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> I think most of us would agree that makes sense? Eat like crap, feel like crap? I’m just an average joe trying to figure out how to improve a diet, but I hav

> I think most of us would agree that makes sense? Eat like crap, feel like crap? I’m just an average joe trying to figure out how to improve a diet, but I haven’t found much of a consensus regarding fats vs proteins vs carbohydrates.

stronglikedan 3y ago
I improved mine significantly by just cutting out processed foods. Almost everything I eat is made from whole ingredients, and no artificial or "diet" anything. I'm in much better shape, both mentally and physically, because of it. It also helps with portion control, since I'm getting the maximum amount of nutrients from my food, so I don't "feel hungry later".
- feoren 3y ago
  > processed foods > whole ingredients These are utterly meaningless terms. You "process" food by cutting and cooking it. Everything is processed. Everything is GMO -- have you seen what corn looked like before humans bred it? Everything is organic. Everything is "whole". Nutrition is too complicated and too individualized for these nonsense labels. > I'm getting the maximum amount of nutrients from my food This is utter nonsense. Some processing steps remove some nutrients from some foods. Other processing steps add nutrients that you need. Plenty of foods have nutrients that are completely unavailable for your body until you cook it (many veggies) -- PROCESSING! Other nutrients are destroyed by too much cooking (Vitamin C, I believe). You better be glad the salt you eat is "processed" by adding iodine to it. The water you drink is "processed" by adding fluoride to it. Those last 2 are some of the biggest public health successes in human history. I'm glad you're feeling better, but it's 100% from paying attention to what you're eating, and 0% from this bullshit about "whole" or "unprocessed" foods with "maximum nutrients". Stop spreading this bullshit.
  - soneca 3y ago
    > ” You "process" food by cutting and cooking it. Everything is processed” No one means that cutting a carrot make it into “processed food”. You are changing a mostly commonly understood definition to a new wanna-be-technically-correct one you just made up only to suit your argument. There is a grey area in the definition of processed foods, but it’s not close as large as your definition maintains.
    - eikenberry 3y ago
      There is no commonly understood definition of processed foods. That is the problem. People throw the term around like it does mean something but they can't define it. Please show me I'm wrong and give a concise definition of what makes some food processed. The internet needs a good definition as these conversations always just end up with hand waving as there is no consensus of what food is what.
      - eurasiantiger 3y ago
        My dictionary says ”industrially produced food”, i.e. frozen and ready to eat meals, snacks, confections, etc. The issue is that the plastics and non-stick coatings leach off plasticizers and forever-chemicals which cause hormone and neurotransmitter disruption in humans, which cause obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer and other serious disease.
        eikenberry 3y ago
        This is a first. I've never even heard of a definitions of processed foods that is based on their packaging. But what you're saying is that it is not the food or things added to the food but the packaging that makes it processed?
    - stephc_int13 3y ago
      Bread is processed food, and yet that’s insufficient to qualify it. I guess we need better words or less shortcuts.
  - abdullahkhalids 3y ago
    The UN has a well defined categorization of foods according to the amount and type of processing [1]. You can identify the processing level of many food item by using this search engine [2]. [1] https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/CA5644EN.pdf https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/CA5644EN.pdf [2] https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/3017620422003/nutella-ferrero https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/3017620422003/nutell...
    - feoren 3y ago
      Thank you for these links. If nothing else, the UN document at least defines what it's talking about. It's 3rd tier, "processed food", is basically: watch out, they added oil, salt, or other preservatives. The same people worried about "processed foods" are adding their own oil to foods (rightly so, usually!). But when a factory does it, LOOK OUT!. I mean, yes: watch your salt intake if you eat a lot of canned foods. That's real advice. It's not until you get to Tier 4 (ultra-processed foods) that you start to see anything legitimately concerning. And indeed if the advice everyone was parroting was "avoid ultra-processed foods as defined by the FAO", then I'd care a lot less about it. Even still, the FAO says that ingredients added to ultra-processed foods include: > varieties of sugars (fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, ‘fruit juice concentrates’, invert sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, lactose), modified oils (hydrogenated or interesterified oils) and sources of protein (hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein, and ‘mechanically separated meat’). Avoid sugars and foods with high glycemic indices. Absolutely avoid high-fructose corn syrup. Avoid hydrogenated fats; there is clear evidence they are harmful. Those sources of protein? Health nuts add that stuff to their soy milk all the time! Details matter! My point is that there are specific processing steps that affect specific foods. Advice on how to identify and avoid those foods is fine. But that's not what anyone is saying: they're saying "avoid processed foods" and "eat whole foods". Those terms are meaningless as they use them. It's non-advice. It's water-muddying bordering on misinformation.
