What is your diet like now?

Discussion in 'You Are What You Eat!' started by skip, Oct 17, 2007.

  1. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    To begin this class, I'd like to find out what our student's diets are currently and the overall condition of your health. Please include any dietary restrictions you might have due to medications or allergies or other reasons.

    Also indicate why you want to change your diet, like health reasons, economic, ecological, social, whatever...
     
  2. Autentique

    Autentique wonderfabulastic

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    I've recently became a vegetarian, so Im kinda still figuring things out for me, also I just moved out of DR and there I ALWAYS had someone to cook for me, so I dont really know how to make myself a lot of stuff, so I end up eating basically the same.
    Things I consume regularly are yogurt, this bean and chickpeas salad I make, pita wraps (with mozzarella and avocado, stuff like that) I eat a lot of bread, because it's easy to make myself a sandwich, also veggie bugers (Amy's California Burgers, love them). I eat a lot of pizza, cereal (Oats and honey) with milk, hmm what else, granolas. I drink a lot of Juice and Green Tea. I mean I dont drink water (I know that's bad). I try to eat fruits the most I can, like bananas, apples, tangerines, green grapes.
    I guess that's basically it. Oh I LOVE cheese.
    I dont really eat breakfast, I usually have like one real meal a day and then I just eat something light like a bagel, a granola and some juice. I know that's bad too, but Im trying to eat better.
    The reason why I would like to change my diet is for it to be healthier.
     
  3. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    Hi Autentique, welcome to the class! :)

    Congratulations on being a lacto-vegetarian. (you didn't mention eggs)

    I notice right away that like so many vegetarians, you have a heavy reliance on dairy products for protein in your diet. I will discuss the pros and cons of dairy later.

    Do you consider yourself overweight?

    Have you ever tried fasting?

    (Everyone should answer the last two questions in your responses - thanks!)
     
  4. Autentique

    Autentique wonderfabulastic

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    Thanks :)
    \I'm like 5'6 and my weight last time I check was 117lb, I think that's just normal weight for me. I've always been very skinny, now I'm just like normal
    I've tried fasting since very young. I kinda didnt like eating, so would just not eat sometimes. Not in an eating disorder kind of way, just you know, for a day or two , it's something very easy for me to do. I dont get hungry if I dont want to get hungry.
    Eggs, I really try not eating them, I RARELY do, and it's becoming more close and close to not eating them. I dont feel I need them or like them particularly.
    I say rarely because Im pretty sure there are things I eat that contain eggs.
     
  5. jo_k_er_man

    jo_k_er_man TBD

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    I just recently started to eat better in general.. i stopped drinking soda over 2 years ago.. recently quit smoking and hoping to cut meat out of my diet completely(or rarely).. i dont' eat much if any red meat.. maybe once or twice every 2-3months.. mostly a poultry person myself.. im gonna start by cutting meat down to 1-2 times a week.. still probably gonna continue eating eggs and drinking milk.. with a heavy increase in fruits/veggies/multi-grains... personally im aiming for something between the Mediterranean diet and fruitarian diet.... but not limiting myself to those guidelines
     
  6. HoneySuckleBlue

    HoneySuckleBlue Cosmic Artist

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    My diet, since I got married and had children, is less than admirable. Lots of carbs, sugar, caffine...processed crud, etc.


    Leading up to the kids and the hubby my diet was excellent and I would run tirelessly. I have never had any thing worse than a flu...but I guess fourteen years of goofing off has taken it's toll and I am begining to show signs of congestion and am mildly overweight now. The caffine gives me heart palpitations so I switched to decaf...but other than that I am still abnormally healthy.

    Nothing serious has developed yet but I am quite certain that if I continued the way I was something would develop, so last month I began eating more dark leafy greens and less meat. Whole grains, not so much dairy. Lots more water and I began walking four miles a day with our dogs. Just that small shift has increased my energy level and I am so encouraged that I am on the lookout for new things to incorporate that will enhance the shift back to a healthier me...this class looks great.

    This spring I did a one week master cleanser fast, if that counts and it sure changed the way I thought about food. Took the neediness I felt if I missed a meal right away. I'll live if I don't eat :tongue: Now it's not so big a deal and I savor my food so much more for the experience.
     
  7. Advaya

    Advaya Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    I am currently vegetarian, and have been off and on for years (around eight years). I have been diagnosed as having a wheat and dairy intolerance. I don't feel very healthy, and I would consider myself overweight. I eat more sweet things than I should, but otherwise I *try* to eat a whole foods diet. I try to avoid buying packaged foods, we store a lot of grains and dry beans, lentils and such in glass mason jars.

