Unhealthy eating

LegacyUser

I'm 35 and have a very limited diet.

I basically eat nothing but meat and chips. The meat could be beef, chicken, pork or similar, it doesn't vary much from that.

I'd say I've had chips every day as long as I can remember.

I dont eat fruit and I dont eat veg at all.

I'm rarely sick and am not overweight.

Someone told me recently that I shouldnt expect to live much longer.

What do you think ?

greenkittie

I agree, you do realise you are getting no portions of fruit or veg in a day? Potatoes dont count as part of your 5 a day. Grow up and try and expand your tastes, you arn't a child anymore.

TerrorFirmer

Even if you don't physically show it, your body is going to be both extremely weakened and extremely unhealthy. Saying you won't live much longer sounds like a drastic statement, but if you truly follow that diet as posted on a daily basis, you certainly will encounter problems eventually, and potentially fatal ones at that. Surprised you haven't had any problems already...

LegacyUser

Hey I think you have made a good point actually, I don't think we ALL have to eat healthy to be healthy. I suffer from ulcers myself and so have to be careful with what I eat but my mother has smoked since she was in her early teens (at the moment could be 30 fags a day, used to be 40+) and no damage done. My dad has a very sweet tooth and anything that can be fried on the pan is - he's as healthy as an ox!!! Both are in their 70's so it really is the luck of the draw. If you feel well that's the main thing but at the same time with all we know nowadays it is a huge risk your taking!!!!

The Corinthian

Acutally, I'm surprised that the OP is not suffering from scurvy if he has accurately described his diet.

Talliesin

Some people live on a grossly unhealthy diet to a ripe old age with hardly any periods of sickness.

Some people live on a very balanced healthy diet with a sensible amount of exercise and then succumb to a nasty and debilitating disease before dying young.

However, extreme cases are not sensible things to base serious choices on.

Balancing things out a bit more gives you a better chance of a longer, happier, more productive life.

OrangeOranges

What a boring way to live!

dr.bollocko

Dude buy a Jamie Oliver book or something. You know yourself that you should be eating better. How about trying smoothies for some fruit every day? At least you would be topping up on some of the good stuff, and you wouldnt have to change what you are eating. I mean you should change what you are eating but you know, at least some fresh fruit drinks will make you feel a bit healthier.

And throw out the chip pan!

LegacyUser

I am in the same boat as the OP. I eat crap every day. The reason I don't eat good is that I don't know what to eat. I just eat the similiar things every day - which usually involve chips. I had thought about going to a dietition but wasn't sure if it would solve the problem. Maybe the OP should try a dietition and see how he/she gets on?

dr.bollocko

Well before you try a dietician, how about a cookery book goddamnit? Its easy to make the transition from eating **** to eating well. Its great fun to learn new things and to improve your cooking quality. Start with the basic good stuff, salads etc. But you'll find lots of healthy ways of getting your meat and veg that taste fantastic.

CraggyIslander

OP, something simple to try is a stir fry... get some chicken, mushrooms a pepper, onion, etc.... chop the lot.. (boil some noodles or rice while yer chopping) Heat up the wok (frying pan will do too) throw the lot in, chicken first obviously..... add some spices and voila tasty meal with veg in 20mins

The Corinthian

hmmmm wrote:

The reason I don't eat good is that I don't know what to eat.

Laziest excuse ever.

Buy a book. Watch a cooking show. Surf the Web. Better still go to a restaurant where you don’t have to go up to a counter t get served.

Varying your diet is simply a question of trying dishes that are different. In many cases this may involve ingredients that you may not like - or more correctly never tried but have decided you don’t like, typically being fish and vegetables in Ireland.

Try cuisines from other countries such as Italy, Spain, China, India, Thailand or Japan. Try eating more fish, especially fish that are often avoided by people here, such as anchovies or squid. Eat more types of vegetables - not cabbage and carrots but spinach, zucchini or artichokes. Instead of potatoes, try eating maze (such as polenta) or rice (not just in Asian dishes, even in paella or risottos). And eat fruit - not just apples and oranges but tomatoes too.

And all of this is off the top of my head, so it’s not complicated. Unless you couldn’t be arsed, that is.

Talliesin

For starters there's the Food & Drink forum and in particular its Cooking & Recipes sub-forum.

Darragh29

greenkittie wrote:

I agree, you do realise you are getting no portions of fruit or veg in a day? Potatoes dont count as part of your 5 a day. Grow up and try and expand your tastes, you arn't a child anymore.

I'm in the exact same boat, only that most vegtables take me seriously sick. If I eat beans, unions, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, actually any veg other than carrots or corn on the cob, I have to run to the jacks to get sick. If I eat beans I won't even get to the jacks, I'd be getting sick before I could even stand up. Don't know where this all started but I know it is phsycological, I got sick when I was a baby after being fed certain vegtables and my mother decided I didn't like these things (which I probably didn't and still don't), and just didn't give me this stuff after I started getting sick.

Someone telling you won't live much longer is totally OTT I think. I can't understand how you are not a bit overweight though, as most meats are fryed as are chips and you should have a higher fat intake due to this.

The Corinthian

Darragh29 wrote:

I can't understand how you are not a bit overweight though, as most meats are fryed as are chips and you should have a higher fat intake due to this.

