Healthy Eating and Living

[edhead2000]

Ok, Dot and I are both trying to lose weight, which is not as easy as it seems. We were discussing healthy eating and one of our biggest problems is eating out. Not just at restaurants, but also at office/school functions. Someone decides to bring in their "world-famous cheesecake" one day.......how do you decline or take a small piece without offending them? What should you order when at a restaurant? I know many have "healthy options" nowadays and those are a good start. What are the "hidden" things we should look out for? And my all time weakness: buffets.....all little bit of everything soon adds up to a lot. I know the easy answer is "don't eat out", but there are some situations where avoiding restaurants isn't an answer. We aren't looking to start any kind of diet or weight debate, just looking for some healthy food options. Neither one of us is on a specific diet, but we're both trying not to consume excess carbs or fat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KenpoGirl]

I posted the following under the MT Slim down thread, which has kinda wained and disapeared. So I'll reprint it here. Shows you just how bad some of these fast food joints are.

One tip for you and anyone who opts for fast food for convience sake is to go to all the fast food web sites and look at their nutritional guides. (They have to post them by law I believe) and see what you can and can not eat. Here are the biggies

McDonalds Menu Page

Burger King Menu section

Arby's Nutritional Guide

Denny's Nutritional Gude

Domino's Menu, look for the nutritional guides at the bottom of the lists

Swish Chalet Nutritional guide

Taco Bell Nutritional Guide

Just add up the calories of what you usually eat and see what you get.

Example. I usually order a Big Mac Combo when going to McDonalds. I looked it up on the site, for a Big Mac, Med Fries, and Med Sprite there are 1124 calories.

My current diet guide is 1200 to 1500 calories a day. That means this one meal took up nearly all of my calories for that day. Scary stuff eh?

No wonder the majority of people in North American (that includes Canadians) are over weight or obese. Something to think about.

Dot
:asian:

Now a lot of restaurants have changed in recent months bringing in "Low Carb" items due to the popularity of the Atkins and South Beach diets. This is a good thing. You may have heard that McDonalds in no longer offering the larger order of Fries and Pop. I'm not sure if this is due to the new health trends or the fact that this past year they or like restaurants were sued because they were "Making" people fat by offering the larger size.

I think on of my main questions is if you do go out to eat, and I'm not just talking fast food I mean sit down restaurants as well. Which type do you think is healthiest. Which has the the better choices in regards to healthier eating. Italian vs Chinese, Mexican vs Italian etc.... I don't mean these specifically, just giving you and starting point.

Lets see what we can come up with.

Dot

 

[lifewise]

Ok, Dot and I are both trying to lose weight, which is not as easy as it seems. We were discussing healthy eating and one of our biggest problems is eating out. Not just at restaurants, but also at office/school functions. Someone decides to bring in their "world-famous cheesecake" one day.......how do you decline or take a small piece without offending them? What should you order when at a restaurant? I know many have "healthy options" nowadays and those are a good start. What are the "hidden" things we should look out for? And my all time weakness: buffets.....all little bit of everything soon adds up to a lot. I know the easy answer is "don't eat out", but there are some situations where avoiding restaurants isn't an answer. We aren't looking to start any kind of diet or weight debate, just looking for some healthy food options. Neither one of us is on a specific diet, but we're both trying not to consume excess carbs or fat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Please, DON'T deny yourself a small piece of that cheesecake. Unfortunately, eating is a very social event in our society. Ask for a small slice, perhaps you leave some on the plate, but do join in. The only way to loose weight safely is to develop a strong will, eat properly (The Food Pyramid, or Canada's Food Guide) and exercise regularly.

Stay away from buffets. There are just too many reasons to list.

Based on the content of your profile, you are a knowledgable person. You know diets don't work. I doubt anyone here is going to tell you anything you don't already know. It is a matter of choice.

:asian:

 

[Black Bear]

EATING OUT:
Other than the outright unhealthy choices out there, and the lack of control you have over what goes into the food, one of the tricky things is portion sizes. Many restaurants have disproportionately large portion sizes.

