Should I Be Eating This??

NekoneMeowMixx

So this might be an obvious question, but I need some nutrition advice... I (try to) track pretty everything that goes into my mouth on MyFitnessPal in attempts to try and maintain a healthy balance. My current calorie allowance is at 1,490 with a projected weight loss of 1/2 pound per week. I don't usually have any issue staying within my calorie limits, but I find at least a few times a week I'm going past sugar, and sodium...

I stay as far away from processed foods as possible. Eat lots of fresh fruit, make 90% of our meals at home. Most of the "healthy" recipes I've found involve either pasta or beans (high in carbs and sodium, respectively) and I'm not sure if it's good to be eating them as much as I have been. But I also don't know what I *should* be eating. As with most people, time and money are my two biggest enemies. I can't afford large amounts of meats (which is okay, because the boyfriend is trying to eat as little meat as possible) and I don't get a lot of time to prepare meals...

What are my best options when I'm hitting up the grocery store? Multifaceted foods? Recipes? What should I be eating heavy in, and what should I be avoiding? I feel like a total noob, but I don't want to be wasting my money, time, and workouts to a ****ty diet...

DaveneGfit

Message me and I can help

EvanKeel

Here are the conditions under which you should avoid any particular food on any given day:

-You have an allergy or food sensitivity associated with it.
-It makes you go over your calories for the day.

It's slightly over simplified because you can set macronutrient targets if you have specific goals in mind other than just weight loss, and you also want to make sure you're getting enough vitamins and minerals, etc. You also may have a medical condition that precludes certain foods from being a part of your diet. But don't make it more complex than it has to be. Going over sodium, sugar, fats, protein, carbs, or whatever else, while staying in a deficit will not keep you from losing fat.

3dogsrunning

Message me and I can help

Why can't you post it here for everyone?

SnuggleSmacks

The best thing to do is avoid anything you're sensitive to, and eat as wide a variety as possible. Try to eat veggies and fruits of every color. One of the biggest problems in our diets is that despite the huge variety we have available, most people eat the same small list of foods over and over.

FatFreeFrolicking

You're going to get a lot of opinions regarding this topic because there is a group of people on MFP who believe they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight and then there is a group who chose to eat more healthy and avoid processed foods, etc.

At the end of the day, it's all personal preference.

A great pasta substitute is spaghetti squash. If you are worried about the sodium in beans, buy reduced sodium and rinse off beans before cooking with them.

Ldenzel

I cook my own beans in large batches and freeze them in order to cut out the sodium. A cup and a half is about 1 can. I've also recently found some canned brands that don't have any salt added. It has helped out a lot since I eat beans almost every day.

3dogsrunning

You're going to get a lot of opinions regarding this topic because there is a group of people on MFP who believe they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight and then there is a group who chose to eat more healthy and avoid processed foods, etc.

At the end of the day, it's all personal preference.

A great pasta substitute is spaghetti squash. If you are worried about the sodium in beans, buy reduced sodium and rinse off beans before cooking with them.

Gee, to which one do you belong? I can't tell.

Achrya

Eat what you like, don't eat what you don't like, pay attention to macros in whatever ratio makes you feel best, adhere to your (reasonable) calorie goal.

Profit.

whitebalance

Eat what you like, don't eat what you don't like, pat attention to macros in whatever ratio makes you feel best, adhere to your (reasonable) calorie goal.

Profit.

PikaKnight

Message me and I can help

Why can't you post it here for everyone?

Because she's a beachbody coach.

AllonsYtotheTardis

Message me and I can help

How about helping her here? That way other people can benefit as well.

unless you're selling something...

kdt0315

Yes....please post for all of us!

SugaryLynx

Message me and I can help

It's a trap!!!

Dragonwolf

So this might be an obvious question, but I need some nutrition advice... I (try to) track pretty everything that goes into my mouth on MyFitnessPal in attempts to try and maintain a healthy balance. My current calorie allowance is at 1,490 with a projected weight loss of 1/2 pound per week. I don't usually have any issue staying within my calorie limits, but I find at least a few times a week I'm going past sugar, and sodium...

