Foods I eat...good or bad?

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fayelobeck89
fayelobeck89 Posts: 105 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey!
So ive been 'dieting' for about 9 weeks (or so) and it's going okay...... ish.

I've had a lot of ups and downs and I've complained about something or other almost daily.
However, I've made some changes.

Tea. I only have one mug a day, at breakfast. 9weeks ago I would have about 5 a day.
Butter. It's been about 2 weeks since I had butter last. 9 weeks ago I'd have about 60-80gms a day.
Bread. Gone, even then whole grain stuff. 9 weeks ago I have 4-6 pieces a day.
Three of my favourite foods have gone and I'm feeling great about that. I'm curious though, I don't really know how to eat 'properly' - I've had some help off a dietician and that's been really usefull. I use scales to weigh foods and ml to measure liquids.
I've cut down my portion sizes and I've managed, only recently, to stop craving sweet treats after dinner.

Anyway, here's something for the food-wise MFP people.

I eat fruit, occasionally, I probably should eat more but the 'sugar' puts me off.
I've started eating fish, skinless/ Not battered or breaded. And I eat more vegetables.

Here's some things that I fit into my calories nicely but I'm just not sure whether I should limit them or if I should keep them as regular things to eat.

Crackers.
Peanuts.
Cashew nuts.
Cereal...shreddies/special k/Cheerios/wheatabix
Tuna, tinned in brine (drained)
Pasta (white-i cannot stand the taste of the wholewheat)
Rice (white - haven't tried the wholegrain)
Carrots (raw)
Cucumber (raw)
Squash (as in the juice)
Potatoes
Noodles
Meat alternative (soya/quorn)
Low fat yogurt
Thats all I can think of at the moment - so any ideas anyone?
All advice appriciated. Thank you :)

Replies

  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 209 Member
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    If you are trying to simply lose weight you can eat whatever you want as long as it stays within your calorie limits. Fruits and vegetables tend to have fewer calories than processed foods so you can eat a lot more of them than you can calorie dense foods. Everyone has an opinion about whether there is such a thing as good or bad foods.

    I do notice differences in how I feel when I eat "cleaner" than not, but I try not to deprive myself of anything that I truly enjoy or I find a better alternative to food I like. Basically, if you keep yourself too restrictive and not eat what you want in moderation, you will feel miserable and could potentially stop caring altogether on this lifestyle change.

    The foods you listed are great, just stick to logging what you are eating and try to stay at the calorie goal range per day. (It may not always happen, but that's okay.)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Good/bad is entirely subjective to one's flavour preferences.

    Because no food is bad in terms of weight loss, it's entirely about calorie consumption. Eat whatever you want within your calories.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I say only cut out foods if you NEVER plan on eating again. No butter? BLASPHEMY! No bread? Ahhhhh! But that's just what works for me. By the end of the day I'll have eaten a banana, a fruit smoothy, butter chicken with rice, 2 bergers and maaaaybe a Caesar salad. All that fits into my 1400 calorie goal and I'm not even eating back my 400 exorcize calories. Don't be afraid of food. And a 1lb drop per week is great!
    Also supplement meals with lots of tummy filling veggies that have next to no calories. Spinach, mushrooms, green pepper etc!
    (also ignore my ticker for confirmation. I was doing this for a month before I weighed myself and lost weight and inches I just don't know how much because my scale was only delivered yesterday).
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    EVERYTHING in moderation. It will be far more beneficial to you to eat in a way that you plan to for life. Sustainability is key. Can you honestly say you will never have butter again? Probably not. Butter is used in tons of recipes and such. Therefor, work it in.

    Unless there is a medical reason, there is no reason to cut out any foods. Just exercise moderation, fit it into your calorie goal and enjoy.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,995 Member
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    I think considering individual foods as good or bad is not a helpful way of looking at it.

    Your overall intake needs to be at your correct calorie target and to be a balanced diet in terms of varied nutrition

    haveing said that some food on your list will be easier to fit into a calorie target than others - you may need to watch portions of rice and pasta for example, as they are calorie dense. Not cut them out, just be careful of portions

    Others like carrots and cucumber - would be hard to over consume on those to the extent that it takes you over your calorie target.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    Why have you given up tea and bread? I understand that you gave up butter to avoid saturated fats - the health risk of which is being debated, as new studies show it may not be as harmful - but I'd say it's a healthy choice if you're switching to unsaturated alternatives, as long as they're not processed junk. Not sure why you gave up tea - this should be fine as long as you don't add sugar and you can get herbal varieties if you're concerned about caffeine. Bread should also be OK in moderation, unless you find that you can't stop at 2 slices (seems like that may be the case). Also, I always have sweet treats after dinner, though now it's often chocolate-strawberry oatmeal, apple with peanut butter, etc. as opposed to cookies.

    More fish and vegetables are great, but don't be too scared off from fruit because of sugar! If you're concerned, track sugar in your diary. You should be able to eat plenty of fruit while staying under your sugar goal, provided you minimize processed foods with added sugars!

    I'd recommend sticking with whole grains when possible and limiting sweeteners. Try pastas with half whole grains, such as Barilla Plus, to ease yourself into whole grain versions. I'm not sure what squash juice is - in general, whole fruits and vegetables are preferable to juices. Also, are you a pescetarian or something? I see fish and meat alternatives - no need to be scared of chicken breast and eggs (plenty of whites, but don't avoid yolks) if this is just part of your weight loss diet! When picking yogurt, don't be swayed by the low fat label; many of them are very high in sugar or other sweeteners to improve the taste, so judge more on sugar than fat content, as fat can also help increase satiety while sugar will not!
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    I am most successful when I eat the things I like within moderation. I do have macro goals and try to stay within my goals. It's when I cut things out of my diet that I enjoy that I tend to "eff this, I do what I want!" and give up. Tea is fine and is generally calorie free or very low calorie. Unless sweetened, no reason to cut it. And well, basically everything else is fine to eat as well within reason.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Matters of nutrition are hardly as black and white as "good" and "bad".....
  • fayelobeck89
    fayelobeck89 Posts: 105 Member
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    Okay, no I get that it's not as easy as 'good' and 'bad' but in terms of getting better at my 'diet', 'good' and 'bad' are simply easy talk for me, considering I'm not a food nerd.

    Anyway, thank you for all your help.
    I limit tea because I take sugar and by having only one a day I can still have what I like. I get very upset if I don't have things I like.
    Bread and butter have to go because they just don't fill me enough to use the calories they do. I can have food much more filling that bread and butter with less calories which means I can eat more at each meal time without going over my calorie allowance.
    (I cannot stand being hungry, I have to eat regularly to be able to cope)

    So, yeah, thanks again for all the advice. I'm happy I can still have crackers because they're so yummy
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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    Hi

    Congratulations for your decision to change to a healthy lifestyle

    I concur with other posters. You have to find a sustainable, long term nutrition plan.

    I have always been a tea drinker
    Many years ago, I used to have a teacup with 6 teaspoons of sugar. I started to slowly decrease the sugar in my tea, very slowly. My body does not like sudden changes on eating. It goes into "mutiny".
    Now, I drink six cups of green tea a day, no sugar, no sugar substitutes, nothing extra. Just water and tea leaves.
    If your tea gets boring with less sugar, try a few lemon drops.

    Same scenario can work for bread and other food you think you should not eat. Every thing in moderation.
    In order to lose body weight, you have to eat at a deficit.

    Good luck in your healthy journey

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