EVERYTHING FOOD/NUTRITION
josiereside
Posts: 720 Member
Thought I would start a thread about food... heck that is why we are all here right?? Probably because we love it too much... Maybe we can share healthy recipes, food substitutions, how we feel about food, what triggers us to overeat....
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Was not a great food weekend but I have come a long way with making better choices, watching portions, etc... and no food binging in a while... Progress!
Today loading up on fresh fruits and veges! I tend to not get as many veges in as a should... I don't know what, I do like them... but when I am hungry, vegetables don't necessary come to mind.0 -
Well discovered either I don't like perch or this particular brand of frozen is not good... nothing like looking forward to dinner and then not even wanting it.0
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Am I the only one here talking about food! You know we all love it too much or else we would not be here!
How many calories do you allot yourself for the day?? I have mine set at 1800.0 -
Just curious, what does everyone put in oatmeal? I just bought a big tub of it, because it's supposed to be healthy. Then I realized I don't like it without all of the unhealthy stuff I used to put in it. So any healthy ideas?0
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@ Jewels_in_the_rough - for your oatmeal, try adding some fresh berries or honey to your oatmeal. Depending on what type of eating plan you are on, you may also enjoy adding some stevia instead of sugar. (I can't handle Splenda, Nutrasweet leaves me with a nasty after taste when it gets warm, and Equal doesn't sweeten when it gets hot.)
For me, because I HAVE to stay away from breads, pastas, white potatoes (and limit the sweet potatoes), and just about every OTHER grain product, I have had to find alternatives. Rice could have been my major down fall and sent me onto medication, but I was lucky. Someone suggested cauliflower as a replacement, and it has been an absolute life saver!
Steamed, right out of the microwave, it "rices" easily, when you add the fixings - butter, some chives, or even sour cream and chives, it has the right texture for rice, and the slight veggie taste isn't noticeable.
If you steam it, and let it cool over night, (or are willing to deal with a horrid mess while it's hot), it mashes beautifully into a light, fluffy mashed potato replacement. And, then it can be used for "potato pancakes"! Yummy!
Another potato replacement are either turnips or rutabagas - great for making home made steak fries. The rutabagas have a slight sweet taste to them because they do have a little natural sugars, but when you have them with a strong flavor meat (like steak or some pork cuts) they are divine! And, both of these options make GREAT potato replacements for mashed or boiled potatoes. (Wouldn't recommend trying the potato pancakes with them though... they tend to stay a little soupier than cauliflower)
And, because I love my deserts, but don't like (and CAN'T have) the sugar loaded stuff, I have discovered that Greek yogurt mixed with a scoop of protein powder (I use the vanilla flavor) makes a SCRUMPTIOUS desert that is so decadent! Add a little fruit to the mix, and it is to die for! The texture is like the filling in a cheese cake - which makes it easy to make a big batch, and then portion out for a single serving.
@josiereside - for your questions about where calories are set for me, I'm currently experimenting with the TDEE-20% ratio, so for at least the rest of this month, I'm aiming for 2744 (which is MUCH better than what I was getting with the MFP settings on sedentary and eating back my exercise calories! On the days I swam, I could be looking at a 5 - 6000 calorie day! OUCH! I physically could not eat THAT much and keep the carbs out of my diet!) I'll be reassessing the calorie goals at the end of the month depending on how I'm feeling/ clothes are fitting/ how active I can remain during the "off" season.0 -
@ Jewels_in_the_rough - for your oatmeal, try adding some fresh berries or honey to your oatmeal. Depending on what type of eating plan you are on, you may also enjoy adding some stevia instead of sugar. (I can't handle Splenda, Nutrasweet leaves me with a nasty after taste when it gets warm, and Equal doesn't sweeten when it gets hot.)
For me, because I HAVE to stay away from breads, pastas, white potatoes (and limit the sweet potatoes), and just about every OTHER grain product, I have had to find alternatives. Rice could have been my major down fall and sent me onto medication, but I was lucky. Someone suggested cauliflower as a replacement, and it has been an absolute life saver!
Steamed, right out of the microwave, it "rices" easily, when you add the fixings - butter, some chives, or even sour cream and chives, it has the right texture for rice, and the slight veggie taste isn't noticeable.
If you steam it, and let it cool over night, (or are willing to deal with a horrid mess while it's hot), it mashes beautifully into a light, fluffy mashed potato replacement. And, then it can be used for "potato pancakes"! Yummy!
