Protein Variety For Picky Eaters

Diet and Nutrition
1

I did a few searches and didn’t find any related to this topic that touched on my own personal issues.

I’m new to T-Nation and wanted to begin the planning for solid exercise programs, cardio routines and eating habits. I’ve almost completed my perparation for my exercise and cardio routines and moved onto planning out my meal plan/diet.

I’m a very picky eater. It’s something I grew up with and has now become a habit. There wasn’t a lot of variety while growing up and even when variety was present there was always a sure “I know I will like this” food available. The protein I eat only consists of ground beef variants, hotdogs/hamburgers, peanut products and an occasional protein shake. This means a lot of the food I eat is high in carbohydrates and very low in protein(if at all).

The problem that occurs for me from this type of eating is lack of variety especially during exercise programs where protein is key. The lack of variety in the foods that I eat causes me to eat the same things multiple times a day(including protein shakes) in order to get a reasonable amount of protein for the day. This causes pretty quick burnout.

I also don’t take any form of pills. I know at this point I sound like a complete oddball, but this has been a product of the environment I grew up in. Only one member of my family takes medicines at all. It’s something I grew up with and emulated and am now at the point where in 22 years I have yet to take any form of medication or pills. This obviously hinders me in taking any form of amino acid, fish oil, fat burning etc pills.

At this point both of these issues are more psychological then anything, but it’s still a hard issue for myself to break. Are there any alternatives to add variety in my eating other then forcing myself to stop being a pussy and just eat different things? Are there any alternatives to getting proper amino acids/fish oil/anything else I would need other then forcing myself to stop being a pussy and just take the damn pills?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

2

Wild caught fish (any type, as long as its wild caught) will take care of your fish oil problem and a source of protein. Also, they make fish oils in bottles that you could drink instead of taking Flameout in pill form. (Note: This tastes AWFUL.)

As for protein sources:
Milk, protein shakes, chicken, beef, fish, natty peanut butter, and beans.

Also, you said you could convince yourself to stop being a pussy and eat a variety of foods. You should do this, as well as for taking pills. A few fish oils and BCAA’s (which, IMO, should be a staple to anyones supplementation) a day cant hurt that much.

3

I agree with the last poster. Are you asking for options on what to eat, while already specifying that you don’t eat anything except a narrow range of usually unhealthy things?

When I decided to get my nutrition in check, about 5 years ago, I decided that I would stop being a pussy ass baby, and just eat whatever is healthy. If it’s healthy I force myself to like it. After a while, you get used to the good effects of healthier foods, and your body will start craving them.

Also, a lot of supplements like fish oil are nothing like eating medicine. I come from Iceland – if I eat fish, it’s good – now I don’t live there right now, and most fish I’ve tried is just awful compared to what I’m used to. Eating fish oil caps is thus even more essential for me than before to maintain healthy omega-3 consumption. Keyword being healthy.

I really think you should start thinking scientifically about what is best for your body and future health.

Best of luck!

4

Just an idea but from what I’ve read about the Velocity Diet there seems to be a lot of feedback to suggest that “reprogramming” with regards to food preferences might be possible.

Just thought it might be worth looking into.

5

Sorry. :slight_smile:

Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.

Cowpokes’ll come from a near and far
When you throw a few rib-eyes on the fire
Roberto Duran ate two before a fight
'Cause it gave a lot of mighty men a lot of mighty might

Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.

Eat meat, eat meat, filet mignon
Eat meat, eat meat, ear it all day long
Eat a few T-bones till you get your fill
Eat a new york cut, hot off the grill

Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.

Eat a cow, eat a cow 'cuase it’s good for you
Eat a cow, eat a cow it’s the thing that goes “Mooooo”

Look at all the cows in the slaughterhouse yeard
Gotta hit’em in the head, gotta hit’em real hard
First you gotta clean’em then the butcher cuts’em up
Throws it on a scale throws an eyeball in a cup

Saw a big Brangus Steer standing right over there
So I rustled up a fire cooked him medium rare
Bar-B-Q’ed his brisket, a roasted his rump
Fed my dog that ol’ Brangus Steer’s hump

Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.

6

You can get fish oil in liquid form and amino acids in powder form, so that takes care of your pill problem in the short term. At the same time, try to take a pill or two per day, like a multi-v to start.

I had a problem before where I physically could not swallow pills without gagging. Going slowly with 1 or 2 pills per day helped me get to the point where I take ~30 supplement pills per day without too much trouble.

As for your meat choices, eating ground meat everyday is no big deal. However, like with pills, try to add just a little bit of other foods. Make a can of tuna or cook one chicken breast and eat a little bit of it every day.

7

I don’t have much advice for being picky. I’m a very picky eater myself and one day I just decided to learn how to eat to support my goals. It’s not really hard. Seems like you’ve just convinced yourself that you only like junk food.

[quote]Sykotik wrote:
I’m new to T-Nation and wanted to begin the planning for solid exercise programs, cardio routines and eating habits. I’ve almost completed my perparation for my exercise and cardio routines and moved onto planning out my meal plan/diet.[/quote]

I also found this funny. Not to flame, but are you the type that plans forever and never actually does anything?

8

[quote]steinnes wrote:
I agree with the last poster. Are you asking for options on what to eat, while already specifying that you don’t eat anything except a narrow range of usually unhealthy things?[/quote]

Essentially. I’m sure it sounds as if that’s a pretty silly question to ask. I was merely asking for other advice in forms of protein and supplementation that I may have overlooked or not considered. The experience of myself in terms of eating correctly is very limited. Probing others for their experiences can only improve my eating even if a response is as much as “Quit being a pussy”.

