I dont know what type of foods to eat.

MKEgal

This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you how many servings of various food groups to eat
to maintain any particular weight. If you enter your healthy goal weight (based on BMI), or play with the numbers
to get the weight into a healthy range, this will help you plan your food intake.
https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

Here's a newbie help post which has links to a variety of useful information.
Go read the first one, sexypants now.
The ones about setting realistic goals, accurate logging, motivation, etc. will also be useful.

In general, eat what you like, just in reasonable portions.
If you go heavy on the veggies & protein, increase your intake of whole grains, and eat (comparatively) light on
fruit, fats, & simpler carbs you'll get plenty of nutrition, feel satisfied, and have lower calorie totals & greater
weight loss.
DON'T go overboard and cut anything out of your diet unless you're allergic to it. Just moderate your intake.
Figure out what works best for you.

.
As for this...:

You cant eat just ben and jerrys and only drink coke

Sure you can. You won't be very healthy though.
But for weight loss/gain, 1400 cal of ice cream = 1400 cal of broccoli.
And if you eat more calories than you need (likely, on a diet of coke floats) you'll gain weight.

MKEgal

bhawk with 7 posts says wrote:

I disagree with eating what you usually eat but in moderation or less of it.
The key isn't just about losing weight, but also adjusting to more natural and healthier foods.

You can disagree all you want, but if someone doesn't like "more natural & healthier foods" they're
not going to be happy eating them, and the life change won't happen.
If they're eating foods they like, only in moderation, they'll be happy & the change will be sustainable.

.

a lot of "foods" out there offer no real nutritional value ... maple syrup

Syrup, from any source, is pretty much pure carbohydrates. (ETA: and water.)
That's its only nutritional value. (And yes, carbs are nutrition.)

.

check ingredients. If there's mystery ingredients or chemicals avoid it

Hint: every food is organic, and EVERYTHING has chemicals.
Being too stupid to understand what a chemical name represents, or how to pronounce it, should
be a badge of shame, not a point of pride.

For example... would you eat this list of chemicals? I do, with great relish. They're yummy.

dimeric ellagitannin agrimoniin which is an isomer of sanguiin H-6. Other polyphenols present
include flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols and phenolic acids, such as
hydroxybenzoic acid and hydroxycinnamic acid... fisetin ... achenes .... include ellagic acid, ellagic
acid glycosides, and ellagitannins.

Pelargonidin-3-glucoside ... cyanidin-3-glucoside ... rutinose, arabinose, and rhamnose ...

dimeric anthocyanins (flavanol-anthocyanin adducts: catechin(4α→8)pelargonidin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside,
epicatechin(4α→8)pelargonidin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside, afzelechin(4α→8)pelargonidin 3-O-β-
glucopyranoside and epiafzelechin(4α→8)pelargonidin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside) can also be found ...

methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl propanoate, isopropyl acetate, ethyl propanoate, methyl
butyrate, (E)-2-pentenal, butyric acid, methyl isovalerate, ethyl butyrate, n-hexanal, butyl acetate,
methyl pentanoate, 2-methyl butanoic acid, isopropyl butanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl 3-
methylbutanoate, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, isoamyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl
acetate, 2-heptanone, propyl butyrate, ethyl pentanoate, 2-heptanol, amyl acetate, (E,E)-2,4-
hexadienal, methyl hexanoate, hexanoic acid, benzaldehyde, butyl butyrate, ethyl hexanoate, (Z)-3-
hexenyl acetate, hexyl acetate, (Z)-2-hexenyl acetate, isopropyl hexanoate, ethyl-2-hexenoate, d-
limonene, amyl butyrate, furaneol, heptanoic acid, mesifurane, propyl hexanoate, linalool, nonanal,
methyl octanoate, octanoic acid, ocimenol, benzyl acetate, ethyl benzoate, butyl hexanoate, ethyl
octanoate, octyl acetate, alpha-terpineol, isoamyl hexanoate, nonanoic acid, octyl butyrate, ethyl
decanoate, decyl acetate, octyl butyrate, ethyl decanoate, decyl acetate, octyl isovalerate, β-
farnesene, γ-decalactone, α-farnesene, (E)-nerolidol, octyl hexanoate, decyl butyrate, γ-
dodecalactone.