      - senectus1 3y ago
        Highly processed foods tend to have higher caloric value and lower values of fiber and simple sugars or adding excessive amounts of sugars and fats. I'm with you most of the way, but a lot of the long life prepackaged foods that are marketed to us are maximizing the bad and minimizing the good for the purpose of efficiency and profit. Being forced to prepare foods from "wholefoods" (i hate this classification/tag as well) tends to make us more mindful of what we're eating and how much of it we're consuming.
  - snapcaster 3y ago
    What a weird hill to die on. I think you might be reading more "woo" into the comment you're responding to than is necessary. It's fine if you keep eating your microwaveable factory slop and keep convincing yourself it's identical to cutting a carrot or cooking vegetables but I'm skeptical you'll convince many people of this
  - inglor_cz 3y ago
    "Stop spreading this bullshit." Looking at the entirety of your comment, you should really apply this advice to yourself. Highly processed or ultra-processed food is absolutely a meaningful term. The United Nations published so-called NOVA food classification which divides food into four categories by the amount of processing it received. Category 4 is what OP was talking about. Industrially processed stuff full of preservatives, artificial coloring, hydrogenated oils, protein isolate, maltodextrin, invert sugar etc. Unlike the other three categories, this sort of industrial processing is a relative newcomer, it wasn't even a thing 100 or 150 years ago, so it is entirely plausible that our guts and our gut biome may not be happy about it.
    - feoren 3y ago
      > Highly processed or ultra-processed food is absolutely a meaningful term. And yet nobody said "avoid ultra-processed food as defined by NOVA". They said "avoid processed foods" and "eat whole foods". It's extremely generous to assume everyone reading the former translates that in their head to "avoid ultra-processed food as defined by NOVA". And the latter is meaningless. Even if that is what they really mean, that's really surface-level advice. There are foods in Tier 4 that are just fine. There are foods in Tier 4 that are more nutritious than "whole foods" are. Note that if you add whey protein to your soy milk, you have just created an ultra-processed food!
      - npunt 3y ago
        It sounds like you're expecting others to provide complex-but-accurate advice when OP and most of the responders are happy with simple-and-implementable advice. A lot of the discourse around diets comes down to tension between these two. Simple-and-implementable is something you can deploy in the moment without knowing things beforehand. If you're at a grocery store, you can ask yourself "is this really processed?" as a simple filter that will largely steer you right. Similarly, Michael Pollan's advice to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" resonates with a huge number of people because it's a simple, actionable, not very fussy way to approach eating. Complex-but-accurate advice is stuff like 'let me look up if this follows the definition of tier 3 or 4 processed', or 'I have to have 5g net carbs today and this is 1.2g so I have 3.8g left'. This has a much higher cognitive load, requires a lot of research and pre-planning, and is unlikely to be implemented in the moment nor sustained long term. It's also a place where people can develop unhealthy psychological relationships with food and eating by being hypervigilant about complex rules. Most people find their lives work best with simple-and-implementable rules of thumb for food.
  - qzx_pierri 3y ago
    You’re nitpicking
  - denvaar 3y ago
    I appreciate your comment in that it has made me think about what a processed food actually is, and I think it's true that it's a bit of a gray area. Personally, I think my own definition of processed food would be things like Cheetos, Pizza from 7-11 or Pizza Hut, cookies, cakes, etc. I did a quick google search and found that some countries use "NOVA" groups to classify how processed a food is, and I think it's a helpful guideline. https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova
  - stronglikedan 3y ago
    Except that the term "processed foods" is a colloquial term that is ubiquitously used to describe only those foods that are industrially processed, thus often being stripped of many nutrients that you get from non-processed foods. Context is important.
  - thordenmark 3y ago
