How did you LEARN to eat healthy?
penith113
Posts: 113 Member
I'm assuming if you are on here are trying to lose weight like I am, then you have not always eaten the best, most nutritious foods in the proper amounts, also like me.
If you have changed the way you eat, added or deleted certain foods from your diet, or modified the way you prepare foods, where did you get the ideas to make those changes?
Did you read books, research on the Internet? Watch documentaries? Talk to a nutritionist?
I am having a bit of confusion on what exactly is HEALTY and what is not. I feel safe with, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat). But what about dairy? Wheat and grain? Good carbs and bad carbs? Sugar?
The more I research, the more contradicting theories I see. So I'm just wondering if you have a source that you believe in that you base your healthy eating habits on. Sell me on how your diet is the right one. But please don't bash anyone else's way, we are all working towards the same goals in our own ways. There are some types of diets that are not right for me, I could never be a vegetarian, but I'm interested in how vegetarians chose that way.
If you have changed the way you eat, added or deleted certain foods from your diet, or modified the way you prepare foods, where did you get the ideas to make those changes?
Did you read books, research on the Internet? Watch documentaries? Talk to a nutritionist?
I am having a bit of confusion on what exactly is HEALTY and what is not. I feel safe with, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat). But what about dairy? Wheat and grain? Good carbs and bad carbs? Sugar?
The more I research, the more contradicting theories I see. So I'm just wondering if you have a source that you believe in that you base your healthy eating habits on. Sell me on how your diet is the right one. But please don't bash anyone else's way, we are all working towards the same goals in our own ways. There are some types of diets that are not right for me, I could never be a vegetarian, but I'm interested in how vegetarians chose that way.
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Replies
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I don't think any food is unhealthy if eaten in moderation. A diet of ice cream and cookies isn't going to be good but if you want to eat that sometimes and it fits in your budget then go for it. I think as you start tracking calories you start to figure out what fits for you. What things you'd give up because of the calories and what you're willing to sacrifice for. Unless you have an issue with a particular food then I see no reason to cut it out.
You'll get all kinds of advice to not eat gluten, dairy, meat, grains, etc but if you have no issue with those foods why put yourself through the drama? Weight loss comes down to calories in, calories out. As you move along you'll probably just naturally start making better choices. One thing I would recommend is not to fall into the trap of eating low fat, no fat products or believing that drinking some shake or supplement is going to be the fix you need. Eventually you have to live in the real world and doing that eating real food is much easier than counting on a crutch.0 -
took a 6 week nutrition class. very informative learned to make better choices while still enjoying the foods that i liked0
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I read a lot and began to really listen to my body.
That was about 12 or 13 years ago. I've maintained my weight + or - 5LBS since then by following the principles that worked with my body then.0 -
You really have to learn to filter out all the conflicting information. . . on this site, on the inerwebz, on TV, in the newsstands. Like Sabine said, listen to your body, and read everything. Certain things will begin to resonate with you. You may need to do some experimenting to find your Happy Place, but when you do, you'll know it. Just use common sense.
*edit. I will learn to type, someday.....:grumble:0 -
I started exercising first, saw results, then started logging food and paying attention to what I ate. I realized that I was eating garbage, it had wayyy too much sodium in it and I could do better. Now, I pretty much prepare all of my meals, unless it's grilled food that I eat out at a restaurant. Not that I never have a treat, I have plenty. I just use more fresh/frozen lean meats, fruits and veggies.0
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I like to keep it simple. Remember the food group pyramid they taught us in school? I eat anything from there. I've modified percentages but that's about it and I got those from reading sites like this and other fitness sites.0
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I saw some friends I hadn't seen for ages. they had all lost weight and looked fantastic.
They got me onto clean eating- Paleo.
I did a tonne of research, and jumped in with both feet, emptying out the cupboards etc.
it's been all good for me since then!
I have always had kidney stones, a recent flareup ( not drinking enough water) made me realise a lot of the foods which are superfoods I was including in my diet, aren't great for people with calcifications due to their high oxalate content.
I'm still refining my diet but feel good and am healthy and happy.
