7 ms·

Eating well is not straight forward, there's a lot of misinformation out there.

ChuckNorris89 7y ago
Well, depends. If you want to look like Thor, then yes, nutrition is complicated. If you just want to stay in decent shape and be healthy it's not really that hard. Let me summarize it: 1. Don't eat processed food !!!! 2. Limit your portions to the size of a medium plate(don't stack it though) 3. Eat your green vegetables. No need to count calories either, just split your plate in 3 roughly evenly sized slices: 1st should be protein(chicken breast, fish, eggs, low fat mozzarella or cottage cheese for example) 2nd should be starchy carbs(pasta, rice or potatoes for example) 3rd should be fibrous carbs(broccoli, spinach or bell peppers for example) and lastly you can add a little healthy fats like a fist full of nuts, a slice of avocado or a few table spoons of olive oil(men need this healthy fat for testosterone production). And you can play around with this like increasing the ratio of the starchy carb slice for breakfast/lunch for more energy during your evening workout and increase the ratio of the protein slice for dinner for better muscle recovery after your workout.
- eikenberry 7y ago
  > 1. Don't eat processed food !!!! This has become all but meaningless as what it means to be processed varies so much and has come to include almost anything. You mention pasta, yet many definitions include flour as being processed. I've seen it go so far as defining anything with salt added as processed (even by you right before you eat it). What is a reasonable definition of processed food that you can actually use when shopping?
  - forgotmypw 7y ago
    Something that has been mushed up from its original form to the point of being unrecognizable, bonus points for a bunch of different things mixed together, extra bonus points for containing things that were once in a big reaction vat.
    - balfirevic 7y ago
      > Something that has been mushed up from its original form to the point of being unrecognizable So it does include flour and pasta? Edit: olive oil and butter would also seem to fit the bill.
      - AlanSE 7y ago
        Flour is like the granddaddy of all processed foods. Yes, it is processed. Modern nutrition studies tend to suck, because they are laughably narrow. Flour is probably the biggest thing we have been capable of studying on a population scale. Throughout history, flour has made many populations unhealthy and fat. Olive oil is hugely controversial. Don't expect an answer on that. Processing foods tends to remove the stuff which is good for you. That's why "whole" grain is advocated. You would do even better to selectively eat the wheat germ! So let me make the controversial but empirically true statement that it's possible to make a food more healthy by processing it. The reason processed foods are bad is because of our taste bud and business incentives. That's why it's extremely problematic to focus on food processing, as opposed to an underlying nutrient understanding. The first thing that goes when we process foods is the fiber, and this is missing nutrient number 1 in the American diet. As long we lack an ability to talk about the truly root issues with diet, reducing processed foods will do nothing (given sufficient time). Companies will figure out a way to call something unprocessed, but still give the same bad composition of nutrients.
        ses1984 7y ago
        What's controversial about olive oil?
        forgotmypw 7y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil_regulation_and_adulteration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil_regulation_and_adulte... http://www.google.com/search?q=olive+oil+controversy http://www.google.com/search?q=olive+oil+controversy
  - richk449 7y ago
    I think the easiest answer: If it comes in a box or a bag with a list of ingredients, consider it processed. Occasionally eating something that comes in that form is okay - so making pasta from a once a week won’t kill you ( at least not quick enough to matter). But if you find yourself opening a box or bag of something every night, you may want to think harder. Just my opinion, of course.
    - iikoolpp 7y ago
      > I think the easiest answer: If it comes in a box or a bag with a list of ingredients, consider it processed. eating rotten unpreserved foods to own the libs
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - scruple 7y ago
    Is it a whole food or is it not? That's my only criteria. Sometimes whole foods could be argued as being processed and it wouldn't be wrong. I don't mince words over that, though. Uncooked non-brown rice is still rice, even if it went through some processing to get to me.
- benj111 7y ago
  Fibrous carbs? I've never come across broccoli being classed as a carb before. I've heard it as 1/3 protein, 1/3 carb, 1/3 fruit and veg.
  - ChuckNorris89 7y ago
    Most fruit and veg are also carbs. The difference is between good fibrous carbs, the ones that are nutritious, filling and low on calories like most green vegetables including broccoli and spinach, and "bad" starchy carbs(note the commas) like potatoes, pasta or rice which are not very nutritious but are high in calories and sugars which our bodies need for energy.
    - benj111 7y ago
      Do you mean fibre when you say fibrous carbs?
