HELP! Any suggestions for a picky eater ?

When I say picky, I mean PICKY !!!  I dont eat any fruits ; carrots and corn are about the only vegetables that I can stand.  Trust me .... I've tried new things, and I've tried some things over and over.  I would give anything to be able to eat a salad.  I've been trying to lose weight for a couple of weeks now and was doing well going from 143 to 136 until this morning.  I'm back up to 140     : (   My recommended caloric intake is only 1200/day and with the food choices I've been eating it's been very hard to stick to that without starving myslef.  Do I just need to exercise a ton or what ?  Are there any other picky eaters out there ??? 

Well, what have you been eating? I'm really picky too. I love fruit, but I hate veggies and I won't eat them at all, they just taste gross to me. Milk is another big thing for me, I won't drink milk, either. It's the texture thing with Milk, I can't stand it. Shakes and Ice cream have the same effect on me. But, it's true that there really isn't anything quite as good for you as fruits and veggies.  Try making juice or smoothies out of them. My mom used to have a smoothie book, and they all tasted good to me. lol That's how she got me to eat veggies when I was little.

Well for those of you wondering what I do eat here is an example: 

TODAYS FOOD

LUNCH: grilled cheese sandwich and Baked Lays

SNACK:  raw baby carrots and ranch dip

Thats about it...oh and one of the doctors I work for bought me a 16oz Coke today..so 200 and some calories were wasted on that.  I'm already up to 910 calories and havent had dinner yet.  My limit is 1200 cals/day.  For dinner I plan on grilling some boneless skinless chicken breasts and maybe have some long grain and wild rice for the side.   Question about smoothies....do they fill you up ? 

I think smoothies are a great idea (though I live in a hotel so I don't have a blender). They can easily be enough for breakfast... it depends what you put in them. A banana, berries and some yoghurt would be a great start. I also love banana with passionfruit and kiwifruit.

With a juicer, you can make fruit/vege juice combos... beetroot, apple and carrot actually tastes great. Just put some of the pulp back in to make sure you're getting some filling fibre and not just sugary nutrients.

I know a lot of people who just don't like salads. Some people just don't. It doesn't mean you're never going to find any vegetables you like, you just have to be more adventurous. To be honest if I ate your diet I think I'd pretty soon feel tired, dull, hungry, bloated, constipated...! I need lots of fruit and veges in there to make sure I feel vibrant and healthy. They really make a difference to how you feel!

If texture is the issue, try making veggies in ways that mimic the textures of foods you do like:

• If you like french fries, try making "french fries" out of sweet potatoes instead.  If you like those, expand to parsnips (which will be a bit softer than the sweet potatoes).
• If you like mashed potatoes, try making mashed cauliflower (or turnip or parsnips).
• If you like creamy soups or potato soup, try butternut squash soup (delish!) or any other pureed vegetable soup.  Soup is just as good a diet food as salad - if not better.  Tomato soup is very good alongside a grilled cheese sandwich... 
• If you like milkshakes, make smoothies with milk (or juice), ice and frozen fruit.  Probably start with fruit that doesn't have seeds e.g. peaches, mango or bananas - though I have to say I find strawberries and raspberries to make the yummiest smoothies.
• If you like spaghetti sauce, hide veggies in it by grating/pureeing them then mixing them in.
• Do you like salsa?  That's veggies.
• Do you like guacamole?  That's veggies (though try to stick to guacamole that has a nice short ingredient list that starts with avocado).
• Try a glass (or half a glass) of 100% fruit juice as part of your breakfast.
• Have you ever tried dried fruit?  Completely different texture from fresh.  Some love it; some hate it, but it's definitely worth a try. 

People have been mentioning friut juice and smoothies...here are brands that I feel are legitimately nutritious and not "all sugar." EDIT: not all added sugar, mostly/all fruit sugar

- Juicy Juice

-V8 juice/V8 Fusion juice (fruity taste but is made from fruits AND veggies)

-Naked fruit smoothies -->these have a thicker juice consistency (shake well before drinking)

Also do not underestimate the power of a blender...fresh or frozen fruits mixed with plain yogurt or silk tofu (which my mom has used in the past) or even just ice will give you the nutrition of fruit with the texture of a Slurpee (which I hope and pray you like lol)

You can put fiber powder into smoothies. That'll help fill you up.