your diet

[Distec]

A different topic, to say the least. How does everyone's diet stand? For me, what I eat has a direct correlation to how I feel. Eat bad food, feel bad(I'm very sensitive to sugar). I've been through a lot of depression and anxiety lately, which has almost been completely eliminated by a change of diet. I look and feel much better, have a much clearer mind. There are a lot of interesting sites that link diseases of the body and mind to diet and malnutrition. Not saying is a cure all, but it certainly can't hurt.

I never particularly paid attention to my diet until a few months when I started feeling real bad. I don't believe in drugs, especially don't trust doctors. After a lot of researching, I changed my diet to almost completely raw foods. Basically, only fruits and vegetables (no cooked foods). It fits my lifestyle perfectly, I can be lazy and never have to cook :) although going to the store every other day sometimes becomes a PITA :( Basically, my diets consists of bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, and melons. For vegetables I'll have something steamed like broccoli or vegetable soup, or ever better, something juiced (juiced carrots have been my favorite of late, very easy to do). Certainly beats taking anti-depressants =p

[SheepDog]

I know that I don't live up to my own expectations. I eat good for a while and eat bad for a while. When I get busy, I go too long without eating and end up eating something more for how quick it is than how good it is.

More fiber as opposed to processed carbs seems to make the most difference for me with regard to how I feel.

[Boneca]

Your diet does not sound very nutritious to me. Does it contain any grains and pulses? Otherwise you might end up with a protein deficiency.
I agree that eating a lot of fresh fruit and stuff makes you feel better though. If only I weren't so fond of chocolate, I'd eat healthy too.

[Distec]

actually, a lot of reseach indicates grains are bad for you(at least refined grains). Vegetables contain all the nutriants we need - Carbs, protiens, vitamins, minerals, enzymes. (fot example, 120 calories of raw broccoli has a good 13 grams of protein.) There is a real good website called living foods (http://www.living-foods.com) thats has a lot of great artcles. Some of the stuff is a bit radical, but the basic premise is there - Primates are nearly all vegetable/fruit eaters and eat very little meat.

[crule81]

It might be a good idea to do some serious reading before you radically change your diet. My good friend is into nutrition and how it can affect one's physical and mental health. He reads dozens of books on the subject ranging from hardcore medical treatises to new age holistic books. He has greately improved his health but spends a lot of time cooking. Maybe go on amazon and check some of the books out.

[Chill]

I'm on the seafood diet. I 'sea' food, and I eat it. But for me, I've never found a correlation between my diet and my mood. WHat I've found though is since I've been at college (finishing up my first semester), I've been eating less. Not out of any desire too, just missing meals in typical INTP absentmindedness.

[SheepDog]

If only I weren't so fond of chocolate, I'd eat healthy too.
Ah, yes. Chocolate.

I think a general trend toward whole foods, as opposed to processed foods, is likely to be a good thing. This is very obvious with grains, but not just that. For instance, I think that eating an orange (sans peel) is better for you than just drinking the juice. A lot of what we now call 'food' is really just food parts.

It's a marketing opportunity (among other things) to break things down and sell the parts. They sell us white bread, which they have to fortify with vitamins to make up for the parts they removed, then they sell us fiber supplements.

[Boneca]

actually, a lot of reseach indicates grains are bad for you(at least refined grains). Vegetables contain all the nutriants we need - Carbs, protiens, vitamins, minerals, enzymes. (fot example, 120 calories of raw broccoli has a good 13 grams of protein.) There is a real good website called living foods (http://www.living-foods.com) thats has a lot of great artcles. Some of the stuff is a bit radical, but the basic premise is there - Primates are nearly all vegetable/fruit eaters and eat very little meat.Refined grains are bad, yes. Rice is still considered pretty healthy, I think. (What is "healthy" or not changes about once a week though, so you'll never know).
What I was worried about (in typical veggie way) was not the actual amount of protein your diet contains, but that all essential amino acids are there. As far as I know, broccoli does not contain "complete" protein. Usually the easiest way to make sure you get all amino acids is to make sure you have something made of pulses (peas, beans, soy products..) and something made of grains (rice, oatflakes, whatever) in your diet.
But if you've read up on the stuff, you probably know all this already.

