malnutrition does not equal healthy weight loss

fitbot

I have looked at some people's open food diaries and they make me really angry.
this is not a 'healthy lifestyle'. living off rice cakes and pretty much NO vegetables or fruits is not the way to go. Sure, you are losing weight but you are missing most of the vitamins, minerals and proteins that you should be getting. Unless you are doing this for a very short time to jump start your weight loss, this is NOT the way to go. Really calories restricted diet, with no healthy fats, no real protein sources, and no real vitamins (your multi vitamin is second rate benefits by the way) paired with intense working out = serious health issues in the future. You can say good bye to your joints.
PEOPLE EDUCATE YOURSELVES on nutrition!!!! meeting the calories you have been allotted is not enough.

ugh.

im going to go have a healthy breakfast now.

NightOwl1

Can't tell you how much I like this and how people need to hear this. Making sure you get enough calories and enough fats, carbs, and proteins are as important if not more than controlling what you eat when it comes to diet and weight loss. Way to many people here eat way to little.

MeghanAM

It frustrates / saddens me, too. I've struggled with an eating disorder, and watching someone make the willful choice to go down that route is so sad.

fitbot

Too little and of all the wrong things!!!!!!
just because you ate some prepackaged lean no fat thing doesn't make you a hero. that thing is probably ridiculously bad for you

had you made a salad with a protein source and some healthy fat you would have gotten way more out of it.

free fat is bad.

healthy fats are good for you

rice cakes are useless
eat a stick of celery instead.

taso42_DELETED

bump

similarly, surviving on fast food and heavily processed junked food while staying under calories is not a good long term plan.

fuzzymel

I agree with you.

I am not perfect at getting the balance right but I am eating fresh food a lot more now in order to try and get that balance.

It also saddens me when people say they hate all fruit and veg so cannot have it. I mean it all tastes so different so how can someone hate all of it?

Mads1997

Couldn't agree more. It's frightening to see what some are surviving on.

fitbot

if you are serious about weight loss and nutrition yet think that poptarts are a fruit serving I really recommend reading a book on healthy foods.
staying under your calories goal is not everything.
there are ways of getting around hating vegetables. it is all in the prep. and it also all takes getting used to.

Fuzzymel, you dont have to be perfect at the balance but making the right choices as much as you can is way better for you than starving on empty carbs.

If one wants SUCH a restrictive calorie diet, go on a juice fast. it will be mildly better .

riveraphx

Today I went to the store to get stuff to make a sandwich, I made sure I got the 100% whole wheat/Whole grain bread, romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, avocado and best of all I bought fresh sprouts for my sandwich. I was proud of myself for going the extra step and buying sprouts to give my sandwich the extra vitamins, proteins, enzymes, and minerals that makes it not only satisfying, but makes me healthier.

Buckwheat38

man i agree with you
i also see people eating close to nothing i mean its so unhealthy

fitbot

riveraphx, totally. It is all about making those good choices as much as you can and soon enough it becomes habit.

I am a child of a nutritionist so I was taught (against my will) a lot of information from a very young age, which I now am really grateful for. Additionally, prepackaged food has never been an option in my house.

Now, living away from home for many years I still make everything from scratch. I don't understand why one wouldn't. I see food as a way of feeding one's body all the things that it requires to function. you don't need to take vitamins if you eat the right things. Fresh, healthy food has everything you need to be healthy and happy.

wilted6orchid

man i agree with you
i also see people eating close to nothing i mean its so unhealthy

This is a sore spot for me. It pains me that some of my friends are pregnant or nursing, and trying to lose weight by eating one, holy-heck of a lunch for 1500 cals and skipping every other meal!

Liz75

I TOTALLY agree with what you're saying -eating low cal (high fat/ sugar) prepared foods are bad!! Not worth it!
But I would say that the food and advertising industry have a lot to answer for and they can get away with a great deal in terms of what they can label as 'low fat/ lower fat' versions and if people don't read the labels correctly then they are taking in a lot of sodium and additives etc, and low fat usually means high sugar! Plus, if people don't choose to educate themselves on the right foods to eat then perhaps they can be a little 'scared' of putting calories in unless they know the calorific value of the food. But as we know, more of the good stuff is far better than less of the crappy stuff!! ;-)

mtwd65

The thing I have found with eating fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, rice/polenta/couscous, lean meats and fish is that you have to eat so much to make your calorie quota. By eating well, I can eat so much food, I'm eating more than I did before and losing weight.

fitbot

there are simple steps you can follow with little knowledge.
a good rule is to never eat anything that claims to be low fat or 0% sugar. That food has been so processed it is no longer a live healthy food.....
try to not eat any foods that have more than 5 ingredients. even more than 3 ingredients if you are ambitious.

