eating right

[hpdrifter]

So I've resigned myself to the fact that my eating habits are keeping me from achieving my fitness goals and contributing to problems with my skin and energy levels. I am going to have to start eating right and I need advice on where to start.

The first thing I plan to do is eat more fruit and vegetables to take the place of some of the snacky type things. Even the ones that are loaded with carbs and fructose are better for you than other things I snack on. I am thinking lots of carrots, snap peas, maybe some Jicama. What other vegetables are good for snacking? I plan to eat more fruit too, probably lots of bananas, berries, etc.

I will also add more raw nuts to my diet (refrain from dumb jokes please). Which ones are good? Almonds, walnuts?

What other things can I do? A lot of the cereal bars are loaded with sugar and carbs (Clif bars, nutrigrain, luna, etc). Is oatmeal good? Or someother grain I don't know about? What about beans?

Let me know what you think. Cosmo and Gday Joel probably have a lot to say about this.

I'm hoping Joel doesn't tear into me again. I seriously just want to tap your knowledge, no need to make fun.

[cosmo105]

-more veggies and fruits = great. celery, cucumbers, all of it's great. watch out as far as juice because that's tons of calories that people just gulp down without a second thought. just think, the less processed things are, the better!

-less refined and more whole grains - less white bread, more whole grain/sprouted grain breads and cereals.

-snacks like lowfat string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese are great

-nuts like almonds (raw or dry roasted/unsalted is best) are good crunchy snacks that are high protein

-drink more water. even if you think it's enough, drink more.

-when you shop, shop for the week. don't just shop for what looks good now. think about what meals you'll make and what leftovers you can use. i eat leftovers for lunch or dinner probably 4 or 5 days out of the week.

just take these small steps and you'll see improvement. soon it'll become second nature. :)

[Bob]

-less refined and more whole grains - less white bread, more whole grain/sprouted grain breads and cereals.

two questions:

1) what's the reasoning behind that? i'm not doubting it, i've just heard it before but nobody's ever explained why

2) does that apply to white/brown rice, too?

[jabumbo]

i too have been catching myself eating a little out of what i wish i was doing. part of it is the general lack of fresh foods in my house anymore. i havent been grocery shopping in at least a month and so the only fresh stuff i get is usually when i happen to get home early enough to stop at the little store on my way and pick up enough stuff to last a day or two at best.

its almost scary because i can see the physical changes and i want to avoid them and reverse them, but sometimes i just can't seem to do it. prime example is the fact that my lip has been bloodied up twice this week because of the fact that they are so dried out and just a little bit of contact did the damage.


ps: dry roasted almonds are like crack, they are that addicting

[Bob]

i bet crack is a little more addictive actually

[jabumbo]

you obviously never have had these almonds....



yeah, the grain thing refers to rice as well. i think the basic idea behind the whole grains is they have more nutrients than the refined ones.

you want the whole grains to keep up your fiber intake. you want to keep regular, right bob?

[Laserface]

watch out as far as juice because that's tons of calories that people just gulp down without a second thought. just think, the less processed things are, the better!


you're the first person to advocate not drinking juice. calories or not, isn't all that vitamin c and what not good for you?

[cosmo105]

i'm not saying juice is bad! juice is great! but it's something that people usually have too much of, and it's very calorie- and sugar-dense. a serving is only 4 oz., and that's equivalent to one serving of fruit.

and yeah, the grain thing is because refined grains have all the good stuff (fiber, vitamins, minerals) removed and no real nutritional value.

[jabumbo]

the biggest thing i caught with grains is that most of the times things say they are "wheat" they aren't whole grain. especially with bread, thats the one that i've noticed the most. my friends will buy the wheat thinking its the better stuff, and while its certainly better than while marshmallow junk, its still not really wheat.

that junky white bread goes great smothered in peanut butter sometimes though...mmm mmm

[DandyFop]

I just ate a Lean Cuisine while drinking a Coke Zero and then I ate three of those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls things.

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

[cookiepuss]

I have a friend who is a nutritionalist and might be willing to consult you via email. she will have some worksheets for you to fill out and stuff. she's very good though. let me know and I will ask her if she can hook you up. she's pretty busy, so it will depend on what kind of time she has.

oh and jicama...pretty sure that it's almost all water, very little nutirients. not sure that makes it the best snack. but it certainly is low calorie.

