Better foods for weight loss?
Erica
Hello 
So, recently I've been trying to get back on track with working out and eating right. I got after track after some family issues, transitioning to college and a death, and sort of went back to using food for comfort during those sorts of problems and transitions happened. I just decided the other day that I was going to get back to what I was doing before and working out more. After talking with my brother, I realized how important it was for me to start eating better.
I really only eat one meal a day and feel full rather quickly (which is apparently because I don't eat much to begin with and I'm the slowest eater in the history of slowest eaters haha).
I don't want to "diet" because in the past, it never worked for me, and I just ended up being too hard on myself and gave up. I'm trying to just make better choices (like choosing fruits instead of chips or candy at school).
My problem is that I don't really know what to eat (as crazy as that sounds).
I'm not sure what makes a good breakfast, lunch or dinner.
So far, my meals usually consist of a small ham and cheese wrap, fruit, a drink...and that's it. Of course, I snack during the day haha though never on anything good for me.
The thing that makes it even harder is that I'm at school from 9AM to 8PM every Monday and Wendsday, so I'm not sure what exactly to eat for lunch and dinner there that could be more healthy :o My college doesn't have a huge meal selection. Just the basics for hungry college students to feel satisfied haha I've thought about bringing my own food, but like I said, I have no idea what to eat D:
I was also wondering are nutritional bars okay to eat? My brother says use it as a pre-workout snack, but I was wondering if it could help with cravings or be something I snack on during the day until lunch or dinner? :o
The reason I ask is because I used to drink these nutritional shakes (mainly for the flavor), until I saw that they were used to help maintain or gain weight (which I found out is why grandma had them -- to help my great grandma keep her weight). Do nutritional bars do the same thing?
Felecity W.
Nutritional bars DO NOT make you gain weight. At least not the ones I eat which are mainly granola bars, luna bars, or nutri-bars, these provide a balanced mixture of healthy grains and vitamins to give you energy. I like having a granola bar on me when I am at school along with an apple or some other high fiber fruit. This ensures that I feel satisfied without racing to the vending machine for crap.
Make sure you check the list of ingredients, try to limit or exclude high fructose corn syrup and limit your sugar intake, sugar will give you a short burst of energy but will ultimately make you drag. Also try to include as much whole wheat as possible it is more complex than white flour and way better for you.
Almonds or cashews are also a good snack and full of good fat *omega 3's*. Unsweetened dried fruit is also nice to munch on when you can't break out a noisy apple!
Baby carrots, edame*soy*, and grape tomatoes are a great snack, they are crunchy and you can easily eat them anywhere. I also eat alot of fruit, like bananas,apples, plums, oranges, grapes, peaches anything that transports well and doesn't get soggy. You could also invest in a small Tupperware to transport hummus or peanut butter to dip your veggies/fruit in. If you msg me I can give you an easy hummus recipe.
I don't know if you are a vegetarian or not but hard boiled eggs, tuna with whole wheat crackers and low fat string cheese are all good ideas as well. Whole wheat tortillas with avocado, turkey, peppers, and bean sprouts, is both delicious and filling!
I hope these give you some ideas...Also if you don't have a chance to grab something in the morning you should be aware of the healthy foods in vending machines. My University offers dried almonds, dried fruit with no sugar, unsalted pretzels, water, and 100% juice. They should have a small red heart next to the vending number to help you distinguish healthy choices.
Also Whole foods is a good place to find healthy snacks. Annies is a good brand for buying gummies, and goldfish type snacks. Try the veggie chips sold in the wholesale bins, YUMMY! I love them.
One last thing, consider making breakfast burritos to last you a week or healthy muffins so you have something to eat when you leave for school. I notice if I eat a bowl of oatmeal before school I stay full longer and the grains help me concentrate.
Stephanie M.
Felecity W. is right. eatting something before you go to your university is something essential.
I'm also trying to get back on track with my weight and since I have a full day in my university I try to eat a good breackfast because I know that my body needs the fuel (I don't want to end up fainting,) and try to eat less at night.
Good luck Erica with your weight loss I'm sure you can make it
(sorry bad english)
Mary ;)
Hei Erica,
I just lost a few pounds after ages of trying different diets, so I'll tell you it's not much what you eat, but how often you eat.
If you eat just one meal a day, your body won't know next time it'll have food available, so automatically stores fats for later. It's a well-known biological process,it goes back to primitive men eating whenever they managed to find something to eat, and that definitely didn't happen on regular basis.
So, first off, try to eat small amounts of food multiple times a day. I usually have breakfast, then a yogurt or a piece of fruit at 10 am, then I eat lunch around 1 pm, have another snack around 5ish and eat my dinner around 8 pm (that's when I come home from work). As you can see, I eat small amounts of food roughly every 3 hours. You'll feel less hungry inbetween meals, which is the key to resist temptations and not snack on junk food, and your body will adapt to the "food every 3 hours" scheme turning up your metabolism, which will also mean you'll have more energy throughout the day.
