what about eating fruit and vegetables for a few days?
i have been trying to lose a few lbs but i can't seem to actually stick with it. i think maybe if i set the stricked guidelines of only eating fruits and veges and just not worrying about counting i'll be able to do it. even if i let myself have a little bit of what i want i end up eating way to much of it. i just stand in the kitchen and slice away at my moms homemade bread and befor i know it i have eating probably about 3 whole slices, then i eat like 10 crackers, and some dark chocolate, some pb, etc. i tend to mostly go for the salty carbs. i think this plan will also just make me fell better, kind of a fasting or detox thing.
what do you think?
has anyone tried this?
Sorry, double posted.
You'd be stupid to eat ONLY fruits and veggies.
Try fruits, veggies, and meat. Cut grains, only and entirely and you'll see big results, I can guarantee that.
As for a salt addiction: adding salt to meats and eating salted veggies like pickles might help you curb it. Good luck!
It's not a good idea, in general, to eliminate any one food group, or to only eat from one food group. Eating a lot of vegetables is a very good idea because they fill you up and are nourishing without adding too many calories. But if you fail to get your protein, whole grains and good fats, your nutritional needs will suffer. Whole grains are essential to good health and provide many nutrients that are hard to get from any other food source, and they provide valuable fiber too.
The whole point is learning portion control. If you find yourself eating one slice of bread after another, it could be that you are simply very hungry, or it could be that you crave something in the bread like B vitamins. Portion out your higher calorie foods, such as bread, meat and fats, and eat all you want of vegetables.
So eat a fully balanced diet. I like the Mayo Clinic health food pyramid. Scroll down this article and click on the picture of it. It is based on vegetables and fruits, then whole grains, then the other food groups. It's the smart way to eat.
I think it would be better to start slowly changing your eating habits so that you can maintain a healthy weight rather than removing entire food groups from your diet, even if it is just temporarily.
It sounds like your trigger foods for overeating are refined carbs (white flour, refined sugar, etc...) which give you an immediate boost in blood sugar, but have virtually no nutritional value except for calories (so you don't feel satisfied):( This is true for a lot of people and, in my opinion, these types of "cheap" sources of calories have led a lot of people down the weight-gain path.
Limiting or eliminating these foods made a HUGE difference for me. Slowly reducing salt helps, too. With practice, you stop craving super-salty foods and learn to feed your body what it really needs.
I know not everyone has a Whole Foods nearby, so it can be very difficult in some places, but maybe you can ask your mom to make the bread with half whole wheat or whole spelt flour and see what you think. I bet you will like it!
Also, studies have recently shown that it is much better to eat carbs with s little fat so, dip your bread in olive oil or spread it with some healthy butter substitute (I like Earth Balance). You will be more satisfied because you ate some unsaturated fat AND it will slow the process of the glucose entering your bloodstream, helping to slow your rise in blood sugar. Win-win!
Original Post by clairelaine:
It's not a good idea, in general, to eliminate any one food group, or to only eat from one food group. Eating a lot of vegetables is a very good idea because they fill you up and are nourishing without adding too many calories. But if you fail to get your protein, whole grains and good fats, your nutritional needs will suffer. Whole grains are essential to good health and provide many nutrients that are hard to get from any other food source, and they provide valuable fiber too.
The whole point is learning portion control. If you find yourself eating one slice of bread after another, it could be that you are simply very hungry, or it could be that you crave something in the bread like B vitamins. Portion out your higher calorie foods, such as bread, meat and fats, and eat all you want of vegetables.
So eat a fully balanced diet. I like the Mayo Clinic health food pyramid. Scroll down this article and click on the picture of it. It is based on vegetables and fruits, then whole grains, then the other food groups. It's the smart way to eat.
Not that I directly disagree with this post, but I really don't see the value in most grains, even the whole ones.
"Whole grains are essential to good health and provide many nutrients that are hard to get from any other food source, and they provide valuable fiber too."
