Need HEALTHY Help!

[Lynn B]

One thing I would totally recommend is give up the soda! I know it's so hard, but it really is (for me, anyway) so counterproductive to a healthy diet. Like you said, soda just tastes soooo good with fatty, salty snacks... it's almost impossible to have one without the other.
Also, regular soda is loaded with sugar, and diet sodas have the artificial sweeteners, which I personally try to avoid.

DH and I gave up artificial sweeteners about 10 years ago and may I say that within a few weeks we BOTH noticed a definite improvement in our cognition?! I swear it's true. We felt noticeably "clearer" mentally. That may not be the case for everyone, of course, but for us, it was pretty wild, and definitely reinforced our decision to continue to avoid it.

Also, there is a ton of research that seems to indicate that artificial sweeteners may actually stimulate your appetite, thus sabotaging the best efforts to cut calories! GAH! Now that's a kick in the pants for many of us!!!

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Rubbermaid makes something similar to the Tupperware containers. They''re specifically for produce. They REALLY work. My berries keep WAY longer than they do if you just leave them in the container you bought them in or in a regular storage container. You can pick them up at any Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Our local grocery store (Hy-Vee) sells them. In fact, I recently started buying blueberries and just rinsing them and keeping them in one of those containers. Whenever it''s snack-attack time for sweets, I pull that out and just munch on them like Skittles.

I do NOT like the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. Everything I put in them seems to rot twice as fast. Maybe I''m not using them correctly, but where we can keep a tomato on the counter for a week, we have moldy tomato soup in the Green Bags after a week. Gross.

It is true that once you start to cut out all of the over-salted and over-sweetened foods, your tastebuds will react and you''ll find you don''t need all that over-processed food all the time. All this produce talk got me all hungry so I had a delicious Pink Lady apple dipped in some all-natural Peanut Butter. Scrumptious!

 

[Lynn B]

Me again... can you tell this is a subject I LOVE???!

One more suggestion... consider giving up ALL sweets (refined sugar) for 30 days. Yep, cold turkey and no cheating!

I have done that and it is amazing how the cravings begin to subside when they are not being indulged. Honestly, it's crazy what a difference it can make. You stop feeding the beast.

I'm not gonna lie to you, the first few days are hellacious

but it DOES get better. And with sugary sweets and snacks out of the equation, you'll find yourself naturally drawn to a variety of (naturally sweet), juicy fruits. At least that's what happened to me!

And after day 30, you may even find yourself wanting to keep it up!

 

[decodelighted]

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!

I forgot to subscribe to this thread & didn''t realize people were still responding! Just catching up now! THANKS AGAIN!!!

Still haven''t made a smoothie yet. Had a Magic Bullet in my cart at Target last night & then thought "Slow down, Sistah -- you don''t even know if you LIKE homemade smoothies yet!" ... so I put it back & will make one in the regular old blender first.

Did get Almond milk, an Apple Corer, Lemon Holder for the fridge and, the holy grail -- the Fake Plastic Takeout Cup + Straw combo (dishwasher safe!).

Fruit-wise, I ate half of the cherries today & a few handfuls of a trail mix w/ dried fruits & nuts (no chocolate or anything). Did have two diet sodas, but the rest of the day I had sparkling water + lemon in my new cup. (Aside from the morning coffee). Pretty decent day food-wise. And I took T to the walking trail by here. She can only go so far because her legs are tiny! I really have to walk by myself to get a real workout. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway -- I''m catching up now, will write back & THANKS AGAIN!!!!!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/13/2010 11:52:51 PM
Author: elrohwen
Welcome to the world of fruits and veggies!

Thanks for the fruit & veggie tips. I''m sure veggies will be next. Veggie storage doesn''t vex me as much somehow. Are they just not as delicate as the fruities? Or maybe its because I feel *relieved* instead of *guilty* when I get to throw away the veg.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 9:25:17 AM
Author: FL Steph
I try to only buy enough fruit that will last for a few days. I usually go to the grocery store at least 2 times a week and will just buy more when I run out.

As far as sweets craving go, I find that cutting out processed sweets for a few days will make fruit taste better and actually satisfies the sugar cravings just fine most of the time. Good luck with eating healthier!

