Wedding Blog
Living in Los Angeles, I have chosen to share space with an endless train of vegetarians, vegans, “I only eat organic” types, fresh fruit worshippers, and just about any and all other healthy food-centric groups that could possibly exist on the face of this planet. I’m in awe of the self-discipline of healthy eaters. I really am. And that’s why it makes me even more ashamed to admit this, but here it goes. {Deep breath}
At some point, I suspect around the time I moved away to college and became responsible for feeding myself (and I no longer had the option of noshing on my Mom’s amazing cooking), I became a big fan of junk food. Yeah, that’s right - chocolates, cookies, and sweets, pass ’em my way! And give me a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Arby’s curly fries any day. Grossed out yet? I suspect many of you will be. But I can’t truly come clean with this “confession” without providing all the hairy details. So yeah, there you have it. My junk food obsession was borderline tolerable when I was 20 and at my metabolic peak. However, it’s now seven years later, and this “habit” just isn’t cool when you are heading toward 30, and your body is looking a little, dare I say it, “mushy” (i.e. the stomach and butt regions), your hair isn’t glistening like it once did, and your skin is…well…blah.
And while I’m admitting all of this, I might as well add that I not only make bad food choices, but I’m lazy. I’d rather breeze through the drive thru or run into Quiznos after work than buy healthy groceries, plan a meal, and actually cook it. Mr. G has somewhat mirrored my bad habits and poor choices. We are at the point where ordering all fruit toppings on our Pinkberrys is toward the top of our “healthy choices” list. I have tried to start eating better before. So far, nothing has stuck. I go to Trader Joe’s* and buy $100 worth of organic foods, fruits, and veggies. I cook a meal or two and then I’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’.
I really want to get myself under control before the wedding. Why? Not necessarily because I want to achieve ultimate thinness or modelesque hotness or whatever, but because I want to feel better and now is as good a time as any. Also, our wedding date actually gives me a tangible goal. Stop eating like crap, start eating well, and (hopefully) feel better by June 2009. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’d also like to strengthen my body for purposes of getting pregnant down the line. You can’t exactly nourish a growing baby with a body powered by Chicken McNuggets.
So, I know many of the beautiful Bees have professed an interest in losing weight, toning up, and feeling better. I’d like to jump on the “feel better” bus and ask the lovely WB readers, do you or did you ever have bad eating habits? Have you changed? If so, how did you change bad habits? Tricks and tips would be greatly appreciated! And if you still need to make the change, join me in my journey. Let’s see what we can come up with!
*Trader Joe’s is an awesome and healthy grocery store chain. Don’t know? Better ask somebody!
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Share this post: Confessions of a Twenty-Something Junk Food Eater
Oh I am right there with you. I love me McDonalds breakfast and quarter pounders (nobody throw up!!) I also used to practically hook myself up to an IV full of soda. I went on Weight Watchers a couple of years ago, using an upcoming vacation as impetus. I stopped drinking soda and immediately lost ten pounds. Gross. Sticking with WW totally changed my taste buds after about 3 months. Now, drinking more than 2 sodas a week tastes nasty to me, and overly sugary or fatty foods don’t taste good any more. Also, if I don’t get a lot of veggies every day, I feel terrible. For me, just sticking with healthy eating changed what I craved. HOWEVER, on Sundays (my loosy goosy eating day) I love me a pizza and soda dinner. Sorry this reply was longer than it probably should be, but just wanted to say I TOTALLY RELATE!!!
I am getting married in July and I have always been fit but am trying to be better to look my best for the wedding. I LOVE to cook and one thing that is great is Cooking Light Magazine. They have excellent meals and recipes that are really good and super easy. You should check it out! Good luck!
I will also confess that I love a nice, unhealthy meal =) i <3 McDs fries…. mmmm!!
Me too! I have an unhealthy love for chicken mcnuggets and pizza. Since we started planning a wedding, we’ve been trying to eat healthier in order to look our best, and I also have thought “goodness, you can’t eat this way while you’re pregnant!” Although, I did find a great make-at-home Big Mac recipe - probably still not very healthy but at least you know what’s in it. The hardest part for me is planning what to eat. I like to cook but picking something out is too much for me. How’s that for laziness?
Ok, may sound gross but trust me.
