Nutrition question

I don’t’ think you can make up totally for veggies by just eating fruit.  I have always found than 9 times out of 10, if you don’t like a veggie, the you just haven’t found it prepared the way you like it.  So I would look at veggie recipes and see what you can come up with.   What about cooked spinach or salads just in general?  Even salads with as many veggie varieties as you can stand are a great option.   If you toss in a little raw spinach you will hardly even notice it.

I always try to eat my veggies first and don’t allow myself to eat the other food till after I am done.

Another thing you might want to try to lose the last of the weight is to alternate your workout a bit more, incorporate jogging or stairs or balance ball, weights, yoga resistance training etc and that might help the last of the pounds.    

I really like soup so I have a bowl of soup almost every night for my dinner, but I wonder if that even counts since those veggies have been in a can?  It's more the texture.  I don't like anything that still tastes like I'm chewing on a plant or anything spongy.  I hate nuts especially.  I don't like apples either b/c they feel like eating a spongy plant.  The only raw veggies I like are cucumber, but it's so bland by itself, and onion, which you don't just eat like a carrot stick (unless you want to knock out the entire office with your breath!).  When I started on this health kick, I tried having a salad for lunch everyday, but my mom told me that lettuce has almost no nutritional value anyway, it's like eating water.  Honestly, most veggies I just don't like and I'd rather not eat anything than have to eat them.  I like veggies when they are mushy, like stew, soup, or casserole.  The problem is I don't cook, at all!  Hence why I LOVE fruits and low fat cottage cheese. 

I think if you have a pretty varied diet, and eat fruit, you'll do fine without veggies. You don't really NEED the 5 servings of veggies or whatever they recommend, the main idea is that they're low in calories, and high in fiber, and therefore bulk up your diet and make you feel full on fewer calories. The vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals are just a bonus, basically. If you're worried about it, take a multi-vitamin.

Fruits are actually generally more nutrient dense. More vitamins and minerals by weight, but not by calories because they have lots of sugar.

You'll probably have to up either the intensity or duration of your exercise too though to get past your plateau.

Salad only has no nutritional value depending on the lettuce you chose. You should look up the differences and see and also add in a little variety including a tiny bit of baby spinach.  I would be willing to bet if you start slow you wont even notice it in there.  What about things like tomatoes and peppers and such?  That is the other nice things about salads.. you can add in your cucumbers and everything else.

Also, why not make homemade veggie soup once a week and eat on it all week.     

I think fro LONGTERM health, it would be best if you could learn to really enjoy some veggies.  Fruits really are full of sugars and do have a lot more calories and while incredibly healthy for you, IMO, aren’t a full substitute for not eating veggies.  Then again, I am no nutritionist either.  

chelsea_b

You'll probably have to up either the intensity or duration of your exercise too though to get past your plateau.

That's the plan.  I worked up to 45 mins and now I increase the resistance on the machine and my speed rather than running longer at the same resistance (just don't have time to run 2 hours a day!).  I also love to bike, but we are still burried in snow and had freezing rain today.  Biking will no happen until late April. 

Liesje

The problem is I don't really like veggies.

At home we have leaf lettuce b/c it's darker, but at work it's just iceberg, blech (we have a staff cafeteria at work).  I like to add that purple stuff, shredded carrots, and cucumbers.  But then it seems like the dressing and/or cheese negates the low calorie salad and I sit there thinking, I could just eat a banana and an orange and feel just as full, enjoy it more, and be eating less calories.  I do like sandwiches and always try to sneak as many veggies as possible on them especially cucumbers and tomato, but I don't like to eat too many sandwiches b/c the bread is empty calories.  For some reason, the smell of raw pepper makes me gag.  I have no idea why, but I can't even have it in our house. 

Pomeranian <3

Drink a can of V8 veg. juice a day and you'll have a full serving. That's what my doctor recommended. I personally think it taste nasty unless it's extremely cold with ice cubes.

Does it taste like tomato soup?  If so, maybe I will try.  I like tomato soup.... 

Well Lies.. Tomatoes are vegetables (okay, technically they're fruits, but nutrition-wise, they're veggies)! And cooked tomatoes, i.e. tomato soup, marinara sauce, etc., are even better for you than raw tomatoes.

V8's a good choice, but go for the low-sodium stuff, because normal V8 is VERY high in sodium.

And I still say if you eat a variety of fruits and other foods, you can get away without vegetables being a big part of your diet.

Here's a couple interesting articles I found.

http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/RelatedItems/1,1064

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20041116/fruits-vs-veggies-whats-your-love

Liesje

Pomeranian <3

Drink a can of V8 veg. juice a day and you'll have a full serving. That's what my doctor recommended. I personally think it taste nasty unless it's extremely cold with ice cubes.

 

Does it taste like tomato soup?  If so, maybe I will try.  I like tomato soup.... 

"sorta" like tomato soup.  you should try it.  Only thing I say watch for is it is PACKED with sodium.  so if possible see if you can tolerate the reduced sodium one. It doesn't taste as good if you are a "true" lover of V8, but since you have never tried it, maybe start there and see what you think.   

The salads you talk about are great with red cabbage and such in it.  There are PLENTY of gret lower calorie and fat dressings out there and some you can make from scratch.  i like many from cookinglight.com

Since i get into a sandwich rut at work, i try to have my "sandwich" on top of a salad a couple times a week. i add the meat and cheese and it is much better than having the empty bread calories (though TRUE whole grain breads are good for you if you can eat them).

chelsea_b

Well Lies.. Tomatoes are vegetables (okay, technically they're fruits, but nutrition-wise, they're veggies)! And cooked tomatoes, i.e. tomato soup, marinara sauce, etc., are even better for you than raw tomatoes.

V8's a good choice, but go for the low-sodium stuff, because normal V8 is VERY high in sodium.

And I still say if you eat a variety of fruits and other foods, you can get away without vegetables being a big part of your diet.

Here's a couple interesting articles I found.

http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/RelatedItems/1,1064

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20041116/fruits-vs-veggies-whats-your-love

lol.. we were posting at the same time about the sodium packed in a V8...  lol... 

Pom, have you tried the new V-8's that don't taste like tomato?? I keep wanting to try them because I don't like tomatoes.

Liesje,
I'm in the same boat as you, love fruits, hate raw veggies unless dipped in ranch or veggie dip which pretty much makes veggies pointless to eat. Do you liked cooked veggies at all? I agree with trying diff. recipes with the vegetables because they are important.

I hit a plateau a few weeks ago with my weightloss so I cut back my calories (again because I'm really bad at eating healthy all the time), and started switching up my workout routine. I added in some light weight training with my routine 3 days a week. I get alot of good weightloss tips and workouts you can do at home from the magazine women's health. I'm almost positive there's an article in there about what to do if you feel like you hit a wall, if you want me to see what it says to do PM me.

Also, I'm also really enjoying these all natural bars... http://www.soyjoy.com

Liesje

When I started on this health kick, I tried having a salad for lunch everyday, but my mom told me that lettuce has almost no nutritional value anyway, it's like eating water. 

That's only true of iceberg lettuce.  The others (red or green leaf, romaine, etc.) are very nutritious.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but don't forget to consider your calorie intake per day too.  If you aren't eating enough the weight won't come off either.