food jag

[serialfish]

I was curious if anyone could suggest ways to get over food anxiety. I would love to try new foods, but I basically am psyched out by trying new foods. I don't eat any vegetables, don't really eat fruit (although I like apples and bananas).

Everyone says, "you MUST take a multivitamin since you don't eat right", although I don't feel any noticeable differences when I do, other than nuclear urine.

I'd love to eat healthier, but have no clue where to start, since I literally gag when trying new foods (this is what I mean by anxiety). Any suggestions on changing this? maybe transition foods? It's not that I realize this is not easily solvable, but maybe getting a discussion going or listening to thoughts may help.

My complete food list (these are not preferred foods, these are all foods I eat):

all forms of meat
most forms of seafood
very few breads
red beans
white beans
french fries
rice
corn
apples
bananas
chocolate
mac and cheese
popcorn

HELP!

Thanks.

[Michelle]

The thing is, everyone has advice concerning nutrition and this advice is very often conflicting.

The best thing anyone can do is start listening to their body. How does it feel when you eat meat as opposed to popcorn as opposed to mac&cheese? Are there certain foods you crave but when you eat them you feel horrible? Are there foods which may not taste the best, but you feel great afterwards? Are there foods which your body refuses? Are there foods which your body always welcomes? And so on.

Looking purely at your food list I would guess you are an angry person in need of much comfort. The meat is for the anger, the carbs for comfort.

Obviously lacking from your list are greens and a variety of fruit. In your case, I would buy myself a nice blender (Kitchenaid is my preference, some like Vitamix) and start mixing smoothies. The beauty is you can use foods already on your list like apples and bananas while gradually introducing new fruits and vegetables. One of my favorite smoothies is banana, blueberry and baby spinach. I throw in the handful of spinach for nutrition and tastewise it adds freshness but no real taste.

In terms of solid food start with mild tasting things like watermelon or whatever happens to be ripe and in season. Follow your intuition here. There must be a food or two not on your list to which you feel slightly drawn. Or, go to a farmer's market or beautiful grocery store and let yourself be inspired. Subscribe to foodie blogs like Apartment Therapy The Kitchn (one of my favs).

Whatever you do, do not let others act as a substitute for your own relationship with your body.

[ginkgo]

You are saying that it is not a physical problem like no one selling plant foods but a psychological problem, right? Or did I misunderstand with the slang like jag and pscyhed out? Talking about JAG, there used to be a TV show called that-- JAG (Judge Advocate General). But, I digress [to depart from the main subject in speech or writing].

So to help you psychologically, you should learn to reduce anxiety. The more anxiety you feel, the less happiness you will have. One great way to do this is with yoga.

And September is National Yoga Month. You can see my Twitter page for more about the benefits of yoga. Oprah's M.D. (Dr Oz) has all of his patients do yoga.

[Lauxa]

How about making a banana smoothie in the blender with bananas, water and ice. Would you be able to drink that or would experiencing bananas with a different texture freak you out? If you could drink a plain smoothie, you could next experiment with adding tiny amounts of other fruits and veggies to the smoothie.

Small amounts of spinach or broccoli puree could also "hide" in your mac and cheese... so small you can barely taste it... and then try to increase the amount.

[serialfish]

Originally Posted by Michelle

Looking purely at your food list I would guess you are an angry person in need of much comfort. The meat is for the anger, the carbs for comfort.

Well, I'm glad we don't have to look purely at my food list...LOL. I'm actually not an angry person at all. I'm quite laid back and chill. Not sure about the comfort thing or what that would refer to in reference to my life. I'm happy with a loving family.

I actually look fairly healthy (5'9" 155 lbs). My cholesterol levels are great (oddly enough), but that may be an age thing (since I'm only 29). Most people tell me that it will catch up with me later. My biggest issue with my diet (other than people having to put up with me not wanting Thai or Mexican or really much variety at all) is the fact that I'm tired a lot. This may also be due to the inordinate amount of caffeine I consume.

I can eat fruit smoothies and I think that would be a great way to start introducing more flavors into my intake. As for putting spinach in my mac and cheese, that's a long way off (even really small pieces). I can tell when a different butter or milk is used in m mac and cheese, and can taste subtle differences in things. But thanks for the smoothie idea. Rock and roll.

My takeaways: start drinking more smoothies and veggie drinks (I can probably tolerate those) and cut back on caffeine.

[Writertype]

Originally Posted by serialfish

I don't feel any noticeable differences when I do, other than nuclear urine.

It took me a second to figure that out! "Nuclear urine? What? ... Oooooh, unclear urine!" lol

It can be tough to break out of the rut of buying and eating what's comfortable for you. Been there, done that. If you have the time try buying a good healthy cookbook (I suggest Three Dollar Dinner) and make things in bulk from that to eat for several days. Otherwise just ask friends for advice on how they incorporate fruits and vegetables into what they eat. Remember that you should make the investment in changing, because you might be fine eating junk for the first few decades of your life but it will catch up to you in the last few (which might come sooner than you think).

[serialfish]

It took me a second to figure that out! "Nuclear urine? What? ... Oooooh, unclear urine!" lol

Actually, I did mean nuclear urine. In a joking tone, though.

When I take a multivitamin, my urine goes from clear to this bright bright yellow color, which I understand to be the extra vitamins and minerals that my body doesn't need.

So, all I've gotten from multivitamin use is really colorful pee that looks radioactive.