[HEIRESS]

refined grains also are more processed, so the less the grain has been broken down, the better it is as a fibre source/ripping through your lower intestine and making you shit real good like and all that other nutritional value stuff toooooooo

same when it comes to cereal

cereals which contain flakes of ground grain are not as good for you as the whole grain cereals such as good ole oatmeal (which you cook to make edible) or even those puffed rice and puffed wheat cereals (many other varieties available too PPRRRRR PUFFED KAMUT)

[hpdrifter]

This is awesome you guys, thanks! I am writing it down and making my grocery list right now.

cp, I definitely want to make sure my nutrition stays right so if your friend is willing to consult that would be (y)

[Bob]

refined grains also are more processed, so the less the grain has been broken down, the better it is as a fibre source/ripping through your lower intestine and making you shit real good like and all that other nutritional value stuff toooooooo

same when it comes to cereal

cereals which contain flakes of ground grain are not as good for you as the whole grain cereals such as good ole oatmeal (which you cook to make edible) or even those puffed rice and puffed wheat cereals (many other varieties available too PPRRRRR PUFFED KAMUT)

oh yeah, oatmeal is great. i eat it for breakfast whenever i have the time to cook it (i buy the 5 minute quaker oats that come in a tube...i hear the longer it takes to cook the better it is, but i'm not about to wait 40 minutes for a bowl of oatmeal). i'm trying to develop a tolerance for the taste of plain oatmeal, but i still throw raisins, cinnamon, and sugar in there. it justs tastes so much better.

[hpdrifter]

i too have been catching myself eating a little out of what i wish i was doing. part of it is the general lack of fresh foods in my house anymore. i havent been grocery shopping in at least a month and so the only fresh stuff i get is usually when i happen to get home early enough to stop at the little store on my way and pick up enough stuff to last a day or two at best.

its almost scary because i can see the physical changes and i want to avoid them and reverse them, but sometimes i just can't seem to do it. prime example is the fact that my lip has been bloodied up twice this week because of the fact that they are so dried out and just a little bit of contact did the damage.


ps: dry roasted almonds are like crack, they are that addicting

Yeah, I've noticed that my facial skin is breaking down a little and seems to be alternately dry and oily. Not good, I hope I can still reverse it.

[insertnamehere]

people thinking all wheat break = whole grain bread irritates the shit out of me

some people just seem so smug ordering their overpriced sandwiches when they say "and i want that on wheat" and theres not just one button i have to hit for wheat, its actually SEVERAL buttons, and it's not that they want the wheat because of a taste preference, some of them you can tell they think they're being super amazingly healthy for ordering wheat bread. or theres people that order stuff "on that whole grain bread" and i dont really feel like explaining to them that its not and that they've been eating unhealthy crap all this time.

and, ive seen the nutritional information. the sourdough has way less calories than the wheat. so it bugs me when people are like "i want that with no cheese and mayo on the side and wheat bread"

GOD NOTHING YOU EAT HERE IS GOING TO BE HEALTHY FOR YOU JUST HURRY UP AND ORDER

[HEIRESS]

oh yeah, oatmeal is great. i eat it for breakfast whenever i have the time to cook it (i buy the 5 minute quaker oats that come in a tube...i hear the longer it takes to cook the better it is, but i'm not about to wait 40 minutes for a bowl of oatmeal). i'm trying to develop a tolerance for the taste of plain oatmeal, but i still throw raisins, cinnamon, and sugar in there. it justs tastes so much better.

have you tried my trick of melting peanut butter into it
soooooooooo good.

[HEIRESS]

This is awesome you guys, thanks! I am writing it down and making my grocery list right now.

cp, I definitely want to make sure my nutrition stays right so if your friend is willing to consult that would be (y)


my boyfriend is getting his masters in nutritional science and becoming a certified dietician on the side right now.
so I can also pass on any questions you have to him, its all experience to him so its all good.

[hpdrifter]

Cool! One thing I wondered is how much protein I should eat a day. I find myself drinking a lot of milk, eating a lot of cheese, etc. Is this bad for you? I've heard it can be hard on your liver.

Also, are those cereal bars really okay to eat? Clif bars, etc. They look like they would be okay but if you read the nutrition facts they seem pretty high in sugar and bad carbs.

And I drink a lot of green tea. Does this count toward my water intake?

[hpdrifter]

Oh, and I really like eating raw red and yellow peppers. Is this cool?

