If everyone's dieting/eating healthy who is eating the rest?

amother

Caramel

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 10:13 am

amother OP wrote:

so practically speaking

please tell me which vegetables your kids eat and how you prepare it and for which meal
I really want to learn
signed..someone who learned what many vegetables are AFTER MARRIAGE

One kid likes vegetables so I'll make a of plate of cut up cucumbers, grape tomatoes, peppers. Another kid doesn't so I'll give him a plate of cut up apples, bananas and fruit.

I make smoothies all the time which are soooooo easy. Just put milk/yogurt or fruit juice in a blender and add in frozen blueberries or strawberries. We do this all the time, my kids love it.

For dinner, I make a lot of stir fries so chicken cutlets or meat with broccoli or string beans. I usually use frozen bags of veggies since they only take a few minutes in the microwave.

amother

Lightyellow

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 10:13 am

Our family has inherited “fat” genes too. We have younger kids who always ate like this, so granted I totally understand how hard it can be to switch to these eating habits. But you asked for a menu, here’s ours — just Shabbos:

Shabbos night:
-poached fish in tomato sauce, or kani salad (no sushi, just kani, salad greens and dressing)
-challah with 1 dip
-chicken with green beans or chicken soup
-fresh salad
-1 single-serve treat Ie cookie for me at the end of the meal (hubby is on a strict diet so he has frozen fruit)

Challah is the grain, so there’s no need (diet-speaking) for additional grains on the table. The goal is to fill up on protein and veg. Of course challah is delicious and we always end up eating lots of it.

Shabbos day:
-challah with dip
-deviled eggs (such a yummy protein)
-healthy cholent (different each week but usually barley, zucchini, carrots, turkey meat — we do put honey and soup mix to make it all taste delicious)
-fresh veg

In general we have 0 classic “junk” so it’s only if I bought myself a treat. I try to buy the smallest possible portions of junk so that once I satisfy what I’m craving, it’s done. Ie a prepackaged cookie or single serve ice cream. Like I said, although I’m not on a strict diet, my husband is so I try not to bring anything in that would tempt him for weeks. Out of sight is most definitely out of mind!

I didn’t grow up particularly healthy, but we never had big Shabbos meals. We always had just challah for the grain/main carb. Having fewer options on the table means you’re less likely to want to”try” everything, and really reduces the # of calories you’re consuming. Same with dips. Even just trying to minimize your calorie load on one day of the week — Shabbos — can help you slowly shed over time.

amother

Caramel

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 10:24 am

amother Stoneblue wrote:

I am dieting, and about to give up. I am losing virtually no weight.

Exactly. Diets do not work. EVERYONE gives up. They are eating only a few, boring foods, not enjoying their meals and they may be hungry all the time.

This is NOT sustainable. That is why there are a million diets. If we knew that one way of eating worked, everyone would do it.

If you eat too few calories or you cut out a food group, your body may think you're starving and hold onto the fat.

You need to eat protein at EVERY meal. You should still eat carbs, but aim for healthy ones.

The most important thing you can do is find meals you love and use variety. You will get sick of eating the same lunch and dinners. There are millions of ways to make chicken. It shouldn't be the same dinner every night.

You aren't fighting yourself because you will lose the fight. If it's a constant battle to not eat junk, you're doomed.
I recommend ADDING healthy in and you'll slowly start to replace it. Replace your cookie or chips with an apple or vegetables. Add in exercise.

One of the biggest weight loss flaws is people think all or nothing. Well I had whatever junk food so I may as well eat whatever I want. I ruined my calories already. This is absolutely the worst way of thinking. Eating a chocolate bar won't derail you. Continuing to eat the way will.

Every day you need to choose to eat healthy. For the most part choose well. If you hate the foods you choose, you'll never succeed. Find snacks and meals you love. Incorporate healthy foods and exercise. You can't be limiting and starving yourself and denying your cravings - you will fail and hate yourself.