From personal experience and anecdotal evidence I disagree that they're essential at all to keeping healthy. What nutrients are you speaking of, hard to come by in other sources? As for fiber, there are other, more efficient ways of getting yours in without adding tons of starchy carbs.
Again, not trying to pick an argument, just getting the facts -- set me straight if you want to. Please reply :)
thanks for all the help. i really just need to find some control. im educated on whats healthy and whats not. its like im on a diet, a good, balanced one that keeps me full. i dont undereat or anything and i always eat my fruits and veges, but then on top of that i binge!
also, what if i just did this for one day too clear out my system?
Well, no-one can stop you. But detoxes are unnecessary. Our bodies are perfectly capable of processing toxins... that's what the liver, skin and kidneys are for. Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of fresh produce and healthy food and you won't need to starve yourself with "detox" crash diets, which are unsustainable anyway.
Original Post by horfinator:
What nutrients are you speaking of, hard to come by in other sources? As for fiber, there are other, more efficient ways of getting yours in without adding tons of starchy carbs.
Wholegrains provide valuable nutrients such as B vitamins which release the energy from the food we eat and contribute to good body function. They also contain protein which helps growth and repair. Finally fibre, which helps the body get rid of waste products and provides a feeling of satisfaction when eating. (If you're looking for a 'detox' ... increase your fibre intake) Carbohydrates such as pulses (legumes) - lentils, beans, chickpeas - are also rich in iron. Consumption of oats is believed to help reduce blood cholesterol levels. Complex carbohydrates are low in fat and give us plenty of energy. The simple starches... sugar and refined flour etc... are not 'unhealthy' but tend to contain little nutrition. So even they can be enjoyed in small amounts.
You don't have to eat vast quantities of wholegrain foods to get the benefits. Carbohydrates (like any other food) are only fattening when eaten to excess. Control the portion-size and you can enjoy foods like wholemeal bread, brown rice and other grains together with other foods and lose weight quite easily.
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutriti onessentials/starchfoods/ You should probably read this link which could answer more of your questions about the benefits of wholegrains.
yeah...in terms of cutting out carbs...for about 3 years I was having trouble with my stomach and my doctor was convinced I had celiac disease. I cut out all wheat/gluten from my diet. I lost about 20 pounds in 2 months. In the 6 months following...I gained it all back as my body adjusted to not eating it.
You need to do something you can stick with. I don't know about you, but I could never not (double negative) eat carbs for the duration of my life. Just eat in moderation, it seems to be the key to most problems.
**turns out I didn't have celiac and now i'm on meds so i can eat everything.
Original Post by gi-jane:
Wholegrains provide valuable nutrients such as B vitamins which release the energy from the food we eat and contribute to good body function. They also contain protein which helps growth and repair. Finally fibre, which helps the body get rid of waste products and provides a feeling of satisfaction when eating. (If you're looking for a 'detox' ... increase your fibre intake) Carbohydrates such as pulses (legumes) - lentils, beans, chickpeas - are also rich in iron. Consumption of oats is believed to help reduce blood cholesterol levels. Complex carbohydrates are low in fat and give us plenty of energy. The simple starches... sugar and refined flour etc... are not 'unhealthy' but tend to contain little nutrition. So even they can be enjoyed in small amounts.
You don't have to eat vast quantities of wholegrain foods to get the benefits. Carbohydrates (like any other food) are only fattening when eaten to excess. Control the portion-size and you can enjoy foods like wholemeal bread, brown rice and other grains together with other foods and lose weight quite easily.
So basically B vitamins, protein and fibre? Oh, and iron. Every single one of which is found plentifully in green leafy veggies, such as baby spinach. I'm just as happy eating spinach, which contains these nutrients in larger concentrations with less unnecessary carbohydrate attached to them.
I looked up the stats of standard white bread versus a standard 12-grain bread, and the differences REALLY are not that large. For instance, Wonder Bread's major points are: 79 calories per slice, 1g fat, 14.9g carbs of which 0.5g is fiber. 2g sugar, 2g protein. Note that this is per 31g serving.