    That's a little pedantic. Of course all foods that aren't fresh picked and shoved into your mouth are "processed". But clearly the term as used here is processed with chemicals and fillers and preservatives and anti-caking agents, and the like. Since virtually all the food we get at our stores is processed in this way it is leading to serious widespread health problems.
- beezlebroxxxxxx 3y ago
  There is so much debate and disagreement in nutrition that "eat no or very little processed foods; eat a lot of vegetables and fruits; and don't eat too much" is basically all you need to do or say. A lot of people wildly overcomplicate it, but if you don't have a metabolic disorder or a clearly defined dietary condition, then you can have a diverse and healthy diet pretty easily. A plus is you almost always end up learning to cook.
nawgz 3y ago
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- joshmanders 3y ago
  Except you need carbohydrates. Many people consider "carbs" as bread, sugar and other "bad" things but many things you consider "good" are also carbs, like veggies.
  - nawgz 3y ago
    > Except you need carbohydrates Your usage of need is directly contrary to the dictionary definition of need. Have you heard of ketosis? > many things you consider "good" are also carbs, like veggies Veggies are not good for the carbs they contain (Fiber has some value of course, but not really as a carbohydrate), but instead for the nutrients (commonly known as "vitamins/minerals") they contain in edible forms for our bodies. There is no purpose to carbohydrates in and of themselves, they provide one energy-burning source and certain classes of carbohydrates are consumed to provide important nutrients, but the carbohydrate itself is never a high value intake.
    - numbsafari 3y ago
      > Have you heard of ketosis? Do you even lift?
    - guhcampos 3y ago
      "Never" is a bit extreme. It's almost never high value for the average programmer Joe, but super high value for athletes, physically taxing jobs, amateur runners and so on. Both carbs value and dread come from their quick, easily convertible energy, which used to be a big plus when we were all working the land or building stuff, but indeed has very little value when we sit on our assets all day.
- ldehaan 3y ago
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- 3y ago
hombre_fatal 3y ago
Minimize saturated fat (by replacing it with unsaturated fat). Get enough protein. Eat healthy carbs*. * On HN and other social media, "carbs" is a euphemism for sugar and cake rather than beans and vegetables, so people will talk about how carbs made them fat when you know they're not talking about slamming back-to-back cans of garbanzos. And don't take any nutrition advice seriously that doesn't break fat apart into saturated and unsaturated.
- danesparza 3y ago
  "slamming back-to-back cans of garbanzos" I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth ...
  - hombre_fatal 3y ago
    You're missing out. Here's Internet Shaquille's video on how to prepare them as a snack in 5 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EU76q3Vf3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EU76q3Vf3Q Highly recommend you try it. Get the Del Monte canned garbanzos if you live in North America.
    - Loughla 3y ago
      Garbanzo beans have the texture of old ear wax, is sort of my problem with them. I have never been able to tell if I even like how they taste, because the texture is just so very off-putting.
      - philote 3y ago
        Do you like hummus?
      - xdavidliu 3y ago
        I agree, yet I love them anyway. Shrimp, on the other hand...
- adriand 3y ago
  I think "healthy carbs" might be a bit too vague. There are simple and complex carbohydrates, and the latter can be further broken down between starchy carbohydrates like grains and fibrous carbohydrates like vegetables. There is nothing inherently unhealthy about any of these types of carbohydrates: simple carbs (e.g. fructose) are in fruit, complex carbs in whole grains, etc. I think it is probably more helpful to avoid processed foods rather than to try and label carbohydrates themselves as healthy or unhealthy.
denvaar 3y ago
In the same boat. Lately I try to just focus on cutting out processed foods and sugar.
ericmcer 3y ago
Just try stuff out, you have your whole life to figure out what works for you diet wise. You won't die if you cut out carbs or meat or only eat hard boiled eggs for a week or something. It may feel like a huge sacrifice eating a hyper-restrictive diet for 2-3 weeks but you have thousands of weeks of life. Personally I feel pretty dialed in with a diet high in fatty meats (beef, salmon) fibrous carbs and cooked vegetables (raw vegetables mess my stomach up). Currently I am playing around with my "default weight" and if it can be adjusted. There is a weight we all sit at if we eat a relatively healthy diet to satiety and I am wondering if it can be adjusted. i.e. if someone sits at 170-180 for years and then goes through some intense shift that drops them to 150, will they bounce all the way back to their old "normal" range or is a new lower one established where they can consume the same number of calories to satiety but their weight remains in the lower range.
EFreethought 3y ago