What matters is what you do most of the time. When you eat out, tell them right out, you want a smaller portion, you don't want cheese on it, etc. A customer CAN choose what they consume when they're out there.

Try writing down everything you eat throughout the day. Every day. Then looking it over with your partner.

People know what healthy is. YOU do, anyway, since you're a drug dealer. Don't eat things out of a can. Eat fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and nuts. Eat everything in a state as close as possible to when it was still alive. Add good spices, not salt and oil.

lifewise is correct: buffets are absurd.

*written while eating pasta and meatballs and a sausage sandwich*

 

[jfarnsworth]

Well, I was at a retirement party at 10:45 this morning for 5 people. There were a total of 4 full sheet cakes of many variety to choose from. Jim had grabbed me by the hand and said celebrate my retirement and eat this cake. We both laughed and I had told him that I don't eat cakes or ice cream any more but thank you anyways. He knew I probably wouldn't eat it but regardless I was polite grabbed a couple of waters and had a good time.
As far as eating out goes that's another problem all by itself. When I eat out at a restaurant my first objective is to get fish, chicken, or steak of some kind. Choose a vegetable and a potatoe. (I know potatoe is full of carbs but I'm not worried about carbs for me.) My opinion is to eat whole foods like that and nothing saturated with sugar or even a lot of salt. Both of which will store in the body. Sugar turning to fat plus salt retaining too much water. Always continue to drink plenty of water. If you fall off of the wagon :uhyeah: drink even more when you arrive home. The last pop I drank was on Feb. 26th. It's been nothing but water ever since. However every once in a while I will have one. Put some type of cardio in your daily activities besides your MA training. This should give you a start.
Ask more questions if you'd like. :asian:

 

[Black Bear]

jfarnsworth,
Dude, have you taken nutrition? Complex carbs like starch (of which baked potatoes are almost exclusively composed) are nutritionally almost identical to simple sugars, because that's what they break down into through the body's amylases. Eating the inside of a baked potato (the skin contains vitamins) or a bowl of rice, is exactly the same as eating a bowl of candy.

Water is a good point.

 

[jfarnsworth]

I eat the potatoes to gain carbs for my daily routine. I do not eat those every day however. At 5'7" and 153lbs. I'm personally not worried about carb intake as others are. I make no bones about being a dietician either. As much as I work out I usually don't eat enough food in a day to support my life style. :asian:

 

[edhead2000]

Always continue to drink plenty of water.

My friends at school always make fun of me because I bring between 4-5 bottles of water with me to class each day. I stopped drinking diet soda too.

 

[Shodan]

A friend of mine who was very overweight lost a lot of weight by doing the following........I have also tried it and it helps- this is in regards to restaurants. Order your meal and immediately, when it comes, ask for a to-go box. Put half of everything into the box and only eat what is left on your plate. For her, for me and probably for others, we are more apt to eat too much if we can see it........if it is sitting in front of us on a plate. By putting half of it away, you are lowering your portion size and splitting your meal into two meals. Like someone said......restaurants give us way too much in portions these days.

My new dessert regimine is that I try to only have one dessert once per week- my day is Fridays cuz that is the day my hubby and I go out to eat once per week. I try my best to stick to that one day per week dessert day........if there is a special event, that becomes my dessert day for the week- it doesn't mean I get two dessert days just cuz there was an occasion on a day other than Friday!! It's hard sometimes cuz we have coffee hour after church with yummy cookies or someone brings in some other yummy treat.......but I've found that having a planned dessert day has made it easier on me to make my choice..........do I want this yummy dessert now, or do I want to wait for Friday and have something else.

I want to get better on the water idea.......I drink way too many other things and not enough water.

:asian: :karate:

 

[Black Bear]

I'm not saying that potatoes or carbs are bad for you. I myself take pasta and rice just like most people. I just find it amusing that you go out of your way to watch your sugar intake and don't give a thought to complex carbs, which your body pretty much instantly breaks down into sugar. Folks who give advice on these matters... should educate themselves first. Nuff sed.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Nuff sed.

Good enough :idunno:

BTW, My wife just handed me her college nutrition book.