Read the book I recommended called the shift by Gary Foster

amother

Scarlet

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 10:40 am

So I do work out almost everyday but I also try to eat healthy everyday except shabbos.
Breakfast is usually a banana or kashi cereal and coffee with creamer I used to use sugar free but saw the ingredients and was grossed out so now I only use chobani even though it’s not sugar free because it only has 3 ingredients)
Snack is a fruit and second coffee
Lunch is a big salad with tuna (no mayo) or sushi (I get from work sometimes)
I only eat whole wheat if I eat a bagel or bread
Another snack could be fruit, pop chips, etc
Dinner I usually make sheet pan chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli and salad or chicken in the air fryer
I use a veggie chopper to make a huge salad so we all have a big salad ready to go
I put the veggie bowl on the table and the kids are happy to take.
Basically no “special treats” during the week besides shabbos
Shabbos is my day where I eat whatever I want with no guilt and then I get back on board on Sunday.
We’re all BH healthy weight but it helps that my husband was also very into eating healthy for us and the kids so choosing only whole wheat or healthy snacks wasn’t an issue between us.
Edited to add I also drink a ton of water everyday and soda and juice is never in my house.

amother

Daisy

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:01 am

You don’t specify quantities but to me it looks like you’re eating way too much processed/refined/sugary foods. Changes I would make:

Skip the cake and have your egg sandwich for breakfast instead of brunch. Replace the bagel with ww bread or even rye bread- bagel is the most refined, highest calorie, and highest gluten form of bread

You wrote yogurt or chips- this can be fine as a snack if it’s not a sugary processed yogurt. Choose Greek for the most protein. Chips aren’t great but if it’s one small portion it can be ok (obviously if you’re having more than a portion that can be a lot of calories)

Don’t skip lunch. Have a salad with protein and/or a healthy carb with veggies.

You don’t give details what your starch is with dinner. If it’s a normal portion of ww rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes etc that’s fine. If it’s a large amount of white pasta, rice, fried potatoes etc I would switch out.

Again with shabbos you don’t specify how much challah, kugel etc. so really hard to know if it’s normal or not.

I would definitely cut out the sweet drink- it’s such an easy way to encourage healthier habits for yourself and kids.

Overall- from the info you provide it’s hard to know what’s actually going on. It can be somewhat ok or totally over the top based on portion sizes. I would try to add salads/veggies and replace the more processed carby foods with healthier options- no need to be extreme, you can make small consistent changes and see big results in your weight and more importantly, health.

Hope this is helpful.

giftedmom

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:09 am

amother OP wrote:

on the day-to-day it's not a bagel - it's whole wheat bread but because I will not keep back from eating a bagel if I chance on it - I wrote it so it's as truthful as possible

also we eat honey nut oats or rice crispies - no sugar cereals
my kids eat the oolah bars or the kedem crunchy bars

the tomato dip is homemade with oil

ok - which salads are 'shabbosdig'?

why I eat cake with coffee? you're right
anything else requires time and effort
not excusing myself - just saying

ok
so practically speaking

please tell me which vegetables your kids eat and how you prepare it and for which meal
I really want to learn
signed..someone who learned what many vegetables are AFTER MARRIAGE

I eat a bowl of granola cereal with milk every day. Same amount of effort as cake. I can’t imagine you get much energy or feel very feel from two slices of cake. I am not into diet culture at all but if I don’t eat well I get brain fog and feel sluggish.

amother

Honeysuckle

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:16 am

I was thin when I was young, but I was physically active and very picky. The only meat I ate was chopped meat. No fish. No eggs except in baked goods. No cheese. The only vegetables I ate were carrots, baked french fries, and latkes. The only fruit I ate were nuts, peanuts and watermelon. I ate white bread and cereal every day and cake on Shabbos and birthdays. The only other carbs I had was spaghetti. I only drank water or chocolate milk. Now I weigh more - I think it's from eating a more variety of food and being less active.

amother

Daisy

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:30 am

Sebastian wrote:

Also granola bars are full of sugar and should be a treat not a breakfast imo

Yes! It’s actually really hard because so much of what’s advertised as “healthy” is actually high in calories and/or sugar with close to no nutritional value. For example most cereals, oatmeals, granola bars, many yogurts and dairy products, “diet” breads (low calorie but by no means healthy. Actually most diet foods in general, not just bread).

amother

Dandelion

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:50 am

I personally think it boils down to things like thyroid and adrenal function, insulin resistance, gut issues. Even if they’re not showing up on labs. Mouth breathing will contribute also. Some people just have to work that much harder to stay trim.

