why do you eat the way you do?

n0ob

I would call my diet "common sense balanced, high protein diet".

I eat from every food group, and a variety of everything. I'm not big on stressing out on if my food is local, organic, or non-GMO as that vs. whole foods really doesn't matter much if anything to the nutrient content of the food.

I eat lean meats, and on most days eat more saturated fats from plant sources (typically peanuts, coconut, olive oil) than animal.

I eat whole/or steamed veggies. I eat legumes including whole soybeans.

I eat this way to support my muscles, and overall health. I want to be athletic and strong (which for me means maintaining a lean weight well into the "overweight/obese" BMI range) while getting my nutrition from whole food as much as possible without resorting to supplements (including vitamins).

DavPul

I do pizza, burgers, steaks, McDonalds, Wendys, KFC, Taco Bell and Ben and Jerrys. Every day. I eat this way because this is food I enjoy, it's inexpensive, and I can lose weight eating them.

Debbe2

I simply stay aware of what I am eating each day by logging it here on MFP. I started because other programs weren't working and I knew it was time to look at my food choices and volume in order to accomplish my goals.

luckyclover78

I eat a plant based vegan diet to manage my blood pressure without medication. There are too many side effects to medications for me to want to take them so if I can avoid them I'm going to. It's working for me so far. Going on one year and feeling great!

horseplaypen

I eat about 80% primal, 20% anything goes. Basically we (my boyfriend and I) don't eat pasta or bread or any gluten-containing products for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but we do eat dairy and rice and don't count our carb intake per se, though it usually ends up being lower than average. I also do the vast majority of my cooking from scratch, which is important to me as well.

I admit I haven't looked much into the philosophy behind primal/paleo diets, but my boyfriend has done a ton of research into it and I trust him. I never ate much bread or pasta growing up anyway (Asian...), so it wasn't a major change for me. Plus, we still do that 20% of whatever we want... mostly desserts... that glass of Lillet, four cookies, and bowl of ice cream I had yesterday was NOT primal. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? I'm worried that I'm going to have to cut that junk out (or at least down) sooner or later though, when I start worrying about getting my body fat down.

At the moment, calorically I am going off of what MFP is telling me, I think I'm netting about 1350 a day. On days I don't exercise, I find it really, really hard to stay under that, so after Christmas I'm going to think about upping that a little to see what happens. I haven't weighed myself since I started here 2 months ago, but I've lost a few inches and gotten a lot stronger (relatively) so I'm happy with my choices.

barkin43

I recently tried going wheat/gluten free after reading GorillaEsq's testimony(hilarious story,btw). I had pretty much the same results he did. Joint pain began to go away and I felt more energetic. Then Thanksgiving happened, and I just had to eat my daughter's delicious stuffing and homemade dinner rolls. Then a few days later ate another delicious yeast roll with some cream gravy at a breakfast. The agonizing joint pain (seemed even worse than pre-gluten free) was debilitating. I couldn't bend down to pick up something from the floor, and climbing stairs was nearly impossible. Needless to say, I decided eating wheat products, no matter how delicious, was not worth the pain it caused. After a week of gluten free, the pain has subsided considerably. My resolve to avoid gluten is reinforced just by remembering how much it hurts to give in just because something tastes good. I've decided that nothing tastes as good as pain-free feels!

Crayvn

I do pizza, burgers, steaks, McDonalds, Wendys, KFC, Taco Bell and Ben and Jerrys. Every day. I eat this way because this is food I enjoy, it's inexpensive, and I can lose weight eating them.

omg yessss...the diet I have been looking for..\o/ What do you call it? Do you have research to back it up? Does Dr. Oz support it? Can I fit it in my 1200 calories? Will I gain muscle? ..*chuckles*

geebusuk

omg yessss...the diet I have been looking for..\o/ What do you call it? Do you have research to back it up? Does Dr. Oz support it? Can I fit it in my 1200 calories? Will I gain muscle? ..*chuckles*

Yes.
http://www.fathead-movie.com/

Mutant13

I eat probably 75% clean, high protein, decently high fat and 6-8 times a day.
I would also never consider eating less than 1600 calories for any reason.

I eat like this because it suits my lifestyle, I enjoy it, I gives me better hair, skin and overall health, keeps my energy up and assists my training.

