What's the best trick you've learned for eating healthier?

Eat as many vegetables as you want, Eat almost as many fruits a you want. Eat things as close to the way God made them as possible. not processed

Vegetarianism, portion control, drinking home-made fruit juices and eating loads of fiber.

Become a vegetarian. You eat way less grease or fatty foods than carnivores.

Feeling crappy did it for me ;)

I told my fiancee what the nutritionist said i could and could not eat (i still think that was a mistake) and she makes me eat healthy. It allows me to not be in charge of things and not have to worry about cheating… she just won’t let me. :)

Start eating… I’m a proud meat eater and I am healthy and strong as an ox. The trick isn’t so much what you eat, as much how much you eat, how much you exercise, and all that jazz. Life is about talking everything in proportion. Find the right balance and youll feel just fine.

( My issue was I didn’t feel like i deserved food. It took violent fits of rejecting my stomach lining to realize what I was doing to myself.)

@Judi That’s exactly the way I eat (95% of the time, anyway), and it’s been tremendously beneficial to my overall health. Plus I lost twenty pounds doing it, and got back down to my target weight.

No more soda or the like.

For my new years resolution I have been only drinking water,juice(s), and milk.

Plus you can get those flavor waters though I try not to even do that. I got about 2 months in lol but can I make it hahaha!

Plan all your meals ahead of time, so you are prepared, and aren’t tempted into fast food.

Oh, another trick, don’t drink your calories. Juice concentrates all the sugars and takes away all the fiber. Bite your orange, don’t drink it. (Juicing IS a sort of “processing.)

@Judi What if its all natural juice, how do you know the difference?

Is that the same with say like a V8 drink the like?

@Steve_A ; You are still concentration the calories without the benefit of the fiber, which is the part that makes you feel full. 1 cup of orange juice is 120 calories. One orange is 45 calories, and has the benefit of fiber.
Juice might be good if you want to gain weight, but it is not the healthiest way to get your fruits and vegetables in.

Don’t eat grilled cheese (groans).

Our brains can mistake thirst for hunger, so staying hydrated is important.

That when you eat unhealthy you feel like shit. Thats really all it takes for me.

Balance your nutrition in your diet by eating the right portion and more variety of foods. And always drink enough water.

If it starts with ‘Mc’ don’t eat it

@Judi Never put much thought into or knew that, thanks for the heads up!

Eating a lot of fish helps. Lots of people have low levels of Vitamin D. It can cause a lot of problems. Since fish is rich in Vit D, it is a healthy choice.

@sam111 I have heard you can get Vitamin D from sunlight as well.

http://www.naturalnews.com/003069.html

Single most important = eat what you want just in smaller portions and spread your meals/snacks throughout the day instead of stuffing yourself for ¾ big meals. This is the only thing that matters and obviously get the right foods in your diet each day

And if you’re like me and have a problem with “mindless eating,” not paying attention to what you are putting into your mouth, simply journeying everything you eat can make a world of difference.

@sam111: any one who gets 10 minutes or more expose to the sun each day get a good amount of vitamin and people who drink milk. No one should eat a lot of fish. 2 fish meals is recommended weekly and no more than that bc of the possibility of mercury poisoning

Smaller portions and making sure I get a good walk every day

I try to eat half the amount I initially want and drink lots of water throughout the day to keep my hydrated and digesting well. I also am a very slow eater which works to my advantage because my body tells me if it’s really hungry for more rather than my eyes and excitement.

There’s a lot of recipes for ground turkey dishes.

@JessicaisinLove ; ground turkey can have a lot of skin, fat and crap in it. I won’t eat it OR hamburger.

I use small plates or a bowl for meals instead of big dinner plates so I don’t fill a big plate and then mindlessly eat it all despite not being hungry for it. I also try as hard as I can to eat slowly so that I stop when I’m full.

Eat slowly, and force yourself to eat healthy foods when you want a snack even if you don’t want it. If you replace crackers with an apple, give it a month and you will crave apples.

@Shield_of_Achilles why would anyone be a proud meat eater or a proud vegetarian, for that matter? why do you draw pride from your food habits?

Awareness. 3 square meals a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. No unconscious eating.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Because now a days it seems like those that eat meat are considered savages.