I had the same problem as you. Then I started eating those yogurts that promise to give you a healthy digestive system in so many days, well what happened was, I got so used to the healthy flow in my body that the first time I ate mcdonalds, I was incredibly sick from it. I stopped craving it so badly after that.
Then I switched to regular yogurt with granola and stopped buying the bad snacks, now I actually crave fruit instead of chips.
Seriously ! Try it!
Except for my enormous sweet tooth, I actually eat really healthy! It’s bad, because I use my (partially) healthy diet to justify all of the candy and ice cream. I am a pescatarian, I don’t eat fast food, I cook my own meals with fresh produce, don’t like fries or chips, rarely drink soda etc…. but I can throw down an ice cream sundae, shake, or bag of m & m’s faster than you can blink!
I am going to try so hard to replace my candy with fresh fruit, maybe you can replace chicken nuggets or fries with fruit or fresh veggies? Also, cooking at home not only helps your diet, it saves a ton of money! Try putting together sandwiches and salads if you don’t have time to cook all night.
Good luck, we can all cheer each other on! 
i just felt like i was reading about myself lol
wow, we are the same person.
I did a detox diet (http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/Detox_Diet_Plan.htm) which was a HUGE transition and while I’m glad I did it for the two weeks I did, I had a hard time trasitioning into it and a hard time keeping it once it was over.
While I probably do it again about two weeks before the wedding so I make sure I have only good things in my body, it is probably a better idea to transition slowly. Look for substitutes for foods you like. Take half portions and don’t give on the foods you love completely! You’ll hate your diet and look for ways to cheat otherwise.
Keep healthy snacks on hand. If they’re there and convenient, you’ll eat them. If not, you won’t think about eating healthy.
DH and I used to be JUST like that (and still battle it on occasions!). Here was my trick: use a crockpot! I absolutely HATE cooking and would always just run down the street for pizza/thai/italian, but now I just pick a few crockpot recipes (there are a million online!) for each week and buy those ingredients at the store. Choose recipes that are really really easy (Taco soup is my favorite because I don’t have to do anything!) and throw it all in before you go to bed! When you wake up you have a healthy lunch/dinner. DH and I even bought 2 so that we could make different things at once (I get bored eating the same thing for lunch & dinner).
For our wedding I did this and chose recipes that were low/non fat and ended up losing 25lbs! I’ve managed to keep almost all of it off and feel incredible. We just started trying for a baby and I know my body is ready!
Good Luck!!
I am similar, only instead of taking until I was 30 or so to realize it, I have come to the conclusion that my metabolism is grinding to a screeching halt now, 8 months after college graduation (or maybe it could be the lack of walking and switching birth control). Either way, I have decided that while junk food and I have had a good time together, I have to give it up. Good luck!
Arby’s curly fires and jamocha shakes baby! I’m also somewhat addicted to Wendy’s chicken sandwiches… the breaded ones of course.
My sister and I grew up with a single mom that had 2 jobs. Most of the time she didnt have time to cook us dinner so it would be mc d’s, burger king, or taco bell drive thru. It made me crave fatty fried food whenever I was hungry.
In college and beyond I began trying to eat better and now I cook meals at home and try to avoid processed foods and drive thrus, but I still drool over the smell of french fries!
I’m still a few years from 30 but like they say there’s no better time than now to start being healthy.
bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from Mc Donalds.. hmmm… lol
I’m running into the opposite problem. I’m generally a pretty healthy eater, but fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats have gotten so expensive that I’m really reluctant to buy them now. When I pay $4 for a bag of grapes, it really makes me think I should have just gone to a fast food place and gotten an entire meal. Le sigh.
I still do quite badly on this. What worked best for me was actually throwing away all the junk food in my house. I set a big bowl out on the counter and filled it with apples and pears. Now, I tend to eat fruit when I’m looking for a snack because it’s easy to find. (Apparently, I AM that lazy). The bad food has been creeping back into the house but at least I’m conscious about it and I think about everything I buy at the store. Restaurants are still a challenge, though.
amysue:
americans spend less of their budgets on food than people from many other countries. i understand what you’re saying (i feel the exact same way when i go grocery shopping!!), but good, healthy, REAL food is important for our bodies and souls! eating well will also often save you in health case costs down the line.
ive been all over in my eating habits over the years. after a period of letting myself eating whatever i want (both unhealthy foods and too much food! …and gaining some weight because of it), ive decided to return to being more careful and conscientious of what goes into my body. its always a challenge, especially since my fiance is skinny as a rail and could eat 10x what most people i know could! something that has really helped me is writing down every. single. bite. that enters my body. i just started again with it this week. (3pm today: “bite of j’s delicious fresh baked bread” - see, even if its just one bite…). doing this forces me to stop and think about something before i eat it.
err… sorry this was so long!
