mistertim Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hi all, I'm looking to start eating better and healthier than I have been in some time. I just quit smoking so that was sort of the catalyst. The problem I have is in looking for a decent reference book that gives a good, thorough, but non-insane breakdown how to alter your diet to be more healthy (and gives easy recipes...I'm generally a crappy ass cook but I can make something if given the proper directions and it isn't overly complicated.) Over the past few weeks I've read some things from a few different sources. Most seemed either lazy (avoid fast food...wow, never would have thought of that one) to absolutely insane (a book called "Eat to Live" which essentially seems to make your entire life revolve around and adjust to a very specific dietary plan...mostly vegan). So what I am looking for is something in the middle. A good book for a newb like me who loves his veggies, loves fruits, and also definitely likes to eat meat but still wants to keep it healthy. I'm not overweight though I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds, so I'm not really looking for a "diet book" in that sense. If you all have any recommendations, please let me know. Much appreciated in advance. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 The 4 hour body Its different, its irreverent but also has one of the best meal plans I have ever tried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chump Bailey Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Check out Dr. Andrew Weil's books on the subject. He has several of them. The Warrior Diet is a good site. This guy offers some great advice IMO. http://www.warriordiet.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Michael Pollan has written many good books on food and healthy eating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Eat real food (avoid processed crap). Not too much. Mostly plants. It's really as simple as that. The longer version (by Michael Pollan) is here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#98QBKiller Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 The 4 hour bodyIts different, its irreverent but also has one of the best meal plans I have ever tried I haven't read this book mistertim, but I have read the 4 hour workweek by the same author and he has some great perspectives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySkinsFan Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Get a grill and grill your meats and veggies. If you get a 2 burner, you can use indirect heat with veggies in foil. Try different marinades from the supermarket that sound good. If you must use oil, use olive oil or safflower oil. Don't use canola, there's no such thing as a canola plant, it's an industrial byproduct. Eat green veggies, grilled tomatoes and eggplant are good. Get a good vegetarian cookbook and then add meat. I'm a meat eater too, and that's what I do. I got used to that way of cooking when my daughter lived with me and she was a practicing vegetarian. I cooked meat separately from other foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Get a grill and grill your meats and veggies. If you get a 2 burner, you can use indirect heat with veggies in foil. Try different marinades from the supermarket that sound good. If you must use oil, use olive oil or safflower oil. Don't use canola, there's no such thing as a canola plant, it's an industrial byproduct. Eat green veggies, grilled tomatoes and eggplant are good. Get a good vegetarian cookbook and then add meat. I'm a meat eater too, and that's what I do. I got used to that way of cooking when my daughter lived with me and she was a practicing vegetarian. I cooked meat separately from other foods. Cooking with aluminum means digesting aluminum and that's no good. Cooking, especially grilling, plant based foods destroys any nutrients. Grilling in general, isn't very healthy either. That warrior diet above looks like a decent way to lose weight, but I wouldn't recommend sustaining it. Meat, well, buy it from a place you know where it was raised and slaughtered or you're eating lots of poison. http://grist.org/factory-farms/pink-slime-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-look-what-else-is-in-industrial-meat/ ---------- Post added April-8th-2012 at 09:10 AM ---------- As per the OP, look for Heidi Swanson books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 My issue with "healthy eating" is that it's a meaningless term when it's not crafted to meet the needs of an individual. My advice would be to look at your life and your goals and then research healthy diets that are meant to help you achieve those things. Are you looking to lose weight? If so how much? How fast do you want to lose it? Are you working out? Are you eating right around that work out to get the best results? When do you wake up and when do you go to sleep? If it's different from the normal keep that in mind when reading when you are supposed to eat what because that was written with a different schedule in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend any single book or source for dietary advice. You really have to look at a lot of different theories and philosophies and essentially choose your own reality based on a combination of what appeals to you personally and how your body reacts to certain foods and macronutrient balances. The 4 hour bodyIts different, its irreverent but also has one of the best meal plans I have ever tried Taking the advice of Tim Ferriss is like taking the advice of a professional clown. If you're lucky, the clown might actually know a thing or two off-hand that you may find helpful but he's far from being an expert on the subject. If incomplete knowledge is what you're looking for and you don't mind dubious-at-best scientific backing, by all means ask that clown for dietary advice. I'd only look to Ferriss if you're trying to learn to