I stay as far away from processed foods as possible. Eat lots of fresh fruit, make 90% of our meals at home. Most of the "healthy" recipes I've found involve either pasta or beans (high in carbs and sodium, respectively) and I'm not sure if it's good to be eating them as much as I have been. But I also don't know what I *should* be eating. As with most people, time and money are my two biggest enemies. I can't afford large amounts of meats (which is okay, because the boyfriend is trying to eat as little meat as possible) and I don't get a lot of time to prepare meals...

What are my best options when I'm hitting up the grocery store? Multifaceted foods? Recipes? What should I be eating heavy in, and what should I be avoiding? I feel like a total noob, but I don't want to be wasting my money, time, and workouts to a ****ty diet...

Buy dried beans and lentils and soak and cook them yourself, in large batches. That will allow you to control the amount of added sodium in them. Check co-ops and similar stores for bulk options, too.

For the meats you do eat, find a local farm and/or butcher. That will allow you to get meats for cheaper than most stores (and better quality, too!), and you can get things like hot dogs and sausages without as much sodium (or you can get the ingredients and make your own).

Check out recipes from a wide variety of whole foods based sites, such as vegan and paleo, to get a variety of healthy recipes for various ingredients (the paleo ones will have veggie-based stuff, too, not just meat, and some may even have organ meat recipes, which are both insanely healthy and generally budget-friendly).

As someone else mentioned, spaghetti squash is an awesome replacement for pasta. I've found that it also lends itself well to having a bold sauce on top of it.

Reduce your bread intake, and/or make your own. Store bread is a double-whammy for carbs and sodium in many cases. Making your own allows you to stick to recipes that don't require salt, and can give you a higher quality bread for pretty cheap (not the mention the satisfaction of making a good artisan bread). Trade the bread in for a lettuce wrap for sandwiches for an easy way to drop some carbs and sodium (and up the vitamins and minerals if you get a good lettuce).

If you don't suffer from or at high risk for metabolic and/or endocrine disorders (not just Diabetes, but also things like fatty liver disease), then I wouldn't worry too much about the sugar from fruits, as long as you're eating the fruits in their whole forms. That sugar is paired with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, generally outweighing the negative effects that fructose can have on the body. If you are concerned, though, then stick to berries (both the fruits commonly known as berries, such as strawberries, and the actual botanical berries, such as avocados). They will generally have less sugar in them, particularly compared to their other nutrients.

As an aside, don't forget about fermented foods. They're a great complement to fiber-rich foods, because they contain probiotics, which help your gut flora (the fiber feeds them). This can be simple things like yogurt, or you can do fun stuff like making your own kefir, real sauerkraut, and even sodas and teas.

As for your macros and how they should be set up, that depends entirely on your goals for the most part, but here are the guidelines I generally go by and recommend:

Protein -- about 1g/lb of lean body weight. The more you work out, the closer (and even slightly over) you'll want to be to that number.
Fat -- at least .35g/lb of total body weight. Fat is essential for hormone function, nutrient absorption, brain function, and a number of other processes. Going over is fine, but you'll want at least that amount.
Carbs -- depends entirely on your goals and general way of eating.

Once the minimums for protein and fat are met, you can fill in the rest with carbs and fat however you see fit. You don't have to be afraid of fat, either, just avoid trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils). Even saturated fat has its place in the body. You may need to play with the amounts, depending on your hunger levels. If you feel hungry all the time, try decreasing one and increasing the other (but always remember -- carbs and fat are fuel, when you decrease one, you must increase the other, don't use protein to make up the calories).

Beyond that, you can technically eat what you see fit. For weight loss, all that generally matters is the caloric deficit, though I've found that food choices can make maintaining that deficit harder or easier.

As Michael Pollan so elegantly put it -- "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

NekoneMeowMixx

Eat what you like, don't eat what you don't like, pay attention to macros in whatever ratio makes you feel best, adhere to your (reasonable) calorie goal.

Profit.

Wowzers, thanks guys! It does feel like a bit of an obvious question now, but I'm glad to hear the answers I have! I feel like I get so wrapped up in what I'm eating/how much, etc because I'm not looking to lose LARGE amounts of weight (I'm honestly just going for about 5 - 15 more pounds than where I am now (135). I'm more concerned with shedding off a few inches-- not so much building muscle (though I understand the two go hand in hand) I'd like to slim down, and then focus on strength training so as to "bulk up" and tone my muscles. Right now I'm about average size, but I am a bit "paunchy" and that's what I'm trying to focus on fixing...