There are different types of carbs. Generally simple carbs (usually called "sugars") are more likely to get converted to fat if you do not use them for energy right away. A few decades ago food companies came out with "low fat" versions of snacks that had a lot of sugar in them. They still made people fat because people are more of them, since they thought the low fat versions were better for them. And now there are a lot of people pushing low-carb or no-carb diets saying all carbs are bad. Your body does not process whole wheat bread the same way as a ho-ho. I knew a dietician who said being on a ketosis diet is as good for you as being on a cirrhosis diet. On the other hand, there are some breads that have high fructose corn syrup added, so you need to look out for that. The same principle applies to fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, and other types of fats are not. There are saturated fats (aka trans fats, generally bad), polyunsaturated, monounsaturated (not as bad). Your body does not process these in exactly the same ways, so saying you are eating more or less fat than before is not really as useful of a statement as it seems. So you cannot say that all fats are equally bad or all carbs are equally good. I do not think the same principle applies to the other two macros. I think you can say alcohol is bad and protein is good and leave it at that.
throw8383833jj 3y ago
Nutritionists will tell you what really matters is what type of fat/protein/carbohydrate. It's not one or the other. You need to eat plant based whole foods protein, fat and carbs too. For the most part, humans are carbohydrate processing machines (good carbs: like beans, whole grains, fruits, vegetables), these should be your staples.
- snapcaster 3y ago
  I disagree with this advice. I think getting carbs as low as you're personally able to and maximizing fat + protein is going to be way more successful source: me, a guy who lost 50 pounds 5 years ago and hasn't regained it
  - faizshah 3y ago
    That diet is good for weight loss it’s not good for overall health. Search on google scholar about “Whole food plant based diet” you will find many studies on this diet especially focusing on cardiovascular health improvements. A good starter is the BROAD study: https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173 https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173
brian_cunnie 3y ago
> fats vs proteins vs carbohydrates There's a Stanford professor who did a study comparing low-carb vs. low-fat diets. The surprising result: both groups lost weight. My take (speculative): both groups cut out a lot of processed food. It's the processed food that's making us fat.
- mahogany 3y ago
  You may be right about processed food, but I have a more boring speculation: most people lose weight by starting any diet simply because they begin to think more carefully about the food they are ingesting.
pnathan 3y ago
The corner of the weightlifting world I keep an eye on has centralized around protein, veggies, and few carbs. The other angle to look at is satiety; good food should also have a satiety so you don't go back and munch. :)
- Attummm 3y ago
  That was common knowledge in 1950 bodybuilding.
RobertRoberts 3y ago
I have simple rule to start with that helps with so much. If it has a processed sugar, I don't buy it. (I have an exception for organic sugar because, how bad can the processing be?) This includes maltodextrin, artificial sweeteners, etc... (also no artificial colors or flavoring, also great indicators of how toxic the product is) Why? Because if it has that one ingredient (group) it's almost always a low quality product that will make me sick. I haven't had the flu for over 20 years.
freedomben 3y ago
I doubt any such consensus exists, but for me the number one rule is this: eat more protein. You can eat somewhat high carb diet and still be fine if you're getting enough protein. Protein: Good, eat as much as you can Fats: Some good (unsaturated), others less good (saturated), but mostly NBD. Eat whatever you want without regard to fat contents, but do make choices with less saturated. Your brain (aka your moods) will thank you. Carbs: Some good, some bad. try to keep it under 35 grams per meal and 100 per day. Try to eat low glycemic/complex carbs. Avoid sugar and sugar equivalents.
cardosof 3y ago
I don't think there's a silver bullet. The % for each macro - if it's a low carb or high fat or high protein really depend on the individual and the specific needs. My wife for example can't go on low carb or she'll have major headaches even after the "adaptation period", while I don't even get minor headaches. Also the amount of fat may vary, high fat diets tend to be better for overweight people while healthy people are OK with more balanced diets. The most important things are defining an objective and understanding how your own body works. My current diet was made for slowly losing body fat (mild caloric deficit) and it's like this: Breakfast: whole milk, oats, whey protein, flaxseed and chia seeds. Lunch: brown rice, vegetables, meat (steak twice a week, chicken or fish the other days) Afternoon snack: 2 boiled eggs Dinner: lunch without rice. It works for me but the whole milk and the steaks are really bad for some people.
euroderf 3y ago
This might be considered an implementation detail, but I know that eating 2 or 3 eggs in the morning keeps me satisfied longer than carbs, and that that feeling of satiety keeps me away from grazing on more carbs. So, a win.

