4 ms·

Hmmm, where to start: - Switch out junk food for healthier snacks (dark chocolate, nuts, (dried) fruit). Over time your tolerance for junk food will go down an

by paulsb 16y ago

Hmmm, where to start: - Switch out junk food for healthier snacks (dark chocolate, nuts, (dried) fruit). Over time your tolerance for junk food will go down and you will want less of it; - If you really want a hit of junk food, just have it. There is no point dwelling on it. I will have one piece of sugary food with my coffee at around 10:00, which keeps me satisfied. Sometimes I binge out after not having a lot for so long (months), but when your tolerance for processed food goes down you will stop much sooner (through a mixture of guilt and physiological repulsion); - If you want sugar, eat 'good' sugar, i.e. fruit; - Have a bowl of healthy nibbles lying around to munch on when walking past. I always have grapes and nuts in the kitchen that I pick at; - Always eat breakfast. I have mine as soon as wake-up; - Cook your own meals and don't eat processed food; - Drink water rather than carbonated drinks; - Eat smaller meals more often. I try to eat something every three hours; - Follow the Japanese (I think) philosophy of eating until only 80% full, not bursting at the seams. For me the ideal amount of food is a cereal bowl worth of food; - Have a drink about 30 - 60 mins after you have eaten, not during a meal. This helps to top-up the fullness feeling and also allows food to be digested more efficiently before the digestive enzymes get diluted by a drink; - Don't try and justify eating rubbish by doing exercise. You are what you eat. The end result is that people always tell me I am too skinny even though I eat a lot. I don't need to do that much exercise because my diet is good. When I do go out for dinner and/or drinks I can indulge without guilt.

TeHCrAzY 16y ago
I have to second the drinking water rather than anything else point. Thats one of the easiest changes (so easy in fact, that its the only one I currently can stick to) to achieve, and you will feel fantastic for it (give it a few weeks for the caffeine fuzziness to fade).
mian2zi3 16y ago
> Have a drink about 30 - 60 mins after you have eaten, not during a meal. This ... allows food to be digested more efficiently before the digestive enzymes get diluted by a drink I hear this claim a lot and it always sounds simplistic. The most reliable refutation a quick google turned up was: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestion/AN01776/ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestion/AN01776/ from a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic. I quote: "There's no concern that water will dilute the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal can actually improve digestion. Water and other liquids help break down the food in your stomach and keep your digestive system on track." Food stays in your stomach as long as 5 hours. Water must get absorbed/passed on much more quickly. (I couldn't find numbers.) I imagine your stomach is pretty smart about maintaining a proper environment for digestion.
- paulsb 16y ago
  I am not sure if it's 100% true or not. I was told to do this by a nutritionist because I was drinking a pint at a time. I would drink this all in one go, but I imagine sipping would be fine. But drinking later ensures that I don't feel uncomfortably full. But surely a large, sudden, water intake will dilute the stomach (not intestine where most of the nutrients are absorbed) juices and pH?
  - mian2zi3 16y ago
    As I hope the tone of my post made clear, I'm not sure either, but I am very skeptical of the claim. There seem to be two issues here: how full you feel (which I don't have an opinion on one way or another) and whether drinking water impedes digestion by diluting stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Yes, it would seem plausible that a large intake of water would dilute the stomach juices. However, it also seems equally plausible that the stomach regulates pH equally quickly by passing along the excess water to the small intestine (where, I believe, water is typically absorbed), just delaying digestion temporarily. I imagine different foods (whole grains vs. pasta vs. steak) must need different amounts of time to break down in the stomach. Is the stomach sensitive to when foods are ready to be passed along to the small intestine?
  - niels_olson 16y ago
    doc here: anything remotely close to normal water intake will not effect the efficacy of the digestive process. A big slug of cold water might be a skosh uncomfortable, but I've never heard of water intake causing diarrhea.
    - dctoedt 16y ago
      > A skosh uncomfortable Are you military or ex-military, by any chance? They're the only other people I've ever heard use "skosh" (from the Japanese skoshi, a small space or time). (I'm an Air Force brat and Navy vet.) EDIT: Looks like you might be a Navy doc?
magma 16y ago
Good advice on drinking water only after about 30 minutes after the meal. A useful side effect of this optimized digestion process is significantly reduced burping! :-) Also don't eat anything at least 3-4 hours before you sleep. This creates a period of extended fasting while you sleep, which helps with weight loss.
Amnon 16y ago
> The end result is that people always tell me I am too skinny even though I eat a lot. Umm... Doesn't being too skinny mean you're not eating well? (I'm asking because I'm in the same situation).
- paulsb 16y ago
  I am not too skinny; that is just others peoples opinion. I am of normal weight for my height and age, and I feel great. It seems worse than it is because I went from 12 stone to 10 after I stopped weight training. Also, I am Indian, so everyone thinks that being over weight is healthy and a sign of wealth. They just don't learn from all the heart attacks and diabetes. I think I eat very well. I believe in getting the best, freshest food I can, having a well balanced diet (which includes fats) and in the traceability of food. I do have a gluten and cow's milk intolerance, so I guess I don't eat that much, if any, refined carbs; however, I do eat other flours and other sources of dairy. If you're eating well, feeling good and are 'skinny', I think you should be okay. If you're worried then you should probably go and see a doctor or nutritionist.
flog 16y ago
"eat 'good' sugar, i.e. fruit;" -- even that may be contentious. This video on the dangers of fructose was posted not that long ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
- zargon 16y ago
  Lustig says fruits are good. It is the artificially added fructose (ie HFCS) that he says is dangerous.

