for weight loss(not that im gonna do that) just wondering.
i quit eating chips(doritos were my weakness) and i recently had some and let me tell you,they were NOT as good as they used to be! same with mcdonalds fries,i went 2.5yr w/o them and recently had them and could barely eat 1 cuz they were soooo salty! iam starting to realize the longer i go w/o those junk foods,the worse they taste when i do have them.i just wish i could lose weight! im stuck!

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