Persuade me eating healthily is worth it

[Gwenhwyfar]

Already posted in Health, but I thought I'd try and get additional answers.

I know I should eat healthily and have my 5 a day (currently struggling to get just 1 despite being 90% vegetarian), but even though I know it, I struggle to really understand it if you see what I mean. I know scientists say you should eat fruit and veg and that ideally it should be way more than 5 and I presume that's based on studies of people who've developed certain illnesses, but it's not something I can SEE or FEEL like I can with other things. When I've made an effort myself, I haven't seen any improvement.
I can see that overeating makes you overweight. That's clear.
I can feel that too much sugar rots your teeth. I can feel that happening, but I just can't see the damage I'm doing by eating cheese sandwiches and the like.

I hear people saying things like 'I haven't been eating healthily, I'm craving fruit/veg now' and I'm quite confused by that or 'you may not be overweight, but you'll be really unhealthy inside'. I don't really know what they mean by that.

Can anyone help make it more 'real' for me rather than just something people say.

Thanks in advance.

"I guess the answer is if in 10 years you had a medical condition and you found out it wouldn't have occurred if you'd eaten better, how would you feel?"

I'd be kicking myself obviously, but I also think it's unlikely that I'd get an illness where they could pinpoint the exact cause so precisely because I've never heard someone say 'x got illness y that is caused by cheese sandwiches'. When I hear about 'heart attack food' I imagine a fat man in his 60s eating a ginormous cooked breakfast, not me with my sandwich.

Please tell me you take a vitamin containing A, B12and D. As these are the vitamins you are most likely deficient in . Do you eat marmite and eggs ?( for the B12). Would the thought of being less likely to catch corona virus motivate you ?.

OP, given your answers above I'm struggling to see why you would want to change things, tbh. You are objectively not eating very well or treating your body well, and you will probably reap at least some of the fruits of that in the future, but you know all that and say that you are fundamentally not unhappy with your body or health and have no desire or incentive to make changes. So why not just live your life happily as you are? What's making you feel that you can't?

@Backbee

Do you like tomatoes OP, if you have cheese sandwiches, if you have an extra minute or 2 could have cheese and tomato on toast or a toastie! Delicious and an easy way to get some vits.

I do add a slice or two of tomatoes when I can be bothered. It still doesn't even come up to 1 portion though.

@hopefulhalf

Please tell me you take a vitamin containing A, B12and D. As these are the vitamins you are most likely deficient in . Do you eat marmite and eggs ?( for the B12). Would the thought of being less likely to catch corona virus motivate you ?.

I take a multivitamin and a separate vitamin D. I eat eggs, but not every day. I was going to make an omelette a couple of days ago, but couldn't even be bothered to make a cheese and tomato omelette. I tend to microwave an egg and have it on white bread. I'm not in the Uk so marmite not so easy to find.

"So why not just live your life happily as you are? What's making you feel that you can't?"

A frenemy told me that I am the unhealthiest person she knows. That shocked me and I thought she was just being nasty to begin with, but thinking about it the people she's friends probably are all healthier than me - no smokers in the group, for example and they're all fit and sporty. So I suppose it's external judgement and I'm trying to find some internal motivation.

Well there are worse things to eat than egg on toast.....throw in some orange juice or a satsuma and it is almost a complete food.

The thing is... if you can eat a cheese sandwich every single day because you can’t be bothered making anything else - you’re clearly not that into food.

So why not just buy in some smoothies or something? Drink them as well... see if you notice a difference?

You smoke OP ? Maybe your taste buds are slightly dulled.

@hopefulhalf

Ok so for comparision I am a similar age and have eaten healthily for at least the last 10 years (plant based diet minimum of 5 fruit and veg daily but more frequently 7-9, red meat less than once a month, alcohol 1-2 units a week). I am up between 5:30-6 during the week, 6:30-7 at weekends after 8 hours sleep feeling refreshed. I enjoy running and cycling and try to do a 10k run most weekends (so can run for about an hour continously). My BMI is 21, I don't think all these things would be the case if I didn't eat well.

My BMI is similar to yours. I drink quite a bit more, but still a moderate drinker.

I can not run 10k at all and am not as fit as I should be at my age, but that's because I haven't worked up my fitness to it, I'm supposing, not because of what I eat. I am working on this though.

When I was a bit less unfit and the gym was open, I could do 6k - I had the respiratory fitness to do 7, but my hip started hurting then (I have a bone problem that I don't think is anything to do with nutrition).

@hopefulhalf

You smoke OP ? Maybe your taste buds are slightly dulled.

I've never smoked, which is why I was so shocked when I was called 'the unhealthiest person'. I suppose my taste buds are just reacting to what they're used to.

"because you can’t be bothered making anything else - you’re clearly not that into food."

I'm into cheese. And chocolate and biscuits, etc. I'm no foodie that's for sure. I just have very simple tastes.

Ah, I see. Then in that case I think internal motivation would have to be positive, not negative. "I want to change the way I eat because I deserve to treat my body well/I want to have more interest and enjoyment in food/I want to have healthy pain-free teeth/I want to really be the healthy person my self-image looks like" or whatever. Not "because someone I don't even like very much made me feel like crap".

