Food diairy advice...

cjsgrimlin · July 2011

Please take a look and help me to figure either replacements for foods or any suggestions on what to change... Thank you!!!

chevy88grl · July 2011

I would go with fat free (skim) milk vs 2%.

Get rid of the ramen noodles - they have NO nutritional value to them AND they are loaded with sodium.

Go with light ranch and cut out the processed foods - Banquet tv dinners are tasteless, empty calories.

Switch to diet soda - or better yet, switch to water only.

sarahrunnergirl · July 2011

You should eat breakfast, and maybe have something besides noodles at lunch. They are really high in sodium and personally I find they don't keep me full for the number of calories that are in them.

bkelley32148 · July 2011

watch your sugar and carb intake - add some veggies

sarah829522 · July 2011

the dr. pepper, mcdonald's, twix bars

stronglikebull · July 2011

Eat more protein, seriously decrease sodium, by up to half. Track your carbs and reduce them. A bagel and a bowl of cereal is a lot of carbs for one meal, especially breakfast. Cut out the soda, drink more water. More fresh produce for volume.

TL;DR, nix the ramen and the soda, eat more meat and less bread.

wysmom2000 · July 2011

Ramen noodles while convenient have no place in a balanced diet. You are overloading on sodium. As far as the milk, fat free takes some getting used to so maybe ease into it by trying 1%. I'm far from perfect, but you're welcome to look at my diary for some ideas on easy, healthy options.

WifeMomDVM · July 2011

try skim milk in stead of 2% or switch to unsweetened almond milk (has no sugar)

Overall - I see ALOT of processed/pre-packaged food. While convenient, this stuff is LOADED with crap that's bad for you. It will take a little more effort on your part, but plan your meals in advance or cook on the weekends.

I often cook some ground turkey and chicken breasts on Sunday afternoon or evening and then divide them up into servings using my food scale and store them in tupperware or plastic baggies for the week. I put some in the fridge (for the next 2-3 days) and some in the freezer (for 4-6 days later) and then the weekend rolls around again and I repeat.

I find it very handy to just grab a baggie of chicken and some dark leafy greens and a little single serving of tupperware with my healthy salad dressing for a quick, easy lunch. Almonds also make a great easy, take-along snack.

If you do this, you will find it is much easier to keep sodium under 1500 mg/day. Again, just a little work and a little planning.

I really like Kashi brand products for convenience. They have some healthy, low sugar, high protein, high fiber options that are prepackaged and better for you than most other brands.

Try to incorporate more fresh/raw veggies in your diet.

Kick the soda habit and drink water.

Lastly - eat breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day. Seriously. Skipping breakfast slows your metabolism and in addition it makes you hungrier later, causing you to eat a larger quantity later in the day (all bad).

So always make time for breakfast - even if it's a kashi bar and a glass of milk (though I really like to get up 15 minutes earlier and make an egg white omelette and have a bowl of steel cut oats with it).

Be patient, and practice small changes at a time. Maybe just drink water for a week, then start incorporating more veggies the next week, etc.

You gotta eat clean if you want to take care of your health.

tameko2 · July 2011

For the ramen you can try subbing http://greenoodles.com/ or at least look for an instant ramen that isn't fried (they cost more though).

The reason instant ramen is so fattening/high in calories is they fry it then dry it. (Thats also why its delicious)

Rilke · July 2011

Eat less (or, even better, completely stop eating):
Ramen
"Cheese" singles
McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, etc
Soda
Sweet tea
Margarine
Marie Callender crap
Fried crap

Eat more:
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruit
Water
Fish and seafood
Raw, unsalted nuts and almonds

I wouldn't really worry about the 2% milk.

For breakfast, try eggs scrambled or omeletted, with fresh veggies thrown in.

Make your own salads with healthy dressings.

If you want chicken, buy boneless skineless breasts and start cooking it yourself.

spiralgirl71 · July 2011

I would cut out the regular pop, sweetened tea, and as many prepackaged foods as possible. Cutting out the Raman and pop would give you so many calories to use on healthier foods.

I don't think I'd worry about the 2% milk. Although skim is better, 2% is better than whole and you need the calcium.

Do you have time in the evenings or during the weekend to plan out your meals so that as much as possible is "whole foods" or that don't come out of a box, can or processed? Think Jamie Oliver with this. Comfort type foods are still okay but you'll save calories and decrease preservatives if you're able to make breaded chicken at home as opposed to store bought nuggets. Even if you could do this for one or two days a week to start, it will help.

I would also make sure to eat breakfast every day. An english muffin with natural peanut butter or some cheese slices will take you a long way.

Switch out your foods one at a time. Start with the pop. See if you can switch to unsweetened tea. Switch out cereals to those that are whole grain with less sugar. Switch out bread to whole grain. Switch out processed meats to fresh meats and cook them at home. Switch out canned veggies to frozen or fresh. Look for better pasta/noodle choices. Do a little at a time and it isn't as much of a shock. I did this with my family over a year and our eating is much healthier. We didn't go extreme. Just followed a whole foods guide and it's helped.

When it's too hot for the oven, I use the crockpot or Foreman grill. It keeps the heat in our non a/c house down but still allows a healthy meal.
Good luck.

cjsgrimlin · July 2011

The reason instant ramen is so fattening/high in calories is they fry it then dry it. (Thats also why its delicious)

Now see i didn't know that!!!

cjsgrimlin · July 2011

This week has been bad for me no doubt, and i really appreciate all you r help. I only had the soda (one fountain drink split for two days) it was my first one in at least a week, so i am doing better on it. I cut out all the fried food (so i thought). I normally cook with fresh veggies.. the Huh? meal was like a veggie bake (cabbage, eggplant, zuccini, celery, and bell peppers) so i do eat a good deal of veggies. The less bread deal.. umm i had a whole wheat bagel this morning and a sanwich 4 days ago. I don't normally eat bread that much (besides going out to eat). I am working on cutting out out to eat down to a little bit. So really thank you guys for helping me get back on track!!

hbrekkaas · July 2011

Eat less (or, even better, completely stop eating):
Ramen
"Cheese" singles
McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, etc
Soda
Sweet tea
Margarine
Marie Callender crap
Fried crap

Eat more:
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruit
Water
Fish and seafood
Raw, unsalted nuts and almonds

I wouldn't really worry about the 2% milk.

For breakfast, try eggs scrambled or omeletted, with fresh veggies thrown in.

Make your own salads with healthy dressings.

If you want chicken, buy boneless skineless breasts and start cooking it yourself.

This. Exactly this.

SoCalSwimmerDude · July 2011

Eat less (or, even better, completely stop eating):
Ramen
"Cheese" singles
McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, etc
Soda
Sweet tea
Margarine
Marie Callender crap
Fried crap

Eat more:
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruit
Water
Fish and seafood
Raw, unsalted nuts and almonds

I wouldn't really worry about the 2% milk.

For breakfast, try eggs scrambled or omeletted, with fresh veggies thrown in.

Make your own salads with healthy dressings.

If you want chicken, buy boneless skineless breasts and start cooking it yourself.

This. Exactly this.

Yup, in general the eating should just be healthier... and I mean that in the nicest way.

Food diairy advice...

Replies

Categories