[Sam172]

I can generally eat anything and still feel the same....it's quite scary really.
I was thinking about going on a raw vegan diet
(such as one detailed here http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/raw_food.php), but as I have enough trouble maintaining my diet as it is - I thought it unwise.

Though I may have to try it for one week :)

[Aryan]

A different topic, to say the least. How does everyone's diet stand? For me, what I eat has a direct correlation to how I feel. Eat bad food, feel bad(I'm very sensitive to sugar). I've been through a lot of depression and anxiety lately, which has almost been completely eliminated by a change of diet. I look and feel much better, have a much clearer mind. There are a lot of interesting sites that link diseases of the body and mind to diet and malnutrition. Not saying is a cure all, but it certainly can't hurt.

I never particularly paid attention to my diet until a few months when I started feeling real bad. I don't believe in drugs, especially don't trust doctors. After a lot of researching, I changed my diet to almost completely raw foods. Basically, only fruits and vegetables (no cooked foods). It fits my lifestyle perfectly, I can be lazy and never have to cook :) although going to the store every other day sometimes becomes a PITA :( Basically, my diets consists of bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, and melons. For vegetables I'll have something steamed like broccoli or vegetable soup, or ever better, something juiced (juiced carrots have been my favorite of late, very easy to do). Certainly beats taking anti-depressants =p

I eat as long as I feel happy :)

[alex]

I eat as unprocessed (but not necessarily raw) as possible. I try to eat like a good vegetarian/vegan and then I add meat. It's not that easy when you often eat in a school cafeteria.
Quirks:
I consume tons of unsaturated fats (various nuts & copious amounts of olive oil)
I scrapped dairy 2 months ago. It hasn't affected the way I feel, like many advocates claim; mainly I just think the dairy industry is full of crap. Meat too, but I can't be sure that I'm getting enough protein without it right now.

[booyalab]

I eat pretty healthy. I don't have as detailed diet plans as some, if I want junk food or something, I'll eat it. But then I'll balance it out by eating a salad (very little dressing) for the next meal. It's mostly luck that I eat healthier than most people who pay the same attention to their eating habits because most of the foods I despise are popular foods that are bad for me anyway. I hate anything more than a tiny amount of mayo, usually I have mustard on sandwiches (no calories!), anything more than a tiny amount of butter, hate the taste of fat and stay away from fatty meats like pork, can only stand 1/3 a can of pop at a time and only want it like once every other week at most, dislike sugary juices, indifferent to most candy except good chocolate, caramel, and minty stuff and sour stuff, can't stand more than a tiny amount of dressing, don't like too much melted cheese on anything and it can't even be slightly congealed, hate doughnuts, hate most coffee, hate potato chips. Also I only tend to think about food when I'm starving, so I'll eat maybe twice a day at most..and then snack a little bit if I'm bored.

[spirilis]

I eat pretty horribly. Usually by impulse, although I try to integrate all the major food groups in, but I think I consume too much sugar and fat. Ironic because the food pyramid put those two as the most "sparingly" used ones.

[cjs55]

I do somewhat the opposite of the original poster. If I'm happy/content I will pay attention to my meals and have a decently healthy diet at least. If I'm unhappy, I just won't give a shit whatsoever, usually either manifested by a lack of eating, or eating lots of junk food. But its my condition that causes my diet, not the diet that causes my condition ; )

[keon]

I eat a living food diet, mostly consisting of alkaline green vegetables and sprouts. I've spent several years researching and refining my eating habits; which is a continuing process, ultimately.

[Geoff]

Wow, lot of variety there.

Me, classic mediterranean diet (so not a typical British one at all).

White meats not red, pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic. For the avoidance of doubt not what a North American would typically call an Italian meal (there isnt half a cow in it, and half a pound of cheese melted on the top).

