I want to eat healthy... where do I start?

Vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters. 1.No one has ever become obese eating apples. 2.Vegetables don't have to designate that they're dolphin safe. 3.There are no international treaties banning broccoli hunting. 4.Meat and dairy products contain no fiber. 5.Animals in the slaughterhouse hear the screams of those being slaughtered before them as they move toward their own deaths. 6.To be slaughtered, chickens are hung by their feet and run through a mass production neck slicer machine. Give your blood and safe one life, become vegan or vegetarian and safe 95 more...

God girl you going to try to make me a vegan. You know I don't eat pork. I eat little red meat so what I do eat is fish and chicken. I MAKE my own bread. Watch the labels for whole wheat. There might be whole wheat in there but it has to be 100% whole wheat. Same for those ridiculous labels General Mills puts on cereal (by the way switched to Soy milk a while back). NO ICE CREAM. You are ready for the criminally insane!!!

I do respect your views about vegan and vegetarianism. However, as a life coach and health consultant it is important for everyone to consider their individual biology before radically altering their diet and eliminating proteins from animal sources. I was trained by an amazing Naturpathic physician who taught me that everyone's biology is unique. Some people cannot thrive without transitioning slowly from one way of eating to another. There are many cultures who live well into advanced years and still eat moderate amounts of animal protein. Macrobiotic diets are one way to achieve balance and moderation in all things. Eating right for our body and blood type are the way to healthy, empowered living...rather than forcing our systems into a way of life that does not support it. To me whatever we choose to do it should be based on the body's innate wisdom rather than an ideology that may not suit an individual's metabolic requirements. I know from experience that there are many with severe digestive problems, eating disorders and a variety of other health challenges that simply are not at a place to break down beans, lentils, tofu and other complex vegetable proteins. Those who have tried before their systems are able to do so have become malnourished on vegan and vegetarian foods. I am all for animal rights and agree with you about the inhumane treatment of animals...but one has to also consider where they are and what they can do to support their systems in realistic, well thought out ways rather than buying into an ideology that may eventually break down rather than enhance their health. Raia

When I was in Morocco it is customary to feed the guest until he/she explodes (damn near literally). I ate enough tajine and couscous to fill a lifetime there and it was all good. 'Dad' (my father in-law) would go to the mosque and pray at about 5am and then come home around 7am with the food that would be needed for the days meal... veggies, fruit, whatever was needed. They would eat four meals a day if I remember correctly. First is breakfast usually of this stuff that was flaky, I don't know how to describe it, or harsha which is like a really firm corn bread is the best way I can describe it. Honey, butter and olive oil for dressing and then Morocccan tea. For those who have not had Moroccan tea, you are missing out! Lunch is Tajine usually of some sort of meat (lamb or beef) and a LOT of veggies (peas, green beans, lima beans, chick peas, egg plant, and much more stuff I didn't know what I was eating). Served with moroccan tea and water when needed. Tea time... there were cookies made from almonds and other nuts (VERY nutty flavor) and moroccan tea. Dinner. Either kabobs, tajine, or couscous and coca-cola (or coca over there). The amount of food for eight of us could have fed 20 and I was the guest so I would stuff myself to eat until the bowl was finished just to see a whole other bowl come to the table. What they did do though, is eat fruits after every meal (even breakfast). Apricots, bananas, cherries, apples, kiwi (I think that is what it was)... and even though I was considered a lightweight I lost weight! From what I can understand it is the veggies that give the nutrition and the sucrose (not frutose like American sweets) that gave the boost the body needed to digest all this food. My wife still cooks at home in this fashion although not to such an extreme but it is totally awesome to have a craving for something sweet... stop a vendor with his hamar (donkey) selling cherries or apricots (my favorite) right there on the street. Fruit is a great way to subdue a sweettooth.

Mmmmm that sounds heavenly.

My sister (a little tiny size 2 of a thing) eats those. I forget what those things are called, drinks soy milk (so do I) and eats Kashi cereal. I will definately check out that web site. Thanks for the tip!

That is some great advice and I will defintely take that to heart. Thanks for the help on this one and great answer.

I have done the food diary thing and it really helped. I wasn't concerned with what I ate just wrote everything down that I did. It makes you think a second the next time you go to put something in your mouth.

I will definately head over there. Thanks for the useful information.

I drink a lot of water... I drink that and I buy 100% juice and then water it down with water to make it lighter tasting. Grilled fish... I can do better with my choice of meats. I am a big chicken and beef eater. Used to eat a lot of salmon and then two things happened. 1. I got married and my wife doesn't like the oilyness of salmon so we eat mostly tilapia now 2. The wild salmon price has more than doubled in just the last couple years I haven't heard about beetroot. I will have to look into that. Of course fruits and veggies are a staple in any good diet. Thanks for the great information.

