Any other wannabe health nuts?

[Aerynne]

I really want to eat healthfully, but I really struggle. Compared to most people in this country, I eat great! I already do most of the ten things in the ten things to improve your diet. I eat a lot of whole grains, but not totally whole grains. And I love love love sweets!! Sometimes I can do really well for awhile but then I give up and binge. I even went five months without sugar once. You people who eat well year in and year out, how do you do it? I can pass up the cookies at Christmas no problem, but not year after year after year. I just haven't been able to figure out how to do it long-term.

[glassangel]

I wanna know too!! I gave up sugar for...2 days... :blush

[boonpnutsmom]

I just can't stand the taste of sugary things. I have never liked chocolate, carmel, peanut butter, so those things are not difficult at all. I don't like cream cheeses and any of that so I never had to worry about pies and stuff.

I find that if I eat enough of the good stuff you don't even crave anything that isn't healthy.

[Aerynne]

I find that if I eat enough of the good stuff you don't even crave anything that isn't healthy.


Sometimes this works for me, but not always. I find that listening to my body (and my tastebuds) helps. For example, sometimes I'll eat dessert when what I really want is fruit, but if I really listen to my body I know I want fruit. Or sometimes I eat dessert just because it is there where if I listen I don't really even want it, so I won't eat it. I reduce my dessert intake significantly if I only eat stuff I really want, but I still eat dessert in that case, too.

One thing I am good at is only eating sugar in dessert. I don't eat high-sugar cereals, instant oatmeal, and I'm even careful not to buy spaghetti sauce with added sugar, etc. I don't want to be getting any sugar where I don't even taste it.

[Chris3jam]

Well, I used to be one. I was fanatic. . .I have a grain mill. . . I have buckets of wheat and brown rice and beans. . . .I had quinoa and oats and lentils in my cupboard. . . .I learned how to make healthy food delicious (especially brown rice). . . . .I made delicious, healthy cookies and donuts and breads and soups. . . . we went to the farmer's market at least once a week for wonderful fresh food stuffs. . . ..

and then I fell off the wagon. :cry All this knowledge and experience. . . .POOF! What a waste! We haven't been to the farmer's market in months and months. See, I gave in. . . . dh is a very unhealthy eater, and just wouldn't give it up. . .and I got so tired of doing all that work. .. so now we're all eating unhealthy. .. :cry :cry :cry I'm even drinking coffee and drinking Pepsi's *gasp*!

[Havilah]

Can you feel much of a difference, Chris?

[Chris3jam]

Can you feel much of a difference, Chris?

That would be a resounding YES! Especially with the MS. I've had the longest and worst relapse I've ever had so far. . .you'd think that would be enough to get me to get back on to a healthy diet. . .my doc. even wrote a presc. for me to get back on it!. . . .but, it's SOOOOOO hard! I need someone to do this with. . . . .I feel like I'm out on a limb all by myself. Anyone wanna come over and go to the farmer's market with me? Or we could just stay here and have a bake fest. . .we could make cookies, and breads, and crackers. . . .

[Aerynne]

Ummm . . . where do you live? It sounds fun to me, but you can't live anywhere near me because our Farmers' Markets only go from May to October. I do want your yummy healthy recipes, though. I am in desperate need of yummy, healthy recipes.

One of my problems with eating healthfully is I have never felt as great as people have promised I would feel. I guess I would notice more of a difference if I had some kind of a chronic condition, but for me it just doesn't seem to help. I feel pretty all right anyway. But I know it will make a difference later, so I want to eat well.

[Chris3jam]

I am in desperate need of yummy, healthy recipes

It's not as much a matter of recipes as knowing how to handle the food. For instance. . . instead of drinking apple juice, eat the apple and drink water. Soak the brown rice overnight to soften and make it more digestible. . it makes it taste a lot better, too. Fresh-milled wheat is handled differently than w/w flour off the shelf, or white flour (it's easier). That kind of stuff. I make a killer breakfast cookie. . it's got carrots in it, and fresh ginger and all kinds of good stuff! I've made my own cereal, granola bars, crackers, etc. Come on over!

One of my problems with eating healthfully is I have never felt as great as people have promised I would feel

How much water do you drink? And is it 'clean' water (not tap)?