Also rather partial to japanese style stir fries, so lots of noodles, beansprouts, chilli etc.

That probably covers half my evenings, the other half are something with rice or tortillas (mexican or thai, typically). Usually bulked out with peppers, onions and chilli which I eat a lot of.

Usually replace red meats with eg chicken. If I do buy beef it is the extra lean steak mince style.

Avoid transient fats like the plague (they kill, right). Weakess : potato chips. I can't give them up, so I'll typically have something like 1 25g bag with my lunch at work. And I will make sure I buy the sort with greatly reduced fats.

My current favourites are Walkers Potato Heads. Like crinkle cut ruffles, but a bag has 100 cal and about 1g sat. That's pretty decent for a bad snack!

Oh, and too much salt in my diet - thats the thing to change for me!

-Geoff

[file cabinet]

I've noticed eating fastfood will make me feel 'down' for some reason. I like making my own food(when I have the time and money). Things I avoid are caffiene(affects my sleep). I have a sweet tooth. I wouldn't be surprised if I became diabetic one day.

[bmw318tiChic]

My diet is very unhealthy. I hate to cook. Usually I eat junky snacky food like chips or cookies. I eat normal meals 2-3 times a day, but sometimes those meals consist of poptarts or leftover pizza. I really should start eating better. And exersizing. Too lazy.

[jyakulis]

Nuts, berries, fish and whatever else I can kill or forage up in the wild.

[jjt]

I follow the 'Zone Diet'. It works really well for me. It has a balance of protein carbs and fats at each meal. So most of my meals consist of a portion of lean protein, usually fish, chicken, tofu or a protein shake. Lots of salads or fibrous veges, maybe a little fruit or something starchy like really grainy bread. I stick to good fats, olive oil, nuts mainly. I avoid trans (hydrogenated fats) like the plague as well, also avoid saturated fats, they make me feel crappy. The closer I follow this programme the better I feel, no depression, sleep better, no PMS, good energy levels.

I used to have quite a low protein, high carb diet, lots of veges and whole grains, but suffered PMS, low energy and blood sugar problems, plus I couldn't lose weight. When I switched diets I felt like a new person. (Plus I lost a few kilos.)

I also take supplements, lots of fish oil, vitamins and minerals. I get swollen knees and other painful joints, and the fish oil stops that completely.

There is some interesting work done on metabolic typing which accounts for why different people feel better on different types of diets, and why you need to find the type that suits your metabolism best.

[coffeezombie]

I eat too much pasta. But at least it's healthier than going to McDonalds. :)

[marceriksen]

i've completely done away with eating fast food (except subway) and i've stopped drinking soda. I've started taking multi vitamins daily and eating at least two salads a week. At the moment i'm in the process of cutting down on caffiene, but the problem is I always seem to get headaches in my eyes.

[Perseus]

I England the standard fare is meat and two veg.:

Common dishes are

Fish & Chips
Steak Pie and two veggie (Pie & Mash)
Chicken Curry & Rice (colonial influence)
Cauliflower Cheese (Cheddar)
Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pud
Shepherd's Pie (Minced Lamb and mashed spud)
Fish Pie (White Fish and mashed spud)
Bacon & Eggs, Sausages, Fried potatoes, Baked Beans
Welsh Rarebit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_rarebit) (Cheese on Toast with mustard and Lea & Perrins sauce)


Christmas dinner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_dinner)(main course) is

Roast Turkey, Roast Pots, Sprouts, Stuffing, Gravy, Parsnips, Cranberry Sauce plus optionals.
It all goes on the same plate.

[gardnerj]

gluten-free diet. I have a gluten intolerance. I don't feel so bad... no sugar, ever, unless I need it.

[skip]

I'm a vegetarian. It took two years of research before I made the decision but I've stuck with it ever since. I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. If I have to buy packaged foods I look for ones with short ingredient lists. I avoid HFCS whenever possible. I drink a lot of water every day, no coffee and sodas only rarely.