stronglikedan 3y ago

I improved mine significantly by just cutting out processed foods. Almost everything I eat is made from whole ingredients, and no artificial or "diet" anything. I'm in much better shape, both mentally and physically, because of it. It also helps with portion control, since I'm getting the maximum amount of nutrients from my food, so I don't "feel hungry later".

feoren 3y ago
> processed foods > whole ingredients These are utterly meaningless terms. You "process" food by cutting and cooking it. Everything is processed. Everything is GMO -- have you seen what corn looked like before humans bred it? Everything is organic. Everything is "whole". Nutrition is too complicated and too individualized for these nonsense labels. > I'm getting the maximum amount of nutrients from my food This is utter nonsense. Some processing steps remove some nutrients from some foods. Other processing steps add nutrients that you need. Plenty of foods have nutrients that are completely unavailable for your body until you cook it (many veggies) -- PROCESSING! Other nutrients are destroyed by too much cooking (Vitamin C, I believe). You better be glad the salt you eat is "processed" by adding iodine to it. The water you drink is "processed" by adding fluoride to it. Those last 2 are some of the biggest public health successes in human history. I'm glad you're feeling better, but it's 100% from paying attention to what you're eating, and 0% from this bullshit about "whole" or "unprocessed" foods with "maximum nutrients". Stop spreading this bullshit.
- soneca 3y ago
  > ” You "process" food by cutting and cooking it. Everything is processed” No one means that cutting a carrot make it into “processed food”. You are changing a mostly commonly understood definition to a new wanna-be-technically-correct one you just made up only to suit your argument. There is a grey area in the definition of processed foods, but it’s not close as large as your definition maintains.
  - eikenberry 3y ago
    There is no commonly understood definition of processed foods. That is the problem. People throw the term around like it does mean something but they can't define it. Please show me I'm wrong and give a concise definition of what makes some food processed. The internet needs a good definition as these conversations always just end up with hand waving as there is no consensus of what food is what.
    - eurasiantiger 3y ago
      My dictionary says ”industrially produced food”, i.e. frozen and ready to eat meals, snacks, confections, etc. The issue is that the plastics and non-stick coatings leach off plasticizers and forever-chemicals which cause hormone and neurotransmitter disruption in humans, which cause obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer and other serious disease.
      - eikenberry 3y ago
        This is a first. I've never even heard of a definitions of processed foods that is based on their packaging. But what you're saying is that it is not the food or things added to the food but the packaging that makes it processed?
  - stephc_int13 3y ago
    Bread is processed food, and yet that’s insufficient to qualify it. I guess we need better words or less shortcuts.
- abdullahkhalids 3y ago
  The UN has a well defined categorization of foods according to the amount and type of processing [1]. You can identify the processing level of many food item by using this search engine [2]. [1] https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/CA5644EN.pdf https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/CA5644EN.pdf [2] https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/3017620422003/nutella-ferrero https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/3017620422003/nutell...
  - feoren 3y ago
    Thank you for these links. If nothing else, the UN document at least defines what it's talking about. It's 3rd tier, "processed food", is basically: watch out, they added oil, salt, or other preservatives. The same people worried about "processed foods" are adding their own oil to foods (rightly so, usually!). But when a factory does it, LOOK OUT!. I mean, yes: watch your salt intake if you eat a lot of canned foods. That's real advice. It's not until you get to Tier 4 (ultra-processed foods) that you start to see anything legitimately concerning. And indeed if the advice everyone was parroting was "avoid ultra-processed foods as defined by the FAO", then I'd care a lot less about it. Even still, the FAO says that ingredients added to ultra-processed foods include: > varieties of sugars (fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, ‘fruit juice concentrates’, invert sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, lactose), modified oils (hydrogenated or interesterified oils) and sources of protein (hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein, and ‘mechanically separated meat’). Avoid sugars and foods with high glycemic indices. Absolutely avoid high-fructose corn syrup. Avoid hydrogenated fats; there is clear evidence they are harmful. Those sources of protein? Health nuts add that stuff to their soy milk all the time! Details matter! My point is that there are specific processing steps that affect specific foods. Advice on how to identify and avoid those foods is fine. But that's not what anyone is saying: they're saying "avoid processed foods" and "eat whole foods". Those terms are meaningless as they use them. It's non-advice. It's water-muddying bordering on misinformation.