[KatM]

Count me as a wannabe. My dh will not part from his ways, just like Chrisjams husband. He just wants his slab of meat, chemicals and hydrogenated oils. However, I try to have control over what is realistic for me: lunch, breakfast, and snacks. I will also serve my homemade whole-grain bread as a side dish at dinner. Everyone in this house will eat a green salad, for which I am thankful. So I do what I can. And darn, I have no one to blame but myself for my untamed sweet tooth! :blush

[Aerynne]

I probably don't drink enough and we do have a water filter, but I drink more tap water than filtered water and I don't know if my filter is a quality filter or not. I think it's a Brita.

Kat, you sound like me. :)

[cobluegirl]

yeah...hehe..I am a wannabe too!!

[greenskittle]

I have been a wannabe my whole life. My mom modeled the worst diet for me. It was so bad that my dad had a heart attack at 35! :jawdrop

My grandparents owned a health food store though, so I learned a little bit as a kid. And my taste has always prefered natural (since it was a treat to eat with my grandparents) so I think that I am about half way there.

My biggest problem is not knowing how to shop. I can't afford to by all the healthy food I love because I'm not sure what is necessary. You know? I would say that our diet is 75% natural and preservative free, and 25% of the natural food is Organic. I'd love to buy all our meats and stuff organic, or at least hormone free, but that's just not affordable at this time. :no2

[Sara]

:yes

Hi, I'm Sara and I'm a wannabe health nut.

I struggle with sweets and I struggle with budgeting in such a way that we can afford more organic/natural foods. I'm also been known to crave McDonald's french fries. :blush :hiding Isn't that gross?

[Mrs. Potatohead]

Ummm . . . where do you live? It sounds fun to me, but you can't live anywhere near me because our Farmers' Markets only go from May to October. I do want your yummy healthy recipes, though. I am in desperate need of yummy, healthy recipes.

One of my problems with eating healthfully is I have never felt as great as people have promised I would feel. I guess I would notice more of a difference if I had some kind of a chronic condition, but for me it just doesn't seem to help. I feel pretty all right anyway. But I know it will make a difference later, so I want to eat well.


I don't really notice that I feel better when I eat healthy, either. But if I am consistently eating healthy and then I indulge in something bad (or especially if I overindulge) I feel AWFUL! It's like I can tell in reverse, KWIM?

[tree_hugger]

Count me in. :yes

I think I have too main problems.

1) When I go on a 'health kick' I go totally overboard and bombard my husband with lentils, tofu and stevia, until he screams, "Enough, I need a steak!" or I just burn myself out.

2) I guess I am so used to eating meat and fatty, processed food that I don't ever feel full from eating in a healthful way. I can't really handle the withdrawals for more than a few days before I fall off the wagon.

Can anyone relate? :)

[cobluegirl]

yup totally...lol

[RealLifeMama]

:iloveyou2
That is me raising my hand
(I do love you all too, but I couldn't find a raising hand emoticon.)

I notice a difference for sure.
Sugar sends me into depression, too much wheat, etc makes me bloated, constipated, etc, not enough water gives me headaches, and I totally get all wierd when I eat refined carbs or don't eat a little protein with each meal, and it only takes about a week for me to get totally dependant on my morning coffee before a migraine will set in my noon if I don't drink it.....
I know all this but I can't seem to quit eating sugar, wheat, refined carbs, and I rarely have enough water and protein, and I just got a new coffee maker!

[cobluegirl]

I am not getting rid of my coffee maker...lol that is my only vice.... :-)

[BeckaBlue]

I'm a wannabe, and a sometimes canbe :grin
I went nearly a yr of no bad things except diet coke, but then I realized my eating 'small corn' didn't affect ds :blush
then...abbey had surgery, and we were stuck with few food options, and i went even MORE 'off-the-wagon' eating non-approved items.
In just over a month I've gained baxck all the wgt i lost in the previous yr (almost 25lbs!!)
and ds is splotchy too :(
SO I've committed myself back to my previous diet, (except im still gonna drink coffee :O but little/no soda) and even a bit more restrictive (very little meat). I feel better that I'm doing it. It's been 4-5days is all, but I've done well, and will continue, because my son needs me to, and then i wanna be in such a habit that i keep it up :D