Another potato replacement are either turnips or rutabagas - great for making home made steak fries. The rutabagas have a slight sweet taste to them because they do have a little natural sugars, but when you have them with a strong flavor meat (like steak or some pork cuts) they are divine! And, both of these options make GREAT potato replacements for mashed or boiled potatoes. (Wouldn't recommend trying the potato pancakes with them though... they tend to stay a little soupier than cauliflower)
And, because I love my deserts, but don't like (and CAN'T have) the sugar loaded stuff, I have discovered that Greek yogurt mixed with a scoop of protein powder (I use the vanilla flavor) makes a SCRUMPTIOUS desert that is so decadent! Add a little fruit to the mix, and it is to die for! The texture is like the filling in a cheese cake - which makes it easy to make a big batch, and then portion out for a single serving.
@josiereside - for your questions about where calories are set for me, I'm currently experimenting with the TDEE-20% ratio, so for at least the rest of this month, I'm aiming for 2744 (which is MUCH better than what I was getting with the MFP settings on sedentary and eating back my exercise calories! On the days I swam, I could be looking at a 5 - 6000 calorie day! OUCH! I physically could not eat THAT much and keep the carbs out of my diet!) I'll be reassessing the calorie goals at the end of the month depending on how I'm feeling/ clothes are fitting/ how active I can remain during the "off" season.
5-6000 calories??? How is that possible?? I am trying to do TDEE too but lately struggling with tracking food.0 -
Really struggling with food tracking (although I am still weighing and measuring). However, my recipes are a tad involved and complicated and I don't have the time to sit and create recipes on this site... too time consuming...0
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@ josiereside - I'm NOT joking about the monster calorie amounts I kept getting before I went to strictly the TDEE setting. I struggled for about a month and a half to just hit 1700 per day, but I was STILL coming in between 2 and 3000 low. It was extremely frustrating.
I was getting the monster burns from swimming because
1) my weight - the more you weigh, the more you burn just to move that weight around. I'm looking forward to, yet dreading, the lower calorie requirements as I get closer to goal because of this
2) I have been focusing on improving my form in both breast stroke and butterfly, both of which have MASSIVE burns due to the nature of the stroke. Back stroke and free style primarily use the arms with just enough leg to let you know you're using them, but they don't engage the entire body as thoroughly as breast stroke and butterfly. The last two are killers for engaging the core muscles! That's where I'd get the extremely high burns - 20 mins of butterfly for me tends to average out around 650 calories ALONE, then you add in breast stroke, back stroke, and freestyle, and I'd get another 4 - 500 calories EACH. That's not including any walking that I get from moving around campus hauling a 20 - 30 pound back pack, or incidental movement I'd get around the house. When I work my standard "set" of laps, at least I get a more balanced burn - closer to 1800 than 2200. And, I was loosing at 2300 calories BEFORE exercise!
Yeah, the numbers start stacking up in a hurry when you're looking at days that big.
I don't know exactly what I've changed, but since I've gone to the TDEE method, I'm coming a WHOLE bunch closer to hitting the calories on a daily basis, yet still feel energized and full MOST of the time. (After dinner is getting to be a bear - waking up in the middle of the night starving is NOT a good idea for me. That drives my numbers up the wall in the morning!)
As for entering recipes - What I've wound up doing is adding them one per day. At least on the ones that the family tends to go back to time and again with a fairly good regularity. If I get frustrated with the recipe tab, I'm also known to enter all the ingredients for the meal FIRST, save the meal, then enter any sides that may be changed depending on the mood of the cook. (like, for our "Mexican Night" I'll enter the beef, lettuce, tomatoes, my cheese, and the guacamole, save that, THEN enter the pork rinds, sour cream, or what ever. That way I have the CORE of the meal saved, and can change it up as needed to fit the actual menu.)0 -
@ josiereside - I'm NOT joking about the monster calorie amounts I kept getting before I went to strictly the TDEE setting. I struggled for about a month and a half to just hit 1700 per day, but I was STILL coming in between 2 and 3000 low. It was extremely frustrating.
I was getting the monster burns from swimming because
1) my weight - the more you weigh, the more you burn just to move that weight around. I'm looking forward to, yet dreading, the lower calorie requirements as I get closer to goal because of this
2) I have been focusing on improving my form in both breast stroke and butterfly, both of which have MASSIVE burns due to the nature of the stroke. Back stroke and free style primarily use the arms with just enough leg to let you know you're using them, but they don't engage the entire body as thoroughly as breast stroke and butterfly. The last two are killers for engaging the core muscles! That's where I'd get the extremely high burns - 20 mins of butterfly for me tends to average out around 650 calories ALONE, then you add in breast stroke, back stroke, and freestyle, and I'd get another 4 - 500 calories EACH. That's not including any walking that I get from moving around campus hauling a 20 - 30 pound back pack, or incidental movement I'd get around the house. When I work my standard "set" of laps, at least I get a more balanced burn - closer to 1800 than 2200. And, I was loosing at 2300 calories BEFORE exercise!