      - im3w1l 7y ago
        By "fibrous carbs" he means foodstuffs which are fibrous (containing, consisting of, or resembling fibers), and whose energy mainly comes from carbohydrates (as opposed to fat or protein).
  - wincy 7y ago
    Or you can just eat nothing but beef ribs and have the body of an adonis. Be suspicious of all advice for nutrition. The best I’ve ever felt in my life I ate nothing but ultraprocessed pork sausages with cheese and kimchi for six months. Slimmed down and felt amazing.
    - tracker1 7y ago
      If going carnivore, best to eat nose to tail and favor ruminants (pasture raised eggs are also a good option). Also a good idea to add couple fasted days a month.
    - ummonk 7y ago
- tracker1 7y ago
  I'd make a couple tweaks... but double down on the don't eat processed foods, especially sugar. And add that you shouldn't be afraid of fat. I'd also suggest that some carb sources are better than others (barley or lentils over any form of wheat or soy). Of course, in general soy goes in the processed food category. Not to mention issues with GMO grains in general. I'm also a solid believer in adding fasting cycles, reducing meal frequency etc.
- kochikame 7y ago
  Which has also been even more concisely summarized as a seven word maxim: Eat food. Mostly vegetables. Not too much (in which "eat food" means 'real' food, not processed food)
- tbihl 7y ago
  I'd add to this: With abundant choices of carbs available, you can pretty much control weight gain based on which ones you consume. Sugar is first to go, followed by wheat, then corn, and at that point you're pretty much down to a collection of things that are hard to gain weight from (because they're a combo of fibrous and less exciting.) On the fruit side, bananas and grapes are probably worst, then apples and similar behind that, with berries being a somewhat safe bet on the other end.
- sbmthakur 7y ago
  Also one should reduce added sugar as much as possible.
- thefz 7y ago
  > 2nd should be starchy carbs(pasta, rice or potatoes for example) > 3rd should be fibrous carbs(broccoli, spinach or bell peppers for example) Two thirds of what you recommend eating is carbs, no need to count calories, protein at dinner for muscle growth? This is just a pile of very bad pseudoscience.
- wtetzner 7y ago
  See, the thing is, a lot of the latest research seems to suggest that healthy fats should make up a larger part of your diet, and that grains are actually pretty terrible for you. Like I said, it’s really not simple. Additionally, a lot of plants require processing to be safe to eat, and many more are healthier if processed in some way. “Processed” is too generic to really mean anything.

Well, depends. If you want to look like Thor, then yes, nutrition is complicated. If you just want to stay in decent shape and be healthy it's not really that hard. Let me summarize it: 1. Don't eat processed food !!!! 2. Limit your portions to the size of a medium plate(don't stack it though) 3. Eat your green vegetables. No need to count calories either, just split your plate in 3 roughly evenly sized slices: 1st should be protein(chicken breast, fish, eggs, low fat mozzarella or cottage cheese for example) 2nd should be starchy carbs(pasta, rice or potatoes for example) 3rd should be fibrous carbs(broccoli, spinach or bell peppers for example) and lastly you can add a little healthy fats like a fist full of nuts, a slice of avocado or a few table spoons of olive oil(men need this healthy fat for testosterone production). And you can play around with this like increasing the ratio of the starchy carb slice for breakfast/lunch for more energy during your evening workout and increase the ratio of the protein slice for dinner for better muscle recovery after your workout.

eikenberry 7y ago
> 1. Don't eat processed food !!!! This has become all but meaningless as what it means to be processed varies so much and has come to include almost anything. You mention pasta, yet many definitions include flour as being processed. I've seen it go so far as defining anything with salt added as processed (even by you right before you eat it). What is a reasonable definition of processed food that you can actually use when shopping?
- forgotmypw 7y ago
  Something that has been mushed up from its original form to the point of being unrecognizable, bonus points for a bunch of different things mixed together, extra bonus points for containing things that were once in a big reaction vat.
  - balfirevic 7y ago
    > Something that has been mushed up from its original form to the point of being unrecognizable So it does include flour and pasta? Edit: olive oil and butter would also seem to fit the bill.
    - AlanSE 7y ago
      Flour is like the granddaddy of all processed foods. Yes, it is processed. Modern nutrition studies tend to suck, because they are laughably narrow. Flour is probably the biggest thing we have been capable of studying on a population scale. Throughout history, flour has made many populations unhealthy and fat. Olive oil is hugely controversial. Don't expect an answer on that. Processing foods tends to remove the stuff which is good for you. That's why "whole" grain is advocated. You would do even better to selectively eat the wheat germ! So let me make the controversial but empirically true statement that it's possible to make a food more healthy by processing it. The reason processed foods are bad is because of our taste bud and business incentives. That's why it's extremely problematic to focus on food processing, as opposed to an underlying nutrient understanding. The first thing that goes when we process foods is the fiber, and this is missing nutrient number 1 in the American diet. As long we lack an ability to talk about the truly root issues with diet, reducing processed foods will do nothing (given sufficient time). Companies will figure out a way to call something unprocessed, but still give the same bad composition of nutrients.