Thanks FL Steph! Good ideas. I think "portion control" is a problem for me in the *store* as well as on my *plate*. I''m only ONE PERSON!?! DH is not going to eat the fruit. Who am I kidding? I grew up in a house of 8 people so sometimes I still shop large out of habit. When I was in NYC it was easier to just drop by & pick something up at a market while walking home. In the hinterlands its a bigger production w/the car and the giant stores and the lines. Gah. I wish there was a Farmers Market that ran all week long within walking distance from my house. HA! How''s that for dreaming!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 1:14:22 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Deco, if you are doing this for weight loss, I recommend trying to do Weight Watchers Online. It was like 50 some odd bucks for the first three months (go to retailmenot.com and check weightwatchers.com for coupons that get rid of the initial fee or whatever that charge is).

I was all ready to protest "NO!! Not WEIGHT LOSS!" But, as I said above "Who am I kidding?" Sure. Weight loss would be EXCELLENT. I''d especially like to lose that new ballooning area right below my boobs that is NOT my boobs. "Hello Victoria''s Secret, point me toward your QUAD-bras please!" Blerg.

I''ve thought about the WW online. I toyed with Spark People for a while a couple of years back. And I''ve done in person WW once before w/o much success. Right now I''m just not up to "the game" of it. Actually, I''m waiting for my blood test results & feeling super nervous about them ... so trying to eat healthier is as much about that as it is about my Under Boobage Area & Other Fatty Quadrants. I''d like to develop some doable, achievable, sticky habits in the short run & build from there. I purposely didn''t weigh myself before I started anything -- so I don''t have a *number* in mind. Trying to focus on how I *feel* at least for now. Appreciate the recommendation though! Sounds like its doing the trick for your purposes! Sweet!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 1:32:44 PM
Author: dragonfly411
First you need to get rid of the sweets that are in the house. What anyone who is looking to eat healthier has to realize is that your body becomes addicted to sugar and refined carbs over time. It is like breaking an addiction. You can''t be gradual. You just have to stop. So remove the temptation first and foremost.

Give yourself some kind of visual image of what your ideal healthy person is like. I actually have several, including Lauren Conrad, Ellen Degeneres, Sandra Bullock, and Carrie Underwood. Take time to read interviews with them that include comments on diet and healthy eating. Remember that those ideals should be your own to reach a healthy lifestyle.

I recommend keeping fruit out in a very visible place. I keep oranges and apples on our counter... I keep grapes and strawberries and blueberries on the top shelves in the refrigerator. I sometimes put fruit on the table too. Bananas are also very visible in our house. Make them easy to access and easy to be seen.

Make a point of saying ''I will include at least one serving of this fruit with my breakfast/lunch/dinner.'' Do this with as many meals as you can.

I''m actually guilty of wastefulness with vegetables, and am trying to get better about it. My problem is prep time so I am trying to get myself to start pre-slicing and then bagging it so I can pull it out when I am ready to use it.

Thanks for the advice Dragonfly! Will keep it in mind as I go forward!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 1:52:14 PM
Author: appletini
Deco one thing I do that helps w/ healthy snacks is everynight DH and I prep our lunchboxes for the next day and I usually pack various healty snacks. When I get to work I put everything next to my laptop and there for me all day. And at work I don''t have the pantry with all the temptations (although my co-worker does have a candy bowl but at least she''s on another floor).

Hey Appletini! Haven''t seen you around much! Good to hear from you. I like the idea of pre-planning the day ahead a bit. I work from home mostly but just knowing what I''m aiming for would take away that "What would I mostest love to eat in the whole world" kinda thinking that DH & I are BOTH SO OFTEN GUILTY OF!!!!

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 1:58:52 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Deco, in all seriousness, it''s GREAT that you''re looking to bring more fruit into your diet and I commend your efforts (lord knows I could do with a little more). But remember, fruit, while a good source of fiber, has a lot of sugar in it and sugar=carbs. Sure, eating a pound of grapes is ''better'' for you than eating junk, but it''s still a ton of sugar, carbs, and calories none of which you need. Many many people end up sabotaging their diets because they''re eating too much fruit. In my opinion berries pack the most punch when it comes to a healthy, satisfying fruit snack. They''re small so a serving seems really generous, they''re tasty, high in fiber, and they''re a super food so they''ve got lots of antioxidants in them.

So in addition to fruit, also look for ways in which to work veggies into your snacking/meal plan. You should be eating 2 servings of veggies for every 1 serving of fruit. Easy ways to work veggies in are carrots, celery, cucumbers, raw zucchini, bell peppers, etc, cut up and stored in 1-serving portions with hummus, PB, or some other healthy dip for dipping. Easy on the carrots though, they''re also high in sugar. Have a small salad or cup of vegetable soup before each major meal. It''s an easy way to get veggies in and the fiber will prevent you from over eating at dinner. While variety is great and we should all strive to eat a rainbow of colors, if there''s a particular veggie that you like that you can eat regularly, do it. For me that''s celery, cucumber, artichokes, zucchini, and green beans, so I eat those a lot.