I also live in L.A. and I feel just the same as you. There are so many places to eat in L.A. that it makes it so much easier to pass on cooking a healthy home meal. I keep telling myself to eat healthier and to exercise more but for some reason it just ain’t happening….I need that extra push. Maybe, we should start some type of support group in L.A. for all the ladies just like us. We can meet up for walks or runs and support each other towards a healthier lifestyle.
I find you can’t deprive yourself of everything, if not your are setting your self up to fail. I also joined WW, and it has done wonders. However, the key I think, is still getting those foods you like without the guilt. for instance, I love frenchfries. So now I cut up potatoes, spray them with cooking spray and bake them. the great thing about WW is that it helps you find a way to modify the foods you love to fit within the plan
I know how you feel. I have tried to change my eating habits and make good choices. Overall, it has worked but I still have no willpower when it comes to sweets and french fries. I just can’t deny myself everything unhealthy, but my thinking is everything in moderation. If you want a brownie, take a small piece and then hopefully you won’t go crazy and eat a whole tray of brownies!
I know many people don’t take this seriously (heck, I wouldn’t if it weren’t me!), but I’m a picky eater and am having an incredibly difficult time trying to branch out. It’s not so much I decided I didn’t like this or that as much as lots of things just tasted bad to me. I really really want to learn how to eat healthy but I find that forcing myself to eat things I don’t enjoy just works against me. My FI is wonderful in trying to help, but sometimes we just end up arguing about my diet (or non-diet in this case). Any advice?
One thing that helped Mr. Avo and I cut back on eating out was to set a budget for eating out, and then decide how to use it. Us? We like to splurge. We go out to eat at a really really fancy restaurant and spend $75/each, something that we definitely couldn’t afford if we were eating out several times a month. It means that we only eat out once a month, but I’ll have eaten at some of the best restaurants in Dallas because of it.
The rest of the time, I just throw stuff together. I keep lots of tortillas on hand, and I just throw things together (fat free cheddar cheese, fat free sour cream, chicken, cook it up, roll it in a tortilla, add in some tomato and avocado) and we try to eat lots of leftovers. We not only eat healthier because we don’ eat out, but we save a lot of money because of it. Actually, I think I’ll write about our save and splurge technique for WB. It’s so fun to get all dressed up and feel like we are fancy once a month!
I think it’s really important when you start trying to eat better that you set small, attainable goals for yourself. It’s unrealistic to overhaul everything at once–that’s why going to Trader Joe’s and stocking up on organic goodies didn’t work for you.
Take a good look at what you’re eating and then ask yourself, “How can I do better?”
Some good places to start are:
1. Cut out sodas and sugary drinks. Drink water, fruit juice, or unsweetened coffee or tea instead.
2. Eat one veggie and one fruit per day. Hey, USDA says to eat like 8 a day or something, but you’ve gotta start somewhere.
3. Try to eat whole grain pastas and bread instead of the regular bleached flour kind.
4. Go for turkey, chicken, fish, or lean beef when you need some protein. Or hey, even tofu.
5. Try to cut down on fried foods as much as possible.
You don’t have to do all of these things or even any of them. There are other things you can do, but these are all good ways to start. I’ve also found that when I exercise regularly I crave healthier foods. Good luck!
Hey lovely readers! I’m sorry for the somewhat late response. I’m so glad to hear that my little confession hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. You all are so supportive and such positive influences! I know that I can kick this habit of mine - one day at a time. I am really going to take your suggestions to heart. Thank you for your input and taking the time to respond to my cry for help!
@Miss Snapdragon: Thanks for the suggestions, snappy! I need to cut back on sugary soda in a big way. At the rate I’m going, I won’t have teeth by the time I’m 40.
