Real food diet...is that a thing?
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SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
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Pollan's idea is basically his solution of "moderation for the layman". Not everybody is willing to count calories while paying attention to nutrition and enjoyment balance. He is often understood to advocate abstaining from "processed" foods all together, and he is guilty of sounding like he does, but that's not what he is trying to say. Your "great great great grandmother" often cooked most of her food and put effort into it, and was limited by the availability of varieties. So while now you can go to the store, buy a cheesecake, a pizza, a pack of chips, caramel drops, ice cream, a candy bar and a cereal box then eat all of these things in one day, your great great grandmother wouldn't have been able to make all of these from scratch in one day. Not with her sanity intact. And being limited by the foods in season and availability. He is basically trying to recreate an artificial scarcity by limiting choice and making having multiple high calorie foods multiple times a day every day more effort than most would be willing to put in.
Those of us who don't mind counting calories know that eating all the things listed above in our usual portions every day is not always possible, and that eating all of them every day in tiny portions is likely not the best balance for our hunger, nutrition and desires. We moderate by default. Our artificial scarcity is created by our calorie budget and the degree to which we care about nutrition. Both that daily square of chocolate and that large slice of pecan pie that we only have on thanksgiving are forms of moderation by scarcity.
It really isn't meant as "boycott all factory-made products", but more as a "have some *kitten* common sense when you eat".
ETA: Personally, we make our tomato sauce ourselves because tomatoes are cheaper than the jarred stuff, and our own pasta sauce from that tomato sauce because it's tastes better to us and that's what we've always done. Tomato paste is cheaper bought from store, so that's what we do. My grandmother used to make bread every day (we inherited her bread oven) but we don't. We just buy our daily bread and only bake specialty breads every now and then. If someone wants to buy jarred sauce, there's nothing wrong with that. Pasta sauce is likely not what makes people fat. If someone wants to make their own there is nothing wrong with that either. Sometimes we buy our birthday cakes, other times we make them. There isn't much difference because birthday cake is not an everyday food either way.
OP: by whole foods, this means a diet high in nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meat, eggs, dairy products...etc. That factory produced frozen broccoli is just as nutritious as the fresh stuff. That jarred pasta sauce is likely not much different from your own home made. Eating the bulk of your diet in nutritious foods is a good thing, just try to find your own balance between "hard" and "doable".4 -
I'm also worried about the food I'm eating and how it affects my health.
Totally understandable, and this is where experimentation can come in. Everyone is different. While I may thrive on high complex carbs and low fat because of certain health issues, the next person may do awful with that macro set-up because of his or her health issues.
Don't get stuck in the weeds. Experiment with different types of foods and you will soon figure out what makes YOU feel the best while staying within your calorie goals.
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Update! Thank you for all of your comments! Some of them got a little off track but it's been really nice to read and get a few laughs in here and there. Today has been very successful for me! I went for a brief walk on my lunch. Got a return label for the protein powder her everyone's recommendation, haha.
As far as the water goes I am drinking half my weight in ounces of water not pounds that would be a ton of water.
I consider real food things that don't come out of a can or jar. Basically food that is not processed. So instead of buying spaghetti sauce I would, ideally make my own. I realize that this is a huge undertaking especially getting started with a new eating plan and have decided to still incorporate some of what I would consider processed foods into my diet. I would really like to have the time and effort to be able to make most of my food from fresh ingredients but this is been a pretty big change for me and my family and time is of the essence, so I'm not sure how practical this is for right now.
I've also decided to give myself the chance to eat a few of the things that I still really enjoy. Things like chocolate occasional ice cream you get the picture
What would make jar sauce bad????
Other than some of them are tasteless.
They're not my personal immediate go to but I don't have a problem with them at all. In fact, I used one yesterday, BRB, checking ingredients to see what's evil.
Edit: No evilz.
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Update! Thank you for all of your comments! Some of them got a little off track but it's been really nice to read and get a few laughs in here and there. Today has been very successful for me! I went for a brief walk on my lunch. Got a return label for the protein powder her everyone's recommendation, haha.
As far as the water goes I am drinking half my weight in ounces of water not pounds that would be a ton of water.