As I mentioned above, carrots are really high in sugar. Other ''veggies'' to eat in moderation (but not cut out entirely because they''re still really good for you) are: winter squash (hubbard, acorn, butternut, etc), corn, beets, turnips, and peas. Anything that''s sweet and starchy.

Hi Hudson Hawk!
I really appreciate all the advice - and I know it is solid. But, honestly, you would NOT BELIEVE what I *have* been eating. My diet is laughable. A therapist once told me "You should feed yourself as if you''re a parent feeding a 12 year old child, instead of EATING LIKE YOU ARE A 12 year old child!" Almost ANY kind of healthier choices is a step in the right direction. You''re talking Graduate Level healthy eating and I am ... twelve. Now, depending on my blood test results -- there may need to be some drastic changes. Well, there def need to be some drastic changes, no matter what my blood says. But I really need to crawl before I do the 5K yanno?

Also, the day I eat BEETS: shoot me.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 6:12:29 PM
Author: Yimmers
Deco, give those small strawberries a try. I don''t buy the big ones anymore. My local farmer''s market has a local organic farm out of Half Moon Bay that grows Chandler strawberries. They are a smaller variety but are sweeter than the usual big ones. A lot of supermarket produce is grown for looks and quantity, not for taste. And, most of them come out of the same ''specie'' (sp?) of the fruit/vegetable.

So interesting! It makes sense -- growing for looks vs. taste. I''m looking forward to trying those local strawberries (and other things I find -- even, yes, veggies). THANKS Yimmers!

 

[decodelighted]

Hey Lynn!

I'll have to check out that Tupperware. I thought my *food* shopping list was going to get longer with "healthy eating" -- but my *housewares* budget is going to triple!

Re: the Diet Soda brain damage -- GEEZ! That's frightening. I hope I can get off the stuff! It is sooooo hard. I LOVE IT. Gah.

I'll also consider the 30 day cold turkey. A friend of mind lost 80 lbs in the last couple of years & hers started with a cold turkey type situation. Her plan is sooo severe though. I don't think it would work for me. Everyone has to find their own system I guess.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/14/2010 8:28:34 PM
Author: Travel Goddess
Rubbermaid makes something similar to the Tupperware containers. They''re specifically for produce. They REALLY work. My berries keep WAY longer than they do if you just leave them in the container you bought them in or in a regular storage container. You can pick them up at any Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Our local grocery store (Hy-Vee) sells them. In fact, I recently started buying blueberries and just rinsing them and keeping them in one of those containers. Whenever it''s snack-attack time for sweets, I pull that out and just munch on them like Skittles.

I do NOT like the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. Everything I put in them seems to rot twice as fast. Maybe I''m not using them correctly, but where we can keep a tomato on the counter for a week, we have moldy tomato soup in the Green Bags after a week. Gross.

It is true that once you start to cut out all of the over-salted and over-sweetened foods, your tastebuds will react and you''ll find you don''t need all that over-processed food all the time. All this produce talk got me all hungry so I had a delicious Pink Lady apple dipped in some all-natural Peanut Butter. Scrumptious!

Thanks Travel Goddess. Will look out for the Rubbermaid stuff too & avoid Debbie Meyer. B*tch.

 

[princesss]

Cold turkey is easiest for me. There''s a lot of people saying it''s harder, because if you don''t feed the cravings, you binge. Well, yeah, but I hit that point after about 2-3 months and I can''t do the kind of damage in a binge that I can by constantly allowing myself things under the guise of being healthy because I''m not restricting.

Honestly, it''s kind of a fun test of self control. I did a one week no sweets thing a few weeks ago, and I''m starting a 2 week no sweets commitment today. I''m just tired of feeling out of control when it comes to food - I am woman, d*mnit, hear me ROAR. It''s a lot easier for me to say "No" BEFORE I''ve had a bite of chocolate than it is for me to say no to the 15 bites that follow. Once I get a taste I''m like a sweet seeking missle - if it''s there, I can find it. But if I don''t take the first bite, there is no second or third.

 

[waxing lyrical]

What an awesome thread. I bookmarked it. I just ordered the Vitamix. I can''t wait to use it!

