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.

Would you take one day and in 2 hrs just meal prep, I often do a large tray of Roasted veggies just barely cooked which I store in the fridge, so far this week I have added it to
Pasta Pesto
Omlette
In a tray with salmon for a tray bake
Quiche (shop bought pastry)
Aded tomato as a ratatouille.
Anything I bake/cook I turn on/put in the oven while I shower and change,
I also make soup in the slow cooker buy a Veggie soup mix packet, or frozen broccoli with cheddar cheese is a soup that's made in 15 min and tastes lovely. 4 lunches made in a few minutes
But I do understand feeling tired or lazy and not being bothered to cook

You have made me chuckle, a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables.
Could you follow some health experts and increase your knowledge in the area and then you can make an informed choice? The gut health doctor is good on insta and the diet myth book is also good.

I feel way less sluggish and bloated (and TMI less farty and poopy) when I eat more veg/home cooked meals (I don't bother with fruit much). I am then far more likely to go for a walk/run/cycle/gym and then feel even better. I eat a lot of bread too but try to stick to fancy seeded loaves (I just bloody love hot buttery toast). I tend to batch cook meals that include a lot of veg because CBA cooking every day

What I found really good was getting a smart scales £25 on Amazon. Not only does it measure your weight but calculates your metabolic age, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, body water, protein, bmr, bmi, bone mass, skeletal muscle, body fat % etc... So instead of just focusing on a single indicator like weight which isn't always the best indicator but as you improve your diet you can see the other indicators improving. My metabolic ages had decreased by 4 years since mid September and my visceral fat ( the dangerous fat surrounding organs) had dropped from 11 (high) to 7 (good).

@Flossie44

Gwenhwyfar - have you got any cookbooks??

Yes, but most have been donated to charity. I've got a few that I keep for decoration on my window shelf. I don't like cooking and I'm fussy. I think if I really wanted to cook something, the internet would be a better place to look anyway as there is more choice and I'd be more likely to find something.

If you're want easy just chuck a load of frozen veg on your plate with your main meal. Salad with your lunch or soup. You just get used to eating it.

@Harp1977

Would you take one day and in 2 hrs just meal prep, I often do a large tray of Roasted veggies just barely cooked which I store in the fridge, so far this week I have added it to Pasta Pesto Omlette In a tray with salmon for a tray bake Quiche (shop bought pastry) Aded tomato as a ratatouille. Anything I bake/cook I turn on/put in the oven while I shower and change, I also make soup in the slow cooker buy a Veggie soup mix packet, or frozen broccoli with cheddar cheese is a soup that's made in 15 min and tastes lovely. 4 lunches made in a few minutes But I do understand feeling tired or lazy and not being bothered to cook

Far too much work. If I was going to cook, I think batch cooking is the way to go, but you're batch cooking and then cooking a meal every day as well. I could never be bothered to do all that. In the first lockdown I did get into the habit of occasionally cooking a meal that would last 3 or 4 meals, but I live somewhere else now and my routine's gone to pot. The local supermarket sells a bag of veg that you can use to make your own soup by just adding water, but I know from experience that it won't taste nice or even that I'll just leave it in the fridge until it goes soggy. I'm better off buying packets of soup even if they've got added preservatives or something.

@IsabellaMozzarella

You have made me chuckle, a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables. Could you follow some health experts and increase your knowledge in the area and then you can make an informed choice? The gut health doctor is good on insta and the diet myth book is also good.

I'm not on insta, but I am on Twitter. I suppose this will only work if they talk about benefits that you see quickly. As mentioned, reduced risk of cancer in 40 years' time isn't enough to motivate me. I might get run down by a bus at 60 anyway.

"I feel way less sluggish and bloated (and TMI less farty and poopy) when I eat more veg/home cooked meals (I don't bother with fruit much). "

For me it's the opposite. So many healthy foods are harder on my stomach than bread and cheese. Broccoli etc. are the worst foods for that kind of thing, I find. And I'll never forget the time I cooked and tried to eat a whole cabbage.

@MysweetAudrina

What I found really good was getting a smart scales £25 on Amazon. Not only does it measure your weight but calculates your metabolic age, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, body water, protein, bmr, bmi, bone mass, skeletal muscle, body fat % etc... So instead of just focusing on a single indicator like weight which isn't always the best indicator but as you improve your diet you can see the other indicators improving. My metabolic ages had decreased by 4 years since mid September and my visceral fat ( the dangerous fat surrounding organs) had dropped from 11 (high) to 7 (good).

This is interesting. I used to use the scale at the gym that measured weight, height, water and body fat. The body fat was to do with fitness, rather than eating healthily. I didn't even know an at home scale could measure your visceral fat. I thought you needed to go to hospital for that. What brand is your scale? I got so frustrated with my last digital scale that I ended up buying an old fashioned one, but with that one I can't see it closely enough.

OP- your posts are v interesting to me.

I am instinctively only drawn to healthy unprocessed foods - but i find it really relatable to need to feel some kind of benefit to feel motivated by good decisions. If you're thin, well and have okay energy- why would you change your eating?

