I need to learn how to eat healthy!!

MissCK

Hi, I just signed up last night. I started dieting today. I have been in a rut of overeating and being sedentary for a long time. I need to lose at least 20 lbs, probably 30. I am already encouraged by reading some posts of others. I need to learn how to eat healthy, and cook healthy for my family! Any suggestions for some easy steps to get started? I am practically the processed food queen!! LOL! But I don't laugh when I look in the mirror! :-(

I would love some basic healthy tips on eating right.

ljm0104

Just start by watching your calories. Watching your calories and exercising are the keys to success. I don't eat organic food that often but I am still able to lose the weight. Pick your favorite veggies and just look up recipes. I like fitnessmagazine.com they have workout music, exercises, recipes, review.......... all the best stuff to help you get started and its free.
Good luck!

fitinyoga14

oh yes. i've been researching and learning how to eat healthy for 4 months now, and i can tell you that i've come a long way from how i used to eat. how i started eating healhty is by learning how to become a better cook. i learned that i'm capable of quickly putting together on-the-go meals that are actually nutritional.(my definition of "nutritional" has also been greatly altered.) i now know how to make a pile of raw vegetables actually taste yummy!

anyway, these are my tips:

1. you're already here on this site! its one huge step in the right direction. utilize the site's features.

2. read and do research. there is an incredible amount of articles written on nutrition. look online, or in magazines and books. the more you surround yourself with information on nutrition, the easier it is to make good decisions.

3. get in tune with your home-cookin side. just about everything is healthier homemade. and it gets even better when you learn how to 'healthify" all your favorite recipes and dishes.

4. try new foods! variety is the key to eating healthy. there's so much food out there that is nutritional as well as tasty. start by getting a hold of some new recipes to try out and go from there. a great site that has healthy recipes for families is called
eatbetteramerica.com. i'm in love with that site!

BassBoneBabe

Welcome! And don't think of this as a diet, think of it as a life style change. The best advice I could give is to get some fresh foods into the house, and limit the amount of things found in cans and boxes. Not saying that I don't use canned or boxed things, but it is in moderation as these have a ton of sodium and that cause water retention.

Be honest with your food diary and learn from it. Don't get discouraged if you stumble, just pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and keep going. I really hope that you find the site as useful and uplifting as do.

Again, welcome to the rest of your life

lecarter

For starters, get used to only shopping the outside of the grocery store (or even better your local farmers market). If you sick to the outside and avoid the middle isles, you will avoid much of the processed food.

To transition your family into eating this new way, look at what they like to eat now. If boxed mac and cheese is a staple, try looking for lighter, made with actual ingredients recpies (no boxes allowed) and add exciting bits like veggies or chicken. I reccommend http://allrecipes.com/ they have great stuff, and many times if you read the comments there are ways users lighten up on the calories and fat.

Some general basics are add more veggies, fruits, whole grains (no white flour), try nuts instead of granola bars etc for snacks, and just keep looking till you find what you like. Dont think healthy has to be boring or gross! You will be amazed at what your options are! Good luck!

Steph_135

My two big tips (which have been mentioned) are:

1) Look up recipes online by searching with keywords such as "healthy", "recipe" and whatever food you are looking to make, like "chicken".
2) Go to your local library and find your way to the health books section. See if anything catches your interest. I would go for practical authors like Bob Greene and Dr. Phil, (as opposed to South Beach, Atkins, and the like).

thisemmabites

I found this great website that really helped put things in prospective. http://helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm
I also took the word DIET right out of my vocabulary. Because it's a change I plan on keeping. Diets just set us up to fail.

AlterKnight

I watch Food Network a lot - probably shouldn't as it tempts me - and saw Alton Brown's show earlier this week where he outlined his approach to losing 50 pound in 9 months. It was fairly simple approach to eating healthy without depriving yourself. He had 4 categories of foods which he followed:

Every Day - fruit, whole grains, leafy greens, nuts, carrots, and green tea
3X a Week - oily fish, yogurt, broccoli, sweet potato, and avocado
1X a Week - red meat, pasta, dessert, and alcohol
0X a Week - fast food, soda, processed meals, canned soups, "diet" anything

I think common sense needs applied too - clearly pizza every day wouldn't be a good thing.

LivyJo

My favorite heathy recipe book is "Eating for Life" by Bill Phillips, also founder of the Body for Life challenge if you have heard of that. The recipes are easy, and dont focus on calories per say, but on healthy ingredients and great taste. My book is so beat up I use it so often :ohwell: You can get it for $10 used on Amazon, well worth the price!

Samantharose8akaDebbie

Hello,
I, like you, have done quite a bit of research. Thank you for posting the Eat better America - I have never seen that before...it will give me more ideas. Other sources are dottiesweightlosszone.com, www.angelfire.com/journal/wwrecipes/, www.weightwatchers-recipes.net/biggest-loser-recipes.html. These sites have weight watchers and biggest loser recipes on them. I hope that you enjoy!!!!

roshong06

Congrats on making the decision to start!!! Good luck to you!

ali258

Welcome and congratulations for wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle! You could start by picking up a few magazines like Cooking Light or Weight Watchers and getting some recipes ideas. I've had subscriptions to both of them at different times, and they have some great tips and ideas for making meals healthier. As long as you can follow a recipe, you can definitely make more healthy food for your family! Good luck!