    I recently quit smoking and want to become more active with hiking and stuff like I used to be before my lungs were dead from cigs. I'm hoping to detox and start anew. I am considering either going vegan, raw, or follow a wild foods and wise woman method of eating as Susun Weed often recommends.

    I forgot to mention fasting, which I feel is very important.

    Although my reasons were not too admirable, when I was 15 I water fasted (with occasional senna tea) and lost tons of weight. It was the only time I lost weight, even with excercise. This is what led my doctor to the conclusion I have food intolerances rather than a problem with my thyroid or anything, because when deprived of food I do lose weight easily. I lost probably 30 lbs, although I have slowly gained it back. I definitely have a better view of my weight and health now, but even with the negative reasons I fasted back then, I think it benefited me greatly and gave me a greater appreciation of what food is really for.

    While I'm vegetarian I don't rely on milk or dairy, I try to avoid it. However, I also try to avoid soy especially in things like veggie burgers or where it's heavily processed. I don't mind it as much when minimumlly processed such as tofu or tempeh.
     
  8. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    Hey, really good responses so far! :)

    I'm impressed with the way you all are becoming more conscious of what you are eating and its effect upon you.

    As we age, we can learn a lot about what foods keep us balanced and what upsets that balance. Like those bad eating habits we develop over the years that come back to haunt us, affecting our health in various ways.

    The negative side effects of things like caffeine and sugar, manifest more over the years. I can only drink one caffeinated cup a day, or two half-cafs. In my early 20s I was drinking 6 cups of coffee black, no milk, no sugar, every day. It helped me cope with work & school together everyday for years!

    I liked Authentique's quote "I dont get hungry if I dont want to get hungry." I think that's a great attitude and indicates good mental control over one's diet.

    That is something I hope this class will impart to everyone, if you haven't already got it. Some call it will power, but that's not quite right. It's really just awareness of your physical being. And that awareness empowers you to access your body's control panel.

    I don't mean a literal panel of course, but a mental one. We can control many, if not all of the on-off switches that are involved with our body's processes. This is one of the goals of Yoga. To unify mind and body and spirit.

    It was Yoga that got me in tune with my body. Starting with the breath, then body, then thoughts themselves, eventually leading to my whole lifestyle. I was able to tune into my body like never before, as I became aware of every ache, every underused muscle, every thought running thru my brain.

    After my first couple of Yoga classes, I quickly lost my appetite for certain foods, meats especially. Then the stimulants that I used every day (coffee, chocolate, even cocaine) would not really get me high, but would temporarily energize me, only to drag me down and take me away from the high I experienced doing Yoga.

    It seemed that the consciousness I had gained enabled me to understand the real, lasting effects of food and drugs on my body. I began to listen to my body and the subtle signals it sends when you abuse it slowly over time.

    My whole lifestyle changed as I became a vegetarian, and got rid of the stimulants. I was entering the healthiest phase of my life! :)
     
  9. Fedora

    Fedora Member

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    Hi Skip,
    I'm 5'11" and weigh about 202lbs.
    My diet: I usually eat two meals a day, lunch and supper. For lunch it is usually macaroni and cheese, chicken bologna (2x) and cheese (2x) sandwich with 7 grain bread, a yogart, banana with peanut butter, sometimes a pudding, barely sweet tea, coffee or water. For supper it is whatever wifie cooks. Usually 1 meat, 2 vegatables, coffee, tea, or water, a dessert: pie or ice cream. Don't really think I am overweight but could stand to loose a little weight. I also drink a pot of coffee (8 cups: black) a day. Sometimes at night I drink hot herbal tea (usually chai or green tea with red antioxidants. I do not drink sodas hardly ever maybe 1 every three or four weeks. No beer, liquor, or drugs. Looking forward to this class. I just purchased the book about organic foods (To Buy Or Not To Buy Organic - Cindy Burke). Hopefully it will arrive before long. My wife and I have talked about eating more healthy I reckon it is time we started.
    Thanks for teaching this class. Peace be with you!!!
     
  10. YrahcazSivad

    YrahcazSivad Member

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    This class really sounded interesting. Diet and nutrition is a personal passion of mine, and this looked like a great place to explore it. First of all, I would consider myself a healthy weight, I am 6'3" and weigh 165-170. I have never fasted before, although I have considered doing so for religious reasons. I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and have been so for about two years. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables, mostly raw, three servings of fermented dairy products daily (I read in a Chinese nutrition text that fermented dairy products were better for your digestive system.), some whole grain bread, nuts, and take a multivitamin. I consider my diet a fairly good one, although I sometimes have trouble integrating grain products into my daily meal plans.
     
