My favorite food group used to be chocolate. No kidding. A day without chocolate was like a day that had gone wrong. And since I didn’t want any day to go wrong, I made sure to eat way more chocolate than is considered healthy. Way more.
My least favorite food group used to be vegetables. If I ate a green bean or two during the week then I thought I was doing really well.
I hated:
yogurt
broccoli (well, most veggies)
brown rice
whole wheat bread
baked chicken
cheese (unless it was on nachos)
nuts (except chocolate covered peanuts)
As I started going down my weight loss path my initial concern was the almighty scale. Right or wrong it’s how I FELT. Fortunately, as the scale cooperated and I dropped some pounds, I began to realize that losing numbers on the scale was great, but that my journey really wouldn’t be a true lifestyle change unless I learned to eat, enjoy, and prepare healthier foods.
At first, I concentrated on modifying some of our family’s favorite recipes in order to make them lower in calories and healthier all the way around. By the time I reached my goal weight I had really embraced the idea of healthy cooking and healthy snacking, but there were still a lot of healthy foods I hadn’t tried – like those on my list above.
Even though I wasn’t embracing every healthy food known to man all at one time, over the years I began to move in a positive direction. I’m not sure if I was just afraid to try some unfamiliar foods, or if I had a bad experience with those foods during my childhood. But in either case, I had a mental block against some of them. I started making a concerted effort to try some new healthier foods and to my surprise I liked them.
One really recent example is Greek yogurt. I had never been a fan of yogurt before – probably because I’m not a big fan of milk – but I knew that Greek yogurt was a really good source of protein and calcium, so I bought a cup of it. At first my lips curled up and I just couldn’t eat more than a spoonful. It was a lot more tangy than the Yoplait yogurt I had been trying to eat. But I persevered and now I have a cup of Greek yogurt almost every day. I still can’t do it plain – but I’m going to keep trying! I have to confess I still haven’t tried brussel sprouts though. . .
As you’ve been on your own journey towards healthy livng are there foods that you eat now that you couldn’t imagine enjoying before? I know there have been for me! Diane
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My tastes have definitely changed, mostly because I know how crap foods make me feel-like CRAP. [Riveting, eh?
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I still haven’t gotten into veggies, basically because I’ve hated them my whole life, and I don’t know how to prepare them in a way to make them taste good.
Embarrasing, but true.
I STILL don’t know what people see in Greek Yogurt. I think it’s the smell/texture that gets me. Maybe I’ll give it another go someday, but I need to figure out the veggie thing first.
Hope @ Hope’s Journey´s last blog ..An open letter to chocolate cake.
It’s funny how much I identified with today’s blog. Chocolate was my best friend! I craved it so much and never seemed to feel I could get enough of it. I loved white bread with butter on it too. I could eat a whole loaf of that french bread from the grocery store. I’d be sick afterward but I’d do it anyway. Now my favorite food is vegetables. I love them so much. At first I had to put butter and lots of salt on them to get them down but now I love them plain. I also used to HATE salads and never could understand how people could go to I restaurant and order just a chicken salad for dinner! But now I love them so much. I started off only liking iceberg lettuce but now I would much rather have a red leaf or spinach salad. It’s amazing how much I’ve changed and how much my eating energizes me now. It’s amazing I had any energy at all with the way I used to eat. I still have a few healthy things I’d like to learn to embrace: tofu, eggplant and sushi.
Yes, definitely. I guess it is mostly I notice how different foods make me feel moreso. I am eating healthier, so I feel better. I am an equal opportunity eater, though. There really isn’t anything I won’t try, except maybe bugs.
I love brussel sprouts, by the way. Use a bit of balsamic vinegar on them, and they are a sure winner. 
Stacy´s last blog ..The rest of the space…
I learned how to drink coffee black! It was just a matter of slowly removing the sugar from it a little each time. Now I’m trying to do the same with yogurt. I buy the plain stuff and add a few drops of stevia to it. Trying to reduce the number of drops!
Susan´s last blog ..Body Love