Thread: Food Plan - From the start

I've never thought about a diet before now (i'm not overweight) but I have had a bad eating habit since i was a wee adam. http://www.minimins.com/health/78249...aces-turn.html (not many places to turn)

I really dislike food if you have read that thread.

I know people on here have helped before and my God are you ready to help.

I don't want to eat embarressingly any more.

I was wondering if anyone knew if there was like a chart or something of like a food plan that I can stick to for the rest of my life and it would give me a balanced diet.

E.G. like Monday Morning: Weetabix, Midday: Food B (i really have no idea what foods are out there)
Monday mid snacks: apple, strawberry etc

I think you get the picture anyway. I know it might sound bland and boring but at least then I know I can stick with it day in day out and it stops my bad eating habbits.

If someone can help I'd be very greatful.

BLAND AND BORING IS GOOD!! llol..... And anything can be in there, just as long as i can eat the same thing week in week out.

Thanks in advance and i understand if it's too much to ask...

hmm its not good to have the same thing all the time, I can sugest some healthy food but I'm sure you know what is healthy and what is not, check out some magazines or have a look in a recipe book, I wonder if going to your dr would be better because maybe you have some sort of alergy or food intolerance thats makes you feel physically sick, unless you just have some sort physcolgical problem with some food like a phobia, I would sugest counciling if that is the case?

sorry I cant provide a strait answer.

Originally Posted by Georgiestar

hmm its not good to have the same thing all the time,

why is it not good to have the same thing all the time? provided that everything eaten during the week provides balanced diet (vitimins minerals and all that jazz) surely it would be ok?

Thanks for your reply

Hi Adam. What a fascinating condition! It must be hell for you, though. I remember watching a series on BBC4 I think it was, about strange eating habits. There was a girl who would/could only eat chips and cheese basically, other foods made her gag, and her family had pandered to this over the years, so she'd got caught in a rut.

I think you got some excellent advice in your other thread, and I do think it sounds like a deep-rooted psychological problem - a good counsellor may help, seriously. I think maybe the only way through this isn't one you're going to enjoy in the short-term, though. I think you're going to have to take baby steps to develop your tolerance of different foods. Do you taste things with an attitude that you know you're going to hate them, or that they're going to make you sick? If you do, I think you start from a position that makes eating virtually impossible.

I guess this is a form of self-regulated cognitive behaviourial therapy, and it's tough to do this by yourself, which is why seeking support may be a good idea, but I think you need to challenge old thought patterns and behaviours. Don't think of food as the enemy or as a trial to be endured, it's one of the big pleasures in life and it's there to nourish you and protect your health. Before you try anything new, try to relax and regard the experience as a challenge or adventure or something potentially good! Instead of bracing yourself for discomfort, tell yourself you're going to enjoy whatever it is you are trying. Far easier said than done, I know, but just consciously nipping old, destructive thought patterns in the bud may help.

I do genuinely believe that with patience and practice, taking it slowly and developing your tastes, you can teach yourself to love mostly any food. I was never much of a fan of vegetables, but these days I couldn't live without them. Broccoli is as attractive to me as chocolate ever was!

Don't rush yourself, I think it has to be a gradual process, but how about if you make a resolution to try, and enjoy, one new food every day. Is that doable? Just a small portion of something unfamiliar or something that may have scared you in the past. If you approach it from the angle that it's a healthy eating lifestyle choice, rather than a punishment or something to be endured, it may make you more resolved to stick at it.

I'm not sure where you could find a personally formulated eating plan tailored to your needs, short of privately seeing a nutritionist and telling them exactly what you want. Sounds like a job for Gillian McKeith, really! But I would say that I don't think a bland, boring diet is sustainable in the long term. Foods that are good for your body aren't generally bland and boring. What you seem to want is to eat beige foods as the bulk of your intake. Most of these constitute unhealthy stodge. A good balanced diet that nourishes your body is going to be very varied in colours, tastes and textures - and this is a good thing! If you really do want to eat healthily, you need variety and you need to push the boundaries a little. I'm not qualified to draw up a meal plan for anyone, but here's a few possible ideas for breakfast that you can maybe sift through and try a couple. If I'm on the right track, let me know and I'll scribble down some lunch and dinner options, too.

Breakfasts-

1) 3 weetabix with 250ml of hot milk, topped with 2 tablespoons of honey, a small chopped banana and a tablespoon of milled flaxseed. You could also add some chopped nuts - they are a great source of good fats for your body, which are essential for well-being. Dried fruit is also great for energy and is sweet and delicious - have a go at some Agen prunes. A spoonful of Greek yoghurt with your weetabix is also something to try.

