What do you believe is the healthiest diet for life?

[StaceyinLA]

I appreciate all the comments here, and that Mark Bittman article was fantastic!

The reason I said I like to follow “rules” is I feel like makes it easy for me to prep meals and things when I have a particular diet I’m following. For instance I know Whole 30 recipes will be clean of most everything, but generally have lots of meat. I know a vegan meal won’t have animal products. It’s just easier on my brain. The problem is I am not really gonna follow any of that long-term.

I guess I just need to put forth a little more effort to tailor my diet (well, ours, since my husband is pretty much at my mercy) to what I want.

I know I need to curb the restaurant eating with the exception of the couple really clean places (and even our favorite burger place does a grass-fed beef and a buffalo burger, so I can opt for better quality there), and cut out sugar and anything prepared. Prepared foods aren’t really typical for me at home, but TJs frozen section has been my best friend during our remodel. Sugar isn’t usually a problem for me at all. I DO have a spoon of sugar and some heavy cream in my coffee daily (and I plan to cut this out at some point and go to a healthier coffee option that I also enjoy - just not now), but I drink a single cup, and I rarely eat any type of sweets.

All in all, it’s really the same things I already knew. I just need to actually do it all the time!

[Bluegoat]

24 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

I appreciate all the comments here, and that Mark Bittman article was fantastic!

The reason I said I like to follow “rules” is I feel like makes it easy for me to prep meals and things when I have a particular diet I’m following. For instance I know Whole 30 recipes will be clean of most everything, but generally have lots of meat. I know a vegan meal won’t have animal products. It’s just easier on my brain. The problem is I am not really gonna follow any of that long-term.

I guess I just need to put forth a little more effort to tailor my diet (well, ours, since my husband is pretty much at my mercy) to what I want.

I know I need to curb the restaurant eating with the exception of the couple really clean places (and even our favorite burger place does a grass-fed beef and a buffalo burger, so I can opt for better quality there), and cut out sugar and anything prepared. Prepared foods aren’t really typical for me at home, but TJs frozen section has been my best friend during our remodel. Sugar isn’t usually a problem for me at all. I DO have a spoon of sugar and some heavy cream in my coffee daily (and I plan to cut this out at some point and go to a healthier coffee option that I also enjoy - just not now), but I drink a single cup, and I rarely eat any type of sweets.

All in all, it’s really the same things I already knew. I just need to actually do it all the time!

 

I think a lot of time sets of rules are useful for just that reason - they work to make it easier for us to manage, rather than because they are the only or best approach.

I tend to think diet advice is a really excellent example of that, because often making it simple is what people need.  Simple, and built into a lifestyle that supports the good habits.  I think that's why food culture is so important.

In light of that, I'd say the best "diets" if you need to change the way you eat are the ones that simplify rather than add complications unnecessarily.  They rules should be targeted to the outcome you want - not necessarily directly but in a way that is efficient.  Ideally they should shape or fit in with your family food culture and that of the place you live, too, so you can participate in social situations without added stress.

I prefer things like - use a smaller plate for your meals and wait 20 min before you have seconds, eat 5 dinners aweek at home and pack lunches at home, or something like the no-s diet - they are based more on simple rules to modify behaviour.  They don't really cut out food groups, or have you hunting through the ingredients on a box for disallowed items, and you don't get caught up in worrying whats the best or right.  You know eating sweets on Sat and Sun only has an arbitrary quality, it's just meant to simplify your decision making and limit setting.  

[Soror]

Sometimes I make paleo recipes and sometimes vegan. I just look for recipes that are whole foods and look yummy.

I agree w/ Bluegoat, keep things simple. 

But nobody is perfect all the time, we all compromise in some way some of the times. I've stopped calling those instances failure, or bad/unclean eating. Nope, I'm done with that. 

I had some gf pizza Saturday. I ate a couple of Peeps Monday. I didn't earn them or work them off later. I didn't feel guilt. I enjoyed them. I didn't do a 'cleanse' to undo the 'damage'. I just went on my way, continuing to eat good whole foods as I do 90%+ of the time. I did continue my workout plans as usual and I was craving even more veggies, I loved my HUGE veggie stirfry as much as I did my Pizza and Peeps :) Work on changing the habits that don't make you feel good, let the focus be positive. My focus is on eating as many veggies and fruits and fresh food as I can because I know I feel great when I do, that automatically crowds out the crap. I focus on buying good food and giving myself time to prepare it but some days and seasons are harder than others. 

