Some Common Sense Healthy Eating Tips For Living In Our Modern Obesogenic Environment

[Jingthing]

None of these are really new or surprising but I think this slideshow is something that could be worthwhile for many kinds of people, not only fat people:

http://www.washingto...hpid=z7#photo=1

I realize some people won't agree with ALL these points. They largely make perfect sense to me but the suggestion to drink more milk is something I can't really get behind. Knowing this information and totally following the tips all the the time is also another matter though.

[robblok]

Almost all points seem valid bet you don't like point 11. Actually i can't see any fault in them. Maybe the milk but not for me i thrive on it. Im Dutch.

Actually all those points are not new to me, you really can see a difference in what you buy when your hungry and go shopping then when you have eaten already.

[Jingthing]

This is my favorite item from the link:

Navigate restaurant menus like a minefield, watching bread baskets, dressings and desserts.

OK, in Thailand bread baskets aren't so common, dressings are a western thing, and it's obvious to avoid high fat/high sugar desserts.

But restaurants are STILL a minefield, even if you're trying.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about that I have experienced quite often because I do eat out often and try different restaurants and different foods.

You go to a restaurant and order something which you reasonably THINK is going to be prepared in a healthier way and then it arrives and there is something majorly wrong with it. Like a food you reasonably expected to be clean tasting and lean and comes to the table dripping in grease. So do you still eat it? Or throw away the money?

I've even had cases where it's the same restaurant, same dish. Before the dish appeared healthy and you order it later and it's horrible. Obviously stop ordering it or stop going to that restaurant at all, but there it is, you're hungry, and you're paying for it.

In better restaurants in the west, you can actually send back food that you just don't like, but of course in Thailand, that's not done.

[robblok]

JT your describing Thailand perfect, same dish can come out different at the same restaurant on different days. When i go out on holiday with my parents i make it point not to complicate things by asking special additions or withholding stuff.. usually it goes wrong then.

But I am mostly at home or i go to the big chains that usually goes well.

[Jingthing]

Yes so bottom line restaurants are indeed dietary minefields. Only by cooking all your meals at home can you have complete control about what you're actually eating. I won't do that, so I fight the fight against the mines, and sometimes lose!

Restaurants for the most part know people love the taste of fat, salt, and sugar and the more you put in the more you are going to please MOST customers.

[robblok]

Just curious JT why dont you cook.. cant you cook.. or (like me and the more complicated stuff) i dont like to do it because it takes too much time in comparison to eating it.

I just cook simple and easy meals that are high in food values (and of course i need to like them) but for me ease and speed of preparation is important.

Of course you can't cook everything yourself if you like food.. but i did notice if you cook yourself you can spend more in ingredients you think are important.

[Jingthing]

I love to cook but I don't have the skill or will to cook everything I want to eat. Yes, I'm mad about variety.

Typically I eat a healthy yogurt, fruit, and grains breakfast, then one restaurant meal, and one cooked meal daily.

Sometimes I am not even hungry enough even for the third meal which is an interesting result of the "program" I have talked about in another thread. So I have had to adjust my shopping as I end up throwing out too much food that I'm not hungry enough to prepare.

Some examples of things I will NEVER bother to cook: Korean food, Indian food, so many others.

[robblok]

Jt your right i cant cook everything either i was just curious about your reasons.

[TradeMark]

A little tip and some basic science for those into the diet cokes and lite this and zero that. Besides these mystical long term effects which everything seems to have these days there is a basic principle which makes them as unhealthy as any sugar loaded soft drink.

Insulin regulates glucose uptake and the key to preventing fat storage is to prevent this spiking of insulin levels in the body which in turn stores fat. Most common fix to this is the principle of more frequent + balanced meals which promote less of an insulin spike and staying away from high GI carbs such as sugars as iam sure most of you know. That is why soft drinks are bad.

But now you are given sugar free "zero or lite coke" so you think great! No sugars = no insulin spike = no fat storage? Wrong! The artificial sweeteners mimic the same effect in the gut and in essence cause a similar response to insulin levels as a fully sugar loaded soft drink. Never underestimate the human body:) Humans made a sweet taste without the sugar but our bodies gut and hormone secretions react to a multitude of things beyond that basic principle.

Drink water!