Boar's Head/Deli Meats

jrtoastyman

Hey folks, I've been on this health improvement thing for about a month now, and it's going well. Lost some weight, activity level up, clothes fitting better and in general just feeling better, which is all great.

I have been incorporating quite a bit of deli meat into my diet -- it's part of my lunch ritual, and will occasionally have it for dinner as well. I like that it's low in calories and carbs, easy to portion and know exactly how much I'm getting, and it is a convenient source of protein. With that said, it is the one area where I'm really relying upon a heavily processed food, and that gives me a little bit of concern. I'm getting the freshly sliced stuff from the Deli (Boar's Head brand), not the prepackaged stuff by the hot dogs, etc., but still...

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Part of me thinks, "hey, if it ain't broke," but I do want to develop more healthful eating habits in general, not just drop weight.

TIA

WickedPineapple

I used to work in a deli and some of the cheaper stuff I cut was probably worse than hot dogs. The problem with lunch meat is the sodium content, MSG, nitates/nitrites, and other preservatives. Boar's Head and other brands offer all natural options that don't have those chemicals in them (some deli's have them, some don't), I would try to find those if you're eating lunch meat everyday. I'd also cut it down to only once a day to keep your sodium from being too excessive because even the all natural stuff is high in sodium.

ldrosophila

MMMMM boar's head kicks major azz. That's heaven to me deli meat and cheese. And who told you deli meat couldnt be a healthful part of your diet do you have renal failure or gout?

bcattoes

The American Institute for Cancer Research says

Research on processed meat shows cancer risk starts to increase with any portion.

http://preventcancer.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recommendations_05_red_meat

This is why I started roasting my own meat for sandwiches and just gave up the deli stuff.

bizco

Deli meats are one of the most heavily processed foods out there. Plus extremely high in sodium. You're better off buying whole meats and portion it out yourself. Do all the cooking on the weekend, portion enough out for 2-3 days, freeze the rest until you're ready to use it.

I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and turkey breasts. I also buy beef roasts and throw them in the crockpot.

You should add "sodium" to your food diary so you can see how much you're eating. MFP's default is too high. You're better off customizing your own macro/micros. Daily sodium should be 1500-2200mg daily, the lower the better. If you have high blood pressure you should be on the low end of that range.

Send me a message if you need help doing any of that.