So confused and fed up!
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Kel3369
Posts: 83 Member
I'm so tired of not having solid information about what to eat. Now I'm hearing "What the Health" has been debunked too. I've been eating a vegan plant based diet for 9 days and I feel a lot better. I gave up all dairy and meat for 30 days so I have until 8/19 then I'll decide how to proceed. There are too many experts out there everywhere you look. I'm overwhelmed with what's okay and what's not.
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Replies
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Eat what you want. Don't overthink it. Just adjust amounts to fit calorie goals.10
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I agree it can be overwhelming. I think the best thing to do is just eat the way that works best for you and makes your body happy/feel good
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I would say stop worrying about having the "perfect diet" and focus on eating in a way that meets your nutritional goals. If you feel better on a plant-based diet, you can continue doing that if you want. Even if it isn't proven to be the "perfect" way to eat, a balanced plant-based diet isn't going to harm you in any way and the features that may come along with it (lots of fiber, plenty of vegetables) are reliably established to be good for us. Is it required for health? Probably not. But lots of people eat this way and feel great so it's okay if you want to be one of them too.
There are a lot of experts, but the reputable ones tend to agree on the major things that matter (even if they disagree on some other things).10 -
It really is easy to become overwhelmed. Just do what feels good for you, if veganism is helping you on your way to a better you and you enjoy it then stick to it! There is no one size fits all diet anyway. I drift between pescetarian, vegetarian and vegan foods depending on what I fancy that day. Don't worry so much about labels and diets, just concentrate on making healthy choices and reaching your nutritional needs :-)4
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janejellyroll wrote: »There are a lot of experts, but the reputable ones tend to agree on the major things that matter (even if they disagree on some other things).
This. This is a pretty sensible source, with more information available: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
I'd also recommend Michael Pollan (I don't agree with 100% of what he says, but he's quite sensible) or Marion Nestle. And the book Diet Cults by Matt Fitzgerald is right on point.
And I also agree that worrying about having a perfect diet is often a way to self sabotage. Eat calorie appropriate, eat a good variety of vegetables, some fruit if you enjoy it, legumes and whole grains and whole food sources of starches like potatoes and sweet potatoes, if you enjoy them. Make sure you have enough protein (and if you are vegan think about including legumes as a source, as they are helpful); get in some sources of healthy fats, like nuts, seeds, avocado, olives (and yes, olive oil or other oils if you enjoy them).
If you have no ethical objections, eggs, dairy (if not lactose intolerant), and meat are fine. But if you find you feel better not eating them, not eating them is great too. (You just might want to check out someone like Jack Norris for excellent information about a balanced vegan diet.)
Including some things in moderation that you simply enjoy, for no particular nutritional purpose, is fine too.
That some people have very poor diets doesn't mean the only response is to eat only according to some very strict rules and cut out everything else -- that's one thing that bugs me about all those "documentaries," whatever particular "side" they are pushing.
Humans traditionally have followed a HUGE range of diets, and have done pretty well on a huge range of diets, so saying we MUST (or must not) be vegan or must avoid wheat or whatever else is not accurate. Is the so called SAD too high in low nutrient high cal foods, many of which are full of added sugar and added fat and so on? Sure. But it's easy to change that without worrying that if you don't eat according to someone's rules (which never agree with someone else's rules) that you can't be healthy.15 -
I'm so tired of not having solid information about what to eat. Now I'm hearing "What the Health" has been debunked too. I've been eating a vegan plant based diet for 9 days and I feel a lot better. I gave up all dairy and meat for 30 days so I have until 8/19 then I'll decide how to proceed. There are too many experts out there everywhere you look. I'm overwhelmed with what's okay and what's not.
Ha, have you been in my head?
I've been successfully maintaining my weight loss for several years now, but this year I've felt more and more that I should change focus and start looking more towards the long term, and how food may play a role in this. I became very interested in the Blue Zones and how they ate. Then I learned about the big meta study that came out earlier this year, from the Imperial College London, about quantity of veggies/fruit, and how that can have a significant impact of disease prevention. I became a bit 'obsessed' at that point and got sucked into Dr. Fuhrman's whole foods, plant based protocol, (Nutritarian woe).
After a while though, I realized I wasn't feeling that great and I hated the bloat that I always had (I have a bmi of around a 20, but yet I looked like I was several months pregnant. My husband even commented on it-sooo frustrating!). So I tried modifying what I was doing and introduced fish again to my diet, but something was still 'off'. Did some spot check tracking and realized that I was really low fat/low protein and I was becoming a bit of a mess.
