Quantity vs Quality debate

lmelangley

Fewer ingredients is always better, health wise. Nature is always better than a lab. It's not as processed, tastes better, and usually fills you up more. I'm always of the mind it's best to eat a smaller quantity of healthy food than a large quantity of the processed stuff. If I want a large quantity, I can have a pretty huge salad anytime. This is about a lifestyle change, and we all have the little things we, as humans, want as "comfort food". Each person has their own thing. For me, it's real half and half in my coffee every morning. I'm totally with you there.

CashierCantin

I like all the views. Thanks so much for chiming in.

I do want to make this a lifestyle change.

I just got to thinking that if I were to switch things out here and there, even though they were not superior in ingredients to barter for more calories....is that wise?

I like how I am eating...even though at night I am still fighting the munchies. But I've lost weight and think I am not doing too bad as far as the foods I am eating.

I am doing this for health first and foremost (for the long run), the weight loss is the bonus. I WANT to lose weight, but I NEED to be healthier.

CMmrsfloyd

I like all the views. Thanks so much for chiming in.

I do want to make this a lifestyle change.

I just got to thinking that if I were to switch things out here and there, even though they were not superior in ingredients to barter for more calories....is that wise?

I like how I am eating...even though at night I am still fighting the munchies. But I've lost weight and think I am not doing too bad as far as the foods I am eating.

I am doing this for health first and foremost (for the long run), the weight loss is the bonus. I WANT to lose weight, but I NEED to be healthier.

If you don't want to sacrifice your food preferences but want more calories to play with, you could add in some exercise to 'earn' more calories and still be able to keep the types of food you like. :-)

CashierCantin

AHHHH! You said the <biting nails> EEEEEEE word!!!!

LOL

Yea, I do intend to start exercising.....my DR wants me to start walking. I need to get the treadmill out of the storage room and move it into the TV viewing area. It's too dark to walk outside after work now. My fiance' will help me tomorrow. Only thing is, I'll only be able to do about 30 minutes a day, which will only give me an extra 124 calories. I work from 8-6. Come home, take care of pets, clean house, make myself dinner and maybe have about 30 minutes before my fiance' comes home from work. Makes for a pretty long day. So i'll try to fit it in there!

CMmrsfloyd

AHHHH! You said the <biting nails> EEEEEEE word!!!!

LOL

Yea, I do intend to start exercising.....my DR wants me to start walking. I need to get the treadmill out of the storage room and move it into the TV viewing area. It's too dark to walk outside after work now. My fiance' will help me tomorrow. Only thing is, I'll only be able to do about 30 minutes a day, which will only give me an extra 124 calories. I work from 8-6. Come home, take care of pets, clean house, make myself dinner and maybe have about 30 minutes before my fiance' comes home from work. Makes for a pretty long day. So i'll try to fit it in there!

If you really get your arms into it when you're walking, like holding a couple of water bottles or small weights and maybe throwing punches, it helps get your heartrate up and burns more calories. A lot of my workouts are just that - walking on the treadmill about 3.5 mph and throwing punches with water bottles. It sounds silly and probably looks silly, but if you have a HRM you can easily see the difference. Just walking my HR might be around 130, but when I get those ridiculous arm movements going for awhile it can get up to 150-160 and burns calories faster. If you only have a short time to workout, make it count. :-)

MaterMama

I am finding for myself that when I eat quality foods I eat less then when I eat processed foods. So for me so far it seems
QUALITY = less calories consumed and processed = more calories consumed or more QUANTITY

TeaBea

AHHHH! You said the <biting nails> EEEEEEE word!!!!

LOL

Yea, I do intend to start exercising.....my DR wants me to start walking. I need to get the treadmill out of the storage room and move it into the TV viewing area. It's too dark to walk outside after work now. My fiance' will help me tomorrow. Only thing is, I'll only be able to do about 30 minutes a day, which will only give me an extra 124 calories. I work from 8-6. Come home, take care of pets, clean house, make myself dinner and maybe have about 30 minutes before my fiance' comes home from work. Makes for a pretty long day. So i'll try to fit it in there!

If you ever get bored of the treadmill (my problem) - you could try "walking DVDs" by Leslie Sansone. These are my go to for walking - I'm in the midwest and outdoor walking weather is coming to an end. Anyway walking DVDs can be done in front of the TV (no equipment required) - or you can use light handweights. These are so simple I can play a DVD on my laptop (sound muted) & watch TV at the same time. Exercisetv.tv.com has a couple of free ones available: Start! Walking 2 Miles and Cardio Slim Down (1 mile).

