Health Food Beginner

[fashionista-ta]

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.

I could not agree more!!!

If anyone's interested in the specific nutritional content, say the word ... I have a book right here that explains it.

It's interesting that only 50% of people who actually have a heart attack have a "cholesterol problem." The other 50% look great ... on paper. A 50% correlation doesn't seem that high to me ...

 

[fashionista-ta]

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.

Yes, it is ... you need carbohydrates to function. I have a friend who's pre-diabetic and was surprised to learn that she is supposed to eat 3-4 servings of carbs at every meal. The literature she received explains all the benefits of carbs ... the whole thing has been quite enlightening for me on the sidelines

Btw, aren't nuts protein and fat? I wasn't aware they had carbs ...

 

[SiennaInLondon]

Yes but by not eating refined carbs doesn't mean you aren't getting carbs. Not only do I eat veggies and fruit 24/7 but I will occasionally sneak in some brown bread. I find that it is only when I ban things like sugar and refined carbs that I reduce my intake of them sufficiently. If I say to myself, 'Sienna, reduce your intake of those things', it never works!

And yes nuts have proteins, carbs and oils. I am sure if you are disciplined enough, you could live off fruit and nuts. I am not disciplined enough and wouldn't want to be!

 

[vogue_addiction]

Eggs have lots of calories(100??), but if you take the egg-yellow out, the egg white only has like 15 calories

 

[chanelnumber5]

^The average egg has only 75 cals which is not much really.

Anyway, for me eating alot in the morning is unthinkable - I dont understand how anyone could eat a full english breakfast. But at the same time if I dont eat breakfast I get all dizzy and feel sick, so I normally just have one wheatabix with semi milk or a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter and a glass of non concentrated fruit juice. If I have time I'll have porridge with fruit or yoghurt with chopped fruit and 2 walnuts and 2 cashews.

I think one way to get on to the helathy eating ladder is to give yourself motivation, which I get from a sense of achievement, like when I was going though my latest healthy stage (which at the moment I am SO unhealthy ) I would say "For one week I will not eat any fast food" "For one week I will not have dessert", and if I acheive that one week thankfully I'm blessed with a competetive and determined streak I think "Hey, I've done one week without, now lets see if I can push myself to do another week". Also, if you know you have low willpower dont buy the biscuits, crisps etc in the first place.

 

[Whitelinen]

^The average egg has only 75 cals which is not much really.

Anyway, for me eating alot in the morning is unthinkable - I dont understand how anyone could eat a full english breakfast. But at the same time if I dont eat breakfast I get all dizzy and feel sick, so I normally just have one wheatabix with semi milk or a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter and a glass of non concentrated fruit juice. If I have time I'll have porridge with fruit or yoghurt with chopped fruit and 2 walnuts and 2 cashews.

I think one way to get on to the helathy eating ladder is to give yourself motivation, which I get from a sense of achievement, like when I was going though my latest healthy stage (which at the moment I am SO unhealthy ) I would say "For one week I will not eat any fast food" "For one week I will not have dessert", and if I acheive that one week thankfully I'm blessed with a competetive and determined streak I think "Hey, I've done one week without, now lets see if I can push myself to do another week". Also, if you know you have low willpower dont buy the biscuits, crisps etc in the first place.

I don't think eating a full English breakfast every morning is nowhere healthy. Doesn't English breakfast include fried sausages, fried bacon, white bread, sugary juice...

But as for your trick in how to make "bans" work, I think that sounds good.

 

[chanelnumber5]

I don't think eating a full English breakfast every morning is nowhere healthy. Doesn't English breakfast include fried sausages, fried bacon, white bread, sugary juice...

Yeh, excessive amounts of fats in everything in a full english breakfast - not the best way to start the day

 

[mousquerader]

I LOVE this site. It's inspired me to eat a lot healthier. Check it out:
http://www.mediterrasian.com/

 

[La Bellabello]

PLEASE LONDONERS!
I've been trying to find soyabeans in this
city, they don't have it at tesco....

Where do they normally sell this stuff?
Just in health shpa?

thanks!

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

I couldn't stomach a traditional breakfast in the morning either...sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, whatever it contains...I'm also vegetarian so I wouldn't eat it anyway, lol.

Personally I have 1/3 cup of bran buds with 1 cup of soymilk...yeah I know the proportions are weird but it's the serving size and seems to work and then later in the morning I'll have a banana or an apple and this gives me lots of energy to last until lunch.

 

[misssakura]

I don't see the point of drinking skim milk or reduced fat. If you want to drink breast milk then you either take it as it is or create a substitute that doesn't involve the mistreatment of a cow and its calf. If you're going to make it not taste like milk then why bother? (I think low fat milk is disgusting, it just tastes like slightly sour water)

 

[rainglow]

PLEASE LONDONERS!
I've been trying to find soyabeans in this
city, they don't have it at tesco....

