How do you choose what foods to eat?

highervibes

When you are getting your fruit and veggies, fresh is best, but just never canned. They add tons of sodium and the serving size usually has 3 servings per can in the veggies, and loads of sugar in the fruits. If you get frozen, you wont have all that soduim and sugar. That's my two cents, lol. Good luck!

I get corn in a can, kidney beans and navy beans and none of it is loaded with sodium. I didn't know fruit came in a can unless it was dessert.

aquarabbit

What tastes good and what's in season. I like to try and focus on my fiber and protein intake too. If I get those, usually the other things are pretty good. I try not to focus on doing EVERYTHING at once. Small steps. It gives me time to adjust to it and helps to become a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

TakeTimeToCare19

Fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats and a ton of water. Oh yeah and dont forget to move your Butt!

Best of luck to you!

spammarino

I try to go with high carb and protein in the mornings, then use my macros from there to determine what I should eat the rest of the day. If I am getting close to my fat limit I will have the chicken instead of the steak and vice versa. Over time you might be able to get a ballpark figure of your macros and you can then make those decisions without having to open the app.

BrianSharpe

Just eat the foods you like, study your Food Diary and learn. It's what we all did. No one gets this at first.

^^^ This

Most diets fail because people feel like they have to restrict themselves to wheat germ and bean sprouts when what they really want is a burger or pizza.

There are no "bad" foods, just bad portion sizes.

melindafritz1976

I eat what I want and exercise it off

funkyspunky872

Strictly by taste.

Agreed.

toofatnomore

Thanks for all the replies as they are very helpful. For the home cooked meals, how do you determine the calories and nutritional values? Also I see a lot of references to weighing the food. How do you use the weight information? Any other ideas?

A good digital food scale is my best friend...It really helps me from over eating based on portion size. Converting foods that you weigh based on the huge library of foods available in the database is easy. I weigh in grams. I convert to ounces and cups where needed. I log everything that goes in my mouth. Grazing is no longer part of my diet because grazing is impossible to log.
I manage a restaurant and grazing is a life long habit.

ginag516

What's working for me finally is I detox my body for a whole month just eating veggies and fish for a whole month then I choose how to eat more sensible I try not to salt my food and trying to control my sugar Intake I love cooking my own foods and pre prep my food and snacks and I always make my green smoothies I pre make my foods On my day offs and I drink loads of water I try to give myself a incentive days and I work out at least 6 times a day.
You never stop learning about nutrition learn more about how your body wants and needs 3 years on the making here and I am still learning
Good luck!

GCanha

My best piece of advice: Definately buy a food scale to weight the food you're eating. You could be eating the healthiest food possible, but if you underestimate the size of the portion you're having- it won't make a difference. I weight everything from chicken breast to pasta (yes you can still enjoy pasta). Just make sure you know how much you're eating- not just what you're eating.

ItsCasey

Because I've been at this for a long time, I have a pretty good idea of what kinds of foods I need to eat in order to reach my macro targets without going over on calories, but my own preferences are a big factor, too. I love red meat and sugar, and I make room for them in my diary when I want them. I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use to plan all my meals so that I can move things around, sub things in and out, etc., sort of a "what-if analysis," if you're familiar with that term. And once I get things looking the way I want them, I log everything and eat everything. But I'm kind of a nerd, and I get a kick out of stuff like that. You might find Excel less amusing than I do.

lewcompton

They choose me....

Just kidding...my focus is primarily on nutrient dense foods...I don't get all into whether this is clean or that is clean or if this is processed or minimally processed or whatever. I think most of it's common sense...I eat a lot of fruits and veg...nuts, avocados, olive oil/avocado oil, lean cuts of beef, chicken, fish...basically a lot of naturally occuring whole foods. I cook primarily from scratch, but don't shy away from using a can of this or that for convenience either. I don't eat much in the way of "junk" but will on occasion (i.e. if I'm going to the ball game I'm having a friggin' hotdog).

Basically I try to eat as much of the "right" things as possible...all the while, getting my fitness on and occasionally indulging in some not so "right" things.

This... I'm doing this for the rest of my life... Am I never going to eat a slice of pizza again... NO! Do I make sure to work it into my daily calorie goals and weekly macros? Yes! I try to get as much micro nutrient goodness as I can into my day but I also don't tell myself that I am not doing something ever again. I haven't had a soda in over a year, but I might have one at some point in the future... At the end of the day eat to live, but remember to live with what you eat.

Binkie1955

go low carb! keep grams of carb certainly below 50 grams a day.
avoid grains, fruit, sugar in all forms, starchy vegetables. low carb more critical than caloric count.

arabianhorselover

To each their own, but I refuse to omit grains and fruits.

go low carb! keep grams of carb certainly below 50 grams a day.
avoid grains, fruit, sugar in all forms, starchy vegetables. low carb more critical than caloric count.

ItsCasey

go low carb! keep grams of carb certainly below 50 grams a day.
avoid grains, fruit, sugar in all forms, starchy vegetables. low carb more critical than caloric count.

Just no.

sunnybear39

I love the suggestions on here, and would like to add one more- make MFP friends who have open food diaries, and see what they are eating to be successful in their calorie allotment. I get lots of good ideas from my friends' diaries and mine is open too

Jeslynn81

I go through websites like www.skinnytaste.com that have the nutrients posted for their recipes. Then I make up a meal plan for the week. I find planning the whole week keeps me on track better!