cereal cravings!!??..this is my diet i want to know if i'm healthy and the downsides of cereal..?

Question

i am always craving cereal!
i think its really unhealthy..this is what i will usually eat in a day:

i wake up and have green tea and an apple,and if i am really hungry i'll have a bowl/2 of cereal(a cheaper version of special k)-i always feel really in the healthy mood in the morning
i only drink water at school and get home at 3 from school and have lunch:
for lunch i eat what my mum gives me (pasta,quiche,meat and veg...)usually at least 2 portions of veg sometimes more, but i usually leave some lunch.. i only drink water
i always go to the gym in the evening at bout 8
then i get home..and i eat 2/3 slices of bread with honey and marg,or sometimes toast and up to 5-6 bowls of cereal!!!(copy of special k or cornflakes)

HELP MEEEEEEE

Answer 1

Ann-Marie,

Your difficulty isn't your craving.

You can change this habit, but to do so you'll need to make a big change all at once and stay with it until you are used to it.

Your problem, I'll be willing to bet, is that you want a meal too quickly. You'll notice in what you say here that you eat cereal when you have to fix the meal. The problem is one of convenience and ease, then, not of food. All you need to change is what you expect in the time it takes to put a meal in front of you.

Mostly, your diet is a good one, but you are right, you do have too much cereal in it. Not because the cereal is bad, but because you're eating it instead of some other things you should.

There really aren't that many downsides to cereal. As long as it isn't "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs" or something (read the list of ingredients. If it has more than five items in it, or if it has an ingredient you can't pronounce, don't buy it), it's not bad for you.

So don't be afraid of cereal, depending of course on the cereal. If it's oatmeal or Shredded Wheat or Cheerios (do you have Cheerios over there yet? When I lived about 60 miles north of London, people would tell me "Well, cheerio!" and I would reply "Well, Weetabix!" and invariably they would give me a quizzical look: 'What IS this yank talking about?' But they were always too nice to comment. I've always liked the British), you'll get the carbs you need (and you do need them) without the sugar you don't. Most cereals are too processed, now, but there are some that are still mostly complex carbs and therefore part of a good diet.

However, you really do need to change your diet because it really is too convenience- and cereal-heavy. There are minerals that cereals just don't have. Isolated minerals--like the ones injected into cereals--just don't do it for us. A few years back a study was done of beta-carotene supplements, and we found that, while in carrots and squash it was healthy for us, in pill form it actually increased cancer risk in smokers. So just because a cereal has vitmins put into it doesn't mean that it's going to do us good. So you really should eat the whole food and not just the isolated vitamin in a cereal. To change your diet to a better one you will need to:

1. Make a decision,
2. Follow it, and
3. Keep following it until it becomes second nature.

We have found recently that important changes occur best when we give ourselves completely to the change (don't just change a little bit at a time). That's what you'll have to do, especially with a change this big with a habit this long-lasting. And it is a habit that you're fighting. But like any habit, it can be ended.

It's called "habituation," and it happens all the time.

Now, you eat what looks like a pretty good lunch. Think about why don't you eat cereal then. You're used to eating what you do for lunch, that's why. That, and your mom makes it for you.

That's all a matter of habituation, too. All you have to do is to give yourself enough time to endure the frustration (and there will be some, but it won't kill you, I promise) of not eating what you're used to eating for dinner until you're used to eating something better for you.

I used to love all manner of sweet things, cakes, donuts, sugar in my tea. I set out some years back to change all that, and I did. I just didn't eat them until I no longer missed them. I haven't had a donut in years, and the only cake I ever eat is for someone's birthday. I would never have believed it once upon a time, but it can be done.

So, what you need to do is to decide what you really do need to eat (and it can include some carbs, but for a while you might want to stay completely away from cereal), and eat that. Lots of vegetables. They will fill you without all the calories of the processed stuff we fill our grocery shelves with. Lots of vegetables. There are some great recipes out on the internet for veggie dishes. Did I mention lots of vegetables?

Learn to cook for yourself. I find that if you cook for yourself, you'll fill your time with healthier food than if you waited for someone else to do it for you.

I think about food much of the time, but since I do much of the cooking around here--'cause I like it--I make and eat some pretty good meals.

Look up "low fat recipes," look up "Garden Vegetable Soup":

http://www.thefoodmaven.com/diary/archives/00000219.html

"Meat and Fenberry Pie" (a reconstruction of a medieval recipe that is a favorite of eveybody I've made it for):

http://recipes.wuzzle.org/index.php/36/382

Stuffed squash recipes, Oatmeal Soup, Guinness Stew, all sorts of meals, and eat those. Don't forget the humble peanut butter and jam sandwich, or the tuna fish sandwich, either. Pretty soon you won't have the time or the desire to crave so much cereal, you'll understand food and your needs much better, and you'll be eating a more healthy diet, too.

I absolutely promise you that you can do it. I did, and if I did , so can you. It'll take a while, so be patient with yourself, but it will happen. You'll lose your cereal craving IF you jump into this with both feet, abandon cereal completely for a while and eat well. It'll take a few months, three to six probably, but it will happen.

Double-blind studies have shown that there really isn't anything to the idea that your cravings indicate something missing in your diet. It's really all in our heads, so that's where we have to work. Get used to eating well, and you will eat well.

I hope you have good eating and a happy life.

Answer 2

That's really good except Cereals like Special K & Cheerio's aren't actually that healthy. Carbohydrate (sugar) is converted to fat for storage when more calories are than the body needs. So it's okay to eat things that contain sugar especially if it's natural (like found in fruits) but don't go over the limit because it will turn into fat. Maybe just eat cereal once or twice a week for breakfast and every other breakfast, you could have something like toast and try not to use too much butter since that is also fat. Man... It feels like there's fat in everything lol. Also, juice isn't very good for you because it's mostly just sugar, it's healthier to eat a piece of fruit or to get juice that has no added sugar. And drinks like Catorade and Powerade aren't healthy aren't all! Just another thing that is disguised to be healthy so it sells more. It's just sugar, colouring and flavouring but again, it's okay to drink things like fizzy drinks in small moderation, like on special occasions. Asides from that, you're doing really well! But don't forget to add a bit of protein to your diet because it is healthy fat and really good for you. Are you sure that you hate ALL vegetables? lol Oh, and don't forget dairy! (Milk, yoghurt, healthy cheese, eggs). I hope this helps and keep up with the good work :)

Answer 3

youre not eating enough throught the day, so you are craving cereal because your blood sugar levels are not even. you need to eat fruit, yogurt and WHOLEGRAIN cereal (all nestle cereals are wholegrain, just watch the sugar in them)or bread in the morning, eat wholegrains again at lunch with lean protein(fIsh, cheese or lean meat, or pulse based products like houmus) and fruit or salad, then a proper dinner based on the same food groups. NEVER go more than 3-4 hours without food. you eat too much refined carbohydrate, which gives you a quick burst of energy, but wont sustain you, leaving you hungry and craving sugary, starchy foods.lots of whole grains fruit, veg and lean protein, as well as calcium, will help you stay slim, fit and healthy, and increase your concentration and mood. hope this helps.

Answer 4

At least you are having low carb craving instead of sugar. I read a thing on the internet that has a chart of things people crave and what your body really needs and what to eat in order to get it. Your in the carb category with bread and toast and it says that your body is lacking nitrogen and that you can find it in High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans. Very interesting site. Check it out!!!

Answer 5

All those extra carbs sure aren't going to help your cause. I, too, am trying to diet and crave cereal. You just have to learn to limit yourself, perhaps adjust your diet during the day, Try an internet search for diets, or perhaps speak to your physician.

Answer 6

youre having quite a lot of starchy foods, it can blow you out, too much cereal can upset your stomach, and contains salt and sugar, a more varied diet would be better for you

Answer 7

cereal is good water is great and milk is excellent but as long as you go to gym then you ll be healthy but if not....

Answer 8

Wow I think I would waste away if I only ate that amount.