Where do they normally sell this stuff?
Just in health shpa?

thanks!

I'm nearly 100% sure that I've recently seen ads on the TV for frozen soybeans (you'll see them as edamame beans) by Bird's Eye. You should check the freezer section of Tesco, and I'd also recommend M&S and the frozen section of asian markets

 

[Anastasia]

I don't see the point of drinking skim milk or reduced fat. If you want to drink breast milk then you either take it as it is or create a substitute that doesn't involve the mistreatment of a cow and its calf. If you're going to make it not taste like milk then why bother? (I think low fat milk is disgusting, it just tastes like slightly sour water)

I'm an occasional drinker of a cow's breast milk - that is what it is - and agree. I do drink 2% sometimes, but always think, why am I drinking this? It's barely milk. And skim is just Sour water indeed. I don't see the point. Pouring water on your cereal and popping a calcium pill would have the same result.

One thing I used to do in school, before we drank cow's milk or had discovered almond milk, and I hated soy and rice for various reasons, was use orange juice on my cereal. It was pretty good, and saved a glass.

And yeah, I also don't see the big deal about eating an egg yolk. If you're eating a 75 calorie breakfast (being generous here, 2 egg white omelet with a veggie, black coffee), wouldn't you absolutely have to pig out the rest of the day to get enough calories to live on?

Maybe it's just me...I'm not a breakfast eater, but when I do eat, I like it to be worthwhile. Egg whites sound like slimey, tasteless (if you're lucky) air and not worth the time or trouble for the minute nutrition and energy they'd provide.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

75 calories...I think my ideal breakfast is somewhere around 300 calories and I'm not a tall person. I think if you're only eating 75 calories for breakfast and nothing else till lunch it's not good for your metabolism.

 

[Whitelinen]

^ Usually not, but then again every person is a little bit different. I find this restriction of calories a bad thing. If you eat reasonable amounts of healthy food and exercise, why count calories?

 

[marsmars]

^Exactly. Calories are simple a unit for measuring energy content in food. If it's derived from healthy sources, (ie, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes) then you cannot go wrong.

Some people attack fats, they just don't get it. The fat in Olive Oil is perfectly healthy, and I, admitedly, can't get enough of it.

Avocados also have extremely healthy fats. So many other examples that I won't go into.

And people try to eliminate sugars too! How wrong. What about fruit?

And salt.

You need everything in moderation, except McDonalds-esque foods (those kinds of foods should really just be kicked to the curb and left there, already).

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

It's true, I eat healthy but for me counting calories is a way of making sure I'm eating reasonable amounts of healthy foods compared to what my body needs, it's not so much a restriction as a guideline. If standard portions are one size and everyone has different caloric needs it's harder for some people to meet them properly. Another reason I pay such close attention to my diet is that my mom had breast cancer and I'm trying to reduce my own risk in any way that I can. They couldn't figure out what caused it so it may not have been her diet and I may be screwed by genetics anyway but it's definitely one of the big risk factors.

(Sorry, I hope that makes sense, trying not to break guidelines...)

 

[Whitelinen]

I find it much easier to learning what are the sizes of reasonable amounts of food in your plate. There are tons of websites and books about that, I think a nutritionist/dietitian can help too.

About the fear of fat: your body, especially your brain needs fat every day. If you don't get it from your food, you are going to be ill. It is the quality and amount of the fat that you should pay attention to, not eliminate it for good as that is not healthy at all.

I don't believe in eliminating one food group for good, it is just that you need to pay attention of the quality of what you eat. Carbs, protein, fat; all of these are essential, and should not be cut out from one's diet. Just pay attention to the quality, ie instead of white bread and pasta eat wholewheat bread and pasta, instead of butter use olive oil ...

 

[misssakura]

I'm so scared lately that I can't get enough calories from vegetables that I've been eating craploads of junk food. I know it's irrational but when i'm constantly bombarded by meat campaigns saying you need about 30 times the amount of vegetables to get the same amount of calories that meat provides...it's scary. I look at a mushroom and it has what, 20 calories? So I'm thinking..crap I need 1500 calories a day, and this mushroom gives me nothing! It's totally the opposite for me. I'm trying to pack in the calories XDD

 

[chanelnumber5]

And people try to eliminate sugars too! How wrong. What about fruit?

Whilst I dont think sugar should be completely eliminated - fruit is fine and others in small quanities. This is because when I eat one of high sugar junk food, eating it thinking "Oh, its just one thing it won't cause much damage" I will then 60% of the time will give into sugar cravings and have another and often another. Where as, if I resist the one sugary food I tend to stop myself binging for the rest of the day. Sugar really is addictive, once I've had one bit I cave in and pig out.

On the breakfast issue, a great breakfast is 100ml of hot/warm semi milk poured on a whetabix and then mush the whetabix up, you get a kind of porridge and it is so yummy, I know it sounds horrid but it is great for winter mornings and I find it very filling.