Diet Advice!

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Hey, this is really from a Check it Out! posting, but...
Continuing from "wow chorizo's really a fat, not a meat," I usually eat during the day when I'm hungry-- which means that I really don't keep track of much of anything. :( I try to drink only orange juice (of the juices) because it has a lot of nutrients that I try to get from diet, rather than from a pill. True, it has a fruit-amount of sugar, but yeah, like you said, Whiskey, it's still sugar.
Any one else: diet and exercise. We all need it. How many of us still aren't quite getting in the routine we need to be in? Certantly I'm in the slacker category. For Pete's sake, my university offers free gym membership to full timers, and I still can't get off my fat tookis! :p
Like I said in the other thread, I really don't have any consistency in my diet, aside from bread-like carbs and dairy and eggs. Sometimes I eat fresh, others, not so much. Sometimes I go to Pita Hole (which is really a Pit), sometimes I just get Jack. Usually don't go out to eat. On average? Oh, once a week?
EDIT wow where'd the rest of my thread go? Anyway, I'm trying to get on a more consistent diet, and advice on how to make and keep a healthy fridge and pantry would be much appreciated.

[TelephoneAngel]

oh yeah me too, I'm really unhappy with how unhealthy I am, but in between the last thread and this one, having said i was trying to eat healthily, I accidently ate some chocolate covered icecream with some cherryade.

:(

[Whiskey]

I dont even know where to start with general information, but I'll address some stuff in your post.

I usually eat during the day when I'm hungry-- which means that I really don't keep track of much of anything.
Get yourself a free account at the daily plate and start logging your food. You'd be surprised how bad a diet can be if you're not paying attention. I eat on a schedule. Not a strict one. If I eat at 8am, ill glance at the clock. when 11 rolls around, I eat again. And a 2, 6 and 9. You should be eating at least five meals per day. It prevents cravings, crashes, keeps you feeling energetic and it reduces the need to gorge yourself.


:( I try to drink only orange juice (of the juices) because it has a lot of nutrients that I try to get from diet, rather than from a pill.
Real juice (not from concentrate, no added sugar) is okay once in a while. 99% of your liquids should be 0 calories. 98% of your 0 calorie liquids should be water. The brain registers thirst as hunger, which makes you eat more. If you are regularly drinking water throughout the day, you'll eat less and be properly hydrated. Dehydration is terrible, even if its mild. Your nutrients will come to you in your food. You shouldn't rely on liquids for nutrients.


Any one else: diet and exercise. We all need it. How many of us still aren't quite getting in the routine we need to be in? Certantly I'm in the slacker category. For Pete's sake, my university offers free gym membership to full timers, and I still can't get off my fat tookis! :p

You dont need to go to a gym to work out. If you have a mentality of the gym being a bad place, a painful place, then the gym is never going to work for you. The only diet and exercise regiments that work are the ones you enjoy. Your diet is not temporary and neither is exercise. Your body is the most important thing you need to take care of. Invest in good food, learn to cook, and exercise it. The first time I hit the gym hard after sitting on my ass for years, I felt like i had done a line of cocaine. I was energetic, a bit light headed, excited and ready to everything.


Like I said in the other thread, I really don't have any consistency in my diet, aside from bread-like carbs and dairy and eggs. Sometimes I eat fresh, others, not so much. Sometimes I go to Pita Hole (which is really a Pit), sometimes I just get Jack. Usually don't go out to eat. On average? Oh, once a week?

You could treat yourself to so much better. Pop into the last 2 pages of the LUPO!! thread and look at my daily food.

If you look at proper eating and exercise as a chore, you will fail. I do my stupid avant garde salads and what not because its FUN. I lift weights because I like feeling like I could flip a car if I wanted to. I enjoy myself.

I accidently ate some chocolate covered icecream with some cherryade.

:(

You cant use this mentality either. You didn't accidentally eat some chocolate covered ice cream. You made a deliberate choice to get up, walk over, and eat it. That sounds kind of harsh, i dont mean it to. :) The way you think is way more important than people give it credit for.

I had a cup of frozen yogurt yesterday. Didnt freak out about it, didnt run for five hours a treadmill. Its one cup of frozen yogurt in a sea of good eating.

Oh and if you do eat out, get a nutritional guide before you order.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Cherryade? What is this wondrous, undoubtedly sugary concoction that I have not tasted??

[TelephoneAngel]

Cherryade? What is this wondrous, undoubtedly sugary concoction that I have not tasted??


oh do you not have it over there?You know what lemonade is? we have cherryade, limeade, orangeade, pineappleade, all sorts of ades.

cherryade is very sweet, only vaguely tastes of cherries, and is full of calories, and very bad for you and i shouldn't be drinking it.

I wonder if it is like any of the flavoured gatorade things you have, or mountain dew?

[teh_blumchenkinder]

BUH! Appearing thread! You and I posted at the same time, W! Anyway. Yeah. Crashes. I hate those, especially since hypoglycemia and diabetes is in the family and DO NOT WANT. I do walk, probably about an hour a day between all my classes over the year, but I don't think that's enough.
Let's see: how can I make eating right a fun thing, rather than, "Oh, gotta cook!" sort of mentality? I can cook, I just usually don't, or throw something in a pan and fry it (like eggs).
Edit: Sonic's, a fast-food place, has limeade... maybe some of the fancier/more city stores have pinappleade?

[TelephoneAngel]

How can I go to the supermarket and buy things to eat............rather tha come back and find i have bought lots of things which won't make a meal, and are bad for me?

[Whiskey]

I can't do the standard 2-week grocery shopping. I'm in my grocery store every other day. I pick up my staples (lentils, eggs, spices/herbs, generic meat stuff, etc) and then I pop to the store for whatever I'm making. Yesterday I made

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/IMAG0196.jpg

It cost me 8$ because i had to buy most of the ingredients since I was out. It actually made more than that, enough to feed me for 3-4 meals (sans salmon)

Walking is not enough. if you have diabetes in your family, you really need to stop with the sugary drinks/juices.

I love that posts 3-5 in this thread are worshipping sugar drinks.

regarding things being bad for you, READ YOUR LABELS. Read EVERY label. Be aware of serving sizes and servings per container. It becomes second nature faster than you'd think.

And I'd bet 100$ I can make a meal out of whatever you brought back from the store. Be creative!

If daily shopping isnt possible, make a meal plan. Monday is beef day, Tuesday is fish day, Wednesday is vegetarian day so you have some semblance of structure. Or just outright plan every meal youre going to eat for the next 2 weeks if that works better for you.

[Whiskey]

Protein: Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Tuna, Cottage Cheese, Egg Whites, Fish, Protein Powder

Carbohydrates: vegetables, multi-grain breads/bagels, oats (steel cut or quick oats), fruits (the most caloric dense you can find prunes, dates, raisins, berries), whole-wheat pasta, brown or white rice, sweet potatoes, yams, and Ezekiel products.

Fats: Olive Oil, Egg Yolks, Fish Oil, Flax Oil, Nuts, Natural Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, and Avocados.

Theres a starter list of delicious, healthy foods.

Also, i really, really, really reccommend this book to everyone http://brainoverbrawn.com/get-the-book/ the e-book is completely free, but you can support the author and buy it on amazon if you want (i didnt write it, dont know the guy)

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Yeah, that's why I think sugar is my Bad Thing. :P
I've started reading labels. Go me!
I've thought over the past, and when things go well with the fridge. It seems to go better when I have a bunch of pre-cooked stuff, like when I made a bunch of lentils (which, btw, checked out the Lupo thread-- OMG O__O could only find bewbs). I might try the going to the store more often schtick, most of my fruits go bad before I can eat them all unless I buy canned, and canned is bad or at least not as good.
I might schedule some treadmill time at the gym, and go from there-- getting used to the gym, then doing some lighter non-free weights. Or those tiny ones that are like 10 pounds each.
What did you do to those lentils there, Whiskey?
EDIT: Buh, sneaky thread is sneaky. Thanks for the list of Healthy Whiskey Stuff ^tm

[BookstoreEscapee]

My mom got me the Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide for Christmas. It's got some good stuff in it. Their website (http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home) has lots of info, too.

6 Rules of Good Nutrition (http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/6-rules-good-nutrition#title) is a good place to start. (The only thing I hate about the site is the slide-show format, which reloads the whole page with each slide.)

[Whiskey]

Its probably an okay book, i havent read it. I tend to distrust anything coming from a magazine with "health' in the name. Some of the dangerous, out right dumb, stuff they put in there concerns me.

Whiskey's Super Kawaii Diet Thats Not A DIET.

Meal 1:
2 eggs, scrambled in 1/4 c of milk. Pan LIGHTLY buttered. Add in tomatoes, cilantro, cayenne, black pepper, a pinch of salt, and mushrooms
1 slice of sourdough bread, toasted, no butter
An assortment of vegetables
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/free/IMAG0183.jpg

Meal 2:
1 cup Fage yogurt (0%) with a couple teaspoons of honey

Meal 3:
Pan cooked (light butter) chicken breast, coated in black pepper, tumeric, stuffed with 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of bacon and some green onions.
1/3 cup of spinach

Meal 4:
1 cup Fage yogurt, with honey
2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter
Half a piece of left over chicken

Meal 5:
1 ounce of salmon
1 cup lentils with sauteed shallots and green onion
light drizzle of olive oil
1 roma tomato cut up

This is what most of my days look like. Theres variations. The salmon is usually a tuna steak, or just regular canned tuna. I eat it and its tasty.


I might schedule some treadmill time at the gym, and go from there-- getting used to the gym, then doing some lighter non-free weights. Or those tiny ones that are like 10 pounds each.What did you do to those lentils there, Whiskey?

I hate the treadmill. Its monotonous and so much effort for so little. I really recommend trying Couch to 5K, its a great program.

Free weights are weights that are free. Those tiny 10lb dumb bells are free weights. You seem scared of "free weights", why?

I boiled them, then dumped them in a shallot/green onion sautee. little bit of olive oil too.

Heres 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutrition (http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm) from an actual PhD.

I get snooty about source, just because bad information can do a LOT of harm. (not saying your information was bad, but there is a lot of bad info out there). That article isn't bad at all :) my link is entirely different.

Also note, my diet should not be YOUR diet. I eat quite a bit of food because I squat 130lbs on a regular basis. If you're less active, you eat less. If you're more active, its time to invest in protein powder.

[TelephoneAngel]

I

You cant use this mentality either. You didn't accidentally eat some chocolate covered ice cream. You made a deliberate choice to get up, walk over, and eat it. That sounds kind of harsh, i dont mean it to. :) The way you think is way more important than people give it credit for.


Yes you see, but that is some of the problem.Take the icecream, I don't know why I ate it :( I didn't particularly want it and yet................I ate it anyway.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Its probably an okay book, i havent read it. I tend to distrust anything coming from a magazine with "health' in the name. Some of the dangerous, out right dumb, stuff they put in there concerns me.

I know what you mean. The advice they give is pretty down to earth (a lot of it is really common sense). The link I posted includes things like "Eat More Whole Foods and Fewer Science Experiments" and "Drink Responsibly" (which is all about the sugar we consume in liquid form, including juices). The book has sections on what to look for in each department (meats, produce, dairy, etc.) and also specific product recommendations, from the best to the worst in various categories (like, drink real chocolate milk instead of Yoohoo chocolate "drink") and how to read labels.

There is also a book called Food Rules (http://michaelpollan.com/books/food-rules/) by Michael Pollan (who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, which was quite interesting). It's a little book and a quick read but has some good things to keep in mind when choosing what to eat. Excerpt here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-pollan/food-rules-a-completely-d_b_410173.html):

#47 Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.
#11 Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
#36 Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
#39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

[Whiskey]

Yes you see, but that is some of the problem.Take the icecream, I don't know why I ate it :( I didn't particularly want it and yet................I ate it anyway.

You were bored. Boredom eating is one of the worst things. So is not paying attention while eating. You eat a lot more if youre watching TV while doing it because your brain isnt focused on your body telling it that its done eating. So you just keep eating...

If you're bored, your brain wants SOMETHING. Eating makes you feel good. Ice cream is tasty.

Drinking water and eating every 3 hours will almost completely fix boredom eating. Also, ask yourself questions. "Why am I eating this if I'm not hungry?"

I also dance to music when I get bored. 30% of my day is spent dancing in my living room.

[Magpie]

Yes you see, but that is some of the problem.Take the icecream, I don't know why I ate it :( I didn't particularly want it and yet................I ate it anyway.

Advice from my anti-PCOS book for losing weight for people who have a hard time losing weight: make a food diary. I know everyone does this, but there's a catch. When you eat, write down how you feel. You don't have to write down "I ate this because I was worried about my grades", just that "I'm worried about my grades". Look for patterns, and then you'll figure out that you crave chips when you're tired, and you know to rest and take a break, instead of having chips (completely made up out of thin air by the way, just as an example.)

And remember not to replace sugary drinks and foods with non-nutritive sweeteners. Those will screw you up even more, because you'll lose your ability to tell how much you've eaten. I'm not sure I agree with Whiskey's assessment that you should only be drinking water. This is all the more so because if you are perfectly fine with 50-50 tisanes and water, you are better off doing that than constantly having juice or soft drinks because you are tired of water. Even having tea or coffee (black in both cases) is better than sugary drinks.

One of the easiest ways to go low-fat is to go vegetarian. Most of the fat in my diet is from meat, cheese and eggs. You don't have to go all-out vegan, but cheese and eggs aren't a large part of any diet, so you don't need to worry about them as much :p. Have healthy snacks that you can eat, so you fill up on, for example, carrots instead of going and buying a muffin because you're hungry. If the only thing that will fill you up is a muffin, decide if you want a muffin or if you want to be hungry. Be realistic about if it's reasonable to have the muffin. Consider what else (also unhealthy, but perhaps not quite as bad) would also fill you up. And then eat it, but stop. Don't go "oh well, I screwed up, who cares what I eat now".

And if you find a way to make the above easy, let me know, I could use the assistance :p.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I hate the treadmill. Its monotonous and so much effort for so little. I really recommend trying Couch to 5K, its a great program.

Free weights are weights that are free. Those tiny 10lb dumb bells are free weights. You seem scared of "free weights", why?

Also note, my diet should not be YOUR diet. I eat quite a bit of food because I squat 130lbs on a regular basis. If you're less active, you eat less. If you're more active, its time to invest in protein powder.

I meant the big ones, which I've used before, even taken classes in High School with the scary volleyball girls and (not so scary) football dudes. I know I'll need a spotter, and I'm not sure I'll be able to scrounge up a partner. The little one's will just break my toe if I drop them on me.
I shall investigate this "Couch to 5k program."
And yeah, energy output and input and all that. I do notice on days I have a lot of stuff to do I'm hungrier-- and even when I take mentally challenging and enjoyable classes, I'm hungrier! :D Brainpower. :lol:
I can clean 125 last I checked. I have scary strong wrists. Yeah, I know, that's not really where it comes from, it's just one point among many. ... I think clean is the right word... where you pick it up off the rack and you move the bar/weights up, and then over your head?
EDIT: Magpie, the "see what you feel" thing seems like something I might want to do for myself. I've noticed I drink tea when I feel ... sleepy? Chill? yeah, low-key is really the best term. I'll look into drinking more not-actually-tea (tisaines), and maybe if I start thinking like I should eat mostly veggies that will help. See, normally I think "ham sammich and a tall cup of milk" when someone says food, and now I can start replacing that immediate mental image with "Carrot. Broccoli. Blueberries. Soy milk." (all of which I love. NOM)

[Whiskey]

You shouldn't be eating that many bad fats. Good fat is good for you. A good diet is low in bad fat, moderate in good fat, low in carbs.

and I didnt say ONLY water, I said a great majority should be water. I drink coffee, tea, diet coke, and milk as well.

Eggs are a majority of my diet because I lift. Eggs are a great source for protein, cheese is what you make of it.

One of my major points, and why its recommended you eat so often, is so you don't have to feel like you need to "fill up." You should be eating before your body is very hungry. Most of the time, by the time I get to eating my next meal, I'm not particularly hungry. I'm hungry, but I'm not salivating while I cook (out of hunger, my food is delicious smelling though).

I meant the big ones, which I've used before, even taken classes in High School with the scary volleyball girls and (not so scary) football dudes. I know I'll need a spotter, and I'm not sure I'll be able to scrounge up a partner. The little one's will just break my toe if I drop them on me.

I can clean 125 last I checked. I have scary strong wrists. Yeah, I know, that's not really where it comes from, it's just one point among many. ... I think clean is the right word... where you pick it up off the rack and you move the bar/weights up, and then over your head?

You don't walk into a gym and start squating 2x body weight. Those big scary people got that way by starting with the bar and then gradually adding weight. If you go to your gym regularly there are plenty of people there who will spot you. I have guys come up to me and compliment me on my routine and offer a spot if I need one. They do it because they see a fellow gym goer, a girl even, taking care of themselves.

I have no idea what lift youre talking about. you have a youtube link? Oh the clean from a Clean & Jerk. I havent done one of those.

And if you find a way to make the above easy, let me know, I could use the assistance :p.

Why do you feel youve screwed up? Whats wrong with enjoying a piece of cake?


edit: a couple weeks ago a very cute man said he liked my form. I liked his form too ;)

[TelephoneAngel]

ok I have decided that from tomorrow, if I have the willpower to keep it up, I will start a diary of what I eat but also what I drink as I am consuming a lot of sugar in soda drinks.I tried before to drink plain green tea as I heard it is healthy but I don't like the taste without sweeteners in it, and sweeteners are just as bad for you.

[Whiskey]

ok I have decided that from tomorrow, if I have the willpower to keep it up

You already half decided you're not going to be able to do it. You gave yourself an out to fail. If you have a smart phone, they have apps for food diaries. Or keep one online in a livejournal.

And I use honey as a sweetner. A bit of white sugar sometimes. Like I said, since my diet is already low in that kind of stuff I dont worry about that 3 tsp in my cup of coffee.

Everything in moderation, especially moderation.

You find ways to do the things you want to do. You find ways out of the things you don't. You're the only one who can improve your health and wellbeing. I cant go to my gym anymore so I'm doing incline pushups on my stairs, pulls ups (well, trying) on my door, etc.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Boredom eating is one of the worst things. So is not paying attention while eating.

I'm very proud of myself-- I've cut way back all on my own about boredom eating-- now it's stuff like tea or blueberries. Mostly tea. I've been trying to do the water thing, too. Sometimes, water is all I want all the time, not even eating, now it's more a glass of water, three of tea. :( Eh. some change is better than none, right?
Also, very super Kawaii!
http://kawaiinot.com/
(webcomic)

[BookstoreEscapee]

I shall investigate this "Couch to 5k program."