by paulsb 16y ago

TeHCrAzY 16y ago

I have to second the drinking water rather than anything else point. Thats one of the easiest changes (so easy in fact, that its the only one I currently can stick to) to achieve, and you will feel fantastic for it (give it a few weeks for the caffeine fuzziness to fade).

mian2zi3 16y ago

> Have a drink about 30 - 60 mins after you have eaten, not during a meal. This ... allows food to be digested more efficiently before the digestive enzymes get diluted by a drink I hear this claim a lot and it always sounds simplistic. The most reliable refutation a quick google turned up was: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestion/AN01776/ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestion/AN01776/ from a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic. I quote: "There's no concern that water will dilute the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal can actually improve digestion. Water and other liquids help break down the food in your stomach and keep your digestive system on track." Food stays in your stomach as long as 5 hours. Water must get absorbed/passed on much more quickly. (I couldn't find numbers.) I imagine your stomach is pretty smart about maintaining a proper environment for digestion.

paulsb 16y ago
I am not sure if it's 100% true or not. I was told to do this by a nutritionist because I was drinking a pint at a time. I would drink this all in one go, but I imagine sipping would be fine. But drinking later ensures that I don't feel uncomfortably full. But surely a large, sudden, water intake will dilute the stomach (not intestine where most of the nutrients are absorbed) juices and pH?
- mian2zi3 16y ago
  As I hope the tone of my post made clear, I'm not sure either, but I am very skeptical of the claim. There seem to be two issues here: how full you feel (which I don't have an opinion on one way or another) and whether drinking water impedes digestion by diluting stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Yes, it would seem plausible that a large intake of water would dilute the stomach juices. However, it also seems equally plausible that the stomach regulates pH equally quickly by passing along the excess water to the small intestine (where, I believe, water is typically absorbed), just delaying digestion temporarily. I imagine different foods (whole grains vs. pasta vs. steak) must need different amounts of time to break down in the stomach. Is the stomach sensitive to when foods are ready to be passed along to the small intestine?
- niels_olson 16y ago
  doc here: anything remotely close to normal water intake will not effect the efficacy of the digestive process. A big slug of cold water might be a skosh uncomfortable, but I've never heard of water intake causing diarrhea.
  - dctoedt 16y ago
    > A skosh uncomfortable Are you military or ex-military, by any chance? They're the only other people I've ever heard use "skosh" (from the Japanese skoshi, a small space or time). (I'm an Air Force brat and Navy vet.) EDIT: Looks like you might be a Navy doc?

magma 16y ago

Good advice on drinking water only after about 30 minutes after the meal. A useful side effect of this optimized digestion process is significantly reduced burping! :-) Also don't eat anything at least 3-4 hours before you sleep. This creates a period of extended fasting while you sleep, which helps with weight loss.

Amnon 16y ago

> The end result is that people always tell me I am too skinny even though I eat a lot. Umm... Doesn't being too skinny mean you're not eating well? (I'm asking because I'm in the same situation).

paulsb 16y ago
I am not too skinny; that is just others peoples opinion. I am of normal weight for my height and age, and I feel great. It seems worse than it is because I went from 12 stone to 10 after I stopped weight training. Also, I am Indian, so everyone thinks that being over weight is healthy and a sign of wealth. They just don't learn from all the heart attacks and diabetes. I think I eat very well. I believe in getting the best, freshest food I can, having a well balanced diet (which includes fats) and in the traceability of food. I do have a gluten and cow's milk intolerance, so I guess I don't eat that much, if any, refined carbs; however, I do eat other flours and other sources of dairy. If you're eating well, feeling good and are 'skinny', I think you should be okay. If you're worried then you should probably go and see a doctor or nutritionist.

flog 16y ago

"eat 'good' sugar, i.e. fruit;" -- even that may be contentious. This video on the dangers of fructose was posted not that long ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

zargon 16y ago
Lustig says fruits are good. It is the artificially added fructose (ie HFCS) that he says is dangerous.