2) A 2 egg omelette made with 20 grams of grated cheese, a few slices of chopped lean ham (or some prawns), and your choice of chopped vegetables and herbs, fried in 1 tsp of ground nut or rapeseed oil. Have it with a couple of slices of wholewheat toast.

3) Baked beans on wholewheat toast with a poached egg on top. You can jazz up your baked beans by adding any number of condiments to the saucepan when you're heating them. Ketchup, Lea & Perrin's, tabasco, you can even add your own chopped vegetables to help you with your five a day.

4) Kippers on wholewheat toast. Excellent source of omega fatty acids - you really do need at least one portion of oily fish a week, and kippers are delicious. The fresh kind can be quite bony, so maybe start with a tin of John West canned kippers in sunflower oil. They have a delicious savoury taste, moist and flavoursome. Give them a try!

5) A fruit smoothie made with your choice of fruits. Try blending together a portion of strawberries, raspberries, a nectarine, half a mango, and a banana, with a pot of probiotic fruit yoghurt. It's an excellent way of getting your fruit in if you find it too difficult to eat lots of it during the day. You can also add your ground flaxseed to it (great for the omegas) and experiment with new fruits and combinations. Have your smoothie with a bowl of porridge, or Ready Brek original, sweetened with honey if you like.

6) 2 scrambled or poached eggs on wholewheat toast, with a 60 gram portion of smoked salmon. Again, all the benefits of oily fish make it a must in your diet. Having your eggs scrambled means that you could chop up the salmon into small pieces and stir it in to the eggs - may make it easier for you to try in the early days.

7) Blueberry pancakes with a couple of spoons of maple syrup or honey. Pancakes are a lot of fun to make and you can experiment with different recipes - there's thousands online. Alternatively, most supermarkets stock instant pancake mix, which isn't the most healthy option, but decent for starting out - you can add whatever fruit you like to the mix, but blueberries are a powerhouse of vitamins and antioxidants. Try adding some goji berries, too, and a handful of chopped nuts. They're lovely with yoghurt, too.

wow that's incredible, thank you!
I have started doing as you said, I actually (with "alien" foods) got used to the texture and to the food itself before putting it in my mouth and it seems to do the trick, I think with the meal plan I was trying to flood rather than slowly do it but yeh, I'm getting alot of wholegrain in my breakfast but i think i should get used to my cheerios and plain weetabix for now before i start adding things.

THIS IS A GENUINE HUGE STEP FORWARD.

Thank you

You're welcome! Isn't weetabix great?! Must admit I'm developing a bit of a thing about it myself. Love mine with hot milk and sultanas.

Glad to hear you're getting into the swing of things and trying some new foods. Best of luck with your progress - let me know how it goes!

i'm eating an apple and 2 oranges a day, i've loosened up and am still having the comfortable meals so it's like weening more than flooding. I think rice is next, better to do this at 18 years old than 38 years....

That's a great fruit intake... you starting to enjoy it yet? Working yourself up to trying strawberries and a dollop of ice cream?

Seriously, well done you on tackling the issues head-on at an early stage and making up your mind to sort it out. A lot of people (me included!) let issues with food simmer for years before mustering the cojones to conquer them. The battle's all in the mind with eating, isn't it!

Rice next? I think if you give rice a chance, you'll have a friend for life. Savoury or sweet... basmati, carnaroli, brown, arborio, pilau, jasmine - oh, it's a playground out there! So much deliciousness. One day I hope you can make and enjoy your own risotto. It's hard to beat!

hi glad your eating better, the reason why i said its not good to always eat the same things is because if it was me I would get bored with the same thing all the while, so its good to try different things, you would miss out on eating different and nice food, also likeing a varitey of food helps when cooking,

eating a balanced diet is part of living so why not enjoy it?

well i don't like food like others, i find it a chore, but i think this new way is helping me enjoy, rather than dread &thanks georgiestar for your support!

Might be a daft idea, just throwing it out here... if you think about the things you *do* really enjoy and try to create a mental link with food(s), maybe some of the good feeling might rub off. I mean, if you have an all time favourite movie that you bung in the dvd player quite regularly, you could have a go at watching it while you try a plate of snack-sized new food nibbles. Same goes for your favourite music and listening to it while you eat. If you have a favourite place it might be worth taking a picnic there, maybe with your favourite person . Maybe if you can attach some positive cues to food and link it with the things you most enjoy in life, then you'll start to mentally assimilate it as a pleasure rather than a pain.

Just a thought, probably a silly one, but hey, worth a try?!