Other people's odd ideas about healthy.

Grokette

I am not an expert and i would never claim to be. I eat biscuits and other less nutritious foods but i also try to balance it with the other good things i eat.
However, i started a new job on monday and every single girl in the office (all four of them..) are 'dieting together' which is great but i'm trying hard not to watch them eat pasta, cheese, bacon and jacket potato for lunch as a way to cut calories right now. And one of them had pizza for breakfast but it was ok because it had sweetcorn on so it was healthier. The mind boggles!
Do they really think they are eating food which will help them lose weight? I'm really muddled by this.

pasta, cheese and bacon and potato are not 'unhealthy' but high calorie.
and yes most people dont realise just how different a bowl of pasta is and a bowl of vegetables is calorie-wise.

so true. Although I consider pasta very unhealthy. It's a refined carb. And those carbs just make you "hungry" again in a couple of hours.

isn't wholemeal pasta better for you? i eat it occasionally.

Not really. The glycemic load (the effect on the blood sugar and the amount of insulin) is the same.

Frances_C17

It depends what they were eating before but yeah I can't imagine anyone seriously thinking pizza for breakfast is healthy!

It's like the people who boast about going to the gym but you only ever see them on the recumbent bike at 0 resistance reading a magazine for half an hour...

meowow

I know a girl who is a vegetarian like me, but HATES vegetables and fruits. So instead of consuming them, eats junk food! She really does think her diet is better than people who eat meat, even though her diet only consists of junk/processed food.

I guess weight loss is ultimately calories in and calories out, but it's definitely easier to LOSE weight if you're eating clean food/balanced diet. But many people I know have had success eating pizza/pasta, just watching their portions etc. I guess it depends on the persons/will power/what works for them.

HMonsterX

Maybe they are just trying to lose some weight, not convert to being healthy.

I'll be the first to admit, and if people are honest i'm sure i'm not the only one, i'm trying to lose fat to be lighter, faster, and not as round.

Health is a by-product for me.

You don't have to cut all the "bad" food, eat only "good" food, whole grains, veggies, nuts, etc. There's "healthy" and there's "healthier". If you have 10 choccy bars a day, and cut down to 3, its "healthier".

Remember, not all of us are trying to get mega fit and that perfect 6 pack. We're just looking for a way to lose fat that is sustainable for a long time. Simply cutting down on things and exercising more will do that.

Don't vilify those who don't eat a perfectly healthy, well balanced diet.

EvelynForsyth

Maybe they are just trying to lose some weight, not convert to being healthy.

I'll be the first to admit, and if people are honest i'm sure i'm not the only one, i'm trying to lose fat to be lighter, faster, and not as round.

Health is a by-product for me.

You don't have to cut all the "bad" food, eat only "good" food, whole grains, veggies, nuts, etc. There's "healthy" and there's "healthier". If you have 10 choccy bars a day, and cut down to 3, its "healthier".

Remember, not all of us are trying to get mega fit and that perfect 6 pack. We're just looking for a way to lose fat that is sustainable for a long time. Simply cutting down on things and exercising more will do that.

Don't vilify those who don't eat a perfectly healthy, well balanced diet.

I understand that and i would never be rude about it, i would be ashamed of myself if people thought i was but the words calories, health and vitamins being bandied around during lunchtime were being used to discuss the healthiness of their lunch. I just didn't really understand, especially when i was asked about my salad (and potato, i had a potato too!) and whether i thought that was the best thing to eat to get me through the day. I wasn't trying to poke fun at people for not being in the organic shops or eating clean. I certainly don't do that. I was commenting on the pizza for breakfast with the pasta/cheese/tatos/bacon for lunch.

maidentl

My FIL is a Type 2 diabetic. I will never forget going out to eat and when the waitress told him the side of the day was brown rice, he said he can't eat rice because of his diabetes and said he'd have the mac and cheese instead. :huh:

sunkisses

This always clears things up for me: I don't worry about what other people are doing.

