Calories/Carbs/Fat/Sugar

WendyTerry420

I agree wholeheartedly with Firefox7275 in that omega 3:6 balance is very important, because the omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and the omega-6s are inflammatory. The Western world eats fat too much Omega-6 and this can contribute to the whole spectrum of inflammatory diseases - diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Anyone who is seriously interested in their Omega 3 and Omega 6 ratio should be incorporating hemp seeds into their diet. :flowerforyou:

neanderthin

I agree wholeheartedly with Firefox7275 in that omega 3:6 balance is very important, because the omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and the omega-6s are inflammatory. The Western world eats fat too much Omega-6 and this can contribute to the whole spectrum of inflammatory diseases - diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Anyone who is seriously interested in their Omega 3 and Omega 6 ratio should be incorporating hemp seeds into their diet. :flowerforyou:

Plant omega 3's like hemp are ALA which is the actual essential oil and should be consumed, but what the body wants to do is convert ALA to EPA and DHA and that is where the problem is, it doesn't do it very well and the probability for any DHA conversion is pretty much 0. I suggest fish oil for omega 3's and krill if you can afford it. Krill is absorbed by the body much easier than regular fish oil, it is more expensive, buy you use a lot less.

caribougal

For the OP: The only things I would add to the above, to use a general set of criteria would be as follows:

1) Does it cause me discomfort or do I have a medical reason to avoid this food? Does it cause me to binge eat?

If so, avoid it.

Wow. I think this is the first time I've seen you post something that sounds great to me, rather than just the "all things in moderation/fit within macros" answer. I like that you added in the "binge eat" aspect. I challenged myself to really look at the things that I was taking 2nd (or 3rd) servings of, and what I was snacking mindlessly on. Usually, it was pasta, bread, pretzels, or candy. I'd take "just 2 Oreos", and then go back later for "just 2" more. Rinse repeat. So for me, those went on my personal "naughty list". I avoid them. Does that mean I NEVER eat them? Nope. But carefully, consciously, and I view them as a "treat".

Beyond that, I would focus instead on fitting foods into your daily targets for calories and macronutrients. I would urge you to also use some common sense regarding nutrient densities. What this means is, eat lots of vegetables, fruits, fresh and whole food sources on a regular basis. If you want some foods that you deem naughty but they fall outside of the above condition (lets say you want a bowl of ice cream), and you can fit it into your intake, and you're not eating so much damn ice cream that you're avoiding fruits and vegetables and nutrient dense foods, then have some ice cream and don't feel guilty about it.

A donut will not make you fat. Neither will cheese (lol cwutididthere?). Hypercaloric diets make you fat, period. It's just that a donut may cost you 400 calories and give you "not much" in the grand scheme of nutrients. A plate of fish and some fruit and a big bowl of green vegetables will give you a lot in terms of nutrients. But this does not make fish good and a donut bad, and this does not mean that you can't have donuts as a part of what is otherwise a nutrient dense and intelligent diet.

Well said, sir! Nutrient dense whole foods? Veggies? Fruits? Right on, man. Sounds pretty clean to me. I agree with the no guilt thing. If you are eating like you describe most of the time, you can look at your occasional ice cream or pudding as a treat.

Huzzah for agreement!

wackyfunster

http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-science-of-nutrition-is-a-carb-a-carb.html

Please read and understand.

All things in moderation.

So what happens when someone is so sick from their Food Pyramid diet that they can no longer "practice all things in moderation"? Look around, obesity isn't affecting just a few people who lack willpower, it's an epidemic and so are lots of other diet-preventable diseases. IMO.

Personally, I don't know anyone with willpower who is obese other than by choice (i.e. I have a few friends who have decided they would rather be obese and eat whatever they want than be fit, which I can respect, even if I don't agree personally). Losing weight is 100x easier than many people want to make it seem. What you eat is a very small factor (look at my diary... I just finished cutting to 7% body fat). How much you eat, how frequently you eat, and the method and frequency with which you exercise your body are much larger factors.

I don't know anyone who has put in a REAL concerted effort to lose weight who has been unable to for any extended period of time. I DO know a lot of people who have talked a lot about losing weight and made frantic and repeated half-assed attempts to do so and failed.

Not saying that quality of food doesn't matter... but most people don't understand enough about what is _really_ healthy, and those who do generally don't have access to _really_ healthy foods (hate to say it, but even veggies are mostly grown on a 3-4 crop/year cycle and have a small fraction of the nutrients they did 30 year ago, and still do in e.g. undeveloped countries). If you aren't growing your own food and/or buying from local farms that use long crop cycles, you are eating crap. On the other hand, you can eat crap and still be very healthy with appropriate supplementation, exercise, and eating habits.

WendyTerry420

I agree wholeheartedly with Firefox7275 in that omega 3:6 balance is very important, because the omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and the omega-6s are inflammatory. The Western world eats fat too much Omega-6 and this can contribute to the whole spectrum of inflammatory diseases - diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Anyone who is seriously interested in their Omega 3 and Omega 6 ratio should be incorporating hemp seeds into their diet. :flowerforyou:

Plant omega 3's like hemp are ALA which is the actual essential oil and should be consumed, but what the body wants to do is convert ALA to EPA and DHA and that is where the problem is, it doesn't do it very well and the probability for any DHA conversion is pretty much 0. I suggest fish oil for omega 3's and krill if you can afford it. Krill is absorbed by the body much easier than regular fish oil, it is more expensive, buy you use a lot less.

Nope! Hemp seeds FTW!

http://www.intensivenutrition.com/hempoil.htm

http://www.drbronner.com/pdf/hempnutrition.pdf

ETA: Another great link: http://www.globalhemp.com/1992/07/hemp-seed-nutrition.html

Hemp seeds are the most nutrient-dense food on this planet. It is the highest in essential fatty acids. :bigsmile:

neanderthin

I agree wholeheartedly with Firefox7275 in that omega 3:6 balance is very important, because the omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and the omega-6s are inflammatory. The Western world eats fat too much Omega-6 and this can contribute to the whole spectrum of inflammatory diseases - diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Anyone who is seriously interested in their Omega 3 and Omega 6 ratio should be incorporating hemp seeds into their diet. :flowerforyou:

Plant omega 3's like hemp are ALA which is the actual essential oil and should be consumed, but what the body wants to do is convert ALA to EPA and DHA and that is where the problem is, it doesn't do it very well and the probability for any DHA conversion is pretty much 0. I suggest fish oil for omega 3's and krill if you can afford it. Krill is absorbed by the body much easier than regular fish oil, it is more expensive, buy you use a lot less.

Nope! Hemp seeds FTW!

http://www.intensivenutrition.com/hempoil.htm

http://www.drbronner.com/pdf/hempnutrition.pdf

ETA: Another great link: http://www.globalhemp.com/1992/07/hemp-seed-nutrition.html

Hemp seeds are the most nutrient-dense food on this planet. It is the highest in essential fatty acids. :bigsmile:

You might want to look a little deeper, and its not a you or I win situation...it's actually pretty common knowledge, I'm surprised this sounds foreign to you, considering you've don't some research, oh well.