I posted this link in another thread somewhere. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
If you have iTunes, search podcasts for "Couch to 5K"...there are some apps if you want to pay, or there are a couple free podcasts (the one I have is by Robert Ullrey, and there is another one that I saw today that is basically the same thing without the music), that give you the cues for when to start/stop each running/walking interval. I had started it a couple weeks ago; this past week life kinda derailed me (weather and car problems, mostly). I learned that running on the treadmill does not work for me. For one, it makes my shins hurt (I actually had to stop walking after the 2nd interval, and switched to the elliptical to finish out the time). Also, I don't have a lot of stamina yet, and I don't feel stable enough to run on a moving surface since I can't just stop like I can on solid ground. Plus it's boring.

ok I have decided that from tomorrow, if I have the willpower to keep it up, I will start a diary of what I eat but also what I drink as I am consuming a lot of sugar in soda drinks.I tried before to drink plain green tea as I heard it is healthy but I don't like the taste without sweeteners in it, and sweeteners are just as bad for you.

Even keeping a journal for a week or two can be helpful (include at least a couple weekend days); if you are going about your normal schedule, you'll get a snapshot of what a typical week looks like.

Some days I can't stand the thought of plain water and I'll mix in a little bit of something like Crystal Light or Propel mix (not the whole packet, just enough to give a little flavor; the whole packet tends to be too sweet).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Honey has micronutrients and stuff in it, and if you have allergies, it's good for those too! Get as local honey as you can find, and it'll really help cut back on the major allergy symptoms from pollen! I usually can't afford that much honey to have it replace sugar straight up... but ... hey... that's an idea! No more bags of sugar for me. Just honey. If I can't buy honey, then tough cookies! Yay.

[Whiskey]

I'm very proud of myself-- I've cut way back all on my own about boredom eating-- now it's stuff like tea or blueberries. Mostly tea. I've been trying to do the water thing, too. Sometimes, water is all I want all the time, not even eating, now it's more a glass of water, three of tea. :( Eh. some change is better than none, right?
Also, very super Kawaii!
http://kawaiinot.com/
(webcomic)

Ever hear of the 80/20 rule? (http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm)

If you do 20% of what the super fit, super active people do, you will obtain 80% of the reward.

"Pareto's Principle, the 80/20 Rule, should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of you work that is really important. Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things. "

If I can't buy honey, then tough cookies!

This is how I think. I dont have my healthy substitute, I can get an unhealthy substitute, but tough cookies, no unhealthy shit. Everytime I eat something exceptionally bad, i feel exceptionally bad.

Edit: TA you could start a fitness/diet log here to log your food diary and everything else :) that way you get feedback and positive response too.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

O___O Wow. That's cool.
... I like you Whiskey! :p
(I already did, just now I like you more)

[BookstoreEscapee]

You already half decided you're not going to be able to do it. You gave yourself an out to fail. If you have a smart phone, they have apps for food diaries. Or keep one online in a livejournal.

I don't have a smart phone, but my phone does have a notepad. Most probably do. I can also text what I had for lunch to my email and then copy it down when I get home.

[Whiskey]

Don't get overwhelmed by all this. After a while, like everything else, it becomes second nature.

Hell, heres a fancy anecdote (and the reason I posted this post)

I noticed I was thirsty AND hungry. Huh, what time is it? 2PM, already??? When did I last eat? ~10AM.

Four hours. My body knows its routine.

edit: Hey want some lunch? I ate carbs for you guys :) I had to do something with the lentils i had left from last night

Whole wheat rotini with last nights lentils. Olive oil, garlif and reconstituted "ham bits" (1/2 tsp probably) for sauce.

Salad with 1 slice provolone cheese, cilantro and another 1/4 tsp ham bits

and since i'm out of meat, half a glass of milk.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/IMAG0201.jpg

I made too much pasta, half of that is going to be thrown into something. Maybe a casserole. This is exactly how i prepare every meal. What have i got that will go together? Have left overs, whats something new I can do with them?

[BookstoreEscapee]

edit: Hey want some lunch?

No, it's dinner time here. :)

[Mishi]

Be realistic about if it's reasonable to have the muffin. Consider what else (also unhealthy, but perhaps not quite as bad) would also fill you up. And then eat it, but stop. Don't go "oh well, I screwed up, who cares what I eat now".

And if you find a way to make the above easy, let me know, I could use the assistance :p.

Well, what I did to get rid of most of the post-baby weight (kept a few kg so that I'm a healthy weight instead of scary thin) was:
- Kept a food diary for a month
- Decided what were empty/bored calories and cut those out
- Began counting calories
- Started weighing portions so that I was eating the standard serving size
- Began eating lean protein 3 x a day and increased my water, veggie and fruit intake. Also switched to wholemeal/mixedgrain breads.
- Started walking the dogs first thing in the morning when I had the chance
- If I couldn't walk the dogs, I used my exercise bike for around an hour in the evenings while watching TV after the kids went to bed.
- Always factored a yummy, useless treat into my daily calories.

It took about a year to lose the babyweight, but that's normal as you're not supposed to lose huge amounts of weight at once. My weight has stayed between 51-54kg for the last 6 months, and I've been eating more treats with less exercise out of laziness. Having to cut those out slowly now, they're giving me pimples :(

[BookstoreEscapee]

Also switched to wholemeal/mixedgrain breads.

Make sure you check labels when buying breads. If the first ingredient isn't whole wheat flour (not just 'wheat flour') or another whole grain, don't bother. A lot of "multigrain" breads are mostly refined flour with some other grain bits mixed in.

[lupo pazzesco]

Ok, going to chime in here with what's helped me in the last year. I've lost about 50 lbs by not looking at it as a diet. It's a lifestyle change. One of the biggest things is to remind yourself that this is YOUR body. You shower daily, get haircuts, etc to take care and maintain the outside of it, why then fill it with junk and ignore taking care of and maintaining the inside? The two do kind of go hand in hand.

Simple enough to start with - drink more water. If you don't like plain water, throw in a few slices of citrus fruit or (and my favorite, just cuz I love to eat them) some cucumber slices. Get some fizzy water and berries and it's pretty tasty.

This site (http://www.sparkpeople.com) has also proven invaluable. Completely free to join. It's a site that lets you track calories you take in, calories you burn, set goals, etc. They have a recipe site, hundreds of forums and communities to provide support and quick 10 minute workout videos, too. A lot of the time, the excuse of being too busy to exercise comes up because people don't want to spend an hour or more at the gym. Got 10 minutes? DO something that gets the heart rate up and moving! Baby steps.

The nutrition tracker on the site has helped me the most. Before I ever set a concrete goal, I just tracked what I ate and it's an eye opener, really. I eat pretty healthy, always have, but the sheer quantities amazed me sometimes.

So, lifestyle change, not diet. And Whiskey is right, don't beat yourself up for eating ice cream, it's not a cardinal sin. You're only human. Humans make mistakes, and besides cutting out all food that's considered unhealthy is in itself unhealthy in the long run and can lead to binge eating. I know that if i cut sweets or salty snacks out of my diet completely for a lengthy period of time, I end up gorging on them later and completely destroying all of the good work I'd been doing. Guess what? Today I had two chocolate chip cookies with lunch. (GASP!!!!)

am I beating myself up over it? Nope. Yes, that's an extra amount of calories, but I felt better for it in a way, because I know I'm not depriving myself of treats and still taking care of myself with a healthy lunch (salsa chicken with black beans over brown rice, tomato and cucumber salad, and an apple with iced tea) Changing your mindset will ultimately change a lot of the other problems perceive when it comes to weight loss or getting into better shape.

And for those of you who love ice cream, have you ever tried running a frozen banana through the food processor? Seriously, slice up a banana, freeze it, then run the frozen chunks in a food processor (NOT a blender. Blenders cause...unfortunate incidents, shall we say). The end result is a dessert that has the texture of soft serve ice cream. Banana ice cream. I drizzle a little caramel sauce, or fudge sauce over it and it is SO good. I highly recommend it.

Well, think I've babble enough here. Hope this proved helpful.

[BookstoreEscapee]

So, lifestyle change, not diet. And Whiskey is right, don't beat yourself up for eating ice cream, it's not a cardinal sin.

I'd venture to say it's a necessity ;)

And for those of you who love ice cream, have you ever tried running a frozen banana through the food processor?

Sometimes I just cut a banana into chunks and drizzle with chocolate syrup (I'm partial to Hershey's Special Dark syrup). Also good with fresh raspberries (and if you're goofy like me, you carefully fill each raspberry with a drop of syrup; it's fun and it takes longer to eat that way :p).

I don't actually own a food processor, or a real blender, for that matter (I have a stick blender, which works for some things). I don't have a lot of room in my kitchen so I haven't bought some of the gadgets I'd like to have. I should get them anyway and clear off a bookshelf or something to store them.

[Whiskey]

Indulgence is a necessary part of a healthy diet. Just don't go off the rails. I get a piece of tiramisu bi-weekly.

I'm not big on sweets in general though. I eat, maybe, a pint of ice cream a year. I don't think I've had a cookie in six months.

[Seshat]

Eh. some change is better than none, right?

Yes!

In fact, here's my #1 lesson: make one change at a time.

Pick one thing to change. Work on it until it's habit, and a normal part of your life. Then - and only then - pick another thing to change. Over time, this will improve your eating and exercise habits until you're in the healthiest 10% of the population, lifestyle wise.

So any change is better than none.


Anyway, here's my goal conditions:

Exercise:
* Any varied exercise set that brings you to a sweat, at a minimum of 30 minutes, twice or 3 times a week. (For cardiovascular benefit)
* Any range of exercises that covers the majority of the body's muscles, and brings you to a level of strength that you can conveniently and easily do everything you want to do.
* Core exercises (abdominal aka 'corset' muscles, and spinal muscles) such that your guts are held in healthily, and your spine is supported properly.

You'll notice that the goals are fairly vague there. For me, the strength level I want to achieve is the ability to annually or twice-annually prune my garden, and dig over a vegetable garden. I should be able to do that without running out of the strength to do it, though I expect to be sweating and drinking a lot of water while I do it.

Once you've achieved your desired strength, you'll need to keep it up. Two or three sessions of whatever-exercise a week should enable you to maintain it. Gym work of whatever sort is an easy way to quantify the level of exercise you'll need to maintain the goal - but gardening is just as valid an exercise, as is playing frisbee or flying kites or playing on a kid's climbing frame.



Diet - Treats:
* It's okay to eat treats.
* As your diet improves, your idea of what a 'treat' is will change. Your tastes will change - some of your now-favourite foods may taste too fatty, or too sugary-sweet. So don't fret over 'mistakes'. Just let the 'mistake' pass and continue as if you hadn't made it.
* When eating a treat, stop when you stop enjoying it, or after one serving, whichever comes sooner. You can always put the rest away for later.
* Eat your treats consciously. Make a point of savouring them, enjoying them, tasting them with your whole self.
* If you're not interested in doing that, ask yourself why you want it. You may be after comfort. You may be bored. You may be feeling emotional in some other way. Consider coming up with a method of handling comfort/boredom/anger/etc in a way that has fewer long-term consequences.


Diet - general:
* Gradually work towards most of your liquids being tisanes (herbal teas), water, or liquids from soups and casseroles. Broths are fine, if you prefer savoury hot liquids, but a full-on soup with veggie bits is better for you than a strained broth.
Milk is good, but an adult only needs about two serves of dairy a day; so milk shouldn't be your major liquid. (If you do heavy physical work, go ahead and have more.)
* Eat all the wholegrains you want. Wholemeal bread, wholegrain bread, wholemeal pasta, breakfast cereals with no added sugar and wholegrain as the major ingredient (especially if it's the only ingredient), porridge from rolled oats, anything of that sort. If it's a whole grain, eat it. Have some with every meal and every snack, if you want to. If not, try to have at least three hefty serves a day. (Two slices of bread, or one bowl of cereal/porridge, is a serve.)
* Eat two or three serves of fruit a day. (One apple, one banana, a handful of berries, etc.) Culinary fruits are the sweet ones. Botanical fruits (such as pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber and squashes) that aren't inherently sweet can be treated as vegetables.
* Eat as many vegetables as you want, at least three serves a day.
* Eat fruits and vegetables of many different colours. You should have at least three different colours a day, and try to cover the whole greengrocer's store, colourwise, in the course of a week. This will help ensure you get the full range of nutrients.
* Eat each part of plants over the course of a week. Seeds (nuts, grains, legumes), seed pods (fruits, green beans, zucchini, cucumber, chilis/peppers), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli), stems (celery, rhubarb, asparagus, cauliflower stem, broccoli stem), leaves (any of the leafy stuff) and roots (all the tubers: potato, swede, turnip, carrot, parsnip). This will also help ensure you get the full range of nutrients.
(Note: do NOT try to eat each part of the same plant! In some plants, the bits we don't eat are actually poisonous!)
* Eat two or three serves of dairy a day, depending on your need for calcium and your preferences. One serve is a glass of milk, the cheese on a cheese sandwich, or a 'single serving' tub of yoghurt. As an alternative, eat something which provides equivalent calcium.
* Eat one or two eggs, or a palm-sized piece of lean meat or fish (the size of your palm is a good guide based on your natural build), each day.
* As an alternative to the eggs and meat, eat a mix of legumes and grains - this provides a natural equivalent of whole protein. Dhal (Indian-from-India lentil stew) with rice is VERY yummy. Nachos, tacos or tortillas with frijoles is another option, as is pea soup or a pea-based stew with whole-wheat bread. Hummus and turkish flatbreads is another option. You can see the range here!
* If you eat that wide variety of vegetables and the lean meat, you'll inherently get most of the fats and oils you need. If you're going vegan, please see a dietitian at least once to determine the things you'll have to be careful to include.
* When cooking, try to use oils and sweeteners which contain micronutrients. Olive oil is one good choice, honey is a good sweetener. Use as little as possible.
* Make liberal use of herbs and spices, and make liberal use of strongly flavoured fruits and veg like lemons, onions, garlic, peaches and oranges. Duck au l'orange is jussst fine as the meat part of a meal!
* Be imaginative. Cook a zucchini, stick it in a blender, and use the blended zucchini as a sauce.


Diet - stocking the fridge and pantry:
* Tinned chickpeas can be mashed to make hummus. Keep a couple of tins. Add some tahini and a sprinkling of flaxseeds to add micronutrients. A squirt of lemon juice gives it zip. Serve with flatbreads, or as a dip with cut up veggies.
* Frozen veggies are cheaper than fresh, and are already chopped up. Our OT at the course I did assured me that their dietitian had confirmed that they have more micronutrients than 'fresh' veg that had been warehoused, trucked, warehoused again, trucked again, and finally shelved for sale.
* In-season veg, preferably bought from a small greengrocer who goes to the farmer's market himself to stock stuff, is better than supermarket veg. In some cases, the local grocer is also cheaper, or is happy to make up a 'family pack' for you at a discount if you order in advance.
* Only buy one unfamiliar fruit or veg at a time. Too many can make you feel overwhelmed. Unless you're a culinarily adventurous sort, then do as you will.
* Buy mostly meats with the fat already removed, unless your butcher charges more for such meat. If they do, trim the meat before you put it in the freezer. Leave one day's meat out at a time. Package the meat into one-meal packages - one palm-sized piece per day per person. (For roasts or casseroles that are intended to be multiple meals, still keep that rule in mind.)
* Keep an array of dried legumes, grains etc in the pantry. Such as often sold as 'soup mix' and the like in the section of the grocery store where 'advanced cooking stuff' tends to be. Baking goods, spices, herbs and the like. When you put your casserole meat or soup meat out to thaw, take one of these packages out and put it in a covered bowl of water to soften. When making up the casserole or soup or stew, rinse the softened legumes, grains or whatever then put them in with the meat.
* When you buy meat for casseroling, stewing, or making soup, also buy a turnip, a parsnip and a swede. (One of each is enough for a household-sized stew.) Peel them, chop them into chunks about half an inch a side, and drop them in about a third of the way through the stewing process. Add potatoes, carrots and other slow-cooking veg at the same time. Add faster-cooking veg when the stew is almost done. (Note: this makes a European-type stew/soup/etc. I have no idea how turnips would go in miso or pho!)
* Steal liberally from all the world's cuisines. The same set of veggies and the same cut of meat taste very different served as pho, European type casserole, Indian samosa, hamburgers, kebab and morrocan tagine-style.
Of course, noone said you had to use the same veggies and cut of meat, either. :)
* If your cooking tastes good to your family, it's good enough.

*** Remember to make your changes gradually ***


If all this doesn't work:
Be patient. This is a long-term plan. Your first two weeks or so after each change you may (or may not) lose water weight.
You may lose fat weight, then put on muscle weight - if your scales report no change but your clothes (or measurements) do, then that's okay. Especially if you put on bulk around major muscles, such as the upper arms, around the chest and back, the butt muscles, the thigh muscles. Have a neutral observer assess you.

If that doesn't seem to be the case, then you're one of the small percentage of the population that has some really unusual condition, and you may need the help of a dietitian, physiotherapist, endocrinologist, and/or other specialists.
Go see a doctor, taking with you a food and exercise diary of a typical two weeks.

[Whiskey]

Thanks for making the post I was too lazy to make Seshat :roll:

Also, legal disclaimer of some sort that all advice given here should be run by your physician and consult them before beginning any diet or exercise routine.

Also, spices are a one-time expensive purchase but worth it. I worship my spice rack. They last forever if you dont have a sensitive palate (6 months and they start to go stale, but eh I never really notice)

[TelephoneAngel]

Ok, going to chime in here with what's helped me in the last year. I've lost about 50 lbs by not looking at it as a diet. Simple enough to start with - drink more water. If you don't like plain water, throw in a few slices of citrus fruit or (and my favorite, just cuz I love to eat them) some cucumber slices. And for those of you who love ice cream, have you ever tried running a frozen banana through the food processor? Seriously, slice up a banana, freeze it, then run the frozen chunks in a food processor (NOT a blender. Blenders cause...unfortunate incidents, shall we say). The end result is a dessert that has the texture of soft serve ice cream. Banana ice cream. I drizzle a little caramel sauce, or fudge sauce over it and it is SO good. I highly recommend it.

Well, think I've babble enough here. Hope this proved helpful.

It has, thank you, great tips, I shall try them.

[TelephoneAngel]

And thank you Seshat for that long post with lots of good advice, I shall need to reread it a few times I think

ok, so,

olives - good, bad?Too much salt? I eat lots of them

[Seshat]

olives, fresh, unsalted: Good.

Olives, preserved: depends on the preservatives, and what else you eat.

