Too confusing to what to eat?

DeMimiaf

It may sound like a dumb question but.. Mind you, I have been trying several different diets(hate to call those diets) I'm looking for more healthy lifestyle changes. I hate red meat, eat turkey once a year(Thanksgiving), eat chicken once a week or so.. But eat lots of processed food. Gardening is out of options for me, no room outside to do so.. That leaves me with shop for fresh produces from grocery stores(farm markets, too far from where I live), and canned&frozen veggies/fruits. I am not sure how to make changes slowly to better eating habits. Too many food choices out there, I need help on where to start and what choices will fit well with my lifestyle such as cleaning eat, paleo, raw vegan, vegan, or more. Limited budget on food.

stephdeeable

Don't over complicate it too much. Eat food you enjoy eating, just make good choices. If you like to eat pasta, eat pasta. But a proper serving size. And load it up with veggies, or have a salad as a side instead of garlic bread. You don't have to stop eating everything you used to eat, or pick a specific plan unless you really want to.

I still eat everything I used to eat, just in different quantities or prepared differently. Adding in more vegetables and fruit is the easiest way to start. Google recipes for healthier versions of everyday food....soups, casseroles, lasagna, pizza...etc. Or eat the regular version in a smaller size. Don't overwhelm yourself finding some perfect plan, especially since you've said you hate diet plans.

KenosFeoh

I just want to commiserate as I'm trying to find my way in diet land, too.

LilRachelle

Your best choices will always be a big variety of veggies and fruit. The darker or greener the veggie, the better it will be for you. Choose lots of bright colors. I love sweet potato and it's good for you. You can just toss in a little oil and spices and bake. Avoid anything processed. The shorter the list of ingredients in a food means it's less processed and much better for you. Whole grain foods, chicken and lots of fish, brown rice etc., these are good lean foods for building muscle. The most important thing is to be organized, if you aren't, that's when you will reach for something quick and easy and maybe bad for you. Have cleaned and cut up veggies in your fridge for snacking. I like to make meals ahead and freeze them, so handy for lunches too. Almonds are a great snack. Homemade veggie soup is great too, you can really control what you add in there and it's filling. Oatmeal is good for you and filling, use the whole flakes that take longer to cook. Stay away from white fluffy foods. If you eat white and fluffy, you'll be white and fluffy. :happy: Now if I could only listen to my own advice! :flowerforyou:

bathsheba_c

Not dumb at all.

Don't worry about all the fancy diet mumbo-jumbo. The important thing is to eat fewer calories than you burn each day on average. And, by the way, frozen vegetables are just as healthy as fresh (sometimes healthier because they are picked closer to full ripeness). You can also buy chicken when it's on sale and freeze it for several months. Lots of healthy staples can also be purchased fairly cheap, like beans and brown rice.

It sounds like you are a bit overwhelmed thinking of making all these changes, so why not make the changes one at a time? Eating normally and logging everything for a week or two should give you some ideas of where to start.

Mokey41

Eat food you enjoy within your calorie budget. Frozen veggies are often more nutritious than fresh because they haven't been bouncing around in a truck for days. If you log all your food you'll soon find out where you need to make changes in order to be happy and healthy. Trying to change everything all at once is a sure pathway to failure.

DeMimiaf

Yeah, I always think if I want to lose weight, do it from day one with all changes right away. That's why I always fail along with lack of motivation, too. I think my first 2 small changes will be no more sodas and walk 15 minutes a day then add more small changes, one step at a time.

desiv2

The easiest way is to find recipes on websites such as eatingwell.com or sparkrecipes.com and then plan out your week, shop for groceries based on your food planner. Of course, veggies, fruits, and all that.

cwolfman13

Eat food you enjoy within your calorie budget. Frozen veggies are often more nutritious than fresh because they haven't been bouncing around in a truck for days. If you log all your food you'll soon find out where you need to make changes in order to be happy and healthy. Trying to change everything all at once is a sure pathway to failure.

Agreed...I started my diary before I ever made any choices. I knew what I wanted to do...lose weight, reduce my sodium intake (high blood pressure), reduce my sat fats (high LDL cholesterol). Once I started logging, I could see my problem areas. I significantly reduce my dairy intake and chose lower fat dairy products for when I do. I cut red meats and sausage from 5 times per week to once per week and have replaced with leaner sources of protein like chicken, fish, and turkey. I could tell right away that my carbs were way too high and they were coming from generally unhealthy sources and pretty much pure sugar...I slowly eliminated those things and replaced with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (not whole wheat).