.

If you avoid those types of foods and shift to an all natural and organic diet you will definitely lose some weight

Only if CI < CO.
For weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit what you eat, only how much.
For health, what you eat matters a great deal.

Bshmerlie

Well the OP didn't say they were looking for suggestions simply on weight loss. They were asking in general about what type of foods and portion sizes. I think it's only prudent that we should at least start off recommending a healthy balanced diet that focuses on proper nutrition.

Sabine_Stroehm

MKEgal wrote: »

This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you how many servings of various food groups to eat
to maintain any particular weight. If you enter your healthy goal weight (based on BMI), or play with the numbers
to get the weight into a healthy range, this will help you plan your food intake.
https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

Here's a newbie help post which has links to a variety of useful information.
Go read the first one, sexypants now.
The ones about setting realistic goals, accurate logging, motivation, etc. will also be useful.

In general, eat what you like, just in reasonable portions.
If you go heavy on the veggies & protein, increase your intake of whole grains, and eat (comparatively) light on
fruit, fats, & simpler carbs you'll get plenty of nutrition, feel satisfied, and have lower calorie totals & greater
weight loss.
DON'T go overboard and cut anything out of your diet unless you're allergic to it. Just moderate your intake.
Figure out what works best for you.

.
As for this...:

You cant eat just ben and jerrys and only drink coke

Sure you can. You won't be very healthy though.
But for weight loss/gain, 1400 cal of ice cream = 1400 cal of broccoli.
And if you eat more calories than you need (likely, on a diet of coke floats) you'll gain weight.

Interesting website! Thanks for posting.

jgnatca

sortiz0114 wrote: »

I just joined and I need help on what to cook and how to keep my meals portions can anyone help me out ?
I would really appreciate the help.

I've put together a Pinterest board with a sample beginner's menu. But really, you'll have best success by getting used to weighing and recording your food for a week or two, looking over your daily choices, and deciding what you want to change based on your results. Some foods, such as nuts, will surprise you how calorie dense they are. Not that they're bad, just you have to measure carefully.

https://www.pinterest.com/janetkarasz/todays-menu/

maillemaker

They key, as several people have already said, is to weigh and measure your food and log it.

You can pretty much eat whatever you want, provided you have the willpower to stop eating foods you really like. Some people find it easier to cut out foods they can't control themselves around altogether. If you can't eat only half a cup of ice cream, don't buy ice cream.

But pretty much you can eat whatever you want. The key is to measure so you start to understand what proper portions look like. You will be amazed. Some foods are so calorie dense they just aren't worth eating. Nuts are that way for me - a handful is 300 calories. I'd rather have a sandwich.

bhawk102

Hint: every food is organic, and EVERYTHING has chemicals.
Being too stupid to understand what a chemical name represents, or how to pronounce it, should
be a badge of shame, not a point of pride.

Oh please. There's differences between organic, natural, and artificial. I can't find HFCS in nature, it's a man made artificial sweetener. Sugar I can find in nature. Why don't we look at bread as an example? I was going to post pictures and examples, but these sites do a good job:
http://foodbabe.com/2014/02/24/healthiest-bread-on-the-market/
http://naturallysavvy.com/eat/scary-ingredients-used-in-bread-manufacturing

Look at all the fillers and artificial ingredients found in those breads. If you are dieting and want to lose weight you aren't getting anything healthy or worthwhile from using those breads. Bread does not need that many ingredients. Here's Ezekiel bread:
http://www.foodforlife.com/product/breads/ezekiel-49-sprouted-whole-grain-bread
Ingredients
Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt.

