Oh yeah, avocados have to basically look disgusting before you can eat them. They get brown and wrinkly and soft, and the insides get mushy and DELICIOUS. (Well, that’s best for guac, anyway. I guess if you’re slicing it and putting it in a salad it can be slightly less mushy.)
And good on you for eating better! I agree with the baby steps mentality–and even if you do relapse into the fast food, don’t sweat it. Just get back on the horse and try again.
Also, regarding soda: what is it that you like the most about it? If it’s sweetness you like, drinking fruit juices might be a better option. If it’s the fizziness, I would suggest substituting flavored soda water. The latter worked great for my boyfriend–he’d been trying to cut out soda from his diet, and when he finally figured out that he had to mimic the fizzy texture, he started drinking soda water almost exclusively. He has the occasional soda when we go out to eat, but it’s nowhere near the staple it used to be.
Let me offer a suggestion or two. When you DO hit the fast food places, get the smallest of everything, and certainly not the biggest. And take SMALL bites to make it last longer. Take a bit longer to chew it and enjoy it. Stuff doesnt taste better in big chunks than small chunks ya know. Okay, a giant diet drink might be okay…If you cut down on how often you go and how much you get, it can all add up.
When you go out to eat at a more sit down kinda place, plan on eating half there and using the other half for a meal later. I do this nearly every place I go. Portion control at most places is absolutely out of control IMO.
Yeah soda water is good stuff too, I like the peach flavor because it’s like you’re drinking a real fuzzy peach. lol. I should invest in a big old case of it… good idea.
I don’t really eat at sit-down places anymore, because I spend 100% of my meals alone, and it feels too weird to go alone to nice restaurants. I used to do it in college (I’d bring a book) but meh. Not anymore.
Better than any coke or orange crush or whatever - club soda with fruit juice. That way YOU control how much sugar you drink. You could start with half and half, and work your way down if you wanted to (I like a little fruit juice and a lot of soda, but I’m not a huge sweet drink fan).
Someone suggested fruit juices. I think that’s a bad idea. They are full of sugar and people tend to drink too much of them at a time. Try to drink nothing but water and the occasional diet soda. Or skim milk if you are a milk drinker.
I suggest telling your friends and family about your goals. You need the support of others to succeed with a diet.
One more thing: no more Ramen! It’s horrible for you. Get a bag of frozen chicken breasts and just thaw one at a time for each meal. You can do a quick stir fry that tastes great and is very easy to prepare.
You’re taking steps in the right direction, that’s the most important thing! Once you get used to this way of eating, figure out what you can change about what you’re eating now to make it even better.
Yes, as pointed out, ramen is not good food. But if you divide a package into two servings, add some lean cooked chicken (a lot of grocery stores sell pre-cooked chicken breast strips, not the breaded kind; I can’t browse Peapod because they don’t deliver to my area) and a handful of frozen veggies, it’s certainly not the worst thing you could eat, and a lot cheaper and healthier than a Big Mac and fries!
If you don’t mind shopping when you’re by yourself, scope out 24-hour supermarkets in your area and figure out when they’re nearly dead, and try scoping out the store then.
If its taken you many years to get this heavy, its most likely going to take years to get a significant distance back in the other direction. Yeah, folks can go all cold turkey so to speak and do significant weight lose in short periods of time and then maintian it. Good for them. Butttt, if you slightly alter what your doing and your heading in the other direction, take that and run for years in that direction if you need to. Don’t get discouraged because it isnt fast. Just take what you can get and if you can stand to make minor adjustments along the way to slightly improve things from there then do so. Remember, even just stopping the increase and maintaining your current weight is a plus (as well as eating healthier while doing so).
I don’t have friends and I don’t talk about food with my family. Ever. No, I am not being hyperbolic. And this is not a diet.
No. Your advice seems well-intentioned, but you have a serious case of ‘not-getting-the-point.’
Sorry if I sound dickish but your post reads verbatim like a well-meaning co-worker who just doesn’t get it.
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Thanks, Bill. As stated, this isn’t a diet. I will never in my life “go on a diet.” I’m not doing this to lose weight per se, but that’s a nice side effect. It’s merely the documentation of an attempt to eat better than I have been. I can’t think of anyone who would include ramen and hot dogs in a diet plan
I never tossed any subtle barbs at you. I was trying to give you practical, sincere advice and then you acted like a jerk. I guess because it’s not what you wanted to hear?
I think someone who is relatively young and has no desire to lose weight when being morbidly obese might have some underlying mental issues that need to be addressed.
rachelellogram, sometimes people will buy a bag of frozen peas or frozen peas/carrots* and throw in a handful when they’re boiling the Top Ramen. It’s an easy way to doctor it up a bit, if you feel like eating a little better but still eating the things you like.
I’ve also seen pho recipes using a package of Top Ramen as a base (“faux” pho).
Like Billfish says, little steps.
or some other combination you find edible; you could even use fresh vegetables if some happen to be handy.
I don’t know…ramen really is pretty shitty food. If you’re going to all the trouble of doctoring it up to make it more healthy (and palatable), you might as well forgo the ramen altogether and boil up some pasta. Pasta, some frozen vegetables, protein like chicken breast or thawed frozen shrimp, tossed with some olive oil or butter, ground pepper, and shredded cheese…damn, that sounds pretty good to me right now.
And when you get tired of raw veggies, soup is great. Chop up whatever you have around, saute it in a little olive oil and garlic, add some seasonings & broth. You can throw in the ramen noodles and stash the sauce packets for later.
It really is. High in fat and salt, with minimal nutrition value. It’s fast and cheap, but regular pasta costs a few cents more and takes a few minutes more. It’s not a choice I’d make for starting to eat better.