How much salt you need depends on your personal biochemistry, and is a 'per day' thing, not a 'per food' thing. You can have terribly salty anchovies or olives or peanuts or whatever else, as long as you don't exceed your personal salt limit for the day. So if everything else is unsalted, you're fine!

Take the national guidelines (available from most health departments, most doctor's offices, etc) for your country as a rough guide. Talk with your doctor for a guide that's closer to your personal biochemistry.

I can tell that I'm doing fine, for instance, because when my family doctor does a bloodwork test, I have healthier markers than last time. Ditto for my blood pressure, which he checks every so often.
My clothes tend to get looser around the waist (where I carry fat), and tighter around the biceps/triceps, across the shoulders, or down the thighs (where I carry muscle). I can walk further each month than I used to, with less heart & breathing stress. Except for last month, when I had a nasssty and extended flu!

Anyway, to answer the original question:

Olives are FULL of good micro and macronutrients. They do have a great deal of oil - they're an oily fruit, like avocados - but it's a healthy oil.

Because they're so oily, and tend to be preserved with salt, have them in moderation. Go ahead and have a handful a day, but don't snack on them mindlessly.

Eating mindlessly should probably be avoided, but for those for whom it's a way of life, try air-popped or (lightly) oil-popped popcorn, wholegrain (and preferably unsalted) snacks, or one of the non-sweet and non-oily fruits or vegetables. Carrot sticks are common, so's celery sticks (yuck!). Mixed salad greens would be fantastic (not just iceberg lettuce, but a mix of leafy veg).

No food is purely 'good' or 'bad'. Try to get out of that mindset. Foods are all good - even refined sugar - but some should be had in small amounts, and others can be had in large amounts.

[AccountingDrone]

- Always factored a yummy, useless treat into my daily calories.

:(

My diabetic nutritionist scheduled in 180 calories per day of *random* whatever I want. When I asked her if I could grab a spoon and dig into a bag of sugar, she said it was for whatever. I use it for a glass of red wine typically [for the various phyto nutrients in it]

Oddly enough, some days I can find it difficult to make the whole 1800 calories per day, my go to snack tends to be the cut up raw veggies in the fridge I keep pre-prepped [sometimes I do it myself, sometimes we get lazy and buy the veggie platter] If I nosh on lots of celery and romaine and cuke sticks, it is almost into negative calories. I am one of the 'Atkids' that gets around 30 grams of fiber a day without the starchy carbs.

It drives the diabetologist I go to insane that I have steadily been losing 5 lbs a month since getting neutered last August without dieting or exercising - yay for fixing the major metabolic frellup that was apparently causing my body to greedily hang onto every ounce of fat in my body :roll:

[Magpie]

Why do you feel youve screwed up? Whats wrong with enjoying a piece of cake?

Not in the "don't beat myself up if I screw up" sense, just the whole advice. I dropped about 20 kg (three-ish stone) without trying. It's the last couple of kilos that are difficult, and I don't have the motivation. It also doesn't help that I have some justification for calling my current weight healthy. (All those studies that say it's the lifestyle, not the weight? Great! I meet Health Canada guidelines for exercise, because that 60-90 minutes a day can be counted a minute at a time. I have a great waist-to-hip ratio, I have slightly more muscle than is likely accounted for in BMI calculations for women, I have a heavy build so I can carry the weight, and ethnically I'm expected to have somewhat more weight).

It took about a year to lose the babyweight, but that's normal as you're not supposed to lose huge amounts of weight at once.

It's also a really bad idea to lose too much while you're nursing :p. People who nurse for a long time really run into trouble keeping their weight up. (Some people who quit after a year do too, but that tends to involve small mothers and hungry babies).

Also, spices are a one-time expensive purchase but worth it. I worship my spice rack. They last forever if you dont have a sensitive palate (6 months and they start to go stale, but eh I never really notice)

Store extras in the freezer, especially if you get the really good ones to begin with. I have two sources of ground cardamom. One charges twice as much as the other. That is DEFINITELY staying in the freezer.

And regarding salt: if you're worried, cook your beans from scratch. Avoiding canned and otherwise preprocessed foods in general is good, but they all take a long time. Beans from scratch is fairly easy, especially if you have a slow cooker (put them to soak in the morning, drain and cook them in the evening, take them out cooked the next morning.)

[Whiskey]

* As your diet improves, your idea of what a 'treat' is will change. Your tastes will change - some of your now-favourite foods may taste too fatty, or too sugary-sweet. So don't fret over 'mistakes'. Just let the 'mistake' pass and continue as if you hadn't made it.

This is so true it hurts. I used to be able to eat a bag of cookies, or chips, or whatever. Now it makes me a bit ill to eat a bowl of ice cream.

My guilty pleasure is white rice with milk, white sugar and brown sugar.

[Seshat]

It drives the diabetologist I go to insane that I have steadily been losing 5 lbs a month since getting neutered last August without dieting or exercising - yay for fixing the major metabolic frellup that was apparently causing my body to greedily hang onto every ounce of fat in my body :roll:

Ooooooo!

Was that PCOS? And how thorough was the neutering?

Private message - or tell me I'm being nosy - if you like, but we do have several PCOS women on the board who'd love to know. Including me.

[TelephoneAngel]

Right now I'm drinking hot chocolate made with water and just a little milk.

[Whiskey]

Right now I'm drinking hot chocolate made with water and just a little milk.

If you work out a good amount, you could replace the water with whole milk guilt free. Whole milk has a crap ton of protein which you need if you work out. Im moderately lactose intolerant. If i drink above 1% I get sick. Anything below whole milk replaces the milkfat with sugar so its not even very good for you :( stupid guts.

I would be really interested in seeing you post a weeks worth of food/meals. not the emotion diary someone recommended, just what you ate, at what intervals, what amount, etc

[TelephoneAngel]

If you work out a good amount, you could replace the water with whole milk guilt free. Whole milk has a crap ton of protein which you need if you work out. Im moderately lactose intolerant. If i drink above 1% I get sick. Anything below whole milk replaces the milkfat with sugar so its not even very good for you
I would be really interested in seeing you post a weeks worth of food/meals. not the emotion diary someone recommended, just what you ate, at what intervals, what amount, etc

Interesting, I always drank less than whole milk as I thought it was more healthy, but boyfriend insists on whole milk, so that's what I use now.

Ok, I will try to post a diary in a few days time, it might be boring though :lol: but it would be interesting for me if you or someone could cast a eye over it.

[Whiskey]

Interesting, I always drank less than whole milk as I thought it was more healthy, but boyfriend insists on whole milk, so that's what I use now.

Ok, I will try to post a diary in a few days time, it might be boring though :lol: but it would be interesting for me if you or someone could cast a eye over it.

Well it depends on how you feel about food and calories. A lot of people follow a "low calorie" diet because they think (naturally) less calories = weight lost!

Well, it depends. If you're eating 1700 calories in oven baked chicken, vegetables, good fat sources and exercising moderately then yes, lower calories are wonderful!

If youre eating 1700 calories of pringles, doritos, and full flavor coke while playing world of warcraft 17 hours a day, then it really doesn't matter.

edit: Also, make sure you actually calculate what your body maintenance and weight loss caloric intakes should be. You should eat 20% (20 or 30, i think) less than your maintenance caloric intake for weight loss. If you eat too little, you will fail because your body will take a shit on you. You need to eat to lose weight!

Macro's AND calorie watching are the key. You have to keep your macro split (carbs/protein/fat) where it is best suited for you and your activity level. Eating right is entirely more important than counting every single calorie. When I hit the gym 5x a week, my "weight loss" caloric content is about 2100 calories. To maintain my weight i think I'd have to eat 2300.

Whole milk is good for the active because it has less sugar and more protein. And like Seshat said, you shouldnt be drinking THAT MUCH milk that it matters if you have a glass of whole milk.

You could eat 2 dozen eggs a week like I do. ahaha.

edit: for your food log don't for get to add any and all drinks (sans water, unless you use crystal light or something) as well as all the stuff people dont think about. Stuff like, How much butter did you use to grease the pan?

[Magpie]

To clarify Whiskey's phrasing: too few calories means you don't have enough energy. Yes, the calories in/calories out balance is what it all boils down to, but there are refinements. If you're hungry, you will have a harder time sticking to the diet. So don't eat chips. For the same amount of calories you can fill up with something. Also, chips just don't last. You know how with some foods you can feel stuffed, and then an hour later you're hungry? That's not good for a diet. If you want more info on that, look up the glycemic index. In a nutshell: protein and fat are good, because they last longer. So is fibre. Just remember to balance the glycemic-lowering properties of fat with it's high caloric content.

Also, what's not considered is the metabolic load to digest the food in the first place, this is where the idea of negative calories comes it. To put it simply: digesting food is work. (This is why you eat heavily before going to bed when winter camping). Therefore, digesting food burns calories. The more work it is to digest, the more calories it burns. Something that is a lot of work to digest, but doesn't have a lot of energy we can use (like celery) is great for filling up without adding to your calorie count.

The other catch, which I alluded to, is that people who say all you need to do is cut calories, and it doesn't matter when you eat them, etc, forget is that your caloric intake is connected to your caloric output. In engineering terms, they're not independent. So if you are in a position where you will be burning the same number of calories no matter what (you always walk to work, and won't start busing if you feel tired, or your job is physical labour, or you're really dedicated to going to the gym, etc), then just straight cutting calories will help. Otherwise, make sure you cut them in a way that won't affect your energy levels. To lose a pound a week, go 500 calories under your maintenance level. To lose two, go 1000 calories under. Don't go below that, it's risky and it's even harder to keep it off than normal.

[Whiskey]

Something that is a lot of work to digest, but doesn't have a lot of energy we can use (like celery) is great for filling up without adding to your calorie count.

I really dislike this method of thinking. Celery is good for you, but it wont "fill you up." This is what I meant about worrying too much about calories and not enough about health. Your premise is to eat something that is essentially worthless for energy in order to limit calories. The last time I heard about "negative foods" was when I was 17 and a hardcore anorexic. (not implying anything, just saying.)

edit: although if you're a boredom eater trying to kick it, eating celery out of boredom wouldnt be a bad idea.

[Magpie]

edit: although if you're a boredom eater trying to kick it, eating celery out of boredom wouldnt be a bad idea.

It's also great for emotional eating. :D

You make a good point, I wasn't recommending it as a way to starve yourself, but if you've had good, healthy, filling meals that make up your caloric requirements for the day, and are still hungry, then it's better to snack on celery than on something else. (Better to not snack at all, because then you'll get out of the habit of feeling hungry when you've had enough, but whatever works is best).

Further clarification: the celery was an example to make a point, because everyone knows that. Where I care more is in something like white bread vs. whole grain. And in addition to the calories you burn digesting it, if food is harder to digest it also makes you feel full for longer. So there's another reason to pay more for the tasty bread. You're not just treating yourself, you're also helping your diet.

[TelephoneAngel]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:roll::roll:

Can we clarify if we are speaking American or British?

If I remember correctly in American a chip is a crispy thin thing in a packet, what we here call a crisp.

A chip in British is what I think you call French fries in American.

:)

[Whiskey]

No, I know you werent :)

I meant crisps, TA :P

edit: although with how "health and nutrition" is here, it could just as well be a bag of "chips" (french fries) too. :(

[Seshat]

One thing I will say:

Don't fret too much about the details at first. Yes, there are details like oily fruits and vegetables, or which micronutrients for what situation, or whatever.

But it's far, far more important to just improve AT ALL, than to fuss over details - at least at first. Once you get to Whiskey's level of eating/exercising right, the details help you tweak things.

But if you're going from a pizza and hamburgers and chips/crisps diet towards a healthier one, don't stress over details. Just work towards the goal conditions in the big post I made.

Once you've achieved most of those goal conditions, you can research the fussier details.

Eating the wide variety of colours and plant parts will give you enough micro- and macro-nutrients to be basically healthy.
Eating either meats from different animals (and different cuts of meat), or different sets of legume/grains will give you a wide variety of proteins.

I'm not saying that Whiskey's details aren't important - they are. But from the starting point of a typical modern Western diet, it's far, far more important to just get started. And the stuff in my post earlier in the thread is enough to work on, enough to remember.


Actually, one big exception here:

Do do DO listen when Whiskey says you HAVE to eat to lose weight. She's absolutely, totally right there. Eat too little, and your body goes into starvation mode.
If you're trying to lose weight, and you can 'hear' your 'hunger' and 'full' body cues, eat as much whole grains and vegetables (including culinary vegetables that are botanical fruits) as you want.

If you can't yet 'hear' your 'hunger' and 'full' body cues, eat three to five serves of whole grains, and three to five serves of vegetables a day, one palm sized piece of meat (or one additional serve each of a legume and a whole grain), two or three serves of fruit, two or three serves of dairy, and optionally one or two eggs.
If you're doing heavy physical work, add additional serves of whole grains and vegetables, or talk with your doctor about adding more meat, eggs, or dairy. Or just add more legume/whole grain pairings. Have two bean burritos for lunch instead of one.


Note:
Learn to make yourself smaller portions. There is nothing wrong with being a bit peckish when you finish a meal. Eat until you're still a little bit hungry, then wait half an hour or an hour. If you're still hungry, have something else. If you're not, then you were actually 'full', and just couldn't hear the cue.

Over time, doing that will teach you your 'full' cue. That will be a huge step forward for healthier eating.

Once you've got your 'full' cue, the 'hungry' cue will start to make itself noticed. It 'feels' kind of similar.

[BookstoreEscapee]

And regarding salt: if you're worried, cook your beans from scratch. Avoiding canned and otherwise preprocessed foods in general is good, but they all take a long time.

If you do have to go the canned route, dump them in a strainer and rinse them first, and you'll get rid of a lot of the salt.

Right now I'm drinking hot chocolate made with water and just a little milk.

Last winter I made hot chocolate with Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder and milk (I use skim; I'll drink 1% if it's the only thing available but I can't stand anything higher than that). You have to add sugar but I'm sure it's less than what most any commercial (non-artificially sweetened) mix would have. I haven't quite gotten the recipe right, though (I tend to err on the side of too much cocoa, which I didn't think was possible ;)). When the weather cools off I'll start experimenting again (I might try it with honey...). If you try it, mix cocoa and a little milk and heat in the microwave (or on the stove, but microwave means less dishes to clean) so it makes a smooth sauce, then fill the cup the rest of the way with hot milk.

Cinnamon is also really good in hot chocolate (I'll often add it when I get Starbucks). (You have to mix it well, and stir (or swirl it around) a few times while you drink it, or you end up with a mouthfull of wet cinnamon at the end.) I discovered this once when I got a hot chocolate at Starbucks and they accidentally put in cinnamon syrup instead of vanilla. It was yummy but I use the real stuff so as not to add the extra sugar (and they usually only have the syrup around Christmas when they do their special holiday flavors). Plus cinnamon is supposed to have a good effect on your blood sugar.

[Whiskey]

I'm not saying that Whiskey's details aren't important - they are. But from the starting point of a typical modern Western diet, it's far, far more important to just get started. And the stuff in my post earlier in the thread is enough to work on, enough to remember.

This thread started on TA wanting to know if a meal was healthy or not, how so, etc which is why my posts are a bit more specific in regards to the detailed nature of things.

The funny thing is, you start by improving the big things. More water, less bad fat, dont focus too much.

Then you start focusing, refining your diet, figuring out what specifically works for you, even weighing food if you so desire.

Then once you're in that swing, you pretty much go back to not focusing as hard because these new habits have replaced your old habits so you don't have to think as much as you did previously.

[Mishi]

@BookstoreEscapee - My favorite bread is a white bread base with loads of different seeds in it, but it seems to be everyone else's favourite because it's always sold out. I normally end up getting a wholemeal grainy bread because it keeps me feeling full and the kids prefer the texture. When Jazzybee is in a picky mood, she has 'white' bread that is actually a mix of wheat and rye flours. I check ALL the labels because Bubbles has a mild allergy to Preservative 200/202, and even though its normally a dairy-food preservative, I'm still careful.

@Magpie: I actually ate more while I was breastfeeding, didn't change the diet part until afterwards. I did walk in the mornings after Bubbles' first morning feed, mostly in order to get going for the day and in an attempt to avoid post-partum depression. Also, I decided not to lose any weight after Jazzybee because we were planning another baby (Bubbles) and my mother lost the weight between myself and my brother. Then she didn't lose any after that pregnancy, added more during the one that produced my younger sister and has only added to that weight over the last 17 years.

[AccountingDrone]

Ooooooo!

Was that PCOS? And how thorough was the neutering?

Private message - or tell me I'm being nosy - if you like, but we do have several PCOS women on the board who'd love to know. Including me.

Well while I did have PCOS, I have had other endocrin/apocrine issues most of my life, so which of the hormone cocktail that vanished was preventing the weight loss I couldn't tell you exactly which it was. I had both ovaries and the uterus yanked out [fibroids, endometriosis and a charming stage 1 tumor on one ovary and a dermoid/lipoma mutant crossbreed on the other.] I also had a bunch of adhesions fixed, and he tossed in a complete rummage of my digestive tract and checked the appendix just because he was in there already. Actually, to be perfectly honest, other than a bit of personal dryness [heh] I could heartily recommend neutering to any woman who does not intend to pop out a sprog. I just wish I could have had it done about 30 years ago and stopped a lot of physical duress. The lack of continual and intermittent pain and stress is fantastic. I opted not to do hormone replacement and just tough through the hot flashes, they are almost gone now. As I mentioned, I did get the personal lack of lubrication issue, but that is remedied with a quick trip to a store. Not having the raging hormone beast is a serious bonus, and I am saving the insurance company a fortune on norethindrone.

[BookstoreEscapee]

@BookstoreEscapee - My favorite bread is a white bread base with loads of different seeds in it, but it seems to be everyone else's favourite because it's always sold out. I normally end up getting a wholemeal grainy bread because it keeps me feeling full and the kids prefer the texture. When Jazzybee is in a picky mood, she has 'white' bread that is actually a mix of wheat and rye flours. I check ALL the labels because Bubbles has a mild allergy to Preservative 200/202, and even though its normally a dairy-food preservative, I'm still careful.

I'm actually not a fan of breads with actual bits of grain in them. Pepperidge Farm makes a whole wheat white bread (don't know if that's available down under). It's actually made with a different type of wheat, and is more of a cream color than regular white bread and is slightly heartier, but probably close enough to trick most kids. They also make a smaller size of regular wheat bread which I like (as in thinner/smaller slices than most).

[Whiskey]

I'm actually not a fan of breads with actual bits of grain in them. Pepperidge Farm makes a whole wheat white bread (don't know if that's available down under).