 

[bee*]

I do the exact same thing with fruit and I''m sick of throwing out old fruit. Before my wedding I lost over 3 stone (about 46 lbs in total). I went cold turkey too. I gave up crisps, bread, cheese, chocolates etc and I actually enjoyed eating healthier. I was great for months after the wedding however in the past few months I relaxed a bit and unfortunately put on 10lbs. So I''ve realised that I have to stay quite strict with myself. I went back onto a less-strict version of my old diet and have lost 5 lbs of those 10 that I gained so I''m happy. I allow myself bread fri-sun and try and stay away from it mon-thurs (just corresponds with days that I''m working). I don''t drink any fizzy drinks if I can help it as I agree with you in that it just makes me want to eat crisps and other salty foods. I only buy fruit that I''ll eat that day as otherwise I know it will be thrown out so now instead of eating chocolate in work, I''ll bring a punnet of raspberries and eat them. I think that you do have to find what works best for yourself. For me, I have to try and avoid my downfalls as I find that having a little bit of what I like means that I crave it more and then it usually results in me having a lot of what I like!

 

[Maisie]

I would love to eat more fruit but it really hurts my stomach. Am I the only one?

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/16/2010 5:43:38 PM
Author: Maisie
I would love to eat more fruit but it really hurts my stomach. Am I the only one?

Oh Maisie, that would be an unfortunate deterrent, for sure!!! Is it ALL fruit? Do you have other stomach trouble? Maybe it''s the fiber in the fruit and you need to start slow and work your way up gradually? Have you checked with your doctor? Is your problem acid reflux? Or some other GI problem? There are a LOT of great medicines on the market now for that.

My humble advice? Definitely try to figure this out, because you are missing a real powerhouse of nutrition (not to mention FLAVOR and FUN!) by not being able to eat fruit!

 

[Lynn B]

OK, me again!

A book I have read and that I can honestly say FOREVER CHANGED the way I eat is "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy" by Walter Willett, MD.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/books/Eat_Drink_and_Be_Healthy

I *LOVED!!!* this book, and I learned so much. I totally recommend it.

This is NOT a "diet book". I''m not into fad, gimmicky, *LOSE WEIGHT FAAAASSSSST!* diets AT ALL. I am into eating good food for nutrition, health and enjoyment -- for the long haul. This book was instrumental in helping me achieve this.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 6/16/2010 6:00:56 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/16/2010 5:43:38 PM
Author: Maisie
I would love to eat more fruit but it really hurts my stomach. Am I the only one?

Oh Maisie, that would be an unfortunate deterrent, for sure!!! Is it ALL fruit? Do you have other stomach trouble? Maybe it's the fiber in the fruit and you need to start slow and work your way up gradually? Have you checked with your doctor? Is your problem acid reflux? Or some other GI problem? There are a LOT of great medicines on the market now for that.

My humble advice? Definitely try to figure this out, because you are missing a real powerhouse of nutrition (not to mention FLAVOR and FUN!) by not being able to eat fruit!

I think it may be fruits with skin. Maybe I should start off small and work my way up. I want to be healthy

 

[decodelighted]

Update: Smoothie Mission Accomplished

My first attempt contains:

* my frozen banana
* handful of local strawberries
* dollop of greek yogurt
* squeeze of honey
* couple of splashes of almond milk
* half a cup of crushed ice

Verdict: pretty good. A bit thick. Might thin it out next time, or try with OJ or Pineapple juice. Talked to my sister today & she really recommends the Magic Bullet too -- for hummus and mixed drinks also

-- so I might Bite that Bullet this weekend.

 

[Yimmers]

Date: 6/16/2010 5:43:38 PM
Author: Maisie
I would love to eat more fruit but it really hurts my stomach. Am I the only one?

I knew someone whose wife was allergic to fructose. I think I''d shoot myself if that were ever to happen to me.

 

[decodelighted]

oops

 

[decodelighted]

oops again

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 6/16/2010 6:11:20 PM
Author: Maisie

Date: 6/16/2010 6:00:56 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/16/2010 5:43:38 PM
Author: Maisie
I would love to eat more fruit but it really hurts my stomach. Am I the only one?

Oh Maisie, that would be an unfortunate deterrent, for sure!!! Is it ALL fruit? Do you have other stomach trouble? Maybe it''s the fiber in the fruit and you need to start slow and work your way up gradually? Have you checked with your doctor? Is your problem acid reflux? Or some other GI problem? There are a LOT of great medicines on the market now for that.

My humble advice? Definitely try to figure this out, because you are missing a real powerhouse of nutrition (not to mention FLAVOR and FUN!) by not being able to eat fruit!

I think it may be fruits with skin. Maybe I should start off small and work my way up. I want to be healthy

Have you tried organic fruit? It sounds to me like you might be reacting to pesticides. I can taste the difference between organic and regular of some of the post sprayed fruits.