self-promote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCSaints_fan Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Leafy green vegetables are key IMO. Things like lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli, celery,green beans, brussel sprouts, etc, They should be eaten everyday. They contain lots of nutrients, lots of fiber which slows digestion, but not lots of calories. Starchier vegetables like potatoes, rice and grain, fruits and meats are higher in calories per unit volume and per nutrient. Nuts and seeds are also good, but they are as easy to overeat as the potato chips so you really have to watch your intake. "Avoid fast food" is one of the biggest misunderstood concepts. The salads at McDonalds or Wendys, are acceptable IMO, and they are served fast. Yeah they may not be the freshest, but not everyone has time or opportunity can't prepare every single meal yourself. Whether you go meat heavy or veggie heavy after that, I believe, is going to depend on your makeup. Personally, I don't do well with starches and sugary fruits but some people seem OK with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 "Avoid fast food" is one of the biggest misunderstood concepts. The salads at McDonalds or Wendys, are acceptable IMO, and they are served fast. Yeah they may not be the freshest, but not everyone has time or opportunity can't prepare every single meal yourself. On the other hand, at least as of a couple years ago, if you look at the nutrition facts they're shockingly un-salad-like. The same with the oatmeal and such. They may contain more good things than a McDouble, but that doesn't necessarily make them healthy. Whatever you decide to do diet-wise, I'd recommend getting a few good books that actually teach you how to cook. If you have the right sense of humor, Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter is pretty good, as are Alton Brown's books. Cookbooks are nice, but with the plethora of recipes on the internet their lasting value is marginal unless they're actually useful as a reference about how cooking works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Tony Horton, creator of P90X, has a pretty good book called "Bring It" that I found really interesting. Beyond being just a diet and recepie book, it's more of a healthy lifestyle book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sad. 2 days on the front page and not even on the second page. Maybe a football board isn't the place to ask for healthy food advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 This is a journey my family & I have been through in the past couple of years and I didn't want it to be like friends of ours who I think are way overboard with it, yet are the unhealthiest people I know. My focus was to increase veggie/fruit consumption, decrease red meat, manufactured meat (sausage, hot dog) and processed foods, all the while recognizing that there were going to be times where I would love some grilled sausage w/ peppers and onions. I consider myself a good cook, in that I am an excellent recipe follower. One book that is very unfun to read but I use frequently is "Joy of Cooking". Not necessarily about healthy eating, but it does contain a ton of information about cooking and is an excellent resource. "Healthy Heart" is a book I use as well, although you need pretty extensive herb/spice collection for some recipes. I would highly recommend you go to your local library and view some healthy eating cookbooks there before purchasing any, as I too, got frustrated with books like you mentioned above. I'm not about to become a vegan and am occasionally (even once a week) going to have something that many consider "bad for you", but overall we are eating much healthier than a couple/few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sad. 2 days on the front page and not even on the second page. Maybe a football board isn't the place to ask for healthy food advise. It's not a complicated subject. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. /thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 It's not a complicated subject. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. /thread so you'd think. Healthy foods= crickets BBQ'd= loud. OT- The self healing cookbook by Kristina Turner is like my food bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 It's not a complicated subject. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. /thread I agree, sort of. The problem is, if someone is coming from a mostly unhealthy background, converting to less food (which consists mostly of plants), they will probably be discouraged with the taste of food unless they learn HOW to eat healthier food that is somewhat tasty as well. That's where I think the OP was coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brotherz Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Straight up good LIFESTYLE change advice - no BS "diet" = Men's Health Diet. (Why they called it diet I have no idea - it is completely anti-diet and pro-lifestyle change) - it is simple and sensible. If you really have been bad to yourself - don't go screwing up your body more by going on a massive diet or restrcting whole food groups or anything. Pick some of the following habits and commit to instilling them into your lifestyle. EAT BREAKFAST - always, NEVER skip it. Drink Water Have protein at every meal. Fruits and veggie = good - refined carbs and sugars = bad Get 25 grams of fiber a day minimally try to eat between .8 and 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight spread out over 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. Eat every three to 4 hours Have some dairy every day (unless your lactose intolerant of course) - lowfat cheese, skim milk, cottage cheese, yogurt etc. Safe supplements for weight loss: Remeron (reduces cortisol), Saffron Extract (natural appetite suppresant), 7 Keton - if you are over 40 and need