I think I missed the Clean Eating memo...
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novembersuse
Posts: 77 Member
I watched a few various healthy-eating/fit-lifestyle videos recently, presented by fitness/nutrition experts, and was genuinely surprised that my own healthy options are a no-go for these people.
The advice on weight loss was stuff like 'steer clear of spaghetti bolognese, because it piles on the weight. Swap it for kale soup, it's just as filling and oh-so-healthy'. That threw me, because spaghetti bolognese is one of my 'healthy' options. Spag bol means I didn't get a pizza out the freezer, or eat at the pub. It means I chopped up onion, garlic, dry-fried some lean mince, added tomatoes and seasoning, cooked it, and had it with some pasta (while secretly wishing dinner was a cheeseburger instead). And I was honestly shocked that it's considered by some to be bad news.
Similarly, breakfast cereal. And not Frosties or Coco Pops, but Special K or Shreddies and the news is that it's full of sugar, and other crap, and generally awful for you. And breakfast should really be a smoothie or egg whites or something (I stopped paying attention). But for me, tea and toast is what I normally would have, if I want a treat it's a bacon roll, and if I'm on a regime it's Shreddies.
Anyway, I found it half disheartening and half daft that my idea of eating well - being cereal for breakfast, a chicken sandwich for lunch, and something homemade and not crazy-fattening for dinner, with no snacking and only drinking at weekends - turns out to be a nutritionist's idea of the 'before' menu.
For my part, there is no way I could ever get by on vitamin shakes and cruciferous veg. If that's how we're doing it now, I'd rather just stay overweight. But I got the impression that pizzas/red wine/chocolate bars and all the stuff that got me overweight in the first place might equally blow the minds of folk who think Cornflakes is the problem.
The advice on weight loss was stuff like 'steer clear of spaghetti bolognese, because it piles on the weight. Swap it for kale soup, it's just as filling and oh-so-healthy'. That threw me, because spaghetti bolognese is one of my 'healthy' options. Spag bol means I didn't get a pizza out the freezer, or eat at the pub. It means I chopped up onion, garlic, dry-fried some lean mince, added tomatoes and seasoning, cooked it, and had it with some pasta (while secretly wishing dinner was a cheeseburger instead). And I was honestly shocked that it's considered by some to be bad news.
Similarly, breakfast cereal. And not Frosties or Coco Pops, but Special K or Shreddies and the news is that it's full of sugar, and other crap, and generally awful for you. And breakfast should really be a smoothie or egg whites or something (I stopped paying attention). But for me, tea and toast is what I normally would have, if I want a treat it's a bacon roll, and if I'm on a regime it's Shreddies.
Anyway, I found it half disheartening and half daft that my idea of eating well - being cereal for breakfast, a chicken sandwich for lunch, and something homemade and not crazy-fattening for dinner, with no snacking and only drinking at weekends - turns out to be a nutritionist's idea of the 'before' menu.
For my part, there is no way I could ever get by on vitamin shakes and cruciferous veg. If that's how we're doing it now, I'd rather just stay overweight. But I got the impression that pizzas/red wine/chocolate bars and all the stuff that got me overweight in the first place might equally blow the minds of folk who think Cornflakes is the problem.
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Replies
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What you eat doesn't really matter. You only need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. You just do you and forget what someone else thinks taste good/is healthy. The diet industry is full of conflicting information.
I eat all things considered healthy by the media, not because I have to but because I enjoy the taste of those foods. My friends try to copy me to lose weight but they abandon their diet two weeks in because they don't like the taste of my food.0 -
If you stick around you'll see alot of fads come and go. The diet industry has to make money. So, eat what you like, stay within your daily calorie goal, and weigh and measure everything you eat. You'll get some new ideas on MFP. Try them sometimes and see what works. Best.0
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Don't worry, the memo want issued by anyone official. Many people find that it's easier to control calories when they cook their own foods and fill the majority of their diet with whole foods. Others don't, and they can still make it work.
The key is eating food that keep you satiated, low you to stay within your calorie goal, leave you feeling good, and help you reach your goals.0 -
I hate programmes like that. They're how people start developing eating disorders because they're told what they're doing is wrong. Do what works for you. Eat within your calories and work hard at the gym. Don't just eat kale and egg whites, unless that's what you like? Eat a healthy spaghetti bolognese, there's definitely nothing wrong with that.0
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Spag Bol is also one of my healthy meals - I have courgette ribbons instead of pasta on the days I'm not exercising.
Maybe they mean the jars of sauce are bad, because they are full of preservatives and sugar? I can't see how homemade would be bad though...
