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Eating better
- Thread starter crazycat
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I used to be a diet coke addict. I didn't take a coke in 2 weeks and I felt GREAT. All I drank was water and milk, it made me feel better than I was when I drank diet coke. Sadly I went back to drinking diet coke. I'm trying to stop!
Tips on eating better:
1. Chew your food. Digestion starts in your mouth. At least 20-30 times. Remember, your stomach does not have teeth.
2. Eat lots of vegetables, and fruits. They provide all essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants. Find produce with variety of colours, such as dark green vegetables like kale, collards, and spinach. Fruits and vegetables fill you up on nutrients and dietary fibre, and they remove sugar cravings. Your body screams for food if it is not getting enough nutrients, but most people who have poor diets continue feeding themselves junk food.
If you find vegetables lacking in taste, it is just because your tastebuds are used to processed foods loaded with sugar and sodium. Once your tastebuds re-adjust, vegetables and fruit are extremely delectable and full of flavour.
3. Drink lots of water. For women, about 8 glasses (8 oz a glass) of water. Men, it is around 12 glasses. To find out how much you should drink, divide your weight, in pounds, by two, and the number you get is the amount you should drink in ounces. For example, a 160 lbs person should be drinking 80 fl.oz of water. 8 oz = 1 cup or 240 ml. Drink water 30 minutes before or after a meal, but not during, as the water will dilute your digestive enzymes.
4. Eat whole foods. Whole foods are foods your great-grandmother used to eat. Go organics if you can. They cost more in the short term, but have no hidden expenses. Stay away from processed foods and soft drinks, and especially stay away from packaged foods that make health claims. They are loaded with sugar, sodium, and man-made chemicals. They also have hidden expenses, such as to your health and the environment.
5. The Mediterranean food pyramid. If you want to know what foods to eat in abundance and which to eat in moderation, the Mediterranean food pyramid is the most healthful one. You can see it at: http://www.oldwayspt.org/med_pyramid.html (and PDF)
If you like more resources on healthful eating, I recommend Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food. A great read, and very eye opening. Also check out Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
1. Chew your food. Digestion starts in your mouth. At least 20-30 times. Remember, your stomach does not have teeth.
2. Eat lots of vegetables, and fruits. They provide all essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants. Find produce with variety of colours, such as dark green vegetables like kale, collards, and spinach. Fruits and vegetables fill you up on nutrients and dietary fibre, and they remove sugar cravings. Your body screams for food if it is not getting enough nutrients, but most people who have poor diets continue feeding themselves junk food.
If you find vegetables lacking in taste, it is just because your tastebuds are used to processed foods loaded with sugar and sodium. Once your tastebuds re-adjust, vegetables and fruit are extremely delectable and full of flavour.
3. Drink lots of water. For women, about 8 glasses (8 oz a glass) of water. Men, it is around 12 glasses. To find out how much you should drink, divide your weight, in pounds, by two, and the number you get is the amount you should drink in ounces. For example, a 160 lbs person should be drinking 80 fl.oz of water. 8 oz = 1 cup or 240 ml. Drink water 30 minutes before or after a meal, but not during, as the water will dilute your digestive enzymes.
4. Eat whole foods. Whole foods are foods your great-grandmother used to eat. Go organics if you can. They cost more in the short term, but have no hidden expenses. Stay away from processed foods and soft drinks, and especially stay away from packaged foods that make health claims. They are loaded with sugar, sodium, and man-made chemicals. They also have hidden expenses, such as to your health and the environment.
5. The Mediterranean food pyramid. If you want to know what foods to eat in abundance and which to eat in moderation, the Mediterranean food pyramid is the most healthful one. You can see it at: http://www.oldwayspt.org/med_pyramid.html (and PDF)
If you like more resources on healthful eating, I recommend Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food. A great read, and very eye opening. Also check out Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
I used to be a no-breakfast person, b/c I was not usually very hungry in the morning, so I thought I would bypass those calories. But still gained weight. The minute I started eating breakfast, I quit gaining weight! (Now if I can just start losing some weight ... 
)
)
Congratulations on catching your weight issue before it spun out of control.
Three years ago I was 372 pounds, now 210 and still working at it.
If I could also throw in a few of my strategies, I would add:
- find a partner to talk to. At work I have a colleague that took an interest in my weight loss and checks in regularly on how I'm doing. It is very motivating.
- avoid trigger foods. If I allow myself a taste of candy or chips, I eat way too much.
- set a long term goal and reasonable milestone goals... "I will lose 10 pounds by the end of May"
- don't try to do it all at once (like Biggest Loser). That is the best way to lose a lot of muscle and accelerate weight gain.
- everyone knows what they should eat, so I won't go there.
- exercise combined with a healthy, balanced diet will keep you lean and clean.
- take photos at milestone weights. I use the new size as a motivator to want to keep that look. I am disappointed that I did not start this at my largest size, because I need to know how bad I let myself get so it does not happen again. I do have them from 290 to 210 though.
- make a list of things you hate about being fat. Read this list when you crave something you know is bad for you.
I have certainly "fallen" during my three year journey. But, unlike past dieting, I got right back at it and don't use the failure as an excuse to give up.
Three years ago I was 372 pounds, now 210 and still working at it.
If I could also throw in a few of my strategies, I would add:
- find a partner to talk to. At work I have a colleague that took an interest in my weight loss and checks in regularly on how I'm doing. It is very motivating.
- avoid trigger foods. If I allow myself a taste of candy or chips, I eat way too much.
- set a long term goal and reasonable milestone goals... "I will lose 10 pounds by the end of May"
- don't try to do it all at once (like Biggest Loser). That is the best way to lose a lot of muscle and accelerate weight gain.
- everyone knows what they should eat, so I won't go there.