Yeah, the numbers start stacking up in a hurry when you're looking at days that big.
I don't know exactly what I've changed, but since I've gone to the TDEE method, I'm coming a WHOLE bunch closer to hitting the calories on a daily basis, yet still feel energized and full MOST of the time. (After dinner is getting to be a bear - waking up in the middle of the night starving is NOT a good idea for me. That drives my numbers up the wall in the morning!)
As for entering recipes - What I've wound up doing is adding them one per day. At least on the ones that the family tends to go back to time and again with a fairly good regularity. If I get frustrated with the recipe tab, I'm also known to enter all the ingredients for the meal FIRST, save the meal, then enter any sides that may be changed depending on the mood of the cook. (like, for our "Mexican Night" I'll enter the beef, lettuce, tomatoes, my cheese, and the guacamole, save that, THEN enter the pork rinds, sour cream, or what ever. That way I have the CORE of the meal saved, and can change it up as needed to fit the actual menu.)
Do you use a heart rate monitor to tell how many calories you burned or what do you go by??
Unfortunately, I am constantly trying new recipes. I guess the best I can do is when I eat "plain", i.e., meat and vege without any vege, make sure I am logging that stuff... maybe I will have more time and patience for it when not working as much and letting my other household chores fall by the wayside... At least I am keeping up with my workouts, but that is a non-negotiable!0 -
I did quite a bit of reading on the forums, and finally found a thread listing a few sites that had a general consensus about accuracy when compared to different models of HRMs. Especially since the MFP database didn't have most of the strokes I use. And, I can guarantee you that "lap swimming, general" is NOT the same as butterfly or breast stroke (when using proper form!) But, I tend to use that minus about 20% when I'm doing nothing but kick drills, just because I'm lazy and don't want to have to dig again to find a calculator that shows the specific drills.
http://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-swimming/
It also works for zumba, walking, and running. Though, I only use the swimming and zumba. Since I've gotten my HRM I can get my walking calories off of that, and there are days when I think THAT is high!
I also periodically dig through my friends list for the swimmers, and double check the burns they report against the link above, just to make sure I'm at least within a ball park, since my HRM isn't water proof. I would LIKE to get one that IS waterproof, but those are a little out of my price range right now.
As for logging, I know there is a contingent on MFP who are quite successful with their journeys that don't log their foods... or at least not obsessively logging everything. If what you are doing now works for you, then keep at it. That is what matters, not being a carbon copy of someone else! You have to live, breathe, eat, and be yourself, or you are NOT going to be able to sustain the victories you accomplish along the way. And, if you change, then it is because YOU want the change, not because you are copying someone else.0 -
Who loves avocado's as much as me?? I love them in my eggs in the morning with hot sauce!0
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I'm actually trying to find MORE ways of eating those things. So far, I've discovered I love them in my cabbage wraps, which is a massive plus in my book. Of course, there is the plain guacamole, but what else?? I'm a little leery of trying them in breakfast, especially I usually don't have time to cook in the morning during the school semester (and probably once I re-enter the "real" workforce either.) So, lunch/dinner ideas are what I'm looking at right now.0
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Weird question haha! I put chia seeds in my smoothie every morning. I know that when they hit liquid they get slimy. I noticed that alot of them get stuck on the side of my vitamixer lol.. So i'm not sure how many chia seeds I'm actually getting in my smoothie. I was wondering how you guys incorporate chia seeds in your diet? Should I just mix them in my smoothie after I make it so I'm not wasting them.. If you have experience let me know
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Weird question haha! I put chia seeds in my smoothie every morning. I know that when they hit liquid they get slimy. I noticed that alot of them get stuck on the side of my vitamixer lol.. So i'm not sure how many chia seeds I'm actually getting in my smoothie. I was wondering how you guys incorporate chia seeds in your diet? Should I just mix them in my smoothie after I make it so I'm not wasting them.. If you have experience let me know
I don't use them... wanted to try them but I think the texture would turn me off... kind of like tapioca or rice pudding right??0 -
I haven't had a chance to try them myself, but one of my friends list has them almost every day. I passed the question along about how to use them, especially in a smoothie. This is the response I just got back:
"I make mine into a gel FIRST and then pour the gel into a smoothie/shake. The basic ratio is 4 T chia : 2 cups of water. This gives me 4 servings, but YMMV depending on how much chia you wish to consume. I pour the water into a lidded container, add the chia, shake it up and then store in the frig overnight. It helps if you give the container an additional shake whenever you open the frig. The next morning, I scoop out approx. 1/4 of the gel and add to my protein shake. I don't use a blender - just a shaker bottle. The gel looks like snot (yum yum) and has a texture similar to tapioca.
