Foods I eat...good or bad?

fayelobeck89

Hey!
So ive been 'dieting' for about 9 weeks (or so) and it's going okay...... ish.

I've had a lot of ups and downs and I've complained about something or other almost daily.
However, I've made some changes.

Tea. I only have one mug a day, at breakfast. 9weeks ago I would have about 5 a day.
Butter. It's been about 2 weeks since I had butter last. 9 weeks ago I'd have about 60-80gms a day.
Bread. Gone, even then whole grain stuff. 9 weeks ago I have 4-6 pieces a day.
Three of my favourite foods have gone and I'm feeling great about that. I'm curious though, I don't really know how to eat 'properly' - I've had some help off a dietician and that's been really usefull. I use scales to weigh foods and ml to measure liquids.
I've cut down my portion sizes and I've managed, only recently, to stop craving sweet treats after dinner.

Anyway, here's something for the food-wise MFP people.

I eat fruit, occasionally, I probably should eat more but the 'sugar' puts me off.
I've started eating fish, skinless/ Not battered or breaded. And I eat more vegetables.

Here's some things that I fit into my calories nicely but I'm just not sure whether I should limit them or if I should keep them as regular things to eat.

Crackers.
Peanuts.
Cashew nuts.
Cereal...shreddies/special k/Cheerios/wheatabix
Tuna, tinned in brine (drained)
Pasta (white-i cannot stand the taste of the wholewheat)
Rice (white - haven't tried the wholegrain)
Carrots (raw)
Cucumber (raw)
Squash (as in the juice)
Potatoes
Noodles
Meat alternative (soya/quorn)
Low fat yogurt
Thats all I can think of at the moment - so any ideas anyone?
All advice appriciated. Thank you

ravenmiss

As long as you are hitting your goals (calories/macros) it doesn't matter what you eat barring any medical issues.

Omanya

Tea: There's no reason to limit this unless you're pregnant(caffeine) or unless your body can't tolerate it. If you're worried about black tea, try oolong(black and green), green, matcha(a kind of green tea), or white tea. The lighter it is, the less caffeine and more antioxidants. I don't think that a positive correlation between heavy tea-drinking cultures and illness or weight gain(because of the tea) has been established. The opposite, however, has been.

Butter and bread: Best to limit these, but you don't have to cut them out. Neither directly causes illnesses except perhaps in extreme excess.

Fruit: Perfectly fine to eat everyday, but as you suggested, it generally is very high in sugar, so you'll want to keep track of the for your calorie count's sake. Try combining starchy fruits with fibrous veggies, like in a salad.

As for the rest--

None of it is 'bad' unless you're allergic/intolerant to it, you eat it in excess, go over your calorie count, or heavily skew your 'ratios'.

RodaRose

Your list is great.

Tea is fine.

If you feel better without bread and butter, then keep them out.
Other wise, you can eat them.

Liftng4Lis

There are no bad foods. I eat what I use to only in moderation to fit my caloric allowance.

kommodevaran

Three of my favourite foods have gone and I'm feeling great about that.

Are you sure? I'm sad to read this, and I'm not even you!

I'm curious though, I don't really know how to eat 'properly' - I've had some help off a dietician and that's been really usefull.

Wonder what the useful part was, but anyway, lots of advice online:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Properly
You can tweak to suit your lifestyle, but this is a good place to start.

zoeysasha37

I don't label foods good or bad. I eat what I want, but in moderation. I use portion control. Nothing is off limits. I hit my macros and stay within a reasonable calorie goal.

ell_23

First, tea isn't that bad. The only real negatives is that it makes you wee a lot and too much caffeine isn't great for you - plus if you put milk in tea there's calories in that. But as long as you stay under your calorie goal it's no problem.

Second, you don't have to cut out any foods, including bread and butter, as long it's all under your calorie goal. Butter can push you over your fat goal for the day, though. Bread is okay - I eat bread as I find it's a slow release of energy and quite filling. The toast I have is only 60 calories per slice, and I have it with low fat spread.

Third, again you can eat anything as long as its within your goal. If you say you stay within your goal even with eating these foods, you have no problem. However, if you'd like comments on them, I can give my opinions on what I do?

Crackers - i eat Ryvita crackers as they're really tasty, low calorie and with the right topping make a great snack.

Peanuts and cashew nuts - i love these but only eat occasionally when i crave them as they are SO high in calories and I find them very more-ish. I can easily eat 500-600 calories of them in one go so I end up with zero calories for dinner. Unless you can easily limit yourself to only a handful I'd say avoiding them for most days to get your calories elsewhere in more nutritious and filling foods. But again, its up to you.

Cereal…shreddies/special k/Cheerios/wheatabix - I'd avoid the cereals that are super high in sugar. Most of them contain a lot of sugar, but some much much more than others. Despite what they tell you officially, I've read so many times that around 24-27 grams of sugar is a good amount in one day, and no more than that. Some of these cereals can have over 15 grams of sugar in one portion.

Tuna, tinned in brine (drained) - fine, good with salads. One normal sized tin is normally only 120-140 calories.

Pasta (white-i cannot stand the taste of the wholewheat) -measure portions as its easy to go over, but every now and then I eat this too (I eat wholewheat though)

Rice (white - haven't tried the wholegrain) - same as pasta really. I'd say it was a little healthier than pasta, though

Carrots (raw) - fab
Cucumber (raw) -fab, they're one of those almost negative calorie foods though so should only be used as a salad accompaniment or snack

Squash (as in the juice) - barely any calories in one glass when made up with water, just watch the sugar content.

Potatoes - i don't eat these because they are a veg high in calories, i prefer to fill up on things like courgettes and carrots and broccoli. I could eat a whole plate of mixed veg like that and it be the same calories as 2 medium potatoes.

Noodles - don't eat them, I'd imagine pretty similar to pasta

Meat alternative (soya/quorn) - eat all the time (mainly due to meat being so expensive and me being a student though)

Low fat yogurt - eat almost every day.

Note, low fat = (or normally high sugar so be careful!