    - senectus1 3y ago
      Highly processed foods tend to have higher caloric value and lower values of fiber and simple sugars or adding excessive amounts of sugars and fats. I'm with you most of the way, but a lot of the long life prepackaged foods that are marketed to us are maximizing the bad and minimizing the good for the purpose of efficiency and profit. Being forced to prepare foods from "wholefoods" (i hate this classification/tag as well) tends to make us more mindful of what we're eating and how much of it we're consuming.
- snapcaster 3y ago
  What a weird hill to die on. I think you might be reading more "woo" into the comment you're responding to than is necessary. It's fine if you keep eating your microwaveable factory slop and keep convincing yourself it's identical to cutting a carrot or cooking vegetables but I'm skeptical you'll convince many people of this
- inglor_cz 3y ago
  "Stop spreading this bullshit." Looking at the entirety of your comment, you should really apply this advice to yourself. Highly processed or ultra-processed food is absolutely a meaningful term. The United Nations published so-called NOVA food classification which divides food into four categories by the amount of processing it received. Category 4 is what OP was talking about. Industrially processed stuff full of preservatives, artificial coloring, hydrogenated oils, protein isolate, maltodextrin, invert sugar etc. Unlike the other three categories, this sort of industrial processing is a relative newcomer, it wasn't even a thing 100 or 150 years ago, so it is entirely plausible that our guts and our gut biome may not be happy about it.
  - feoren 3y ago
    > Highly processed or ultra-processed food is absolutely a meaningful term. And yet nobody said "avoid ultra-processed food as defined by NOVA". They said "avoid processed foods" and "eat whole foods". It's extremely generous to assume everyone reading the former translates that in their head to "avoid ultra-processed food as defined by NOVA". And the latter is meaningless. Even if that is what they really mean, that's really surface-level advice. There are foods in Tier 4 that are just fine. There are foods in Tier 4 that are more nutritious than "whole foods" are. Note that if you add whey protein to your soy milk, you have just created an ultra-processed food!
    - npunt 3y ago
      It sounds like you're expecting others to provide complex-but-accurate advice when OP and most of the responders are happy with simple-and-implementable advice. A lot of the discourse around diets comes down to tension between these two. Simple-and-implementable is something you can deploy in the moment without knowing things beforehand. If you're at a grocery store, you can ask yourself "is this really processed?" as a simple filter that will largely steer you right. Similarly, Michael Pollan's advice to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" resonates with a huge number of people because it's a simple, actionable, not very fussy way to approach eating. Complex-but-accurate advice is stuff like 'let me look up if this follows the definition of tier 3 or 4 processed', or 'I have to have 5g net carbs today and this is 1.2g so I have 3.8g left'. This has a much higher cognitive load, requires a lot of research and pre-planning, and is unlikely to be implemented in the moment nor sustained long term. It's also a place where people can develop unhealthy psychological relationships with food and eating by being hypervigilant about complex rules. Most people find their lives work best with simple-and-implementable rules of thumb for food.
- qzx_pierri 3y ago
  You’re nitpicking
- denvaar 3y ago
  I appreciate your comment in that it has made me think about what a processed food actually is, and I think it's true that it's a bit of a gray area. Personally, I think my own definition of processed food would be things like Cheetos, Pizza from 7-11 or Pizza Hut, cookies, cakes, etc. I did a quick google search and found that some countries use "NOVA" groups to classify how processed a food is, and I think it's a helpful guideline. https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  Except that the term "processed foods" is a colloquial term that is ubiquitously used to describe only those foods that are industrially processed, thus often being stripped of many nutrients that you get from non-processed foods. Context is important.
- thordenmark 3y ago
  That's a little pedantic. Of course all foods that aren't fresh picked and shoved into your mouth are "processed". But clearly the term as used here is processed with chemicals and fillers and preservatives and anti-caking agents, and the like. Since virtually all the food we get at our stores is processed in this way it is leading to serious widespread health problems.
beezlebroxxxxxx 3y ago
There is so much debate and disagreement in nutrition that "eat no or very little processed foods; eat a lot of vegetables and fruits; and don't eat too much" is basically all you need to do or say. A lot of people wildly overcomplicate it, but if you don't have a metabolic disorder or a clearly defined dietary condition, then you can have a diverse and healthy diet pretty easily. A plus is you almost always end up learning to cook.