Chia pudding is good too. I usually just add chia to a pre-made protein shake (EAS Carb Advantage is good if you can have soy. I usually use Premier Nutrition) and use 1/3-1/2 c chia seeds. Again, i think it's beeter if it sits overside rather than just the 15-30 minutes that most recipes suggest. "
Hope this helps.
(Typos are not mine, I just copied the response.)0 -
Thank you guys!! Thats great help!0
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I'm starting to see acai products pop up everywhere. I've read a little bit about the superfruit here and there, but I was wondering if anyone in the group could share what they know about it. Is it just another health trend?0
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I hate to burst the bubble of the acia berry, but it's a fad. It's got SOME antioxidants, but you get more eating fresh blueberries. I saw the sites, but don't remember them when my ex looked up the diet information about acia helping to burn fat, or what ever diet claim was being touted that month for the new "super food", and most of the scientific information pretty much agreed - it's a fruit, it has antioxidants, it might help with weight loss because it has a high fiber content (like blueberries or strawberries), but it didn't melt away pounds with no exercise, or cure cancer, or what ever the current exotic claim was.
With that said, I'll admit to having a flavored water mix from Walmart of blueberry and acia - but it was because of the blueberry (my current all time favorite flavor). And, because it is a flavor mix, there are NO other benefits from the fruits. The extra B vitamins stuffed into the powder are about the only redeeming part except the flavor.0 -
I hate to burst the bubble of the acia berry, but it's a fad. It's got SOME antioxidants, but you get more eating fresh blueberries. I saw the sites, but don't remember them when my ex looked up the diet information about acia helping to burn fat, or what ever diet claim was being touted that month for the new "super food", and most of the scientific information pretty much agreed - it's a fruit, it has antioxidants, it might help with weight loss because it has a high fiber content (like blueberries or strawberries), but it didn't melt away pounds with no exercise, or cure cancer, or what ever the current exotic claim was.
With that said, I'll admit to having a flavored water mix from Walmart of blueberry and acia - but it was because of the blueberry (my current all time favorite flavor). And, because it is a flavor mix, there are NO other benefits from the fruits. The extra B vitamins stuffed into the powder are about the only redeeming part except the flavor.
No bubble bursted here! No worries. That's what I thought, too, when I started reading up on it. Every non-biased article I read said that there isn't enough scientific proof (yet) to justify that acai is better than any other fruits. I already eat foods with fiber and antioxidants to begin with anyway. Thanks for the input. 0 -
Not a problem. Glad I wasn't too far out of date - my info is AT LEAST 5 years old, and for all I know, the could have found something between then and now.0
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How I make low calorie work for me...
#1 I plan my days.. preparation is key
#2 I focus on macros
#3 I eat low fat because it forces me to eat clean
#4 I combine protein with carbohydrates to slow the breakdown and keep me fuller longer
#5 I eat every 2-4 hours, small meals about 200 calories
#6 I have an accountability partner who I share my journals with
#7 I cheat one meal per week...whatever my heart desires
#8 I eat clean, train hard, and play harder
#9 I take vitamins and supplements.. multi, CLA, and Holy Basil
#10 I take protein shots or powder everywhere. I have no excuse to not eat well.0 -
Don't know if this is still an active thread or not, but I'll ask anyways jic...
Anyone have a recommendation for supplemental fiber? I'm not that good with pills (and I can't think of any OTC that are strictly for fiber), but I'd like to have some on hand for the off days when I need to boost my fiber counts. I'm especially looking for fiber NOT attached to a carb source - usually I'm trying to balance out some carbs.
Thanks in advance!0 -
Just curious, what does everyone put in oatmeal? I just bought a big tub of it, because it's supposed to be healthy. Then I realized I don't like it without all of the unhealthy stuff I used to put in it. So any healthy ideas?
I put brown sugar in mine, some sliced almonds, and some dried cranberries, or raisins. Not that bad.0