Second, but first in order of importance, drink water. Just still, plain tap water. Drink at least three full pint glasses a day. If you manage, carry around with you a small bottle of water - having it with you all day long will help you drink more. This is because the same thing our body does with fats it does with water: if you don't give it enough, it stores it for later, making you feel bloated. Also, drinking more water will help you feel less hungry inbetween meals (which is always good).
Third, do a little sport. No diet will ever help you if you sit down 8 hours a day. You don't need to spend hours at the gym, you just need to exercise for 20 minutes a day (straight, 10 and 10 minutes won't work). You can jog, dance, run, cycle, whatever you like, but for at least 20 minutes in a row every day.
Fourth, try and keep your calorie intake around 1.400 a day. Use websites like http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/ to help you. Also keeping a diary can help, writing down what you eat and your achievements
As far as healthy food is concerned, you can find a lot of useful information on the NHS website: http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/Goodfood/Pages/Goodfoodhome.aspx
Lisa W.
I love www.calorieking.com {i hope i spelled that right but you get the idea} for if I want to go out to eat and www.eatingwell.com for cooking :]
Knitty Nora
hey
one thing i would recomend is to stay away from bread and pasta ( they are often thought of as healthy they are not.) eat high in fiber foods, eat fruit and veg, eat little and often get lots of sleep.
KnittyNora bread isn't necessary "bad" for you it's the refined white flour and processed bread that is bad because your body doesn't know how to process it and it doesn't provide the necessary nutrients you need. Carbs can be found in fruit, veggies as well as beans, so don't think bread is your only option. If you want to eat bread choose "good" bread that is made from whole wheat and doesn't include high fructose corn syrup. Refined, processed flours and corn syrup are the main reasons people gain weight from breads and pastas. Whole wheat spaghetti is amazing!
suethecrafter
I have found if you you eat when you are hungery, not to overload your stomach just eat till your full, But eat the right things you carnt go wrong, I find also if i dont feel like eating on a morning a slim fast shake sees me over to Lunch time, also if i go out round about dinner time and have no time to grab a bit to eat, a shake in my bag to take with me stop me buying something high in calories while i am out. (HAPPY EATING PLAN)
Emmyann07
I budget calories like I budget my paycheck, I'm always trying to get the most of what I have. Once you become aware of how high certain foods are in calories you'll realize what a total waste they are. That isn't to say all calories are equal, to lose weight it's important to know the costs and benefits of all food, it's about balancing quality and quantity. A good way to do this is by tracking your fat, protein, fiber, carbs as well as calories. A good website and phone app I've been using (and have lost nearly 20 LBS with is www.myfitnesspal.com it will tell you exactly what levels you can intake to reach your goal in the time you want. It doesn't feel like dieting, after a while it just seems sensible.
Other eating tips: eat all three meals a day. You need to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up to kick start your metabolism for the day. Dinner should be your lightest meals of the day, not heaviest. Don't eat after 8pm, you're metabolism starts shutting down late at night. And I know it sounds weird but snack in between meals - nothing big, something healthy and full of nutrients to keep your body from entering "starvation mode" which keeps your body from burning fat.
I'm not to talk about working out because I LOATH it... but... When I was at my best I was going to the gym every day/ every other day and burned up to 1000 cal when there. I'm not an athletic person in the least bit but I was able to find a routine that I could tolerate and worked my self up each week starting at 100c and going to 1000c. I actually have cardiac induced asthma so anytime I tried to run my lungs would start shutting down... the best thing I've found instead of running fast, if you speed walk/ jog at a high elevation and find a good cooking show to watch your workouts will go surprisingly fast even if you're there for an hour.
Upnorthjeanne
Go to the Eat Right for Your Type website. If you know you're blood type, you can read the food lists for your type. If I follow it, I feel great. When I don't, I get headaches & feel blah! Try it!
Oh! & I want to share a great quote I saw: "Eat to Live, Don't Live to Eat!
Cemre K.
I've heard that just trying to eat less will make your body think you are starving and just end up trying to conserve more energy, which makes sense to me.
Eating lots and lots of protein stuff, and just less fat (particularly sat. and trans fat) and carbs will probably help much more than trying to eat less.
And don't just eat because you're hungry and you want to have a full stomach; eat because food tastes good. Savor every bite and know you're doing yourself a favor, to get the most out of the least.
eat to live AND live to eat!!
I've heard that just trying to eat less will make your body think you are starving and just end up trying to conserve more energy, which makes sense to me.
Eating lots and lots of protein stuff, and just less fat (particularly sat. and trans fat) and carbs will probably help much more than trying to eat less.
And don't just eat because you're hungry and you want to have a full stomach; eat because food tastes good. Savor every bite and know you're doing yourself a favor, to get the most out of the least.
eat to live AND live to eat!!
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