Eating Healthier?

[JP]

So yesterday I decided to start eating better. I know how to eat a good diet but I've been slacking and added a bunch of unnecessary weight. I'm a fatty meat eater, which is not the best way to go if you do it in excess, which I have done. So now I start eating more vegetables especially salads, and with my meat dishes I will have some sort of ruffage to go along with the meal.

Today I had two salads. Also I am cutting back on sugar, Gonna start drinking more water with lemon.

So anyone who would like to drop a few lbs or just eat better in general, we can discuss it here, progress, intentions, menus, recipes, etc...

This time around I vowed to my wife I wouldn't try to be too extreme and would just ease into a better way of eating.

I believe a balanced diet is the way to go, so this is my aim, to eat a more varied diet.

As far as fruits go, we just can't get them ripe anymore to the extent we used to, its sad, ripe fruit is a real treasure.

So, lets have fun sharing and getting healthier! ;)


...JP

[kathyp]

we dumped the processed carbs.  that's the only change we made to our diet, and we were amazed at how much better we felt.  i am a pasta lover.  no problem switching to the whole wheat stuff.  i always like brown rice.  added more salads and kept the meat, but try to eat lower fat cuts.  i don't drink much anymore.  hubby has not given up the beer :-)

[JP]

I try and remind myself to eat "real foods" when I'm eating healthy, and that excludes most processed complex carbohydrates.


...JP

[bassman1977]

I try to but even when I think I am eating healthy, I remember how much crap is put into foods these days.  I haven't had time to grow fresh garden stuff.  I got as far as planning one this year.  Maybe next year I will actually do it.  I tried fruit trees.  They didn't last the summer.  I'll try again next year again too.  I like apples, pears and peaches.  MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM PEACHES!!!!!!!!  (Sorry, peach pie rules).  I try to pack on the greens though.  Spinach, green beens, peas, mmmmmmm...good stuff.  That's gotta be doing some good.  I fall victim to ice cream and potato chips pretty easily though.

Talk to you later.  I'm going to find something to eat.

[JP]

I try to but even when I think I am eating healthy, I remember how much crap is put into foods these days.  I haven't had time to grow fresh garden stuff.  I got as far as planning one this year.  Maybe next year I will actually do it.  I tried fruit trees.  They didn't last the summer.  I'll try again next year again too.  I like apples, pears and peaches.  MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM PEACHES!!!!!!!!  (Sorry, peach pie rules).  I try to pack on the greens though.  Spinach, green beens, peas, mmmmmmm...good stuff.  That's gotta be doing some good.  I fall victim to ice cream and potato chips pretty easily though.

Talk to you later.  I'm going to find something to eat.

You don't have to apologize, food is a weakness if you're not disciplined. I'm putting myself back in boot camp to tighten up a bit, but I'm in no race, and it ain't about vanity cause I can care less about that sort of thing.

I love to eat!!! I just need to make better choices.


...JP

[DayValleyDahlias]

OOHH healthy eating...yum.

For breakfast I have 8 ounces of unsweetened organic soy milk mixed with "Greens & Whey", to that I add powdered greens that I get from a store here called "Trader Joe's"...I also add a scoop of chia seed to that.  Drink it down, yum-o...Take a high quality multivitamin, coenzyme Q10, pro-biotics, dhea, DIM (di-indolymethane ), lithium, and some herbs...

Mid Morning snack:  soy yogurt and some raw nuts

Lunch: lentil or bean soup, or meatless meats with quinoa, a big old salad with spinach ,broccoli slaw, sprouted greens, an apple

Afternoon snack...wasa bread with nut butter

Dinner:  same as lunch no fruit

More supplements

Drink lot's of herb and green tea

No refined foods or processed foods  ALL organic produce No animal flesh.

Earth Balance Spread

The body is like a furnace..gotta keep the fire going...feed it the right fuel and it will burn efficiently!

[JP]

Yeah Sharon, I will be eating lots of healthy stuff. The real challenge is having food with you when you're on the go. Lots of planning involved. I see over the yrs fast food places are giving more healthy options, will have to see what that's about.

So the adventure in healthier eating begins!


...JP

[DayValleyDahlias]

Hey JP...I also meant to say that I keep protein bars at the ready.  One good brand to have on hand is "Think Thin" brand.  Have some raw almonds in your pocket or truck, etc...

You can get them here:  http://www.thinkproducts.com/

Also www.vitacost.com has them for discount!