Now, a 12 grain bread: per 32g serving, 85 calories from: 1.4g fat, 13.9g carbohydrate, 2.4g of which is fiber. 2.0g sugar and 4g protein.
In short, a small amount more fiber and protein. Does this really justify the giant mental grudge society has against processed grains? In my opinion, this is just a rationalization for eating the slightly more nutritious, but still basically the same, bread guilt-free. Not that this is a bad thing, it is a step in the right direction, but shouldn't the next logical step be to move to something that offers these nutrients without the unattractive carbohydrate count?
Portion control I agree with, but it's not strictly relevant. Post back.
('Post back'... please... I think you meant to say)
'Nutrients without the unattractive carbohydrate count'.... ? Oh dear. Food is not simply a random chemical collection of carbohydrates, calories and nutrients. It's also got to be something that is good to eat... enjoyable, satisfying, sociable, good for the soul. Otherwise we could all pop a few pills every few hours and that would be us 'fed' for the day like animals in some horrible industrial unit.
There have been studies done on the component parts of wholegrains -although I can't provide links to learned websites you'll just have to take my word for it. One group of people would be fed wholegrains and the others would be given the equivalent in 'nutrients'... fibre, B vitamins, iron, protein... in the form of supplements. The first group were found to have derived more benefits than the second even though technically they were taking in the same thing. Because food is more complicated than we currently understand. A simple basil leaf contains hundreds of chemical compounds that we haven't even identified yet. Carrots contain a lot more than 'Vitamin A', oranges more than 'Vitamin C'.
Everything we eat reacts with everything else to create a bigger, synergistic, nutritional benefit which is why variety in the diet is so important. The role of 'eating for pleasure' on our health is unresearched buT probably has an impact. Nutritionists haven't even scratched the surface of how it all works so we're left with dumbed-down generalisations of the nutrients they can identify. Your spinach may contain the same top-line nutrients but it's not delivered in the same package a single oat grain, for example.
I don't really understand why you're so 'carb-phobic' and I don't think society really does have a 'giant mental grudge against processed grains' in the slightest. If you don't like bread, don't eat it, of course. But many people do.
I'm clearly very opinionated about carbs 
but I find that low-carb is what keeps me personally in my best working condition, and I've noticed that it works on quite a lot of others as well. Guess I'm generalizing if I say something like "carbs are evil" but then, you can't argue with the effectiveness of low-carb dieting.
Micronutrients, you could be correct on, and I very much don't wish to argue about something outside my realm of knowledge.
"...and I don't think society really does have a 'giant mental grudge against processed grains' in the slightestand I don't think society really does have a 'giant mental grudge against processed grains' in the slightest." Well, look at the rap white bread gets nowadays, everyone and their grandmother goes out of their way to buy fortified 100% whole wheat bread.
"everyone and their grandmother goes out of their way to buy fortified 100% whole wheat bread."
Actually no they don't.. In the UK at least, white bread sales still outstrip wholemeal sales. In 2008 white bread accounted for 62.8% of the market and wholemeal 17.0% with brown (6.3%) & grained (4%) (source TNS Worldpanel)
The world is full of slim and/or healthy people eating moderate amounts of bread, pasta and all kinds of other carbohydrates quite happily. It's also full of fat and/or unhealthy people eating too much bread, pasta and other carbohydrates.
Just follow the basics outlined here and other legitimate health sites. That link to an article posted above by Calirelaine is a great one.
I used to eat all bad....cheeseburgers, pizzas, breakfast sandwiches, drank a fair amount. But a year ago I decided to get serious. Started following all the typical guidelines and started walking. The pounds flew off...I feel great...I lost 5" off my waist and get complimented all the time. Now eating right is second nature and I still get in an occasional burger or pizza. Easy to do once you stick with it for a month or two,