Maybe also smokes 40 a day? That might do it.

Talliesin

I have a similar psychosomatic reaction to things that taste very eggy - my subconcious remembers the eggs that made me very ill a long time ago and goes "uh oh! better vomit this up, because we know it's poison".

You can desensitise yourself to it a bit (I can eat something about as eggy as a pancake), but beyond that the only thing to do is increase the variety of foods you do try, especially ones you never had as a child.

Dr_Teeth

OP I know how difficult it can be to suddenly start cooking vegetable dishes when you're not used to it.. but I think you should make an effort in small ways to change your diet over time. For example instead of meat and chips for lunch have a sandwich or a roll that has some salad in it in addition to meat.

You could also try introducing some fruit to your breakfast - for example have a banana and a glass of orange juice.

At the moment I'm trying to eat a more balanced diet and one thing I've found great it so try different fruits every day. At lunch time I try to buy a small amount of fruit in a local shop to eat with my sandwich.

For example today I bought a pomegranate and a peach. Yesterday it was red currants, the day before it was passion fruit, before that some grapes, and before that some strawberries. So each day I'm trying something different, and most of the fruits taste really good! Although I do have little pink stains all over my T-shirt from the Pomegranate today!

Teeth.

Black Swan

unhealthy wrote:

I dont eat fruit and I dont eat veg at all.

You are eating chips? A veg? But a balanced diet would be in your best interests for the long haul.

Deadevil129

Christ it can't be that hard to eat healthily can it? Okay, so I'm hardly an angel, I used to have a terrible diet but I managed to change it, and nothing too drastic either, just swapping things around and changing the way things are cooked. The reason I changed my diet was because I wanted to feel more healthy, I didn't eat any vegatables so I just learned to subsitute that with fruit, granted that fruit has a higher sugar content than vegtables but I can't stand vegatbles so it's something I'll just have to live with.

Anyway, sue to bad diet I ended up in hospital, and my diet wasn't even that bad aside from the lack of fruit and veg. Exactly what happened I'm not sure, but the general gist of the whole thing that my doctor gave me was that because of a lack of fibre from not eating any fruit I'd ended up constipated without actually realising it, my colon leaked slightly and my apendix flamed up. Or I could tell you about my friend, m overweight friend who's breckfast consisted of crisps and coke, lunch was chocolate and I don't even want to imagine dinner, he ended up getting his gall bladder removed. For why exactly I don't know but you can make an educated guess that his diet was behind it.

I'm presuming you posted here because you want to change your diet. When I used to think of eating healthily I'd imagine eating nothing but steamed vegatbles and water, but the chances are if you do something that drastic you'll just go back to your old ways and besides, there's no need unless your life is in some kind of imediate danger. It's not hard to swap white bread from granary, swap the red meat for some chicken and the chips for a roast potatoe and some tomatoes. Pasta isn't hard to cook and if you like fish it's a really good alternative to red meat. I think I remember someone saying that salmon was the most fatty fish you could get, but it was six times less fatty than the leanest meat, so eat it with impunity, not sure how accurate that it tho. Good luck with any changes you do make, you'll probably find that you feel a lot better after a couple of weeks of healthier food.

aidan24326

OP, I would echo what previous poster said about eating stir fries if you're not too keen on boiled veg (as some people aren't). It's a tasty way to get your veg intake and stir-fried vegetables usually retain more nutrients than their boiled equivalent. And cooking-wise it's very simple to do. Also buy a blender and make yourself fruit smoothies, healthy and tasty. You just need to use your imagination a little, sounds like you have a very lazy attitude to food and cooking.

If you haven't much experience cooking different things, by all means get a good cookbook. There are lots of good ones that do simple recipes for the ordinary person (i.e you don't have to be a masterchef to cook them) and there'll be some useful tips on how to get to your intake of fruit/veg healthy stuff while still keeping your meals tasty and varied. I like chips myself, but every day??! :eek:

Fanny Cradock

Why not go to a cookery course?

Cooking doesn't have to be a chore, it can be fun. For me, eating a good meal is one of the pleasures of life. I would think that if you expanded your palette a little to experienced just some of the wonderful foods and tastes out there you would agree.

Cooking a tasty and healthy meal can be quick, cheap and, above all, easy. Don't be afraid to look at the endless sources out there (people have mentioned some of these) that will teach you the basics and provide inspiration.

sonic juice

Fruit and vegetables taste so nice!you are really missing out

greenkittie

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

You are eating chips? A veg? But a balanced diet would be in your best interests for the long haul.

Potatoes don't count as one of your 5 portions a day.

simu

Go to a GP and get your cholesterol etc levels checked - it should be a wake-up call to get you into eating better.

Victor

OP, instead of going to the chipper, why not go to the pub at lunch time and get a carvery lunch with veg (no chips)? Or a chicken and salad sandwich (no mayonaise).

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

You are eating chips? A veg? But a balanced diet would be in your best interests for the long haul.

Potatoes are a staple, not a veg. On a food pyramid, no matter how much potatoes you eat, they only count as one portion out of the required five fruit/veg portions per day. The same with fruit juices.

Talliesin

An important thing is to make time to relax and enjoy your food. Even if it's not a particularly great meal you'll get more out of it in every way if you are relaxing and enjoying it (especially with good company) than rushing it.