Quality of food vs. weight loss is frustrating!

opaquewhite

I remember when all I really worried about was eating less calories to lose weight, and it actually worked! Buying sugar free snacks, crackers with less fat, etc etc. I miss those days. Now I'm so overly educated on the negative effects of HFCS, soy, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats, pesticides, GMOs, chicken and meat with antibiotics, wild caught vs. farm raised fish, etc etc. So not only do I have to focus on less calories, now I also have to worry about the quality of food that I eat. No doubt it is more expensive as well, unless you really make the effort to do the research, which takes more energy as well!

Honestly, I'm way more worried about overall health than losing weight, but sometimes I miss the days where I was once ignorant to all this horrific stuff that's being sold to us. Losing weight is certainly not as easy on my 30's as it once was, but I just keep telling myself that my elderly self will thank me!

It's just such a pain in the *kitten* now :-( Is anyone else's mind completely numb from all this like mine is?

jacksonpt

What about the health impact of stress? Maybe you are doing more harm than good worrying about every little thing you put in your body.

Just a thought. Frankly, I don't care about HFCS, pesticides, antibiotics, etc.

micheleb15

I've come to the conclusion that just about anything I eat could have the potential to kill me one day. As long as I enjoy each day up to that day, I am not too concerned.

musclemama78

I avoid as many artificial things as well. However I have noticed two things: I can't have any "sweets" (except for a cheat) because I don't do fake sweeteners. And I also need to watch my fat more. I got into this mindset that natural nut butter, coconut oil, etc is healthy, and it is, but I was probably getting about 90 grams of fat in a day before I started counting here. It's been eye opening.
I think once I hit my goal weight, I'll be able to just "eat clean" and not count. Of course, I love to exercises, so that helps!

opaquewhite

I'm not saying I've ruled all of these things out entirely, I still do have a diet soda now and then, and anything I get from a restaurant certainly won't measure up to all of these, but I think it really is important to make the right choices when you can, that's all.

tigersword

I'll give you trans fats, maybe pesticides. Everything else in your list of examples is perfectly safe. It sounds more like you've bought into the fear mongering that's been spread about. Based on the available science (which is rather extensive,) barring specific allergies, there are no negative issues to consuming any of the things you've mentioned.

People make a lot of money by praying on people's fears. Heck, I see food companies making tons of extra profits from it. Watching them market HFCS free products for double the price, and laughing all the way to the bank, because they know there's no difference from a health perspective.

micheleb15

People make a lot of money by praying on people's fears. Heck, I see food companies making tons of extra profits from it. Watching them market HFCS free products for double the price, and laughing all the way to the bank, because they know there's no difference from a health perspective.

Naked Juice is a great example of this. They had a great run until now.

bcattoes

Now I'm so overly educated on the negative effects of HFCS, soy, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats, pesticides, GMOs, chicken and meat with antibiotics, wild caught vs. farm raised fish, etc etc.

There is actually no evidence that most of this stuff is harmful to humans. Some is lacking studies or hasn't been around long enough to prove or disprove long term consumption concerns.

InForBacon

ttiernay

You will find your balance. Keep eating lots of fruits and vegetables and keep listening to your body.

mama2redhead

I totally understand Opaquewhite! I could have written this post. I follow foodbabe on Facebook, and have told my husband that I felt better when I never read about all this stuff! I do like the 100daysofrealfood.com blog. I have found great recipes for things like fudge pops so that we can enjoy food free of all the processed ingredients.

I go to the farmers market and grew my own garden. I nearly cut out aspartame and Splenda. However, I still eat soy. Yesterday I was reading about paleo and had to stop before I decided all grains are evil.

Everything in moderation. I do well about 80% of the time. I need to congratulate myself on that and freak out less over the small stuff. But, I can totally identify with you....I thought I was the only one who felt this way! Nice to know I am not alone.

WhiteRabbit1313

I've come to the conclusion that just about anything I eat could have the potential to kill me one day. As long as I enjoy each day up to that day, I am not too concerned.

^^Same here.

