Eating clean and healthy

I honestly never understand why people say they struggle with food choices or making a healthy dinner or need a food plan. It makes me think they are thinking that it's much more complicated than it really is. To me, a healthy dinner is basically the standard meat, starch, and veggies, with starch interchangeable for another veggie, fruit, or dairy depending on your macros and the other food you've had that day or the calories you need. To bump up calories increase serving sizes or add fruit and/or dairy. There's endless variety in that template, and it's not some special diet way of eating.

What am I missing?

For some people, it's not that simple. Some people hear chicken is good for you, and it is. But if you make fried chicken, that's not healthy. I use to add grease and oils to my "healthy" foods, not knowing I was making it unhealthy. I also didn't have a big variety of foods I ate and would get tired of eating the same thing over and over, so I would make greasy cheeseburgers and fall off the wagon. It's about knowing what's good, but also having a variety of foods to choose from, otherwise we can just go back to eating what's in our comfort zone.

What do you define as a healthy food? Food is just food it can all help you reach your Macro/micro/calorie goals. Part of the problem IMO is this continual defining of foods as healthy and unhealthy. Some people define fruit as unhealthy because of the sugar content. Others define meat as unhealthy. Others define High fat as unhealthy. Some define chocolate as unhealthy. Healthy and unhealthy are pretty pointless labels. All it does is confuses people with smoke and mirrors rather than the unhealthy/healthy labels it makes much more sense to aim for a balanced sustainable diet.

Unhealthy food is food that is conducive to sickness and disease. I never said anything about reaching a calorie goal. You can eat healthy foods and still be fat. People do want to lose weight, but a lot want to be genuinely healthy. Just because someone met their calorie goal, doesn't mean they're healthy. Just because someone has a six pack and muscle definition, doesn't automatically mark them as being healthy. Being healthy is about making good, conscious choices about what you put into your body. Let me go over some things that are unhealthy. It doesn't matter if you eat these and meet your caloric goal, you're still putting yourself at risk, and if you're eating these, odds are your kids (if you have any) are eating these, too.

Deep-fried fats and oils (i.e. Trans fats): These fats and oils raise your levels of bad cholesterol which can clog and harden your arteries. Trans fats has also been linked to cancer because it interferes with things that fight off cancer, diabetes, decreased immune functions, and heart disease. Most baked goods and fast foods includes these oils and fats.

Anything enriched white flour or white refined flour (and most store bought pasta): The bran and germ that's taken out of these are good sources for vitamins and minerals for your body, so they lack essential nutrients your body needs. White refined flour has also been linked to heart disease.

High-fructose corn syrup: Fructose is processed through your liver much like alcohol is and has a lot of the same damaging effects. It is also metabolized straight into fat cells. The fructose portion of refined sure is also the building block of cholesterol. Fructose has been linked to diabetes and obesity.

A lot of preservative are just as bad as the above mentioned, and the list goes on. So you can eat all the above and still meet your goal weight, but are you "healthy"? I was proposing to help people that wanted to eat healthy, not meet there goal weight by any means necessary.

Seek information from a trusted source that is not trying to sell anything. I recommend NutritionSource from the Harvard School of Public Health. It's not commercial and is updated frequently to reflect new knowledge.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Their "Healthy Eating Plate" graphic is a great visualization for a healthy diet.

I'm surprised it actually says "limit refined grains"...wish it said limit refined carbohydrates, but this is a start.
And otherwise, not a bad approach. Wonder how many of us come close to the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended. Or otherwise get close to this.

Harvard is notoriously biased against animal products and apparently potatoes.

My own plate would be heavier on the fats then their recommendation. Their limitation of dairy being part of that.
But yay for limiting refined carbs.

Seek information from a trusted source that is not trying to sell anything. I recommend NutritionSource from the Harvard School of Public Health. It's not commercial and is updated frequently to reflect new knowledge.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Their "Healthy Eating Plate" graphic is a great visualization for a healthy diet.

I'm surprised it actually says "limit refined grains"...wish it said limit refined carbohydrates, but this is a start.
And otherwise, not a bad approach. Wonder how many of us come close to the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended. Or otherwise get close to this.