It took some trial and error to discover what nutrient dense whole foods I liked...for example, I discovered that I really like steel cut oats...my 21 whole grains bread blows my old white bread away....I'm also a big fan of hardy greens like kale and chard as well as spinach. Mushrooms...who knew....I love 'em! Broccoli...delicious. I love a whole host of other vegetables as well, though many of them I need to have cooked in a stew or something as they don't appeal to me raw on my plate. I love oranges and bananas and have one of each almost daily. I used to eat fish only on rare occasions...now I have it at least twice per week and have discovered an assortment of awesome recipes for cooking which often incorporate my veggies and break up the monotony of a piece of plain old fish on my plate. I discovered that I love greek yogurt and that it's an excellent source of protein...I prefer non-fat plain and I don't put anything on it, I just like it.

DebraYvonne

Eat food you enjoy within your calorie budget. Frozen veggies are often more nutritious than fresh because they haven't been bouncing around in a truck for days. If you log all your food you'll soon find out where you need to make changes in order to be happy and healthy. Trying to change everything all at once is a sure pathway to failure.

Agreed...I started my diary before I ever made any choices. I knew what I wanted to do...lose weight, reduce my sodium intake (high blood pressure), reduce my sat fats (high LDL cholesterol). Once I started logging, I could see my problem areas. I significantly reduce my dairy intake and chose lower fat dairy products for when I do. I cut red meats and sausage from 5 times per week to once per week and have replaced with leaner sources of protein like chicken, fish, and turkey. I could tell right away that my carbs were way too high and they were coming from generally unhealthy sources and pretty much pure sugar...I slowly eliminated those things and replaced with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (not whole wheat).

It took some trial and error to discover what nutrient dense whole foods I liked...for example, I discovered that I really like steel cut oats...my 21 whole grains bread blows my old white bread away....I'm also a big fan of hardy greens like kale and chard as well as spinach. Mushrooms...who knew....I love 'em! Broccoli...delicious. I love a whole host of other vegetables as well, though many of them I need to have cooked in a stew or something as they don't appeal to me raw on my plate. I love oranges and bananas and have one of each almost daily. I used to eat fish only on rare occasions...now I have it at least twice per week and have discovered an assortment of awesome recipes for cooking which often incorporate my veggies and break up the monotony of a piece of plain old fish on my plate. I discovered that I love greek yogurt and that it's an excellent source of protein...I prefer non-fat plain and I don't put anything on it, I just like it.

This is kind of how my style has evolved from. Anything processed to me just does not taste good anymore. Fish is my staple food. I went 40 years without ever eating anything but fried fish in a restaurant. I love salads, root veggies, many things I didn't care for at all and I drink water all the time. I have not tried kale or chard yet. Note to self: must do that!!!

ldrosophila

I would start very simple. Focus on simple things you can change. Example stop drinking drinks with calories in them sodas, juices, sports drinks, kool-aid, ect. Look at some of your processed meals you have and one day a week try making that meal from scratch this helps reduce sodium and fat. Or make sure you always have a big bag of lettuce on hand and a few other vegetables and try to eat a salad everyday before your meal. Start small dont look at the big picture one consistent change a week is better than none.

drusilla126

Slow and steady wins the race. People who suggest small changes are spot on. I started with an apple a day and stopping taking elevators. Those changes lead me to add in other changes as I've gone on and now I've lost 70 pounds.

lasmit4477

The food you eat can reflect in how you feel. If you eat better, well..then you eat better! Frozen veggies and fruits are fine. Maybe less "sexy" but certainly a good way to get the nutrients that you need/want. The main focus would be balance. Finding balance that fits YOU!!

These are some of my go-to foods that I always have in the house:

~Natural Peanut Butter
~Lean meats (chicken, fish, some red meat, ect)
~Almonds
~Avocados
~Greek Yogurt
~Oatmeal
~Cheese
~Frozen and fresh veggies (Mostly green leafy, like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, ect)
~Beans (black beans, garbanzo beans, ect)
~Eggs
~Frozen and fresh fruits (Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, ect)
~Flaxseed
~Ezekiel bread
~Ice Cream

Maybe that helps some! Good luck and remember, this is all a learning process and you will find what works for you best!

Durinbie

Once you have a calorie budget and track all the food you eat the food choices pretty much take care of themselves. For me it went like this: One slice of pizza has the same calories as a chicken salad sandwich and a side of carrots. After eating a slice of pizza I'm still hungry; after eating the sandwich and carrots I'm full. With a calorie budget this really matters because you don't want to end the day still hungry. This hunger provides plenty of incentive to figure out what work for you and quick. With a little experimentation the choices become easy. If you care to read up on nutrition you'll learn why the pizza doesn't fill you up and why the chicken salad does, but from a practical perspective just listen to your body. Try different foods and listen to your stomach gurgle at the end of the day when your budget is up.