- exercise combined with a healthy, balanced diet will keep you lean and clean.
- take photos at milestone weights. I use the new size as a motivator to want to keep that look. I am disappointed that I did not start this at my largest size, because I need to know how bad I let myself get so it does not happen again. I do have them from 290 to 210 though.
- make a list of things you hate about being fat. Read this list when you crave something you know is bad for you.
I have certainly "fallen" during my three year journey. But, unlike past dieting, I got right back at it and don't use the failure as an excuse to give up.
Damn you!
Similar story here, crazycat... went with the South Beach diet starting with the new year. Wanted to eat better and had some back and foot pain. There were some tough days (especially the first two weeks), but I've dropped 30 pounds and have been able to add 30 minutes on the bike every day.
I'm hoping to get down to the 190-200 range (I'm 6'3") and lose the belly in the process. Eventually, I hope to get to the point where exercise becomes a staple of everyday rather than the chore it is now. Keep up the good work!
Vegetarian died (or vegan) will not necessarily help weight control. It's more a matter of calories eaten than the type of food consumed. However, a diet composed mostly or totally of veggies, legumes, seeds, nuts, and other non-meat items tends to be better for your health than eating animals, IMO.
Thats great. I've lost over 25 kilos (not sure what that translates to) and have gone from 87 to 62.5 kilos. I did get down to 58 at one stage but with no muscle mass and essentially starving. I am now at 62.5 and while I would like to get back to 60, I am definitely much fitter and stronger than I EVER have been. If you would have said to me 5 years ago that I would turn into a gym junkie I would have laughed in your face
I lost a good 25 pounds or so after college. I've managed to keep the fat off and put on a decent amount of muscle mass ever since. Eating better is definitely a life style change. I noticed that while I LOVE food and eating often, I liked fruits and healthier snacks such as fat free yogurt almost as much as I do candy bars and fried foods. I slowly replaced the healthy snacks for the junk food, and now I far prefer fruits and yogurt to candy bars and chips.
It's not to say I don't pig out on a bag of Sun Chips and Doritos every now and then, but I do feel sluggish and sick from all the oil and sodium afterwards. On a daily basis, its healthy eating FTW.
I noticed that when I was trying to lose weight that I had very little self control in mediating how much I ate. So instead of trying to cut down on junk food and only eat it occasionally. I would not buy it at all. That way there was no need to decide how many servings of junk I could allot myself.
It's not to say I don't pig out on a bag of Sun Chips and Doritos every now and then, but I do feel sluggish and sick from all the oil and sodium afterwards. On a daily basis, its healthy eating FTW.
I noticed that when I was trying to lose weight that I had very little self control in mediating how much I ate. So instead of trying to cut down on junk food and only eat it occasionally. I would not buy it at all. That way there was no need to decide how many servings of junk I could allot myself.
Hmmm. I'm in your spot 5 years ago. I hate going to the gym.
Make your hard workouts harder and shorter.
Make your easy workout longer and easier.
You'll see the same (if not better) results, and it will be less daunting. Hard workouts will be more exciting, and easy workouts more leisurely.
Hmmm. I'm in your spot 5 years ago. I hate going to the gym.
I love gym. I love absolutely smashing myself when I go and getting lost in the music
It's not the best course of action but another option when eating out from time to time is have a "normal" meal, just eat half of it (I found getting a doggie bag from the start helps this).
You get to satisfy any cravings and have leftovers for a later meal while enjoying yourself.
It's not always about punishment and deprivation.
You get to satisfy any cravings and have leftovers for a later meal while enjoying yourself.
It's not always about punishment and deprivation.
It's about time people realized how to be healthy. The responsibility for the public's healthcare needs to be put back into the hands of the individual. We've been treating sickness for too long. It's time to perpetuate healthiness.
So a great big thank you from the economy and the world to anyone who is getting healthy, exercising more, and feeling better about themselves. The simple fact of the matter is, unhealthy foods (for example, meat and packaged foods) are expensive (animals are difficult to raise), polluting (all that packaging for boxed and frozen foods is awful), and create resource-wasting people (yes, I honestly think fat, unhealthy people are carrying around more than they deserve). Then these people end up in the hospital. They smoke, they eat too much, they don't exercise, and they end up costing the government millions of dollars, and only empower the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries that already suck people dry for care that they so desperately need.
If everyone ate a bit better, a lot of things would sort themselves out.
So a great big thank you from the economy and the world to anyone who is getting healthy, exercising more, and feeling better about themselves. The simple fact of the matter is, unhealthy foods (for example, meat and packaged foods) are expensive (animals are difficult to raise), polluting (all that packaging for boxed and frozen foods is awful), and create resource-wasting people (yes, I honestly think fat, unhealthy people are carrying around more than they deserve). Then these people end up in the hospital. They smoke, they eat too much, they don't exercise, and they end up costing the government millions of dollars, and only empower the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries that already suck people dry for care that they so desperately need.
If everyone ate a bit better, a lot of things would sort themselves out.
62.5 kg?
All of the above
I'm only 5"3 and female
62.5 kg?
Why is that exactly? I weight about 130 lbs (59 kg) and I'm 5' 9". My BMI puts me at around 19.2, which is perfectly normal.
How much do you suppose people should weigh?
I think it depends what type of body shape you have. I'm quite nuggety and muscular (other than my pudgy gut), but at the same time quite small boned. Also I think the healthy for BMI is 18-24.9? My BMI sits around the 24 mark so closer to the overweight mark but still healthy, whereas CalBoy sits closer to the underweight mark but still in healthy range.
Yeah, a lot of people start eating too many carbs when they go on a vegetarian diet because it's easier then figuring out what they should eat instead of meat.
I would definitely be a big fat vegetarian. I don't like many veggies so all I would eat is bread and more bread!