I consider real food things that don't come out of a can or jar. Basically food that is not processed. So instead of buying spaghetti sauce I would, ideally make my own. I realize that this is a huge undertaking especially getting started with a new eating plan and have decided to still incorporate some of what I would consider processed foods into my diet. I would really like to have the time and effort to be able to make most of my food from fresh ingredients but this is been a pretty big change for me and my family and time is of the essence, so I'm not sure how practical this is for right now.
I've also decided to give myself the chance to eat a few of the things that I still really enjoy. Things like chocolate occasional ice cream you get the picture
That sounds like a great plan, and I am glad things are going well.
I'm not much bothered by the real food term. It implies some food is fake food, and I don't think one gets fat eating 1200 (or 1500) calories of all McD's or all Lean Cuisine, but in trying to find a way to eat that is easy to sustain and east to control calories on I think cooking mostly from whole foods works for many of us. It does for me, because I'm picky about food and tend to enjoy eating more than way without having to go to higher cal stuff. But it's easy to gain weight that way too -- I did, I was never much for lots of premade stuff or fast food -- so claiming the reason people are overweight is "not eating real food" is factually wrong (which is not what you did).
On the other hand, I also do like Michael Pollan. ;-)
Anyway, my issue (and I'm not going to give anyone a hard time about it) is using "processed" to mean "not nutrient dense" or bad for you. I ALWAYS make my own pasta sauces and always have, not because I think you can't buy a jar one that has fine nutrients (especially if you add some veg), but because I like cooking and am a food snob and think mine taste better and are more varied. But I wouldn't claim that makes me healthier or that you can't eat well with some jarred sauce sometimes.
Similarly, if you think about it, some foods that are processed can be really good for you. I love smoked salmon and would ask why eating it is going to hurt me. I love plain greek yogurt and cottage cheese, and same. I used to be snobby about making my own pasta, but now I mostly buy dry and don't actually think the nutrition is worse (it's basically a canvas for adding other things that make the nutrition in the meal). Canned beans can be a lifesaver and if you get low sodium (if that's an issue), why are they bad for you? Canned tomatoes are the only tomatoes I use in the winter since they taste better and grocery store tomatoes out of season are IMO tasteless. Stuff like that.
Again, just explaining the pushback that these kinds of things get here. I know you aren't arguing all of this, but many people do -- claim that eating any "processed" stuff is bad for us. Often because they have a weird understanding of what "processed" even is -- in many cases it's about making food available where and when it would not otherwise be (frozen veg and canned back in the day when frozen was less available -- other than tomatoes I don't care for canned veg but they weren't a conspiracy to make us fat, but to make vegetables and fruit more available).2 -
Update! Thank you for all of your comments! Some of them got a little off track but it's been really nice to read and get a few laughs in here and there. Today has been very successful for me! I went for a brief walk on my lunch. Got a return label for the protein powder her everyone's recommendation, haha.
As far as the water goes I am drinking half my weight in ounces of water not pounds that would be a ton of water.
I consider real food things that don't come out of a can or jar. Basically food that is not processed. So instead of buying spaghetti sauce I would, ideally make my own. I realize that this is a huge undertaking especially getting started with a new eating plan and have decided to still incorporate some of what I would consider processed foods into my diet. I would really like to have the time and effort to be able to make most of my food from fresh ingredients but this is been a pretty big change for me and my family and time is of the essence, so I'm not sure how practical this is for right now.
I've also decided to give myself the chance to eat a few of the things that I still really enjoy. Things like chocolate occasional ice cream you get the picture
What would make jar sauce bad????
Is that all you took away from my post???? Sighhhhhhh.
Trying to understand what is bad about pasta out of box or anything jarred..
There are no bad foods just bad diets...3 -
Not to beat a dead horse but this is excellent pasta sauce - the ingredients all look like real food to me. 70 calories a serving.
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SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
That's the diet version. There are tons with sugar0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
That's the diet version. There are tons with sugar
It was more an answer to the conspiracy theory that nutritional labels aren't on Vitamin water.2 -
You are right, but for many of us cliche's aren't helpful. Indulging in those things that aren't the most nutritious it is often a slippery slope for some of us, so to cope with this we personally label them bad foods. It may not be "right" but it works from a mental standpoint. We each have to find our own way to cope with our bad eating habits that got us into this weight problem to begin with and lifelong habits are hard to break. Took me a few decades to get to the point where I could eat a reasonable amount of food like my average weight friends and actually move away from the table. For most of my life my philosophy was to eat as much as I can at every sitting. If I choose to look at certain foods as "bad" for me, who is harmed by that? I don't enjoy eating any less because I think a fast food donut or muffin is "bad" for me. It actually helps me to not pick it up even when they are close to free like McD's muffins are.Trying to understand what is bad about pasta out of box or anything jarred..
