Food/Diet

Lizzie77

Im sure this has been asked before so I apologise now.

Just wondering what you would all call a good healthy diet???

I eat alot of crap alot of the time, not enough fruit and veg for starters. Dont get me wrong i dont live off pizza.....all the time but I could make a vast improvement.

I lovveeee cakes and biscuits, my biggest downfall.

What is recommended for a good healthy, not silly priced meal that will help give the right nutients and vits etc.

Need to change mine and hubbies diets so Im after some suggestions.

I love porridge and will have it most mornings. I feel that is ok but what can I have instead of sandwhiches for lunch and main meals.

Any healthy suggestions???

Shep pie, lasagne, spag bol, roasts, smoked haddock are some of the thigs we eat now, the usual traditional foods.

Need more of the meals that will help our fitness etc.....

Help!!!!!! I dont understand it all

The Northern Monkey

Reduce saturated fat and salit intake, increase water intake more fruit and veg (basically).


SW's are fine!
Just depends on the content. Stay away from cheese or other dairy products as they contain the most saturated fat in the diet.

The main meals that your eating are fine, definately part of a balanced diet. if you had said "i'm eating pizza, burgers, fish and chips and currys most nights" thenI'd say you need to change your diet!

Cut out sugary/fatty snacks and replace with fruit/low fat snacks.

No vitamin supplements should be needed (if you were thinking that) as they can all be found in a balanced diet.

Basically just be sensible with what you eat..... If you think its unhealthy, it probably is!

B

Edit: for more healthy meal ideas, the weight watchers (yeah i know :roll: ) cookbook is actually very good, or there are many healthy cookbooks out there

RockyHopperShow

It's a minefield Lizzie - just check out the Fat Club thread. It seems to me though that you can eat pretty much what you want as long as you get enough fruit and veg into your diet and not overdo it on sweets/cakes and fatty stuff. It would also seem that I have been making a big mistake (probably THE cardinal sin) in as much as I haven't been getting enough calories to sustain my gymwork and riding but I am aiming to put this right. It's quite okay to have a social life and occasionally overdo things a bit.

SilverSenator

bigbenj_08 wrote:

. . . Stay away from cheese or other dairy products as they contain the most saturated fat in the diet. . . .

You need to take on two to three portions of dairy every day. This is government and health professionals guidelines. Just ensure that you use lower fat alternatives where possible.

A portion of dairy:

1/3 pint of milk
Matchbox (not cooking matches!) size piece of cheese
Small pot of yogurt

Go to http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/ for more helpful info.

Ditch Witch

Especially women, due to Osteoporosis.


Please don't tell women not to eat dairy.

Nik_B

Breakfast like a king

Lunch like a prince

Supper like a pauper

I think our society has it all wrong and we tend to skimp on breakfast and lunch (I certainly do) and then have huge evening meals. I don't think it really matters if you eat large carb rich breakfasts like porage because you're going to use that energy through out the day. Best thing I've learned is to avoid the processed carbs like wbhite pasta, white bread, and sugary food especiallly at night time. They will put on lots of fat and also believe it or not make you feel hungry very soon after eatting them. Whole meal flour products are much better as are fibery veg.

mea00csf

2 things have helped me

firstly, put veggies in as much as you can. For instance, you mention spag bol, don't use bottled bolognaise sauce, it's full of sugars and e numbers, use passata and chop up loads of vegetables to go in the sauce with the mince.

Secondly, find healthy alternatives that you really do enjoy. I LOVE grapes, pineapple, cherry tomatoes and berries so i buy and eat as much of these as i want. My alternative to sweet treats on a daily basis is fresh berries, greek yoghurt with a sprinkling of nuts and seeds, really healthy but feels indulgent.

If you don't enjoy it you won't stick to it so spend time finding healthy stuff that you do enjoy

Lizzie77

WOW, thanks everyone

Stumpjumper25

Stay away from processed foods even low fat have hidden badness processed ingredients. Even though foods like pasta, rice ext are healthy try not to eat to much as if you don't burn off your carbs then they will sore as fat, try eating more protein as it makes you feel fuller an burns of bettter, an is a form of energy.
If i was you i'd do a food diary to make sure you are eating the right amount of calories as a women needs 2,000 just to live, if you eat more then weight will go on eat less than 1,500 cals an body thinks it's being starved an will store what you eat so weight gain aswell. Depending how much exercise you are doing depends on your calorie intake. So i'd hover around 1,700 cals a day an see how you get on.
I know how frustrating it can be as i'm a small eater an don't get the cals in so i have to do a food diary an eating healthy food is hard as they seem to be low in cals anyway, so you feel like your allways stuffing well i do.Well the above is what my nutritionist told me aswell as you need to learn to eat right, you can eat what you like if you don't over eat what ever. An if diets worked then everyone who went on one would be thin an wouldn't have to keep returning to them.Most people who diet are heavy.

SilverSenator

Stumpjumper25 wrote:

Stay away from processed foods . . .

