Healthy Eating

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by rygon, May 19, 2006.

  1. rygon

    rygon New Member

    I havent seen an article under this section about healthy eating (maybe because im rubbish at using the search page lol) but as ive seen many articles about this i thought i'd try and help...if ppl have anything to say..whether to support or contridict my idea (and thats what it it is, an idea..not fact as im not in a position to say if its right or wrong) pls reply only if you have some backing evidence for you argument.

    right as ive said before im not an expert in this stuff but as my parents are into health benifits ( ie qualified reiki , indian head etc) this is what ive learnt

    Right 1st of all fast food (as in american rubbish) is bad..mcdonald kfc etc, as you most probably know have very low nutrician levels...it isnt the best of meat around so they fill it up with left overs (animal eyes, ears etc) and worst of all salt.
    the thing is, it takes less than 5mins to cook..seems a lot less hassle to get then cokking for yourself.

    so you cook for yourself...but how can you vary it to keep you intersted...and more importantly quickly (after 12hr work i dont want to spend 2hrs cooking)....simply go back to basics...buy veg as fresh as you can as it will have the most nutrients in...canned veg is ok if you make sure its without salt and sugar, you can add that later if you need it..but at least you know how much you are adding.

    i have just moved in to a new house...on my own for the 1st time...yeh microwave stuff is quick and easy...but it tastes like cr@p. try and get good quality meat (not a lot of fat)...fre4sh veg (if you cant always get it grow your own 59p for a pack of lettice...perfect for a window box)

    mos importantly herbs and spices...dont expect to grow al these your own but they add so much to the flavour...herbs that i grow are rosemary, indian mint, oregano, basil, chives. (make sure they are in a pot as they will take over the garden)

    so anyway the things you have to remember is...if its processed its bad...if you make it its good (most of the times)

    to leave this post i'll put a few recipes up


    spag bolognaise

    heat spagetti up (without salt...you dont need it)
    fry (in olive oil) good quality mince and onion until cooked
    add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 2x chopped garlic cloves, fresh rosemary and basil, half a glass of red wine and tomato puree to taste..leave to cook (depending how much liquid it ca take 10 - 40mins)
    serve with fresh rosemary and paresan on top



    stir fry

    mix in cup a bit of fresh ginger, clove of garlic (all greated) with 2 tsp cornflour 2sp rice vinegar, 1tsp soy sauce 1tp fish sauce. cook noodles as per packet (normally 2mins)
    in a wok (with olive oil) cook meat then add peppers (chilli and normal (ie red, yellow, orange etc) and chopped onion... add noodles and sauce and stir rapidly for 1min and then serv


    those 2 recipes take less than 5mins to cook and to my knowledge are healthy...just because its "fast food" doesnt mean its bad but by preparing it yourself you know what exactly what goes in and you can cook it to your taste...and it will taste much better than anything you buy in high streets ...plus you can impress you friends....just takes a little bit of practice..just make sure you grow the correct herbs t make it so much morte special

    it would be great to have a recipe section around here but as we havent (or i couldnt find it) i will leave you with a great fish recipe

    cook cod or haddock in tin foil with a little bit of light soy sauce, lemon juice and spring onions until tender serve with poatoes with fresh mint


    ok sorry another great recipe (which bagged me a girl) get a nice bit of pork (with rind on top)..score rind and add a mixture (already made with pestle and mortor) garlic ginger chilli and olive oil to the 6 or so inertions you make into the rind (and any left over goes around the meat)
    cook on full heat for 30mins then cook on low heat 110degC ish for 10-24hrs (depending on the size.....try an leave it as long as poss) then another 1/2 hr to roast before serving (the rind will be black so remove this and serve just the meat) expect a succulent pease of roast with a hint of all those spice an herbs...its definatelt worth it


    i havent given exact measurements as i want you to experiment..what one person enjoys another doesnt..and more importantly it gets you realiseing what each piece does to the taste...experiment...your not going to get it right all the time but 90% of the time gonna be much better than pizza hut, mc d's etc
     
  2. tkd_master

    tkd_master Human Punchbag

    Try adding some nutmeg to the bolognese
     
  3. NewLearner

    NewLearner Valued Member

    Here is a cut and paste I wrote a while back.

