Trying to eat healthier

[Prototype]

After reading the "In A Box" thread, which sounded pretty good, I was reminded that I want to eat healthier than I do. I'm not big on the fast food, but I don't sleep well, and I feel sluggish most of the time.

I try and get almost all 3 meals in a day in, and I have a beverage (usually flavoured water or juice) at my side at all times.

I know that's just generalizing things, but what I'm looking for is better tips to feel healthier with my ditary choices, and maybe help some other CPers along the way.

NOTE: I am also lactotse intollerant, and I avoid eggs too. But feel free to post tips that include those for the benifit of other readers.

[Shazam]

Don't drink any pop. Even diet pop.

Juice is just as bad as pop. Either stop drinking it or dilute it 3-1 with water.

Stop eating white bread. Replace with whole wheat alternatives.

Always eat breakfast.

Eat fruit at least once a day. If fruit gives you gas and/or runs, eat it by itself so that your body can expel it quickly.

Make everything from scratch whenever possible. Processed food has incredible amounts of fat and carbs.

You must also start to exercise. Although exercise alone does not result in weight loss, it is vital to raise your metabolism which should help with your sluggishness.

[JiriHrdina]

Breakfast has always been a big problem for me. I have no appetite and used to just have coffee and maybe a doughnut - terrible way to start the day.

So what I do is by those boost meal replacement drinks for old people and pound back one of those each morning. Gets the day off right.

[Dion]

Exercise will give you more energy and help you sleep better. 30 minutes 4-5 times a week should be enough. Go for long walk, join a gym or swim laps.

Drink lot's of water. What I do is squirt little lemon in my water to give it taste. Ohhhh and drink 6 - 8 glasses a day.

Make sure you eat smaller meals, and by that I mean eat 5 to 6 times a day instead of the 3 larger ones. They will be will be easier to digest.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Dion

Exercise will give you more energy and help you sleep better. 30 minutes 4-5 times a week should be enough. Go for long walk, join a gym or swim laps.

Drink lot's of water. What I do is squirt little lemon in my water to give it taste. Ohhhh and drink 6 - 8 glasses a day.

Make sure you eat smaller meals, and by that I mean eat 5 to 6 times a day instead of the 3 larger ones. They will be will be easier to digest.

Drinking 6-8 glasses a day of water to benefit the body is a myth. It does nothing except make you go pee more.

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...ing+water+myth

I myself have never benefitted from eating many small meals a day instead of three normal meals. It all depends on your physiology.

[Sylvanfan]

Take vitamins every morning as part of your routine. I find a very quick easy to make breakfast is oatmeal in the microwave. Get a thing of frozen berries and put them in the oatmeal and it's not bad (although I can drink milk so that goes well with the oatmeal). The idea of eating more smaller portion meals that are balanced is good way to go too. Like Shazam says go with whole wheat stuff from Bread to Pasta. Also Ground Turkey is a good alternative to ground beef for food. Make a pot of chille with ground turkey on Sunday evening and use it for lunch for a couple days afterwards. Sodium is something to watch out for though. It's extremely tough to find food thats low in sodium.

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You must also start to exercise. Although exercise alone does not result in weight loss, it is vital to raise your metabolism which should help with your sluggishness.

Yeah, I play shinny every Saturday, but that's about it... but not so much looking for the weight loss... I'm about 6'2 and 150-160... can you say beanpole boys and girls... but a great tip none the less...

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Prottotype

Yeah, I play shinny every Saturday, but that's about it... but not so much looking for the weight loss... I'm about 6'2 and 150-160... can you say beanpole boys and girls... but a great tip none the less...

Maybe you need to get on the juice!

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Drinking 6-8 glasses a day of water to benefit the body is a myth. It does nothing except make you go pee more.

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...ing+water+myth

I myself have never benefitted from eating many small meals a day instead of three normal meals. It all depends on your physiology.

Thanks for the link. I'll check into it.

Smaller meals has helped me as I don't feel bloated whn I leave the dinner table.

