How can I lose weight when I don't like "healthy" foods?

[AlexisL]

Hi there, I'm 31 and have always had issues with food, partly due to the fact my parents never said no to me and allowed me to have what I wanted when I wanted and also I think I'm on the autistic spectrum (undiagnosed) and I can't stomach certain foods, tastes, textures etc.

Anyway I know I'm an adult now so can't exactly blame my parents as it's down to me to keep at a healthy weight but I'm really struggling. I'm married with two gorgeous kids but my eldest (age 14) has ADHD and these last few years have been so hard and I now think I'm depressed to some extent, I've let my eating slip and I'm now 17st 8lbs!

My diet is absolutely shocking, for breakfast I have buttered toast or croissants, I snack on biscuits and crunchy crackers or wholewheat crisps, for main meals it's things like pizza and chips, potato waffles and beans and chicken nuggets, tomato soup and tons of bread, etc etc and I know this is terrible. Don't get me wrong I do like meals like spag Bol, chilli, but they have to be cooked s certain way. I like salads but only done a certain way and I like eggs. I make healthy meals for my two kids and both are of perfect weight in relation to their height but my cooking goes to waste as my ADHD son is like me and only likes certain food ie no casseroles, nothing with creamy sauces, no fish etc and my husband works shifts so isn't always home for his evening meal so there's only my dd who gets a "proper" healthy meal every day. And whilst I've spoken to a dietician about my ds and been reassured that my sons diet isn't an issue right now and at least he's eating I'm really concerned about my own weight.

I've been like this for two years and whilst I've never noticed any adverse health problems I'm starting to now. My back is in agony if I walk too far, my knees hurt and I think I have mild sleep apnia as my dh says I've started to snore heavily and to be honest this scares me. I need to change but how do I do this.

Like I said I don't like healthy foods, the only fruit I can tolerate is apples, grapes and bananas, the only veg I can stomach is sweet corn and carrots and the only meat I can eat is chicken and mince beef. I'm not a brilliant cook but I'm not shocking but I don't no were to start. It's not a case of me being lazy gorging on rubbish I mean yes, I do that but it's more than that. I physically can't eat some foods without feeling sick, I love crunchy type foods and feel like I said I'm on the spectrum and my diet is sown how related. So what can I do?

I'd use My Fitness Pal (its a free app) to count and track the calories you eat, and then use it to set a weight loss goal and it will keep count of what you eat and tell you how many per day you have left.

Its totally possible to lose weight on what you describe, its just that what you have on your plate will look less than if there was lots of veg on there.

Or the OP could simply find a way that works for her of eating mess actual food, and not pay £12 a day for the privilege of your 'passion', and some expensive diet product. It's outrageous and exploitative of someone at a vulnerable time, like the OP. Also, what on earth is a 'healthy smearing diet' when it's at home!

LESS actual food.

so £110 for the 9 days is really what you're saying luis ripoff

AlexisL how about making a list of exactly the food you do like and take it from there.

So for example with the spag bol you do eat itemise exactly what goes into it and work out the calories for the entire dish. Using an app like my fitness pal get an amount of calories you're happy to eat per day to lose some weight.

So say you can have 500 cals for your dinner, dish up 500 cals of the spag bol and maybe some salad. You can see exactly how much you're eating and how much you should be eating.

Do the same for all your safe dishes, it will give you somewhere to start anyway. I hope it makes sense (it did in my head anyway )

Why not just eat the healthy foods you do like, plus add in a new food very day. I virtually promise you that your tastes will expand, if not change, and you will find some foods that you can tolerate/ maybe even enjoy! For example, you like chicken, sweetcorn and carrots, so one meal could be chicken skewers, corn on the cob, carrots, and perhaps try making some potato wedges by cutting up potatoes and baking them sprayed with some oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Plan a few days meals like this, using the bulk of the things you like, and then try adding new foods in, or doing different things with the ingredients. You don't need to spend hours in the kitchen or be a masterchef!
I will most likely get hounded by the forever living cult members but please don't be bothered and give away your valuable money to a starvation diet that only lasts 9 days. You will likely gain every single pound you lose back because if you go back to eating frozen food like you say you have been, any loss will be extremely temporary. they'll disagree, but if clean 9 really worked then ever forever living seller would be skinny and have fabulous skin they don't, my friend is fat and spotty and she swears by it too . Good luck! I bet if you posted a new thread on here asking for recipes using your healthy ingredients you'd get loads of support

It sounds like you could get an ok diet with the things you like.

How about the spaghetti bolognese but with a half recommended portion of pasta? (Weigh the pasta)

There is a recipe for low carb pizza, the dough is made from cauliflower. I've never tried it but if you did some with a standard base alongside trying it wouldn't hurt.

If you like eggs, would you like an omelette - makess a good lunch.

You could easily have a salad for dinner with chicken or homemade burgers.

How about making your own fresh tomato soup (no added sugar)?

How about limiting bread and choosing the low carb type?

Please ignore the FL bot and the c9 bollocks, it's expensive and won't give you long term results.

I've found I can only lose weight when I use a slimming club, I need the discipline of a programme. If you don't want to go to meetings you can do internet subscription. You need to cut down on the bread and biscuits and find lower calorie ways of preparing the food you like. There's no point in forcing yourself to eat vegetables if you hate them, even when you're on a diet food shouldn't make you miserable, but there's actually a lot you can with the things you do eat, you just need some help and creative thinking.

Don't forget exercise too, start with something like walking or swimming and build up, maybe even try couch to 5k, there's lots of threads on it on here.

Good luck

Can I ask what goes in your spag and chili, and salad - there may be a bit more 'healthy' stuff in there than you're admitting to.

But probably the main thing you need to do is eat less, especially the snack foods. As CMOT says, you could use MFP to work out how much you actually need for your height/weight/activity and then see how much you're actually eating.

Ah, quick work by MNHQ - first rule of weight loss is 'no spam'

Can you list what you like and don't like? Eggs are healthy and so is chicken!

It may be worth having a look at the Dukan diet, very effective and gradually weans you on to a sustainable way of eating over the course. The only trouble is the volume of protein required can be expensive. A good friend lost a significant amount of weight following it and 3 years down the line she has kept the weight off without any trouble. You can pick up the books cheaply second hand and loads of free recipes online