Processed foods can also include frozen & canned veg, fish, fruit which are still good for you and, in some cases, better than fresh produce as all the 'goodness' has been captured during the processing stage.

This is what I found out whilst discussing my 'diet' with a trained nutrionist/dietitian.

Rather than making a sweeping statement that all processed foods are bad for you it's better to highlight exactly which ones are the worst 'culprits' i.e. things like pies, corned beef, ice cream, some 'ready' meals, etc.

The best idea is to actually look at the fat (and what type) and sugar content of processed foods to see whether they're an unhealthy choice or not.

Personally I tend to stay away from processed snack foods and ready meals as they tend to be full of sugar and/or saturated fat. But I'm happy to buy tinned, or frozen, fruit, veg and fish.

The Northern Monkey

SilverSenator wrote:

Stumpjumper25 wrote:

Stay away from processed foods . . .

Processed foods can also include frozen & canned veg, fish, fruit which are still good for you and, in some cases, better than fresh produce as all the 'goodness' has been captured during the processing stage.

This is what I found out whilst discussing my 'diet' with a trained nutrionist/dietitian.

Rather than making a sweeping statement that all processed foods are bad for you it's better to highlight exactly which ones are the worst 'culprits' i.e. things like pies, corned beef, ice cream, some 'ready' meals, etc.

The best idea is to actually look at the fat (and what type) and sugar content of processed foods to see whether they're an unhealthy choice or not.

Personally I tend to stay away from processed snack foods and ready meals as they tend to be full of sugar and/or saturated fat. But I'm happy to buy tinned, or frozen, fruit, veg and fish.

Rubbish.

SilverSenator

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Rubbish.

Please provide supporting evidence.

The Northern Monkey

lol. you!

The Northern Monkey

Split the difference.... we were both right.

FSA wrote:

Tinned vegetables such as green beans, carrots and peas are also convenient because they keep for a long time. Tinned veg contain lower levels of vitamin C than fresh or frozen veg, but they contain more beta-carotene, iron and calcium than freshly boiled veg.

However..... that only stands for fresh veg that has been boiled.

SilverSenator

Here's some sources in support:

True or False: Fresh Food Is Better Than Frozen or Canned Food
Is fresh food better than canned food?
Is Fresh Food Always Better

SilverSenator

What I was getting at is the fact that not ALL processed foods should be considered the spawn of satan where healthy eating is concerned.

The Northern Monkey

think i'll go with what the food standards agency say.

The Northern Monkey

SilverSenator wrote:

What I was getting at is the fact that not ALL processed foods should be considered the spawn of satan where healthy eating is concerned.

Aye fair enough! never said anything different!

But as I said, we were both right and both wrong.

I could easily search for "tinned veg contains more vitamins" and find that info... because it was what I was looking for.
Whereas the FSA takes into account both sides of the argument, and lets face it, have used a bit more info that just a few journals.

Stumpjumper25

When i said Processed foods everyone know what i meant without writing a list, yet there allways has to be someone to start taking things to the xstream.

SilverSenator

Stumpjumper25 wrote:

When i said Processed foods everyone know what i meant without writing a list, yet there allways has to be someone to start taking things to the xstream.

Not taking things to the extreme as different people have different interpretations of what processed food is. That's why I was being more specific about the different types of processed food and what you should watch out for when deciding whether to buy a product or not.

Stumpjumper25

different people have different interpretations of what processed food is.

Yes i agree with that, but i class marg, ready meals,some ham, some cooked meats , the stuff they use to make fish fingers ,an spam ext as processed. How people cook food is all so a reason why food becomes unhealthy..

lynseyf

and back on topic.....

I have couscous for lunch a lot in the summer, its very easy to make, i just put some in a tub and pour over boiling water and leave for 5 mins then mix it up with a fork, no cooking needed. I mix in loads of veggies with it and maybe some feta cheese or boiled eggs for protein and a little dressing or balsamic vinegar for flavour, its very good

In the winter I eat a lot of homemade soup for lunch, a really nice one is riboleta (sp) which is just loads of veggies cooked with a tin of tomatoes and some pesto stirred in. I have some fresh fruit mixed in with my brekkie in the morning, 2-3 portions of veggies at lunch and some more fruit as snacks. I find cutting up the fruit makes it more enjoyable than just biting into an apple, don't know why tho

.blitz

Lizzie77 wrote:

I lovveeee cakes and biscuits, my biggest downfall.

These will have to go =]

Lizzie77 wrote:

what can I have instead of sandwhiches for lunch and main meals.

What do you put on every sandwich you make? Butter/marg/spread. I stopped using it years ago and it is a great way to reduce your fat intake. Just pile on a healthy filling and enjoy the bread. Pitta breads are pretty good when you want to take it to the next level.

rhyko7

i wish i was capable of following a diet lol
damn food is too seductive, i can stay healthy all through the week but when the wkend arrives i give in to the temptation- does anyone else have this problem?
i get my fruit from cider and my veg from pizza ;-)