But I don't like Vegies!! Now what?

jenn7283 · Thu May 20, 2004 1:49 am

What happens if you only like a handful of vegies??? corn, green beans, sw. potatoes. I have 60 lbs to lose and haven't quite convinced myself that the SBD is going to work for me. Is there anyone else out there with this dilemma? jenn7283

kelmarfar76 · Thu May 20, 2004 10:31 am

me! me! I just started and I only like a few veggies... lettuce, cucumbers, and green beans. A few people told me just to load up on the ones that I do like.

i am going to try my darndest to introduce a couple of new ones, but it's hard, some veggies literally just make me gag.

I think you can make it work for you, just be strict with everything else. I am looking forward to P2 when I can have fruit, I love fruit.

good luck from one veggie hater to another!

Mags7461 · Thu May 20, 2004 12:12 pm

Pre-South Beach, the only veggies I liked were corn and potatoes. When I started this new way of eating, I made up my mind that I was going to find ways to eat new vegetables, and I spent quite a bit of time searching for new recipes/ways to prepare them. I've discovered that now I actually look forward to eating so many different veggies. Personally, I don't see how anyone will have permanent success without making vegetables a significant part of their daily food intake. Yes.. I realize that you'll be able to lose without them, but will you be able to keep the weight off? Remember how you got overweight to begin with? Make the change... it takes effort, but you'll be thinner and healthier in the long run.

Good luck to you!

Mags

Burdle · Thu May 20, 2004 1:35 pm

You're not going to like what I have to say, but here goes. Who says you have to like what you eat? You need veggies to keep your body running smoothly, in more ways than one! You need the nutrition veggies give you, and the bulk, too. If I ate only what I liked, I would live on pizza, cookies and ice cream. I've learned that the foods I like the most are the ones that made me fat in the first place. Make the veggies taste good. Use your 1 tbs. of mayo on them, or add some chopped nuts, try some new spices. Use different types of vinegar.
I don't care much for veggies, either, but they are the main part of my diet now. I'm actually beginning to enjoy them.
Burdle
172/140.8/130 started 1/5/04

LightUponLight · Thu May 20, 2004 9:05 pm

I hate the veggies too. I have to force myself to eat them at least once a day now, during dinner. My question: does one HAVE TO eat veggies to lose weight? I know that the vitamins from veggies are beneficial and that the veggies help to fill ya up, but do I really need them to lose weight if I am not eating junk to replace them?

Also, do any of you not eat veggies at all or just once a day AND manage to lose a considerable amount of weight?

Mag · Fri May 21, 2004 9:13 am

You are not the only one who hates vegetables! Have a look at this thread - I think you'll find it helpful.
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7809

I used to think I hated vegetables, and I did hate the ones I was usually served. But I learned that that was just because they were so poorly prepared - mostly canned, overcooked, mushy, not fresh, etc. It is easier to cook meat and starches well, so restaurants usually do a decent job with them, but vegetables are more labor-intensive and don't stand up well when left waiting around. Most places don't have good enough techniques to prepare vegetables well. I'd gag too if all I ate was the steamed vegetables they served at steakhouses and family style restaurants. And lots of salad bars are put together by people who don't have time to pay attention to the quality of the ingredients, so they can be pretty unappetizing too.

As a starting point, you might want to find a good video on how to prepare fresh vegetables. Julia Child put one out a few years ago that just made my mouth water. You can use preparation techniques on many different vegetables.

Carmencita · Fri May 21, 2004 6:19 pm

All my life I have only been happy to eat a limited variety of vegetables. I began the SBD yesterday, and knew that I would have to learn to like more green things.

The first thing I did was notice that all natural peanut butter (without added salt, sugar, or anything) is allowed in moderation during Phase 1. I bought a small plastic bucket of celery sticks in water from my grocery store.

I love peanut butter on celery, and hate celery otherwise. Also, I bought some great northern white beans, which can make a great casserole and they are high in fiber.

Yesterday I had a salad with romaine lettuce. I don't usually like lettuce, but I added a lot of chilled grilled chicken chunks, and covered it with lemon and pepper and was able to not only get it down, but enjoy it.

You can learn to like veggies. You just have to spice them up, make them interesting, disguise them. Pepper and lemon are your friends. So is mustard. If I can do it, anyone can!

- C

cajuncook · Sat May 22, 2004 1:38 am

I agree with Burdle. Did you ever think that maybe you gained weight because you didn't eat enough veggies. I don't know of anyone on this program because they ate too much cauliflower.