We are all individuals and need to follow our own cues.
Good luck.0 -
I saw some friends I hadn't seen for ages. they had all lost weight and looked fantastic.
They got me onto clean eating- Paleo.
I did a tonne of research, and jumped in with both feet, emptying out the cupboards etc.
it's been all good for me since then!
I have always had kidney stones, a recent flareup ( not drinking enough water) made me realise a lot of the foods which are superfoods I was including in my diet, aren't great for people with calcifications due to their high oxalate content.
I'm still refining my diet but feel good and am healthy and happy.
We are all individuals and need to follow our own cues.
Good luck.
I'm interested in Paleo as well. I'm leaning towards adding some of the principles of that diet into my lifestyle. I am not going to go all out and restrict all foods that don't follow that plan but it makes sense to from what I've learned about it so far.0 -
My main concern is not losing weight any more, it is eating healthy. Cooking healthy. Teaching my son to eat healthy. I do think there are some things that I may potentially cut out of our diet or at least limit severely. Sugars and breads mainly are on my list at the moment. Im not one to take things to the extreme, and I don't follow restrictive diets. I just find myself wondering if we could feel stronger, better, clearer if we (people in general) ate better. But right now, i'm trying to figure out what better is.I don't think any food is unhealthy if eaten in moderation. A diet of ice cream and cookies isn't going to be good but if you want to eat that sometimes and it fits in your budget then go for it. I think as you start tracking calories you start to figure out what fits for you. What things you'd give up because of the calories and what you're willing to sacrifice for. Unless you have an issue with a particular food then I see no reason to cut it out.
You'll get all kinds of advice to not eat gluten, dairy, meat, grains, etc but if you have no issue with those foods why put yourself through the drama? Weight loss comes down to calories in, calories out. As you move along you'll probably just naturally start making better choices. One thing I would recommend is not to fall into the trap of eating low fat, no fat products or believing that drinking some shake or supplement is going to be the fix you need. Eventually you have to live in the real world and doing that eating real food is much easier than counting on a crutch.0 -
I'm assuming if you are on here are trying to lose weight like I am, then you have not always eaten the best, most nutritious foods in the proper amounts, also like me.
If you have changed the way you eat, added or deleted certain foods from your diet, or modified the way you prepare foods, where did you get the ideas to make those changes?
Did you read books, research on the Internet? Watch documentaries? Talk to a nutritionist?
I am having a bit of confusion on what exactly is HEALTY and what is not. I feel safe with, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat). But what about dairy? Wheat and grain? Good carbs and bad carbs? Sugar?
The more I research, the more contradicting theories I see. So I'm just wondering if you have a source that you believe in that you base your healthy eating habits on. Sell me on how your diet is the right one. But please don't bash anyone else's way, we are all working towards the same goals in our own ways. There are some types of diets that are not right for me, I could never be a vegetarian, but I'm interested in how vegetarians chose that way.
Vegetables are always a winner---we never eat enough of them and they are the supreme food for nourishment per calorie. Fruits are good in moderation--one or two servings a day (because of the fructose content, they need to be lightly consumed, especially if one is sedentary). Nuts are an excellent source of nutrition, but again, they need to be eaten sparingly as they are very high in calories (fat). Dairy is good as long as you don't have a lactose or casein intolerance (and many people do). Full-fat plain yogurt is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. I put some on my lemon and garlic chicken and rice tonight--YUM! Chicken (free-range, no hormones or antibiotics), organic eggs and fish (wild caught) are all good choices for animal protein. Grains are, again, good in moderation. We eat far too much grain and our bodies and innards are really not that good at utilizing a lot of grain. Wheat isn't a particularly good grain since the last few decades of messing with its properties has made it an entirely different food from what our ancestors ate. Most days, I eat just one piece of 100% organic rye bread, two on my heavy workout days (sour dough raised, which is better for you than yeast raised). I eat the odd bowl of oatmeal (once or twice a week) for the beta glucans it contains (good for the immune system among other things). I just put a little bit of butter on it and I might throw in a few pecans or walnuts. Mixing fruit and grain together is a bad Idea (don't ask). Eating table sugar is ALWAYS a bad idea. Sugar not only makes people fat, it makes them sick as well. There's a book called, The Fat Switch by cardiologist, Richard J. Johnson, M. D. that discusses why fructose (table sugar is 50% fructose) is so very bad for you and contributes to chronic disease. The little bit of fructose that we get in a couple of pieces of fruit per day is not the problem. It is the 75 pounds of fructose that the average person eats in the 150 pounds of sugar that most people eat per year that IS the problem. The amount of fructose that is in one can of soda is equal to the amount of fructose in a DOZEN oranges. And there is no fiber in the soda to slow down the transmission of the fructose into bodily systems. Sugar wreaks metabolic havoc.
