What to eat ..what not to eat, that is the question?

lorimc71

I don't know about anyone else but I am so confused on what is good for me to eat and what's not. Any insight on food truth would be great.

queenliz99

The truth, eat what you like but just less of it.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside/p1

LKArgh

Good in what way? If it is just a general concern about proper nutrition, without dietary restrictions for any reason (health, culture, ethics etc) you can look here for example:
https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/09/HEPJan2015.jpg

CurlyCockney

I found it useful at the beginning to log everything I ate accurately, without making any changes. Looking at the stark figures at the bottom of my food diary helped me to figure out what I needed to change in order to reach the macro goals (fat, protein, carbs) MFP had set. Much later, I changed MFP targets to something more sustainable for me.

Yi5hedr3

Keep carbs under 100 grams/day.

Shrinking_Erin

Eat what you want within your target. Eventually you may start to make better choice as far as what fills you up longer and overall leaves you feeling better.

TavistockToad

eringurl33 wrote: »

Eat what you want within your target. Eventually you may start to make better choice as far as what fills you up longer and overall leaves you feeling better.

Pretty much this. Fruit and veg is good, fat protein and fibre help keep you full, cake is yummy!

CassidyScaglione

Whatever you like & not too much of it.

If you want to feel full, you'll wind up gravitating to some healthier choices anyways, since you can eat 300 g of carrots and ring in at 160 calories or so vs eating a Mcdonalds cheeseburger and ringing in at 313

lemurcat12

CurlyCockney wrote: »

I found it useful at the beginning to log everything I ate accurately, without making any changes.

If you really feel confused about how you want to eat, what the issue is with what you have been eating, this is a really valuable exercise. I think that writing down everything you eat (or even going back and reconstructing the days before you decided to lose weight) can show where you are getting excess calories and what you can do to cut calories without feeling like you are really missing anything (or much). It also starts to reveal patterns -- I think it's great to take notes of when you eat off-plan/overeat and what's going on, as that can be really revealing and helpful in figuring out how to stop it.

As for how you should be eating, I agree with others that eating for weight loss shouldn't be thought of as something separate from how you want to eat in general -- that's one thing that leads to people regaining or creating something so restrictive they can't stick to it. I also personally find it helpful to focus on nutrition, and I think many people complicate that too much. There are no foods you should eat (whether you like them or not -- no one needs to start eating the current hot superfood (chia seeds or whatever) to lose weight, and no foods you cannot eat (although some have lots of calories and not a lot of other nutrients, so you will want to eat less of them than some other foods). I think eating sensible balanced meals really is just going back to what we've known was good for us since grade school -- eat protein, eat vegetables, eat fruit if you like it, eat some tasty healthy fats (whatever you like, but watch calories) like nuts and nut butters and avocado and olive oil, etc., eat starchy carbs that you like and think about choosing higher protein or fiber options (legumes, whole grains, potatoes, sweet potatoes), eat sweets and other snack foods sparingly, and not so they spoil your dinner.

Personally I try to make sure meals have some protein and vegetables and then add other things as they fit and appeal to me. And I always add in some extras (whether it's cheese to accent the meal or as a dessert or something sweet that I like that fits into my day, like chocolate or ice cream). I also try for variety, including in my protein choices -- there's no need to eat only the leanest cuts only, let alone boneless skinless chicken breast and ground turkey. If you like other meats (or other sources of protein, like beans and rice or greek yogurt), include those!

I honestly think working with where you are and what your current preferences are and just looking at ways to cut calories without sacrificing much is usually the best way to start, but one site I do like for nutrition advice is the Harvard site (also recommended by someone else above, I see), including the Healthy Eating Plate: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

kommodevaran

You have already got a lot of great answers, but I'd like to add what I think is the most comprehensive, trustworthy and realistic healthy eating guide yet: Brazilian Diatary Guidelines

RogerToo

lorimc71 wrote: »

I don't know about anyone else but I am so confused on what is good for me to eat and what's not. Any insight on food truth would be great.

Hi
IMO a balanced diet with Vegetables, Proteins, and carbs and vitamin and mineral supplements
Also work in exercise if possible.

Good Luck
Roger

RoxieDawn

TavistockToad wrote: »

eringurl33 wrote: »

Eat what you want within your target. Eventually you may start to make better choice as far as what fills you up longer and overall leaves you feeling better.

Pretty much this. Fruit and veg is good, fat protein and fibre help keep you full, cake is yummy!

+1 and I love cake.. I still have cake..

Need2Exerc1se

I think the Mediterranean Diet is a good basic guideline for nutrition.

UG77

Consider giving "Eat to Live" a read. It has helped me a lot. It has changed how I look at food from the standard nutrition by volume to nutrition by calorie. When you compare foods based on nutrients per calorie, it becomes ridiculously obvious what you should be eating.

beemerphile1

lorimc71 wrote: »

I don't know about anyone else but I am so confused on what is good for me to eat and what's not. Any insight on food truth would be great.

Depends on your goals and we don't know your goals or anything else about you. More info may help.

Sabine_Stroehm

lorimc71 wrote: »

I don't know about anyone else but I am so confused on what is good for me to eat and what's not. Any insight on food truth would be great.

It really depends on your goals. My goals include eating lots of nutrient dense, high fiber foods. Other folks focus on protein for progressive strength training. Others just folks on calories. It all depends on the goals.

Sabine_Stroehm

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I think the Mediterranean Diet is a good basic guideline for nutrition.

I do too, and the south beach diet (which is based on the Med diet) is a good primer for that.

lorimc71

Thanks for the responses. I guess part of my issue is all of these ways of eating options. Which one is the best? Is it paleo, Mediterranean diet or is the AHA, or Atkins or South Beach. What is the best one that doesn't rob you from anything and is the most heAlthy.

CurlyCockney

The best one is the one you can stick to, and nobody else can tell you that.

cwolfman13

Let common sense be your guide and give all of the woo, fads, and trendy diets a rest.

See all of those nutritious whole foods in your store? Eat those...plenty of veg, some fruit, whole grains, whole food starches, legumes, lentils, lean sourced protein, and healthy fats...nothing wrong with treating yourself either, you need to look at your diet as a whole rather than drowning in the minutia of individual food items, meals, etc.

If I were to recommend an actual plan I would recommend South Beach...it's basically the Mediterranean diet put to paper. I'm not really down with the whole stages aspect of it, but basically stage III is how it would have you eating forever, not just to lose weight. I don't follow the plan per sei, but my diet would very much resemble stage III of South Beach

lorimc71

Thanks cwolfman. I have plan.