Wonderbread White Bread has less carbs, less sugar, same amount of calories, more protein and the same amount of fiber than the Very Thin whole wheat I'm not saying you have to change, or you should, but if you're eating it under the guise that its better for you, its simply not. "whole" and "wheat" don't mean better, lighter, or healthier. Hell, even "whole wheat" can be deceptive depending on the brand.

[TelephoneAngel]

today's food and drink diary -

got up with headache, took an ibuprofen tablet with a mouthfull of whole milk, then two sips of milky coffee with sweeter.Then one mouthful of pasta and mayonnaise.One packet of cheese and onion flavour scrisps (very small) oe small pieceof chocolate.

at work, 11.30 one tuna and mayonnaise sandwich, left the crusts.One bottle of original lucozade (not healthy) one packet of chocolate like m and m's,

home at 5.20 two slices of cheese on toast with tuna and tomato.half a cup of milky tea with sweetner.

Then more pasta and mayonnaise, with some cherryade probably, later in the evening.

[Magpie]

TelephoneAngel: do you have any breakfast food in the house? It's a lot easier to eat proper meals if you have proper food to eat.

[TelephoneAngel]

TelephoneAngel: do you have any breakfast food in the house? It's a lot easier to eat proper meals if you have proper food to eat.

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Yes I go through phases of eating it, but often I can't face it first thing in the morning.

[Magpie]

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Actually I was thinking more bread for toast and peanut butter, but cereal is good too. Figure out what you like for breakfast, because seriously, when they say it's the most important meal of the day, they mean it, especially for dieting. Everything Whiskey said about not eating enough can be triggered by skipping breakfast, because it's so long between meals at that point.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

:eek:
Wow that's a lot. I'm going to have to devote more than ten minutes to this stuff, and plan out my next shopping trip. :D Thanks Seshat-- and others... ;)

[Whiskey]

:eek:
Wow that's a lot. I'm going to have to devote more than ten minutes to this stuff, and plan out my next shopping trip. :D Thanks Seshat-- and others... ;)

In the beginning you will. If all this is overwhelming one thing someone mentioned (if you can, and only feed yourself) is make one set of meals. Five small meals and eat only that for 1 or 2 weeks. It gets you in the habit of portioning, what you should be eating, and it uncomplicated a lot of stuff.

today's food and drink diary -

got up with headache, took an ibuprofen tablet with a mouthfull of whole milk, then two sips of milky coffee with sweeter.Then one mouthful of pasta and mayonnaise.One packet of cheese and onion flavour scrisps (very small) oe small pieceof chocolate.

at work, 11.30 one tuna and mayonnaise sandwich, left the crusts.One bottle of original lucozade (not healthy) one packet of chocolate like m and m's,

home at 5.20 two slices of cheese on toast with tuna and tomato.half a cup of milky tea with sweetner.

Then more pasta and mayonnaise, with some cherryade probably, later in the evening.

oh honey. you're eating nothing but carbs and fat. You're not even eating very much, or regularly.

Breakfast doesnt have to be breakfast food. Half the time, I eat steak or some other kind of protein for breakfast because I cannot get morning (morning is a relative term since mine are usually around 9PM) energy to save my life. Breakfast doesnt have to be cereal, it has to be balanced. If you want steak, steamed kale, and sweet potatoes for breakfast, do it. If you want pancakes for dinner, do it. I don't think I've eaten cereal in two years. Eggs are involved in my breakfast because eggs are a staple of my diet. Cheap, easy protein because I use a lot of protein in a day.

The dinner you posted that sparked this thread sounded okay, but if this is an indication of what you eat every day, theres going to be a bit of food shifting and planning to do :) start with less mayonnaise, or get mayo with olive oil (its a bit healthier).

I dont even know how you can eat chocolate when you first get up. It might be whats throwing off your stomach. You ate sweets and fat for breakfast and nothing else.

[TelephoneAngel]

oh honey. you're eating nothing but carbs and fat. You're not even eating very much, or regularly.

The dinner you posted that sparked this thread sounded okay, but if this is an indication of what you eat every day, theres going to be a bit of food shifting and planning to do :) start with less mayonnaise, or get mayo with olive oil (its a bit healthier).

I dont even know how you can eat chocolate when you first get up. It might be whats throwing off your stomach. You ate sweets and fat for breakfast and nothing else.

See this is why I wonder why I don't lose weight, sure I eat the wrong things but I don't eat a lot of them.Too much soda i think (not diet type) I do sometimes make a nice dinner but often its too much effort to cook after a days work (if I lived in a city I might be worse and just order pizza or takeout every night!

I ate the chocolate because it was a easy option, couldn't face eggs etc at 6.30 in the morning, plus rushing around getting ready for work etc.

I will post what I eat tomorrow and see if it is any better - I just threw out a whole load of breakfast cereal, cornflakes etc as it had gone stale, I bought it with good intentions weeks ago and didn't eat it.

[Whiskey]

If its all you eat, it doesnt matter that you don't eat a lot of it. That food is all your body has and its nothing but bad stuff. It goes back to my low calories argument

You can eat 1700 calories a day of fat and carbs and you will still be fat because theres only fat and carbs for your body to use.

or

You can eat 1700 calories a day of lean protein, colorful veggies and good fat and drop weight like an anchor because your body has the good stuff to burn and nothing bad to hold onto.

with moderate exercise I eat far more than 1700 calories a day and lose weight. I eat more than 2000 and lose weight, i dont even work out that much or that hard.

You might do well to prep your meals a week in advance (or 3 days, or whatever). Make one of your days off a day of cooking. Cook all your meats, beans, etc then when it comes time to cook you only have to cook accessory foods like veggies, cut up some fruits, scramble an egg, whatever.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

lol. Yeah. I was posting in between running around to classes. Yeah, it is a little much... but I also had to sit down and read it! :D
Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough* :o
Also: :roll: "accessory foods"-- you make it sound like an outfit, Whiskey!

[Whiskey]

lol. Yeah. I was posting in between running around to classes. Yeah, it is a little much... but I also had to sit down and read it! :D
Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough* :o
Also: :roll: "accessory foods"-- you make it sound like an outfit, Whiskey!

Don't eat until the food is gone. One thing i've done to help combat that (my family is HUGE [in more ways than one]about eating until the food is gone) is to think while you eat, if you know youve made too much, what you can do with the left overs.

I made too many lentils the other night and simply incorporated them into three different dishes throughout the next day or so.

Teh, you've seen my food pics right? They practically are outfits. Outfits of food. Fabulous ones.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

An outfit for my intestines.
An outfit of deliciousness.
/Tycho

[BookstoreEscapee]

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Yes I go through phases of eating it, but often I can't face it first thing in the morning.

Cereal's good, but not cornflakes. They're pure carbs and your blood sugar will crash in no time (I recently read something about a study with diabetics and plain corn flakes was one of the worst options). Something low-sugar with fiber and some protein (milk, nuts) will keep you going a lot longer - Cheerios (original flavor), oatmeal (I get plain, cooked with milk if I'm at home, and add cinnamon and a little brown sugar), shredded wheat, raisin bran (preferably one without sugar-coated raisins), Grape Nuts with milk and honey and a sliced banana, or Grape Nuts with yogurt and fruit...

See this is why I wonder why I don't lose weight, sure I eat the wrong things but I don't eat a lot of them.

Not getting enough calories makes your body hang on to whatever it does get, so cutting back too much even if you're eating healthy stuff doesn't help, either.

[Seshat]

You pretty much go back to not focusing as hard because these new habits have replaced your old habits so you don't have to think as much as you did previously.

So very, very true.

Well while I did have PCOS, I have had other endocrin/apocrine issues most of my life, so which of the hormone cocktail that vanished was preventing the weight loss I couldn't tell you

Ouch! You were in a bad way!

I'm glad all that is gone, and that you're so much better.

Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough* :o

Portioning is important. About equal importance with what you're eating.


Okay. Some suggestions for 'I'm too tired' times:

* Open a tin of chickpeas, drain and mash. Add lemon juice, a teaspoon of tahini, or flaxseeds if you have them. Add other flavours to taste.
Eat with whole-grain crisps or crackers, or sticks of carrot, celery, and other veggies.

"A meal" is about half a cup of the chickpea dip, and two or three handfuls of veggies or whole-grain crackers. Store the rest of the dip in the fridge for tomorrow. Maybe it can be breakfast!

* A bowl of cereal. Or a tub of yoghurt. Or a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. A cheese sandwich. A salad sandwich! A bunch of salad greens with a squirt of olive oil/vinegar salad dressing and a few herbs.

* A bunch of frozen veg, steamed in the microwave. Rice, ditto. If desired, some lean bacon chopped up and cooked lightly in a frypan.

* Periodically, cook stews, casseroles, quiches or other freezerable meals, in moderate quantity. Divide into portions, freeze in one-portion (or one-family-meal) packages. When tired, take one and microwave it. Done.

[trailerparkmedic]

I've only read about half of this thread, but it seems like there's some good advice here.

I just want to make one point--if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less than you burn. You'll need to eat less and/or exercise more. You need to count calories, though there are many ways to do this (like Weight Watchers Points) that aren't exactly counting calories but accomplish the same goal, and you'll need to measure portions. It's not exciting or sexy, and you may be someone who can eventually learn to eat based on what your body wants, but you'll need to start by monitoring your intake.

It is completely possible to lose weight by only eating ice cream, as long as you eat the correct number of calories. Eating "super foods," organic foods or only local, sustainable food will have NO effect on your weight. A calorie is a calorie. Granted, for optimal health you ought to be eating nutrient dense food, but don't get caught up in the hype. I went to the zoo and got lunch at the organic cafe. Out of a dozen choices, I could only call 2 diet-friendly. The salads came with full fat ranch dressing, the sandwiches were slathered in mayo and the only available milk was whole.

If you want to lose weight and not be starving the whole time, eat mostly lean protein, whole grains and veggies. Include some fat or you will rarely feel satiated. Be willing to try new foods but don't force yourself to eat foods you don't like just because they're "healthy." I've found a lot of ethnic foods are fairly healthy and much easier to cook than you think.

Also, I saw someone ask this earlier but the easiest way for me to stay on track with my diet is to create a list of meals for the week and make a grocery list based on the ingredients I need. That way I also know what's for dinner, which psychologically makes it easier for me to avoid skipping cooking. There are lots of fast meals out there that honestly don't take much longer to cook than it takes a pizza to be delivered.

[Whiskey]

I am strongly against jenny craig/weight watchers. They don't teach you how to eat the proper food, portioning your own meals, or proper nutrition. Those things are terrible for you.


It is completely possible to lose weight by only eating ice cream, as long as you eat the correct number of calories.

No its not. Well, if you starve yourself it is. Your body will hang onto every ounce of fat that ice cream gives you until you die of malnutrition what the hell

TPM, ILU bb but everything you know about food that you just posted is wrong. A calorie is NOT a calorie. I don't eat organic or "super food", I just eat healthy good food.

The "hype" is not having a heart attack at 25, diabetes, being obese and other detrimental effects eating poorly and being overweight have on your health.

[AccountingDrone]

Ouch! You were in a bad way!

I'm glad all that is gone, and that you're so much better.



PCOS is seriously under-diagnosed, and many male GYN basically consider the effects mental. We are just being wusses about things. :rant:

Really, females are evolved to hang onto fat for pregnancy and sprog nurturing, which pretty much sucks:(

[trailerparkmedic]

I am strongly against jenny craig/weight watchers. They don't teach you how to eat the proper food, portioning your own meals, or proper nutrition. Those things are terrible for you.

I can't say anything about Jenny Craig, but Weight Watchers does teach you all of that. They encourage veggies, whole grains, etc. You have to calculate portion size to get your points. Cooking is strongly encouraged in meetings and on the website.


TPM, ILU bb but everything you know about food that you just posted is wrong. A calorie is NOT a calorie.

Whiskey, no offense, but I've taken a nutrition class and 2 anatomy & physiology classes. I have a pretty good grasp on how the body works, what the body is composed of, and how stuff is broken down and made into other stuff in the body.

A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. Your body uses energy. Body fat is excess energy. Ignoring nutritional needs, your body needs a certain amount of energy/calories and you will lose weight if you consume less than that amount. If your energy intake is too low, your body will think it is starving. Your metabolism will slow and your body will hang on to every calorie it can, preventing you from losing weight. That is why people like Seshat have suggested no more than 2 pounds a week.

On nutrition: There are 8 essential amino acids, some essential vitamins and minerals, and probably a couple of essential fatty acids. As long as you're getting those, you're ok. Your body can adapt to pretty much any diet as long as you meet the essentials.
An example of adaptation: Low carb diets, by definition, reduces your body's glucose levels. If you're on one, your body will "feed" your brain brain, which almost always runs purely on glucose, by breaking down fatty acids into ketone bodies which then become acetyl CoA and continue the Kreb cycle, which normally requires glucose.
Translation of science crap: Your body can adapt to almost anything, especially if you're eating protein and taking a multivitamin (covering the essentials
No, eating ice cream is not "healthy." However, if you are meeting your daily calories, you can lose weight eating only ice cream. This is intended to be an extreme example to illustrate the science.

My advice is not intended for long term health. It's intended to illustrate the point that if weight loss is the ultimate goal, calories are the single most important thing to consider. If a healthy diet is the ultimate goal, focusing on food that is less processed, whole grain, lean protein with lots of veggies is the most important thing to consider. It is completely possible to have both goals and they work well together. It is also possible to eat a shit ton of healthy food and gain weight.

I don't eat organic or "super food", I just eat healthy good food.

I'm not saying you do. I'm saying that if people look online and don't have any knowledge of how the body works, it is very easy for someone just getting started with healthy eating to believe that acai juice will make you burn more fat or that organic food will make you skinnier than the regular version of the same food. There is a LOT of false information out there and people need to be wary.

[Whiskey]

My advice is not intended for long term health.

Everyone needs to read that when they read your posts. My advice IS intended for long term health. If you want to lose weight and not eat right, then do all the fad diets you want. If all you want is weight loss, STOP EATING. Starve yourself. Its about as sustainable as eating nothing but ice cream and calling it a "weight loss" regiment.

If you want to lose weight, keep it off, improve your health and reduce your risk of life long diseases then this thread is for you.

[Seshat]

My comments match with Whiskey's. They're the best info I have (in short form) for becoming healthy, and developing and sustaining a healthy weight.

Though I admit, I have not actually SAID that you need to identify your basic caloric requirement for your current activity level, and then tweak so you're eating slightly under calories in = calories out to lose weight, slightly over to gain weight, and the same to maintain weight.

However, if you eat largely whole grains and culinary vegetables, with only a small portion of meats, egg, and dairy, and a tiny amount of fats and oils and sugars, - well, there's a lot of food you can eat that way and still have a caloric intake that's suitable for a sedentary lifestyle.

As you learn your hunger cues, you can choose to be just mildly peckish much of the time if you need to lose weight. (Not hungry, just a bit 'hmmm, I'll enjoy lunch'-ish.)
Fully satiated to gain weight slowly. And just a bit under 'feeling full' to be a stable weight.

[Whiskey]

Though I admit, I have not actually SAID that you need to identify your basic caloric requirement for your current activity level, and then tweak so you're eating slightly under calories in = calories out to lose weight, slightly over to gain weight, and the same to maintain weight.

I have. I'll post the algorithm tomorrow.


As you learn your hunger cues, you can choose to be just mildly peckish much of the time if you need to lose weight.

Personally, I'm never hungry. I have to force myself to eat because I know I need to keep my calories up if I want enough energy to continue to lose weight.

A lot of people dont realize how much food 1800 calories is in healthy food. (I eat a lot more than 1800 though ahaha.)

One of my friends absolutely hates me because I eat bacon constantly during my lift days. I eat bacon and lose weight.

[AdminAssistant]

I can't say anything about Jenny Craig, but Weight Watchers does teach you all of that. They encourage veggies, whole grains, etc. You have to calculate portion size to get your points. Cooking is strongly encouraged in meetings and on the website.

A friend of mine has done very well on Weight Watchers. She's lost something like 50 lbs and is maintaining that. I'd consider it, but I don't even like to exercise in public, much less weigh myself in public. yeesh.

It's just tough. There's an overload of information out there, some is good, some is bad, a lot of it conflicts. :shrug: I did go to the dietitian at the health center, and she gave me a lot of good advice. But...dammit, I live less than a block from a Dairy Queen and most of the time I do. not. feel. like. cooking. Or I don't have the time. Freakin' grad school.

[Whiskey]

^you tried crockpot cooking? I can live for at least four days off of one crock pot full of food and misc things that take 2 minutes to make

[AdminAssistant]

^you tried crockpot cooking? I can live for at least four days off of one crock pot full of food and misc things that take 2 minutes to make

I don't like the idea of leaving something like that on while I'm away from home. I know it's silly...but I'm a bit paranoid like that.

[Cat]

I don't like the idea of leaving something like that on while I'm away from home. I know it's silly...but I'm a bit paranoid like that.

Me too....I have a Crockpot that I never use (it was well-meaning gift) because I am outta the house 11-12 hr day..and the pot has no timer..grrr.


I do love the idea of them though, and they are good for the weekend...mhh..maybe I'll use it this weekend...make a veggie stew.

[Whiskey]

Me too....I have a Crockpot that I never use (it was well-meaning gift) because I am outta the house 11-12 hr day..and the pot has no timer..grrr.

Nothing cooks for less than 10 hours on low. And your crockpot would cause just as much damage as your toaster, microwave or your fridge that i'm sure you leave plugged in all the time while you're not there. Mine hasnt burnt my house down yet :D

[Seshat]

PCOS is seriously under-diagnosed, and many male GYN basically consider the effects mental. We are just being wusses about things. :rant:

Really, females are evolved to hang onto fat for pregnancy and sprog nurturing, which pretty much sucks:(

Totally agreed. Fortunately, my GP (general practitioner/family doctor) believes me. But then, he's aware how well I handle pain in general, and seen me come in on a crampy day.

As for us being evolved to hang on to fat: grraaaarrrghhhh. So true.

[Whiskey]

As for us being evolved to hang on to fat: grraaaarrrghhhh. So true.

It ain't all bad if you get it in the right place. :angel:

[Cat]

Nothing cooks for less than 10 hours on low. And your crockpot would cause just as much damage as your toaster, microwave or your fridge that i'm sure you leave plugged in all the time while you're not there. Mine hasnt burnt my house down yet :D


Mine's a 2 or 8 hr option, and no way will I leave it plugged it more than that...not worth even the minor risk (hell, I unplug the coffee pot cuz the Fat Tabby(tm) hits the switch now and then)

But I think I will do a veg stew this weekend...just to use it :)

[Whiskey]

Mine's a 2 or 8 hr option, and no way will I leave it plugged it more than that...not worth even the minor risk (hell, I unplug the coffee pot cuz the Fat Tabby(tm) hits the switch now and then)

But I think I will do a veg stew this weekend...just to use it :)

what kind of crock pot do you have that has a 2/8 hour option? Mine has high, low and warm. Whats the veggie stew comprised of?

