Hi. My name is AMy. THis is my 1st post here. I have been doing so much searching to find a good message board to get some straight forward views on good nutrition.
Just a little about me. I am a 24 yo female. I live in GA. I am in teh Air FOrce reserves. And I desperatly need to lose some weight!!(I am 5'4" and weigh about 165) But I don't want a DIET. I want to havea change in my eating habits for life. I did it once before..I lost 50 lbs. A tthat time I started eating less meat..and when I did only skinless boneless chkn breast and white meat ground turkey. I also began eating more whole grains brown rice, wheat pasta. ANd expereimenting with stuff form the health food store. What I am unsure of is how ot really eat a completely healthy diet. I don't know how to plan a really good nutrition style..Any advice please.
Amy
Why don't you do a web search for the food pyramid. That might be a place to start, then you might have to tweak that a bit to meet your weight loss goals. I think the food pyramid is good, except for trying to lose weight, I would reduce the recommended carbs a little and increase the protein.
You should consult the new Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for how much calcium you will need. For adult females the DRI for calcium is 1000 mg/day, vitamin D is 5 micrograms/day or 200 IU (International Units).
Remember, if you are consuming 2-4 servings of milk products a day, you won't need to take a supplement.
My first suggestion is to also post your question on the weight loss board - there are people there who can share experiences specifically about losing weight.
As for your goal of developing better eating habits and learning about good nutrition - good for you! Once you start eating healthy it becomes habit and you'll feel so much better.
The basic idea of a good diet is to have balance and the right portion sizes. Anything in excess can be bad for you. Make sure you are eating lots of veggies & fruits, which make great snacks and can take place of sugary junkfood for dessert. Replace white flour/processed grains with whole wheat and multigrain products like pasta, bread, and cereal (kashi, oat bran, oatmeal). These are better for you nutritionally and will keep you full longer.
3 servings/day of calcium has been said to help with weight loss, so I would reccommend drinking lowfat or skim milk, soy milk, and eating things like yogurt, lowfat cheese, and broccoli. You may also want to take a calcium supplement like Viactiv for women if you are worried about your calcium intake. You also mentioned something about vitamins, are you taking a vitamin supplement every day?
Peanut or other nut butters, nuts, cheese, avocados, and olive oils can be good sources of fat. Just replace bad fats with these. As for protein, you can find this in eggs, beans, and lean meats, for example.
As long as you are eating in variety you should have no problem getting all of the nutrients you need to stay healthy.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated as well. Also to lose weight it is important to exercise. Have you thought about what exercises you are interested in doing?
Hope this helps - again, I would post on the weight loss board and do some research on your own. Check out the new food pyramid guide, search the web, and go to the library. There's a ton of stuff out there. Good luck!
-Jog
Learn to cook - Preprepared stuff you buy is SO full of crap; preservatives, coloring, sugar, salt etc. Search recipe sites for your favorite foods and make it yourself at home. Those sites are good coz people review them and give you good tips. Also, ask family and friend for cooking ideas
Portion Control - Don't eat too much in one sitting. Not only does it make you uncomfortable and tired, but it also puts strain on your organs that scramble frantically to process it all
Fresh and Natural is better - Keep your food as close to the way nature intended. Fresh veggies such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, peppers, tomatoes are delcious. Also, wild fresh water fish and lean (organic - no hormones or antibiotics) chicken will do you good too. Eat fresh berries, cantelope and pears. If you can't find fresh, then frozen is the next best, but avoid canned food wherever you can - the alumiminum leaches into the food and some of the most insidious diseases of the nervous system such as alzheimers and parkinsons are thought to be connected
Variety - Try different recipes, different veggies, using varioug sautes, marinades etc. Try your hand at japanese food, chinese food, thai - anything!! You will find that the healthier you eat the more variety you will enjoy. Also, avoid eating the same foods every day. Wheat toast for breakfast, wheat bread for lunch and wheat pasta for dinner is just setting yourself up for allergies and intestinal problems.
Avoid - If nature didn't make it, you shouldn't eat it often. Those Lean Cuisine or fast food is pretty devoid of everything a body needs
Preparation - Avoid deep frying and instead either steam veggies in a tbsp of water or saute in a little canola. Don't be afraid of fats, just chose the right ones and don't overuse
Snacks - Eat lots of nuts and seed and fruit to keep hunger pangs at bay
Flavor - There are so many delcioius and healthy ways to flavor food instead of resorting to butter, sugar and salt. Lemons, ginger, soy sauce, onions, garlic, orange peel, herbs and spices are wonderfully tasty and can really enhance your food
Suppliment - Taking a multi vitamin can't hurt. Also, a tbsp twice a day of flax seed oil and calcium mineral formula, plus Milk Thistle to help support liver function
Dairy - Don't rely too much on dairy - except for cottage cheese, organic live plain yoghurt and kerfir.
Cheat - Cheat at least once a week. You'll appreciate the good food when you eat crap at least once a week - and you won't feel deprived.
Thank you all for some very good info..ANd sorry to the moderator..I was not trying to break rules..Just some words that would find me what I am looking for....I will try looking up the food pyramid.I was just unsure what the proper words would be to search for...Again I apologize for this..THanks again to all of those with the great advice.. THe reason I did not post on the weight loss board is because I am looking for something to stick with for life..
Amy
(I am 5'4" and weigh about 165) But I don't want a DIET. I want to havea change in my eating habits for life. I did it once before..I lost 50 lbs. A tthat time I started eating less meat..and when I did only skinless boneless chkn breast and white meat ground turkey. I also began eating more whole grains brown rice, wheat pasta. ANd expereimenting with stuff form the health food store. What I am unsure of is how ot really eat a completely healthy diet. I don't know how to plan a really good nutrition style..Any advice please.
