Eating healthy is so hard!

[Night Fury]

HNB and I have recently been making a big effort to get healthy and... cleanse ourselves of the bad diet we've had for a couple of months! It's so hard though!

We manage to eat a good variety of fresh veg with every dinner, usually with fish or chicken, and sometimes we'll have steaks or lamb.

So our diet is pretty good anyway, we don't get freezer food - we do all of our cooking fresh. We do have a cheat day which is usually our date night when we'll eat out or get takeout. I always try and grab a healthy option though, something light and that doesn't sound horrifically fried!

I also joined a gym a couple of weeks ago, and I aim to go 3 times a week for a while until I build up my general fitness and then I'll probably do 4-5 days!I do mostly cardio, but then today I didn't go to the gym so I've done some strength training on the home gym and my GOD my arms hurt!

For lunch I'm having a little bit of wholemeal couscous seasoned with chilli and parsley, some chopped tomatoes and a little piece of grilled haloumi.

It's hard to keep up with a healthy diet because I'm so used to having 'convenience' food like ready meals back from my student days of working late and just chucking one in the microwave. Ooops

How do you guys keep up with eating healthy? Is it just something you do and have done? If so, do you ever have a junk food treat?

What are some of your favourite healthy snacks and recipes?

[Shorty]

I have a pretty bad sugar addiction and I'm trying to wean myself down to 25 grams or less a day. Let me tell you it is not easy.

Also, I calorie count. It helps me recognize what is and is not good for me a little better. Pretty much fruit for breakfast, vegetables for lunch and something like fish or chicken with more veggies for dinner works for me.

I keep up with it sometimes, I slide out of it sometimes. This time around I'm eating healthy and exercising during the week and not caring/relaxing on the weekends. Seems to be going okay.

[Mirage]

How do you guys keep up with eating healthy?

I don't :3

Well, sometimes, I do, depending on what is considered healthy enough to be healthy. I eat fish every week, sometimes twice a week, but the stuff I eat alongside the fish isn't super healthy. I try to not eat pre-manufactured meals like frozen pizzas or cooking sauces, and instead make them from scratch, to avoid unnecessary ingredients that aren't very healthy.

I don't eat a lot of vegetables, though. I eat some when they are used as vegetables, such as bell peppers, onions, beans and carrots, but it's rarely in large quantities

[Jinx]

Haha, yeah. Okay.

[Drift]

a whole lot of veg, different meats like chicken, beef, pork, fish (usually salmon). Generally I eat everything in moderation anyways. Chocolate at most once a month probably.

oh and i drink a lot of water!

[Chris]

It is very difficult, and when I was extremely serious about my training, I cut out the one day of the week where I would pig out. That one day is extremely dangerous.

[Slothy]

It's not that hard to eat healthy. Copious amounts of meat with some vegetables is pretty simple. Paleo kits keep me sane when I don't feel like cooking.

[Loony BoB]

Stir fry, stir fry, stir fry. Stir fry is the best. Cheap, easy and if you do it right, healthy.

[Miriel]

Don't worry, it'll get easier. It sounds like you're already doing pretty well. It's kind of like with any habit, it takes time to develop. But once you've developed it, it becomes easy to maintain.

Learning to like a lot of different foods is I think the best way to maintain a healthy diet. I was on a weeklong trip with a bunch of people from all over the world, and you would not believe the dietary restrictions people would put on themselves. One person refused to eat anything with tomatoes or onions, another person refused to eat ALL vegetables. Other people wouldn't eat fish. It was the most bizarre thing.

If you're open to eating all sorts of different foods, it becomes much easier to eat deliciously without having to resort to fast food or junk food.

That being said, I do love me some rich hearty foods. Mashed potatoes are my favorite and that's definitely not healthy. I'm making potatoes for Thanksgiving that include one POUND of butter. Mwahahaha.

Key is moderation. Splurge every once in awhile, try and eat healthy most of the time. Don't be too rigid on yourself or you might find yourself falling off the wagon and binging. The French tend to have the right mentality about eating. Eat well, but in small portions. Try and eat as much "real" food as possible. Stuff that isn't too processed. Cooking for yourself helps a lot.

[noxious.sunshine]

I grew up on fried foods and junk.. Sure, my mom fixed veggies, but they'd always be cooked to death or smothered in cheese sauce. They actually still are nowadays..

And even in high school, my sister didn't really bother trying to get me to eat better.

I guess it was just a natural progression when I moved to Phoenix. Everything my ex's family made was done with all fresh ingredients ..

then coming home to Nashville and working 70+ hrs a week, eating properly was impossible. I smacked around a lot, but didn't gain weight cuz I was so busy all the time.

But Anywho.. I generally eat really well.. I'm just never one to sit down and eat a full meal at any given time. I snack around on what I'm cooking, so by the time I'm done, I'm already stuffed.

I'm not really a fruit person at all.. I'll have a smoothie if I make them for my daughter for breakfast, but that's it.

And of course, try and stay low sodium (it makes you bloat), and maybe go vegetarian a couple nights a week?? I do it.. and I feel so much better when I go a day without meat.

I can't remember who referred me to thugkitchen.com , but they've got some really good healthy/vegan (most without using fake meat) recipes... I made their 3 bean & beer chili & it was fantastic. I threw in a lot of extra veggies though for good measure.

[RocketMBA]

Which is more healthy, 3000 calories a day of vegetables or 1500 calories a day of lard?

I am interested in hearing your measure of healthy.

[Shorty]

Is that a real question? Vegetable calories are so much better for you than lard, no matter the intake.

1500 calories of lard can be consumed by probably eating a whole pie. 3000 calories of vegetables would probably feed ten people. And they're healthier for you.

[RocketMBA]

Will not a calorie surplus, even one made of vegetables, lead eventually to excess body fat?

[Shorty]

Calories from sugary and fatty foods do not act the same way as calories from vegetables and fruits. 3000 calories is not that much, and is just a little more than is probably the recommended amount for most people. I don't think you could consume enough fruits and vegetables in a day for it to lead to excess body fat.

[Slothy]

You couldn't realistically eat 3000 calories of vegetables without going for the starchy stuff like potatoes anyway. And even then it'd be impossible unless you're going to eat around 8lbs. of potatoes a day which I doubt anyone could actually do.

But the problem isn't simply one of calories, but of carbohydrate intake. So even if 3000 calories from vegetables were possible that'd be far too many carbs, and your diet would likely be deficient in protein and fat which would kill you in the long run, but even ignoring that it wouldn't be good. The only macronutrient you can actually conceivably cut out completely and not eventually die are carbohydrates.

EDIT for Shorty's new post: You absolutely can eat too much fruit in a day to lead to an increase in body fat, but that's because sugar is one of the worst offenders when it comes to fat storage, and if you eat way too much fruit it will happen. Unless you're only eating fruit. Then you won't have to worry about fat storage because you will just plain die if you manage to do that without breaking and eating something with some protein and fat eventually.

And I object to the lumping of fat and sugar together in your first sentence. Without spikes in insulin which accompany high carb diets and diets high in sugar especially, the body just won't store fat as easily as it would with those things in your diet. Sure, if you eat enough you'll eventually get to the point that you might start to store some fat anyway, or at least stop fat loss. But it would require so much more fat consumption than what the FDA recommends that it's not even funny. And unless you're an elite athlete you'll probably be too full from the amount of fat you're eating to actually get to the point where it's an issue.