I used to exercise quite a lot but then I got dx'd and treated for adhd. Now I feel okay without exercise, my motivation no longer exists and I've completely stopped.

There's an awesome book I'd recommend you read: Atomic Habits by James Clear. I think you would find it v useful .

Why would you eat a whole cabbage??

Is this sheer lack of motivation? Or laziness? Or deep down, have you no incentive to change, despite pages of people giving you empathy and ideas?

Are you motivated in other areas of your life?

Sorry but this is ridiculous- if you're describing cooking an omelette as far too much effort i honestly have no idea why people are still trying to help.

Tim - you say 'thin' and 'well'

But thin does not automatically equal healthy in all sorts of ways. I'm not saying that being overweight is healthy, but thinking about visceral fat, bone health, gut health, vitamin deficiency etc. Thin people can have problems with all of those, and more.

And the OP says she lacks motivation and can't be bothered to think about her longer-term future well-being. Many previous posters have said how eating healthily makes them feel much better: more positive and energised. A healthy diet also usually benefits skin, hair, nails etc.

OP If you have digestive issues for heaven's sake seek proper medical advice on how to eat as healthily as possible while managing your condition. There are also charities dedicated to various digestive conditions that can offer reliable information.
But you know all this, surely?

Why you should eat healthily...

To mitigate the risk of getting any/all of the following....

Kidney stones
Liver disease
Pancreatitis
Diabetes
Obesity
Thyroid disorders
Tooth decay and gum disease
Cancer
Hypertension
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Diverticulitis
Bowel Cancer

To name but a few

I am not saying everyone who eats unhealthily will get any of the above but you put yourself at higher risk and you may not feel the benefits in the immediate term, but long term you will reap the benefits big time

Hi OP,

It's clear the health arguments aren't chiming with you, so what do you like to do/ what are your other interests, and is there some way you could relate them back to food? Are you artistic, for instance, or do you like arranging or organising things? If so, you might enjoy the visual pleasure of different colours on a plate, or arranging a side salad of sliced peppers next to your sandwich just so. You love cheese - what about a mini project to find a perfect fruit or vegetable to match each of your favourite cheeses? A country you've always wanted to visit whose food you could try to make once? Research historical vegetables if that's your thing? The interest may lead to the pleasure, which is the joy of eating well.

If your idea of eating healthily involves eating whole cabbages it's not surprising you don't want to do it! Or that you find it hard on your digestive system

I definitely notice it in my skin and energy levels if I eat badly and dodge the fruit and veg.
My digestion is better when I eat well and my moods more balanced.

I eat a really "healthy" diet most of the time. I can't say I feel a recognisable benefit from eating loads of veg, a little fruit and lean protein but I feel CRAP if I eat loads of carbs and dairy. Bloated, mental fog and horrible craving cycle. So I choose to eat well most of the time as I don't like how I feel if I don't. If you don't feel any better for choosing veg and fruit (although I don't eat much fruit due to the sugars) then eat your cheese sandwiches 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you're really interested in improving things spend a few days putting literally everything you eat into something like the MyFitnessPal app - it will give a more objective idea of exactly how deficient your diet is - perhaps that may help with motivation. Good luck.

Well I've just had crumpets with cream cheese and my advent calendar chocolate and now I feel sluggish and lethargic.
When I eat healthily (homemade soup, salad, etc) I feel more energetic, lighter, and it's better for my mental health. I can just tell.

Problem is OP, that you say you don't believe that it will benefit you...do you think the doctors and scientists, who have done observational studies in hundreds of thousands of people are wrong? That the science is wrong and that we can all just live off cheese sandwiches?

"Many previous posters have said how eating healthily makes them feel much better: more positive and energised. A healthy diet also usually benefits skin, hair, nails etc."

To be fair, I think only a minority of posters have said that. Quite a few say they don't see or feel any difference, but are doing it for long-term gain.

@InsanityOf2020

Why you should eat healthily...

To mitigate the risk of getting any/all of the following....

Kidney stones
Liver disease
Pancreatitis
Diabetes
Obesity
Thyroid disorders
Tooth decay and gum disease
Cancer
Hypertension
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Diverticulitis
Bowel Cancer

To name but a few

I am not saying everyone who eats unhealthily will get any of the above but you put yourself at higher risk and you may not feel the benefits in the immediate term, but long term you will reap the benefits big time

I already eat in a way that avoids obesity and tooth decay as mentioned many times in the thread.

To be honest, I did think diabetes type 2 was caused by too much sugar or obesity so that's a new one for me.

I notice hypertension and blood pressure are both in the list - to make it look longer?

@Nosuchthingastoomuchcheese

Well I've just had crumpets with cream cheese and my advent calendar chocolate and now I feel sluggish and lethargic. When I eat healthily (homemade soup, salad, etc) I feel more energetic, lighter, and it's better for my mental health. I can just tell.

That just doesn't happen to me. I can't say it wouldn't happen if I stuck to eating healthily for a long time, but an instant reaction like that I find quite striking. Is it because you hardly ever eat things like crumpets and chocolate so your body isn't used to them?