There are no bad foods just bad diets...
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singingflutelady wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
That's the diet version. There are tons with sugar
It was more an answer to the conspiracy theory that nutritional labels aren't on Vitamin water.
Ok cool I don't even think people can legally sell food items without ingredients listed (except bake sale type places) 0 -
I didn't know there was a "real food"diet. I am in the process of losing weight but my goal is to be more healthy, not necessarily to meet a "number" goal. I don't like artificial sweeteners so I use real sugar, honey, etc. in small amounts. I have tried to cut back on the more processed foods and include more fruits and vegetables (haven't been totally successful in that) in my diet. I'm looking for a more healthy lifestyle, something that can be sustained for the rest of my life, not just something to do until I reach that "magic number" and then go back to how I was eating before. I have made no food "off limits" but I do limit how much of those high calorie low nutrition foods that I eat. I pretty much eliminated sodas years ago in an effort to reduce the amount of sugar I was consuming. I will still have a small soda from time to time. Pregnancies and breast feeding as well as various medical issues have just about eliminated alcohol from my diet although I will have a glass of wine or mixed drink upon occasion--this was more a monetary decision than anything else. I figured I would not be happy if I never had ice cream, chocolate, or even a bologna sandwich from time to time for the rest of my life so I do include all of these, once again, in moderate doses. I do try to eat my calories rather than drink them as I don't feel like I have consumed anything if I substitute a drink for a meal. It's working for me but each person must find what works best for themselves.3
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I'm new to this so forgive me if I don't know as much about this as ya'll do. I think a real food diet is the best way to go. I don't feel deprived and I enjoy my food, just less of it. This is my first week and I've lost 2.5 lbs. Congratulations AgidGirl, your doing great.2
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Pollan's idea is basically his solution of "moderation for the layman". Not everybody is willing to count calories while paying attention to nutrition and enjoyment balance. He is often understood to advocate abstaining from "processed" foods all together, and he is guilty of sounding like he does, but that's not what he is trying to say. Your "great great great grandmother" often cooked most of her food and put effort into it, and was limited by the availability of varieties. So while now you can go to the store, buy a cheesecake, a pizza, a pack of chips, caramel drops, ice cream, a candy bar and a cereal box then eat all of these things in one day, your great great grandmother wouldn't have been able to make all of these from scratch in one day. Not with her sanity intact. And being limited by the foods in season and availability. He is basically trying to recreate an artificial scarcity by limiting choice and making having multiple high calorie foods multiple times a day every day more effort than most would be willing to put in.
Those of us who don't mind counting calories know that eating all the things listed above in our usual portions every day is not always possible, and that eating all of them every day in tiny portions is likely not the best balance for our hunger, nutrition and desires. We moderate by default. Our artificial scarcity is created by our calorie budget and the degree to which we care about nutrition. Both that daily square of chocolate and that large slice of pecan pie that we only have on thanksgiving are forms of moderation by scarcity.
It really isn't meant as "boycott all factory-made products", but more as a "have some *kitten* common sense when you eat".
ETA: Personally, we make our tomato sauce ourselves because tomatoes are cheaper than the jarred stuff, and our own pasta sauce from that tomato sauce because it's tastes better to us and that's what we've always done. Tomato paste is cheaper bought from store, so that's what we do. My grandmother used to make bread every day (we inherited her bread oven) but we don't. We just buy our daily bread and only bake specialty breads every now and then. If someone wants to buy jarred sauce, there's nothing wrong with that. Pasta sauce is likely not what makes people fat. If someone wants to make their own there is nothing wrong with that either. Sometimes we buy our birthday cakes, other times we make them. There isn't much difference because birthday cake is not an everyday food either way.
OP: by whole foods, this means a diet high in nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meat, eggs, dairy products...etc. That factory produced frozen broccoli is just as nutritious as the fresh stuff. That jarred pasta sauce is likely not much different from your own home made. Eating the bulk of your diet in nutritious foods is a good thing, just try to find your own balance between "hard" and "doable".