Sorry I may have told you the wrong thing. I should have said Greek yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is made with cows milk and honey only but greek style yoghurt has added thickeners. So real Greek yoghurt would be better, I think. Both are nice though just not as sweet as regular yoghurt.

I will have to try to find that on shelves of the store. One of the things I found about yogurt is to eat plain yogurt because the flavored yogurts are loaded with sugar and that of course is not good for us. Thanks for the response Zelo

Greek style yogurt... I have never heard of that before... what is that?

Salam Alicom Moderation is one of the keys but if I told you how little I eat I am sure it is less than pola and she's about oh not quite 100 pounds lighter than what I am . . . that is a little much about 75. Moderation is great but it needs to be utilitzed in other means as well for a healthy lifestyle. Shokrian Jajelain Yela. Zelo.

Good to know a brother, its after all our beloved prophet who suggests moderation. He asks us to eat halal food, good food, and clean food. And he says when we eat 1/3 of our stomach is for food, 1/3 for water, and another 1/3 for space to breath I think. He asks us to take honey regularly and to exercise. He suggests to start eating when hungry and to stop before full. When I read about what he said about about eating its like more than 30 suggestions/advices from Prophet Muhammad. What a great person isnt he. Syukran, salam1.

And now all this time later there are 'diets' that are around that say 'eat until you are full and when you feel full stop eating'. Heh that has been around a lot longer than what most people know. Always great to hear from you Thanks for the response Zelo

Great ideas and advice always love hearing from you and what you have to say. A lot of what you said I am already doing so it doesn't look like there it TOO much changing that I alreay need to do which is very good. I will definately check out your blog. Thanks for a great post.

Thank you for your post. I agree with you 100%. I would like to emphasize fervantly that I don't eat pork because of my wife and the fact that her religion does not permit her to do so. PERSONALLY I agree all foods are good and in moderation. Even 'good foods' can 'go bad' and each individual has different foods they should be eating (and not eating). If there was one diet that suited everyone, then that is what all of us would eat and that would be the end of it. As with you I can find positives in just about every food and negatives in just about every food. The only thing I am not sure I agree with is that a food is unhealthy for a person if they feel bloated or gassy. A lot of foods (leafy green veggies for one) give off gas from the mixture of enzymes in the stomach and the breaking down process of the food. I have added oatmeal and that has helped me out a lot. I have been eating it plain with a little cinnamon and a small splash of half-and-half at night and it has really helped the digestive tract.! Thanks again.

Hi again...thank you for your wonderfully, affirming feedback. I am glad we decided to become friends. I enjoy chatting with you too. As a point of reference I added a comment to the person who was suggesting you become a vegan or vegetarian. I have a little different slant on that topic and if you check back there you will see my 'perspective.' That way of eating works well for some people...but in my personal and professional experience the key to healthy eating is to listen to your body. Observe what goes down well and in what combinations. If you swell, are overly thirsty afterwards, have gas, burping or or unnaturally hot or cold it is your body's way of letting you know something you ate did not agree with it. Allergic reactions are the body's way of talking to us. In my view all foods are fine...in moderation. I was trained by a wonderful Naturpathic physician who reminded me that there is really no one food that is 'bad.' It is all in the amount, the portions and even our mindset about the foods that can affect where they affect us negatively or positively. As I mentioned in the other response...vegan or vegetarian food is great for people who have a metabolism that can handle it. However, in my training and experience some people's blood type and biology cannot thrive without moderate amounts of lean animal proteins in their diet. It is great to say..."Eat only plant based proteins." However, if a person has a weak digestive tract, is deficient in the enzymes needed to break down lentils, rice, beans, tofu...they can end up malnourished or with a protein deficiency. Often they do not obtain enough B12 or B6 from a vegetarian diet and can end up with symptoms that mimic MS. So jumping on someone else' bandwagon without listening to your body could be problematic. I have seen it often in the work my hubby and I do. Anyway, I sincerely wish you every success in your personal goals. We will keep in touch...and feel free to run any ideas by me if you wish to. Take care and warm regards, Raia

Not a problem we know that myLot is not perfect and there is no way to delete a response after it's been posted... no harm no foul! Thanks for the response Zelo

Thanks, Zelo. You're too kind! I got a nice chuckle out of revisiting this discussion because I thought my response only posted twice, but there it was three times! (LOL) You're right...a response probably can't be deleted, at least not by any of us users; however, I can assure that I didn't get points for all three duplicate responses. Would've been nice to keep the points, though, wouldn't it? After all, it wasn't my glitch. Thanks again for your kindness. Take care!