[hpdrifter]

Unless you are part of a farmer's co-op, or getting them from a fresh farmers market, frozen veggies hold more nutrients.

Really?

[cosmo105]

i'm about 2 years away (including internship) from being an R.D. as well (y)

i don't trust the term "nutritionist," people that work at GNC are nutritionists

[Randetica]

Cool! One thing I wondered is how much protein I should eat a day. I find myself drinking a lot of milk, eating a lot of cheese, etc. Is this bad for you? I've heard it can be hard on your liver.



everyone should eat some protein with every meal

[Bob]

have you tried my trick of melting peanut butter into it
soooooooooo good.

i did try it with peanut butter (i didn't know it was your trick, though) but i wasn't really impressed. i like raisins more

[cosmo105]

Cool! One thing I wondered is how much protein I should eat a day. I find myself drinking a lot of milk, eating a lot of cheese, etc. Is this bad for you? I've heard it can be hard on your liver.

Also, are those cereal bars really okay to eat? Clif bars, etc. They look like they would be okay but if you read the nutrition facts they seem pretty high in sugar and bad carbs.

And I drink a lot of green tea. Does this count toward my water intake?

i'm not really a big fan of most bars because they're not "real" food. they're processed and packaged and the ingredients list is always a mile long.

and yeah, green tea counts toward your water intake for sure.

i could get into a whole dairy rant but i don't want to be branded the crazy vegan...but seriously, let me put it this way. you're not a baby cow. so why would you be set up to digest dairy? as a source of protein, though, it's pretty good. everything in moderation, baby. :)

as far as how much you need of what, check out this site:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

it's awesome and really, really useful. lots of great resources there. go to "mypyramid plan."

[hitmonlee]

i'm not saying juice is bad! juice is great! but it's something that people usually have too much of, and it's very calorie- and sugar-dense. a serving is only 4 oz., and that's equivalent to one serving of fruit.

and yeah, the grain thing is because refined grains have all the good stuff (fiber, vitamins, minerals) removed and no real nutritional value.

actually juice is bad. no nutritional value whatsoever, unless you juice it yourself. you may as well be drinking coke.

[HEIRESS]

i'm about 2 years away (including internship) from being an R.D. as well (y)

i don't trust the term "nutritionist," people that work at GNC are nutritionists


someday we should hit up a GNC together and be super jerks.

[cosmo105]

actually juice is bad. no nutritional value whatsoever, unless you juice it yourself. you may as well be drinking coke.

actually no it's not, there are plenty of vitamins and nutrients in it but of course juicing it fresh would be better. but how many of us have powerful juicers and time to get bushels of fresh produce all the time? seriously wtf are you talking about. coke = completely empty calories. juice does have a lot of sugar but there's usually a lot of vitamin c as well as a lot of other phytonutrients as long as it's 100%

[abcdefz]

coke = completely empty calories.



I read an article one time with some executive from Coke, asking him why people should drink something that's basically indefensible.

He said it was an excellent source of water. :D

[jabumbo]

everyone should have their own power juicer (http://www.powerjuicer.com/)!

[insertnamehere]

i bought a case of coke once and on the back it had this spiel about how coke counted as part of your daily water and that why not drink something that tastes good if you gotta drink something, basically...


i think i still have that box somwhere. i might find it and actually type out what it says. i thought it was pretty amazing, trying to pass coke off as a good idea

[cosmo105]

hahaha! yeah, water's tough to find these days. get it anywhere you can.

OMG HEIRESS I TOTALLY HAVE PUFFED KAMUT IN MY PANTRY

[cookiepuss]

Dariy products...

my nutritionalist friend...who is a vegan herself will pretty much tell you that unless you alergic to dairy it's not nessessarily harmful to you...that is of course unless it isn't organic. One of the primary dangers with diary products is the hormones that they give the animals which is passed on to the milk/cheese.

She says if you are going to do dairy...organic, organic, ORGANIC! also note that most cheeses from Europe are pretty safely hormone free. but to be on the safe side, just make it organic

[Randetica]

i mainly eat diary and im still kinda alive!

[HEIRESS]

hahaha! yeah, water's tough to find these days. get it anywhere you can.

OMG HEIRESS I TOTALLY HAVE PUFFED KAMUT IN MY PANTRY

my kamut always gets puffy when im around you :o

[cosmo105]

Dariy products...

my nutritionalist friend...who is a vegan herself will pretty much tell you that unless you alergic to dairy it's not nessessarily harmful to you...that is of course unless it isn't organic. One of the primary dangers with diary products is the hormones that they give the animals which is passed on to the milk/cheese.

