Back at it!

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marcoast_
marcoast_ Posts: 7 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hey everyone, I'm back after about 2 years of not tracking my food with a new perspective on it. I'm a young guy on the move and need help keeping sugar and salt low while out and about. I like to cook also, but end up taking a while to cook a meal.

I exercise regularly but this is the other half that I'm working on improving. Eating "cleaner". Looking through nutrition facts, so much food has a lot of salt and sugar in it.

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  • ellesussex2017
    ellesussex2017 Posts: 21 Member
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    Welcome back - I am a third time rounder myself!
  • marcoast_
    marcoast_ Posts: 7 Member
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    ellesussex2017 wrote: »
    Welcome back - I am a third time rounder myself!

    Thank you!
  • Doingthis4Drea
    Doingthis4Drea Posts: 5 Member
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    Welcome I’m coming back also
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Why are you worried about salt and sugar? Do you have any health concerns that dictates limiting salt and sugar? And what do you mean by "cleaner"? Is your diet dirty?
  • marcoast_
    marcoast_ Posts: 7 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Why are you worried about salt and sugar? Do you have any health concerns that dictates limiting salt and sugar? And what do you mean by "cleaner"? Is your diet dirty?

    Nothing in excess is good.. Salt and sugar tend to be excessive in my diet. I eat junk, so my diet is dirty. Not enough vegetables.

    Does that answer your questions?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    marcussanders_ wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Why are you worried about salt and sugar? Do you have any health concerns that dictates limiting salt and sugar? And what do you mean by "cleaner"? Is your diet dirty?

    Nothing in excess is good.. Salt and sugar tend to be excessive in my diet. I eat junk, so my diet is dirty. Not enough vegetables.

    Does that answer your questions?
    Yes! Thank you. And it raises more questions. Have you considered that when you cook from scratch, you can control salt and sugar better? That there's naturally occurring sugar in vegetables? How much vegetables is "enough"? And how you are going to eat more vegetables, when your preferred(?) diet is "junk"? And how calling your preferred(?) diet "dirty", affects you and your self-image? And whether calling it dirty, is going to help you change eating habits, or make it more difficult?
  • marcoast_
    marcoast_ Posts: 7 Member
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    Yes I've considered that. Yes I know about natural sugars (glucose, fructose, etc.). I'm keeping tabs on the added processed sugars, outside of added natural sugars like honey, fruit juices, etc.

    What point are you trying to get at?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I'm trying to warn you about obsessing over food and eating, which is unhealthy, and ironically often leads to overall bad eating decisions.
  • gorgeousgwen
    gorgeousgwen Posts: 5 Member
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    Hi I’m back too
  • marcoast_
    marcoast_ Posts: 7 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I'm trying to warn you about obsessing over food and eating, which is unhealthy, and ironically often leads to overall bad eating decisions.

    Thank you, I see where you're coming from. In my case, I'm trying to re-balance what I eat.
    For me, I'm focusing on sugar/salt because those are the most addicting to me, so I'm tapering that off slowly. Vegetables and grains are definitely lacking. I live in TX where there's delicious food EVERYWHERE. Not necessarily the healthiest either.

    In the long run, my goal is to support my fitness because I love to inline skate long distance, and I want to give myself good fuel for that and other exercises.

    I don't plan on obsessing over it, I just want to monitor and make slight adjustments as I go. Just from tracking what I already eat, I've cut back some junk and don't eat as much food overall.

    Unhealthy would definitely be what I was doing beforehand lol.
  • mysteps2beauty
    mysteps2beauty Posts: 494 Member
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    Hey..

    Welcome back. My second time too.

    Take it one day at a time. You will find that your approach will morph many times as needed and as you gain more information.

    Meantime, just keep logging, everyday. You can set it where only you can see your diary. Once done, get down and dirty with every little thing you eat. You think you know how your diet is not the diet of champions. Your diary, if logged truthfully, will show you eye opening things. Even "good" food can be over the top, if consumed when you have already ate your allowance.

    That said when you start eating more healthfully cause basically when you do you get to eat more, you will find your taste buds will change. I never, I mean, never thought I could drink coffee black. Now it's hard to go back to the sugary indulgence that is Starbucks, or any other commercially purchased drink. Same for sodium. I would put salt on everything, even frozen foods, that are already laden with sodium. Now, I can hardly stand the taste. (btw - look into Himilayan sea salt, what we we call salt in the US, really is very harmful...) You will learn more and more about the food you choose to eat.

    Hang in there, even when the cravings hit. You are probably gung ho right now. Just take day by imperfect day. Good days, not so good days, but just showing up here, learning, refining, getting it more right than "wrong."

    Reach out for info, for advice, for inspiration. Go to the Success Stories thread often. Amazing, long term, imperfect perseverance by amazing imperfect everyday people.

    You got this, never doubt it, and if you do, you are just like the rest of us non-perfect people. People who are failures are the ones who don't get back up. You did get back up cause you are back here.

    All the best. Feel free to friend me at anytime.

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