47 and fussy eater ... help!!!

Hello everyone,

Well as if I didn’t know it, I need to lose weight, I’m relatively healthy other than being heavy and was diagnosed with hip arthritis 5 years ago. I play tennis 2/3 times a week.. but as I move towards a required hip replacement I need to get my BMI down.

My diet has always been a struggle, with snacking the major issue I’d say, as well as perhaps being a little fussy on what I eat.

So any support/kindness/ encouragement welcome

Andrew

[andyswarbs]

Hi YorkFitter, you are not alone. Almost the entire population seems to be in the same boat. The body craves three things - salt, sugar and oils/fats. So if your eyes see a choccy bar in the kitchen, or a desert at the end of a restaurant meal (perhaps with some alcohol down you) then these become totally irresistible. But they are not good for you.

Ideally the body needs two things: sufficient calories packed with great nutrition. A whole food plant based diet provides exactly that. The more you eat such a diet the less your body will desire any snacks. Such a lifestyle requires no calorie counting and is, for most people guaranteed to lose weight.

How is this possible? Vegetables, legumes, nuts & seeds - in their whole food form - have half the calories of meat/dairy/fish. Also they have zero cholesterol. But concentrating on just the calorie density, it means you would have to eat two meals to get the same amount of calories as a meat based meal.

As for nutrition, a varied whole food plant diet is guaranteed to provide all the nutrition your body needs, whether that be protein, calcium, fats whatever.

The big bonus of such a diet is that it has been proven in so much research to have no downsides and in contrast plenty of upsides. For example legumes have been shown to be anti-carcinogenic. The whole diet is very anti-inflammatory. If will naturally bring down blood pressure etc etc. The list goes on.

[Hidden in reply to andyswarbs]

Thanks Andy,

I understand the obvious benefits of a meat free diet, but veggies I’d say where I have some or my fussy.

Certainly I am comfortable I’ve room for improvement, but cutting meat out entirely I think I’d struggle...

First start may be to increase the former and reduce the latter 🤞🏻

[andyswarbs in reply to Hidden]

I don't advise an overnight change. Replacing foods steadily over time is my recommended route, even if that takes years. Getting to where I am wasn't done in a day, and taking your time over the process smooths the whole thing.

There are vegan alternatives for all almost all meat/fish/dairy products, which are fine if one is healthy. And that suit's people who go vegan as an ethical choice. It does not suit those struggling with health issues as much.

Many "reducitarians" as the name goes begin by removing meat from one meal per day, or having meat free days once a week. This allows you to explore different recipes and cooking techniques.

Tonight, for example I cooked a mushroom, pasta & peas dish. This was wholewheat fusilli pasta, with a vegan pesto. The pesto was cooked with a pile of chopped mushrooms, a chopped onion and some frozen peas. It was cheap, quick & easy to prepare. When I say quick, I think it was about as quick as baking a read-made pizza, ie around 10-15 mins tops. You can adapt this to whatever you have in your fridge etc. If you have some unused leaf salad that can be added to the mushroom mix, for example.

[Zest]

Hi Hidden

Wishing you a warm welcome to the Healthy eating forum, and I hope you'll enjoy participating here. Have a look around at our various Pinned posts and Topics - hopefully you'll find something to interest you - and I'd like to wish you the best with all your goals.

Zest

[Hidden in reply to Zest]

Thanks Zest

[Kai--]

.

If you hit a stumbling block 🧱, YorkFitter/ Andrew, Dr. Douglas Lisle & Dr. Alan Goldhamer, might help explain why switching over to different foods 🥗 🥙 🍲 can be difficult at times.

(Truly eye-opening 👁 👁 understanding how we’re just following our biological instincts. 😯 )

.

The Pleasure Trap by Douglas Lisle, Ph.D. (30 minutes):

m.youtube.com/watch?v=TreRU...(Not working as expected?) ( healthunlocked.com/nras/pos... )

.

Escaping The Dietary Pleasure Trap - Alan Goldhamer DC - FULL TALK (1+ hour ):

m.youtube.com/watch?v=gxb1A...(Not working as expected?)

.

Sending you lots of loving 🥰 support 👐 , kindness 😌 , & encouragement 👍👍, Andrew.

🏸 🎾 💪👱‍♂️

.

☺️ 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞

.

[Hidden in reply to Kai--]

Thanks for the support and links Kai, I’ll take a look

[Cooper27 Administrator]

I totally sympathise about being a fussy eater! I used to be pretty bad, but I'm much better these days (only a semi-fussy eater)

I think I heard you have to try a new food at least 6 times before you grow to like it, so my first tip is not to rule foods out without giving them a chance.

You can try cooking foods in new ways to see if it helps you tolerate them better. I used to hate peppers, but started off cooking small amounts into Bolognese, and now I love peppers, and eat them all the time as a side on their own.

That leads me onto my next suggestion, to try bulking out meals with lots of vegetables, to help displace some of the higher calorie foods on your plate. E.g. with a stir fry, I use courgetti to replace some of the rice noodles on my plate, and I add extra vegetables to displace some of the chicken.

I wonder if you're able to go swimming or try aqua aerobics with your hip? The water helps take pressure off the joints, so I know people with arthritis really get on with this type of exercise.

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

Hi Cooper, thanks for the reply, it’s appreciated. Swimming is definitely on the agenda as is the likes of cross trainer as it’s low impact...

I have started the bulking out meals with veg and planting others in different ways such as a homemade curry