Can't really cook

[andybhoy]

Hi, I'm Andy and yes, I can't cook (well anything beyond simple pasta bake dishes). I can follow instructions though, so have decided I'll be learning to cook properly as from this summer I intend cooking everything from scratch.

Why the summer and not now? Well, I'm on a vlcd (very low calorie diet) and therefore don't actually eat anything. I've lost 120lbs, and have maybe 35lbs to go, and I want to be sure that I give myself every tool available to stop me from going back the way I came. One of those, will be the ability to cook healthy, balanced meals, without using processed foods (I intend trying to remove all processed food, so will make my own sauces, etc too).

I won't be very active for a few months as best I just read and learn and it can be a bit too much like "food porn" to read about food when you can't have any!

Anyway, thanks for reading

 

[PieSusan]

 

[Scotch]

Wow! 120 pounds down the drain -- I'm VERY impressed. That takes a lot of willpower, especially to keep it off (trust me, I know what I'm talking about!). Good for you!

I agree that your plan of learning to cook well, combined with a good fundamental knowledge of nutrition and portion control, is key in that effort.

This site is a good place to find valuable information, but use common sense as a lot of the posters aren't terribly worried about weight, and many of the recipes aren't exactly on the AMA's or Weight Watcher's list of approved diet foods. You might want to avoid threads about brownies and bacon, for example, and if a recipe calls for a cup of mayonnaise or a half pound of butter, skip it.

Cooking really isn't all that difficult, it just takes practice and the patience to live through the mistakes we all inevitably make -- but that's how we learn. Read, ask questions, and above all, allow yourself to experiment.

Welcome, and good luck!

 

[DramaQueen]

How many calories a day do you comsume? And what do you mean when you say "I don't really eat anything?" You can still cook on a low calorie diet so I'm curious, what are you eating?

 

[andybhoy]

Thanks for the qelcomes, and the excellent advice Scotch

DQ, I'm on a vlcd called Lighterlife in the UK. You don't eat any conventional food at all - you have their soups, shakes, etc. My calories around around 500 a day.

When I'm fonished (around 10 to 16 weeks time), I then have to very slowly and very carefully increase my calories by about 100 a week, so that after 12 weeks, I'm eating around 2300 a day. I've been on it since the middle of September, so going back to eating now is not an option (you have to ease onto it very slowly - and thankfully it comes with CBT, to help you deal with your eating issues).

It's pretty controversial here, largely because the media like to whip people up with dishonest reporting, but I'm the healthiest I've been in 13 years and probably for the first time in my life getting all the vitamins and minerals I need. I would likely have died of a heart attack in the next 10 years, if I hadn't found this.

But when I'm done, I'll be eating a healthy, fairly low fat diet (either with weight watchers or Slimming world).

 

[ella/TO]

Just want to wish you good luck!!!!!!.More power to you!

 

[DramaQueen]

Thank you for answering. I Googled "Lighter Life Diet" and got a lot of interesting information.

 

[quicksilver]

Welcome andyb. You've lost one of me! I was wondering where I went! LOL!
Good for you. I have 0 willpower.

 

[PanchoHambre]

wow Andy amazing willpower... you sound proud and you should be.

Getting into cooking your own food sounds like a great idea for maintaining a healthy lifestyle... gives you control over both ingredients and taste.... hope you can find some ideas and have some fun here.

 

[Erinny]

I Googled the diet you're on. You've lost 120 pounds already? How wonderful! Come summertime, you'll be ready to cook healthy, good food, and you will get a lot of help and support here.

Andy, I promise you, anyone can cook. You can cook. All you do is pick good, healthy things you like to eat and fix them in a way that is most appealing and tasty to you, while staying within the parameters of the calorie limits. It may be a little tricky at first but you'll get the hang of it after a bit.

Best of luck to you. And remember, you can cook. You just have to believe that.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Wow, 120lbs is major! I lost about 100lbs with the Atkins diet five years ago or so and have kept most of it off (I need to drop about 20- winter is a tough time to stay active in South Dakota).

It will be very important to ease back into eating, that's for sure. When the caloric intake drops to that low a level it triggers the 'starvation response,' drastically cutting metabolism. So when you go back to eating even 2/3 what you did before the weight comes roaring back. It's smart that the diet takes this into account and adds food back slowly, giving the metabolism time to adjust.

Good luck with your program and welcome to DC1

 

[andybhoy]

Thank you everyone, for the really warm welcome

Erinny, that is excellent advice - about believing in myself being able to cook thank you . I always told myself I couldn't do something (especially lose weight), so it's a god reminder that I CAN do these thigs!

 

[Chef Ryan]

Thank you everyone, for the really warm welcome

What a wonderful thing, were is my welcome. I new to. This is my 3rd day on and no one welcomed me.

 

[andybhoy]

I'm sure you will, if you start a thread in this forum

 

[andybhoy]

Hey folks - haven't been back since my last post in this thread, I think. I was struggling with the idea of learning to cook while I couldn't "eat".

I thought I'd update this - I finished the abstinance phase of my diet, 4 weeks ago and have lost a total of 154lbs. I have just one small meal per day (two from tomorrow) plus low fat snacks but this does mean that I am now cooking. Just very simple things - protein and veg. But Over the next few weeks I'll be reading around to develop what I can make - especially when I'm allowed pasta again (something I mis a lot).

Anyway, thanks for all the messages before and while I'm sure I'll be quiet - I will be here a lot more

Andy