Mag · Sat May 22, 2004 5:41 am

You might want to have a look at the thread "Veggies for Veggie-Haters" at http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=55220#55220

There are a few suggestions there now - more are welcome, of course! The advice given earlier about learning to like vegetables is right on the money. In my experience, most people who don't like them haven't had them prepared the right way.

BonnieSimz · Sat May 22, 2004 7:24 pm

I don't like very many veggies either, but had some lettuce, some edamame, onions, and broccoli. I didn't load up on vegetables at all phase 1. Didn't drink quite all the water I was supposed to, and didn't really exercise. Just followed the rules about what to eat and not eat. And I still lost 3 lbs after the first week.

So, regardless if you are a veggie lover or not, you will lose weight on this diet. True, veggies are good for you, but I am taking things one step at a time...

AMelis · Sat May 22, 2004 9:41 pm

Listen to Burdle. She is right. I hated brown rice, any bread other than white, hated peanut butter and sweet potatos. I have gotten to appreciate them all if not love them -- because they are better than the crap I used to eat and got me into trouble to start with. Suck it up and eat your veggies!

Tubby Teacher · Sun May 23, 2004 2:37 pm

Basically I agree with Burdle: you do not have to like what you eat all of the time. However, you may find out that you like something if you experiment with it. See if you can go to a farmer's market and buy just two or three of something. Then taste it raw first BEFORE you do anything to it. Cooking some veggies dramatically changes the taste of them. By tasting it raw, you can get an idea of the kinds of cooking that work well with it. For a multitude of ideas wrt veggies, go to the library and check out a Silver Spoon or other vegetarian cookbook. I wouldn't spend the money to buy one, just check one out and flip through it to find ideas.

Here is what I found worked for me, maybe it will give you some ideas.

For example, I used to avoid cauliflower. Then I tried it raw and loved it. I still do not like cooked cauliflower and the diet's fake mashed potatoes made from cauliflower do not do it for me. On the other hand, I like lightly steamed broccoli but I do not like it raw. Carrots and celery need to be raw. Green beans need to be lightly steamed and they need flavoring to make me happy. Fresh peas are best raw not cooked. Onions need to be cooked until they are soft. Lettuce has to be dark green (I hate iceberg). I like collards steamed and I like chard raw. Sorrel is great (it is sour just like the sourgrass flowers I used to like as a kid in Virginia). Eggplant has to be roasted or I think it is bitter. Peppers have to be raw or roasted. I do not like stir fry. Tomatoes have to be fresh and they have to smell like tomatoes. I eat them raw, broiled with cheese on top, and stirred into ww spaghetti with olive oil and browned onions. Zucchini can be eaten in just about any form (raw, baked, steamed, stirfried, and mixed into homemade bread). Patty pan squash need to be sauteed. Hubbard, spaghetti, acorn, and butternut squash need to be boiled or baked. Radishes need to be disguised (ick). Artichokes need to be boiled or baked with parmesan. Sweet potatoes need to be diced, topped with olive oil and garlic salt, and roasted. Leeks need to be baked with sausage or made into soup. Parsnips, turnips, and beets need to be baked or they are bitter. Kohlrabi and I are not friends. Anise root stinks me out of the house (it smells like a licorice fart - honest). Edame need to be cooked in salted water. Bok choi needs to be in soup (see "I do not like stir fry"). White mushrooms are good in salads, soup, omlets, casseroles, and roasts. Big, fat portabella mushrooms are great grilled after being soaked in marinade. Brussel sprouts are good steamed as is cabbage, but they smell amazingly bad as they cook. Cabbage is good raw if it is grated and made into homemade coleslaw. It is also good in vegetable soup.

Finally, if all else fails, wash the veggies and throw them into a pot of boiling water with a bunch of chicken thighs. Let them cook for an hour and add seasoning. The soup will taste like chicken, not veggies.

jenn7283 · Mon May 24, 2004 1:30 pm

OUCH!! Okay....I think I can handle this....Today's the day...New life for me and I guess, as Burdle says....I'll just suck it up and eat my veges!! I have taken y'all's advice and been rummaging through recipe books. Think I've found a few I might be able to gag down. Thanks for all the cooking tips Tubby Teach. I am going to try a few at a time. Will keep y'all posted on how I'm doing. Wish me luck!!

jenn7283 · Thu May 27, 2004 3:50 pm

Well, halfway through my first week. And I've tried...drumroll, please, lettuce, gr. onions, added fresh basil and cilantro, have eaten tomatoes on my sandwiches and doing pretty good. I decided to skip p1 (want my weight loss to be slow and PERMANENT) and went straight to p2. Have lost 3 lbs since Monday and am not hungry. Been really watching my portion sizes and haven't been eating JUNK! Think I might actually accomplish my goal this time.


Page 1 of 1