Calling all whole food eaters, I need your help!

wish21
wish21 Posts: 602 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I want to start eating a non-processed (or very little processed) whole food diet. It would be beneficial to both weight loss and workout routine. I just don't know how to start? Like what foods to buy and whats okay and not. Can you give me some pointers/advice. Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Jooliebean
    Jooliebean Posts: 57 Member
    I eat some lean meat...and a LOT of fruits and veggies, with some nuts and seeds. You can scope my diary, and I'll add You as a friend...I have a ton of pics featuring raw vegan meal ideas. :) I have been delving into this world for quite a while now...I think I can help answer any specific questions you may have! My inbox is always open! Cheers! Good luck! :)
  • ajhugz
    ajhugz Posts: 452 Member
    You can start by buying lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and nuts.
  • lsv313
    lsv313 Posts: 1
    This is a good place to start: it has 14 weeks of "real food mini pledges."
    http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/100-days-of-mini-pledges/

    Some other ideas for baby-steps are: cut out all soda; only drink water, tea, & coffee.
    Add fresh or frozen fruits/vegetables to every meal
    Avoid packaged foods which contain more than 5 ingredients.

    You're making a great decision for your health - good luck!
  • avalentineb
    avalentineb Posts: 58 Member
    Fruits, veggies lots of them, whole grains, and beans. Be prepared to cook your fanny off!
  • mattagascar
    mattagascar Posts: 708 Member
    Wow you are asking a mouthful. Don't try to complicate things and use common sense. Fresh Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, are your jumping off point. If it is in a can, bottle, wrapper or container make sure to read the ingredients. More than one or 2 ingredients warrant further research.

    It may make it easier for you to start planning one or two meals per day based around whole foods til you get used to the change that way you don't burn out and confuse yourself.

    Good luck
  • MidwestAngel
    MidwestAngel Posts: 1,897 Member
    Wow you are asking a mouthful. Don't try to complicate things and use common sense. Fresh Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, are your jumping off point. If it is in a can, bottle, wrapper or container make sure to read the ingredients. More than one or 2 ingredients warrant further research.

    It may make it easier for you to start planning one or two meals per day based around whole foods til you get used to the change that way you don't burn out and confuse yourself.

    Good luck
    mouthful
  • clmckee5
    clmckee5 Posts: 1
    One quick and easy meal is cold oatmeal for breakfast; try to pick organic ingredients:

    http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

    I always make sure to add chia seeds, hemp hearts, kefir
  • kacysuzanne
    kacysuzanne Posts: 27 Member
    This is a great change, but start slow. Depending what you are now, it can be overwhelming! Look at the recipes you & your family eat now and research ways to make them with less processed ingredients. Be open to making your own food if needed. For example, we love pizza, so I started making our own pizza dough. It has 5 ingredients. Read labels and go with less than 5 ingredients. Try 100 Days of Real Food or The Gracious Pantry. You can never go wrong with fruits, veggies and lean meats. Good luck!
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    Wow you are asking a mouthful. Don't try to complicate things and use common sense. Fresh Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, are your jumping off point. If it is in a can, bottle, wrapper or container make sure to read the ingredients. More than one or 2 ingredients warrant further research.

    It may make it easier for you to start planning one or two meals per day based around whole foods til you get used to the change that way you don't burn out and confuse yourself.

    Good luck
    This, except one caveat : Almost *everything* that comes in a package has more than one or two ingredients.

    Don't necessarily worry about the number of ingredients...the general rule of thumb is if you can't pronounce it, it's processed.

    That being said, I eat ALL TEH PROCESSED FOODZ, so this isn't necessarily advice I follow.
  • oliviamariex
    oliviamariex Posts: 28
    Hey! This recipe site is awesome http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/latest-recipes.html and so is this one especially for healthy desserts http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/ <-I am an avid baker and cooker and every single thing I have made from there is AWESOME. Try the chocolate cake batter 'milkshake' or the cookie dough dip for a starter. Feel free to add me!! :)
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    Fruits, veggies, nuts, herbs, foods you cook yourself. Just keep in mind that just about everything is processed in some ways. You may find it very hard financially to stick to an only non-processed food diet. (For instance, a bottle of lemon juice lasts me a lot longer for less than buying lemons fresh, even though that may be what I'd prefer.)
  • aprmay
    aprmay Posts: 216 Member
    Veggies, fruits, nuts, meat, fish & seafood. When buying stuff in boxes & bags, look at ingredient. If more than 2 or 3, be suspicious. :)
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    I'm curious how you want to use this to help with your workouts and diet? Are you someone prone to overeating on heavily processed foods? (I don't ask to pick at you, but some processed foods are really beneficial for workouts. For instance, I know my body is heavily assisted by protein powder because of the restrictions I have on foods I can eat. I don't eat too much soy, but I believe tofu in moderation is healthy and beneficial, and that would count as processed.)

    If you really want to do this, you will probably need to do more research than what you can get from this thread. It will require a lot of dedication, but if you really want to do this, I wish you the best of luck!
  • aprmay
    aprmay Posts: 216 Member
    oh, needless to say, the first ingredient should be what you are buying. If not, put it down, it's probably processed.
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    mostly shop around the outside of the grocery store. that's where the dairy, meats, and produce are displayed. you still have to scoot into the center sometimes for things like rice, dried beans, oats, olive oil, nuts, frozen vegetables, and spices, just to name a few.
  • hilliardjoe
    hilliardjoe Posts: 111 Member
    Check to see if there is a local butcher shop near you that gets its meat locally and uses only grass fed and/or pastured animals. I got pointed to one in January and couldn't believe how much better the meat from there tastes compared to the big box grocery stores.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    mostly shop around the outside of the grocery store. that's where the dairy, meats, and produce are displayed. you still have to scoot into the center sometimes for things like rice, dried beans, oats, olive oil, nuts, frozen vegetables, and spices, just to name a few.

    This post is a good example of why you may be better served by just enjoying foods with high nutritional value rather than worrying about processing. Even things like olive oil are processed and not really "whole" foods. Same for quite a bit of dairy foods.
  • ogiesmom
    ogiesmom Posts: 25 Member
    bump
  • wish21
    wish21 Posts: 602 Member
    I'm curious how you want to use this to help with your workouts and diet? Are you someone prone to overeating on heavily processed foods? (I don't ask to pick at you, but some processed foods are really beneficial for workouts. For instance, I know my body is heavily assisted by protein powder because of the restrictions I have on foods I can eat. I don't eat too much soy, but I believe tofu in moderation is healthy and beneficial, and that would count as processed.)

    If you really want to do this, you will probably need to do more research than what you can get from this thread. It will require a lot of dedication, but if you really want to do this, I wish you the best of luck!

    The reason why?

    I am doing Insanity! Insanity comes with a nutrition guide and I looked through it and it really looks good some of the stuff. This interested me in eating whole foods. I always knew that I wanted to do this, its just a feeling I get when I am put my all into my workout and in my heart I know I can do better with my eating. I dont eat bad! I dont eat good either. Kinda in the middle. I am getting great results with Insanity eating the way I am... BUT know that I can get better results.. eating healthier. So maybe i just want to eat healthier/ be healthier. This is my second and final go at losing weight and getting fit/healthy. Last round I plateaued earlier in the game and was losing inches only. My eating habits weren't bad, but weren't good either. I thought that i could eat anything I wanted as long as it w/n my calories little did I know thats not one size fits all. This time I want to be more educated about living a sustainable healthy life even when life happens (as it did my 1st go.) It's just a route I want to take, or at least I think..
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    It is really a lot less complicated than most people make it. Shop on the outer parts of the grocery store. Buy fruits, vegetables, nuts and meat. Avoid processed foods. Take out an old fashioned cook book and start cooking. You'll love it.
  • wish21
    wish21 Posts: 602 Member
    bump:smile: Thankx to those who've contributed already.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    www.marksdailyapple.com
  • ropermom
    ropermom Posts: 52 Member
    DO be prepared to cook. I have found a simple steaming basket to be indispensable for a quick meal. I make double recipes of rice and freeze half. Then in a jiffy I can steam veggies mixed with scallops, fish, or small pieces of meat and steam it all together in a saucepan in minutes and serve over rice. Or stirfry veggies and meat with lots of garlic and ginger(fresh, of course) I stirfry them in water and/or broth and maybe 1/4 tsp oil and it works great.If things atart to stick, just add a bit more liquid and to speed it up, cover it and let it steam a bit at the same time.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    buy foods with one ingredient. that's really the easiest way to do it. :)
  • bethanykf
    bethanykf Posts: 68
    I bought a subscription to thefresh20.com since I'm not very creative when it comes to meal planning. It's 5 dinners a week of meal planning consisting of 20 ingredients to purchase and a well-stocked pantry (20 items there too).

    I usually have leftovers for lunch. So that takes care of two meals.

    It's a whole lot of cooking, but totally worth it. :)
  • twentyseven2012
    twentyseven2012 Posts: 6 Member
    This is Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Shopping List. He is the founder of The Primal Blueprint and is all about eating clean, whole and healthy.

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-shopping-list/#axzz2MKGDRxk7

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