    *************************************************
    This is going to be a long post, but hopefully, it is of some value to others. I have been trying to put together some ideas on sound eating and nutrition. The ideas below have been taken from a variety of sources and are what I consider to be good for those who participate in regular exercise and want to eat reasonably healthy. This is not designed for people that are professional athletes, nursing, pregnant, using steroids, or have any serious health issues. I am not a doctor nor am I a registered dietician. Most of my goals have related to weight loss more than weight gain. However, eating healthy is largely eating healthy.

     A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. A pound of fat is 3,500 calories. To lose a pound, you must reduce your calorie intake or increase calorie expenditure by 3,500 calories.
     You increase your calorie expenditure by either exercising or increasing your metabolism. The first centers on more work and the second on more thought.
     Know how many calories you need a day. Just being alive means that you will need about 11 calories per day per pound of bodyweight to maintain your bodyweight. This is your BMR. Add in appropriate calories based on your lifestyle and exercise. Subtract from that number and you will lose weight. Add to that number and you will gain weight.
     Eat within an hour of waking and every 3 hours after that. It speeds up your metabolism. For those trying to increase muscle mass, a more even distribution of protein is a big help.
     Portion size is very important. They tell you how big the portion size is on the back of the box for a reason. Sure, you can the bag of chips and each portion is only 150 calories. But there are 6 portions in the bag which means you just ate 900 calories of garbage. You should occasionally weigh out the portions you serve yourself so that you can see how much you are getting.
     Skipping breakfast is the worst thing you can do to your diet. It should be the biggest and most nutritious meal of the day. You have fasted for 8 or more hours and now the body needs calories to rev up the furnace as well as nutrition to keep the body strong.
     You should always eat after a workout with weights. The ideal is a whey shake with simple carbs. This is probably the only time you want simple carbs. The reason being that simple carbs increase insulin which helps to move glycogen into the muscles immediately after a workout. Having solid protein at the same time helps to not only create muscle synthesis but prevent muscle tissue breakdown. You should have this protein and carbs meal within 30 minutes of a workout with weights.
     Eat lots of fiber. Each gram of fiber absorbs about 7 calories of fat from a meal. Of course, if you had no fat, then the calories didn't get absorbed. Try for at least 35 grams of fiber.
     Cut the white out of the diet. White bread, white rice, white sugar, white potatoes, etc. They slow down your metabolism by increasing insulin production.
     Any bread or grain product should be whole grain. Whole grain releases less insulin. Rye is one of the lowest glycemic grains. When eating bread, try to dip it in olive oil or use smart balance instead of butter.
     Eat eggs. They are high in high density cholestrol and are not the heart attack magnet people thought they were. However, I do choose egg whites or egg beaters quite often. 2 eggs a day will not hurt you.
     Your body has to process the food you eat to convert it to fat. It only takes about 3% of the calories from a piece of fat to convert it to fat. It takes about 23% to convert carbs and protein to fat. Huge difference.
     Trans fats and saturated fats are hard attacks waiting to happen. Polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil are better and monosaturated fats such as olive oil are the best choice. Instead of butter or margarine which are saturated fats choose smart balance which is designed to reduce cholestrol. There is also a new type of oil that uses diglycerides instead of triglycerides (you know the one the doctor keeps telling you to lower) that is designed to help you lose weight.
     Baked, roasted, grilled, blackened, etc. are good choices for cooking meats. Frying is not. The flour on it is extra calories and the oil they are using is usually pure saturated.
     Salads are great as long as it is almost all veggie. Tons of cheese, bacon, croutons, ham, and a nice dollop of full fat ranch or bleu cheese dressing are going to put on a ton of weight. The extras that you put should be eggs, with as much of it being the white part which is the protein and no cholestrol or fat as possible, and lean turkey.
     A good recommendation for your dinner, lunch, and snacks, is to have half of your plate be vegetables. Have one quarter of your plate be complex carbs, and one quarter be lean protein like chicken breasts, turkey, fish, lean cuts of beef, or vegetable protein or whey shakes. And your beverage should be calorie free like water.
     Generally a good idea of your calorie intake should range between 60/20/20 to 40/40/20 (carbs/protein/fat). Realize though that your starches and proteins in particular are far more dense than the vegetables and thus need to take up a smaller amount of space on your plate.
     When choosing cuts of meat, choose those that have loin or round in the name are the leanest, ie sirloin, and have all visible fat trimmed. The filet mignon may taste a little better, but that is because of all the fat.
     You probably are not eating nearly enough beans. Beans are nutritional powerhouses and have some varieties have more antioxidants than blueberries which are the current poster child of antioxidants. They are also high in fiber and protein.
     Don’t have all your vegetables of one type. You need a variety. Dark Green Vegetables = 3 cups weekly, Orange Vegetables = 2 1/2 cups weekly, Dry Beans & Peas = 3 1/2 cups weekly, Starchy Vegetables = 7 cups weekly, Other Vegetables = 8 1/2 cups week
     Generally, the best choice for having your vegetables will be to have it fresh and raw. Canned vegetables and boiling your vegetables is going to remove a lot of the nutritional value.
     Prepackaged meals are generally a bad idea. They are loaded with preservatives, fat, sugar, and sodium. None of those are what you should be eating.
     Cardio workouts are a great way to burn calories. If you do it first thing in the morning, before breakfast, you tend to burn a higher percentage of calories from your body fat. If you want, have a little (very little) lean protein before the workout but keep carbs and fat to a minimum. Do remember to eat within approximately an hour of waking though.
     Weight lifting is key to successfully losing bodyfat. Each pound of fat burns approximately 2 calories per day. Each pound of muscle will burn between 35-50 calories per day. Weight lifting will not turn you into a musclebound bodybuilder unless you train to do that or take a lot of steroids.
     Cheat meals are great – at slowing down your progress. Only you can decide if the slow down in getting where you want from cheating is worth the “reward” that you got from cheating. Yes, the cheat meal may help you stick to your plan. For some, it doesn’t help them to stick to the plan but increases the likelihood that they will cheat more often.
     It is usually more difficult to try and bulk up and gain a lot of muscle quickly while lowering bodyfat at the same time. It is usually easier to work on one or the other. But be aware that you are not going to lose 10 pounds of fat in a week. If you lose that much, you are losing water or muscle. Likewise, you won’t be very fast at throwing on a lot of muscle. It will most likely be fat. Slow and gradual is the way to go.
     Having the same meals all the time will lead to deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals and too much of others. Try to eat a wide variety.
     To improve your heart health, try to eat fish at least three times a week and use olive oil.
     Cover your bases by taking a quality multivitamin every day. Some multivitamins require you to take two a day or come in packs which allow you to spread it out over the day which may be a better choice.
     Finally, remember that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. You can get you daily calories from doughnuts and ice cream or grilled chicken breast and broccoli. However, one will give you empty calories that slow down your metabolism while the other gives you solid nutrition and speed up your metabolism. The choice is yours.