9

[quote]Doug Adams wrote:
You can get fish oil in liquid form and amino acids in powder form, so that takes care of your pill problem in the short term. At the same time, try to take a pill or two per day, like a multi-v to start.

I had a problem before where I physically could not swallow pills without gagging. Going slowly with 1 or 2 pills per day helped me get to the point where I take ~30 supplement pills per day without too much trouble.[/quote]

Cool, I wasn’t aware that AA and Fish Oil came in other forms.

I share the same problem with taking pills and gagging. I would assume it’s something as simple as not being used to it, but it’s still a difficult 22 year old habit to break.

10

This is like “asking”: I don’t like squats, deadlifts, leg presses, or any other hard leg exercise. How do I get big legs?

Being picky only works if a) you’re a really hot chick (and even then it wears thin quickly) or b) if you’re three.

Man up, stop being a bitch, or find some other site. This is, after all, Tesosterone Nation.

11

[quote]Sykotik wrote:
I share the same problem with taking pills and gagging. I would assume it’s something as simple as not being used to it, but it’s still a difficult 22 year old habit to break.[/quote]

You are 22 and afraid of taking pills? What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously.

12

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
I also found this funny. Not to flame, but are you the type that plans forever and never actually does anything?[/quote]

No. I lifted for ~3 years during high school/college sports(only 1 year in college). I stopped after having a semi-serious nagging back injury that I only recently got full clearance from(3 years later).

I do know what you are saying though :slight_smile:

In general, I’m very prepared and a little OCD in the things I do. I have only been planning things for about a week and a half though, as my schedule has changed to allow me long term time in which I can work out.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

13

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
You are 22 and afraid of taking pills? What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously. [/quote]

It’s not an issue of being afraid. It’s an issue of habits formed while growing up. Even when I should take pills I simply don’t. I think I might have missed the memo that taking pills meant you were a real man with a horse sized penis.

Apparently comprehension is not your friend.

14

[quote]Sykotik wrote:

I also don’t take any form of pills. I know at this point I sound like a complete oddball, but this has been a product of the environment I grew up in. Only one member of my family takes medicines at all. It’s something I grew up with and emulated and am now at the point where in 22 years I have yet to take any form of medication or pills. This obviously hinders me in taking any form of amino acid, fish oil, fat burning etc pills.

At this point both of these issues are more psychological then anything, but it’s still a hard issue for myself to break. Are there any alternatives to add variety in my eating other then forcing myself to stop being a pussy and just eat different things? Are there any alternatives to getting proper amino acids/fish oil/anything else I would need other then forcing myself to stop being a pussy and just take the damn pills?

Thanks for any help you can offer. [/quote]

Here’s a quote from Chris Shugart that I can attest to:

  • You can learn to like healthy foods and dislike unhealthy ones. If people can learn to enjoy black coffee, sushi, and chewing tobacco, you can learn to like cauliflower and spinach.*

You’ll learn to like a bigger variety of foods but you’ve got to give them a chance

15

Eating healthy is an acquired taste.

16

Well, you can get a lot of stuff in other forms than pills. I misconstrued your reluctance for pills not as a problem due to physical inconvenience (ie. gagging) when taking them, but due to some unscientific beliefs, that pills were unhealthy or something.

Strange is it may sound I have friends who absolutely refuse to take anything in pill form, unless they are convulsing with pain, however they will happily chow down on cheap pizzas with soy-fake cheese, or eat fake butter on their whitebread toasts.

Anyway back on track with your situation, fish oil is available (and when I was a child was only available) in just liquid form, yes. But I’m not sure you’ll find this more enjoyable than washing down a few pills. I really don’t, but then again, I hear fish oil has less taste today than 10 years ago, who knows.

I would suggest you then at least try getting a bottle, and of course some liquid amino acids, I used something from irontek a while back which didn’t taste like evil… while I also tried some twinlab stuff which did. I am sure there are better options though, just sharing my experience.

I wholly agree with an earlier post on trying to start to take some pills, just to get used to it. I am at the point where I grab a handful of pills and wash them down instantly with a sip of water, while at first, I had to take each one and gulp it down, and taking my supps took ages.

If you are up for being a man (this has nothing to do with penis size, but men usually force themselves to do things which may not be pleasant, if they are important!):

  1. Taking pills which are in soft gelatin capsules is easiest, just put one on your tonge, get some water into your mouth, and let the pill get slippery – takes about 5 seconds. Then you swallow the water and boom the pill is gone.

  2. Have something ready to quickly swallow to get rid of the feeling of pills stuck in your throat. This can be a very smart thing to do, I remember burping 5 minutes after taking my pills, and a white cloud of psyllium husk fiber exiting my mouth…

Personally I like to take my “dry” pills first, and then gelatin capsules after wards, as they kinda flush everything that’s stuck, or at least get rid of that feeling.

17

Just eat whatever you can find that was once walking or swimming.

18

[quote]Sykotik wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
You are 22 and afraid of taking pills? What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously.

It’s not an issue of being afraid. It’s an issue of habits formed while growing up. Even when I should take pills I simply don’t. [/quote]

So some EMOTION is preventing you from doing something you RATIONALLY know you should do? Sounds like fear to me.

19

Goat milk, goat cheese, goat whey protein, organic eggs with omega 3 from costco, cans of chicken made into chicken salad, yummy.

20

I used to be an incredibly fussy eater when I was younger. Then suddenly when I hit around 18-19 I stopped being a little pussy and started eating different foods. I used to gag at the thought of eating something new that I wasn’t sure about, but I will eat pretty much anything put in front of me now.

I suggest you do the same and just break the psychological barrier, your life will become so much better.