Here's Sara Lee White Bread:
Flour Enriched ( Wheat Flour , Barley Malted Flour , Niacin Vitamin B3 , Iron Reduced , Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1 , Riboflavin Vitamin B2 , Folic Acid Vitamin B9 ) , Water , Corn Syrup High Fructose , Yeast , Butter Salted , Contains 2% or less of the Following: ( , Salt , Wheat Gluten , Whey , Beta Carotene , Flavors Natural Butter , Vinegar , Soybean(s) , and/or , Cottonseed Oil , Honey , Soy Lecithin , Yeast Nutrients ( Monocalcium Phosphate , Calcium Sulphate , Ammonium Sulfate ) , Corn Starch , Dough Conditioners ( Contains One Or More Of The Following , : , Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate , Mono and Diglycerides ) , Guar Gum , Calcium Propionate ( Preservative )




Yeah, which would you rather have? Even this foodfacts website (http://www.foodfacts.com/ci/nutritionfacts/Bread-and-Flour-Products/Sara-Lee-Classic-White-Bread--oz/67546) gives it an F.

MakePeasNotWar

bhawk102 wrote: »

Hint: every food is organic, and EVERYTHING has chemicals.
Being too stupid to understand what a chemical name represents, or how to pronounce it, should
be a badge of shame, not a point of pride.

Oh please. There's differences between organic, natural, and artificial. I can't find HFCS in nature, it's a man made artificial sweetener. Sugar I can find in nature. Why don't we look at bread as an example? I was going to post pictures and examples, but these sites do a good job:
http://foodbabe.com/2014/02/24/healthiest-bread-on-the-market/
http://naturallysavvy.com/eat/scary-ingredients-used-in-bread-manufacturing

Look at all the fillers and artificial ingredients found in those breads. If you are dieting and want to lose weight you aren't getting anything healthy or worthwhile from using those breads. Bread does not need that many ingredients. Here's Ezekiel bread:
http://www.foodforlife.com/product/breads/ezekiel-49-sprouted-whole-grain-bread
Ingredients
Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt.

Here's Sara Lee White Bread:
Flour Enriched ( Wheat Flour , Barley Malted Flour , Niacin Vitamin B3 , Iron Reduced , Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1 , Riboflavin Vitamin B2 , Folic Acid Vitamin B9 ) , Water , Corn Syrup High Fructose , Yeast , Butter Salted , Contains 2% or less of the Following: ( , Salt , Wheat Gluten , Whey , Beta Carotene , Flavors Natural Butter , Vinegar , Soybean(s) , and/or , Cottonseed Oil , Honey , Soy Lecithin , Yeast Nutrients ( Monocalcium Phosphate , Calcium Sulphate , Ammonium Sulfate ) , Corn Starch , Dough Conditioners ( Contains One Or More Of The Following , : , Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate , Mono and Diglycerides ) , Guar Gum , Calcium Propionate ( Preservative )




Yeah, which would you rather have? Even this foodfacts website (http://www.foodfacts.com/ci/nutritionfacts/Bread-and-Flour-Products/Sara-Lee-Classic-White-Bread--oz/67546) gives it an F.

Food Babe is not someone I would be looking to for nutritional (or any non-crazy) information.

I think I see where you are going, kind of, but just natural vs non-natural isn't useful enough as information. Arsenic is natural. Injected insulin is not.

Th big benefits of whole and minimally processed foods are fibre and water, and phytonutrient content, and yes, it can't hurt to avoid unnecessary additives (though it won't necessarily help, either). Even then, that's still a pretty broad generalization, as several whole foods can become harmful if over consumed, and many processed foods contain plenty of fibre and water. Also, a lot of the additives you see are actually useful and required in the human diet (though they are found in whole foods as well).

I actually do try to follow a nutrient dense whole foods diet as much as my energy levels and motivation will allow, but I think a lot of the arguments for avoiding processed foods are oversimplified, exaggerated, and sometimes (especially with Food Babe) completely unfounded.

bhawk102

True, there is still debates from the medical community in regards to the effects of said ingredients. I just posted foodbabe for that info which you can get anywhere and not her actual comments. Plus you can read anywhere that enriched flour is just terrible for you. It takes the nutrients out of the grains and then puts in artificial ones. I just think with internet shopping and more stores with natural foods and companies dishing out natural foods you really should opt for them more than bigger name brands. Go back to the way food was before major companies were getting subsidies from the government to cut corners and change things.