I figure that if I vary my intake of foods and choose less processed ones 80% of the time, for example, I am doing better than I was when I ate only fast food and processed foods. I'm also hoping that by varying my food types (meats, veggies, cheeses) and having a diversified palette, I'll either luck into better health, or won't get too much "bad" stuff from the one thing I didn't know would cause me to, say, grow a third arm, later.

jacksonpt

lol... love this.

CrazyCatLadylovescats

I find that after eating "real" food, that the processed stuff all tastes like crap to me. It looks good, it smells good...but it doesn't taste as good as it should. Makes it a lot easier to justify not eating it. Stuff that I make myself...well, that is the good stuff. But I don't go out of my way to make candy, or even bread any more, so I rarely eat it.

opaquewhite

I have to disagree with most of the claims that artificial sweeteners aren't bad for you, since studies have shows that they can actually hinder weight loss and cause many other issues. (If there are studies that show otherwise, please share, I am interested!) It's a personal choice to eat clean, to each their own I suppose. I assure you that there is a great deal of lies on food packaging already, and these companies have been laughing all the way to the bank for a long time now. I won't eat anything with HFCS is I can help it, that's my choice, but that's part of my decision to eat clean and unprocessed foods.

opaquewhite

I find that after eating "real" food, that the processed stuff all tastes like crap to me. It looks good, it smells good...but it doesn't taste as good as it should. Makes it a lot easier to justify not eating it. Stuff that I make myself...well, that is the good stuff. But I don't go out of my way to make candy, or even bread any more, so I rarely eat it.

I definitely agree with this. I feel horrible when I eat anything processed, even though it still appeals to me.

opaquewhite

I totally understand Opaquewhite! I could have written this post. I follow foodbabe on Facebook, and have told my husband that I felt better when I never read about all this stuff! I do like the 100daysofrealfood.com blog. I have found great recipes for things like fudge pops so that we can enjoy food free of all the processed ingredients.

I go to the farmers market and grew my own garden. I nearly cut out aspartame and Splenda. However, I still eat soy. Yesterday I was reading about paleo and had to stop before I decided all grains are evil.

Everything in moderation. I do well about 80% of the time. I need to congratulate myself on that and freak out less over the small stuff. But, I can totally identify with you....I thought I was the only one who felt this way! Nice to know I am not alone.

I'm with ya! I just started my own garden this year, it's a great way to get around all the expensive organic veggies! I don't really follow extreme diets like paleo, I feel that I do need the grains to be healthy! 80% is where it's at :-) If I can eat unhealthy but not chemical junk the other 20% of the time, it's a win! I go to the Unreal candy bars and I always check ingredients in ice cream, etc.

tigersword

I have to disagree with most of the claims that artificial sweeteners aren't bad for you, since studies have shows that they can actually hinder weight loss and cause many other issues. (If there are studies that show otherwise, please share, I am interested!) It's a personal choice to eat clean, to each their own I suppose. I assure you that there is a great deal of lies on food packaging already, and these companies have been laughing all the way to the bank for a long time now. I won't eat anything with HFCS is I can help it, that's my choice, but that's part of my decision to eat clean and unprocessed foods.

There are a few weak correlative studies, but there are zero studies that show any negative health effects of any kind that are caused by artificial sweeteners. Trust me, scientists have tried to recreate most claims that are out there, and have been unable to do it, even using doses 100 times greater than the established safe limit.

People can choose to eat anyway they please, my only concern with food threads on these boards is to make sure that misinformation is debunked. Heck, there are many foods that I choose not to eat that I still defend on these boards, just because I know some people enjoy them, and I'd hate to see anybody scared away from a food they enjoy due to something posted about it that turns out to not be true.

Acg67

I remember when all I really worried about was eating less calories to lose weight, and it actually worked! Buying sugar free snacks, crackers with less fat, etc etc. I miss those days. Now I'm so overly educated on the negative effects of HFCS, soy, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats, pesticides, GMOs, chicken and meat with antibiotics, wild caught vs. farm raised fish, etc etc. So not only do I have to focus on less calories, now I also have to worry about the quality of food that I eat. No doubt it is more expensive as well, unless you really make the effort to do the research, which takes more energy as well!