to stimulate DHEA production for fat metabolism. exercise: BUILD MUSCLE - 70-85% of your calories are burned each day by your basal metabolism and the thermic effect of food (ie how many calories it takes to burn the food you eat). Therefore working on your furnace (Ie your basal metabolism) is better than trying to burn more calories in the 15-30% window of exercise induced calorie burning. Muscle, muscle, muscle. Train with weights. Do circuit training for more aerobic effect, but ultimately muscle is where its at. If you want a great beginner program that will meet you wherever you are, PM me, I'll be happy to share one of my favorites. Overall - work on displacing bad habits not removing them. Don't just focus on what you are pulling out of your diet. Focus on what you can put in! ADD salads and veggies. ADD fruit. ADD water. ADD lean proteins. ADD a wheat grass drink to balance your body's acidity etc. Keep ADDING and you will displace the bad. For example if you are big potato chip eater - don't say "no more potato chips" - say "I will drink two glasses of water, a handful of nuts and wait 12 minutes before I eat the potato chips. That alone will result in you eating 30% less chips than you would have before. Its those small wins every day that add up. The same way you got in disrepair, is how you should repair. You didn't wake up overweight and unhealthy one day. It was a slow creeping process. You need to undo it the same way. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'm far from a perfect eater, but I have tried to make changes in the last couple years. There have been times when I've gotten lazy and eat like crap for a couple days, and I feel like crap when that happens. For me, the key to eating better (for the most part) has been the few things below. 1. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. 2. Eat fruits and veggies every day, at every meal. 3. Always have real food at home. I rarely ever really "crave" fast food. When I do, it's 95% because I'm lazy and have no food in the house. 3.b. Always have real food that's easy to prepare at home. If this means cooking a lot on Sunday and eating throughout the week, then do it. If it means having apples/bananas/other stuff that's easy to grab and go, then do it. 3.c. Always have a good spice rack. This is key if you are making your own food. I always try to have a good variety of spices and spice mixes and marinades in the fridge. Just don't go overboard with the marinades and watch the ingredients. 4. Be aware of where your food is coming from. It may take a little more effort, and it may be a little more expensive, but you will start to notice a difference between cage free/free range eggs and cheapo eggs, or grass-fed and ****-fed beef. 5. Don't be afraid to eat breakfast for dinner, or dinner for breakfast. Don't let our cultural norms about when we should eat certain foods dictate your diet. 6. EXERCISE!!! This is perhaps the most important key to eating better. I find that when I work out, my body craves healthy food because that's what I need to sustain energy/rebuild muscles/etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistertim Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Thank you all for the good suggestions. I will definitely look into them. All in all, I am mostly looking for a book on a healthy eating lifestyle and how to implement it. I also agree that exercise is very important and I am planning on doing that more regularly as well; the intensity of the workouts is yet to be determined (a subject for another thread). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 EAT BREAKFAST - always, NEVER skip it.Eat every three to 4 hours Those represent major dietary pet peeves of mine. Eating every three to four hours is a matter of personal preference, there are no tangible benefits to it beyond that. The metabolic argument people frequently make is absolute bunk. Breakfast's importance as a meal is similar. There's no real benefit to a meal in the morning in and of itself, all of the research you see tying breakfast to weight loss is simply showing how regular eating patterns (of any kind) tend to be superior to irregular feeding patterns. People who think enough to eat at the same intervals every day have a more consistent intake throughout the day which is easier to monitor and control. The fact that it's a popular belief among sources of dietary advice that eating breakfast every day is important also means that people who do a little research (and, thus, are more likely to succeed than those who do not) are more likely to follow that piece advice when trying to lose weight regardless of its validity, further supporting the correlation. Also, breakfast food companies love to prop this one up because it helps sell cereal and oatmeal and all kinds of crap. Basically, if you eat one or two BIG meals in the middle of the day you'll be no worse off than someone who eats 5-7 smaller meals every few hours provided that the total intake is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Healthy eating is basically avoiding processed food and eating everything in moderation A bucket of fried chicken won't kill you, neither will a Five Guys, but you probably shouldn't have them every day for more than 5 years That's where the problems start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Healthy eating is basically avoiding processed food and eating everything in moderationA bucket of fried chicken won't kill you, neither will a Five Guys, but you probably shouldn't have them every day for more than 5 years That's where the problems start Sooooo, a bucket of chicken every day for 4.999999 years and I'm good to go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sooooo, a bucket of chicken every day for 4.999999 years and I'm good to go? Give or take 6 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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