I gave up comparing how we eat to how the neighbors eat. We don’t have the neighbors genes, and we need to be the healthiest versions of ourselves, whatever it takes.

We personally eat modified paleo at home.

sushilover

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:58 am

There is this amazing British show called secret eaters. You can find episodes on YouTube.
In the show every person said that they can't understand why they are gaining weight and gave the show permission to film them for a week.

The show found that people were significantly underestimating their portion sizes, were adding calories without realizing through spoonfuls of oil, peanut butter, or mayonnaise and not understanding how many calories they were adding to healthy meals, and even having total food amnesia: genuinely not remembering eating that treat or soda. One woman who I really identified with was so careful about eating healthy foods throughout the week, but gave herself permission to have treats on the weekend: a big English breakfast, Friday night drinks, and nice Sunday dinner. All her calories were coming from the weekend.
I think that's what we tend to do.
Remember, eating just 700 extra calories every weekend would mean gaining almost pound a month. Sit down with a food app and calculate every bite that goes in your mouth next shabbos and then work from there to see what you can do ensure that you have oneg shabbos without going overboard.

Last edited by sushilover on Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Forsythia

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:15 pm

I just read u mentioned Honey Nut Cheerios as no sugar but it has tons of sugar in it! The kids shd be eating plain cheerios instead of honey nut I wld serve honey nut for shabbos only and all those sugar free 0 calorie seltzers are full of artificial sweeteners when I say seltzer I mean we’re drinking plain seltzer or the ones with infused fruit.

I actually switched to regular chocolate chips for baking even if it has sugar cuz the sugar free ones have laxatives in it it’s terrible. Read the labels everything is so misleading

amother

Forsythia

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:16 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

Eta for dips do you use olive oil? As opposed to canola which is junk

amother

Fern

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:24 pm

I’d suggest eating your bagel and eggs brunch as the first thing of the day instead of starting with cake because if you satiate then hunger you won’t desire to grab things as filler. Then you can try a light snack where you would have had brunch.
Also try cutting the sweet drinks out. It’s so bad for the kids too and a really bad habit that most frum families are struggling with.

amother

IndianRed

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:38 pm

Basics would be cutting out sugar (cake, candy, sugary drinks) and white flour. Also try to bake instead of frying as often as you can.

You will have to allow your kids some sweets, but for yourself you should try to cut back. I've spent lots of time looking for healthier alternatives and developing new recipes for healthy snacks so that I don't feel deprived. I cannot eat a salad instead of a muffin, but I can eat a healthier muffin!

I know it's hard, trust me BTDT. But as you distance yourself more from sugar you find yourself craving it less.

One last tip - try intermittent fasting. Worked like magic for me.

PS: Keep in mind that it takes a while to learn what works for you and your body. It can feel frustrating when you are trying to eat healthy and the weight won't budge. It takes time to learn what works for you.

amother

Pansy

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 7:25 pm

amother OP wrote:

I like to start my day with something sweet....savory cheeses and vegetables don't talk to me so early in the morning...neither does eggs or toast...
I find if I heat up a TAP muffin (they are whole wheat and naturally sweetened) in the oven with a hot coffee that does the trick...the muffin is 150 calories and I use unsweetened almond milk in the coffee plus a little splenda...
For lunch, I've been having a whole wheat bagel toasted (but I order it scooped out, so it's less carbs and less calories) with a plain omelet and just a bit of hash browns and I find it keeps me full for a really long time...
I have lunch with a sugar free hot coffee also and I find it rounds out the meal...
I know what you mean though...you walk past the bakery section and you are like, who is eating all these rugelach, cupcakes, babka, kokosh and cake?

amother

Lotus

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 10:17 pm

Hi OP, im sorry that you are going through a hard time with dieting.
I don't think that you are eating outrageously, bec I think I eat even more than you. It boils down to how Hashem created you, and you have to eat according to your body's individual needs.
I once heard that some dieticians send you for blood work so they can tailor a meal plan for YOU and according to what your specific body needs.
Maybe look into that to see how you should be eating?
Until then, maybe you can do either the cake or bread in one day, but not both?
Good Luck!