[pan_sonic_000]

I'm working out like a mother fucker lately, so I'm eating about 3,000 - 3,300 calories a day.

Mostly in the form of:
organic skim milk
walnuts
oatmeal
bananas
spinach
greenbeans
chicken
potatoes
carrots
whey protein

And I drink a gallon of water per day. No sodas or coffee.

[Hermione]

I'm working out like a mother fucker lately, so I'm eating about 3,000 - 3,300 calories a day.

Mostly in the form of:
organic skim milk
walnuts
oatmeal
bananas
spinach
greenbeans
chicken
potatoes
carrots
whey protein

And I drink a gallon of water per day. No sodas or coffee.

I think I've figured out your prollem. Try Subway. Personally I'd be on my way to Taco Bell or out for a burger; but jeez, your system would go into shock, right? Srsly though, isn't house work and carrying the groceries and walking the dog like a work out? Who knew? ;) And I'm still 5'5" and 130, too. Blood tests say I'm healthy as a horse and will live to be a very grumpy old lady. So, right now, I'm practicing for that. lolz

[**life is...**]

I'm working out like a mother fucker lately, so I'm eating about 3,000 - 3,300 calories a day.

Mostly in the form of:
organic skim milk
walnuts
oatmeal
bananas
spinach
greenbeans
chicken
potatoes
carrots
whey protein

And I drink a gallon of water per day. No sodas or coffee.

Please, PLEASE, don't ever take whey protein. It's filled with BCAA's and other unnatural shit that your body doesn't need. The idea that taking free form amino acids is natural is just asinine. See many of these amino acids are competitive and raising one can cause the others to go down. Take glutamine, when that shit gets too high it competitively inhibits some of the others, so the body converts the excess into glutamic acid, one of the most excitatory neurotransmitters in the body, so now you have heart palpitations and are a nervous wreck.

What about the BCAA's? Well they are competitive with tryptophan essentially shutting its activity down in sensitive individuals, now you want to kill yourself because you have wicked low serotonin levels.

Don't take that shit any more, if you want protein eat whole grain bread, peanuts, and cheese. Add to that lean beef, which is a natural source of creatine, fish, which is loaded with health fatty acids, and chicken which is loaded in protein and healthy carbs.

Stay away from that protein powder shit. Taking niacin and magnesium is a great way to gain extra energy at the gym. And coconut milk and broccoli juice can vastly improve digestion making you a hungry motherfucker in no time, which is what you really need, more lean food!

[Chaselation]

I'm working out like a mother fucker lately, so I'm eating about 3,000 - 3,300 calories a day.

Mostly in the form of:
organic skim milk
walnuts
oatmeal
bananas
spinach
greenbeans
chicken
potatoes
carrots
whey protein

And I drink a gallon of water per day. No sodas or coffee.

You might want to add coffee back onto your list as well. Especially if you are working out. http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food

[CheeZ]

You might want to add coffee back onto your list as well. Especially if you are working out. http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food

From the joke of an article:


Want a drug that could lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer? That could lift your mood and treat headaches? That could lower your risk of cavities?

Why should we look for a drug that will do these things when all of these, save Parkinson's, can be prevented with proper diet and exercise?
Has the health industry become a complicit enabler in the American movement of stupidity, gluttony and laziness without consequence?


Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices, some research indicates. "People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't,"

A person can realize even greater offsets by eliminating cigarettes and alcohol.


It's also caffeine -- and not coffee, per se -- that makes java a powerful aid in enhancing athletic endurance and performance,

So it's caffeine and not coffee that's providing the benefits. The article then goes further to suggest that coffee might have negative effects.


Coffee may also raise cholesterol levels in some people and may contribute to artery clogging. But most recent large studies show no significant adverse effects on most healthy people, although pregnant women, heart patients, and those at risk for osteoporosis may still be advised to limit or avoid coffee.

Maybe everybody should be advised to limit or avoid coffee.


