Eating Healthy - how? (1 Viewer)

[Rick James]

I keep trying the cook a lot of food on Sunday to take to work for the whole week plan and I keep deciding by Wednesday that I simply can't handle eating the same thing again. 2/3 of what I cook sits in the fridge for a week then I throw it out.

I'm mostly the same as you, but for whatever reason I can eat the same soup or chili all week long. I made an awesome vegetable beef soup on Sunday and have eaten 5 servings of it this week. And last night my wife made a cream of broccoli soup that I will devour over the next few days.

 

[Deepster]

I make salads in a mason jar on Sunday. Google it and you can see examples. Wetter stuff on the bottom, lettuce on the top. Beans, olives, etc in the middle. They stay perfectly fresh all week long. No brainer.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

For weight loss, I stick to a 1,500 calorie per day budget and skip breakfast. That way I can eat 2 relatively nice meals @ 750 each. If you're not eating pasta or beans, 750 calories per meal is a lot of food.

this is the opposite of what most people suggest. But if it works for you, cool.

1,500 calories? That's less than I eat in an average morning

1,500 calories to lose weight. Maintain weight would be around 2,200 give or take depending on the person

The give/take margin is WIDE though. Age and fat/muscle composition are huge variables.

 

[Willie Neslon]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Having my 3rd cup of blue cheese for the day before making the switch to Parmesan and then finishing off with some goat.

 

[proninja]

I do my best to eat healthy on a fairly limited budget, and I make some sacrifices over what I'd consider optimal, but I think I do alright. We've got a 2 month old at home, and my wife was mostly incapacitated due to constant vomiting for the entire pregnancy, so I've been doing just about all of the cooking for the better part of a year. I've settled into a bit of a routine.

Breakfast - Eggs are cheap protein. Potatoes are also cheap - they're starchy, but they grow in the ground and I don't feel *that* bad about eating them. Some kind of fritata with some kind of meat for flavor - bacon, sausage, lefovers, etc for me. My wife really likes a particular asparagus/ham quiche, so I'll make a couple of those on the weekends and that's an easy heat up breakfast for both of us.

Lunch - Salad. I make a couple salads most nights from veggies I get at Costco. I dress it up with some feta, green olives, and walnuts, and top it with some chicken. Rotisserie chicken at Costco is $5 for a 3 pound cooked chicken, and I can make broth with the carcass for soup or cooking rice/quinoa in to give it some added nutrient value. Or I'll just grab some boneless/skinless thighs from the freezer, they're a couple bucks a pound.

Dinner - Some kind of meat and vegetable. Our most expensive food items are the 1/4 cow and 60 pounds of wild alaskan salmon we buy in bulk every year. I've got a smoker, so I like to make pulled pork too. $1.69 a pound, and it's delicious after all day on the smoker. I pull one shoulder to eat for dinners, and I slice another to put on sandwiches for lunch if I'm too lazy to make a salad the night before. I usually eat whatever veggie happens to be in season. Right now that's a lot of asparagus and brussells sprouts.

$2/meal is my goal, $2.75/meal is my budget. It's not what I'd consider the best diet in terms of health, but I've got price and convenience to factor in too.

This is solid. Well done. Why do you think it's not necessarily healthy?

In my perfect diet I don't eat bread or rice. But they're cheap, easy, and delicious, and if I bring a sandwich from home that's probably healthier than anything I'd buy to eat, so I figure it's pragmatic to not aim for perfection. I've usually got about a month in me if I try to be perfect, and then I start eating out at lunch.

 

[MC Gas Money]

Anyone else like raw kombucha?

 

[Pots]

Go for a mostly raw fruit and veg diet

Get protein from cheese and yogurt

This sounds terrible.

 

[proninja]

Anyone else like raw kombucha?

As opposed to pasteurized kombucha?

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I guess you like lots of beans in your chili then?

 

[James Daulton]

I keep trying the cook a lot of food on Sunday to take to work for the whole week plan and I keep deciding by Wednesday that I simply can't handle eating the same thing again. 2/3 of what I cook sits in the fridge for a week then I throw it out.

I found the same exact thing happening when I tried all my cooking on Sunday. What I've settled into is cooking two substantial meals on Sunday that I can portion out into the fridge. During the week (say Wednesday, I'll cook a fairly easy meal to break up the monotony, then on Thursday I'll throw something in the slow cooker to supplement my other meals. I'll also eat a fairly health fast food lunch (like chik fil a) around 2 times per week.

What we need to remember is that we don't always have to eat the most healthy, low calorie food. We can eat higher calorie food if we eat it in moderation too. I have personally found that eating 2 big meals a day is the easiest way for me to both have a satisfying meal and keep my calories under control.

And give yourself a day off from time to time. Good for the soul.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I do my best to eat healthy on a fairly limited budget, and I make some sacrifices over what I'd consider optimal, but I think I do alright. We've got a 2 month old at home, and my wife was mostly incapacitated due to constant vomiting for the entire pregnancy, so I've been doing just about all of the cooking for the better part of a year. I've settled into a bit of a routine.

Breakfast - Eggs are cheap protein. Potatoes are also cheap - they're starchy, but they grow in the ground and I don't feel *that* bad about eating them. Some kind of fritata with some kind of meat for flavor - bacon, sausage, lefovers, etc for me. My wife really likes a particular asparagus/ham quiche, so I'll make a couple of those on the weekends and that's an easy heat up breakfast for both of us.

Lunch - Salad. I make a couple salads most nights from veggies I get at Costco. I dress it up with some feta, green olives, and walnuts, and top it with some chicken. Rotisserie chicken at Costco is $5 for a 3 pound cooked chicken, and I can make broth with the carcass for soup or cooking rice/quinoa in to give it some added nutrient value. Or I'll just grab some boneless/skinless thighs from the freezer, they're a couple bucks a pound.

Dinner - Some kind of meat and vegetable. Our most expensive food items are the 1/4 cow and 60 pounds of wild alaskan salmon we buy in bulk every year. I've got a smoker, so I like to make pulled pork too. $1.69 a pound, and it's delicious after all day on the smoker. I pull one shoulder to eat for dinners, and I slice another to put on sandwiches for lunch if I'm too lazy to make a salad the night before. I usually eat whatever veggie happens to be in season. Right now that's a lot of asparagus and brussells sprouts.

$2/meal is my goal, $2.75/meal is my budget. It's not what I'd consider the best diet in terms of health, but I've got price and convenience to factor in too.

This is solid. Well done. Why do you think it's not necessarily healthy?

In my perfect diet I don't eat bread or rice.

I wouldn't obsess over that too much. I mean keeping them down to a reasonable level is good, but you shouldn't feel guilty for having a side of rice or a slice or two of bread from time to time.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

And give yourself a day off from time to time. Good for the soul.

No doubt about that. I think it has also been shown that having the occasional "cheat" day leads to better outcomes.

 

[Willie Neslon]

I guess you like lots of beans in your chili then?

I eat more beans than all the chili eaters here combined.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I guess you like lots of beans in your chili then?

I eat more beans than all the chili eaters here combined.

Especially the ones who eat real chili.

Also:

 

[proninja]

And give yourself a day off from time to time. Good for the soul.

No doubt about that. I think it has also been shown that having the occasional "cheat" day leads to better outcomes.

Also it doesn't make you the ####### drinking water and asking if they have a vegetable side or if they can grill the wings and serve them without sauce when you go out with your friends.

 

[Pots]

I guess you like lots of beans in your chili then?

I eat more beans than all the chili eaters here combined.

Especially the ones who eat real chili.

Also:

No beans is the best chili.

 

[Swing 51]

And give yourself a day off from time to time. Good for the soul.

No doubt about that. I think it has also been shown that having the occasional "cheat" day leads to better outcomes.

I try to limit it to a "cheat" meal rather than a day. Usually involves one of my main food vices - ice cream / breakfast pastry.

 

[proninja]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

I disagree with just about all of this.

Focus on food that is an ingredient rather than food that has ingredients and you'll avoid all the bad stuff people freak out about. I mean, did it really take trans fats for people to realize that they shouldn't be living on doritos and margarine?

If it had a face or grew in the ground, don't stress about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat (obvious exceptions for certain illnesses.) Eat as little as it takes to keep you from being hungry. The theory isn't hard. It's the execution in a modern society where we're all busy and processed food tastes great/is easy/is cheap that is harder.

I do agree that eating a lot of veggies is good, so there's that.

 

[proninja]

I guess you like lots of beans in your chili then?

I eat more beans than all the chili eaters here combined.

Especially the ones who eat real chili.

Also:

No beans is the best chili.

I think this is what he's getting at.

 

[Willie Neslon]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

I disagree with just about all of this.

Focus on food that is an ingredient rather than food that has ingredients and you'll avoid all the bad stuff people freak out about. I mean, did it really take trans fats for people to realize that they shouldn't be living on doritos and margarine?

If it had a face or grew in the ground, don't stress about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat (obvious exceptions for certain illnesses.) Eat as little as it takes to keep you from being hungry. The theory isn't hard. It's the execution in a modern society where we're all busy and processed food tastes great/is easy/is cheap that is harder.

I do agree that eating a lot of veggies is good, so there's that.

We're saying the pretty much same thing

 

[proninja]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

I disagree with just about all of this.

Focus on food that is an ingredient rather than food that has ingredients and you'll avoid all the bad stuff people freak out about. I mean, did it really take trans fats for people to realize that they shouldn't be living on doritos and margarine?

If it had a face or grew in the ground, don't stress about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat (obvious exceptions for certain illnesses.) Eat as little as it takes to keep you from being hungry. The theory isn't hard. It's the execution in a modern society where we're all busy and processed food tastes great/is easy/is cheap that is harder.

I do agree that eating a lot of veggies is good, so there's that.

We're saying the pretty much same thing

We're not though. Under your qualifications, I could eat organic donuts, potato chips and metamucil in a jug of water for dinner and it'd be way healthy because I avoided HFCS and had lots of fiber. You may agree with what I say, but what you are saying is very different.

 

[Willie Neslon]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

I disagree with just about all of this.

Focus on food that is an ingredient rather than food that has ingredients and you'll avoid all the bad stuff people freak out about. I mean, did it really take trans fats for people to realize that they shouldn't be living on doritos and margarine?

If it had a face or grew in the ground, don't stress about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat (obvious exceptions for certain illnesses.) Eat as little as it takes to keep you from being hungry. The theory isn't hard. It's the execution in a modern society where we're all busy and processed food tastes great/is easy/is cheap that is harder.

I do agree that eating a lot of veggies is good, so there's that.

We're saying the pretty much same thing

We're not though. Under your qualifications, I could eat organic donuts, potato chips and metamucil in a jug of water for dinner and it'd be way healthy because I avoided HFCS and had lots of fiber. You may agree with what I say, but what you are saying is very different.

That's not what I was saying. I think you're nitpicking. Obviously avoiding donuts and chips, organic or not, goes without saying in terms of healthy eating. I was posting something brief to keep it simple. I guess I should have included my cost per portion down to the penny as well.

 

[Wingnut]

Those looking to lose fat/weight, here's a really interesting article that breaks down calorie intake, and even shows some extreme examples of losing fat/weight eating nothing but junk.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

 

[James Daulton]

Those looking to lose fat/weight, here's a really interesting article that breaks down calorie intake, and even shows some extreme examples of losing fat/weight eating nothing but junk.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

Thank you for helping spread the word.

 

[RUSF18]

Those looking to lose fat/weight, here's a really interesting article that breaks down calorie intake, and even shows some extreme examples of losing fat/weight eating nothing but junk.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

I mean...I guess? Obviously the main point is the most important (you actually lose weight when calories out > calories in) but it's all those other habits he/she dismisses as not the "cause" of fat loss that will actually get people to achieve that calorie deficit whether they realize it or not.

 

[proninja]

Those looking to lose fat/weight, here's a really interesting article that breaks down calorie intake, and even shows some extreme examples of losing fat/weight eating nothing but junk.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

You can lose weight and be unhealthy at the same time. So?

 

[FUBAR]

Having my 3rd cup of blue cheese for the day before making the switch to Parmesan and then finishing off with some goat.

sitting here eating a block of naturally aged new york extra sharp cheddar cheese

 

[proninja]

The cheese diet thing is kinda weird, guys. Sounds delicious though.

 

[weebs]

Damn you fatties have it rough.

 

[fantasycurse42]

The cheese diet thing is kinda weird, guys. Sounds delicious though.

12 cups of cheese a day = 7% body fat bruh.

 

[Osaurus]

For me it's limiting the carbs after 2pm and caloric intake limited to 1500 max. Trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and minding portions. Also giving into the occasional indulgence can also be a good thing.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Breakfast - Place next to my work sells a kale omelet (w/ caramelized onions & mushrooms). Comes with four fresh avocado slices and four slices of tomato. Great way to start the day. I usually have that with a toasted dry bagel.

Lunch - I'm turrible about eating healthy during the day. Lots of coffee & grab a quick sandwich. Really should get more fruits & veggies.

Dinner - Three times a week I cook from here. Pretty awesome program - locally sourced, fresh, pre-measured (but lots of chopping), takes about 25-40 minutes to prep. Very much enjoy this.

Typical recipes:

Monday 3/9

Last Night

Last Week

Love the recipe cards; they often have tips/tricks I didn't know about. The pre-measured thing is great for me personally because my six year old daughter helps with dinner prep. She washes the veggies but is too young to handle a knife or work at the cooktop, so she gets to add the ingredients or make sauces. She's my favorite sous chef.

So we've been doing this since last summer and I save all the recipe cards since they're on a nice heavy stock of paper. I think sometime this year I'll drop off the program because I could start using these for meal planning and save some money. Oh, who am I kidding. I love the convenience. They deliver it once a week and between this and Thursday night dining out the whole week is covered. Cost is about $60 for the week - not inexpensive, but works for my tight schedule.

Black dot

 

[[icon]]

SkinnyTaste Website

Tons of great healthy-eats recipes.

 

[MC Gas Money]

Go for a mostly raw fruit and veg diet

Get protein from cheese and yogurt

This sounds terrible.

In what way?

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

From a 2012 survey commissioned by the International Food Information Council ... more than half of all Americans believe it is easier to figure out their income taxes than to figure out what they should and shouldn't eat to be healthier.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Avoid anything with hydrogenated oils, eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water. Don't starve yourself. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. You may lose weight in the short term but you'll gain it back. The trick is to not to avoid eating but to change what you are eating. Vegetables should be the star of your meal, not the meat.

I disagree with just about all of this.

Focus on food that is an ingredient rather than food that has ingredients and you'll avoid all the bad stuff people freak out about. I mean, did it really take trans fats for people to realize that they shouldn't be living on doritos and margarine?

If it had a face or grew in the ground, don't stress about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat (obvious exceptions for certain illnesses.) Eat as little as it takes to keep you from being hungry. The theory isn't hard. It's the execution in a modern society where we're all busy and processed food tastes great/is easy/is cheap that is harder.

I do agree that eating a lot of veggies is good, so there's that.

We're saying the pretty much same thing

We're not though. Under your qualifications, I could eat organic donuts, potato chips and metamucil in a jug of water for dinner and it'd be way healthy because I avoided HFCS and had lots of fiber. You may agree with what I say, but what you are saying is very different.

Yeah, I think you guys were saying the same thing.

Sugar is an ingredient, but you don't want to make a meal out of it. Any simplified set of instructions can be misinterpreted, but the common-sense interpretations of what Mr. Neslon wrote and what you wrote seem similar IMO.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Go for a mostly raw fruit and veg diet

Get protein from cheese and yogurt

Why is this funny?

This is my main diet and I am in great shape and look ten years younger than I am

I like dairy and it can be part of a healthy diet, but it is laughable as a primary source of protein.

There have been a few cultures renowned for their good health that got most of their protein from dairy. (The Swiss in the Loetschental Valley, for example, or the Masai in Africa.) Of course, their dairy was not the conventional, factory-farmed dairy you'd find in an American grocery store.

 

[GAlmgren]

American cheese diet?

 

[MC Gas Money]

Go for a mostly raw fruit and veg diet

Get protein from cheese and yogurt

Why is this funny?This is my main diet and I am in great shape and look ten years younger than I am

I like dairy and it can be part of a healthy diet, but it is laughable as a primary source of protein.

There have been a few cultures renowned for their good health that got most of their protein from dairy. (The Swiss in the Loetschental Valley, for example, or the Masai in Africa.) Of course, their dairy was not the conventional, factory-farmed dairy you'd find in an American grocery store.

Dont forget the french dairy farmers daughters in inglorious basterds.

They looked mighty healthy to me.

Maybe the cheese diet works for me because im part french.

 

[NutterButter]

American cheese diet?

looks like cheddar

 

[chedwa]

Here is a collection of weight loss articles

http://focusfitness.net/how-to-lose-fat-naturally/

 

[Chemical X]

So the wifey and I both work 9-5's. I cook and she hates to cook. Anyway I can come up with a meal plan and cook it all on Sunday's and freeze / portion it out for the week, but am curious as to other ideas out there. Do you have a routine?

In before crockpot as I am no stranger to Ole Slo.

we hooked ourselves with www.fresh20.com

I bulk cook on Saturdays/Sundays as well. their recipes are healthy, well laid out and break the daily routine. the sign up wasn;t too bad for the year.

imo the hardest part is the ideas.

 

[James Daulton]

It must have been nice in the good 'ol days when no one worried about health. You never exercised, ate whatever the hell you wanted, smoked, and boozed like crazy.

When you hit your 60's, you died. But you ENJOYED yourself.

 

[NutterButter]

It must have been nice in the good 'ol days when no one worried about health. You never exercised, ate whatever the hell you wanted, smoked, and boozed like crazy.

When you hit your 60's, you died. But you ENJOYED yourself.

Still have that option

 

[cstu]

The Maasai are a pastoralist tribe living in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Their traditional diet consists almost entirely of milk, meat, and blood. Two thirds of their calories come from fat, and they consume 600 – 2000 mg of cholesterol a day. To put that number in perspective, the American Heart Association recommends consuming under 300 mg of cholesterol a day. In spite of a high fat, high cholesterol diet, the Maasai have low rates of diseases typically associated with such diets. They tend to have low blood pressure, their overall cholesterol levels are low, they have low incidences of cholesterol gallstones, as well as low rates of coronary artery diseases such as atherosclerosis.

Even more remarkable are the results of a 1971 study by Taylor and Ho. Two groups of Maasai were fed a controlled diet for 8 weeks. One group – the control group – was given food rich in calories. The other group had the same diet, but with an additional 2 grams of cholesterol per day. Both diets contained small amounts of a radioactive tracer (carbon 14). (You’d never get approval for a study like this today, and for good reason.) By monitoring blood and fecal samples, the scientists discovered that the two groups had basically identical levels of total cholesterol in their blood. In spite of consuming a large dose of cholesterol, these individuals had the same cholesterol levels as the control group.

Here is how the authors concluded their study:

This led us to believe, but without direct proof, that the Masai have some basically different genetic traits that result in their having superior biologic mechanisms for protection from hypercholesteremia

Or perhaps eating cholesterol (at least from milk) doesn't cause high cholesterol (when you exercise).