      - ses1984 7y ago
        What's controversial about olive oil?
        forgotmypw 7y ago
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil_regulation_and_adulteration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil_regulation_and_adulte... http://www.google.com/search?q=olive+oil+controversy http://www.google.com/search?q=olive+oil+controversy
- richk449 7y ago
  I think the easiest answer: If it comes in a box or a bag with a list of ingredients, consider it processed. Occasionally eating something that comes in that form is okay - so making pasta from a once a week won’t kill you ( at least not quick enough to matter). But if you find yourself opening a box or bag of something every night, you may want to think harder. Just my opinion, of course.
  - iikoolpp 7y ago
    > I think the easiest answer: If it comes in a box or a bag with a list of ingredients, consider it processed. eating rotten unpreserved foods to own the libs
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- scruple 7y ago
  Is it a whole food or is it not? That's my only criteria. Sometimes whole foods could be argued as being processed and it wouldn't be wrong. I don't mince words over that, though. Uncooked non-brown rice is still rice, even if it went through some processing to get to me.
benj111 7y ago
Fibrous carbs? I've never come across broccoli being classed as a carb before. I've heard it as 1/3 protein, 1/3 carb, 1/3 fruit and veg.
- ChuckNorris89 7y ago
  Most fruit and veg are also carbs. The difference is between good fibrous carbs, the ones that are nutritious, filling and low on calories like most green vegetables including broccoli and spinach, and "bad" starchy carbs(note the commas) like potatoes, pasta or rice which are not very nutritious but are high in calories and sugars which our bodies need for energy.
  - benj111 7y ago
    Do you mean fibre when you say fibrous carbs?
    - im3w1l 7y ago
      By "fibrous carbs" he means foodstuffs which are fibrous (containing, consisting of, or resembling fibers), and whose energy mainly comes from carbohydrates (as opposed to fat or protein).
- wincy 7y ago
  Or you can just eat nothing but beef ribs and have the body of an adonis. Be suspicious of all advice for nutrition. The best I’ve ever felt in my life I ate nothing but ultraprocessed pork sausages with cheese and kimchi for six months. Slimmed down and felt amazing.
  - tracker1 7y ago
    If going carnivore, best to eat nose to tail and favor ruminants (pasture raised eggs are also a good option). Also a good idea to add couple fasted days a month.
  - ummonk 7y ago
tracker1 7y ago
I'd make a couple tweaks... but double down on the don't eat processed foods, especially sugar. And add that you shouldn't be afraid of fat. I'd also suggest that some carb sources are better than others (barley or lentils over any form of wheat or soy). Of course, in general soy goes in the processed food category. Not to mention issues with GMO grains in general. I'm also a solid believer in adding fasting cycles, reducing meal frequency etc.
kochikame 7y ago
Which has also been even more concisely summarized as a seven word maxim: Eat food. Mostly vegetables. Not too much (in which "eat food" means 'real' food, not processed food)
tbihl 7y ago
I'd add to this: With abundant choices of carbs available, you can pretty much control weight gain based on which ones you consume. Sugar is first to go, followed by wheat, then corn, and at that point you're pretty much down to a collection of things that are hard to gain weight from (because they're a combo of fibrous and less exciting.) On the fruit side, bananas and grapes are probably worst, then apples and similar behind that, with berries being a somewhat safe bet on the other end.
sbmthakur 7y ago
Also one should reduce added sugar as much as possible.
thefz 7y ago
> 2nd should be starchy carbs(pasta, rice or potatoes for example) > 3rd should be fibrous carbs(broccoli, spinach or bell peppers for example) Two thirds of what you recommend eating is carbs, no need to count calories, protein at dinner for muscle growth? This is just a pile of very bad pseudoscience.
wtetzner 7y ago
See, the thing is, a lot of the latest research seems to suggest that healthy fats should make up a larger part of your diet, and that grains are actually pretty terrible for you. Like I said, it’s really not simple. Additionally, a lot of plants require processing to be safe to eat, and many more are healthier if processed in some way. “Processed” is too generic to really mean anything.