Harvard is notoriously biased against animal products and apparently potatoes.

My own plate would be heavier on the fats then their recommendation. Their limitation of dairy being part of that.
But yay for limiting refined carbs.

Agree on fats and dairy.

They don't even have any refined carbs on that, besides the reference to grains.

Agree that they seem anti potato. Weird to recommend grains rather than the broader starches, IMO.

Seek information from a trusted source that is not trying to sell anything. I recommend NutritionSource from the Harvard School of Public Health. It's not commercial and is updated frequently to reflect new knowledge.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Their "Healthy Eating Plate" graphic is a great visualization for a healthy diet.

I'm surprised it actually says "limit refined grains"...wish it said limit refined carbohydrates, but this is a start.
And otherwise, not a bad approach. Wonder how many of us come close to the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended. Or otherwise get close to this.

Harvard is notoriously biased against animal products and apparently potatoes.

My own plate would be heavier on the fats then their recommendation. Their limitation of dairy being part of that.
But yay for limiting refined carbs.

Well, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta are refined grains , which they recommend but then go on to say limited refined grains....they say to limit trans fats then recommend canola oil that have trans fats in every bottle........they really haven't a clue what they're talking about.

??

I think its great that this plate takes into account beans as a top protien and mentions limiting red meat and dairy something many people dont realize they should be doing

Seek information from a trusted source that is not trying to sell anything. I recommend NutritionSource from the Harvard School of Public Health. It's not commercial and is updated frequently to reflect new knowledge.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

Their "Healthy Eating Plate" graphic is a great visualization for a healthy diet.

I'm surprised it actually says "limit refined grains"...wish it said limit refined carbohydrates, but this is a start.
And otherwise, not a bad approach. Wonder how many of us come close to the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended. Or otherwise get close to this.

Harvard is notoriously biased against animal products and apparently potatoes.

My own plate would be heavier on the fats then their recommendation. Their limitation of dairy being part of that.
But yay for limiting refined carbs.

Well, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta are refined grains , which they recommend but then go on to say limited refined grains....they say to limit trans fats then recommend canola oil that have trans fats in every bottle........they really haven't a clue what they're talking about.

I suspect they are defining refined grains a bit differently than you are.

There is no grey area, grains are either refined or they're not. They say to eat whole grain.....I could give examples of whole grains but <i'm sure you know what they look like and they're not bread or pasta........what do you think they mean by whole grain? to me it reads eat refined grains with no mention of a single whole grain product sans the brown rice.

do you want the personal health reasons or enivormental? so so many reasons fat, chelestoral, increased risk of heart disease, prostate cancer . heres some quick info A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, which included more than 2,500 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivore cardiac patients, suggests that carnitine converts to a heart-damaging compound, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), via bacteria in the intestine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Which is for some reason marketed for working out *ugh
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found an association with red meat consumption and increased risk of a shortened lifespan.The meat industry refers to it as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB),” but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive).
And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply.
Thats just the tip of the ice burg also look up the UN's studies on the live stock industry and climate change the UN has basically begging nations to start moving away from eating so much animal products because our consumption is destroying the planet, although that aspect of it isnt directly related to your physical health so many here may not care i do think we should care for our planet for future generations.

I don't think they care about any of that. Just the now fairly well debunked lipid hypothesis. Cancer? I doubt they are considering that at all.

do you want the personal health reasons or enivormental? so so many reasons fat, chelestoral, increased risk of heart disease, prostate cancer . heres some quick info A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, which included more than 2,500 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivore cardiac patients, suggests that carnitine converts to a heart-damaging compound, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), via bacteria in the intestine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Which is for some reason marketed for working out *ugh
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found an association with red meat consumption and increased risk of a shortened lifespan.The meat industry refers to it as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB),” but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive).
And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply.
Thats just the tip of the ice burg also look up the UN's studies on the live stock industry and climate change the UN has basically begging nations to start moving away from eating so much animal products because our consumption is destroying the planet, although that aspect of it isnt directly related to your physical health so many here may not care i do think we should care for our planet for future generations.