I really don't do bread at all anymore. Tortillas will be the death of me though, I swear. Perhaps I could look into a recipe for making my own? (Because seriously-- dat sodium!) Very good idea on the going to a butcher for meats! I actually haven't thought of that, but some of my coworkers do that, so I'll look into finding a good one. Also, a few of them garden and tend to have pretty abundant results, so I'm looking forward to both getting some fresh fruit/veg and hopefully planting my own little urban garden here soon!!

My only question with the beans, is how do you keep them tasting fresh? And how long are they good to freeze for? I made a very large batch of chick peas, put them in an "airtight" tupperware container, and after about 2 months I found they had all but lost their taste (going to try and convert them into a hummus or some sort of otherwise flavorful recipe) I'm not sure if it was my storage method or how long they were in there, but they just taste well, tasteless...

I've heard of spaghetti squash, and I will definitely have to try it! Right now we have about half a dozen boxes of assorted pastas in the cupboard, and I've been avoiding using them until I need a quick meal with otherwise nutritious ingredients to outweigh the bad...

And whoever mentioned the vitamin thing reminds me-- I *do* actually have a fairly moderate - severe deficiency in iron (I'm typically a couple points below what's needed to donate blood) and vitamin D (my doctor actually prescribed me to take 10,000 IU of vitamin D a day) I'm also trying to have a diet that's rich in biotin (I take supplements as well) because over the years I've had severe hair thinning, and I believe it's largely contributed to stress and my poor dieting.

So really, I'm not just looking for a "healthy" diet, but a "happy" diet as well. These are all wonderful suggestions so far, and I'm definitely going to check all these options out! Thanks, guys!!

Dragonwolf

And whoever mentioned the vitamin thing reminds me-- I *do* actually have a fairly moderate - severe deficiency in iron (I'm typically a couple points below what's needed to donate blood) and vitamin D (my doctor actually prescribed me to take 10,000 IU of vitamin D a day) I'm also trying to have a diet that's rich in biotin (I take supplements as well) because over the years I've had severe hair thinning, and I believe it's largely contributed to stress and my poor dieting.

Probably not what you want to hear, but...eat plenty of meat and animal fats. Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, and the B Vitamins are but some of the vitamins you're dropping intake of when you minimize meat (between lack of certain nutrients in plants, and lower bioavailability of others). "Cheap" cuts like liver are also high in both Vitamin D and Biotin. These things can help with the hair thinning, as well as potential underlying issues (which, of course, should be ruled out -- hair thinning can indicate a larger issue, such as PCOS or thyroid disorders, especially when coupled with other things, like iron deficiency).

And, of course, for Vitamin D, itself -- get more sunlight. Even 15 minutes a day of exposure without sunblock blows any method of ingesting Vitamin D out of the water.

I'm more concerned with shedding off a few inches-- not so much building muscle (though I understand the two go hand in hand) I'd like to slim down, and then focus on strength training so as to "bulk up" and tone my muscles. Right now I'm about average size, but I am a bit "paunchy" and that's what I'm trying to focus on fixing...

With that little to lose, I have one thing for you --

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

MelodyandBarbells

Freezing cooked food for two months! Jebus, woman, cook a bit more often! Geez, wait till I find out this is a standard practice...

tehboxingkitteh

Freezing cooked food for two months! Jebus, woman, cook a bit more often! Geez, wait till I find out this is a standard practice...

sometimes I might have food frozen for two months. That doesn't mean I don't cook almost daily.

I just cook in large batches, and don't feel like eating the same dinner five nights in a row, so I freeze for later use.

Some of us aren't Martha Stewart :flowerforyou:

MelodyandBarbells

Freezing cooked food for two months! Jebus, woman, cook a bit more often! Geez, wait till I find out this is a standard practice...

sometimes I might have food frozen for two months. That doesn't mean I don't cook almost daily.

I just cook in large batches, and don't feel like eating the same dinner five nights in a row, so I freeze for later use.

Some of us aren't Martha Stewart :flowerforyou:

I don't get it - do you cook almost daily or not? If the food is starting to taste crappy due to too long storage , there seems to be at least one pretty obvious solution to me!