With regards to cereals though yeah, I can see how they would be considered as 'bad'.
Lots of sugar, very low nutritional content. But at the same time, if you're not bothered about that and just want to count calories then it's OK, they're not high cal fat so it's not going to interfere with weight loss.
Losing weight and eating healthy can be 2 very different things - like, you could eat just chocolate for a week but if it's under your daily calorie goal you probably wouldn't gain weight.
I wouldn't imagine you'd feel too fantastic though!0 -
Kale soup? Sounds dreadful. Eat what you like, not what someone else says you should eat. Keep a calorie deficit. That's it.0
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In the UK, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist as it's not a protected title. I wouldn't put too much stake in what these online health "experts" say. They all seem to be heavily influenced by the latest health craze.
Spag bol can be a pretty healthy meal.0 -
kale is disgusting.
eat what you like. stay in a deficit. lose weight.
easy.0 -
callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »kale is disgusting.
eat what you like. stay in a deficit. lose weight.
easy.
I much preferred when spinach was the super food.0 -
For whatever reason whenever some self appointed expert crows about something being healthy it makes me cringe. Also, anyone seriously suggesting kale soup instead of pasta is missing the point entirely. It's like those people who seriously suggest fruit as an alternative to ice cream as if that'll satisfy the craving someone has for ice cream.0
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Aw, thanks everyone! That's all good to hear. I'm definitely of the belief that if you just eat less you'll lose weight. And it's nice to know I'm not alone in that
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For whatever reason whenever some self appointed expert crows about something being healthy it makes me cringe. Also, anyone seriously suggesting kale soup instead of pasta is missing the point entirely. It's like those people who seriously suggest fruit as an alternative to ice cream as if that'll satisfy the craving someone has for ice cream.
Truth.0 -
novembersuse wrote: »Aw, thanks everyone! That's all good to hear. I'm definitely of the belief that if you just eat less you'll lose weight. And it's nice to know I'm not alone in that
You are definitely not alone! Imagine how boring life would be if we only ate what the 'nutritionists' told us!
Kale soup...erm, no thanks.
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I'm sorry but I literally cringe when I read stuff like this.What you eat doesn't really matter. You only need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight0 -
For whatever reason whenever some self appointed expert crows about something being healthy it makes me cringe. Also, anyone seriously suggesting kale soup instead of pasta is missing the point entirely. It's like those people who seriously suggest fruit as an alternative to ice cream as if that'll satisfy the craving someone has for ice cream.
Fruit is not an alternative to ice cream (because sugarz)
It's kale. It's always kale.0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »
I'm sorry but I literally cringe when I read stuff like this.What you eat doesn't really matter. You only need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight
For weight loss it's literally, objectively true.
For optimum body composition and health, macro- and micronutrients, yadda, yadda, you know all of that.0 -
Don't worry about that kind of nonsense. There's nothing unhealthy about spag bol as you described it. Shows like that assume that people are eating too much or adding lots of oil and cheese and high fat meat, or not eating any veg with it, or who knows. I make a tasty kale soup (it also has white beans and sausage and some other veg) and lots of tasty pasta dinners (sometimes with lean ground beef, sometimes with other meat options) and the vegetable content, and overall macros and so on aren't that different. The idea that one would be healthier than the other seems absurd.
I think what makes sense is to figure out what works for you to feel satisfied, eat appropriate calories, and meet your understanding of healthy/your nutritional goals, and not worry that others are anti pasta or anti carb (trendy these days) or over the top in their hatred of anything from a store (like dried pasta or any cereal) or who knows.0 -
muscleandbeard wrote: »
I'm sorry but I literally cringe when I read stuff like this.What you eat doesn't really matter. You only need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight
However, true is true.0 -
Don't worry, the memo want issued by anyone official. Many people find that it's easier to control calories when they cook their own foods and fill the majority of their diet with whole foods. Others don't, and they can still make it work.
The key is eating food that keep you satiated, low you to stay within your calorie goal, leave you feeling good, and help you reach your goals.
Here's the official UK memo:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eatwell-plate.aspx[/quote]0 -
[/quote]kshama2001 wrote: »Don't worry, the memo want issued by anyone official. Many people find that it's easier to control calories when they cook their own foods and fill the majority of their diet with whole foods. Others don't, and they can still make it work.
The key is eating food that keep you satiated, low you to stay within your calorie goal, leave you feeling good, and help you reach your goals.
Here's the official UK memo:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eatwell-plate.aspx
Yup, and that memo doesn't state the word "clean" anywhere. Glad we're in agreement.0
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