I have done a lot of investigation into various foods and this is the diet that works for me and makes me feel good. We also need to get into the habit of viewing exercise as essential to good health and body fat control.
p.s. New research has demonstrated that full-fat dairy (remember now, no sugar) is a very good part of maintaining weight loss because of some unique properties that it has.0 -
I learned to eat healthy after reading a book called "Body 4 Life" written by Bill Philips. It's a book that has a three prong plan for weight loss. I tried it several years ago and lost 40 pounds. Unfortunately, I gained it back after a few years...hence the reason I'm on mfp now. I've since lost the weight again and currently in maintenance mode...keeping my weight down mostly with training for marathons. Body 4 Life is an excellent book. You can also check it out online to view some of the before/after pics. Hope this helps some. Good luck with your fitness journey.0
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My main concern is not losing weight any more, it is eating healthy. Cooking healthy. Teaching my son to eat healthy. I do think there are some things that I may potentially cut out of our diet or at least limit severely. Sugars and breads mainly are on my list at the moment. Im not one to take things to the extreme, and I don't follow restrictive diets. I just find myself wondering if we could feel stronger, better, clearer if we (people in general) ate better. But right now, i'm trying to figure out what better is.I don't think any food is unhealthy if eaten in moderation. A diet of ice cream and cookies isn't going to be good but if you want to eat that sometimes and it fits in your budget then go for it. I think as you start tracking calories you start to figure out what fits for you. What things you'd give up because of the calories and what you're willing to sacrifice for. Unless you have an issue with a particular food then I see no reason to cut it out.
You'll get all kinds of advice to not eat gluten, dairy, meat, grains, etc but if you have no issue with those foods why put yourself through the drama? Weight loss comes down to calories in, calories out. As you move along you'll probably just naturally start making better choices. One thing I would recommend is not to fall into the trap of eating low fat, no fat products or believing that drinking some shake or supplement is going to be the fix you need. Eventually you have to live in the real world and doing that eating real food is much easier than counting on a crutch.
I agree with the poster who says don't fall into the trap of eating no-fat foods--they are extremely unhealthy because they often just substitute sugar for the fat that they take out. Plus, fat is an essential part of our diet and it provokes satisfaction at fewer calories than simple carbs. You are on the right track in cutting out sugar and cutting back on grain. I am currently on a two-week fast from fructose and it is simply amazing how much more energy and endurance I have. I look forward to adding moderate amounts of fruit back into my diet but I will never eat sugar again. Dr. Johnson's book was a real eye-opener as to why eating sugar is SO very bad for us. Even fruit juice with is packed with fructose is a bad idea. Pediatricians are finally clued in to the fact that apple juice (the most fructose-laden of them all) is hardly a healthy drink for children (mind you, it is better than soda pop, but not by much). Many children who are chubby will slim down when their choices of drink are restricted to water or milk,0 -
A book by John Robbins called "The Food Revolution" is what really motivated me.0
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I saw some friends I hadn't seen for ages. they had all lost weight and looked fantastic.
They got me onto clean eating- Paleo.
I did a tonne of research, and jumped in with both feet, emptying out the cupboards etc.
it's been all good for me since then!
I have always had kidney stones, a recent flareup ( not drinking enough water) made me realise a lot of the foods which are superfoods I was including in my diet, aren't great for people with calcifications due to their high oxalate content.