She says if you are going to do dairy...organic, organic, ORGANIC! also note that most cheeses from Europe are pretty safely hormone free. but to be on the safe side, just make it organic

"nutritionalist" isn't a word. if your friend's calling herself a "nutritionist," i'd be interested in what training she's received and what credentials she holds.

and organic or no, dairy is full of hormones and other crap that we're not supposed to receive.

[Randetica]

ohh thats why vegans dont get older than 30!

[hitmonlee]

actually no it's not, there are plenty of vitamins and nutrients in it but of course juicing it fresh would be better. but how many of us have powerful juicers and time to get bushels of fresh produce all the time? seriously wtf are you talking about. coke = completely empty calories. juice does have a lot of sugar but there's usually a lot of vitamin c as well as a lot of other phytonutrients as long as it's 100%

my point is, you should be drinking water. not juice. unless you juice it yourself, in front of you, it does more bad than good. its really not much worse than drinking coke, so if you want a "healthy" option, you'd be better off drinking diet soda or best of all, water.

i'd never recommend drinking juice to anyone trying to eat healthier.

[TimDoolan]

I like Pom tea, it's like life in a glass.
Plus, this past year I smoked weed 24/7 (clean now for a couple months) and I drank that drink whenever I lit up, so I get a special pleasure whenever I endulge in a pom now because my mind associates it so much with grass.

[HEIRESS]

my point is, you should be drinking water. not juice. unless you juice it yourself, in front of you, it does more bad than good. its really not much worse than drinking coke, so if you want a "healthy" option, you'd be better off drinking diet soda or best of all, water.

i'd never recommend drinking juice to anyone trying to eat healthier.

sad but true, I will never be able to juice enough pomegranate seeds in order to have a glass of it.
but the benefits from drinking some pom juice, or even watering down some pom concentrate far far farfarfarfarfar outweight the benefits from slamming back a can of coke.

[hpdrifter]

Hey guys,

I think its going well. I went to the store and bought lots of healthy food and it hasn't actually been that hard to adjust, its been about a week now. I got fresh radishes, red peppers, carrots, grapes, grape tomatoes. I got some frozen veggies too, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I got myself some sprouted wheat bread, oatmeal, and some other things. I think this is going to work. I feel good about it.

I am not a big juice drinker anyway.

Btw, Heiress, I tried your peanut butter/oatmeal thing and it was really good!

[HEIRESS]

I just like having options to mix it up when it comes to oatmeal.

man, now I want some!

[cookiepuss]

"nutritionalist" isn't a word. if your friend's calling herself a "nutritionist," i'd be interested in what training she's received and what credentials she holds.

and organic or no, dairy is full of hormones and other crap that we're not supposed to receive.

No. thats what I call her because i don't know any better. I don't know the proper terminology so that is entirely my mistake and has NOTHING to do with her credentials. I don't have her resume handy but I assure you she has the credentials and several years of expereince but I really don't need to prove that to you at this point. She's not here to clarify and I'm not estute enough to accurately relay the info.

My friends approach to nutrition is to work with a person to create a lifestyle that works for them. She feels it's unrealistic to expect someone to stick to a diet that they don't like. She's going to educate you about dairy and tell you it isn't good, but if you love dairy she knows it's unlikely that you will successfully cut it out of your life completely. therefore she's going to tell you how to minimize the impact...hence suggesting organic as a lesser evil. I don't see anything wrong with that.

[hpdrifter]

I like cheese.

[cookiepuss]

I like cheese.

me too. there's no way I'll ever give it up completely.

[jabumbo]

I like cheese.

you don't just like cheese, you LOVE cheese



over the summer at my temp job, we would somehow end up talking about cheese in some way, shape, or form almost every day. it was pretty amazing

[ericlee]

triple cheeseboigers. All the food groups in one tasty sammich.

Actually I think I need to eat proper since I got an offer to front a fairly established band. I don't think that I want to look like Elvis in his later years.

[hpdrifter]

I used to love cheeseburgers. I confess I still have one every once in awhile.

Though I had the best gardenburger of my life yesterday.

Anyway, how much green tea is too much. I drink about three large mugs a morning. Sometimes one more in the afternoon.