Soon you learn that green vegetables like spinach and kale and brocolli are practically free with very few calories compared to the food value (feeling full). Salsa is far far better than salad dressings on the fill up vs calories scale. You'll figure all this out yourself just by recording what you eat and taking note of the calories. And never eat anything without knowing the calories! I've been there and was shocked later on. Read the labels on food and check MyFitnessPal for restaurants and food without labels. The calorie count and your stomach's own feeling full meter is all you need. I'm convinced that when you compare the calories and feeling full value of one food vs another you'll make good decisions because when you do that you will automatically pick the most nutritious foods.

For example, take a 12 oz glass of Coke which has 140 calories. For that 140 calories you could have had two pieces of fruit (an orange and an apple), or a glass of milk. The fruit or the milk would fill you up much more than the coke. It's really simple. If you're unsure than just try drinking that Coke and seeing how you feel an hour later. Are you still hungry? Did you get 140 calories worth? This will make a lot more sense once you're on a calorie budget and get a feel for it.

DeMimiaf

Thanks so much for your replies. Is there any links where I can look at for suggestions what to eat, their benefits and why is it good to eat that and not those, etc. IE, I want to cut down pasta, bread, rice, etc, then what food that are healthy and filling? I will look at eating well.com and cooking light.com. Your favorite links, share please?

Firefox7275

It may sound like a dumb question but.. Mind you, I have been trying several different diets(hate to call those diets) I'm looking for more healthy lifestyle changes. I hate red meat, eat turkey once a year(Thanksgiving), eat chicken once a week or so.. But eat lots of processed food. Gardening is out of options for me, no room outside to do so.. That leaves me with shop for fresh produces from grocery stores(farm markets, too far from where I live), and canned&frozen veggies/fruits. I am not sure how to make changes slowly to better eating habits. Too many food choices out there, I need help on where to start and what choices will fit well with my lifestyle such as cleaning eat, paleo, raw vegan, vegan, or more. Limited budget on food.

Nothing wrong with canned, frozen and dried produce, some is healthier and more nutritious than fresh. Are you eating oily fish? That is an excellent source of protein, essential fatty acids and certain vitamins (including D which many of us are low on in winter, and bioavailable iron which you are not getting from meat), the canned stuff - sardines/ pilchards, mackerel, salmon - is also a good source of minerals if you eat the crumbly bones and canned is generally much cheaper than fresh.

Start with the basics, if you eat something from most food groups you will get all the macro and micronutrients your body needs. Government guidelines on healthy eating are not perfect and don't necessarily supply optimum nutrition (being minimums/ maximums) but they are a good foundation that hits all the bases. Aim for nine servings of fruits and vegetables in the full rainbow of colours, three portions of reduced fat dairy a day, protein little and often including oily fish several times a week, plenty of fibre and mineral rich foods (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, wholegrains), processed/ sugary/ refined/ junk no more than 10% of daily calories.

If you are willing/ interested to learn about macro and micro nutrients you can manipulate the 'rules': if you don't eat from one group, take care to replace the nutrients with another group - so little or no meat eat more fish, little or no wholegrains eat more beans and lentils say. Too many people just randomly drop food groups without properly replacing them - since you already don't eat much meat be very carefully with eliminating any further groups because you could easily end up deficient. Raw or vegan need in depth research, these can very easily be deficient in nutrients and generally require you to take supplements to be complete. If you want to do any variation of low or significantly reduced carb without meat you will need to be willing to eat a good deal of fish and other seafood.

Here in the UK well priced healthy foods include frozen veggies, canned beans and lentils, dried fruits, fresh root vegetables, canned oily fish, brown pasta, brown rice, organ meats like liver, peanut butter, cottage cheese, plain yoghurt.

kimberliiw

Once you have a calorie budget and track all the food you eat the food choices pretty much take care of themselves.

Durinbie has it right. I pretty much eat the same foods I always have, just make wiser choices and use portion control. You might just start out logging your regular food for a few days. That will help you pinpoint where you need to make changes. I eat 7 grain bread now instead of white and when I have toast it's just one piece instead of two. There are some recipes that you can tweak to make more healthy and some recipes that you just have to not mess with. For example I'm going to make Penne alla Vodka in a couple of days using heavy cream, but I definitely don't eat that way all the time.

This website has some pretty good recipes that are healthy. http://www.emilybites.com/