Calorie Sources

I'm really getting used to this counting calories thing. In fact, I've found it tough to get close to my 1600 limit the site says I should not go over. Part of that is because I'm counting everything so crazy and leaving a little space in case my chicken and lean meat I use to cook with isn't exact I haven't gone over. I don't own a scale so I'm trying to do as best as possible so I pad a little.

My question: does it matter where you get your calorie sources from as long as you stay in your limit? I'm not saying can you eat snacks all day and stay under 1600 calories and lose, but as long as you are reasonable?  My big problem is I don't like fruit and barely like any veggies...so I don't do salads, etc. Trust me, I've tried and tried.

I usually have english muffin with egg beaters or turkey bacon for breakfast, a lowfat turkey/chnk sdw on wheat bread for lunch, and something to do with chicken breast or lean ground beef or turkey meat for dinner. And the usual snacks that a diet person would have, 100 cal packs, frozen yogurt, etc etc.

Any other people out there that aren't into veggies and dislike fruit? I know I rarely see anyone post about it so it makes dieting harder for me. I have tried to eat these foods but I just gag. Yesterday i was able to choke down 1/2 a banana but it was like a total fear factor moment!  I'm so weird!

In terms of loosing weight: No, but in terms of overall health yes. For fruits have you tried making a smoothie? Throw bunch of fruits in to a blender add some yogurt and let it rip. What exactly turned you off to bananas? If it's texture try freezing them (after peeling), it changes it.

For veggies salad is not the only way. Try incorporating them them in to your sandwiches, or you can make "green smoothie", another option is stir frying. Also what about legumes (i.e. beans)? They have a lot of good nutrients and protein, you can use them to replace some of the meat in your diet. Which brings another point seems like you have too much. As I mentioned earlier try adding more legumes, nuts, and seafood.

UD

Hi.

Nothing really "turned me off" bananas, it's just the one fruit I can somewhat eat. Like if I had to. Peaches are the worst, which I blame on a horrible experience as a child.

It's basically the smell of fruit and the texture...like I said I'm weird.

On veggies...I love beans and peas and corn, which i know all turn to starch or something like that. I know they aren't as good as say, green beans...lol. 

Thanks for the advice. I like seafood and nuts :)

Nuts are good!

I learned how to eat vegetables by putting them in other things, then graduated to broccoli smothered in cheese, then started exploring with stir-fries, curries, cooked greens, roasted vegetables ... now I love 'em.  Still not a big fan of raw veggies though.

I agree with umney, total calories is most important for weight loss, but those veggies and fruits are more important to health and reducing health risks.

Do you like juices? Soups with veggies in them?

Try adding them into other foods you like in small amounts. Many things are 'acquired' tastes for people : ) Or try one of those cookbooks designed for parents wanting to 'sneak' vegetables into foods without their kids being able to taste them.

Oh, and perhaps not as relevant, we teach autistic kids who won't eat vegetables to put them in their mouth at the same time as they do other foods. So a green bean, and then immediately a bit of chicken.

It's not as good to get the nutrients from juices and vitamins, but I'd say it's better than nothing.  Drink some v8 and take vitamins.

Also, I like doing things like, adding broccoli to my mac and cheese or to my tomato soup or to pasta and stuff.  and I add fresh spinach instead of salad to my sandwiches.

Good luck.

Original Post by craigversion2:

My big problem is I don't like fruit and barely like any veggies...so I don't do salads, etc. Trust me, I've tried and tried.

Keep trying.  As you're finding, it's incredibly difficult to keep to calories low enough to lose weight if you're eating a poor diet.  BTW... people on diets don't all eat 100 cal packs ... a lot of us think they're an expensive waste of time! LOL!

As everyone's said, you need 5-a-day fruit and vegetables to keep yourself in good heatlh.  Plus.... fruit and vegetables have the advantage of being relatively low in calories, relatively filling and very nutritious at the same time.  Sit down to a 500 cal meal where half of the calories are coming from vegetables and it's a mammoth, satisfying plateful..... sit down to a 500 cal meal of bread and meat and it's not all that big a sandwich.

So keep trying vegetables and fruit...  Whether it's cooked, raw, turned into soups, stir-fried, mashed, roasted, stewed ...  keep trying as many as possible and get past the mental block that's causing you to gag.  There are so many different kinds with different flavours and textures that you're bound to find some more you like besides peas.  Nothing wrong with peas and sweetcorn, of course.

 http://caloriecount.about.com/new-calories-ft 152048   .... in this post you said the CC calculator gave you a target of 2000.  Where did 1600 come from?

This might be a silly suggestion but try watching the TV series (UK) Freaky Eaters. You can find it on clips on YouTube.  Perhaps there is some technique that you can use to get you over your aversion to vegetables. 

P.S. I'm not saying you're a freaky eater. 

Vegetable dishes that don't really taste like vegetables--canned sliced beets warmed up with horseradish (so good, filling, and good for you), mashing up root vegetables like parsnips--tastes like mashed potatoes with the right recipe, or sweet potatoes with some cinnamon and nutmeg on them.  I find these are all quite filling too. 

Hey Jane,

I'm trying to remember why my calorie intake changed. When I made my first posts, I think I had set my activity level as....well, whatever that second option is, moderate?  But then I read some more and discovered I think I am more sedentary if you take out my exercise, b/c I work at a desk. I exercise almost everyday, but I thought it would be more honest to put sedentary and then add in exercise...I'm really wanting this program to work and I'm glad I changed it...I'd rather have the low calories and be right than have it say 2000 when I don't burn as many....isn't that right?  I have to ask b/c I'm still learning so much!

It's actually a better policy to start with a higher number and work down than to start too low and work up...... If you average out as 'light' (half an hour of exercise a day) or 'moderate' (an hour or so a day) try to trust the number than comes back rather than just trim your intake to some arbitrary number.

And of course, it tends to be a better policy to eat 'better' rather than simply eat 'less'... which is back to the vegetables again.

You're doing OK...

I second the advice to try everything.  Fruits and vegetables are just too important to your overall health to just write them off completely.  I know you said you've tried and tried, but be honest, can you truthfully say you've tried everything?  Every fruit and every vegetable out there?  Prepared every possible way?  If you've tried something both raw and cooked and just don't like the taste, by all means, don't eat it again.  But if it's a texture issue, for example, there are ways to prepare food that changes the texture.

You said eating a banana was a "fear factor" moment.  To me, this says this isn't just a taste issue.  At some point you developed the idea that fruits and vegetables are yucky.  My 17 year old nephew feels this way about vegetables to the point that he doesn't want them anywhere near him.  You're an adult.  You can make yourself get over it.  Tastes change.

If you have to "hide" the fruits and vegetables in your food, by all means, do so.  I'm planning on adding butternut squash and pureed carrots to the cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese at some point to see if my nephew notices.