I'm still refining my diet but feel good and am healthy and happy.
We are all individuals and need to follow our own cues.
Good luck.
You would likely really benefit from reading Dr. Johnson's book. He is a cardiologist/renal specialist. He has recently received a National Institute of Health grant to investigate the cause of an epidemic of renal disease among young sugar cane workers in several tropical countries. He expects that the results will show fructose to be the culprit because it significantly raises uric acid levels. It seems that the workers drink a lot of sugar-sweetened fruit juice or, even worse, soda pop to ward off dehydration but their uric acid levels skyrocket and blows out their kidneys.0 -
I would find "friends" on here that have had success and inspire you...then follow their diary and try to model a lot of their food intake...
EM2WL group and philosophy has been wonderful!
Also, listen to the free podcast, "fat2fitradio.com"...very informative...0 -
There are no Unhealthy foods as long as you eat them in Moderation. My wife and I started last year in Jan and at the start it was about reading labels and checking calories, for the first 6 months calories was all I was worried about, once I got a good start on the weightloss I started looking at protein so i would not lose too much muscle and then watching my sugar and sodium. It is a progress thing that takes time. Good luck to you.
Add: one rule and its my only rule that has helped more than anything: NEVER EAT ANYTHING BEFORE IT IS LOGGED. if you do that you will never be over unless by choice.0 -
Check out "the eat clean diet" by Tosca Reno. I don't always follow all the principles but it has some great advice and suggestions for eating in a healthier way.0
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I've watched documentaries and joined facebook groups. I've learnt a lot from online friends I have never met.
My turning point was watching "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". But you don't have to do full time juicing only to get healthy. 1 juice a day with the right ingredients can get you started in eating the recommended daily intake of fruit and veg, all in one drink! Then a healthy lunch dinner and snacks with water to drink and you are a whole day better off than you were yesterday!
I'm now also looking into the health benefits of The Gerson Diet , Paleo, Vegan & Raw Clean Food Eating. There are tonnes of support groups on FB if you use it.
Other documentaries I've watched are Hungry for Change and The Beautiful Truth. I'm watching The Gerson Miracle online right now and want to watch Forks over Knives.
I hope this has helped.0 -
Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" really got me thinking about my diet and how to eat healthier. His book points out that a lot of what we eat isn't even food, and is likely the reason why we are so sick and fat today.
Habits take a long time to change. I would try to eat all natural foods, but since I was not used to preparing everything from scratch, I would fail. A lot.
I had to unlearn how to prepare meals and how to shop. My family was not too keen on the whole "made from scratch" thing either, because that meant that they couldn't just pop open a box of something and have something to eat moments after they decided they were hungry. For some reason, waiting 40-50 minutes for a healthy meal was intolerable for my husband and son, so they would either go out for a "snack" or fix an instant meal in the microwave. Mostly, they were too full to eat the healthy foods I prepared. It was frustrating.
Now I have banned all junk food from the house. I still need to figure out how to eliminate cold cereal, pasta and bread from my diet. But I am doing much, much better!0 -
Not too long ago my mom said "if your grandparents or great-grandparents wouldn't recognize it as food then don't eat it." This is probably the best advice I've ever heard. Get rid of all the stuff that's filled with chemicals - packaged foods, processed food, non-fat chemical-filled stuff - and go back to the basics. It's not easy to cut everything out at once, but I think it's pretty good advice!0
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Also, listen to the free podcast, "fat2fitradio.com"...very informative...
Thank you for this link!0 -
I just started reading labels. If it says organic, it's OK. If it has chemicals, it's not. I also tend to keep up on research involving various anti-oxidants, coconut. (which is now considered HEALTHY), watch Dr. Oz lol, and shop mostly at Whole Foods or Trader Joes.... Growing up,my mother was always keeping up with health trends, so it was just natural for me I guess... Also you can just google "nutrition value of...." to compare various foods so you can get he most nutritious bang for your buck (calories!)0
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Ditto. I learned a ton from his book.Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" really got me thinking about my diet and how to eat healthier. His book points out that a lot of what we eat isn't even food, and is likely the reason why we are so sick and fat today.