  11. Free_love_peace224

    Free_love_peace224 Member

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    Good Day Autentique!!!!
    I only read the sentence about becoming a vegetarian and not eating right. Really, you HAVE got to eat!!! There are so many simple things you can do. I used to live on bread, ramen noodles, and like microwavable things. But i too have become a vegetarian in the last year. First of all, you have to have good reasoning to not eat meat. Meat is really kind of bad for you even though society makes it seem NEEDED. its not.
    Dude. Salads, pastas, rice, bagels, eggs (if you do dairy) soups. ITS SO EASY! lets see. i spend probably 15 dollars for veggies and rice and pasta and stuff that will usually last me a couple of days. I wanna share with you some easy ways to eat. for pastas...boil noodles. any kind will do. you can make the sauce by boiling water, milk or vegetable stock. add a couple table spoon fulls of flour (any kind preferably none bleached or whole wheat) add pepper, parsley, any kind of spices you like BE CREATIVE!) you can even chop up broccoli or asparagus or squash. really anything you want. just experiment with food. also tofu. you get alot of protein from avocados too and some people dont like them but mash em up and add some pepper and salt! you just need to eat. so this was just a quick tip. i guess really not quick though huh? I just want to help out because not eating right sucks. and cooking is fun! it's totally where i find my zone. any who.
    catch ya later! ask for more if you'd like!
    Peace and Love always, Renee
     
  12. Greengirl

    Greengirl Senior Member

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    Right now i eat nothing but fruits and vegetables. Nothing with sugar or salt in it, no meat,no alcohol, no coffe. Just weed, fruits and vegetbles.
     
  13. Autentique

    Autentique wonderfabulastic

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    I know, I mean I go through different periods of eating really well. Eating lots of beans and grains and fruits. To other times where all I eat is sandwichs and cereal, because I havent got the time (or the will?) to get myself to the supermarket, so I just get myself whatever I can get at the store downstairs. It's kinda of a hassle to go to take the bus to go to the supermarket, you REALLY have to be in the right mood. But when I do go, those days where I have food, I eat really well :tongue:
     
  14. wyldwynd

    wyldwynd ~*~ Super Moderator

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    I dont take any medications so i dont have any dietary restrictions or allergies, I consider myself to be in good health, i rarely get sick, i did however become sick a short time ago, i have fully recovered,,overall though my health is good, i am well more then i am sick.( i may get sick once a year maybe less) I don't eat meat, i do however eat seafood on occasion, i don't drink milk by the glass but i do put milk in cereal and coffee,,i am a coffee drinker, about three cups a morning,,so i do dairy(luv cheese), i dont eat eggs, i luv fruits and i luv vegetables i luv beans,,, i never eat artificial sugar, i do use real sugar,,,i dont drink soda pops, i luv lemonade,tea and water,,,and fasting,,,,,yes i fast, usually for at least a week when i do,,and often longer,,,, i do not fast to lose weight, i fast for spiritual reasons,,,right now today, my diet is like so, i ate some cabbage, some rice and some black-eyed peas,,,yumm,, to me eatting and also fasting is a beautiful experience, it ignites smell taste touch sound and sight, both in body and in spirit.
     
  15. Scarlet101

    Scarlet101 Member

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    I am a student, and to be honest, food is the last thing i think about spending my money on!! I usually have one full meal a day, inbetween lunchtime and late afternoon. Its usually not that substantial i have to admit, the main meals being baked beans and rice, a microwave meal, or jacket potato and salad. Then whenever im off to the shop i'll usually buy chocolate or crisps to snack on, and then after a night out drinking or smoking i will usually come home and devour several slices of toast before passing out.


    Its awful, and i really need to start handling my diet beeter-hence why im hoping this course will help!!! Im not vegetarian, but its an idea i've been toying with for a while, so if i could incoperate that into it, that would be great.
     
  16. IlUvMuSIc

    IlUvMuSIc Senior Member

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    sorry i didnt read the rest...

    Um.. I want to change my diet because
    I am NOT overweight. I want to be a counsellor for people with eating disorders because i cant stand it when my 5/6 stone friend stands there and says she fat!! I really cant stand it. SKIN IS NOT FAT.
    Bear in mind Im not thin either... Just not overweight.