nawgz 3y ago

[flagged]

joshmanders 3y ago
Except you need carbohydrates. Many people consider "carbs" as bread, sugar and other "bad" things but many things you consider "good" are also carbs, like veggies.
- nawgz 3y ago
  > Except you need carbohydrates Your usage of need is directly contrary to the dictionary definition of need. Have you heard of ketosis? > many things you consider "good" are also carbs, like veggies Veggies are not good for the carbs they contain (Fiber has some value of course, but not really as a carbohydrate), but instead for the nutrients (commonly known as "vitamins/minerals") they contain in edible forms for our bodies. There is no purpose to carbohydrates in and of themselves, they provide one energy-burning source and certain classes of carbohydrates are consumed to provide important nutrients, but the carbohydrate itself is never a high value intake.
  - numbsafari 3y ago
    > Have you heard of ketosis? Do you even lift?
  - guhcampos 3y ago
    "Never" is a bit extreme. It's almost never high value for the average programmer Joe, but super high value for athletes, physically taxing jobs, amateur runners and so on. Both carbs value and dread come from their quick, easily convertible energy, which used to be a big plus when we were all working the land or building stuff, but indeed has very little value when we sit on our assets all day.
ldehaan 3y ago
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3y ago

hombre_fatal 3y ago

Minimize saturated fat (by replacing it with unsaturated fat). Get enough protein. Eat healthy carbs*. * On HN and other social media, "carbs" is a euphemism for sugar and cake rather than beans and vegetables, so people will talk about how carbs made them fat when you know they're not talking about slamming back-to-back cans of garbanzos. And don't take any nutrition advice seriously that doesn't break fat apart into saturated and unsaturated.

danesparza 3y ago
"slamming back-to-back cans of garbanzos" I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth ...
- hombre_fatal 3y ago
  You're missing out. Here's Internet Shaquille's video on how to prepare them as a snack in 5 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EU76q3Vf3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EU76q3Vf3Q Highly recommend you try it. Get the Del Monte canned garbanzos if you live in North America.
  - Loughla 3y ago
    Garbanzo beans have the texture of old ear wax, is sort of my problem with them. I have never been able to tell if I even like how they taste, because the texture is just so very off-putting.
    - philote 3y ago
      Do you like hummus?
    - xdavidliu 3y ago
      I agree, yet I love them anyway. Shrimp, on the other hand...
adriand 3y ago
I think "healthy carbs" might be a bit too vague. There are simple and complex carbohydrates, and the latter can be further broken down between starchy carbohydrates like grains and fibrous carbohydrates like vegetables. There is nothing inherently unhealthy about any of these types of carbohydrates: simple carbs (e.g. fructose) are in fruit, complex carbs in whole grains, etc. I think it is probably more helpful to avoid processed foods rather than to try and label carbohydrates themselves as healthy or unhealthy.

denvaar 3y ago

In the same boat. Lately I try to just focus on cutting out processed foods and sugar.

ericmcer 3y ago

Just try stuff out, you have your whole life to figure out what works for you diet wise. You won't die if you cut out carbs or meat or only eat hard boiled eggs for a week or something. It may feel like a huge sacrifice eating a hyper-restrictive diet for 2-3 weeks but you have thousands of weeks of life. Personally I feel pretty dialed in with a diet high in fatty meats (beef, salmon) fibrous carbs and cooked vegetables (raw vegetables mess my stomach up). Currently I am playing around with my "default weight" and if it can be adjusted. There is a weight we all sit at if we eat a relatively healthy diet to satiety and I am wondering if it can be adjusted. i.e. if someone sits at 170-180 for years and then goes through some intense shift that drops them to 150, will they bounce all the way back to their old "normal" range or is a new lower one established where they can consume the same number of calories to satiety but their weight remains in the lower range.