Habits take a long time to change. I would try to eat all natural foods, but since I was not used to preparing everything from scratch, I would fail. A lot.
I had to unlearn how to prepare meals and how to shop. My family was not too keen on the whole "made from scratch" thing either, because that meant that they couldn't just pop open a box of something and have something to eat moments after they decided they were hungry. For some reason, waiting 40-50 minutes for a healthy meal was intolerable for my husband and son, so they would either go out for a "snack" or fix an instant meal in the microwave. Mostly, they were too full to eat the healthy foods I prepared. It was frustrating.
Now I have banned all junk food from the house. I still need to figure out how to eliminate cold cereal, pasta and bread from my diet. But I am doing much, much better!0 -
Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" really got me thinking about my diet and how to eat healthier. His book points out that a lot of what we eat isn't even food, and is likely the reason why we are so sick and fat today.
Habits take a long time to change. I would try to eat all natural foods, but since I was not used to preparing everything from scratch, I would fail. A lot.
I had to unlearn how to prepare meals and how to shop. My family was not too keen on the whole "made from scratch" thing either, because that meant that they couldn't just pop open a box of something and have something to eat moments after they decided they were hungry. For some reason, waiting 40-50 minutes for a healthy meal was intolerable for my husband and son, so they would either go out for a "snack" or fix an instant meal in the microwave. Mostly, they were too full to eat the healthy foods I prepared. It was frustrating.
Now I have banned all junk food from the house. I still need to figure out how to eliminate cold cereal, pasta and bread from my diet. But I am doing much, much better!
I've read this book! Ever since I read this I've always wondered what "duck fat" tastes like lol. I'm a vegan now so I'll probably never know. This book inspired me.0 -
I am going for 'everything in moderation' and 'if in doubt, don't.' And I am staying away from sweets/desserts.
That seems to be the hardest since somewhere along the way, I learned to reward myself with food/sweets.0 -
I put a little sign up in the cupboard that says " don't reward yourself with food- you are not a dog"....:laugh:0
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You know, I am 54 and still learning. I do know that each of us how to figure it out for ourselves and make a plan that optimizes our health and leverages our budgets.
I did just download "Fooducate" on to my iPhone. I am in to eating the most "bang for my buck" this year in food. I can scan the upc code or look up the best options available while shopping. I have started using the scan option on MFP on my iPhone as well. Great stuff.
What is amazing was the reading at the Airport Friday night. I was at a small regional airport and decided to buy a "nutrition bar" .. I had to scan like 7 of them before I got to one with a "B" rating on fooducate. I will never look at a power bar the same ever.0 -
I'm assuming if you are on here are trying to lose weight like I am, then you have not always eaten the best, most nutritious foods in the proper amounts, also like me.
If you have changed the way you eat, added or deleted certain foods from your diet, or modified the way you prepare foods, where did you get the ideas to make those changes?
Did you read books, research on the Internet? Watch documentaries? Talk to a nutritionist?
I am having a bit of confusion on what exactly is HEALTY and what is not. I feel safe with, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat). But what about dairy? Wheat and grain? Good carbs and bad carbs? Sugar?
The more I research, the more contradicting theories I see. So I'm just wondering if you have a source that you believe in that you base your healthy eating habits on. Sell me on how your diet is the right one. But please don't bash anyone else's way, we are all working towards the same goals in our own ways. There are some types of diets that are not right for me, I could never be a vegetarian, but I'm interested in how vegetarians chose that way.
For me, it was (and still is) a slow process. I started off on MFP just by paying attention to calories. I ate what I wanted, but made sure that it fit into my calorie goal. I knew I had to do it that way if I was going to stick with it. I knew an overly restrictive diet wasn't going to be for me. Over time, I've started paying more attention to macronutrient goals, and other aspects of my diet, and gradually making changes. For a while, I worked on getting more protein, and then I worked on getting more vegetables. I still eat all the things I like, but my diet overall is much more nutritious than it was a year ago. I make an effort to get the nutrients I feel my body needs.