    How to track all of this and make use of it?

    First thing is to make yourself a check off sheet like they have for drinking your water. Put your 10 glasses of water a day on it. In the vegetable section, put red, green, orange, colored vegetabe boxes so that you get a variety of vegetables. Put three fruit checkboxes on there.

    For the protein section put two checkboxes for dairy, nuts and beans 2, other (including tofu, eggs, chicken, etc.) 3 checkboxes. Limit beef to only once a day or one of the checkboxes. If doing a weekly sheet, I would put three checkboxes for fish so you can track how often you have those.

    In the carb area put bad checkboxes. Try to limit to no more than 2 checks. Any white potatoes, white rice, white bread, sugary drinks, cakes, doughnuts, etc. Basically, if it is a refined carb, check the box and limit yourself to two.


    An example day would be as follows:

    Breakfast:
    Oatmeal (no checks as it is complex carb)
    Milk (1 dairy)
    raisins (1 fruit)

    Mid morning
    whey drink (1 dairy)
    banana (1 fruit)

    Lunch
    Turkey burger (1 protein)
    whole rye slices of bread for bun (no checks as it is complex carb)
    salad with radishes, onions, endives, etc. (1 check for veg)

    Mid afternoon
    1 black bean w/brown rice burrito (1 bean protein, 1 simple carb check)
    1 red pepper (1 red veg)

    Dinner
    Chicken breast (1 protein)
    green beans (1 green vegetable)
    raw carrots (1 orange vegetable)
    Ezekiel bread 1 slice

    Snack
    chicken breast leftover (1 protein)
    salad (1 vegetable)


    Also remember to track portion size so that calories are where they are supposed to be.
     