"If you a recreational athlete who is working out to reduce weight or just feel better, you're not pushing yourself hard enough to get an athletic benefit from coffee or other caffeinated products."

This statement rules out the overwhelming majority of people. So what's the gain?


you can get other benefits from coffee that have nothing to do with caffeine. "Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, including a group of compounds called quinines that when administered to lab rats, increases their insulin sensitivity" he tells WebMD. This increased sensitivity improves the body's response to insulin.

Antioxidants can be found in a number of other foods that don't have any of the negative side effects found in coffee. And there's no risk of dependency.


"We don't know exactly why coffee is beneficial for diabetes," lead researcher Frank Hu, MD, tells WebMD. "It is possible that both caffeine and other compounds play important roles.

A lot of things are possible.
It's possible that caffeine serves as an appetite suppressant, and that people who drink coffee don't eat as much as people who don't.
So if you eat a shit diet and drink lots of coffee and therefore eat slightly less garbage than another coffee-drinking shit eater, you see some health benefits.


This garbage reads like a publicity piece for the coffee industry.

[pan_sonic_000]

I think I've figured out your prollem. Try Subway. Personally I'd be on my way to Taco Bell or out for a burger; but jeez, your system would go into shock, right? Srsly though, isn't house work and carrying the groceries and walking the dog like a work out? Who knew? ;) And I'm still 5'5" and 130, too. Blood tests say I'm healthy as a horse and will live to be a very grumpy old lady. So, right now, I'm practicing for that. lolz

Well, I wouldn't want to be on a prolonged diet like that. But I'm getting back into martial arts and playing flag football soon so I have to bulk up a bit more. I'm 6'3", 215 right now. I also burn off a lot of calories running around and such...



Please, PLEASE, don't ever take whey protein. It's filled with BCAA's and other unnatural shit that your body doesn't need. Etc...etc

I've never heard of this before but I'd like to read more. Do you have links to articles that explain this in further detail?

I don't take a lot of whey protein, just once a day.

[Ill eagle]

something I do is only drinking half of any beverage and refrigerating it for later, and eating a small portion of the unhealthy stuff and an equal portion of the healthy stuff on the side. Pay attention to what you eat... "Conscious Eating" and also, come what may, when it comes to food, restrictions only make it harder.

[**life is...**]

I've never heard of this before but I'd like to read more. Do you have links to articles that explain this in further detail?

I don't take a lot of whey protein, just once a day.

here's one (http://books.google.com/books?id=hV2_TdmoDo8C&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=BCAA+tryptophan+inhibition&source=bl&ots=U_SeR68Md1&sig=zfX5_ZqKIK60uABdUpvCCbkRBgw&hl=en&ei=AIj7SvT5GovXngen9ICXBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CDAQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=BCAA%20tryptophan%20inhibition&f=false)

They actually think that inhibiting tryptophan and therefore inhibiting serotonin production is good, it's retarded, no wonder body builders are so depressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamatergic_system Look at all the complete shit this chemical does when taken excess. Alziemer's desiese?? Are fucking kidding me? This literally rots your brain from the inside out. I thought there was a reason I dug DXM so much, it's an NMDA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMDA_receptor) antagonist, meaning it blocks glutamate's action in the brain, thus lowering anxiety. Wow, and all I really needed to do was cut that non-essential amino acid shit from my diet.

[Corbin]

Fastfood daily for lunch
Frozen pizzas (including pizza rolls)
Soda
Energy drinks
Coffee
Green tea
Ramen
Sandwiches

[!diom]

Currently:
Brown Rice
Pinto Beans
Lentils
Water
Olive Oil
Eggs
Tapatio
Wheat Bread
Peanut Butter
Onions
Honeycrisp Apples
Bananas
Bell Peppers
Baby Carrots
Pineapple
Almonds
Broccoli
Flaxseed
Spirulina
Oysters (!)
Diet Coke (!)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (!)
Whatever my roommate gives me for free (!)