Gigi_licious

As long as they're holding themselves accountable, what's the problem? Will it give them loads of nutrients? No. But can they lose weight eating it as long as they're staying within their calories? Yes. Plus, who's to say they aren't eating a crazy healthy dinner? It's really not anybody's business but their own, IMO.

brooklyn_87

My boyfriend does almost the exact opposite. He eats a sandwich a day (and that's about all sometimes besides a protein shake after working out) and claims he's "healthy" because he's cutting calories and not eating junk good. While its true he's not eating junk food, he also totaled 2 servings of fruit/veggies for all of last week (yes, I kept track).....

Lakerlady5747

...Don't vilify those who don't eat a perfectly healthy, well balanced diet.

I think this is a wonderful statement! Not everyone can eat the same way. Please don't judge other people who don't have the same eating habits as you do. Instead, try to be a good role model by bringing healthy foods with you to work. That is all you can and should do, unless they ask you otherwise.

calibri

This always clears things up for me: I don't worry about what other people are doing.

But someone on the internet is wrong!

SuperScrabbleGirl

The OP was starting a discussion. It isn't her business what other people eat, and I don't think she was trying to make it her business, she was just starting a discussion about something that she witnessed. And that is okay, that's what the forums are for.
There is a lot of self righteousness on here sometimes.

mamashatzie

This always clears things up for me: I don't worry about what other people are doing.

But someone on the internet is wrong!

wickedcricket

I know a girl who is a vegetarian like me, but HATES vegetables and fruits. So instead of consuming them, eats junk food! She really does think her diet is better than people who eat meat, even though her diet only consists of junk/processed food.

I'm not sure the vegetarian union will let you in if you don't LIKE vegetables.

SuperScrabbleGirl

xkcd is ace.

I have a vegetarian friend who also doesn't eat vegetables, but does eat fish. Don't even start me. I know it's none of my business. But it annoys me.

bcattoes

pasta, cheese and bacon and potato are not 'unhealthy' but high calorie.
and yes most people dont realise just how different a bowl of pasta is and a bowl of vegetables is calorie-wise.

Pasta is unhealthy if it's not whole grain.
Cheese is not unhealthy but if it's whole milk cheese it should be eaten in moderation since that saturated fat in milk has been shown to raise your LDL levels.
Bacon is unhealthy. It a processed meat loaded with saturated fat and sodium.

lmarshel

xkcd is ace.

I have a vegetarian friend who also doesn't eat vegetables, but does eat fish. Don't even start me. I know it's none of my business. But it annoys me.

Wouldn't that actually be a pescatarian?

People are so funny sometimes with their eating habits. My boss claims to "hate meat", meaning that she does not like beef. But once in a while she says she just has to have a steak! LOL I have a friend who claims to eat an organic diet but then goes for the Cheetos and chips.

I think the healthy label is really debatable. Someone who is on a low carb eating plan would consider whole grain bread unhealthy, but for my purposes it is very healthy. We all just have to do what works for us.

SuperScrabbleGirl

Hahah, yes, it would. I know that, everyone else knows that, she knows it, she just refuses to use that term to describe herself. It causes me no end of internal annoyance.

calibri

Hahah, yes, it would. I know that, everyone else knows that, she knows it, she just refuses to use that term to describe herself. It causes me no end of internal annoyance.

Prolly too long, and then the inevitable "What's a pescetarian?" and etc.

DopeItUp

I realize that this has been pretty much beaten to death but as mentioned, maybe they don't care about eating healthy, only losing weight. Sure, you can say that they aren't eating "healthy" (depends on your perspective), but what about if you lose 100lbs by eating reasonable portions of pasta, pizza, bacon, etc - especially if you throw in a little exercise every day? I would call that a HUGE health improvement.

I guess it amuses me more than anything else. I like to have a nice cheeseburger at least once a week (I love them). I have had people comment that they thought I was trying to lose weight (and I have, 32lbs so far). What's wrong with a cheeseburger? It's beef, cheese, and a whole wheat bun. It's only about 400 calories too. It's got good carbs plus a decent source of fat and protein and little else. I'm a large man so 400 calories really isn't even enough for a meal, it takes almost 3000 just for me to maintain weight (I usually eat 2000ish and lose 2lbs a week). Pizza is fine too, I just eat 2 or 3 slices and that's it. It's just dough, smashed tomatoes, cheese and some sort of meat topping (usually). Only real downside is generally high sodium and the white dough (unless you get whole wheat dough which is rare if you don't make it yourself). Not the end of the world.