My family, going back generations, were overweight/obese eating limited selection/whole foods/cooked from scratch-however he wants to label the food they ate in the 'good old days'. They were overweight/obese because they ate at a calorie surplus, not because of what kinds of foods they ate. Pollan focuses so much on the 'right' kinds of foods (what he deems as right), and puts little emphasis on calorie intake and how important that actually is. My 85 year old obese grandma still eats a mostly whole foods diet. Want to know how she eats fresh, local corn on the cob? By the dozen, with sticks of real butter.
I realize my family doesn't represent everyone, but it's my reality, so when I hear Pollan's quotes I always cringe a bit. Especially when I'm a healthy weight/in good health and eat pretty much all the foods that Pollan frowns at. The difference from me and my family tree though is that I make sure my calorie intake lines up with my weight goals. I eat 1 ear of corn with 1 tsp of butter, not the whole darn field
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Pollan's idea is basically his solution of "moderation for the layman". Not everybody is willing to count calories while paying attention to nutrition and enjoyment balance. He is often understood to advocate abstaining from "processed" foods all together, and he is guilty of sounding like he does, but that's not what he is trying to say. Your "great great great grandmother" often cooked most of her food and put effort into it, and was limited by the availability of varieties. So while now you can go to the store, buy a cheesecake, a pizza, a pack of chips, caramel drops, ice cream, a candy bar and a cereal box then eat all of these things in one day, your great great grandmother wouldn't have been able to make all of these from scratch in one day. Not with her sanity intact. And being limited by the foods in season and availability. He is basically trying to recreate an artificial scarcity by limiting choice and making having multiple high calorie foods multiple times a day every day more effort than most would be willing to put in.
Actually they cooked to eat. Unless it was a special occasion it was just to get by. Not everyone was a good cook or liked cooking, and until appliances were invented to make cooking easier most people just did enough to get by.
This doesn't mean that we should eat everything available every day, but don't romanticize the past.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
That's the diet version. There are tons with sugar
It was more an answer to the conspiracy theory that nutritional labels aren't on Vitamin water.
There are no nutritional labels on Vitamin water in Canada. Or, if there are, that's changed since I last bothered to look at them.0 -
My parents expected to get food poisoning a few times per summer. They called it "summer complaint".
The past sucked. Refrigeration and freezing is amazing. My grandparents were at a healthy weight because they were farmers that did physical labour for a large part of the day, every day, so they could eat pie if they wanted. They also thought an orange or a couple peanuts were an amazing delicacy, as they only saw such things once or twice a year.1 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »metalmeow1 wrote: »Need energy? Try flavored vitamin waters instead of plain water... It was just what I needed to curb fatigue!
You know that a lot of "vitamin waters" have sugar in them and are basically fancy Kool Aid? What kills me is that because they're a nutriceutical instead of a food, they don't have to print nutritional information on the label, so people don't realize that many of them have the same calories as Kool Aid or soda.
????
That's the diet version. There are tons with sugar
It was more an answer to the conspiracy theory that nutritional labels aren't on Vitamin water.
There are no nutritional labels on Vitamin water in Canada. Or, if there are, that's changed since I last bothered to look at them.
There are now 0 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »My family, going back generations, were overweight/obese eating limited selection/whole foods/cooked from scratch-however he wants to label the food they ate in the 'good old days'. They were overweight/obese because they ate at a calorie surplus, not because of what kinds of foods they ate. Pollan focuses so much on the 'right' kinds of foods (what he deems as right), and puts little emphasis on calorie intake and how important that actually is. My 85 year old obese grandma still eats a mostly whole foods diet. Want to know how she eats fresh, local corn on the cob? By the dozen, with sticks of real butter.
True that Pollan emphasizes the impact of "nutritionism" and processing on our diet. But if you go back to his basic rule, calorie intake is there: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Chapter 4 in part three of In Defense of Food is all about ways to eat less. If you can afford more expensive food, buy it, since research shows that we eat less when we pay more. Eat meals; don't graze continually. (When I was a lower-middle-class kid in the 1970s, snacks were a rare treat, not an everyday occurrence; I got fat as a latchkey kid with unfettered access to after-school snacks.) Eat at a table. Avoid convenience foods, which tend to be calorie-dense. When possible, eat with other people. Eat slowly and listen to your gut. If you can, cook and garden. These aren't calorie counting per se, but for many people they're enough to effectively limit intake, especially if they also follow the "mostly plants" advice and cut back on meat and animal fats.5
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