[danno]

Good for you JP!!  My wife is a gormet cook and every meal is well rounded.  I love red meat so we eat alot of venison.  I put up 5 deer a year.  We also eat fish at least a couple times a week.  Our garden gets bigger every year.  Last year it was the best part of a acre.  We have every kind a fruit tree that will grow in Michigan.  My wife also should have been a accountant.  Every penny we spend get put in account in the computor.  Last year we saved 1800.00 on groceries.
bassman1977  If you try planting trees again check out drip irrigation at lowes or home depot.  Its very cheap to get into.  I run it to all my new trees for the first year.  It comes on at a preset time and drips 1-2 gals on each tree

[lovelyembalmer]

Eating healthy is very good and good for the pocket book. When you don't eat out, you don't spend as much on food. Making your own bread, cookies and snacks is a good way to make sure you know what is in them, not what the manufacture wants you to think is in them.

[JP]

My wife got a real laugh outta what a friend told me a few yrs back. He says, "Hey you don't wanna eat all your profits man!" We still get a laugh over that one. :-D


...JP

[dpence]

I think eating healthier is becoming more common.  My wife is trying a diet in which you group foods, in other words she doesn't eat meats and starches together.  The other thing is cutting down the dairy stuff.  Well I can't give up my milk, but for her it seems to be working.  We eat lest red meat and more fish and chicken.  Baking and not frying helps.  Lots of steamed veggies too.  It does make a person feel better and we have more energy it seems.

David

[JP]

  David: My wife is trying a diet in which you group foods, in other words she doesn't eat meats and starches together.  

 Me: Would that be FIT FOR LIFE?? By Harvey & Marilyn Diamond. Did the diet 17 yrs ago, a great way to eat, some info is contradictory but still a wonderful way to eat. You experiment and find what works for you.

I was 26 and doing that diet and running everyday, my family thought I was too thin. I felt great!!! Was hard to take all the food with me, everywhere I went, but that's the basic diet I like to draw from.


...JP

[KONASDAD]

I'm down 100lbs myself. Salads are my new best friend. Love the Kraft Zesty Italina fat free dressing, multigrain bread w/ flax and no fat yogurt, and fruit. I must eat at least three apples a day when i have good ones available( hard and tart). Take pilates and yoga now too. It all started w/ me by becoming pain free. once i was pain free, it libertaed my mind so i had the will power to be disciplined. Still have more(lot more) to lose, but I never felt better. In fact, i was at doctors office for bee sting to eye(picture available when I get time) and my blood pressure was 115 over 65. I asked Dr to take it again, it must be a mistake. it wasn't. I am a work in progress, and i encourage all of you to work too! Love the thread too. Last nite was hard, dollar dog nite and phillies game. had none, but three beers. off to gym!

[DayValleyDahlias]

Oh golly, wanna know a really delicious bread??  Manna...it has very Biblical roots...Manna from Heaven...I Love the stuff...

Also eating 100% whole grain breads is good, there are many more options, and homemade everything is just better eh?

I would never eat deer...but don't tell them that...lil buggers cost me $$ had to put up a deer fennce this year!

[HAB]

Whole grain cereals, lots of vegetables (I especially like raw veggies), small servings of lean meats and no processed sweets works for me.  I have to fight the battle every year after the Holidays (can't help it I've gotta have my Holiday foods) and each year it takes me longer to get it back off. :'(

[JP]

I appreciate all of the feedback so far. Yep, it seems we can all eat better at times.

Konas just want to say congratulations!!!!! Keep up the good work man!! ;)

Sharon, you have my brain spinning! ;)

Hey where's Annette? I know she'll have a say here. ;)


...JP

[DayValleyDahlias]

Okay here are a few more "don'ts"

any carbonated drink, even water

no fried foods

no splenda or nutrasweet

Here are some do's

For sweetening:

stevia

xylitol

brown rice syrup

[kathyp]

DVD you are probably the healthiest among us, but if i went into my store and asked for some of that stuff, i'd get tossed out on my....head....

i'll have to stick to fruits, veggies, and whole wheat  :-)

[JP]

Okay here are a few more "don'ts"

any carbonated drink, even water

no fried foods

no splenda or nutrasweet

Here are some do's

For sweetening:

stevia

xylitol

brown rice syrup

DVD, everything in moderation is my motto, of course I've abused that and that's why I started this post in the first place! :-D

Gotta have something fried every now and again, like fried Mahi Mahi, fresh of course!!

A small steak, like chuck eye round, 1/2 the price of ribeye and one heck of a lil steak, broiled with some brussel sprouts.

Have you tried agave syrup as a sweetner? It mixes well and is relatively low on the glycemic index. I get it from whole foods. It lasts a while too. I make a concoction of kombucha green with lime soda and a lil agave, man is it good!

Don't care for artificial sweetners really. Can tolerate sweet n low in coffee and tea though. Not much of a coffee drinker though.

My energy level has already improved in the last few days since I've been eating better!


...JP