I don't think they care about any of that. Just the now fairly well debunked lipid hypothesis. Cancer? I doubt they are considering that at all.

Who do you mean by they?

The people who made the pretty little plate (i.e. the folks at Harvard).

do you want the personal health reasons or enivormental? so so many reasons fat, chelestoral, increased risk of heart disease, prostate cancer . heres some quick info A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, which included more than 2,500 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivore cardiac patients, suggests that carnitine converts to a heart-damaging compound, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), via bacteria in the intestine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Which is for some reason marketed for working out *ugh
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found an association with red meat consumption and increased risk of a shortened lifespan.The meat industry refers to it as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB),” but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive).
And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply.
Thats just the tip of the ice burg also look up the UN's studies on the live stock industry and climate change the UN has basically begging nations to start moving away from eating so much animal products because our consumption is destroying the planet, although that aspect of it isnt directly related to your physical health so many here may not care i do think we should care for our planet for future generations.

do you want the personal health reasons or enivormental? so so many reasons fat, chelestoral, increased risk of heart disease, prostate cancer . heres some quick info A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, which included more than 2,500 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivore cardiac patients, suggests that carnitine converts to a heart-damaging compound, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), via bacteria in the intestine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Which is for some reason marketed for working out *ugh
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found an association with red meat consumption and increased risk of a shortened lifespan.The meat industry refers to it as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB),” but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive).
And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply.
Thats just the tip of the ice burg also look up the UN's studies on the live stock industry and climate change the UN has basically begging nations to start moving away from eating so much animal products because our consumption is destroying the planet, although that aspect of it isnt directly related to your physical health so many here may not care i do think we should care for our planet for future generations.

I like you enthusiasm, very passionate for sure but this is pretty much vegan propaganda........I'll leave this here for you to read.....I just adressed your first point, not going to get into the rest.......they have all been debunked...do a search here or some research, it'll help you understand nutrition a little better because most vegans don't it seems.

http://www.anh-usa.org/latest-red-meat-study-doubly-flawed/

do you want the personal health reasons or enivormental? so so many reasons fat, chelestoral, increased risk of heart disease, prostate cancer . heres some quick info A compound found in red meat (and even used as an additive in some energy drinks) called carnitine has been found to cause atherosclerosis, the hardening or clogging of the arteries, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, which included more than 2,500 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivore cardiac patients, suggests that carnitine converts to a heart-damaging compound, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), via bacteria in the intestine. Researchers found that increased carnitine levels predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Which is for some reason marketed for working out *ugh
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found an association with red meat consumption and increased risk of a shortened lifespan.The meat industry refers to it as “lean finely textured beef (LFTB),” but the public knows it as pink slime. This meat additive contains fatty bits of leftover meat that’s heated, spun to remove the fat, and then treated with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. It’s then shipped off to grocery stores and meat packers, where the slime is added to ground beef (70% of supermarket ground beef contains the additive).
And the ammonia treatment may allow pathogens into the food supply.
Thats just the tip of the ice burg also look up the UN's studies on the live stock industry and climate change the UN has basically begging nations to start moving away from eating so much animal products because our consumption is destroying the planet, although that aspect of it isnt directly related to your physical health so many here may not care i do think we should care for our planet for future generations.

I like you enthusiasm, very passionate for sure but this is pretty much vegan propaganda........I'll leave this here for you to read.....I just adressed your first point, not going to get into the rest.......they have all been debunked...do a search here or some research, it'll help you understand nutrition a little better because most vegans don't it seems.

http://www.anh-usa.org/latest-red-meat-study-doubly-flawed/

the source for those are not a vegan source so it isnt propaganda but i do understand your hesitance. There are many more studies also finding high red meat intakes to be linked with poor health my post is only a small bit of info. In the broad scheme there are many other sources of nutrients that are just as if not better for your body and head over heels better for the planet. Also thank you for the compliment i was a non vegan wellness coach in college and have studied nutrition on and off for years i just havent had the money to do the exams.