@Shield_of_Achilles really? haven’t seen that attitude around here…where I work people must make a point out their meat eating to stick it to the vegetarians…oh Simone look at you jumping on the latest fad…yeah, I’ll see you later, fuckers, when you croak of heart disease…oh did I say that out loud? I hold no resentment towards my co-workers

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Key words: around here. And just an FYI the healthiest version of our species, ate red meat at every meal…. Just sayin.

@Shield_of_Achilles who were the ‘healthiest version of our species’? and I’m sure their health wasn’t due to meat consumption but in spite of it…and while you’re getting me on the topic, it’s not a debate about whether or not we should eat meat but whether or not we should eat meat given the way it’s produced in our society at present time

…From the ADA on the health benefits of vegetarianism – an independent dietary expert that is usually considered to be conservative in their studies:

Vegetarian diets low in fat or saturated fat have been used successfully as part of comprehensive health programs to reverse severe coronary artery disease (3,4). Vegetarian diets offer disease protection benefits because of their lower saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein content and often higher concentration of folate (which reduces serum homocysteine levels) (5), antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and phytochemicals (6). Not only is mortality from coronary artery disease lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (7), but vegetarian diets have also been successful in arresting coronary artery disease (8,9). Total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are usually lower in vegetarians, but high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels vary depending on the type of vegetarian diet followed (10).

Vegetarians tend to have a lower incidence of hypertension than nonvegetarians (11). This effect appears to be independent of both body weight and sodium intake. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is much less likely to be a cause of death in vegetarians than nonvegetarians, perhaps because of their higher intake of complex carbohydrates and lower body mass index (12).

Incidence of lung and colorectal cancer is lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (2,13). Reduced colorectal cancer risk is associated with increased consumption of fiber, vegetables, and fruit (14,15). The environment of the colon differs notably in vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians in ways that could favorably affect colon cancer risk (16,17). Lower breast cancer rates have not been observed in Western vegetarians, but cross-cultural data indicate that breast cancer rates are lower in populations that consume plant-based diets (18). The lower estrogen levels in vegetarian women may be protective (19).

A well-planned vegetarian diet may be useful in the prevention and treatment of renal disease. Studies using human being and animal models suggest that some plant proteins may increase survival rates and decrease proteinuria, glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow, and histologic renal damage compared with a nonvegetarian diet (20,21).

—Ref.
3. Franklin TL, Kolasa KM, Griffin K, Mayo C, Badenhop DT. Adherence to very low fat diet by a group of cardiac rehabilitation patients in the rural southeastern United States. Arch Fam Med. 1995;4:551–554.
4. Gould KL, Ornish D, Scherwitz L, Brown S, Edens RP, Hess MJ, Mullani N, Bolomey L, Dobbs F, Armstrong WT, Merritt T, Ports T, Sparler S, Billings J. Changes in myocardial perusion abnormalities by positron emission tomography after long-term intense risk factor modification. JAMA. 1995;274:894–901.
5. Janelle KC, Barr SI. Nutrient intakes and eating behavior scores of vegetarian and nonvegetarian women. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995;95:180–189.
6. Jacob RA, Burri BJ. Oxidative damage and defense. Am J Clin Nutr. 1996;63(suppl):985S-990S.
7. Thorogood M, Mann J, Appleby P, McPherson K. Risk of death from cancer and ischaemic heart disease in meat and non-meat eaters. BMJ. 1994;308:1667–1670.
8. Fraser GE, Lindsted KD, Beeson WL. Effect of risk factor values on lifetime risk of and age at first coronary event. The Adventist Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1995;142:746–758.
9. Roberts WC. Preventing and arresting coronary atherosclerosis. Am Heart J. 1995;130:580–600.
10. Melby CL, Toohey ML, Cedrick J. Blood pressure and blood lipids among vegetarian, semivegetarian and nonvegetarian African Americans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59:103–109.
11. Beilin LJ. Vegetarian and other complex diets, fats, fiber, and hypertension. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59(suppl):1130–1135.
12. Dwyer JT. Health aspects of vegetarian diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988;48(suppl):712–738.
13. Mills PK, Beeson WL, Phillips RL, Fraser GE. Cancer incidence among California Seventh-day Adventists, 1976–1982. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59(suppl):1136S-1142S.
14. Almendingen K, Trygg K, Vatn M. [Influence of the diet on cell proliferation in the large bowel and the rectum. Does a strict vegetarian diet reduce the risk of intestinal cancer?] Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1995;115(18):2252–2256.
15. Steinmetz KA, Potter JD. Vegetables, fruit and cancer. II. Mechanisms. Cancer Causes Control. 1991;1:427–442.
16. Messina MJ, Messina VL. The Dietitian’s Guide to Vegetarian Diets: Issues and Applications. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers; 1996.
17. Adlercreutz H, van der Wildt J, Kinzel J, Attalla H, Wahalla K, Makela T, Hase T, Fotsis T. Lignan and isoflavonoid conjugates in human urine. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1995;59:97–103.
18. Cancer Facts and Figures—1994. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society;1994.
19. Barbosa JC, Shultz TD, Filley SJ, Nieman DC. The relationship among adiposity, diet and hormone concentrations in vegetarian and nonvegetarian postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51:798–803.
20. Pagenkemper J. The impact of vegetarian diets on renal disease. Top Clin Nutr. 1995;10:22–26.
21. Barsotti G, Morelli E, Cupisti A, Meola M, Dani L, Giovannetti S. A low-nitrogen, low-phosphorus vegan diet for patients with chronic renal failure. Nephron. 1996;74:390–394—