Delphi

Although, I agree with you in some respect. The way you come across is rather condescending and grossly negligent in the manner that you have presented your opinion. This is a site in which we want to support our fellow members with encouragement and positive reenforcement. Not by blatantly discouraging people. The people that are here are here for a reason and have taken a step in the right direction. Perhaps guidance, support and compassion are much better tools to use rather than yelling, screaming, discouraging and telling people how ignorant they are about nutrition. Just a thought.

thektturner

I do not live in a health-concsious town (I live in Northern Indiana) and I have to go way out of my way to even find good foods. Obviously any grocery store will have the fruits and veggies, but I do like my carbs and it's hard to find healthy choices around here. There is one grocery store by where I work that carries decent things, but I still have to hunt for them in the store. I understand how it's easy for people to not make good choices, when it takes more effort to find the healthy stuff. It's just sad.

Pedro_Infante

Fitbot,

I do not disagree with you. Open you diary. Lead by example.

Pete

hbunting86

I agree people do make the wrong choices sometimes about food - although this isn't necessarily their fault per se. We live in a fast-paced society, where time constraints sometimes dictate our choices, as does our financial situation in some cases. I'm currently living in New Zealand and although fruit and vegetables are grown here, for the most part they are exported and in supermarkets are wildly expensive - I'm talking $4 NZD for a bag of rocket! I also don't have transport, being at the top of a massive hill in a small coastal town where the nearest supermarket of any sort of size is around 30 minutes away... bit of a nighmare.
My main point is that given the right circumstances I'm sure the majority would make the right food choices and although compromising your diet isn't the best short cut in life, for some people it's a much more feasible one. I do agree on the whole purposefully under eating point, but I guess it's all trial and error....

fitbot

Sorry about coming across condescending. The whole thing just made me angry only bc I think people can seriously hurt themselves.

fitbot

mtwd65, I agree on that. You can eat SO MUCH more food. i read this book once and they showed eating .5 cup of peanuts which was something around 400 cals. and compared what else 400 calories can be (like a whole grain bread sandwich with a spread and tomatoes etc, and it still came up to about half the calories, and would make you much more full.....

fitbot

ok, grocery store far away, expensive veggies, not knowing any better. sure, there are always excuses.

but, in the future spending lots of money on medical bills sure seems like a more pain in the *kitten* cost than paying $4 for lettuce.
there are low cost alternatives for everything. dry beans are good for you and give you the best bang for the buck, healthy grains, also good, and these things do not cost so much. Finding asian, turkish or lebanese supermarkets also have cheaper produce than regular supermarkets. There are always ways

One wouldn't go to operate heavy machinery or wouldn't join a sports game without having instructions or knowledge of how to do it... why would you go into a diet without any instructions or knowledge??? all the information you need can be found online. and ignorance is hardly an excuse.

I realize I have an advantage by having been taught how to do things and i am more than willing to share that knowledge. Things I do are definitely not perfect. this is why I am on this site too, I want to better myself.

hbunting86

They are not necessarily excuses - rather explanations for why some people make choices regarding their diet. Plus there is that added factor that it IS a choice... nobody can force anyone to live their life the way somebody tells them to.

I have a good, varied diet - I have worked as a healthcare practitioner for a number of years and come from a family of doctors, nurses and pharmacists. My point is merely that not everybody comes from the same background and has the same frame of reference.

We could all eat better, exercise more etc.... but let's not forget we're all human and none of us perfect

fitbot

totally agreed

Dobsaya

What nuts are you guys talking about. I loooove mixed nuts. But 21 pieces (that is not whole nuts but mostly half nuts) equals 170 calories. This is not even a hand full. If I ate 4 cups of nuts, I would be a blimp. That is one of the foods I have to really monitor when I am losing weight as that is what I primarily eat to gain weight. Nuts are healthy and have healthy fat, but they will still pack on the pounds. That being said, I eat my calories because I get really hungry if I don't and I am not trying to go through life miserable. I even eat my 21 pieces of nuts per day also because they are so enjoyable. Good post. Many people are headed down the malnourished route.

fitbot

ya nuts are tricky . if trying to lose, staying away for peanuts is the best thing. eat small quantities of walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, preferable unroasted and DEFINITELY unsalted.

Dobsaya

What about cashews? Soo good, even raw.

fitbot

very
but madly addictive

can you stop at just 10?
i cant. so I stay away from them hahahahha

http://www.organiccashewnuts.com/cashewbenefits.htm

really good tho!

fuzzymel

I thought I was the only one addicted to cashews. They are so yummy.

Sparklewolfie

I totally binged on cashews recently :embarrassed:

I agree with you on the malnourishment part. My diary is open and you can probably tell that I need to work on nutrition too, but it is sort of hard to balance all the carb/protein/vitamins/fruits/veggies/etc. Maybe some more knowledgeable people on here can give tips and pointers on open diaries (hey, they're open for a reason, right?) when they see an unhealthy trend I am sure people would appreciate it! I know I would

kwardklinck

Yeah. I have a friend at work who began her journey when I did last year. She was eating about 1000 calories a day and not exercising that much. A year later, she's gained back all the weight plus some and I'm still within 3 pounds of where I was when I finished. The other thing to mention is that you can't "go on a diet" and lose the weight, then resume your unhealthy eating habits.