[lpethe]

I have no idea how I'm still healthy and skinny, my diet reads like the "don't" half of a "dos and don'ts" list.

Breakfast is always red bull and cigarettes, and it takes me over two hours to drink it.
The rest of the day is water and a chewable kids multivitamin, later on i eat tums. No other sources of caffeine, and no sodas. Unless I'm drinking, then it's rum and coke instead of dinner.

I eat once, sometimes twice a day in a large meal, usually just before sleep. I wait until I'm super hungry, and eat until I'm stuffed - then get sleepy. I never nibble or graze. Either I'm eating, or I forget food even exists.

The biggest contributor to my diet is dairy - it's all I want, I eat it more than meat and breads. Cheese, milk, butter, yogurt, anything. Everything else on the plate is usually just a carrier for the dairy. When I don't succumb to my beloved cheese, my meals and snacks are entirely too heavy on animal fats. An example of a snack would be a giant serving of frozen peas cooked in too much butter. The only lucky thing is that I don't like any sweets or junk food (like potato chips), and adore vegetables.

For a while I recorded everything I ate and added it all up - I seem to take in less calories than you would think, and not more than I need. And my blood work always comes out ok. But still, that's not the best indicator of nutrition, and the types of foods I'm focusing on cannot be healthy. Trying to change it makes me feel sick, moody, and lethargic, though.

[CheeZ]

. . . later on i eat tums.

Why do you eat tums?

[**life is...**]

I pay very close attention to my diet

On a normal day:

Breakfast
eggs, toast, and some sort of meat source, I try to make it canadian bacon
OJ, milk

Lunch
a sandwich or some kind of meat and starch combination
diet soda/water/milk

Post/pre-dinner
lean meat (chicken or turkey) toasted-sandwich

Dinner
lots of lean meat (steak, chicken, turkey, fish), fair serving of potatoes or rice or noodles/pasta, and a big ass salad
milk/water/juice

I can't drink high fructose in excess or I get a vascular headache, similar to being hungover. I like chocolate sometimes, and I drink a lot of milk.

[md5fungi]

and a big ass salad

pics plz

[Faust06]

Daily I include most of the following:

almonds
tuna
eggs
oats
spinach
lean chicken or salmond
berries
yogourt or kefir
hot peppers
whole wheat anything
other random fruits
other random vegetables
hot sauce
water

Cutting down on caffeine as well. Unfortunately I'm not doing much in the way of exercise aside from running right now, but I still go to paintball on weekends when the opportunity shows up. I'm sticking to my "student" build for another few years (and I know that sounds bad because a student build sounds pretty flexible).

[**life is...**]

Daily I include most of the following:


hot sauce


Cutting down on caffeine as well.

Hot sauce is the shit!!!!


Caffeine is ok as long as blood sugar is healthy

[Faust06]

Hot sauce is the shit!!!!


Caffeine is ok as long as blood sugar is healthy

Hot sauce is the nectar of manliness. If north english ales aren't.

[CheeZ]

Hot sauce is the nectar of manliness. If north english ales aren't.

Rubbish. If north English ales were the nectar of manliness, manly men would exist in north England. :rolleyes:

[Faust06]

Rubbish. If north English ales were the nectar or manliness, manly men would exist in north England. :rolleyes:

Ha, touche. Hot sauce it is.

[**life is...**]

Manly

[lpethe]

Why do you eat tums?

a couple different doctors recommended that I do so for the calcium. i guess they think between the affordability, ease, and amount of calcium, its my best bet. i have various calcium supplements in all sorts of forms I take when I remember, most including some magnesium and/or D.
between having small frame, being white, family history, being female, smoking, and too many years on the depo shot, they are pretty concerned about my bones. bone density tests are pretty bad, too.

i get the berry flavored "smoothy" tums, and they are pretty good, not too chalky. (much better than that gum) plus, they make my tummy feel good. red bull on an empty stomach doesn't make for a friendly environment (who would have guessed?! lol)