Honestly, I'm way more worried about overall health than losing weight, but sometimes I miss the days where I was once ignorant to all this horrific stuff that's being sold to us. Losing weight is certainly not as easy on my 30's as it once was, but I just keep telling myself that my elderly self will thank me!

It's just such a pain in the *kitten* now :-( Is anyone else's mind completely numb from all this like mine is?

I'm curious as how you went about educating yourself to become overly educated on the listed things. For instance, are you aware organic farmers also use pesticides? That there is no current legit research showing GMOs to be bad? Artifical sweeteners have been shown to safe for human consumption? Metabolically HFCS and sucrose are for all intents and purposes the same? That not all trans fats are bad?

InForBacon

I remember when all I really worried about was eating less calories to lose weight, and it actually worked! Buying sugar free snacks, crackers with less fat, etc etc. I miss those days. Now I'm so overly educated on the negative effects of HFCS, soy, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats, pesticides, GMOs, chicken and meat with antibiotics, wild caught vs. farm raised fish, etc etc. So not only do I have to focus on less calories, now I also have to worry about the quality of food that I eat. No doubt it is more expensive as well, unless you really make the effort to do the research, which takes more energy as well!

Honestly, I'm way more worried about overall health than losing weight, but sometimes I miss the days where I was once ignorant to all this horrific stuff that's being sold to us. Losing weight is certainly not as easy on my 30's as it once was, but I just keep telling myself that my elderly self will thank me!

It's just such a pain in the *kitten* now :-( Is anyone else's mind completely numb from all this like mine is?

I'm curious as how you went about educating yourself to become overly educated on the listed things. For instance, are you aware organic farmers also use pesticides? That there is no current legit research showing GMOs to be bad? Artifical sweeteners have been shown to safe for human consumption? Metabolically HFCS and sucrose are for all intents and purposes the same? That not all trans fats are bad?

opaquewhite

I remember when all I really worried about was eating less calories to lose weight, and it actually worked! Buying sugar free snacks, crackers with less fat, etc etc. I miss those days. Now I'm so overly educated on the negative effects of HFCS, soy, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats, pesticides, GMOs, chicken and meat with antibiotics, wild caught vs. farm raised fish, etc etc. So not only do I have to focus on less calories, now I also have to worry about the quality of food that I eat. No doubt it is more expensive as well, unless you really make the effort to do the research, which takes more energy as well!

Honestly, I'm way more worried about overall health than losing weight, but sometimes I miss the days where I was once ignorant to all this horrific stuff that's being sold to us. Losing weight is certainly not as easy on my 30's as it once was, but I just keep telling myself that my elderly self will thank me!

It's just such a pain in the *kitten* now :-( Is anyone else's mind completely numb from all this like mine is?

I'm curious as how you went about educating yourself to become overly educated on the listed things. For instance, are you aware organic farmers also use pesticides? That there is no current legit research showing GMOs to be bad? Artifical sweeteners have been shown to safe for human consumption? Metabolically HFCS and sucrose are for all intents and purposes the same? That not all trans fats are bad?

This post was not intended for me to preach about the negative effects of any of these.

I'm not here to start an argument on what's good and what's bad. That happens way too much on these message boards, and since I'm not trained in nutrition, I'm not going to get into it. I have gotten my information both from various sources, and by how I feel after I eat them. When I eat, I strive to get the maximum health benefits and nutrition that I can from it, and that's my personal goal. I encourage everyone to be knowledgeable about what they're putting into their bodies, and that's what I've done and continue to do. No amount of "safe" claims about artificial sweeteners will convince me to go back to consuming them like I once did, because I feel 500% better since I've cut these things out.

I'm comfortable with my choices and proud of them, although I do find it to be a burden to prepare all my meals myself. That's life, and that's how I choose to spend my energy. I was merely asking if I was the only one who felt this way.