[Hakan]

Cut back the amount of meat you eat a day.

Do not eat anything that is processed. Go to the grocery store and buy food on the perimeter. Do not enter the middle aisles.

Take the time to cook for yourself. Use fresh whole ingredients. Do not use any premade sauces or 'helpers.'

Do not buy fast food. Very important.

Eat fruit.

[Cerebral]

I've been trying to do the same thing of late and the two things I've cut out of my diet are pop and late night snacks. I tend to always get hungry around 10:30 or so and I usually go upstairs and heat up some food but I've been making an effort over the past few months to just pound down some water instead of snacking. It's funny, I stocked my fridge full of water bottles instead of Coke and now all I want to drink is water all the time.

[boobaloo]

www.freshorganics.ca

You can have your local organic produce delivered to your home at a reasonable price. I've had them for about a month now, and the produce is very good. I'm impressed.

[FireFly]

All Bran Buds for breakfast... Oh yeah. That's how you start your day off right, make sure you're running smoothly. It's the stuff with the psyllium fibre that you want, and you only need 1/3 of a cup a day. I feel so much better when I eat it. You'll thank my doctor for recommending it.

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by FireFly

make sure you're running smoothly.

Not sure I want to be "running" that "smoothly"... LOL, but keep em coming...

[boobaloo]

The All-Bran cereal bars are pretty good, too. High in fiber, and they don't taste too bad, either.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Prottotype

Not sure I want to be "running" that "smoothly"... LOL, but keep em coming...

So you're saying you like it rough

[Superfraggle]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Drinking 6-8 glasses a day of water to benefit the body is a myth. It does nothing except make you go pee more.

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...ing+water+myth

I myself have never benefitted from eating many small meals a day instead of three normal meals. It all depends on your physiology.

It's not a myth, so much as it's incomplete. Drinking a lot of water at once will do nothing but make you pee more, but staying properly hydrated has greater physical benefits than pretty much anything else. Naturally the amount of water per day you need varies person to person with body mass, age, exercise, etc. Staying hydrated is super important to staying healthy, but you can only process something like a litre/hour, and that's more than you need, unless you're starting off really dehydrated. The best way to tell if you're hydrated is pay attention to your pee. It should be clear, not yellow.


As for the 6 meals/day thing, I know less about it, but from what I've been told, it seems like it goes for everyone. You may or may not notice a change, and it may take a period of adjustment, but it is supposed to be better.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Superfraggle

It's not a myth, so much as it's incomplete. Drinking a lot of water at once will do nothing but make you pee more, but staying properly hydrated has greater physical benefits than pretty much anything else. Naturally the amount of water per day you need varies person to person with body mass, age, exercise, etc. Staying hydrated is super important to staying healthy, but you can only process something like a litre/hour, and that's more than you need, unless you're starting off really dehydrated. The best way to tell if you're hydrated is pay attention to your pee. It should be clear, not yellow.

Staying properly hydrated does not mean drinking 6-8 cups of water a day. If that was the case, our ancestors would've never made it in the dry savanna that is Africa. People like the 6-8 cups thingy because it's easy to do and it makes them feel like they're doing something about their fat asses.

As for the 6 meals/day thing, I know less about it, but from what I've been told, it seems like it goes for everyone. You may or may not notice a change, and it may take a period of adjustment, but it is supposed to be better.

I have never seen a study that said it was better. I have seen a ton of articles by nutritionists touting the "benefits" of more frequent, smaller meals. I trust nutritionists about as far as I can throw them.

[habernac]

nothing like exercise to keep you going. One of the first things I do in a day is ride my bike to work, just under 20km. At the end of the day, I ride back. The metabolism is working like it did in my early 20's. I alos have to make sure I fuel up alot as the 39km round trip takes a ton of food energy. The water thing is not a myth, proper hydration is essential for good health.

[Shazam]

If you want to get really hardcore about your diet, your bowel movements should always be in pieces in the toilet and it should float. This indicates that you are eating enough fiber and vegetative matter.