Community » Motivation » FitClick Friends » need advice

I suggest that you try to think of food as fuel for your body vs an adventure for your tastebuds - that will help. That said, I choose to be an ovo-lacto vegetarian, mostly for environmental reasons. I allow myself that standard of "pickiness". However, outside of the meat category, I will eat anything that is good for me - even if I don't really love the taste of it. And honestly, I don't feel deprived or disgusted and I never throw up my food! lol

I suggest that your test yourself for two weeks. Make a commitment to yourself to eat clean, healthy, nutrient-packed fuel for your body. Lead with your mind rather than your tastebuds. If you can find good fuel that also tastes good to you, awesome - there's no rule that says you HAVE to eat food that is gross, but don't let taste be the first or main determinant of what you eat. It's hard to give specific suggestions w/o knowing what exactly your tastes are. For me, clean fuel means 1600-2000 calories a day broken out in a 40% carb/30% protein/30% fat ratio and I try to make the vast majority of those fats "good" fats - nuts, avacados, olive oil, flax seeds, low fat dairy, etc. That's a lot of protein - I need that much because I am a power lifting 3x a week and trying to build muscle as I also cut fat. Your ideal calorie load and ratio probably looks different than mine - but there are tons of resources online to help you figure out what your perfect balance is based on your BMI, calorie needs for your workouts, and your health goals (gaining or losing weight, building or maintaining muscle). And Fitclick will help you see how you're doing against those goals!

I bet after those two weeks you'll be feeling better, sleeping better, have more energy and maybe even be a little leaner. And perhaps feeling better will be the extra motivation to keep eating healthier "fuel".

If you aren't motivated after 2 weeks - go back to eating whatever tastes good. I bet though, that on your 2-week experiment you'll find some things you actually liked that you can incorporate into your regular diet so even your "eating what tastes good" will be healthier than it was before.

Hint: don't cut out all your "bad" foods that you love. A good rule of thumb is 2 "cheat" meals a week where you give into your cravings - have pizza for dinner, fried chicken wings, that large slice of cheesecake, potato chips with ranch dip, whatever it is that really does it for you (for me it's pizza!!). That doesn't mean you eat a WHOLE large pizza by yourself for your cheap meal, but you get the idea. If you still allow yourself to indulge now and then, you'll be able to stick to a healthier diet long-term and you won't be throwing yourself way off track.