amandaexpress1's Journal, 26 Mar 23

It depends on what you perceive as bland. For me it's just a mind-shift between portion sizes and also being mindful of what I eat instead of restricting myself. Telling myself "you are not allowed to eat that, because the diet says so" brings out the teenage rebel in me...I will start eating it in double portions 🤣🤣 My food always has some sort of spice or herb in it and not adding salt is just ridiculous ( unless you use a ton of it, it can't make you fat..it may cause water retention with over use, but over use usually happens with the second bag of Simba Chippies) In my case (I'm 49 with a family history of diabetes 2) I also have to watch my sugar intake. That is a real struggle for me, because I have a whole mouth full of sweet teeth 😳🤣Your food doesn't have to be bland ...as long as you keep to your KJ/CAL budget.😁 

Nooooo, that shouldn't be the case - that's why calorie counting works for me anyway - I can still eat nice things as long as they fit into my calorie budget - the mindset shifts naturally where sometimes a slice of bread isn't worth its calories ... other days a big macs calories are totally worth it! You should check out betterwithbalance on instagram - she's great!  

I struggle to get tasty chicken breast without adding a sauce that is 1000 calories in a teaspoon, got to do what we got to do though. XO 

Try making your own sauces. These make good dressings/ dipping sauce or marinade. Plus they’re low in calories and you can mix or remove them according to your taste. vinegar, garlic, black pepper, chilli, paprika, grated onion and a dash of sweetener or freshly squeezed lemon juice. Use the cooking spray to spray your veggies before baking them. They’ll be nicely roasted. Oven bak or air fryer should be your bestie. I can help you come up with some nice meals. What do you have in your fridge? 

When you are used to a diet filled with sugars, fats and salts... This is absolutely true. However your taste buds will shift eventually. Cut out all sugar and a fruit becomes sweet. Thanks for the advise from the community, I will look into those.  

That's very true but once your taste buds are used to the blandness it becomes easier by the day. 

I am following many people on instagram that do low fat recipes and all of them have loads of spices etc to make the food pop. You can also look at fast food places like KFC - they have a section where you add meals to a list and it gives you the calorie value - the plain original chicken twister only has 347calories so as a spoil for a lunch or dinner with salad it is definitely a go to.  

I meant - low cal recipes - not just low fat....:)  

@BurnBaby I follow a page that does that as well (or it could be the same one) and that is true, there are delicious yet healthier alternatives, it's just a bit harder to find them, especially when you're on a student budget 

@Sheemie very true. I witnessed when I quit drinking juice years ago (now I have it once in a while). Before I couldn't imagine having a meal with JUST water but now it's so normal. Now I just need to adjust to other things as well :)  

That’s the misconception that leads to people abandoning their weight loss goals! Healthy doesn’t mean dieting and dieting doesn’t mean healthy and it certainly shouldn’t be bland