Soooo here I am, feeling that I want to make changes to how I eat, and wanting to follow a structured plan because this is something that I've been lacking in my maintenance strategy and the longer I maintain the more difficult it's getting for me. Then, earlier this week someone posted about the DASH diet and a light bulb went off for me-this plan is HIGHLY recommended by all sorts of medical associations and doctors, has insanely high marks across the board, and to boot my husband's doctor has been hounding him to start it for his own health issues. The plan is so simple, is very common sense, has a bit of structure but not too strict, and takes a lot of what I had been doing, but makes it more realistic. I'm a few days into it and it's completely clicking for me and I finally feel that I've found 'it' And-the bloat is gone! I feel like I have my body back again, whew!
I have a link that gives a simple chart with everything you need, if you're interested, (from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute). I actually copy/pasted it to a Word document and then printed it out and use it as my reference sheet. It also addresses different calorie ranges, based on what your calorie goals are.
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It's easy to be overwhelmed. We want to take care of our health, try to get reliable information, and then we just get confused. But you need to take a step back, and relax. You can read up on what nutrition you need - calorie requirements and nutritional needs. That's pretty straightforward. But eating well is not just about getting in nutrients, and it's much easier than counting grams and reading labels. It's about traditions, celebrations, values and norms. You can and should be eating a variety of foods you like, and enjoying it, alone or in the company of others.
If your goal is to lose weight, you have to eat less for a long time. To be able to do that, you need a diet you like, a way of eating that makes you feel good mentally and physically. MFP is a great tool for this. It just gives you a number to hit to lose weight - you can track macros and a couple of micros as well, but they are only suggestions, you can adjust all of them if you want to. MFP takes no stance as to what kind of diet you should choose - that is totally up to you. This is very different from what most of us are used to, quite scary at first, and so liberating. My health as well as my eating habits and relationship with food has improved tremendously. The freedom of making my own choices made me more confident, and I tend to make overall better decisions.2 -
Eat what you like... in portions that fit your calories... eat some fruit and veg. Simples!3
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It's funny how not overwhelmed I feel now that I am only avoiding the foods that are documented to make me sick. It's a long list, but it's very easy to say no to feeling awful.2
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I consider the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate as something to strive toward knowing I won't follow it 100% of the time.
-Based on this, I use olive oil over other fats when possible but I won't use it to stir fry or make a butter sauce.
-I'll aim toward eating more whole grains but I'm not gonna give up white flour totally.
-I'll use unsweetened soy milk for coffee, etc., but it's gotta be whole milk to make cheese and a tablespoon or so of heavy cream does wonders for lots of dishes.
-I've taken smoked sausage out of our regular meat rotation but that doesn't mean I won't wolf it down the next time we head to the all-you-can-eat BBQ place.
-I will make sweet potato oven fries on occasion but we'll still have regular white potatoes once a week or so.
-I'll enjoy a breakfast of scrambled eggs made with cheddar cheese and heavy cream but try to have fruits and veggies for snacks that day instead of more cheese.
etc.
For health, I'll strive toward a healthier diet. Still-in-all, the ONLY thing that works for weight loss is consuming fewer calories than you expend. CICO rules!
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TavistockToad wrote: »Eat what you like... in portions that fit your calories... eat some fruit and veg. Simples!
agreed. you'll notice that these tried and true "eat plenty of fruits and veggies", "eat lean meats", and "eat plenty of variety" seem to be unchanging.
Above all else control your calories and find ways to maintain a healthy body size.2 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »I consider the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate as something to strive toward knowing I won't follow it 100% of the time.
Yes, this right here is about all you need to know. The rest is just spin and woo.2 -
Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .0
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Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .
It's not necessary to eat fresh vegetables and fruit to be healthy. It's not bad, but it's not necessary. Vegetables that have been canned, frozen, pickled or otherwise preserved are quite healthy. Even if they've just been sitting in the root cellar for a couple of months they are still nutritious.
I don't mean to poo-poo your post, but I think often people get too hung up on "fresh" vegetables, which can often be more expensive and have a short shelf life.6 -
Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .
There are lots of processed and packaged foods that can easily fit into a healthful diet -- I'm thinking of canned tomatoes, dried beans, tofu, frozen vegetables, nut flours, protein powders, etc. A rule like "avoid processed packaged foods" is going to be less helpful than understanding which particular foods make it harder for us to meet our goals or are crowding out other things that we need.5 -
Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .
Pretty much exactly what i was going to say. Eat as fresh as possible no matter what you eat. Personally I dont think dairy is that healthy and i try to only eat it in moderation.
I also dont think most grocery store meat is good quality or healthy; buy your meat from a farm if you can and produce from produce stands or farmers markets.
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You should start with the big picture in mind, then figure out a way of eating that gets you to that big picture while still taking into account your preferences and lifestyle. My personal feeling is that the big picture is actually pretty simple -- you want to eat in a way that gives you adequate protein/fat/carbs and a wide variety of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) while still keeping you at an appropriate calorie intake for your goals. There are a ton of different ways to get there, because everyone's tastes and lifestyles are different, and what works for me and my life might be a bad fit for you.1
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .
It's not necessary to eat fresh vegetables and fruit to be healthy. It's not bad, but it's not necessary. Vegetables that have been canned, frozen, pickled or otherwise preserved are quite healthy. Even if they've just been sitting in the root cellar for a couple of months they are still nutritious.
I don't mean to poo-poo your post, but I think often people get too hung up on "fresh" vegetables, which can often be more expensive and have a short shelf life.
Important point, IMO.2 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Everyone has different opinions ...just eat as healthy and fresh as possible . I don't think one has to cut out certain foods they enjoy to loose weight , just in moderation and stay within calorie limit. It's too much stress hearing all the opinions out there , if we listened to them all we would be eating ice chips all day . Exercise , fresh veggies , fruit , whole grains, lean meats . Stay away from processed packaged foods as much as possible , but don't cut out things completely then you feel too restricted .
It's not necessary to eat fresh vegetables and fruit to be healthy. It's not bad, but it's not necessary. Vegetables that have been canned, frozen, pickled or otherwise preserved are quite healthy. Even if they've just been sitting in the root cellar for a couple of months they are still nutritious.
I don't mean to poo-poo your post, but I think often people get too hung up on "fresh" vegetables, which can often be more expensive and have a short shelf life.
This is so true. The expense, storage considerations, and prep of fresh vegetables can be an obstacle for some people or in some circumstances, but there are so many options out there to get the nutrition and taste of vegetables without necessarily buying exclusively fresh.4 -
OliveGirl128 wrote: »I'm so tired of not having solid information about what to eat. Now I'm hearing "What the Health" has been debunked too. I've been eating a vegan plant based diet for 9 days and I feel a lot better. I gave up all dairy and meat for 30 days so I have until 8/19 then I'll decide how to proceed. There are too many experts out there everywhere you look. I'm overwhelmed with what's okay and what's not.
Ha, have you been in my head?
I've been successfully maintaining my weight loss for several years now, but this year I've felt more and more that I should change focus and start looking more towards the long term, and how food may play a role in this. I became very interested in the Blue Zones and how they ate. Then I learned about the big meta study that came out earlier this year, from the Imperial College London, about quantity of veggies/fruit, and how that can have a significant impact of disease prevention. I became a bit 'obsessed' at that point and got sucked into Dr. Fuhrman's whole foods, plant based protocol, (Nutritarian woe).
After a while though, I realized I wasn't feeling that great and I hated the bloat that I always had (I have a bmi of around a 20, but yet I looked like I was several months pregnant. My husband even commented on it-sooo frustrating!). So I tried modifying what I was doing and introduced fish again to my diet, but something was still 'off'. Did some spot check tracking and realized that I was really low fat/low protein and I was becoming a bit of a mess.
Soooo here I am, feeling that I want to make changes to how I eat, and wanting to follow a structured plan because this is something that I've been lacking in my maintenance strategy and the longer I maintain the more difficult it's getting for me. Then, earlier this week someone posted about the DASH diet and a light bulb went off for me-this plan is HIGHLY recommended by all sorts of medical associations and doctors, has insanely high marks across the board, and to boot my husband's doctor has been hounding him to start it for his own health issues. The plan is so simple, is very common sense, has a bit of structure but not too strict, and takes a lot of what I had been doing, but makes it more realistic. I'm a few days into it and it's completely clicking for me and I finally feel that I've found 'it' And-the bloat is gone! I feel like I have my body back again, whew!
I have a link that gives a simple chart with everything you need, if you're interested, (from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute). I actually copy/pasted it to a Word document and then printed it out and use it as my reference sheet. It also addresses different calorie ranges, based on what your calorie goals are.
What is the DASH diet? I have trouble with bloating and if it helps it would be amazing0
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