@Simone_De_Beauvoir So your SO emerges! Cool.

@janbb ha, so it goes…he does emerge when certain topics are discussed

Drink a ton of water.
No soda. No alcohol.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Keep doubting me and you’re going to get me all sorts of mad. The healthiest version of our species were the people that lived just shortly after the Odawan pebble period, or in the mid stone age. These people were so healthy because they walked, miles, everyday, and only ate red meat from game and organic berries and fruits. Yes, processed foods aren’t as good as other things, but the real issue is the lack of exercise. Everyday I run 2 miles and lift weights for an hour. I plow through fast food and take out like no ones business, and I still only weight 145, and I look damn good. My blood pressure and results from a heart scan are perfect. What we eat isn’t as big an issue as people claim it is.

Make your own food. You most likely don’t have have HFCS laying around in your cabinets along with hydrogenated oils. Don’t buy mixes of food- mix them yourself. You’ll save money too. Hamburger helper? No need. Buy cheap noodles, cheese and spices. Toss some milk in there and voila- healthier and cheaper if made at home.

Keep a snack basket in your fridge with a spare on the counter. Put snack veggies, fruit and snacks in there. Apples and bananas on the table, some carrots and grapes in the fridge.

Portion out servings of your snacks and food. Then when you’re hungry just grab one container, heat it and voila- Nom Time.

My dietitian told me I can eat anything I want. the trick is to keep it to small amounts. I can have no more than 5 french fries, ¼ of a hamburger, two breakfast sausages, and so on. Tiny portions, just enough to get a taste.

Always start a meal with at least a full cup of mixed vegetables, and eat at least a cup of fruit. Then put a bite or two of your favorite food, with more veges.

Cut the carbs on your plate in half. Reuse the extra space for fiber-rich vegetables and salads.

@Shield_of_Achilles Was the life expectancy of these “healthier” humans longer than ours is now? I very much doubt it. “Healthy” isn’t a very easily definable term, but no matter how you do define it, vegetarianism is healthy for the average modern human, for example those who are too busy to run 2 miles and lift weights for an hour every day. Different lifestyles warrant different diets, you cannot advocate one without the other. If you want to advocate a mid-stone age diet, you had better also advocate a mid-stone age lifestyle. Don’t think too many people would participate, however… :)

@fireinthepriory Ya know, I would add some merit to the life expectancy thing, if we had to run for a lives from wild animals every day.

@Shield_of_Achilles I’m not suggesting that their diet was the cause of their short life expectancy! However the fact remains that they didn’t live as long as we do. Perhaps if they had lived into their 80s rather than for 30–40 years, they would have discovered that their lifestyle/diet combination was not sustainable in what we would now consider the long term.

@Shield_of_Achilles I can doubt you any day of the week. That’s how the socratic method of communication works. There is no reason to get mad, all you need to do is back up your assertions. Which you’re not doing, only changing things around to now mention that it’s all about exersize…which is important, I agree…that’s why the saying goes ‘diet and exersize’

@fireinthepriory Speaking of the aging thing being different now than in prehistory…

Doesn’t it make sense that evolutionarily we would be programmed to die after childbearing years? I mean if we compete for scarce resources with the babies, don’t we impair our genetic lines ability to multiply?

Even simpler, things that make our health decline after child bearing years are not subject to Darwin’s selection process. If our genes cause women to get osteoporosis after menopause, there would never be a mutation selected to fix that because it does not bear on the ability of the species to reproduce.

So it’s entirely possible that some completely UNnatural habits may be required to deal with things which natural selection did not.

Personally, I think that the older you get, the more important it is to eat chocolate. And I’m sticking with it until someone proves me wrong. And two years after that.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’m about 60% sure I had this conversation drunk. XD
From research done by many anthropologists, what I said is not wrong. These people had very little disease, were fit and physically healthy, stronger, and faster than we are today. But that was out of necessity.
Source: My anthro teacher who had years of field experience and 2 PhD’s…

@Shield_of_Achilles I implore you to please please not talk to me when drunk – I am tired of taking people’s stuff seriously when I shouldn’t be paying attention
Their meat wasn’t processed in a nightmarish way that it is now – there were no hormones or antiobiotics or a million other things added…they had to move around more so they were fit, that makes sense.

Exactly, @6rant6! And even for traits that are under selection, evolution never really “catches up” to the environment. There has never been a time in history where humans were perfectly adapted to their environment! What you brought up is one reason why cancer has “become more prevalent.” There was no selection for people to not get cancer after child-bearing age, so it’s common! People aren’t really getting more cancer, people are just successfully avoiding other causes of death and living to the age where cancer genes would have turned on for our ancestors if they’d made it to be that old, too.

@Shield_of_Achilles Please don’t mistake anthropologists for biologists. Your anthro prof had 2 PhDs in ANTHROPOLOGY. Diet and “healthiness” is a biological question and doesn’t take into account a lot of new biological issues that are present in today’s humans. Having extreme speed and strength for ~30 years is no longer the peak of “healthy.”

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Next time ill try my best. Can’t make promises.

@fireinthepriory Her second was in like biochem or microbio or something…. I feel she kinda knows what shes talking about…

@Shield_of_Achilles Maybe, maybe not. If she had a PhD in evolution I’d be more inclined to think perhaps she has a good point that I’m just not getting from your posts. All I can say is that, according to everything I know, there is no such thing as a time when humans were the “healthiest,” and I am an evolutionary biologist. It’s a very common misconception, but at this past summer’s Animal Behavior Society Meeting I saw a keynote talk about precisely this subject, so I think that my information is pretty up to date.

@fireinthepriory So you’re saying that those people were just as healthy as the fatasses romping around now a days waiting in line for their triple bypass surgeries?

Riiiiight.

@Shield_of_Achilles No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that the optimal diet and lifestyle for people in the mid-stone age is probably not the optimal diet and lifestyle for a modern human.

Edited to add: Oh and also that there is no definitive measure of “health.” Genetic health? Susceptibility to disease? Life span? Infant/child mortality rate? Trying to figure out a single parameter for “health” would be a Principle Components Analysis that I would not want to try to figure out!

@fireinthepriory uh, there weren’t ANY 80 year olds back then, waiting around for ANYTHING. So if longevity is a measure, then who is healthier? Certainly people over 40 now generally have better teeth, better skin, fewer scars and more Beamers. Also, if you acknowledge that mostly the prehistoric folk died before 40, they were mostly unhealthy before then. Deathly ill, you might say.

Some people (not to mention any anthropologists [whose names I don’t know] by name) have mythologized those “rugged” people. Some of them were smart, some stupid; some were fast runners, some weren’t; some of them looked good in spandex, and some didn’t. They weren’t all youn Adoniseses. I would blame TV for this bizarre belief except I know there was a similar “fanciful remembering” in the arts in the US directed at “the Noble Savage” in the late nineteenth century.

@6rant6 I believe you meant Shield_of_Achilles? :)

If it’s in a box or a can, it is not your healthiest option available. Canned or convenience foods in many cases are quite diabolical dietary wise.

Agree with @Steve_A and @mass_pike4. When I say “eat a lot of fish,” what in my mind is eat fish at most once a day. It is hard to cook fish or order fish all the time. Hey, it is sunny out, I better get out. It doesn’t happen often here in Washington. Cheers!

meals at the same time each day, fruit n vegetables too

Do not purchase anything that is not healthy. No chips, no sodas, and stay away from any type of snacks.