help

tiggerbounce77
tiggerbounce77 Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
I really need some help, I am very uneducated about healthy eating and often struggle with what I should and shouldn't eat. I don't really understand about food groups and have no idea what macros are. Can someone please take pity on me and explain to me.

I have lost 3st but put 1st of that back on due to being poorly, I lost the weight following the weight watchers programme, this did work for me, but found myself in a rut and unable to lose more weight. I found their programme easy to follow but it never educated me on the right and wrong groups of food, I have found calorie counting really hard, especially as I now have to count fruit and veg x

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I would start here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

    It is good science based advice on what to eat. There are links to almost any nutrition re-lated topic you could want. Click around.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Most of us who have had weight problems had to teach ourselves these things.


    So try to eat lean meats, dairy, nuts, vegetables, fruit. Pretty simple. Grains are fine too, they are pretty high calorie foods, so don't try eating 11 servings a day like the old recommendations suggested.

    Best thing to do is try to keep your food shopping simple. Try to keep your meals simple.

    Macros are the three major energy sources: Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates.


    Log all your food for a while and study your Food Diary. It's what we all had to do.
  • staceyb2003
    staceyb2003 Posts: 203 Member
    I'm no expert but I think healthy eating is eating pure foods. Foods that come from nature (vegies, fruits, nuts, etc), lean meats, whole grains. Eliminate processed foods. I really don't concentrate on my macros as much as calories in and calories out. I would just follow the myfitnesspal recommendations. Macros are your protein, fat, carb intake. Myfitnesspal sets up the recommendations for you.
  • Tevajane
    Tevajane Posts: 24 Member
    It seems that you are desperate to get some real help. I would recommend that you find a registered dietitian to help you with the basics.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    My rule of thumb is keep it simple. When food shopping I look for the least ingredients and a list I can read without a degree in chemical engineering.
  • tiggerbounce77
    tiggerbounce77 Posts: 11
    Thanks for the help. So I now understand macros, that chart thingy now makes more sense. I have been eating a few too many carbs but I have almost got the right balance. I have been told that to calculate the rough calorie content of a weight watcher meal that I have prepared from a cook book I need to times the points by 40, although I have been trying to add them to myfittnesspal x
  • marypatmccue
    marypatmccue Posts: 521 Member
    If you give me your approximate body fat percentage, height, weight, age, activity level (list of activities and amounts of time spent doing them), I'd be happy to run a rough calculation for calorie intake and suggest a macro ratio...

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