As far as cutting things out - there are so many different viewpoints on diet. It is impossible to follow all the nutritional advice that is available. You need to work out what is important to you. Personally, I wouldn't cut anything out just because I heard it's bad for you, unless you want to cut out all meat, dairy, grains, sugar, processed food, caffeine, cooked food... etc etc. You could really drive yourself crazy with defining "healthy" food, and could end up with very little "acceptable" or "safe" food. Notice the effects that certain foods have on you and your family, and if there's an issue, look at reducing or cutting them out.
That's my opinion anyway. I guess my diet is the "moderation" diet, and I know that's not for everyone, which is fine. You mentioned that you want to teach your son to eat healthily too. Obviously, parenting styles are just as varied as opinions on nutrition, but for me, I would think that it's important to teach children appropriate portion control, to nourish the body with nutrient-dense foods, not to rely on food for emotional comfort and to just be relaxed about food and eating. Based on my own experiences, those things are more important than identifying certain foods as "good" or "bad". I think if you teach your child to have a healthy attitude towards food, that will have a more significant influence on his long-term health than making sure he never has sugar, or bread, or whatever.0 -
I'm assuming if you are on here are trying to lose weight like I am, then you have not always eaten the best, most nutritious foods in the proper amounts, also like me.
If you have changed the way you eat, added or deleted certain foods from your diet, or modified the way you prepare foods, where did you get the ideas to make those changes?
Did you read books, research on the Internet? Watch documentaries? Talk to a nutritionist?
I am having a bit of confusion on what exactly is HEALTY and what is not. I feel safe with, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat). But what about dairy? Wheat and grain? Good carbs and bad carbs? Sugar?
The more I research, the more contradicting theories I see. So I'm just wondering if you have a source that you believe in that you base your healthy eating habits on. Sell me on how your diet is the right one. But please don't bash anyone else's way, we are all working towards the same goals in our own ways. There are some types of diets that are not right for me, I could never be a vegetarian, but I'm interested in how vegetarians chose that way.
My work background is hospital pharmacy and research laboratories, so I had a head start when I started researching fitness and nutrition. I quickly realised how much utter rubbish is in many magazines, commercial diet books and websites, so reverted to the science and eventually retrained/ qualified in lifestyle healthcare.
There is far more pseudoscience and unproven theories out there than actual nutrition/ dietetics science. Be selective about your sources - choose websites and proper textbooks written by people with reputable scientific qualifications AND referencing a wide variety of studies published in peer reviewed journals, expect many pages of refs. Ask yourself why a commercial diet book was not published by a better publishing house and look for reputable debunking sites.
There is decent stuff on websites of not for profit fitness or diet organisation including charities and professional registration bodies, universities, governments, UK National Health Service, World Health Organisation. These are all websites you could use if writing a degree level paper, despite many being 'easy reading', you could not use Wikipedia or many commercial or alternative nutrition sites because the quality, depth of research and understanding is poor or patchy. Some of these sites are only referencing blogs, opinions, magazines or a single small scale study but presenting it as scientific fact!
The standard food pyramid/ plate will get you the minimum requirement of every macro and micro nutrient and discourages overeating of junk foods. Not to say it's perfect or supplies optimum nutrition (far from it) because the recommendations for many countries have been tempered by what is realistic for the general populace. Find out what nutrients are in each food, if you want to quit a given food group you can easily replace the nutrients if you so choose - say switching out grains for beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. That is a massive mistake many make - replacing meat with vegetables or grains with fruit, replacing dairy or fish with nothing and ending up with a nutrient deficiency.
You didn't mention oily fish in your safe list: a great source of protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals (especially if you eat the bones in the canned stuff). There is absolutely reams of research supporting the positive role of anti inflammatory long chain omega-3s in a raft of health conditions. There is also plenty of research showing the detrimental effect of blood sugar peaks and troughs on the body (sugar and high GI carbs) - just think of the damage it does to diabetics in terms of vision, cardiovascular system, kidneys, feet and male impotency.
This series of factsheets is decent
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
PubMed or Google Scholar for finding abstracts of published research papers from many journals
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
http://scholar.google.co.uk/0
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