Health Food Beginner

[justlooking]

What kind of meals should small meals be? I am always confused by the size.

sample menu

breakfast:
egg white omlette (1 egg + 5 egg whites only), a tomatoe

snack:
apple and a tablespoon of nuts

lunch:
100g of brown rice, a small can of tuna, salad

snack:
boiled egg (yolk scooped out and replaced with some hummus) and some strawberries or some veggie sticks with hummus

dinner:
protein like chicken (size of your palm) & steamed veggies or a roll with some beef/veggies in it or a bowl of soup

snack:
some rice cakes or a few dates or some diet jelly with berries

 

[tott]

I feel like we're sliding into diet advice territory here instead of having a general discussion...

Different people have different needs and metabolic rates, what works for one person would be way too much or way to little for someone else...

 

[Anastasia]

Still, I feel everyone who has had unhealthy eating habits should try out eating breakfast for couple weeks. If you take time and it still does not feel right (I am now not meaning eating breakfast for two days and then saying - no, it's not my thing, with every new habit you need time), then I do think it is not an option for you.

Oh, yes, definitely try eating breakfast for awhile if you're not a breakfast eater - it may fix things for you. Or it may not. But at least you'll know.

I know my body, and I know it hates breakfast. It doesn't give me energy, and I gain weight eating it for long periods of time, so I doubt it's kickstarting my metabolism. And this is with eating a very healthy, reasonable breakfast. For myself as an individual, lunch is the most important meal of the day.

And yes, they come out with new studies all the time, and most are garbage, but if you know it to be true for you why disregard it? Especially when the older studies might not be solid either - I don't have a lot of faith in stuff that was thought of during a time when MS was referred to as "hysterical paralysis".

In the 80's they were telling us margarine was the way to go and you'd live forever, and now they know trans/hydrogenated fats are poison. I'm really glad my mom disregarded the "margarine/aspartame is better" studies, and went with what she knew to be true for her and her kids. You can't cross a line where you're saying "absolute starvation/gorging myself to death is what's best and right for me", but everyone is different, we are all individuals with unique bodies, and like one-size-fits-all education can leave some kids by the wayside while reaching the majority, so can one-size-fits-all nutritional guidelines.

 

[misssakura]

^ I think croissants for breakfast may be your problem I can't eat unhealthy things in the morning, I just can't... so I stick to whole wheat something and fruit. That's what your body wants to start off the day.

Well this was when I was a kid and I had to get up at 4:30am in the morning and travel for 8 hours. I'd get horribly travel sick in the car with an empty stomach but I'd get horribly unwell thinking of eating that early. I had to do this quite a lot so I think i've been traumatised

 

[ele]

What is with the egg whites ??? Why do people not eat the whole egg ???

 

[Anastasia]

What is with the egg whites ??? Why do people not eat the whole egg ???

Because they're afraid of the cholesterol, I think. But egg yolks shouldn't be a problem if you're eating healthy anyway, and not downing burgers and fries all the time

 

[Epona]

an egg is only 70 calories--so a soft boiled egg and some fruit usually fills me up in the morning---and keeps my breakfast calorie count down to under 300

 

[Erin]

Because they're afraid of the cholesterol, I think. But egg yolks shouldn't be a problem if you're eating healthy anyway, and not downing burgers and fries all the time

I don't think it has to do with cholesterol, for the most part... it has to do with calories... that's why many celebs eat egg whites... the yolk houses around 50 calories, whereas the white have under 20... but both are equal in protein... so egg whites are an excellent, low-calorie way to get some quality protein.

 

[Ceptuouse]

^ I heard that too

 

[Erin]

^ Because it's true.

 

[em 692]

switch to skim milk if you don't drink it already.
people are actually supposed to switch to skim when they are two years old, according to my foods teacher. i switched a couple of months ago, and i don't mind the texture difference. i actually prefer skim now over 2% (what i used to drink)- when i had 2% in my cereal not too long ago it was so eventually you will get used to it...

 

[Erin]

I drank skim milk for a long time and once I moved in with my boyfriend started drinking 2%. Eventually we compromised on 1%... but I can't deny, I definitely prefer 2%, though eventually you do get used to skim.

My grandparents drink Vitamin D (whole) milk. Heh.

 

[Epona]

skim milk tastes like water to me. i love whole milk--i just keep the amount that i drink to a minimum.

 

[TheKiwi]

I drank skim milk for a long time and once I moved in with my boyfriend started drinking 2%. Eventually we compromised on 1%...

Haha basically the same thing happened to me! I was drinking skim for the longest time, then this semester my boyfriend got his own place off-campus so I basically spend most of my time there, and when we buy milk, we get either 2 or 1% because he doesn't like skim. I like basically any type of milk though... I'll drink whatever is on hand. But I do prefer skim or 1%.

 

[coffeeandasmoke]

I love this thread! It's given me some great ideas for meals and some healthier things to add to my diet. After all of the Christmas celebration/feasting, I need to get back to normal eating habits.

 

[SiennaInLondon]

I personally try and get ALL my carbs from vegetables and salads. i.e. I don't do any bread, any rice or any pasta. So the base of a fish or meat meal will be salad. A variety of nuts rounds things out as well.

Oh and beware of hidden salts. Vegetable juice is ok (although I am a believer in eating fruit and veg whole!) but things like V8 are chock a block with salt. I don't have much salt in my diet because I dont like the taste of it and I can't swallow V8 juice. It is disgustingly salt full.

 

[SiennaInLondon]

Oh and you only need to watch out for egg yolks if you are someone who has cholesterol issues. If you are young and healthy, natural things are fine. Just like I dont get too scared of avocados or coconut even though they are very fatty.

 

[tott]

I don't think it has to do with cholesterol, for the most part... it has to do with calories... that's why many celebs eat egg whites... the yolk houses around 50 calories, whereas the white have under 20... but both are equal in protein... so egg whites are an excellent, low-calorie way to get some quality protein.

Here's the problem with the calorie approach: the yolk might be higher in calories, but it also contains lots of nutrients you won't find in the egg white.

I don't get what's so terrible about a few more calories, we're talking natural, whole foods here. Skipping or eating the yolks won't make a big difference weight-wise.

 

[SiennaInLondon]

^Exactly... unless you have been told by your doctor you have cholesterol issues.

 

[em 692]

Originally Posted by SiennaInLondon:
I personally try and get ALL my carbs from vegetables and salads. i.e. I don't do any bread, any rice or any pasta. So the base of a fish or meat meal will be salad. A variety of nuts rounds things out as well.

but isn't it bad to eliminate an entire food group? bread, pasta and rice aren't bad for you if you watch what types you eat...whole grain bread over regular, whole grain pasta, and brown rice over white.