@Lauren: I will definitely check out Cooking Light Mag! Thanks!
@Alicia: Thanks for the suggestion re: the yogurt!
@Miss Taffy: Thanks for the support, Taffy! And yes, eating out can kill any budget!
@LatteLove: Thanks! It is nice to know others have struggled with the junk food habit, too. @Starlit: That’s fabulous! Congrats on getting healthy and losing weight. I need to buy a crock pot!
@RobinBananas: Yes! Now is as good a time as any.
@MissCamera: I understand the craving for fatty, fried foods. Glad to hear you started eating healthier!
@Nicole: Ahhh! Don’t tempt me!
@amysue: I’ve noticed the price of groceries has really gone up lately. The only way I can stick to my budget is by finding everything on sale and clipping coupons. A lot of work, but you see the difference on your bill.
@BD: Good suggestion re: fruit and healthy snacks. I totally understand how the junk food creeps back in.
@e: A food journal, fab idea! And it’s annoying how most men have faster metabolisms and less fat on their bodies than us!!
@EC818: Miss Meatball and I have thrown around the idea of an LA exercise group. Maybe I’ll bring it up again. Thanks for the suggestion.
@lobstergirl: WW sounds like it really works!
@meganleigh: I get what you are saying. I am going to try and follow the advice of several of the readers and make gradual changes. Also, I think it is helpful to really seek out healthy foods that you enjoy. I know you said many things taste bad to you. What healthy stuff tastes good to you? Try and focus on that. I’m learning as I go along. Hope you find a plan that works for you!
@Mrs. Avocado: I love your ideas! I look forward to a “save and splurge” post from you!
@Indie B: Thank you so much for your wonderful list of tips! I really am going to use it. Your advice makes perfect sense.
I can soooo relate to your post Ms. Glitter. I am such a stress eater, and am beyond lazy when it comes to food prep. I am a social worker and the last thing I want to do when I get home is something that has multiple steps and requires multi-tasking (namely, cooking).
I have also tried many a strategy to get my eating and exercise habits under control and have had some success. Weight Watchers helped me take off 10 pounds, but I eventually stopped going to meetings and put them back on, I also paid the fee for a few months without using it, which annoys me.
I tried Body4Life, when I was trying to lose weight after I gained the “freshman 15″ (in one semester!!!)which is a book that coaches you on changing your eating habits and has you exercise 6 days a week (the great part in this one is the “free” day where you don’t have to work out and you can eat what ever the f*** you want!) This definitely worked, but requires a lot of planning and consuming of protein shakes, which I since do not think is the best choice.
So most recently I picked up the book Skinny B*tch. I thought it would be a funny, insightful guide into eating better.
It’s actually an expose on the meat and dairy industries and I have since gone vegan (I know, one of the cultish sub-groups rampant in LA, I’m actually in RI though, lol).
I warn you- DO NOT read it if you are not ready to give up meat and dairy, because after you read some of the hardcore stuff in there you probably won’t be able to eat it again. I can report that the first month I did it I lost 10 pounds with no exercise. I went back to cheese and eggs after that month because the holidays hit, but began feeling like crap. I started the vegan diet again in 2009 and I already lost 6 pounds and I feel great. The book, which also has a cooking companion, Skinny B*tch in the Kitch, makes this seemingly impossible standard very possible and makes a non-cook like me (since FI and I have been together, 3 and a half years, I’ve probably cooked a total of 20 meals, 10 of them being in the past 2 months) want to get in that kitchen because the food that comes out of it makes me feel so much better. And although my grocery bill is a little higher, I don’t eat out nearly as much so overall it’s actually saved me money (and think of all the money I’ll save on health bills in the future!)
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Mrs. Glitter, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 27, Research Consultant/Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Accounting
Engagement Date: May 6, 2007
Wedding Date: June, 2009
Venue: Millenium Biltmore Hotel
About Me: I was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. I spent eight years in the Northeast working and completing my education. Having split time between two sides of the country has given me a true appreciation for both coasts. It has also provided an overabundance of cross country drives, flights and long distance relationship fun/misery! I love my family, my doggy Emma, fabulous wine, Anthropologie, politics, reading, being outdoors, exploring new cities, and good movies! My fiance and I are complete opposites, but somehow we have managed to fall completely and hopelessly in love.
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