[teh_blumchenkinder]

(snippy)
If you want steak, steamed kale, and sweet potatoes for breakfast, do it.
(snippy)
Oh dear lord that sounds delicious
Also, unfortunately, not all of us get it in our boobs or butts. ... Mostly boobs, amirite girls?

[Whiskey]

Oh dear lord that sounds delicious
Also, unfortunately, not all of us get it in our boobs or butts. ... Mostly boobs, amirite girls?

if you want a butt, do squats. My derrière has gotten twice its size (its mediocre now) since i started squatting heavy weight.

[TelephoneAngel]

Greetings friends ! :wave:

I usually put my crock pot on overnight, works for me.

I have been to the supermarket and I am going to make tonight rice with chicken and tomatoes, celery, courgette and aubergine - I think these are zuchinni and eggplant in American, mushrooms and red pepper.

Not sure yet which herbs to use.

See you after dinner. :)

[Magpie]

That sounds delicious. And yes, zuchinni and eggplant.

[Cat]

Overnight.....now that is a good idea :)


I have no idea what to throw in the stew.....will hit TJs this weekend and see what hits me

[Whiskey]

rice

Have you ever tried basmati or jasmine rice? Oregano and thyme would be good if you have them. Garlic goes in everything I make, just about.

[AccountingDrone]

Totally agreed. Fortunately, my GP (general practitioner/family doctor) believes me. But then, he's aware how well I handle pain in general, and seen me come in on a crampy day.

As for us being evolved to hang on to fat: grraaaarrrghhhh. So true.
At least I can survive a small famine =) I am just hoping the little weight loss continues another 150 lbs <praying smiley>

It ain't all bad if you get it in the right place. :angel:but why does it have to me in my ass :cry:

Have you ever tried basmati or jasmine rice? Oregano and thyme would be good if you have them. Garlic goes in everything I make, just about.
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 large onions, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 cup baby carrots, or 2 large carrots cut into 1-inch slices
3 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 or more cloves of peeled garlic
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or seasoned pepper mix
salt to taste *at the end*
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker/Crock Pot; stir well. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, until chicken is done and vegetables are tender; adjust the salt at the end!
Note - the friend that I stole the recipe from has a kid that refuses to eat celery and she uses the celery seed to get the celery taste in, you can chuck cut up celery in and omit the seed if you like.

[Whiskey]

but why does it have to me in my ass :cry:


I squat large amounts of weight just so I can have a fat ass.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

if you want a butt, do squats. My derrière has gotten twice its size (its mediocre now) since i started squatting heavy weight.

DO NOT WANT. My butt's huge. :( Need bigger boobs.... or really just a smaller butt. I have wide hips, and the fat mostly accumulates right above my butt, on the upper part of my hip-bones. :confused: and then my stomach area... then elsewhere. I'm probably pushing upper limits of my ideal (read: doctor and several internet calculators) bmi/ weight. I want to be mid-range to lower, if only because that represents an actual, non-Ritalin, adult weight and diet and exercise balance. (In other words, healthy.) FYI, Ritalin totally makes you drop weight and calmed me the hell down in school and church. Mom never gave it to me on breaks or over the summer, and I was totally down with that plan. Also, I need to go to the gym, if only to get a weight for me. I have no scale. I want no scale. .___. I'd be all obsessive over it and bullcrap like that. I'd rather be healthy and look good than weigh the "right amount." :)

[Seshat]

It ain't all bad if you get it in the right place. :angel:

They're already a G cup. H in some brands.


As for a stew, here's Seshat's basic stew/soup recipe:

* Legumes of some sort, left soaking overnight if bought dried. (ie: beans, peas, lentils. Barley also works nicely, but it's a grain. Still yummy.)
* Casseroling, stewing or soup meat, optional. If there's an old-fashioned butcher, ask their advice, otherwise get anything labelled 'good for casseroles/stews' and that's cheap.
* 1 turnip, 1 or 2 parsnips, 1 swede, 1 or 2 potatoes, 1 or 2 carrots, 1 or 2 onions chopped into 1/2 or 3/4 inch chunks.
* bouquet garni: aka a mix of herbs, ideally in a muslin bag so you can pull them out later. If not, just dump a bunch of dried chopped herbs in. Good ones include oregano, parsley, rosemary, dill, thyme, sage, and basil.
* Garlic to taste. If you don't use garlic much, 1 or 2 cloves, crushed. (Note: cloves, not bulbs. A clove is one of the wedge-shaped things you pull off a bulb and peel.)
* Spices to taste. If you like things with a bit of zip or zing, add spices. For light zing, a quarter to a half teaspoon of paprika and/or turmeric, and the same of pepper (as in ground peppercorns, NOT chili peppers).
If you already cook with zing, add whatever seems right.
* Half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of salt.
* Water to cover everything, then a bit more.
* Optional: a teaspoon or so of honey. It adds an interesting flavour.

If you're home about halfway through the cooking process, taste it. Add herbs, spices and salt as you deem appropriate. If it's too salty, add a bit more water - or a bit of honey!

* About half an hour before serving time, steam other veggies. Maybe broccoli, cauliflower, even cabbage. Zucchini. Capsicum. Whatever you have in the house, or whatever looked yummy at the grocer's.
* Also, prepare anything you plan to have with it. Basmati rice, whole grain pasta, couscous, a good rye bread.
* Some people like this with a fruit sauce. You can make such a sauce by wrapping apples, peaches, or other such fruits in foil, and baking them. Unwrap, pulp through a strainer, serve.
* About ten minutes before serving, add the steamed veg and the steaming water to the stew. Stir.
* Do a final taste, and a final addition of extra ingredients.

[TelephoneAngel]

* About half an hour before serving time, steam other veggies. Maybe broccoli, cauliflower, even cabbage. Zucchini. Capsicum. Whatever you have in the house, or whatever looked yummy at the grocer's.
.

Lol I made a booboo between "languages", looks like I should have said "capsicum" not "red pepper" then. :)

Whiskey, no I haven't tried those types of rice I will look out for them, it was just plain white rice, although I know that brown rice is healthier.I put cardomom seeds and fennel seeds in it.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Jasmine rice is amazing-- strongly recommend it, especially if you're eating foods that won't overpower it. Making it with jasmine tea for the liquid? O_o So. Amazing. <3 Basmati's good too. It's... different. It's really tasty and I like to eat either just by itself. Or with plain fish. Not red meat so much, because it's like eating mashed potatoes and... sushi. Not exactly nasty together, just not... as good? /shrug. Right now, I'm trying to find crock pot recipes I like. Yay for crockpot! I can tell you right now-- cook your rice before you put it in. :cry: No matter what. Okay, only if a recipe tells you not to, and I have no idea why it would. Crunchy rice in a glutinous sauce isn't what you want, girls. (and guys).

[Whiskey]

Also, I need to go to the gym, if only to get a weight for me. I have no scale. I want no scale. .___. I'd be all obsessive over it and bullcrap like that. I'd rather be healthy and look good than weigh the "right amount." :)

My gym doesnt have a scale that ive ever seen, but I also havent looked for it. You can always do your work outs at home. If you're going to lift even five pounds, you need to get your form down so you don't hurt yourself. You can do that at home in private. Considering proper squat form makes you look like you're about to get it in the butt, i prefer to practice at home.

[Whiskey]

Telephoneangel........................

[Whiskey]

I know i'm a bit of a hoity toity in this thread about diet and nutrition so here you guys go


I've eaten nothing but chinese take out and big macs for the last four days. I don't think I've even used my stove since monday.

Know what?

Its still not a big deal.

Shit happens, you falter, you move on. Chances are, with work and school anticipations, I'm just depressed. I ate like shit, I probably gained a pound or two, but theres next week.

I also need to drink less because the body has to metabolize liquor before it can metabolize fat.

Posting this while drunk, just for the irony.

I eat like shit some times! you will eat like shit sometimes! somtimes eating like shit is necessary! Move forward, be healthy, lift some heavy shit, run for forever on the treadmill! Who cares? Do you, be healthy, live long. Whiskey has your back.

[Mytical]

Just remember, we are all individuals. Not all diets work for everybody. Some people can maintain extra weight without it causing problems also. If you feel like you are always hungry or starving, your diet will NOT work for you.

That being said, here are some suggestions. Sugar free gum. Will help cut down on sweet cravings. Ignore if you don't get cravings for sweets.

Water. Lots of it. We get 20% of our calories from drinks, and even diet drinks have extra additives you might not want/need. Diet soda can also induce cravings for sweets. Ice water is even better. Sweeten with juice from fruits (actual fruits is best) if you need.

Moderation trumps 'diet'. Ie eat the food you enjoy in moderation, don't starve yourself. Just leads to binge eating.

When you do eat out try 'healthier' fast food. Subway instead of Pizza Hut. Various salads instead of double cheeseburger. Etc. Heck even chicken nuggets/sandwich instead of that Big Mac helps.

[TelephoneAngel]

:confused:I weighed myself.I weigh exactly 210 pounds. :cry: so I ate two cookies and some mint choc icecream immediatley afterwards.

I have no logic. :cry:

[Whiskey]

:confused:I weighed myself.I weigh exactly 210 pounds. :cry: so I ate two cookies and some mint choc icecream immediatley afterwards.

I have no logic. :cry:

no you sure dont. wheres the food log.


When you do eat out try 'healthier' fast food. Subway instead of Pizza Hut. Various salads instead of double cheeseburger. Etc. Heck even chicken nuggets/sandwich instead of that Big Mac helps.

Dont eat fast food period. Subway is fast food. Make a sandwich.

[Seshat]

DO NOT WANT. My butt's huge. :( Need bigger boobs.... or really just a smaller butt. I have wide hips, and the fat mostly accumulates right above my butt, on the upper part of my hip-bones. :confused:

Then do squats. And other exercise.

Squats build up your gluteal (butt) muscles. For you, they'll give the fat a firmer base to 'ride' on, and make the butt look less flabby and more muscular. The additional exercise is to help burn the fat.


Telephone Angel, I just did a pounds to kg conversion. I probably still weigh more than you. I know I did when I last hit the scales. I've hovered stably between 95 and 105 kg for many years, and 210lb is close-enough to 95kg.

But muscle weighs more than fat. And muscle is GOOD. Hit the Google Images page for 'body builder'. If you don't look like that, you definitely don't have too much muscle to be healthy. If you do, check with your doctor - it's possible (difficult, but possible) to be over-muscled, and it's definitely possible to have too little fat!

Anyway, if you weigh 150kg and it's all muscle, bone, body organs and just-enough-fat, you're healthy. If you weigh 150kg and 50kg of that is fat, you're morbidly obese. The number doesn't matter! It's the body composition that matters.

[TelephoneAngel]

How about someone posting what they actually buy at the supermarlet and how they convert it into meals? Especially lentils I love lentils.

Like I said I can spend a huge amount in the supermarket and come back with nothing to eat other than sugary stuff.

[Whiskey]

How about someone posting what they actually buy at the supermarlet and how they convert it into meals? Especially lentils I love lentils.

Like I said I can spend a huge amount in the supermarket and come back with nothing to eat other than sugary stuff.

didnt we do this on like page 2?

edit: page 1, even

Protein: Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Tuna, Cottage Cheese, Egg Whites, Fish, Protein Powder

Carbohydrates: vegetables, multi-grain breads/bagels, oats (steel cut or quick oats), fruits (the most caloric dense you can find prunes, dates, raisins, berries), whole-wheat pasta, brown or white rice, sweet potatoes, yams, and Ezekiel products.

Fats: Olive Oil, Egg Yolks, Fish Oil, Flax Oil, Nuts, Natural Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, and Avocados.

Theres a starter list of delicious, healthy foods.

If its really that much of an issue and you're feedign only you, create five meals. Five small meals and eat nothing but those five small meals for 2 weeks. itll be long enough that you get it in your head about portion sizes, healthy eating, etc and you can branch off from there.

edit II: page one also has my salmon aux lentilles. change out salmon for chicken if youre budgeting.

[TelephoneAngel]

didnt we do this on like page 2?

edit: page 1, even



.


uh sorry, I didn't see it as breakfast and lunch and dinner for one week although it does give some things to buy. :o

[Whiskey]

uh sorry, I didn't see it as breakfast and lunch and dinner for one week although it does give some things to buy. :o

I've made fish omelettes for breakfast. You could make chicken salad sandwiches (low carb, swap out bread of romaine lettuce leaves), put a pork shoulder in the crock pot with some veggies and thats a number of dishes (including pulled pork sandwiches, find a bbq sauce without high fructose corn syrup). Peanut butter is something i eat by the spoonful when I havent gotten enough fat in my day. If you're not a morning person, or a breakfast person, a couple spoons of peanut butter, little bit of last nights <whatever> and a cup of coffee is fine.

The reason I just dont put out meal recipes is because i dont know what you eat. I eat some weird shit. I make a point to eat more ethnic foods because they involve more spice, flavor, and its new and keeps me interested. And I'm only feeding me.

[Whiskey]

i also dont know what your current diet is like to see the habits that need to be corrected, i dont know your activity level (sedentary, moderate, high activity etc), i dont know if youre allergic to anything, or what your caloric level should be to maintain weight loss.

[Whiskey]

Three posts in a row, dont kill me people, but TA wanted a recipe. Here's what I made for breakfast

3 eggs, whisk the crap out of them
Cilantro, cut some up
Garlic, cut some of that up too
half a tomato, cut it up into small pieces.
half a mushroom, cut it up into smaller pieces.
Usually i put in some milk but i dont have any right now so i didnt

Step 0, take off your pants. You can't cook with pants on.
Step 1, mix eggs, cilantro, garlic. i used a crap ton of black pepper and a couple shakes of cayenne too.
Step 2, you cant cook without music. Today its "Bad Romance (skrillex remix)" and "Hot N Cold (bimbo remix)".
Step 3, butter your pan and wait for it to bubble.
Step 4, put in mushrooms, cook them until you have an overwhelming mushroom smell in your kitchen
Step 5, dump in egg mixture and let the bottom form (maybe.. 45 seconds or a minute on medium heat. never cook eggs on high unless they're fried eggs).
step 6, shake your rear end to the track and sprinkle tomatoes into the eggs. If you dont shake your rear while sprinkling the tomatoes they WILL NOT come out right.
step 7, mess with your eggs a bunch. i stir everytime I see a bottom form.
Step 8, when your eggs look a bit wet and you think "cool, almost done!" pull them off the heat. the residual heat will cook them the rest of the way without drying them out. Plate
step 9, you see that half mushroom left? repeat step 3 & 4, but with the slices as big or small as you want.
step 10, dice the rest of that tomato.
step 11, put tomato dices on plate, put mushrooms on tomatos, put olive oil on mushrooms and tomatoes.

boom breakfast. I forgot to take a pretty picture so heres a half eaten picture that kind of looks like mickey mouse if you squint.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/171/imag0213g.jpg

Jester, you got any recipes that won't murder my mouth that call for a habenaro? I picked one up and i dont know how to use it. I love hot/spicy food but i've heard tales of this pepper and im scared :cry:

[TelephoneAngel]

Step 0, take off your pants. You can't cook with pants on.
[:

:eek::eek::eek: *reassures self, she is talking American she is talking American she is talking American, pants means trousers in American ,she did not just instruct you to cook in the nude*

Pants means underwear in British. :)

[Whiskey]

:eek::eek::eek: *reassures self, she is talking American she is talking American she is talking American, pants means trousers in American ,she did not just instruct you to cook in the nude*

Pants means underwear in British. :)

take em both off, as long as youre not cooking bacon it really doesnt matter

[Mikkel]

she did not just instruct you to cook in the nude

Oh, I thought she did too.

Habaneros are strong, but not impossibly strong, cook anything you like, just use less than you would usually. And for your own sake, don't rub your eyes or privates even after you have washed your hands, the oils won't come off after just a few handwashings and they HURT.

[Whiskey]

Habaneros are strong, but not impossibly strong, cook anything you like, just use less than you would usually. And for your own sake, don't rub your eyes or privates even after you have washed your hands, the oils won't come off after just a few handwashings and they HURT.

I dont cut peppers without gloves

[Whiskey]

Hi kids,

I went grocery shopping just for you guys.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/IMAG0216.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/IMAG0217.jpg

19-20$ for whats on that table.

Heres what I got in text form because I scrunched my receipt:

two bell peppers
ten roma tomatoes
one loaf of bread
one bottle of sriracha
one box of butter (four sticks per box)
8 oz medium cheddar
half a head of red cabbage
one ear of corn
one cucumber
two lemons
one yellow onion
three mushrooms
2.43lbs 80% lean ground chuck
25 feet of aluminum foil
one scrubby pad
dish soap


I would also like to thank TonyF's SC thread for this quote


- Shampoo is shampoo. Go buy the dollar stuff and save thirty dollars.

Because it made me realize what I already knew. Detergent is detergent. 1$ shampoo is the same thing as 5$ "dish detergent" except it smells better. So I bought a little 1$ bottle of vo5 for my dishes. The only thing I "splurged" on was the 3$ bottle of sriracha because it has half the sodium that hot sauce does and just tastes better. That bottle will last me at least four months, if not six (if not longer). I got an 8oz brick of cheese so it only cost me 3$ for that.

Another thing, I found a GREAT example of why you should NEVER rush when you grocery shop (or shop hungry). I was puttering around in produce, looking at the tasties when I saw a rack with some miscellaneous stuff on it. I look on it and its a "quick sale" rack. Basically, stuff is about to expire and needs to go or they lose profit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/jinx_mod/IMAG0218.jpg
For 2$ I got ten tomatoes and 2 bell peppers. They look like all the other produce but I figure I should eat them in the next 2-3 days. Those same tomatoes are 1.99$ a lb right now and bell peppers are 79 cents each.

When I went to the store it was awesome because

Whiskey got two wolf whistles (hay boys :kiss:)
A crap ton of food was on sale
After buying my groceries I was carrying my heavy ass bag when I look down at it and see A BICEP. Motherfucker yes \o/ *flexes*
I made a joke with the bus driver after I realized my transfer doesnt work same route. When I went to put money in, he told me to not worry about it and just use my transfer.
FREE SMOOTHIE DAY AT BOSTON MARKET

fuck yeah, smoothies \o/


So in conclusion, eat like Whiskey and you get wolf whistles from attractive men hanging out of trucks and sexy biceps.

[Seshat]

Supermarket list:

* 1 pack bulk meat, from the butcher's. (I don't know about there, but here the butcher stores often do 'family packs' and 'bulk packs' of assorted meat. One of these provides my family with enough meat for three or four weeks, so we package it into one-meal sizes and freezer it.)
* Pack of freezer bags to portion the meat with, if we're out.
* Stuff like dish soap and laundry detergent and tissues and TP and other non-foods, as needed.
* Frozen veggies, enough for four or five serves per day per person for a week.
* Fresh veggies that keep well, eg potato & onion & carrot.
* Fresh veggies that look good and that we'll eat in the next couple of days.
* Fruit - one or two serves per person per day. Some that keep well, others to be eaten first. (Except when the apricots are ripe. Then we harvest straight from our tree. YUM!)
* Leafy greens to be eaten that day or the next, two serves per person.
* Bulk pack rice, if needed.
* Bulk pack pasta, if needed.
* Dry goods such as lentils, beans, barley, if we're out.
* Soup bones/oxtail/casseroling meats, if not included in the bulk pack and if there's none in the chest freezer.
* Cheese, butter, olive oil, spices, if we're out.
* Some sort of treat foods, or the ingredients to bake/cook them.

[Whiskey]

I wish I had a butcher in my area, i'm so jealous. And you listed barley on your list. I have like a good pound of barley sitting in my cabinet that someone gave to me but i have absolutely no clue what to do with it.

edit: also, i really REALLY like http://www.epicurious.com as a recipe website. The "advanced" search has a ridiculous amount of options.

[BookstoreEscapee]

You could make chicken salad sandwiches (low carb, swap out bread of romaine lettuce leaves)

When I was a kid I used to eat tuna rolled up in lettuce leaves. Yum.

And you listed barley on your list. I have like a good pound of barley sitting in my cabinet that someone gave to me but i have absolutely no clue what to do with it.

I can't remember what magazine it was but I came across an article that listed various "alternative" whole grains and what you can do with them. I'm helpful, I know...;)

allrecipes.com is another good recipe site. You can search for recipes by ingredients, too.

[Whiskey]

ohhhhhhhhh and i just remembered this.

At my job we serve breakfast, like all fast food joints. If you REALLY, REALLY have to hit up a fast food joint, heres a tip

Order an egg. Or two eggs. I can ring people up for individual eggs. I can also ring them up for an individual tortilla. Or just ask for a side of "leaf lettuce." Granted, the eggs are still cooked in whatever butter is on the grill (and maybe a little grease from transfer, but eggs are cooked on the opposite side of meat ALWAYS), but its better than a chorizo breakfast burrito or something similar.

[TelephoneAngel]

Just for the sheer hell of it I made a list of what is in the fridge and freezer :)

I made chicken and veg lasagne and spiced apple and plum crumble for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow I will use up bacon suasages tomatoes eggs and has browns.

I am going to try to make meals of what is there and run down the whole fridge freezer.I might throw the icecream away.


Freezer

fish
prawn curry from frozen
smoked salmon 12 prawn skewers
admirals pie from frozen 10 x fish fillets
4 x fish finger 5 fish in butter

meat
chicken curry from frozen 2 lamb chops to defrost
bag sausages to defrost 3 battered fish
4 x chicken pieces to defrost 3 x bacon
20 chicken satay 2 x doner kebabs from frozen
5 bags chicken nuggets

veg
bag broccoli and cauliflower half bag hash browns
4 and a half bags of chips bag sprouts
6 x yorkshire pudding

icecream
raspberry ripple icecream half tub black forest icecream
rum and raisin icecream chocolate icecream
6 x minimilk 12 x throat coolers
2 x choclollies 1 wafer icecream
29 x icelollies
11 x chocices 8 long icepoles
37 small icepoles 13jubblies
3 snickers 4 x cornettoes

other
36 chinese selection
mushroom pizza 2 x spinache pizza
11 x small pizza 6 x bagels
1 x oven pasty

Fridge

cheese/butter/yoghurt

1 1/2mature cheddar ½ smoked cheddar
3 x leerdammer cheddar and chutney
small parmesan 2 x primula
medium cheddar 4 x feta
banana yoghurt ½ honey yoghurt
apricot yoghurt 2 x strawberry yoghurt
plain yoghurt 2 x orange
3 x choc mousse

sauce

mint sauce
5 x small jam 1 jam ½ marmalade
gherkin relish 2 x pickle
salad cream dijon mustard small wholeseed mustard
small seafood sauce ½ seafood sauce ceasar dressing
1 ½ thousand island dressing ½ mayonnaise 2 garlic mayonnaise


drinks

squash milk orange carton 2 x 1/2fruit juice
can rum and coke

salads

spring onions 3 small tomatoes
½ aubergine 14 ½ tomatoes celery ½ cucumber
2 x chicory 3 x avocado baby corn 9 x lettuce 4 x beetroot
olives 2 x jar olives
red cabbage 2 x gherkins

other

pack sausages 2 x bacon 2 mushroom
1 ½ flake sandwich spread korma paste ham
cherries

[Whiskey]

^ ive only got an hour and a half before work so ill reply to that later :P

I just logged in my dailyplate in the longest time. I put myself at "very active" since I lift a couple times a week, do some cardio.


Our estimate is that you may consume about 2,267 calories a day to lose two pounds per week.

3 eggs for breakfast + sriracha and veg is about 300. Ive already hit 45% of my daily protein in this meal. mm. maybe ill start keeping track of my macro split again. nothing else to do.

[Seshat]

I wish I had a butcher in my area, i'm so jealous. And you listed barley on your list. I have like a good pound of barley sitting in my cabinet that someone gave to me but i have absolutely no clue what to do with it.

I have two butchers in the closest shopping centre (one halal), and a bunch of others in other shopping regions. And grocers. And the city's major grocer market (wholesale) is being moved to near-enough to us, and will probably have a retail outlet. I have no excuse!

Barley: lamb and barley stew is YUM.
Soak the barley like you'd soak dried lentils or split peas. Use the same amount of barley as you'd use for lentil/pea based stew.
Defrost lamb if needed while you're waiting. I usually use cheap cuts, the sort recommended for stewing and casseroling.

Get a big stewing pot, crockpot, whatever.
Put the barley in, and the lamb. Fill with enough water to cover everything. Add salt - as for any other stew this size.

Add a bay leaf or two, a bouquet garni if desired, any other herbs or spices you want to put in now. Given that it's new for you, you may want to wait till it's mostly cooked, taste it, and then put the herbs and spices in.

Add stewing veggies. I'd use stuff like swedes, turnips, parsnips, carrot, onion. Root veggies at this point: they take stewing well. Others wait till later.

Simmer till it smells unbearably good and the lamb is tender and the barley is, well, al-dente-ish. Plan for this to take a few hours, like making a slow-cooking lentil stew.

Add any quickly-cooking veggies you want, and do any final herb-and-spicing.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Huh. I've discovered that greasy, greasy (delicious Nathans) hot dogs and booze before bed makes for an uncomfy night... and that broccoli now gives me the grossest farts... -____-; (from what? April? I don't make a habit of eating a head of raw broc) Upshot, I'm drinking more water, and am set to exercise in-between classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays... we'll see how Saturdays work out. I don't have anything but homework and house-chores on the weekends, go me. My sister suggested I find that ancient ipod someone gave me a while back and download audio books onto it. Sounds good, considering that there are places online that do the whole audio thing for free, on classics I haven't heard/read. Also, two glasses of water about a half hour before you exercise/do strenuous stuff is very good to do.
EDIT: I have decided on my perfect breakfast. It's easy for me to make, I can get my brain around it in the mornings if I have the time or will to eat (or live) in the A.M., and I've done it many times before, and it's more appetizing to me than most cereal. In winter, it'll probably include cream of wheat or oatmeal. Mmmm cream of wheat.
Toast, of healthy bread naturally, with whatever on it: marmalade, butter, nutella (go easy on it...), cheese, whatever. Egg-- one or two, whatever way, salt and some other flavoring. Tea. Milk if you feel like it. Glass of water with a vitamin or two. I need to put fruit in there. I think I'll try liking bananas, they're high in potassium. (note: I'm of the opinion "eh" concerning bananas.)

[Whiskey]

^i never really use salt because theres already a crap ton of 'hidden' sodium in foods. I just put pepper on everything.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I definitely use too much salt...I'm also trying to cut down the amount of sugar I put in tea. Gotta get used to less sweetness. My cafeteria at work recently started carrying Honest Tea drinks (which are "just a tad sweet" and ~100 calories per 2-serving bottle), and I stopped getting Lipton Pureleaf iced tea (which is slightly better than most mainstream bottled teas, since they don't use corn syrup) and when I do get iced tea I get the Honest Tea (usually they have black tea with lemon, which is not too heavy on the lemon, either; 1/2 lemonade 1/2 iced tea, cranberry lemonade, and pomegranate blueberry "ade"). Last time I got the Lipton it was a little too sweet (and they also recently got "extra sweet" which I don't even want to know what that's like..). I also usually refill the bottle with water to drink through the afternoon. So I'm getting there on the sweet tooth, I think.

[Seshat]

1/2 lemon from our lemon tree, squeezed into a litre bottle, topped up with water. Kept next to me wherever I am, drunk from regularly during the course of the day. Refilled as necessary.

[Whiskey]

how many grams of sugar equate "just a tad sweet"?

edit: looking at their site i cant find a single nutritional guide. all they give is vague buzzword phrases. "half the sugar of THOSE OTHER GUYS!" which other guys? mountain dew? simply orange? vitamin water? nevermind, i found it. 5g sugar for every 8 ounces (10g per bottle). Its actually not that terrible.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Hypoglycemia is a bitch.
I've been dealing with it off and on (mostly on) for the last few days, started in on the 28th, really. At first, I was dealing with highly unusual and deep depression (like, "kittens? oh how sad. Clouds? Even sadder." sort of a thing, could be separated from actual depressing thoughts, like how people are trashing the world and are so short-lived...); then, it went to something similar to nausea in my thought process-- much like the nausea in my stomach. I sat down and looked at what I was eating... discovered I had to force myself to eat more than 1000 calories a day (kilocalories, for those in other countries. Reference: 1 tsp. sugar= roughly 16 calories). I saw a counselor on Monday, figured out it was hypoglycemia later that night, when I was freaking out and feeling horrible and called my mom-- she has had a similar problem... huh.
Anyway, since then, I've been trying to eat, and I saw someone today (professional, nurse I think) about it, gave me the Weil Food pyramid... so right now I'm somewhere between stomach-nausea and a little rocky mentally. Oooh boy it is so not fun. I feel horrible, like shit. I hope it goes away once I get over 1300, like last time... and I think I need to eat more right off the bat in the mornings. Yesterday (tuesday) the nasty feelings hit right after I ate something for lunch... messed up my night, and I think I'm going to cancel my plans for the night too... :cry:
I just want this to go the hell away. (Yes, it happened last month around the same time, right after my period... hasn't lasted this long though.) The nurses think it's more than just hypoglycemia, and some of it could be attributed to ADD, in that I just don't eat/forget/don't want to eat etc. , and hopefully I won't have to take medication for anything other than ADD, which, I'm used to.
Excuse me while I try to drink more milk...
EDIT: totally not exercising right now, need to figure out blood sugar first. o___o

[Whiskey]

Hey TA this thread started 8/21 and you said youd post one weeks worth of food from a food log

Its been almost two weeks.

[lupo pazzesco]

TA...don't make Whiskey come find you!!

She's scary!!!

[TelephoneAngel]

Hey TA this thread started 8/21 and you said youd post one weeks worth of food from a food log

Its been almost two weeks.

Hey Whiskey! I've been in hospital for the past few days.I haven't eaten since Tuesday.Not terribly healthy, huh? :lol:

[Magpie]

Hey Whiskey! I've been in hospital for the past few days.I haven't eaten since Tuesday.Not terribly healthy, huh? :lol:

No, but that has more to do with being in the hospital. What happened. Are you ok?

[Whiskey]

Hey Whiskey! I've been in hospital for the past few days.I haven't eaten since Tuesday.Not terribly healthy, huh? :lol:

There are good reasons to be unhealthy :P feel better hon

[TelephoneAngel]

Well, you know, I haven't felt well for a while, but not in a major "oh I feel ill I need to see a doctor" way, more like "something doesn't feel right I wonder what's wrong, maybe I need to look at my diet, I'm not eating very healthily", if you see? I knew I didn't feel right, but it was nothing I could really put my finger on and say, yes, these are the symptoms.

Anyway, since last weekend I had a low fever, I still went to work, didn't feel great, but not sick enough to stay off work, kind of felt like getting a mild cold or something.

Tuesday, I felt dizzy, but then, I hadn't really had an appetite for a few days so figured I needed only to eat something.But I took a couple of bites of food and didn't want to eat.

Wednesday I felt progressively worse as the day went on, short of breath, very dizzy, limbs felt sort of "numb",at about two o'clock I considered going home sick but thought as there wereonly a coupleof hours left of my shift, I would stick it out.The last fewcalls I took,I was not remembering words, and stuttering in what I was saying and I started to feel "not real, as if I wasn't actually there at all".Boyfriend picked me up from work in the car and made dinnerwhich I couldn't eat and I sat on the sofa feeling very sick.

By about nine at night I had a high temperature, all my limbs were shaking and I could not stand up.Boyfriend carried me to the car and into the emergency room,where they took one look at me and admitted me, then ran lots of tests (my arms are black and blue from the needles), and thats when they said my blood pressure was as high as it could be and i had a high temperature and signs of an infection somewherein the body.They never got to the bottom of where the infection was but I spent the next couple of days on an iv with antibiotics.

Then they dischargedme yesterday afternoon and I still fell rough and was sick all last night so boyfriend said if I am still like this when he gets back from work tonight he will take me back to hospital, and there we are.

please feel free to give copious amounts of sympathy as I feel very sorry for myself. :(

[Whiskey]

I know I'm a health harpy but.....


What Causes High Blood Pressure?

The exact causes of high blood pressure are not known. Several factors and conditions may play a role in its development, including:

* Smoking
* Being overweight or obese
* Lack of physical activity
* Too much salt in the diet
* Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
* Stress
* Older age
* Genetics
* Family history of high blood pressure
* Chronic kidney disease
* Adrenal and thyroid disorders


Some things you cant fight (genetics, age), but i would use this as a scare (like magpie said in your other thread) to get your butt into healthy mode. Try to eat protein dense food and dark leafy greens, they're generally the best for you and jam packed with vitamins.

This is the point I kept making over and over that stuff like this happens if you dont keep your diet and exercise going and people told me I sound like a commercial.

I hope you feel better and dont need to go back to the hospital again :( Do harpy sympathies count? Hospitals suck =[

[Mikkel]

please feel free to give copious amounts of sympathy as I feel very sorry for myself. :(

I'm sorry for you too :hug:. If your temperature is normal it may just be the effect of the antibiotics and not enough to eat, but better go back to hospital if you aren't feeling well yet.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Hey, TA, I hope you're feeling better! :hug:

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Oh, boy. I totally know "not feeling well" after the past week.
I'd give you cool-packs and tasty water, but I'm not in the UK right now. :( Focus on feeling better, just take it easy and don't worry about stuff like cleaning and work. Let other people do that. Relax, and take each day as it gets there. Don't borrow trouble.
EDIT: drink plain water, but not gallons-- too much is just as bad. Try to keep things like electrolytes and other nutrients in your system, like drinking Pedialyte http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedialyte or whatever you tea-drinkers give little kids to help with digestive issues like that. Not wanting to eat is bad, because the stuff your body and mind need is in food.
Don't be shy about asking for help, either, like going to the bathroom or anything. Good thing you have a boyfriend-- do you have other family or close-people (physically as well as emotionally/mentally close) you can depend on?
I know I'm a health harpy but.....
(snip)
This is the point I kept making over and over that stuff like this happens if you dont keep your diet and exercise going and people told me I sound like a commercial.
I hope you feel better and dont need to go back to the hospital again :( Do harpy sympathies count? Hospitals suck =[
Well, it's important, Whiskey! and, TelephoneAngel, you know it's bad when: a harpy (self-labeled, anyway:p) gives you sympathies!
/End EDIT
I will give you an internet hug, if you want? / :hug:

[Whiskey]

So boring harpy whiskey post. I actually tracked my food today since I was thinking about it. i have to work 7-3 tonight, so I included the food I will be eating at work. The picture is browser size so I made it a link (http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/5581/9410t.png), thumbnail is below. My personal macro split is generally around 40% protein/40% fat/20% carbs. For not keeping track in forever, I didnt do bad on the split. The chicken strips, I obviously havent eaten yet. I drink diet soda or water at work, but i have a nasty habit of snacking on fries. eek.

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/7826/9410.th.png

[crashhelmet]

This thread has 140 replies, so i'm gonna come out and say that I did not read through them. Instead, I'm going to share my current diet and the diets that have worked for me in the past. Surprisingly, the older diet worked better and quicker than the current one.

Current Diet
5 meals a day, small portions. Consist of 5 servings protein (At least 100 grams of protein for the day), 5 roughage fruits/veggies, 1 carb, no fats

Breakfast
1/2 cup Steel cut oatmeal (Carb)
1 scoop protein powder (protein, naturally)
Handful of broccoli (Veggie)

All mixed into the oatmeal while it's cooking/nuking.

Then I goto the gym or dojo, depending on the day.

Second meal (After the gym, about 3 hours after first meal)
Protein shake
Apple

3rd, 4th and 5th meal are spread out around and through my work shift, about every 3 hours.
4oz Chicken or Salmon filet, depending on what i felt like cooking that day.
Salad with broccoli and/or diced apples, with a fat free vinagrette dressing.

The purpose of this diet is to drop weight and body fat, gain lean muscle. After 4 months on this diet, I've dropped from 190 to 165 (I ballooned up after having my knee kicked out), and from ~21% body fat to ~15%. The trainer I've been working with says I should be able to still drop another 10 pounds and ~5% body fat. I've shrunk in the waist and face, and gained everywhere else with muscle. I'm due for another eval in a week or so, so we'll see how much is changed again. I'm happy with this because I need to build the strength and stability back in my knees.

With complete honesty I'll admit that I still drink beer and soda. I also eat fast food from time to time. If I cut these all out, I'd probably be where my trainer thinks I can be, if not better.

My Old Diet
I ate whatever the hell I wanted to eat. I only had 2 rules.
1) Eat as soon as I wake up.
2) NEVER eat less than 3 hours before I went to bed.