  4. iamraisen

    iamraisen Valued Member

    New learner you keep on posting that info :D eventually everyone will take it in!

    i slapped it into a word document first time round with my other nutrition information if that makes you feel any better ;)
     
  5. NewLearner

    NewLearner Valued Member

    Hopefully, it will be some help to people.
     
  6. Reece

    Reece New Member

    New Learner sound advice!
     
  7. Reece

    Reece New Member

    okay a friend of mine has worked out that he would need 1848 calories in order for him to stay at his current weight. Obviously he wants to lose weight so he will decrease has caloritic intake. But I have been told about starvation mode your body enters into if you do not ingest enough food and your body ends up storing more fat.

    Does anyone know how you can work out what the starvation mode level is.

    I hope this makes sense!!
     
  8. tkd_master

    tkd_master Human Punchbag

    He should do more calorie burning exercises, running, cycling, sits ups, push ups. They burn more fat than other exercises like lifting heavy weights etc.
     
  9. True Ownage

    True Ownage New Member

    No one should ever drop below 1000 calories as an adult. 1200 calories is often considered a very low calorie diet.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2006
  10. NewLearner

    NewLearner Valued Member

    1000 calories is a starvation diet.

    Most nutrionists these days are suggesting a weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week with 1 pound being the ideal for health and permanence of the weight loss. They also recommend that at least half of the calorie deficit be in terms of additional exercise. Since a pound of fat is 3500 calories, it would take a deficit of 500 calories per day to reach the goal of 1 pound loss per week. Half of that should be in terms of additional exercise. Thus, he should be doing 1598 calories to lose one pound.

    The important thing to remember is that exercise is better at losing weight and keeping it off than cutting eating. Exercise speeds up your metabolism. Not eating will slow your metabolism. If you keep the calorie intake close to where you should be, you will benefit more by upping your exercise of both cardio and weight lifting.
     
  11. Hapuka

    Hapuka Te Aho

    how do you burn 500 cals a day? hell I go to the gym and I can only burn 400 ....
     
  12. NewLearner

    NewLearner Valued Member

    Well, it depends on what you do, how intensely you do it, and how much you weigh. Burning 500 calories in a workout isn't that hard if you are a big guy. Ride a bike for an hour and at 180 lbs you will burn 14.5 calories per minute. 40 minutes and you have burned over 500 calories.

    http://www.coolnurse.com/calories.htm
     
  13. Just.Jump

    Just.Jump New Member

    Is it true that the acids used to break down grains as compared to proteins is so different that they counteract eachother and cause eachother to stop working? I've heard of the fact that you should try not to eat these together, and that the order or eating should be fruits/veg followed by either a grain or a protein. This was also on a british show, you are what you eat- I followed it briefly, and found that there were results- so can I credit it to the order of intake? Apparently fruit/veg take roughly 1-2 hours to go through into your intestines, grains take up to 4, and proteins take up to 8, and then when you mid-order things drastically, things will ferment.
     
  14. NewLearner

    NewLearner Valued Member

    I don't think that there is any truth to that. Most dieticians will suggest that you should eat all your grain products with a protein source at the same time so as to lower your glycemic reaction.
     
  15. Blitzfaust

    Blitzfaust New Member

    Along with water I drink alot of orange juice. Usually the concentrated stuff in a carton. Can drinking alot of this be bad for me? Or is it enough to drink enough water to make up for it?
     
  16. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Dont know about the rest of the world, but Austrlaian Mc Donalds use 100% export quality beef. There is no eyes, tounge, balls etc in the meat. Its an Urban legend.
     
  17. Bridge

    Bridge Valued Member

    Don't know if anyone else has this issue, maybe I'd get some sympathy from the women in this forum.

    I try to watch my weight and I want to be healthy. And all these articles out there saying eat this or that at least 1 portion a day or however many times a week (prime examples are tofu, nuts, dairy). Ooh, it' s that simple and the benefits are wonderful, they say. When you add it all up, there are not enough meals in the week to combine all that and your calorie intake is likely to rocket.