-Alison

BrendaLee

Hi. When you're starting to eat healthier and move towards preparing more of your own meals, find some easy, healthier recipes. I'm not a cook by any means, but I've been trying to prepare more meals instead of popping something in the (ew) microwave.

I made this yesterday- it's one our faves (and I'm not a fan of ground turkey, generally):

Turkey Meatloaf w/ Chili Sauce

1/4 C. Chopped Bell Pepper (Red or Yellow)

1/4 C. Grated Carrots

½ C. Onions

1 ½ lb. Ground Turkey

16 Saltines, finely crumbed

2 T Milk

2 Large Egg Whites (I used 1 whole egg)

½ C. Bottled Chili Sauce (Divided in 2)

1-2 T Brown Sugar (I left this out as the sauce I used is already sweet enough)

1 T. Vinegar (I left this out)

Approx 1 tsp Dried Basil OR Oregano

Pepper

1. Spray small non-stick skillet (or use a bit of oil). Cook veggies 5 - 8 minutes until tender. Let Cool.
2. Combine cracker crumbs, milk, 1/2 of the chili sauce, and egg whites - mix well. Add ground turkey and veggies, seasoning, and mix thoroughly.
3. Shape into one loaf or mini-loaves (I used the same pan I cooked the veggies in). I baked at 400 for about 40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix remaining chili sauce, brown sugar and vinegar together. Set aside.
5. After the first 25-30 minutes - spoon the remaining chili sauce mixture over the loaf (loaves). Bake another 10-15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 10 servings. (With the amount of ground turkey I used, it made about 4 servings)

Nutrition Info: 140 Cal, 6 g. Fat, 2 g. Sat Fat, 54 mg Chol; 312 mg. sodium; 8g. carb; 1 g. fiber; 14 g. protein (this will vary depending on the ingredients you use).

MissCK

Thanks everyone!!! I didn't expect to get this much support! I really appreciate all of the ideas and encouragement!! We do eat only whole wheat, that's something we started years ago. I am going to go to the grocery and start making more fresh, from scratch meals. Thanks BrendaLee for the recipe! From now on, I am going to look at it as a permanent lifestyle change! :-)

MissCK

Thanks for all the great websites too! I'll be checking those out very soon!!

ivykivy

I like one tip from Dr. Oz. The foods you eat should not have labels and if they do they should have only one ingredient. I think most everyone would agree half your plate should be vegetables. Most people say the other half of the plate should be 1/4 carb 1/4 fat (nuts/olive oil) 1/2 lean protein but you can change this side to your liking.

We are chock full of helpfulness here. :flowerforyou:

Steph_135

I like that tip, Ivy.

chefcc

Hi, I just signed up last night. I started dieting today. I have been in a rut of overeating and being sedentary for a long time. I need to lose at least 20 lbs, probably 30. I am already encouraged by reading some posts of others. I need to learn how to eat healthy, and cook healthy for my family! Any suggestions for some easy steps to get started? I am practically the processed food queen!! LOL! But I don't laugh when I look in the mirror! :-(

I would love some basic healthy tips on eating right.

Hey MissCK,

Welcome to the site. You will love it.

Using your food diary everyday will be a big help. It really opened my eyes to how much I was overeating. I make sure to log every meal as soon as I finish it, so that I don't forget anything. That has been one of the biggest helps for me. I have been using this site for about 2wks now and I have lost 5 pounds just by watching my calories. I love to cook, so I've always made home cooked meals, I'm just being more aware of what and how I cook now. I get a lot of my recipes off the internet. Just google healthy recipes and you will find a ton of them.

Good luck to you!!

lwebsmfp

I'm trying to lose about 20 to 30 pounds as well and have started by watching my calorie intake. I try to eat healthy foods too. I am also learning correct portion sizes when eating at home and out at restaurants. One thing I have started doing (when dining out) is immediately requesting a to go box. This way, I can put left overs in the box right away and all I have left on my plate is a small portion of each food item. This helps stop over-eating. If bread is served, I eat only one piece instead of munching on the whole basket. Order water to drink. Eating a salad first will help fill you up too and is low in calories.

At home I've started eating more salads, drinking more water, eating small portions, and eating whole foods that help fill me up longer. I went from drinking 2% milk to Skim. I try to exercise 2 to 3 times a week as well. I don't have equipment to work out on at home right now and can't afford to go to the gym. So, I bought a jump rope and some weights at Target to use at home. I jog in place or run sometimes, jump rope, squats, situps/crunches and pushups, lunges, the plank, and stretching. I dance with my kids too and run up and down the stairs. I started doing all of these things 4 weeks ago and have so far lost 5 pounds. Good luck and don't give up!!!!

Lisa