TheLight - yes, you might be right.
I do have the motivation when it comes to my teeth - I eat and drink sugary stuff, but my teeth tell me when it's too much. I just dont get those signals from my body with food.

It's difficult when there is not much that you like.

I'm a vegetarian, and not that healthy but very motivated by food.

I won't produce an annoying list of the things I like but is there nothing you like? leek and potato soup? dhal? saag paneer? spanakopitta? Pizza with artichoke? coleslaw? Eton mess? nothing with fruit and vegetables in at all?

Yes, it came with an old age, but even he was diagnosed with it after car crash, he can't change the eating habit. If you don't change now, I don't think you would be able to later in your life.

Tbh, I became healthy eater after I had a child, who has lots of health issues. Once get into the habit of it, it's not difficult. I never liked cooking, was able to eat out every day. But now cooking is my favorite hobby, really enjoy it. Maybe you might too, if you start exploring different food.

You’re not vegetarian or pretty much vegetarian (that’s not a thing), you eat meat and fish.

You’re a restrictive eater. Like a toddler.

Doesn’t sound like you want to change it so crack on.

I know lots of under 40 yo women low or deficient in B12 but you'd probably be feeling the tiredness if you were. How are you on nuts or seeds? Sounds to me you're just in a rut with cheese sandwiches! Go on, make that lovely omelette! Ratatouille with hallloumi is delicious, as is roast veg with lentils and feta... Appealing to your cheesiness!

"You’re not vegetarian or pretty much vegetarian (that’s not a thing), you eat meat and fish."

Whether you like the term or not "pretty much vegetarian" does describe how I eat. I had fish today for the first time in months, maybe 3 or 4 months. I can't remember when the last time I had meat was, again could be months ago. So if I'd said I was an omnivore, it wouldn't really be correct either because people would imagine I eat meat most weeks.

"You’re a restrictive eater. Like a toddler."

Not really. I'm fussy, but there are things I'll eat in a restaurant or even a work canteen. It's more restrictive at the moment because I have to prepare everything myself.

"Doesn’t sound like you want to change it so crack on."

Doesn't sound like you have anything constructive to contribute, so why did you bother?

Lack of vitamin c - scurvy
Lack of vitamin K - haemorragic disease
Lack of vitamin A - night blindness
Iron - anaemia
Calcium - osteoporosis
Iodine - goitre
Lack of Vit C, fibre and potassium - digestive issues

Risk of heart disease is lowered 20% if you eat 5 portions of veg a day.

Lack of vegetables can increase chance of metabolic syndrome.

Berries reduce risk of colon cancer due to anthocyanin.

Apples reduce risk of breast cancer due to polythenal phloretin.

If you don't want to eat better nobody can make you, but over time eating badly risks damaging your long term wellbeing.

But you won't feel it until it hits you - and then it's too late.

"I know lots of under 40 yo women low or deficient in B12 but you'd probably be feeling the tiredness if you were"

My dr was wrong then...

"How are you on nuts or seeds?"

Can't eat nuts (see above re. teeth, plus I don't like them). Seeds I can eat in seeded bread, but I can't find the kind I like here.

I like ratatouillie and it's one of the few things I sometimes cook. I do put loads of cheese on it. I just can't really be bothered though.

"Lack of vitamin c - scurvy
Lack of vitamin K - haemorragic disease
Lack of vitamin A - night blindness
Iron - anaemia
Calcium - osteoporosis
Iodine - goitre
Lack of Vit C, fibre and potassium - digestive issues"

These are old diseases though. Hardly anybody gets scurvy these days. I don't see why I'd be deficient in vit A or calcium on my diet anyway.
I don't think you'll find someone like me suffering from scurvy in 21st century Britain - yes, I know there are people, but they are extreme cases.

"But you won't feel it until it hits you - and then it's too late."

That's interesting. Others are saying they can feel it. That's what I was interested in with this thread - those people who say they feel different after just a few days of a good or bad diet.

I don’t have any advice, but I am in a similar boat to you OP.

I hate cooking and food prep, I like convenience. I eat a lot of easy foods because of this and probably only averaging 2 fruit or veg a day and even that’s an effort because I really don’t like most veg, I just force myself to eat it because everyone bangs on about how important it is.

There’s been times in my life where I’ve eaten better and I can honestly say I didn’t feel anything different to how I do now. So following with interest.

“I'm into cheese. And chocolate and biscuits, etc. I'm no foodie that's for sure. I just have very simple tastes.“

It wasn’t a criticism btw, just an observation... because I mean, I really like cheese and biscuits and chocolate, but I don’t think I could do any more than 2 cheese sandwiches on consecutive days without wanting something different.

Yes your doctor wasn't fully right anyway. When my amazing GP took my bloods at the time she said lots of women are low or deficient following childbearing as understandably it takes a lot out of you, literally. I was eating the VitB12 foods cut was low to almost deficient. Gut was so sluggish.