Overwhelmed

pinksultana

Hi Guys
Im beginning to feel really overwhelmed and under-educated about foods ect. I have been educated my whole life by popular beliefs and fads and whatever is the flavour of the month, and am beginning to realise how much I don’t know what ‘healthy eating’ is. I feel like I don’t know where to start. I know im just a beginner and need to take it slowly and one-step at a time as I slowly change my habits and lifestyle. But can anyone direct me to a honest and reliable book to begin my self education on food and learning to know what is good and bad ect. I am tired of just being confused all the time and unsure of myself and need to be proactive. But if there even a reliable source?? Or is it all just personal opinion of the experts as well?? Im beginning with food and will move onto exercise later….Im happy to keep exercising the way I am for now, as I feel I need urgent nutrition education first!!

xxPINK

KimberlyKurtz

The dummy series books has one I think it's nutruition for dummies maybe check that out.

pcbta

How about Gillian Michaels...
OR...I would just say to eat more fresh healthy food that either has a mother, or comes from the ground. You don't have to become paranoid about it though...perhaps cut back on prepackaged food a bit at a time....I'm working at it too. But keep balance in mind, nothing extreme.

Cindy

ebkins7

You could go to the source that everyone gets thier infor from...

www.mypyrimid.gov

They have tons of health information and eating tips! Hoped that helped!

sdesrosiers

Good and bad food are so subjective to the individual. Just keep one simple concept in your thought process. It takes 3500 unused calories to make a pound of you. If you want to loose 2 pounds a week you have to burn 7000 calories more than you consume in that week. This site can show you how many calories you need to MAINTAIN your current weight. Start there.

It is alot of calculating, reading packages and research at first. Unless you do a program that does it for you, like Weight Watchers or one of those meal plans.

Starting with whole foods as pcbta says is good advice, but cheese is a whole food and the fat content may shock you. Get to know appropriate portions. empty calories vs. working calories.
If it was easy we would all be thin!

amandadaisylotus

When you're in the grocery store, stay around the outside walls. That's where all the fresh food is. By eating fresh, you cut back on a lot of saturated fats, additives and sodium. I agree with the earlier post, the "For Dummies" series are great books and I would definitely pick up their nutrition volume.

kvcarden

I know what you mean! I'm learning that everything I thought I knew about food was wrong (or questionable). I just read a thread on skinny cow which is my fav ice cream alternative and was shocked when a member broke the actual label down, I've really been eating a lot of "junk", no wonder my weight loss is so slow. I'm guessing there is no junk food that's really "healthy"....if we stick with the outer aisles of the grocery store we should be safe (I hope). Don't get overwhelmed though....knowledge is power so with that being said lets use the internet, the dummies book, etc and learn how to make healthier choices...here's to us :drinker: (imagine it's water in the cups) :laugh:

pinksultana

I am also interested in what does what to my body ie knowing if im tired I should eat X and it will make me more energetic, if im sick i should eat x and it will help my immune system, ect ect....why certain foods can encourage bloating, how foods can affect depression (as i take antidepressants), ect ect...so thats why as well....I just want to learn more, it interests me... but also for my own onogin peace of mind, I can know why im eating the amount of calories im eating ....blah blah blah

xxPINK

gemiwing

One of my basic rules is - if it doesn't go bad- then it's not food. Nuts excluded. Also- if there are more than five ingredients I tend not to eat it. If I can't pronounce it (and I have quite a good vocabulary) then I don't want to eat it.

Example-

First one-
Apple- ingredient, apple.

RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, CHOCOLATEY CHUNKS (SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL†, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, COCOA, SOY LECITHIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MILK), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, MALT EXTRACT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D. †LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING

That second one? Special K 'Chocolatey Delight'. I'll pass.

Just how I do it. It keeps it simple for me when I'm trying to comb through the grocery store's "food" selection.

pinksultana

But isnt some of that stuff in the Special K thing good?? like the vitamins ect??

kvcarden

One of my basic rules is - if it doesn't go bad- then it's not food. Nuts excluded. Also- if there are more than five ingredients I tend not to eat it. If I can't pronounce it (and I have quite a good vocabulary) then I don't want to eat it.

Example-

First one-
Apple- ingredient, apple.

RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, CHOCOLATEY CHUNKS (SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL†, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, COCOA, SOY LECITHIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MILK), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, MALT EXTRACT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D. †LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING

That second one? Special K 'Chocolatey Delight'. I'll pass.

Just how I do it. It keeps it simple for me when I'm trying to comb through the grocery store's "food" selection.

I like your way of analyzing what you do and don't eat.....I might give it a try and see if it works for me!

naugustyniak

Try reading the "Eat This Not That" books. They are pretty good.

megglin

Always trust Harvard: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource

The government food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) is subject to lobbyists from the meat and dairy industry, so it gives false information about how much meat and dairy should be included in your diet. The Harvard website I linked above debunks these myths and gives real, honest advice about what you should and shouldn't put in your body. There's a lot of information on this site about healthy eating and exercising, along with a research-based food pyramid. Really helpful stuff.

Hope this helps!

megglin

Forgot to mention in my previous post you should also check out Dr. Weil's website. He's the guy who has been on Oprah a few times giving health and general well-being advice. His website is full of information about how to keep the body healthy, and he's got lots of good recipes there too (under "Healthy Kitchen"). Here's the link: http://www.drweil.com

gemiwing

But isnt some of that stuff in the Special K thing good?? like the vitamins ect??

In my opinion, there's nothing that Special K can give you that you won't get- and absorb more effeciently- from the source. Eat an orange- folic acid. Need Iron? Grab some greens

Another thing you won't get from processed foods, like Special K, is micro-nutrients. These are abundant in colorful veggies, plus you won't have cellular swelling that can happen on a wheat based diet.

Don't push yourself too hard to be a 'perfect eater'. Just let it happen naturally. Eventually the processed foods don't taste good anymore. They'll be too salty, too gooey and make you feel clogged, bloated and rundown.

I haven't gotten rid of all processed/ ingredient heavy food. I'm not aiming for perfection- I'm aiming for progress. Perfection is simply not attainable. But progress? Oh I can get that any time! :happy:

jaxterbom

SD - I think that there are a few basic facts that are easy to understand. The reason that you and I became fat is simple. We consumed more calories than we burned. :sad:

Every diet in the world has one thing in common: You consume fewer calories than you burn. It doesn't matter what "secret" they claim to be "revealing" - there is no magic bullet. We must consume fewer calories than we burn, and any diet that works, beneath all of its gloss and hype, has this characteristic.

Food has 3 basic caloric components:
1. Fat - 9 calories per gram (ALL fats have 9 cal/g whether they're "good" or "bad" fats)
2. Protein - 4 calories per gram.
3. Carbohydrates - 4 calories per gram.

Food has other "stuff" in it - namely fiber and water and additives. No calories in water. None in fiber because we can't digest fiber. Additives can be anything - preservatives, vitamins, minerals, coloring etc etc.

Hopefully, this helps a little.

Get a digital food scale. It's very helpful to weigh food items to figure out how many calories you're eating. Just look at the nutritional label and it will tell you Serving Size and Calories per Serving.
From that and the scale, you can determine the calories in most anything.

paddlemom

But isnt some of that stuff in the Special K thing good?? like the vitamins ect??

Precisely! Nutrition Labelling laws require that a standardized scientific description of additives and ingredients appear on the labels - which means that things that we know and love by very common names can look frightening and chemical. Even phrases like "processed with alkali" can look frightening, but upon research you can discover that it really means - "made less acidic"

What if I told you that all the beverages that you drink are made up primarily of dihydrogen monoxide....you'd never want to touch them again....

dihydrogen monoxide = H2O = water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax


I'm not saying Special K is the best cereal in the world or even that there are not things in there that you might want to avoid, but I am SO weary of the "unprounouncable name" theory.

There is actually very little in Special K that is on the "bad food" list - hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors, maybe, but unless you are extremely sensitive, it can all be a matter of volume.

The entire second half of this ingredient list is vitamins and minerals that you would happily swallow in your One-a -Day, but add it to your cereal and suddenly it's junk food.

ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D.

If you don't know what it is, look it up and make an informed decision on whether or not to consume it..

JoyousMaximus

For a reading recommendation I have "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy : The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating" by Walter Willett M.D. We read it in my health class in university. It's easy to understand and with a fairly basic coverage of healthy living.