    I have never fasted but my mum has and i have done things like Navratrai (sp?) which is now (what are the chances??) It seems alluring to give my stomach a rest cos i dont think its very well :(

    I want to change my diet because although i know i am healthy i still have the bags under my eyes to prove it NEEDS to be better... Plus i normally skip lunch and thats not good... actually theres a number of things bad about my diet.

    By the way i have never dieted. I dont plan to - I just wanna be healthier. If you ask me Diets dont work.
     
  17. squawkers7

    squawkers7 radical rebel

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    While growing up my parents (mostly Dad) loved gardening & had to order every strange new veggie seed packet that he could find just to try it out and be more different then all the other gardens in the neighborhood. For the first 17 yrs of my life, we were only allowed candy for holidays~valentines day, easter,halloween & christmas and just 1 day during Summer vacation (probably 4th of July.) The only soda pop, my parents ever bought was orange sunkist & ginger ale. Other kids at school thought it was "terrible" that my parents didn't buy junk food more often, but then I could remind them that I had no cavities at the time (got my very first cavity when I was 16 1/2~now I have a mouthful).
    ...I didn't get addicted to coke cola until after I got married to a sugar-holic. During that first year of marriage I got to pig-out on every junk food imaginable, some I still eat today.
    Different members of my family have different medical problems...high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, strokes, cancer, kidney failure....which can all be controlled and/or prevented by what they eat. A cousin that was just 1 month older then me died recently...and it sure brought back all my dad's food advice back & made them hit home more then any dumb TV commercial.

    as for a summary of my eating habits thru the yrs~
    as a youngster....usually healthy mixed with prolonged bouts of fasting, got interested in vegetarianism in Jr. High School

    during marriage....found junk food! candy, processed crap, & pre-mixed stuff...food mixed with every unknown chemical disguised in pretty cans & boxes.
    Then when back to vegetarianism for 1 1/2-2 yrs straight just before getting pregnant with 6th kid(was not a good thing for the sugar-holics/junkers...people addicted to junk) in the house.

    Last 2 yrs~while criss-crossing the country, I will try just about anything new in whatever region I'm in just to see if I like it and also to know what the locals are talking about. Now I'm either to busy, to poor, or don't have a really kitchen to eat the way I would like....and just my luck I'm sharing a dorm room with a junk-food person.
     
  18. Autentique

    Autentique wonderfabulastic

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    what we eat IS our diet. everything we eat, everyday makes our diet, some people follow a specific one, with specific directions, others just eat what they like, people who consume junk food are on a diet, like everyone else. There are people on good diets and bad diets, it's all about a balanced one and getting all we need to keep us healthy.
    I dont understand why people think diets are a bad thing, or how what we eat doesnt make our diet.
     
  19. Bilby

    Bilby Lifetime Supporter and Freerangertarian Super Moderator

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    I am a whole foods person. This largely out of necessity. Bananas and skimmed milk are two extremely toxic substances for my body. Bananas are reasonably easy to avoid. BTW they are one of the most polluting crops on the planet. But skimmed milk usually in its dried form often known as SMP is found in all sorts of junk food. It is because it is a cheap extender and there is plenty around because it is a by-product of the cream and butter industry.

    Whole foods to me means butter ( and lots of it!) not margarine, whole milk (preferably bio-dynamic), although these days I prefer to use coconut cream as a milk substitute for cooking.Also the best bits of a veg diet such as hummus but also leg ham not sandwich ham.I would eat a home made meat pie but not a factory one. If you are going to eat vegetarian why not eat real vegetarian food such as falafels or tabbouleh, not meatless bolignaise. I also make my own mayonnaise from olive oil and free range eggs bought straight from the farmer.

    I also eat some oily fish each week for the long chain omega 3's. Not only is it good for your sex life, it improves mental function.

    I am also a connoisseur of the good hard animal fats such as ghee, dripping, butter, lard and duck fat. Olive oil and non hydronated coconut oil is also good.BTW there have been many studies linking low fat diets with depression.

    There is a long survey thread elsewhere on HF that sis not even ask about being a wholefood omni. There is a whole world of difference between a wholefood omni and a junk food omni.

    I have tried being a vegetarian but it did not work for me.
     
  20. Willy_Wonka_27

    Willy_Wonka_27 Surrender to the Flow

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    i pretty healthy, but im looking to become a full time raw foods eater. im 75% raw vegan... transitioning the next 25% cooked food out next week.
     

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