Avocados – yuck. Greek yogurt – never touched it. Salads – only if someone was watching. Fresh fruit – ate it doused in sugar. Baked meat – boring, tough and bland.
I could make this whole page full of the healthy foods I either genuinely didn’t like or thought I didn’t. One of the things that fell by the wayside when I became obese was any attempt at eating healthy foods. Why bother?, I thought to myself. What did it matter if I ate oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies for breakfast? I would still be fat after breakfast.
Who cared if I had two fast food meals at lunch, and ate an entire pizza from Pizza Hut for dinner. I would still weigh about the same when the meals were over. And who would know if I never ate a green bean or sliced a fresh tomato on a bed of lettuce? After all, fat people are fat regardless of the healthfulness of the foods they eat. Right?
Well, the argument could be made that you can get fat on healthy foods, but I think it would be a bit difficult to get to be morbidly obese if you really followed a healthy, well-rounded diet every day. The bigger I got, the less healthy I ate. It was almost like a snowball effect. I didn’t really think I cared for healthy foods, so I stopped eating them. Then, I reasoned to myself that it didn’t matter if I did eat junk, because I was already fat. Granted – this was not a logical conclusion, but I deluded myself into thinking it was.
The truth is, I didn’t really hate healthy foods as much as I didn’t see the point in bothering with them. Sure, carrots had less calories than chocolate – but they were also less fun and interesting to eat when I weighed 300 pounds. I understood that apples were a low calorie snack, but I chose to eat fried apple pies instead. The tender crust and hot apple pie filling seemed like a better choice at the moment.
Readjusting my thoughts towards healthy food was an important component of my journey. I had to look in the pantry and tell myself that the junk food wasn’t just unhealthy, but it was keeping me fat. I had to be willing to try healthy foods again, while saying goodbye to most of my junk food.
Although I did turn away from some junk foods permanently, the process of learning to “unhate” healthy foods was gradual. I choked down broccoli, forced myself to eat a salad, and learned to try new foods like asparagus, hummus and other vegetables.
If you ever tell yourself, “It doesn’t matter if I eat junk,” please turn your back on that false thinking, and do some research on why junk food is bad for your waistline and your health.
Did you ever give up on “healthy foods” because you didn’t like them or just didn’t want to
I too had to force down foods like plain yogurt, dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, muesli instead of sugar filled cereal etc. It was hard but eventually I learned to like the taste of healthy food such as the above mentioned and more. I do agree with you that junk food do make one fat and so does an abundance of any food, healthy or not. Thus portion control was also something I had to learn to do – one get so used to 2 servings of everything.
blackhuff´s last fabulous musings ..Getting sick and exercise
I was just noticing this yesterday when I ate 1/4 cup of almonds. I had not eaten any almonds in several days of not eating healthy, where when I was eating super healthy they were part of almost every day. When I don’t eat healthy, for some reason all of the good things immediately go away. I do not know why I throw out the baby with the bath water, but I am thankful that I do actually enjoy most healthy foods so getting back on track is easier.
Brenda´s last fabulous musings ..Tuesdays Short and Not So Sweet Update
I think you have to allow your taste buds & bod adjust to the change & actually a lot of the healthy foods are great & if you just experiment with herbs & spices – YUM! Yes, there are some I just never learned to like but I have plenty to fill the void of those!
Jody – Fit at 53´s last fabulous musings ..What is Your Excuse
I have to admit that I struggle with some healthy foods but I do think our tastes can change over time. Sure do wish I liked veggies more:(
Karen@WaistingTime´s last fabulous musings ..Where the Magic Happens
One of the things I am always working on is “all or nothing” thinking. I do feel like I “wasted” fruit or oatmeal when I succumb to fast food in the evening. If I’ve had an unhealthy day, I get too lazy to make a salad with our dinner. I am working on this and I took a food and nutrition class last year that helps me remember that I am eating the foods for the water, the vitamins and phytochemicals. I also try to remember that my body chemistry really wants these nutrients.
You can fry apples? I am very open minded on health foods and I often eat them not because of taste but because I know they are good for me. At the same time I hate milk, and no matter the health benefits wont touch it
pawsitivelife´s last fabulous musings ..Secret Competition
I was the opposite. I always like veggies and LOVED fruit. It was the other junk that I loved more and ate way too much of. Plus when I ate salads with lots of veggies I dumped a gallon of high fat dressing on it and that diminished all the healthy aspects of a salad. LOL
Great blog! I haven’t even started to dive into it.
I think I used to be too lazy/tired to cut and cook vegetables, more than hating them. Processed food was so quick and easy, especially fast food. I still don’t love cooking, but I do spend a lot more time preparing my food, which made so much difference. : )
Marion
What a fabulous post! Thank you for this. I am sending my mom over here =)
SquatLikeALady´s last fabulous musings ..On becoming the person you want to be
Thank you for sharing this part of your journey out of compulsive overeating. I think the taste for unhealthy food developed over a period of time, so we must not expect to acquire a taste for veggies, fruit, and other healthy food overnight. As for me—I’m still working on it.
It is amazing to me how our taste buds can change over time! It took me a long time to learn how to love tofu, but I actually do.
Amy´s last fabulous musings ..Has it been a whole week
It takes a gradual change to start attaining a taste for healthier foods. I used to leave the veggies on the plate- now they’re the first thing that I eat!
Alissa´s last fabulous musings ..May the 4th Be with You
I didn’t like “healthy” foods because I didn’t know how to prepare them. Veggies are rarely good in cafeteria trays, processed forms, or the way some diet tells you to eat them.
This past year, I’ve experimented with new-to-me veggies — so fresh and wonderful. I’ve really changed my palate.
I understand that “why bother” mentality. Been there.
Gina´s last fabulous musings ..Decoffeenated
Thank you for these post. This is the first weight release blog that resonnated with me. Stay encouraged! I will return so I can stay encouraged too.
This post is very interesting to me because I actually gained quite a bit of weight by eating mostly (95%) healthy foods but just too much of them. I stuffed my feelings down with way too much healthy food. In the end, I ate too many calories, so I gained a lot of weight. I think I actually justified eating so much (especially late at night) because the food was healthy.
Andrea@WellnessNotes´s last fabulous musings ..Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas
I think like anything that has been abused, it takes a bit of time for your taste buds to adapt to and accept healthy food!
TOM
Tom´s last fabulous musings ..On the Ropes
I’ve definitely chosen not to bother with healthy foods at times when I’ve succumbed to the all or nothing mentality. I figured, I alright consumed 2000 calories of junk food today, why should I choose an apple over a pack of M&M’s? It really is ridiculous!
Laura Jane´s last fabulous musings ..Whew! That was a CLOSE one!
It does take some time for all of us to adapt the healthy eating habits. But believe me once you get used to, you feel the best. But you need to bring certain kind of variation in order to make it interesting.
These days there are indeed lots of that you can change the way we are living for the better, one of the most obvious today would be to start shopping at natural health food stores.Nice post!
I just got back from an 11 day road trip. By day 8 I was starting to neglect the fresh fruit and fresh veggies. I always know that when I am having less fresh fruit and veggies I am in a danger zone. Back when I was over 350 pounds the only veggies I had were slathered in cheese sauce or butter unless you include tomato sauce on pizza or ketchup. My fruits were bananas or strawberries in ice cream. What a difference recovery makes.
Jane~
Keepingthepoundsoff.com
Jane C´s last fabulous musings ..Road Trip Day Eight – Mothers Day