    Anyway my contribution, a favourite in our house is tofu prima vera (Rick Gallup recipe):

    1 pack beech smoked tofu drained and cubed
    250g asparagus
    3 or 4 carrots julienned
    1 courgette sliced
    2 peppers sliced
    1 bottle v8 veg juice + half cup of water
    2 clove garlic sliced

    In a hot dry frying pan seal the tofu cubes on all sides. Put them to one side
    Add veg juice to pan and carrots. Gently cook until carrots start to turn tender.
    Add courgettes and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes.
    Add peppers wait a further 2 mintues.
    Add asparagus and let cook for 3 minutes.
    Finally add the tofu and serve.

    If you like, serve with rice or pasta + parmesan.
     
  18. Garrett

    Garrett Valued Member

    Hi all,
    I don't mean to step on anyones toes, but I want to clear up a few discrepancies in what i have read. Don't take anything personally, these are not attacks, just clearing up things that are slightly misguided.

    New Learner.
    This is true in a way, but not in the way you mean it. Eating ANY meal will speed up your metabolism. Its called the Thermic effect of food and refers to the energy required for your body to digest and absorb (and store) food. Eating breakfast will not 'boost' your metablism for the entire day as many breakfast cereal companies will have you believe. Thermic effect of food is about 10% of your daily energy expenditure.

    Skipping breakfast is bad, but not because of any effects on your metabolism. People that skip breakfast tend to 'over eat' for the rest of the day, taking in more energy than if they ate a decent size breakfast.

    Complex carbohydrates also increase insulin levels. Complex carbs, those found in bread, potatos, pastas and any other starchy food, are just long chains of glucose, which is a simple sugar.
    In fact many starchy foods create a higher insulin response than foods containing simple sugars. A potato will have a larger glucose and insulin spike than a chocolate bar. Clearly though, the potato is much healthier. Insulin is not to be feared, it is normal, and helps the body store energy.
    But back to the point, it is still good to have a carb and protein meal after a weights training session preferably within the first 30 minutes. it increases insulin levels (insulin is an anabolic hormone) and reduces cortisol (a catabolic hormone)

    This is a myth. There are a lot of companies claiming to have created fat absorbing fibre. However none have stood the rigors of scientific testing, showing no difference between those who took them and those who don't

    Insulin doesnt slow down your metabolism. If anything it will speed it up. Insulin is an anabolic hormone which means lots of it encourages your body to build. Insulin encourages cells to take up glucose, proteins and fat and store them.

    This is myth. Although its true you would be burning a higher proportion of fat, its irrelevant where your fuel source is coming from, as at the end of the day, its the total amount of energy you have burned that will affect your fat loss. If you have a negative energy balance, you will lose fat. This also applies to the 'fat burning zone'. You will lose the same amount of fat by doing a hard 30 minute workout, or a 1 hour easy workout as long as the energy expenditure is the same.

    Contraversial. Many dieticians will tell you, if you are eating a couple of serves of veges a day, you do not need vitamin pills. The concentration of the vitamins in the pills is so high that a large proportion will just pass straight through you as your body as limited absorption abilities for most vitamins.

    Just jump
    Your stomach is the most acidic part of your digestive system. It is a crude way for your body to breakdown food into more managable pieces. Once into your small intestine, where most of the absorption takes place, the environment is a lot less acidic and most of the digesting is done by several enzymes that target different macro nutrients (ie carbs, fats , proteins).
    Most of what you eat will be absorbed within 4 hours. Even fats and proteins are generally gone by this stage. If there is anything left, it is most likely not going to be absorbed. Your body will move it along to the large intestine, where bacteria will ferment it (this is why you get gas, and why eating fibre creates more gas). Those bacteria are good though, as a proportion of your Vitamin K intake occurs in the large intestine. Vit K is a by product of those bacteria.

    Hope that helped someone.

    Regards
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2007
  19. g-bells

    g-bells Don't look up!

    to add to his^ accurate post, when consuming a higher amount of fiber people forget to increase their H2O consumption which can lead to dehydration, so IF you're going to increase your fiber ,increase your H2O


    RECIPE

    2 skinless chicken breasts 3 cloves of garlic
    4 carrots 1 small onion
    ground pepper( to taste) RED HOT sauce


    cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes, peel garlic and mince, peel and dice carrots and onion

    place all ingredients into a deep cooking pan and add red hot and pepper to your liking then add water till it fills half the pan

    cook on high heat for 30 minutes

    when done pour over a bed of rice or noodles
     
  20. Fishbone.

    Fishbone. Banned Banned

    Too much soda for me.
     

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