EFreethought 3y ago

There are different types of carbs. Generally simple carbs (usually called "sugars") are more likely to get converted to fat if you do not use them for energy right away. A few decades ago food companies came out with "low fat" versions of snacks that had a lot of sugar in them. They still made people fat because people are more of them, since they thought the low fat versions were better for them. And now there are a lot of people pushing low-carb or no-carb diets saying all carbs are bad. Your body does not process whole wheat bread the same way as a ho-ho. I knew a dietician who said being on a ketosis diet is as good for you as being on a cirrhosis diet. On the other hand, there are some breads that have high fructose corn syrup added, so you need to look out for that. The same principle applies to fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, and other types of fats are not. There are saturated fats (aka trans fats, generally bad), polyunsaturated, monounsaturated (not as bad). Your body does not process these in exactly the same ways, so saying you are eating more or less fat than before is not really as useful of a statement as it seems. So you cannot say that all fats are equally bad or all carbs are equally good. I do not think the same principle applies to the other two macros. I think you can say alcohol is bad and protein is good and leave it at that.

throw8383833jj 3y ago

Nutritionists will tell you what really matters is what type of fat/protein/carbohydrate. It's not one or the other. You need to eat plant based whole foods protein, fat and carbs too. For the most part, humans are carbohydrate processing machines (good carbs: like beans, whole grains, fruits, vegetables), these should be your staples.

snapcaster 3y ago
I disagree with this advice. I think getting carbs as low as you're personally able to and maximizing fat + protein is going to be way more successful source: me, a guy who lost 50 pounds 5 years ago and hasn't regained it
- faizshah 3y ago
  That diet is good for weight loss it’s not good for overall health. Search on google scholar about “Whole food plant based diet” you will find many studies on this diet especially focusing on cardiovascular health improvements. A good starter is the BROAD study: https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173 https://www.nature.com/articles/nutd20173

brian_cunnie 3y ago

> fats vs proteins vs carbohydrates There's a Stanford professor who did a study comparing low-carb vs. low-fat diets. The surprising result: both groups lost weight. My take (speculative): both groups cut out a lot of processed food. It's the processed food that's making us fat.

mahogany 3y ago
You may be right about processed food, but I have a more boring speculation: most people lose weight by starting any diet simply because they begin to think more carefully about the food they are ingesting.

pnathan 3y ago

The corner of the weightlifting world I keep an eye on has centralized around protein, veggies, and few carbs. The other angle to look at is satiety; good food should also have a satiety so you don't go back and munch. :)

Attummm 3y ago
That was common knowledge in 1950 bodybuilding.

RobertRoberts 3y ago

I have simple rule to start with that helps with so much. If it has a processed sugar, I don't buy it. (I have an exception for organic sugar because, how bad can the processing be?) This includes maltodextrin, artificial sweeteners, etc... (also no artificial colors or flavoring, also great indicators of how toxic the product is) Why? Because if it has that one ingredient (group) it's almost always a low quality product that will make me sick. I haven't had the flu for over 20 years.

freedomben 3y ago

I doubt any such consensus exists, but for me the number one rule is this: eat more protein. You can eat somewhat high carb diet and still be fine if you're getting enough protein. Protein: Good, eat as much as you can Fats: Some good (unsaturated), others less good (saturated), but mostly NBD. Eat whatever you want without regard to fat contents, but do make choices with less saturated. Your brain (aka your moods) will thank you. Carbs: Some good, some bad. try to keep it under 35 grams per meal and 100 per day. Try to eat low glycemic/complex carbs. Avoid sugar and sugar equivalents.

cardosof 3y ago

I don't think there's a silver bullet. The % for each macro - if it's a low carb or high fat or high protein really depend on the individual and the specific needs. My wife for example can't go on low carb or she'll have major headaches even after the "adaptation period", while I don't even get minor headaches. Also the amount of fat may vary, high fat diets tend to be better for overweight people while healthy people are OK with more balanced diets. The most important things are defining an objective and understanding how your own body works. My current diet was made for slowly losing body fat (mild caloric deficit) and it's like this: Breakfast: whole milk, oats, whey protein, flaxseed and chia seeds. Lunch: brown rice, vegetables, meat (steak twice a week, chicken or fish the other days) Afternoon snack: 2 boiled eggs Dinner: lunch without rice. It works for me but the whole milk and the steaks are really bad for some people.

euroderf 3y ago

This might be considered an implementation detail, but I know that eating 2 or 3 eggs in the morning keeps me satisfied longer than carbs, and that that feeling of satiety keeps me away from grazing on more carbs. So, a win.