[StaceyinLA]

The problem with adapting to the food culture in which I live is, I live in Louisiana. We may not be famous for much down here, but we are famous for our food, and while it is mostly amazing; it’s certainly not considered healthy. ;-p

I get what you’re saying though. Honestly, I know what I should and shouldn’t eat. It’s just tough around here to follow. There are so many great places to eat I find it difficult to go run errands and NOT eat out. I just LOVE so many different types of food.

[Bluegoat]

Yes, exactly.

My MIL has recently lost over 40 lbs, and the only thing she did was cut out most snacks and started using a lunch plate at supper.  If she is still hungry she will have seconds, but mostly she doesn't need to.  At Easter dinner she used the same plates as everyone else since it was her good china.

Not that that will work for everyone, but I think best chance of success is usually with KISS.

 

[Bluegoat]

5 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

The problem with adapting to the food culture in which I live is, I live in Louisiana. We may not be famous for much down here, but we are famous for our food, and while it is mostly amazing; it’s certainly not considered healthy. ;-p

I get what you’re saying though. Honestly, I know what I should and shouldn’t eat. It’s just tough around here to follow. There are so many great places to eat I find it difficult to go run errands and NOT eat out. I just LOVE so many different types of food.

 

THat's interesting, most of the things that come to my mind seem like they are pretty healthy!  What kind of stuff is common?

[Greta]

Two things convinced me to change my eating habits.  The first was the Blue Zone studies which showed that the populations that live the longest eat lots of plant foods, and very little animal foods.  The second was Dr. Michael Gregor's book How Not to Die.  I went strict vegan to try to make up for the damage that I'd done to my body with 12 years of keto.  But strict vegan is probably not necessary for most people.  I think for the average person, I would recommend reducing processed foods and fast foods, and making things from scratch at home; and increasing fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains while reducing meat and dairy.

[Soror]

2 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

The problem with adapting to the food culture in which I live is, I live in Louisiana. We may not be famous for much down here, but we are famous for our food, and while it is mostly amazing; it’s certainly not considered healthy. ;-p

I get what you’re saying though. Honestly, I know what I should and shouldn’t eat. It’s just tough around here to follow. There are so many great places to eat I find it difficult to go run errands and NOT eat out. I just LOVE so many different types of food.

I live in a small Midwest town, we don't have great eating out options either, on the plus side it saves a lot of money! Well, maybe if you want to eat out more often you look for more real food options most of the time and save the really indulgent food for special occasions and really enjoy them. 

[Paige]

What I liked about Dr Greger's book was that it told me what to eat and not just what not to eat. I have his app on my phone and try to eat as much of the good things on his list a day that I can and don't really pay attention to what not to eat. It's super easy and simple and I work well with check lists. I've been consciously avoiding meat and minimizing dairy but if DH or other family members make lasagna or something else with meat and cheese I will eat it and not care. It's no big deal. By focusing on fitting in all the good foods, however, I find I'm naturally eating less of the foods that aren't as good for me because I'm full and there's not that much time in the day. 

[hornblower]

On 4/11/2018 at 8:06 AM, StaceyinLA said:

The problem with adapting to the food culture in which I live is, I live in Louisiana. We may not be famous for much down here, but we are famous for our food, and while it is mostly amazing; it’s certainly not considered healthy. ;-p 

Ever since I heard you can get vegan beignets at a restaurant called Seed in New Orleans, I've wanted to go. I suspect I could live on those... :D 

[Greta]

On 4/12/2018 at 4:06 PM, Paige said:

What I liked about Dr Greger's book was that it told me what to eat and not just what not to eat. I have his app on my phone and try to eat as much of the good things on his list a day that I can and don't really pay attention to what not to eat. It's super easy and simple and I work well with check lists. I've been consciously avoiding meat and minimizing dairy but if DH or other family members make lasagna or something else with meat and cheese I will eat it and not care. It's no big deal. By focusing on fitting in all the good foods, however, I find I'm naturally eating less of the foods that aren't as good for me because I'm full and there's not that much time in the day. 

I really like that app for the same reason:  it helps me focus on all the great things I get to eat each day, and it just kind of naturally pushes not-so-great things out of the diet without the focus being on what I'm missing or avoiding.  I think it's a very helpful tool.