CMmrsfloyd

AHHHH! You said the <biting nails> EEEEEEE word!!!!

LOL

Yea, I do intend to start exercising.....my DR wants me to start walking. I need to get the treadmill out of the storage room and move it into the TV viewing area. It's too dark to walk outside after work now. My fiance' will help me tomorrow. Only thing is, I'll only be able to do about 30 minutes a day, which will only give me an extra 124 calories. I work from 8-6. Come home, take care of pets, clean house, make myself dinner and maybe have about 30 minutes before my fiance' comes home from work. Makes for a pretty long day. So i'll try to fit it in there!

If you ever get bored of the treadmill (my problem) - you could try "walking DVDs" by Leslie Sansone. These are my go to for walking - I'm in the midwest and outdoor walking weather is coming to an end. Anyway walking DVDs can be done in front of the TV (no equipment required) - or you can use light handweights. These are so simple I can play a DVD on my laptop (sound muted) & watch TV at the same time. Exercisetv.tv.com has a couple of free ones available: Start! Walking 2 Miles and Cardio Slim Down (1 mile).

I just did a couple of exercise TV routines (on the On Demand exercise TV channel) - one was a cardio fat something-or-other LOL and the other was one of the Lesli Sansone things. Her routine didn't get my heartrate up as much but I picked up some small weights while I did it to help get my HR up a little more. But it was also easier to keep up with b/c the steps are easy to pick up.

SallieBeige

Rule of thumb:

The less refine something is the better as the more nutrients are retained
eg. whole wheat bread is better than brown which is better than white
e.g. boiled potato is better than peeled which is better than mashed (if butter, milk, salt) has been added
e.g. whole salads are better than those that have been chopped or peeled as skin has roughage and chopped salads lose nutrients as the exposed surface area means that water-soluble vitamins are oxidised or lost
e.g. steamed or lightly cooked veges are better than roasted or fried ones as this adds fat and destroys nutrients

As far as milk goes .. there is a fatty acid in milk that children need but after the age of 5 the human body is capable of making it itself so as it is just as healthy for adults to eat skim or full-fat, you might as well go for the skim option if you are on diet.

In short, I think your Dad is right

lorac321

I too put the treadmill right in the middle of the TV room and I use while I watch TV and there is nothing that says you can't do it while your fiance is there. I thought I would be embarrassed to walk with my husband in the room. I could care less now. According to the treadmill I have burned in excess of 400 calories in 50 minutes. I always go lower when I log them, but it is better than nothing. Also, your 30 minutes a day is 30 more minutes than you were doing yesterday.:happy:

CashierCantin

Rule of thumb:

The less refine something is the better as the more nutrients are retained
eg. whole wheat bread is better than brown which is better than white
e.g. boiled potato is better than peeled which is better than mashed (if butter, milk, salt) has been added
e.g. whole salads are better than those that have been chopped or peeled as skin has roughage and chopped salads lose nutrients as the exposed surface area means that water-soluble vitamins are oxidised or lost
e.g. steamed or lightly cooked veges are better than roasted or fried ones as this adds fat and destroys nutrients

As far as milk goes .. there is a fatty acid in milk that children need but after the age of 5 the human body is capable of making it itself so as it is just as healthy for adults to eat skim or full-fat, you might as well go for the skim option if you are on diet.

In short, I think your Dad is right

But my dad would rather have the processed stuff to lower fat and calories while I am going for the more whole, less processed stuff but with higher calorie count. By what you posted, it would seem I am more right than he is.

SallieBeige

oops, sorry

1960lisa

A late comment from me if you're still reading.....

there is a fabulous book by Michael Pollan called Food Rules.... a couple of my favourites....

- don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognise (eg high fructose corn syrup vs real sugar)
- Avoid foods you see advertised on television
- Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself (using real butter, sugar, eggs, chocolate,etc)
- If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t (all those ingredients listed as numbers)

So I am very definitely of the quality of the food side as opposed to the low fat varieties.... you have to wonder about the fact that the explosion of obesity over the last 10 years or so co-incides with the explosion on the shelves of low fat foods.

That's not to say you have to be a monk and never have a treat - for instance my love is ice cream and as it has such high calories I will often go for low fat or soy ones... but I try and make sure that most of my food choices are whole unprocessed foods to balance out the occasional treat.

So that's my two-bob's worth (sorry aussie slang) :flowerforyou: