snowcrash256
New member
I need basic tips that are easy to remember and which I can apply to my life with the least of ease. So if you could just give me whatever health tips you know that would be great.
Weight-Loss Need some basic nutrition tips?
- Thread starter snowcrash256
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Weight-Loss
Jeanette401
New member
Eat unprocessed food more often.
Eat your veggies - they really are good for you and we need more fiber.
Eat plenty of protein - it will help you feel full, and your muscles will like it.
There are lots more of course, but these are 3 easy ones.
Eat your veggies - they really are good for you and we need more fiber.
Eat plenty of protein - it will help you feel full, and your muscles will like it.
There are lots more of course, but these are 3 easy ones.
eater's manifesto by michael pollan gives 18 rules, i think, that are simple. a couple of them, if i remember correctly, are:
don't eat anything with more than 5 ingredients.
don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
but here's how he sums it all up, and i think it's brilliant. "eat food. not too much. mostly plants."
don't eat anything with more than 5 ingredients.
don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
but here's how he sums it all up, and i think it's brilliant. "eat food. not too much. mostly plants."
Jenniferag
New member
One thing I heard that has always stuck with me is:
If it's made in a plant, don't eat it.
If it comes FROM a plant then eat it!
But in all seriousness.... portion sizes are the biggest problem. Meat should only be the size of your palm and try to include protein every time you eat, whether it's a few slices of turkey or cheese, some raw almonds or tuna.
Try to eat 5-6 small meals a day or every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism going.
Try to cut out as much extra sugar as possible, like in your coffee or sodas.
The more color on your plate the better!
If it's made in a plant, don't eat it.
If it comes FROM a plant then eat it!
But in all seriousness.... portion sizes are the biggest problem. Meat should only be the size of your palm and try to include protein every time you eat, whether it's a few slices of turkey or cheese, some raw almonds or tuna.
Try to eat 5-6 small meals a day or every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism going.
Try to cut out as much extra sugar as possible, like in your coffee or sodas.
The more color on your plate the better!
Jericho
New member
Well, I don't quite agree with the 'no more than 5 ingredients' and 'things your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food'. Neither actually addresses learning what is good for you and what isn't because neither addresses portions or style of cooking. I can think of some great healthy stir-frys that have both more than 5 ingredients and that my grandmother wouldn't recognize as 'food'.
course we are also trying to give health tips to someone who is a spammer so..
I agree with this. It is both simple and basic. I would recommend eating mostly single ingredient foods. Fruits, veggies, nuts, lean meats etc.. Drink lots of Water.
- Do not skip breakfast. This is your first chance to get your metabolism rolling for the day (your body can go into starvation mode during sleep inbetween your last meal of the previous day and whenever you get a chance to eat after waking up). Breakfast will also give you an added boost of energy so you wont be so sluggish. Keep it small and simple, no need for the Denny's grandslam weighing you down in the morning.
- Stay away from processed and prepackaged foods like TV dinners as much as possible, at least until you become aware of nutrition labels and how to make good use of them. A lot of these foods even if they say low fat or "healthy" are not good for you due to high amounts of sodium.
- Do not keep junk food within reach of areas you sit down a lot, this means your desk at work or couch at home. Put the snacks somewhere that is more difficult to reach and requires some thought to access.
- Fruits and vegetables are your best friends. Try keeing sweet apples, bananas, grapes, and any other form of them handy for snack cravings or sides with meals.
- Some people are going to argue this one but avoid red meat. If you must eat meat stick with the lighter meats such as chicken, turkey, or fish. A lot of people have the misconception that you need meat because it is the only good source of protein; the fact of the matter is you can get all the protein you need from nuts, legumes (beans), peas, tofu if you dont have some misguided hatred for it, and numerous other natural foods. Vegetarians could not survive if you NEEDED meat. That said there are things in meat that are not readily available in a vegan diet such as B-12, calcium, vitamin D.
- Avoid pop, energy drinks, juices, diet sodas (loaded with useless sweeteners). Try filling up a cup with ice and some clean water and see how refreshing that is, personally I drink almost exclusively water now and keep the freezer well stocked with ice for it.
I think your grandma probably knows what stir-fry is, or if not, she'd at least be able to recognize the ingredients in it. As long as you're not putting snickers bars and wheat thins in your stir-fry, she'd know what it is (and oddly enough, how to make it even better
). But I think the 5 ingredients rule applies most to buying things from the store. Example: Peanut Butter with only peanuts and salt is good, but Jif has peanuts, sugar, salt, hydrogenated oils, molasses, mono and diglycerides.Jeanette401
New member
While I like the rules of eating, I think one of my problems with it stems from what I think of as my nit-picky side. If people are being specific, e.g. mostly = at least 51% then I want to get all the way down into the specifics.
My doctor gave out a 1 page meal plan. Among other things it included "2/3 fruits and vegetables". I actually scheduled an appt with my husband and their nutritionist to ask such questions as "Do you mean by weight, by calorie, or by volume" when saying 2/3. Likewise, while I understand the general common sense nature of "foods my grandmother would recognize" when I'm actually at a grocery store trying to pick out things I do have thoughts like "Does it really matter if my grandmother would recognize guar gum if I know what it is and am happy with its nutrient profile?"
A lot of these common sense type rules are really short cuts. It's not going to kill you to eat durian or guar gum or quinoa (which I'm sure none of my grand parents would have recognize) - but they work better for me as general guidelines and with me figuring out the specifics based on... well, more specific information. That's why 110g of protein, 25g of fiber, < 1800 calories while keeping the general guidelines in mind works well for me. It's specific in the areas I consider the most important, but I still try to eat lots of plants, lots of unprocessed and avoid dimethylinatedhydroxyflavored whatever.
My doctor gave out a 1 page meal plan. Among other things it included "2/3 fruits and vegetables". I actually scheduled an appt with my husband and their nutritionist to ask such questions as "Do you mean by weight, by calorie, or by volume" when saying 2/3. Likewise, while I understand the general common sense nature of "foods my grandmother would recognize" when I'm actually at a grocery store trying to pick out things I do have thoughts like "Does it really matter if my grandmother would recognize guar gum if I know what it is and am happy with its nutrient profile?"
A lot of these common sense type rules are really short cuts. It's not going to kill you to eat durian or guar gum or quinoa (which I'm sure none of my grand parents would have recognize) - but they work better for me as general guidelines and with me figuring out the specifics based on... well, more specific information. That's why 110g of protein, 25g of fiber, < 1800 calories while keeping the general guidelines in mind works well for me. It's specific in the areas I consider the most important, but I still try to eat lots of plants, lots of unprocessed and avoid dimethylinatedhydroxyflavored whatever.
tanager
New member
Hi guys,
I'm pretty new to this site but I think there's an awful lot of useful information on it.
I really agree with MattV1984:
A lot of people have the misconception that you need meat because it is the only good source of protein; the fact of the matter is you can get all the protein you need from nuts, legumes (beans), peas, tofu if you dont have some misguided hatred for it, and numerous other natural foods.
Quinoa for example a brilliant source of protein, I try to eat more quinoa than rice.
I'm pretty new to this site but I think there's an awful lot of useful information on it.
I really agree with MattV1984:
A lot of people have the misconception that you need meat because it is the only good source of protein; the fact of the matter is you can get all the protein you need from nuts, legumes (beans), peas, tofu if you dont have some misguided hatred for it, and numerous other natural foods.
Quinoa for example a brilliant source of protein, I try to eat more quinoa than rice.
I'm going to argue with this. Don't avoid red meat. It's got lots of zinc and iron and other vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Of course you can get everything from other sources, but you can also get it from red meat. I wouldn't advise eating a steak every night, but I definitely don't advise avoiding steak altogether.
In the 70's, red meat was put on the "eat less" list by the govt. because it's high in saturated fat, which was found to have a correlation (not cause) with CAD and heart attacks. Butter was also put on the list and it was recommended we eat more margarine... we all know how that turned out. The bottom line is that we know a lot more about our food today than we did in the 70's. Look for some recent studies on red meat and you'll find it's nothing that needs to be avoided.
I think the grandmother rule applies not necessarily to your personal grandmother, but anyone's grandmother. Someone in South America's gradmother would recognize quinoa as food, or someone in Asia, durian. It's just a way of avoiding all of the chemically modified food like modern "bread." Food sixty years ago was not the same as it is now.
Reading Michael Pollan's books, both In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma really opened my eyes to the differences between real food and "edible food-like substances." I recommend both books.
Reading Michael Pollan's books, both In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma really opened my eyes to the differences between real food and "edible food-like substances." I recommend both books.
I'm so excited to see that someone else has read Pollan! It's like I've got a comrade in arms now! If anyone in this forum hasn't read these books, I can't recommend them enough. And if you're not the reading type, start with the movie "Food, Inc." (but then read the books)
Jeanette401
New member
Well, this is kind of my point. If they're rules, I have something inside of me that says they should really be rules
If what I actually have to do is figure out the reason behind the rule... then why not just go by the reason behind the rule (where guar gum is perfectly fine even if none of our grandmother's would have known about it) rather than worry about the rule itself?If the reason for mostly plants is to get plenty of fiber and micronutrients, why not just make sure I get a good amount of fiber and micronutrients?
If the eating desserts when you make them yourself is to keep you from eating them that often... why not just avoid eating them very often...
See what I mean? Again, I actually really like the rules of eating (even though I only read the summary and don't own the whole book) it's just that it really brings out the nitpicky side of me, so I have to remind myself of what the entire point is to begin with - which is why I set up my own set of rules anyway
On the other hand, these are great rules for a lot of people who don't have my near OCD tendencies on nit-picking. But I guess this gets back to the whole individualized approach, where people should find what works best for them and stick with it rather than worrying about what Jillian told them was the single best plan evar
Todless, I've seen you mention Pollan in other posts. I've just gotten out of my lurker shell. Pollan really opened my eyes to how the food industry operates. And it's not about health. It's about the dollars. That's one of my main motivations now for getting healthy, to not be a willing pawn in their game anymore.
And I think, at least with Pollan, it's sort of a thinking person's game. Saying "only eat food your grandmother would recognize as food" is a snazzier way of getting the point across than just saying "don't eat weird chemicals that you don't know what they are."
Another thing I like about Pollan is that he presents the information to you, and lets you make decisions about it, he doesn't make judgements about it himself. No agenda, other than revealing the truth.
And I think, at least with Pollan, it's sort of a thinking person's game. Saying "only eat food your grandmother would recognize as food" is a snazzier way of getting the point across than just saying "don't eat weird chemicals that you don't know what they are."
Another thing I like about Pollan is that he presents the information to you, and lets you make decisions about it, he doesn't make judgements about it himself. No agenda, other than revealing the truth.