FeebRyan

Mostly veggie because i am not a big fan of meat and good stuff is so expensive!


Gluten free because it gives me awful indigestion and when i stopped eating it i lost 2 stone in about a month!

Lots of lentils, beans and pulses because they are cheap

coconut milk because its yummy!

Enigmatica

My number one priority for food choice is health. Number two priority is calorie balance. I aim for high nutrient value, high anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory foods, high quality mono/poly-unsaturated fats, no added sugars (I'm fine with fruit/berry sugars) and try to avoid man-made additives. I react pretty severely to both casein in milk and gluten in wheat, so finally learned to keep away from those. But I find plenty to eat anyway, lol.

DavPul

omg yessss...the diet I have been looking for..\o/ What do you call it? Do you have research to back it up? Does Dr. Oz support it? Can I fit it in my 1200 calories? Will I gain muscle? ..*chuckles*

Yes.
http://www.fathead-movie.com/

double yes

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-This-Not-That-2012/dp/1609610652/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355080275&sr=1-1&keywords=eat+this+not+that

stephdeeable

I don't really follow a certain thing, besides eating at a deficit. I try to eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods, some more healthy than others. I try to eat a lot of vegetables, meat, including red meat, fruit, whole grains, eggs, dairy, nuts, fish...etc. I also still eat some processed foods, I eat fast food once or twice a week, and go out for dinner at restaurant 2 or 3 times a month. I don't cut anything out completely. I don't have cheat days. I just make much better choices than I used to, fit "treats" into my regular daily eating while still focusing on an overall healthier diet. I understand health-wise, it's probably better to eat "cleaner" than I do, but as for my own personal weight loss, I know I have to find something that I can sustain long term. For me, that can't include restricting foods or food groups. This has worked well for me, have lost 35 pounds in 2 months while still eating 2000+ calories a day, and not having to obsess too much about everything I eat. I am mindful of what I eat, and try to just maintain balance with what I choose to eat each day. All I know is I feel a million times better than when I used to eat a diet of almost exclusively fast food and junk food.

WendyTerry420

What type of diet (healthy eating lifestyle-paleo, low carb, high protein, TDEE, vegan, etc etc.) do you use and what made you choose it. Why did it sound appealing?

My diet is flexible, which is what makes it appealing. I need flexibility, and I have never been the type of person to fall for the latest fad anyway. I basically figured out how many calories I need to lose weight, then how much protein I need, and calculated my macronutrient ratio from that. (50/20/30)

WendyTerry420

I do pizza, burgers, steaks, McDonalds, Wendys, KFC, Taco Bell and Ben and Jerrys. Every day. I eat this way because this is food I enjoy, it's inexpensive, and I can lose weight eating them.

I wish I could fit all that in my food budget. I can't afford to eat fast food, even if I wanted it. It sucks to be broke. :laugh:

Cr01502

[/quote]

The biggest problem for me was ending up easily under-eating for the amount being done. And inadvertently losing LBM or performance suffers or metabolism slows.
[/quote]

Yep that was my problem too. Not knowing how much to eat in order to maintain my level of activity. I currently have my TDEE at sedentary and just log all my workouts and walks and I find that this works for me as I've been maintaining for two years now.

meshashesha2012

i'm about 2 months away from my 1 year anniversary being committed to develop healthy eating habits

what has been my main eating style has been what's convenient. so i ate out A LOT. this past year i've been more committed to making 90% of my meals at home than necessarily worrying about the calorie count. i havent lost as much as some people who've been at this a year, but i'll take 20-30 pound loss, 5 pant size loss in exchange for learning more about cooking for myself which this time last year i couldnt do because i didnt have dishes much less pots and pans :laugh:

in terms of food, my diet is flexible. i've been learning to cook all my favorite take out stuff. i pretty much follow a balanced diet where anything is allowed, but i do try to make sure the majority of my meals contain good lean protein and fresh fruits and veggies.

Firefox7275

What type of diet (healthy eating lifestyle-paleo, low carb, high protein, TDEE, vegan, etc etc.) do you use and what made you choose it. Why did it sound appealing?

Primary goal is nutrition secondary is weight management, currently working on the Smarter Science of Slim. It appealed because it has a huge amount in common with what I used to do when I was incredibly healthy and energetic, and the basis of what I teach my nutrition clients. This is turn was my own plan based on published research.