Hello again! My apologies about posting a duplicate response to your discussion three times. I'm sure myLot will automatically delete the last two...hopefully. I know it's again the rules to respond to a discussion more than once. I received an error message after I submitted my response the first time and attempted to refresh the page to make sure my response wasn't wiped out. I'm glad my response was posted after all, but I'm sorry it is here so many times! Once again, good luck to you. :)

I used to live in an apartment complex that had three pools and I used to jog to the pool do some laps then jog back again. I was in decent shape then. Then I bought a house and I am God knows how far from a pool and being in Florida that sounds ridiculous I know. I need to get to the beach and swim... swimming in the currents of the Atlantic ocean really make for a good workout and I am about an hour from Daytona Beach. Shopping is 8 miles (13 kilometers) away so I think it is out of the question to run to go get my groceries but running or even walking around the neighborhood is always a good idea. People are so harsh on fries. I make my own fries and bake them in the oven... as good as a baked potato just in a different shape and taste a lot better. It is quite a luxury when I do that but when I do they are really good. I love fruits especially bananas and my wife makes smoothies with avacado in them. YUM. I guarantee I drink more water than just about anyone that I know. One of the things I don't do is space out my meals. I like to eat one time a day and that is all and I know there is debate about eating small meals throughout the day. Thanks for the information.

South Beach... I will have to check that out. Thanks.

Quick story... I know a lot of them are long... I will keep this short I was living in CO (Castle Rock, beautiful area) and went to the doctor. She says you are (around 175) and your BMI is 25.1 (0.1 over being fat). You need to lose some weight. Now I am not going to put you on a diet but what I want you to do is everything you put in your mouth you have to write it down. I will see you in 30 days and we'll evaluate the results. OMG that was the best diet ever.! If I added up the calories that I took in compared to when I was a young whippersnapper they are about 15% of what they used to be so it is more of a motabolism thing for me than anything. We have nothing in the house but water and 100% juice. Fruits are banana, avacado, apple, and pears (I really don't like pears but I eat 'em). One thing about the water. They say eight glasses a day. Well I am a chugger (thank God I don't drink). I can down an eight ounce glass in under four seconds. So I said OK let us just drink all the water for the day and be done with it. In fifteen minutes I was done. Un uh. It is supposed to be drank through the day. One of the great ways to know what your body is doing and to prevent diseases like heart disease and diatbetes is to take your sugar count. My grandfather has diabetes and they will only pay for ONE strip/day to measure his blood sugar. Now considering it fluctuates througout the day I asked him if he could get three. Dr. refused. Let's get sick then fix the problem

I have talked to a nutritionist and she said it isn't necessarily what I eat but in what portions and WHEN I eat it which was a bit of a suprise for me. Eating breakfast starts the metabolism going early on and sustaining a sugar level by eating 6 small meals a day will prevent spikes. I am sure that prepared meals and eating them at the right time is definately something that would help out. Thanks for the great post. Zelo

No I'm not a vegan as much as pola wants me to be (just playing with you there, pola). Yes my doctor says I am just fine. My blood pressure is just fine 118/65 was the last I had it checked. I had them do and EEG just to make sure everything came back fine. Full examination when I turned 35... everything fine. One food that I saw had extraordinary everything and no sodium or bad stuff was tofu. I was REALLY suprised. People who are vegans and those who are super-health-concious have always told me about it but I just looked up the proprerties it has and it is huge in almost all categories that are good and there is nothing that is bad. I agree with the water but remember that 8 glasses of water which is about 1.9 liters of water a day which is recommened is a little misleading. Remember first of all... how much do you sweat. If you work out you are going to need to replenish youself with not only water but with sodium and potassium as well. Secondly the water content that is in the food you eat should count towards how much water you 'drink' and the the last thing is not to drink it all at one time but drink water throughout the day. I do drink A LOT of water and have now fell in love with Propel which is 25 calories per bottle (10 per serving) and tastes great. Salads are always a good thing and I think I posted before that I don't use dressing in the salads that I eat either. Really need to kick it up in the fruit category. Thanks for a great post!

I LOVE rice so it would not be hard for me to incorporate that into my meal plan. And of course veggies veggies veggies. Tea and water is a staple in my diet now. Thanks for the post!

Amen to that. That is the one thing with my body that is 'not right'. I take pills to keep myself regular and I don't know if it is because I am drinking too much water or what it is but my pipes are definately clean. I'll just put it that way. Drink a glass of juice before bed. I will try that. Orange juice will definately give me some fiber and hopefully get me off these pills so I am not so familiar with the design of the tiles in my bathroom. Timetable to eat... I'll have to do that as well... I have never done that before Twice a day.... try 20 (without pills) and I am not being facecious! Great post.

I am not looking to lose a ton of weight per se. More of a tone up than anything else. I look at picture of myself when I was BMI normal and I really look like I was TOO thin. I do want to drop about 20 pounds but that is in like a 6-8 month period which I don't feel is too fast. Thanks for the pep talk. The easiest way to lose weight is knowing there are people there for you. Great Post.