Breakfast
1x Cliff/Granola bar, bagel, pop tart, left overs, whatever the hell was within reach.
1 32oz Dr. Pepper

Lunch
Wherever we went for lunch that day. Could've been Italian, Thai, Chinese, or fast food (All high fat and all high carb).

I got out of work at 5pm and would go straight to my dojo and train for 2-3 hours.

My last meal of the day would be either be something from a local fast food joint or something quick and easy at home, like a full cup of rice.

With this diet and exercise program, I dropped from 196 to 163 and from ~18% body fat to ~10% in 9 weeks. The cardio from the martial arts did almost all of it. However, any time I got hurt and I couldn't train, the weight came back like gangbusters.

As I've argued over on fratching, you can eat whatever the hell you want as long as you exercise enough to burn it off, but I'm liking this new method better. I've learned a lot about how the body digests and processes food.

CH

[teh_blumchenkinder]

So. Haven't posted in this thread in a while, 'cuz shit's been going down, least of which is school and its' 16 credit-hours of classes (which, supposedly, means 32 hours of homework, but is really more like 16, which is still a lot-- 32 hours a week on school! plus 20 hours give or take at work, once stuff starts rolling in for that... muh) Anyway!
I've been focusing on food right now, like trying to eat properly, regularly, the like. I'm on a low(er) glycemic-load diet, as previously mentioned, because sugar spikes r bad.
I've discovered a few things. Bananas do not agree with me, and it is best for everyone that I do not elaborate on that. Walnuts, while delicious and healthy (omega-3's woo~ need that shit for ADD), make the tip of my tongue feel cold-- even though I can detect no temperature difference with my fingers. Blueberries, peaches, and pears are mah buddies, as are avacadoes. Frozen blueberries are full of nutrients (according to the back of the package, even has iron in it... ??) and are as to ice cream to me; perfectly ripe peaches are like pillows and kittens-- a little slice of heaven; as are perfectly ripe (or overripe, not too picky on that end of the spectrum) pears. Handily enough, these are described as low-glycemic load. Well, lower than tropical fruits. I've focused on getting healthy fats, cutting out fatty stuff like fried goods, and incorporating more fresh food into my diet. And, the best part of the Weil Pyramid/diet thingy? It incorporates tea. Mmmmm.
This might be due to other problems, such as PMS-type stuff (or that I just have fat I'm not used to? doubt it a bit tho...), but I feel ... fat? bloated. Somewhere between those two. I do have a pudge, but it's not any bigger or smaller since the beginning of the month. I thought it might be sodium, or not enough water, but it's neither, I'm fairly certain. It might be intestinal irritation with walnuts or something, but I doubt that too... mostly because the 'results' aren't anything to mention.

[Whiskey]

that food pyramid is way off base. The main part of your diet shouldn't be carbs, imo. From what I can tell (google) theyve even redacted the original pyramid logo to "One pyramid does not fit all"

Replace bananas with cantaloupe if you like it.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

that food pyramid is way off base. The main part of your diet shouldn't be carbs, imo. From what I can tell (google) theyve even redacted the original pyramid logo to "One pyramid does not fit all"

Replace bananas with cantaloupe if you like it.

The pyramid that was handed to me is thus:
veg: 4-5 a day minimum; fruit: 3-4 a day; whole and cracked grains: 3-5 a day; pasta (al dente): 2-3 a week; beans and legumes: 1-2 a day; healthy fats: 5-7 a day; fish and seafood: 2-6 a week; whole soy foods:1-2 a day; cooked asian mushrooms: unlimited; other sources of protien: 1-2 a week; there's other stuff but it's spices, tea, supplements, wine, healthy sweets... but all of those sections are modified with examples, like the healthy fats include nuts (especially walnuts, avacadoes, seeds), extra virgin olive oil, etc. on the back of the paper it explains a little bit more about everything, and the doctor (who I thought was a nurse because my brain was needing glucose (yeah I know sugar) )handed it to me because it had the advantage of keeping blood sugar from freaking the hell out. I'm still not following it to the T, which I want to, because it does seem very healthy.
Also, ripe cantaloupe is amazing. I despise green (unripe) cantaloupe.

[Whiskey]

so where is meat? (unless you're a veggie)

The only thing i agree with in that pyramid is the healthy fats. The rest of it is still a majority of carbs. Unless youre a massive athelete you dont really need a whole crap ton of carbs in your diet. I eat between 15-20% of my calories in carbs and thats LOW carb. Most people shouldnt go over 30% because theyre not active enough.

imo all generalized im not a doctor.

and if anyone knows how/where to get cheap seafood i'd love to jack up the amount of fish I eat.

[Magpie]

In the 1980s and 1990s, when limiting fat intake was believed to be key to managing weight and preventing heart disease, most authorities agreed that 55 to 60 percent of total calories shoudl be from carbohydrates. But more recent research ... has led many health experts to revise the recommended percent of carbohydrates downward to around 50 percent of calories or lower. A minimum of 100 grams a day is essential and 125 grams is safe.

He goes on to give limits on sweets. He says 10% max, apparently average these days is 25%.

This is the sixth edition, 2007. So Whiskey, I'd say that there are expert opinions which say that over 30% isn't necessarily a problem. I've personally found your carb percentages a little lower than I'd aim for. Of course, I also tend to agree that different people need different splits, just because they are different (i.e. without taking activity level into account).

[Whiskey]

He goes on to give limits on sweets. He says 10% max, apparently average these days is 25%.

This is the sixth edition, 2007. So Whiskey, I'd say that there are expert opinions which say that over 30% isn't necessarily a problem. I've personally found your carb percentages a little lower than I'd aim for. Of course, I also tend to agree that different people need different splits, just because they are different (i.e. without taking activity level into account).

I eat ~100g of carbs per day. I also eat 2200 calories/day. I also bike and lift heavy stuff (no longer weights, i miss my gym :cry:). Your macro split should always take your activity level into account.

I'm low carb because thats just how ive always eaten. I dont eat a lot of pasta, i never eat sandwiches, etc.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

seafood/fish is 2-6 times a week, and other protien is 1-2 times a week. So, about once a day is major animal protien. ... This is sad to me, and one point that I haven't really been following, except for the "more fish" part. I love milk, and even though I've been drinking more (non-isolate) soy milk and orange juice, I still drink more than is recommended by the diet. Protein, especially animal muscle-type stuff, sticks with a body, which I appreciate over a day of running around and high academic performance-- which burns calories too. So, generally, it's been milk and the occasional egg for breakfast (yikes cholesterol... need more oatmeal to get rid of that! and oatmeal provides fiber too...), lunch meat like ham or roast beef, cheese (omg cheeeeeese), peanut butter (need to get moar...), fish like sardines and grilled like in fish tacos, and occasionally processed stuff like peperoni. Also tried whey protein shakes. ... I can live with out them. Bleh. Nuts also have a lot of fat and protein in them.

[Whiskey]

seafood/fish is 2-6 times a week, and other protien is 1-2 times a week.

ah didnt see that. Yeah red meat isnt great to eat often. I eat a lot of chicken. I do need more fish. Fish is crazy expensive though. At least I can get a cheap cut of meat for 2$/lb

milk..eggs

I use/drink a lot of milk. I go through about... 2-3 dozen eggs a week at least. I dont worry about my cholesterol. It balances itself out against everything else I put in my body.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

ah didnt see that. Yeah red meat isnt great to eat often. I eat a lot of chicken. I do need more fish. Fish is crazy expensive though. At least I can get a cheap cut of meat for 2$/lb
(snip)
I use/drink a lot of milk. I go through about... 2-3 dozen eggs a week at least. I dont worry about my cholesterol. It balances itself out against everything else I put in my body.

Yeah, meat's a little bit cheaper where I shop, probably 'cuz its' like a warehouse store (NOT Mal-Mart or anything associated with it wooo~~), and I need to investigate egg-type cholesterol more, along with avocado fat content, because those be fat-ful. I'm concerned now about my cholesterol because heart disease runs in my family, and Dad's taking blood-pressure meds, not sure exactly why though. Not to mention my heart seems to do this funny thing that's not exactly a problem, or consistent, just very disturbing. I actually have some chicken in my freezer that's designated for purportedly "German-style Chicken"-- methinks it's the sauerkraut and spaetzel XD . Also, some stew gibbets of ... beef? pork? that have the lentils and onions languishing in my cupboard and fridge respectively, calling out to it. And maybe some carrots and bacon? Salmon here seems to come from either "China" or "Alaska," and averages about 5-6 dollars for 4 servings. I need to cook more of it. Does not help I'm paranoid about heavy metals. Maybe I'll just get it from the hippy-organo-place of cooperation. I can tell and do relish the difference between the two... it's just that while the salmon at the Cheaper place is ... a bit pricey, it's still justifiable to purchase twice a month, whereas the Cooperative stuff is twice as much on average. ... I'm just happy to have options in the state I live in. ...
Also, omg raspberries. Need me some. (sorry, random craving!)

[Whiskey]

and I need to investigate egg-type cholesterol more, along with avocado fat content, because those be fat-ful. I'm concerned now about my cholesterol because heart disease runs in my family, and Dad's taking blood-pressure meds, not sure exactly why though.

Avacado fat is good for you, its a healthy fat. If you have heart disease in your family, definitely talk to a doc about your egg intake. Eggs are great for protein but there are other (more expensive) options. Theyre cheap and fast, just like me.


"German-style Chicken"-- methinks it's the sauerkraut and spaetzel XD . Also, some stew gibbets of ... beef? pork? that have the lentils and onions languishing in my cupboard and fridge respectively, calling out to it. And maybe some carrots and bacon?

stew sounds good. lentils are amazing for you. eat lots of lentils. I picked up some split peas the other day. 1$ for a pound. Lots of fiber, i might try split pea soup tomorrow.

I need to cook more of it. Does not help I'm paranoid about heavy metals.
Youd have to eat a whole lot of fish. Eat tuna if it makes you paranoid (unless youre paranoid about mercury too, then i suggest you get the tuna fish in a can).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Avacado fat is good for you, its a healthy fat. If you have heart disease in your family, definitely talk to a doc about your egg intake. Eggs are great for protein but there are other (more expensive) options. Theyre cheap and fast, just like me.



stew sounds good. lentils are amazing for you. eat lots of lentils. I picked up some split peas the other day. 1$ for a pound. Lots of fiber, i might try split pea soup tomorrow.


Youd have to eat a whole lot of fish. Eat tuna if it makes you paranoid (unless youre paranoid about mercury too, then i suggest you get the tuna fish in a can).

Yeah, that's why I'm still eating avocadoes as a thing; also, yeah, eggs are also good for so many other things too like baking! Yay! ... also... like ... you??? Actually yeah. :lol: :angel:
I also have split peas that I snagged from the lentil section of the store. I have plans for ham hock soup for that! omg love. So glad the weather's cooling off for it.
My understanding is that mercury is a heavy metal, along with cobalt and other stuff from industrial run-offs and such. Also, iirc, it's present in all wild fish-- including tuna in a can. I'm going to double-check with the U.S. gubberment and probably the U.K. and Canadian official findings too, on those levels of acceptability in the human body for women who plan to breed (such as myself) and contamination in the average specimen of X fish. It's been a while since I've checked. Also, might edumicate mahself on the ancient Japanese fast-food of sushi and shashimi. Depends on if I ever have the time. If not, there's some high end places around here (YAY) and some not-so-high end places too, but are certainly not dollar-sushi buffets ... mostly. ._____. (also, if you catch that reference, I love you! :lol: )
EDIT: thinking further on it, the egg-Whiskeh paralells can continue: eggs can do so so many things, from the utterly simple to the crazy-amazing-complicated, can be used to help explain the mysteries and vagaries of life, can tolerate many trials and hardships, but does have a cap on exactly how poorly it can be treated, from which there is little to no recourse... and is very tasty.... XD actully don't know about that last one personally for you!! :roll:

[Whiskey]

I do a lot of reading, but i cant tell you where i read it, Fish is fine to eat. You would have to eat an unimaginable amount of fish to get any kind of heavy metal poisoning.


I might try ham hock soup. I have no hocks. Do chickens have hocks? Chicken hock soup.

Are you in the US? I know a great sashimi dealer (online). They overnight all orders (duh) and pack them in dry ice. Ive never heard a bad word about them. Theyre based in San Diego. Remind me to look up the URL tomorrow. easier than expected : http://www.catalinaop.com/

Shit the prices are good and the shipping rate is a flat fee. I know where half my first paycheck is going.
Rates
We offer $20 flat rate shipping to any location in the continental United States. For customers in California, we offer $10 flat rate shipping. Orders over $300 qualify for free shipping.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I do a lot of reading, but i cant tell you where i read it, Fish is fine to eat. You would have to eat an unimaginable amount of fish to get any kind of heavy metal poisoning.


I might try ham hock soup. I have no hocks. Do chickens have hocks? Chicken hock soup.

Are you in the US? I know a great sashimi dealer (online). They overnight all orders (duh) and pack them in dry ice. Ive never heard a bad word about them. Theyre based in San Diego. Remind me to look up the URL tomorrow. easier than expected : http://www.catalinaop.com/

... Chickens usually have their feet sold up to their mid-shins, methinks... :shudder: chicken feet freak me out when they're detached and sitting there... urg.
Also, yes I am in the States. I live in Potato-landia-land, and thus, if I look hard enough, I might be able to find local salmon for sale. Maybe. :shrug: I know catfish abounds... and carp. bleh. carp tastes gamy and strange to me.
EDIT!: omg I know what I'm getting for my upcoming birthday bash! Express awesome sushiiiiii~~~

[AdminAssistant]

I love grilled catfish. Just sayin'.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Catfish I have little problem with. Herring, whitefish, and such haven't been on my radar, 'cuz I'm trying to focus on maximum benefit for the cash I put out-- and iirc, red-fish (like salmon) has better nutrients and fatty acids in it. Carp... carp on the other hand, you cannot put enough bacon and butter and onions and garlic on it for me. I can still taste it, and it will still be nasty.
Hmmmm! Maybe I can wrangle a fishing license, and be all huntery-gathery type... once I can actually have freezer space?? ... ... hurm.
EDIT: a local--very local, especially in spirit -- grill and bar place makes amazing crusted catfish. It's so spicy and perfect mix of crunchy and crispy and breaded (softish kind of texture), and you can still taste the catfish, and mmmm! Salad with fancy dressing and some taters... mmm... need to go back there. I had it with a glass of white wine, Riesling? Maybe it had been a rose? It was a while ago.

[Whiskey]

get you some snapper. I love snapper. I cant stand cat fish. I cant stand cooked fish of any sort (sans tuna) really.

[Seshat]

Ewww. Seafood.

If you lot keep talking about seafood, I'm leaving the thread!


(Well, not seriously. I'm allergic to it, it makes me sick, so I get nauseous thinking about it. Or passing the seafood shop.)

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Ewww. Seafood.

If you lot keep talking about seafood, I'm leaving the thread!


(Well, not seriously. I'm allergic to it, it makes me sick, so I get nauseous thinking about it. Or passing the seafood shop.)

:cry: I hope I'm never allergic to seafood! Also, sorries for the queazies. :p
Question: do you guys have quinoa over in Aus? It's from South America... if so, have you tried it? I've had it hot, and made salads out of it... It might seem like I'm trying to change the subject-- and maybe I am-- but I want to know about that too; after all, I like to absorb random knowledge like grain variety availability world-wide.
:D

[Whiskey]

ive heard of it, never had it before though.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Quinoa is unique. It tastes different, and it's cooked like rice or lentils. Wherever you get it, there should be instructions lurking about-- you gotta boil it, basically. No more of a hassle than noodles or lentils, for sure. I'd recommend getting only a little bit, like a cup at most, to try it. There's instructions and recipies on the internet, but, like lentils and most grains, you can eat it plain and doesn't taste bad-- even yummy-- on its' own. I can find it in the bulk section at that warehouse store I go to, as well as at the Cooperative, and in boxes (at least) at Fred Myers' and such. It's also gluten-free, so an ex-roomie eats it on occasions 'cuz she has Celiac's. Also, some of the more ... 'local-mystique' resturants and cafes around town have it as an exotic side, like cous-cous-- which is also delicious but is actually some sort of pasta thingie.
EDIT: I'm just happy that my state doesn't really do pretentious as a thing. After all, we don't even have a five-star hotel! :roll: (highest is four-star)

[AdminAssistant]

I love couscous. The dietitian I saw last spring actually said it was fine as long as I wasn't eating buckets of it. But it is made from the same stuff as pasta.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

yeah, one of the distilleries around my area serves this couscous side dish with pine nuts and apricot bits and golden raisins... O_O I need to hack that stuff.

[AdminAssistant]

yeah, one of the distilleries around my area serves this couscous side dish with pine nuts and apricot bits and golden raisins... O_O I need to hack that stuff.

That sounds pretty amazing.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

It is of the amazing, yes it is. :yes: Slightly tart, slightly sweet, the pine nuts doin' their thing like only they can (you know what I mean if you've ever had pine nuts), and it's my preferred side dish, when I can afford to go there and don't spend my booze money on sushi or books first.

[Whiskey]

I love couscous. The dietitian I saw last spring actually said it was fine as long as I wasn't eating buckets of it. But it is made from the same stuff as pasta.

Pretty much any food is fine so long as you dont eat buckets of it :roll: i cup cooked couscous looks to have about 36g of carbs. a bit high, but it isnt crazy high or anything

[AdminAssistant]

don't spend my booze money on sushi or books first.

I'm with ya there.

Actually, that reminds me that I've been wanting to get lunch at my favorite Japanese/sushi joint for a while - they do a lunch bento box that's pretty affordable.

[Seshat]

:cry: I hope I'm never allergic to seafood! Also, sorries for the queazies. :p
Question: do you guys have quinoa over in Aus? It's from South America... if so, have you tried it? I've had it hot, and made salads out of it... It might seem like I'm trying to change the subject-- and maybe I am-- but I want to know about that too; after all, I like to absorb random knowledge like grain variety availability world-wide.
:D

In specialty shops, and no I haven't.

[Mishi]

Quinoa is also available in the health food aisle of grocery stores up here, but I've never tried it. I have 2 fussy eaters that I'm trying to convince to eat more normal foods before I try out 'exotic' ones on them. I'm thinking about growing some Amaranth though, it apparently grows well here, its leaves can be used like silverbeet/spinach and even if my family won't eat the grain from it I'm sure I'll find something to do with it foodwise.

[malmalthekiller]

Quinoa is delicious. My mom had gastric bypass last year, so for a while when she could only eat EXTREMELY tiny (still pretty small, but better obviously) she was eating as much protein rich foods as possible. She would make some quinoa and make a little veggie salad and put some light dressing on it. I usuallly just cook some veggies and mix them together with it.

One bag is like $5 but it lasts a while. You have to drain and rinse it off first, but it's really good and more filling than a white rice or couscous (which I love both, of course).

[AdminAssistant]

Pretty much any food is fine so long as you dont eat buckets of it :roll: i cup cooked couscous looks to have about 36g of carbs. a bit high, but it isnt crazy high or anything

I'm a carb fiend. Don't judge me.

[Magpie]

I'm a freak. I'm not actually that fond of quinoa. Although my mom makes a salad with it and sunflower seeds, carrots and mushrooms that's pretty good. Probably almost a complete meal in and of itself, given how high protein quinoa is.

The thing with fish, especially for "women of childbearing age" is that you need to eat fish because it's got good omega-3 content. But you don't want to eat anything with high mercury/other pollutants. Salmon is good. Tuna isn't great.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/pubs/mercur/merc_fish_poisson-eng.php

(What we use to figure out what I can eat when we go for sushi. Jackdaw follows the "limit this" advice, I just avoid tuna entirely. Which is painful with sashimi, but yeah).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I take fish-oil pills, that are all measured and balanced and purified and organo-whatsit-et cetera... and for some reason has "natural lime flavor"-- probably 'cuz at least half the people who take fish-oil pills hate fish and fish burps. So instead I get lime sherbet burps. Freaked me out until I looked at the label! :roll:
Fatty acids of most (all?) sorts are good for body functioning, like heart health, nerve/brain health, even skin health! But, apparently, most people get omega-6's, which is "autumn" type stuff, and not "spring" omega-3's... I need to hunt up that research so I can post it here. I declare Friday night Research Night.

[AdminAssistant]

Fun fact: Fish oil also helps lower triglycerides, which is why I take it. I don't really get "fish burps" though. :shrug:

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Some pills do that, some don't... and it might or might not have something to do with what you eat it with and such. I am most definitely not a burp-ologist! :lol:

[TelephoneAngel]

And now,having been toldofficially by my doctor that I have to start following a low fat diet,I am looking at lowfat recipes on the internet, I think quite a lot of homeblended soups will be in order, also fruit and various salads, also i need to look again at how to flavour food with herbs and spices to aviod using creamy sauces, and what to snack on to avoid chocolate, and..............oh dear.:( I really have to succeed with it this time. If I dont have lower chloresterol and lost quite a bit of weight in three months time, I will be looking at a not very nice regime of tablet taking which I dont want to get into.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I hear oatmeal sucks up cholesterol like a sponge. You can do amazing stuff with oats for breakfast, and it's as easy as making spaghetti, I promise. :)

[TelephoneAngel]

I hear oatmeal sucks up cholesterol like a sponge. You can do amazing stuff with oats for breakfast, and it's as easy as making spaghetti, I promise. :)

ok I like oatmeal and I haven't thought to cook any for ages, you can also cook with it in various dishes as I recall. :)

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Yay! It's good that you like something that's already good for you. Less for you to nag and fuss and fight with yourself about!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002 Mayo Clinc-- very amazing place in the US that's good for all sorts of things ( http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aboutthissite/aboutmayoclinic ) and is A Name like Johns Hopkins.
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/features/the-new-cholesterol-diet-oatmeal-oat-bran WebMD is kinda like the Wikipedia of medical info, in my understanding.
Also, I need to scrounge up that study (studies?) that show that spicy stuff suppresses appetite. Thai food is amazing for complexity of seasoning and low-fat, iirc.

[TelephoneAngel]

Lol

A lot of the seeds which are good for humans are part of the mix I give my pet birds. (millet, sunflower seeds, oats, barley etc) Boyfriend was joking that it would be easy to feed me in future, I should just sit on the bird table and eat with the feathered ones! :)

[teh_blumchenkinder]

:roll:
It'd be far more tasty if you cooked it first!
( I have a cute mental image of you pecking at the bird-food and ruffling your feathers... :3 )

[Solumina]

Don't avoid foods that you love, just find a way to have them that you wont regret. Like if you love chocolate go for dark chocolate (the darker the better) instead of milk chocolate. If you love fried chicken go for oven fried instead of pan frying or deep frying (although it should still be limited since the skin, which is what gets so wonderfully crispy, is not exactly healthy).

Also don't just switch to fake sugars, you won't be doing your body any favors, those things can really mess with you and can make you crave real sugars, leading to you actually having high sugar intake, it will just mostly be hidden in things you don't think of as being sugary.

[TelephoneAngel]

So, today's lunch which I am thoroughly enjoying -

half a cooked chicken breast with a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, chicory(I think this is endive in American?) lettuce, beetroot with a little thousand island dressing and a very small cube of cheddar cheese. :) That should be nice and healthy?

[Whiskey]

howd you cook the chicken and in what

[TelephoneAngel]

It was a shop bought ready cooked out of the hot oven but not greasy.

I also bought ingrediants to make a fish pie, my speciality which I have given the recipe for previously, and for a beef stew with vegetables.Boyfriend made me buy some sardines with thier heads on, I have not the first clue what to do with them :confused:

[teh_blumchenkinder]

This is where the internet is your friend.
I've found plenty of recipes for whole sardines-- but none for canned. I haven't tried any of them, thus. ... I have issues finding a fish market this far inland.

[TelephoneAngel]

So, today's lunch which I am thoroughly enjoying -

half a cooked chicken breast with a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, chicory(I think this is endive in American?) lettuce, beetroot with a little thousand island dressing and a very small cube of cheddar cheese. :) That should be nice and healthy?


And todays (late) lunch, same ingrediants as yesterday but this time with a little red wine vinaigrette dressing. :) Luckily I love salad and fruit and eg so it's not difficult to eat them. I just came back from the hospital where I had more tests, blood pressure was as high as it can be read.:( Doctor thinks the problem may be an angina attack now.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

And todays (late) lunch, same ingrediants as yesterday but this time with a little red wine vinaigrette dressing. :) Luckily I love salad and fruit and eg so it's not difficult to eat them. I just came back from the hospital where I had more tests, blood pressure was as high as it can be read.:( Doctor thinks the problem may be an angina attack now.

:eek:
That kind of speedo-pushing isn't good!

... on a more delicious note-- glad to hear you're not having to make a difficult switch with your diet. Less consternation for everyone involved.

[TelephoneAngel]

eurchhhh gutting the sardine and taking its head off was nasty and it was too strong tasting, boyfriend didn't like it either, i served it grilled in oil and lemon juice with a tomoto and mushroom sauce.:(

[TelephoneAngel]

ok so I have basically been eating the same things for the past week or so

Lettuce endive tomato cucumber a little cheese with a little salad dressing.I have tried to avoid bread.One night I had rice with chicken in a tikka sauce.

Tonight I am making burger!

On a plain burger bun toasted with sliced onions and best angus beef for the beef patty.And some tomato and pickle slices. :)

[Seshat]

Unless your dietitian says otherwise, you do need more protein, and more grains and pulses than what you've just told us. A greater variety in vegetation wouldn't hurt, to ensure you get micronutrients.

Bread is far from the only way to get grains, however. If you like porridge, you can have that. You can have softened or cooked grains or pulses in your salad, or sprouted ones (eg mung bean or alfalfa sprouts). Grains and pulses have been a major part of the human diet since before agriculture, so there's tons of ways to eat them.

As for proteins: more grains and pulses will give you that. So would dairy, though you are getting that, and eggs or meats.

But the salad sounds great as part of your diet. :) Even as a major part.

[Magpie]

In addition to echoing what Seshat said, I would like to add that variety is your friend in general. You want to make sure that you don't eat the same thing all the time, because if you get tired of it you're going to resent it. And if you resent your diet, you may end up eating unhealthy stuff instead (rather than more healthy options).

So even if you find a mix that gives you all your nutrients, switch it up, change how you cook it, eat some one day and some the next. (Don't do this with protein. Your body does not store it at all).

[TelephoneAngel]

I guess you are right and I need a change before i get bored.I forgot to say I was also eating fresh oranges.

Tonight I am going to make a meal in the crock pot of different sorts of beans/pulses (whatever I have in cans - probably canelloni beans and perhaps some green lentils) with a couple of lamb chops.So that will be some pulses as well.

[AdminAssistant]

Um, what are "pulses"? Is this a UK-ism?

[TelephoneAngel]

Um, what are "pulses"? Is this a UK-ism?

Hello

I don't know if it is only a uk-ism but it encompasses things like lentils, grains of barley, I think probably couscous and any other small grains that can be eaten.

[Seshat]

Sorry, in my understanding its legumes: beans, peas, lentils and so on.

(wiki searches)

Apparently wikipedia agrees with me.

[TelephoneAngel]

Sorry, in my understanding its legumes: beans, peas, lentils and so on.

(wiki searches)

Apparently wikipedia agrees with me.

Probably right then as an "official" definition. Although I think various definitions are out there.

[TelephoneAngel]

i just took a mouthful of the lamb mix outof the crockpot.Delicious.That's tomorrow's dinner sorted out :)

I meant to say as well i had been drinking al ot of fruit juice in cartons from the supermarket thinking it was healthy but i have been watching an interesting programme on tv about how healthy various things in your diet actually are and those fruit juices have more sugar in them than cans of soda! :eek:

[Whiskey]

you didnt know fruit had a crap ton of sugar in it? Theres a difference between the sugars, but yeah, fruit is sweet because it has natural sugars in it. A lot of them.


I hope you realize how fatty lamb is.

[Seshat]

Two pieces of fruit a day* is fine, but ideally whole fruit rather than juiced. Or if juiced, include the pulp - put the fruit in a blender, rather than a juicer, and drink/eat the whole thing.

A smoothie made in a blender with ice and/or milk is fine too, just don't add sugar and count the milk in your dairy for the day.


* for berries, grapes, melons and other odd-sized fruits, 'a piece' is a serve about the size of an apple.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I love blending up fruit and a little bit of milk or juice to make smoothies.
(I never add sugar to them, ruins the taste.)
Thought I'd check in, tell y'all how I'm doing with fixing my diet.
I'm eating a lot more veggies and fruit. I'm also taking various vitamins under the recommendation of my doctor-- like vitamin D3.
I'm also inserting whole grains into my diet-- like whole wheat tortillas rather than regular ones, bread with flax seed in it, Triscuits (shredded wheat-type cracker) rather than saltines.
Cut way the hell back on added sugar, and tea (my source of caffeine, which I don't really need to function). Yeah, tea's good for people, but it constitutes a lot of my sugar intake!
I'm more careful with my protein intake-- quality and deliciousness instead of at random.
I'm also actually looking at my fat intake as a thing now too!
So far, so good-- feeling pretty good.
I made leek-potato soup, blended it all up so it was like Vichyssoise, but without the cream-- I put in the sour cream later, and my mom adds sausage, so I do too. It's good and so so simple.
What kind of mint would you recommend with strawberries and/or cherries? What are good mint/fruit combos, because I want to start putting non-fruit flavors in my smoothies, because yes fruit is yummy, but spices are good too!
(also, 'pulse' is a proper term for those sorts of things, just not used often. ;) )

[Andara Bledin]

For those who need more D, you should consider checking to see how much sunlight you get over the course of a typical week.

Current research suggests that 10-20 minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week outside of peak hours should provide enough vitamin D in addition to regular food sources. Of course, since you can't charge people for going into the sun, it doesn't get as much research as it should.

Vitamin D is vital to our health, and the increased risk of developing cancer from too little is something that doesn't get as much attention as it should.

^-.-^

[Magpie]

Current research suggests that 10-20 minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week outside of peak hours should provide enough vitamin D in addition to regular food sources. Of course, since you can't charge people for going into the sun, it doesn't get as much research as it should.

This does not apply past about 45 degrees latitude. Canadians cannot get enough vitamin D just from sunlight year round. In the summer you can (although probably not if you live really far North), but even in Toronto which is pretty far South, you need supplements in the winter time. (Yes, I'm aware that this is probably connected to how much you bundle up, even though they never say this). Your face does not synthesize vitamin D.

What I'm saying:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/03/23/vitamin-d-levels-canada.html

What Andara is saying:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/05/16/f-health-vitamin-d.html

[TelephoneAngel]

Chicken is protein?

Tonight I bought some nice chicken breasts chopped some onion garlic and olives with mushrooms and tomatoes and putthem in an oven dish covered with chicken stock mixed with mild curry powder.

When It is cooked I cannot decide if to have rice or a can of lentils with it.Maybe the lentils would be strange?

I have also cooked some salmon with herbs and lemon and i am thinking of taking it to work tomorrow for lunch with a bit of salad.

[blas]

Chicken is excellent protein. As is tuna fish.

I eat chicken and tuna almost every day. I have a very high protein diet. Also fiber. Never enough fiber!

I can't afford the smoothies I was having a while back, but they filled me up to not needing to snack. But beware. Lots of protein = lots of poo poo.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Chicken is excellent protein. As is tuna fish.

I eat chicken and tuna almost every day. I have a very high protein diet. Also fiber. Never enough fiber!

I can't afford the smoothies I was having a while back, but they filled me up to not needing to snack. But beware. Lots of protein = lots of poo poo.

:roll: fiber+protein= constipation, if you get too much! ;)

[Solumina]

Just watch the long lived ocean fish as you don't want mercury poisoning, for example yellowtail tuna that you tend to find in steak form is much lower in mercury levels than the albacore found in a can.

[Whiskey]

Chicken is protein?

If you're not joking I really, really want you to go to your local library and pick up a book on nutrition.

[Seshat]

Animals: protein, animal-based fat, iron, assorted micronutrients.
(Animals: all birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, insects, etc)

Dairy: Mammal milk & milk-derived products. Proteins, animal fats, calcium & micronutrients.

Eggs: Proteins, animal fats, micronutrients, and eggshell is almost pure calcium.


Now, protein is actually 'a set of closely related molecules'. We need the full 'human' protein kit for health. All animals, dairy and eggs can give us the full 'human' protein kit.

Grains give us an almost, but not completely full kit.

Pulses (beans, peas, lentils, etc) give us an almost, but not completely full kit.

However, the ones grains are missing are not the ones pulses are missing.

Therefore, vegetarians and vegans who wish to be healthy MUST eat both grains and pulses every day.


Grains, pulses, and almost all fruit & veg give fibre, though some (like watermelon) have less than others. (Oats are a great fibre food.)


Energy foods are fats, oils and sugars. Anything creamy, oily, fatty or sweet contains energy. The body can also convert excess protein to energy.
(The 'rich' taste in cakes and muffins also comes from fats, usually butter.)

Energy that your body doesn't use during the course of the day can (and usually will) be converted to body fat. IE: stored for use during lean times.


Vitamins and minerals are found in all foods other than pure refined sugar. Each food contains a different set of vitamins and minerals.
The two ways to be sure you get all of them are (1) to become a nutrition expert and look up tables and calculate and be all boring about it; or (2) to eat from each category of foodstuffs, eat a wide variety of foods, make sure you eat varied colours of fruit/vegetables, make sure you eat from all parts of the plant, and (ideally) eat different types of animal and different parts of animals.

If you choose to avoid a particular group of foods (eg, not eating any animal flesh, or not eating any seafood), I advise speaking to a nutritionist. They can give you tips like the 'eat grains + pulses to make a full protein set' one.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

dang, Seshat.
That was particularly thorough as an overview!
I found this on soda-- I'm just glad I have like, maybe one a week. Often, two a month.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39543011/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

[Whiskey]

soda

once in a while I'll go on a coke zero binge and end up eating like shit for two days. Then again, my "eating like shit" is 2 bars of chocolate because i realize whats going on and start hitting my system with a crapton of protein and vitamin-laden food instead of sugar.

[lupo pazzesco]

I don't really do the soda thing, really, as most zero cal sodas are sweetened with aspertame which gives me violent headaches. So, I stick with water and iced tea, mostly. I'm going back onto my diet tomorrow, cutting out most sugar and sticking to lots of lean protein, healthy carbs, and lots of fruits and veggies. Gonna suck for the first two weeks, after I've been all lazy and stuff, but I'll get back into it. I swear!

[TelephoneAngel]

Thats a really useful guide to what protein etc is Sheshat thanks.:)

[Seshat]

dang, Seshat.
That was particularly thorough as an overview!
I found this on soda-- I'm just glad I have like, maybe one a week. Often, two a month.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39543011/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

You're welcome, TelephoneAngel. And thank you, teh blumchenkinder. :)


Everyone: what Whiskey and I have been saying in this thread, while extensive, IS just an overview. I think it's horrifying that so much of it is new to so many adults (not an indictment on anyone here, more a 'what is our education system doing?' sort of thing).

Go to your local libraries and get books on nutrition. NOT on 'dieting', but on nutrition theory. Find out what proteins really are and what they do in your body (build muscle and other body parts), why you need iron (oxygen carrying) and calcium (bone construction).

Find out what vitamins ('vital amines') really are, and why you need them, and why you need to eat them. (Humans can't make vitamin C, but use it as a part of all connective tissues. Scurvy, the deficiency disease for vitamin C, starts showing when old scars reopen due to insufficient stuff to keep them closed.)

As a starter level, there are children's and teens' books on the topic. Honestly, I'd recommend the teens' books rather than the adults' books in this case. The adults' books are likely to assume you've read up on the basics, the teens' books won't.


.... and yes, I'm being thorough in my overviews again. But I think this sort of 'trivia' is an essential part of understanding WHY we should 'eat right'. And maybe it's just me, but when I understand why I 'should' do something, I'm a lot more likely to do it.

[Andara Bledin]

Go to your local libraries and get books on nutrition. NOT on 'dieting', but on nutrition theory. Find out what proteins really are and what they do in your body (build muscle and other body parts), why you need iron (oxygen carrying) and calcium (bone construction).

Find out what vitamins ('vital amines') really are, and why you need them, and why you need to eat them.
And while you're at it, find out which vitamins require other vitamins to work, and which ones will block them.

While iron is essential, it requires sufficient copper to be absorbed during digestion and again to be released into the system for use. Calcium is one of the fundamentals for bones, but you need an equal ratio of magnesium as well as several other minerals.

^-.-^

[Bella_Vixen]

Calcium is one of the fundamentals for bones, but you need an equal ratio of magnesium as well as several other minerals.

^-.-^

But...you shouldn't take calcium and magnesium at the same time.

[Andara Bledin]

But...you shouldn't take calcium and magnesium at the same time.
Right. They compete for the same something-or-other (can't remember the term) to be absorbed. So does phosphorus, which is why dark-type sodas cause issues.

^-.-^