 

[jfarnsworth]

My friends at school always make fun of me because I bring between 4-5 bottles of water with me to class each day

That is their problem. When we went to Heather's last work party I came in with 4 20oz. bottles of water. Everyone was staring at me but :idunno: I could care less. While they are drinking their fill of pop and s*** I will be there drinking my water. :uhyeah: :asian:

 

[jfarnsworth]

If anyone wants to read this short article it's alright but should have had more to it. Some might find it interesting.

http://www.flexonline.com/nutr/26

 

[jkn75]

OK, I am going to start with this: Carbs are good. Your body needs them. Does that mean overload on simple sugars? No. Does that mean have pasta, rice, (complex carbs) all the time? No. But lets please move away from the idea that these important facets of diet are unhealthy.

As was said by everyone on the board moderation is the key. What has worked well for me is avoiding deep fried foods (yes that means everything : fries, donuts, chicken, etc). If you want them occasionally that's OK but occasionally is 1 or 2 times a week. Also cut down on red meat and pork, eat poultry or fish more often. Fruits, vegetables and nuts should be used as side items and snacks as much as possible. Next try to balance your sodium intake. Of course avoid putting salt on food should be avoided but look for hidden sodium. Stuff that is often labeled low fat will be really high in sodium. It is some times as much as double of the regular fat variety. Fat is OK but avoid saturated fat, so I will take a gram or two of mono or unsaturated fat as opposed to 500 mg of sodium. Finally try to have one completely vegetarian meal a week. This is actually very easy to do.

Next water intake is important. You should try to have the 8 glasses a day. If this is difficult, try to have 20 oz of water 3 times a day at about the same time everyday. That way your body will not retain water because it knows it's getting some later.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Very good points. :asian:

I drink at least a gallon + water everyday. Therefore I don't worry about sugar sitting and turning into fat. As far as snacks go a very excellent point. I try peanuts, almonds, a granola bar a day, a balance bar a day, cottage cheese, peanut butter w/crackers plus a few others.

 

[Black Bear]

That's some good snacking farnsworth.

jkn, yes your body needs carbs. The high-protein people would say that you get all the carbs you need from veggies and fruit if you're eating enough. Something like rice or (the inside of) a potato is devoid of nutritional merit that they'd say you just don't eat it. Get your carbs from nutritionally-dense foods.

Keep in mind people that I myself am not a high-protein guy. I'm way too conventional for that. I have no desire to put my body into a mild state of ketosis to burn a few pounds. Weight control has never been an issue for me. But on that, they kind of have a point.

The caricature of the broccoli-fearing Atkins zealot is by and large a media fabrication. Folks on Atkins eat their greens.

I'll agree on the deep-fried thing. Not only because of the fat content, which is considerable, but because the high temperatures involved in deep frying produce a carcinogenic byproduct called acrylamide. Probably one of the most unhealthy things that any of us eat.

For those with little nutritional background,
http://www.straightblastgym.com/diet.html#diet

Helluva lot more useful than anything you'll find in flex magazine, etc. You're welcome.

 

[edhead2000]

That is their problem. When we went to Heather's last work party I came in with 4 20oz. bottles of water. Everyone was staring at me but :idunno: I could care less. While they are drinking their fill of pop and s*** I will be there drinking my water. :uhyeah: :asian:

I never said I cared that they laugh at me! I just tell them they should be drinking at least 64 oz of water a day!

 

[edhead2000]

Folks on Atkins eat their greens.

It's true. I did Atkin's once and ate more vegetables on that diet than I did regularly.

 

[Black Bear]

What did you think of Atkin's?

BTW, your Eisenhower quote rocks. I noticed it before at www.costofwar.com

 

[jfarnsworth]

What did you think of Atkin's? [/url]

Although I'm just starting on my 649pg. nutrition book I don't think that they Atkin's thing is really the way to go. Maybe for a short term only, very short term at that. Don't you rob your body of proper nutrients and other things it really needs by cutting out a lot of foods.

REMEMBER! I'm just starting my 649 page college nutrition book. :asian: