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I try to eat well and I think I get a good balance of foods in my diet. I recently got a roommate and he literally only eats meat and breads. When I try to give him fruits or vegetables he literally closes his mouth and turns his head away and refuses to eat it (like a 2-year-old!). I actually won a couple of battles and he had a tiny bite of spinach and a tiny bite of cantaloupe in the past couple of weeks. They were the first time in his life (he's 33!) that he had even tried them before. On top of that, he often skips 1-2 meals a day and he sometimes just eats chips or cookies as one of his meals. I know that it's none of my business what he eats but he doesn't exercise either and I don't want him to have health problems! He says he takes a multi-vitamin every day so he's getting the nutrients he needs. Can someone share with me some evidence that getting vitamins in a pill is not the same as getting vitamins from food? (I already know that the fact that he doesn't exercise, skips meals, and eats a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol is definitely not helping either!)
I am surprised your roommate doesn't have a severe case of scurvy presently!
Seriously, I don't know what the taste bud issue is with some, but you can't possibly be a disciplined, responsible person in life and hate all fruits and veggies. The only people I come across who are as such, generally are irresponsible with getting to work on time, sleeping 12 hours a day, watching alot of TV, spending way more than their budgets should allow: i.e, compulsive behavior that can only be cured by the individual finding it within himself/herself to change (not some phony bush league psycho-therapy). Tell your roommate to suck it up and just eat them, especially when he is 33 for crying out loud! I've adapted and actually learned to go so far and enjoy foods like tofu, for example because of the nutrients and vitamins it offers. As a teenager, I would have sat through 24 straight hours of a "Full House" marathon on Nickelodeon before I'd digest tofu!
Skipping meals actually often causes obesity and destroys one's metabolism, causing less inclination to exercise and even partake in any assortment of constructive activities. There are clear linkages to not just poor physical health, but poor mental health when one skips meals and only devours food when one is starving, rather than eating through out the day in samll portions before hunger sets in.
As for multi-vitamins, they are the one supplement I do recommend amongst a plethora of worthless and overly expensive supplements on the market. Nothing wrong with taking one daily. But it is simply a collection of chemicals and can't technically replace the fuel supplied by foods. Foods heal illness, providing cells with energy, preventing disease and building immunity. Only whole, natural foods have this life-supporting power. A multi-vitamin should be thought of as a "capper" a way to ensure all dietary needs are met. It is NOT a replacement. Trace minerals, enzymes, flavonoids, carotenoids, pigments, terpenes, chlorophyll, coenzymes, amino acids...these essentials are not at all present in a multi-vitamin.
Seriously, your roommate isn't just taking years off his life, he is losing out on a substantial portion of his every day well-being, even if he denies it.
Hope this is helpful: sorry, I just never have been one to take the "Richard Simmons" approach. Show him some of this "tough love" (which some what you appear to have done to an extent already and I applaud you) and it can only help!
I don't much care for veggies, but I do eat some fruits. My husband is always on my case.
It is nice that you are concerned about your room mate, but if you were my room mate I would most likely get very annoyed with you if you were constantly bugging me about what I ate.
No different than if you were trying to get a vegetarian to eat meat.
I don't much care for veggies, but I do eat some fruits. My husband is always on my case.
It is nice that you are concerned about your room mate, but if you were my room mate I would most likely get very annoyed with you if you were constantly bugging me about what I ate.
No different than if you were trying to get a vegetarian to eat meat.
It IS different. Annoying perhaps, but rightfully concerned for that person to be. Not eating meat doesn't equate to being unhealthy and decaying one's health. Not eating fruits and veggies absolutely does.
I gain weight very easily if I eat over 20 carbs per day. If I want to stay thin, I can eat only meat and raw green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and green beans. The lower carb veggies. I wish I could eat fruits and grain. Even eating like this, I still have to run 4 or 5 days a week. I do take quite a few supplements as well.
People are always being my Food Police. They always know what I should be eating. Too bad they aren't willing to do my diet for me when I gain weight!
No one has ever gotten overweight from eating any vegetable or fruit, unless there is a serious, but rare pre-existing condition related to the digestive tract (usually more specifically related to the functioning of the kidneys or liver). I don't care what the carb count is. One day on talk radio on the issue of health, I listened to a caller's concern about eating bananas and his complaint though of "all those carbs". I almost drove into a ditch. The more fruits and veggies, the better.
Some people that don't otherwise eat a lot of fruit do like smoothies! I like to make fruit smoothies with bananas, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Also Mango smoothies taste delicious and pineapple, yum, yum!
No one has ever gotten overweight from eating any vegetable or fruit, unless there is a serious, but rare pre-existing condition related to the digestive tract (usually more specifically related to the functioning of the kidneys or liver). I don't care what the carb count is. One day on talk radio on the issue of health, I listened to a caller's concern about eating bananas and his complaint though of "all those carbs". I almost drove into a ditch. The more fruits and veggies, the better.
Unfortunately, sugar is sugar. Doesn't make much difference if it comes from a banana or sugar cane. There are quite a few people who gain weight from consuming too much sugar. You're lucky you don't have to worry about it!
Thanks for the responses! I am definitely not trying to get on my roommate's case about his eating habits all the time. However, I'll be sitting there eating my dinner containing both meat and vegetables and my roommate will be sitting there eating pringles or a plate full of chicken and fried rice (which is at least better than the pringles!) so it's hard to ignore sometimes.
Again, I know it's not my business what my roommate chooses to eat as it does't affect me but my father is the same way and he has a lot of health issues. Everyone around my father has asked him to eat healthier and take care of himself because we don't want him to get really sick or die young but we can't control him at all. I figure that at the age of 33, my roommate still has hope! I did actually motivate him to work out a couple of times (told him it would be easier for him to find a girlfriend/wife if he took care of himself). I will say that the food/exercise thing is really my roommate's worst flaw. He has a good job, is always helping other people, and keeps himself busy. So, it's not like he's watching TV with a tub of ice-cream every night.
Maybe there's a way I can sneak some fruits and vegetables into his diet. He says he knows they're healthy but doesn't like the texture. So, maybe if I blend the vegetables and turn them into a sauce for his meat then it would work! (He is so aware of the texture that he will pick chunks of tomatoes out of his spaghetti sauce so he doesn't have to feel them!)
I always try to eat as much fruit and veggies as possible. I make an effort at it. I lost 60 pounds by just eating as healthy as I could. Veggies were a big part of that. Give me a big salad with tons of veggies any day!!! I love it!!!!
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