The healthy eating log

[Corny]

Hey everybody,

since some time I am trying to eat healthier - but as most people I have some troubles with it Mind that I am not trying to have a strict diet like some people mention in the fitness threads, but rather just try to eat healthy and cover all of the important nutritional requirements.
The "bad" thing is that no matter what I eat, I keep my weight - so there is somehow a real motivation missing. I can eat junk food half the week and not see anything happening on the scale, so why should I bother to eat healthy? Yeah well because it's better of course.
So this "log" is somehow an attempt at making myself a bad conscience if I don't have anything "good" to post here.

You are all welcome to comment and recommend, and of course to use this thread as a "log", too.
When I have time I frequently cook for myself (or for us both). But to keep this thread clean I will not post any recipes here, because I hate that most eating threads degenerate because of people cut and pasting lots of recipes from various Internet sources. However if you are interested in a recipe, feel free to PM the user in question.

 

[Corny]

I try to avoid two much carbs in the evening, and stop eating 3-4 hours before bed. I am trying the "eat many small meals" thing, but that's giving me the most problems - I am very used to the three meals a day thing.
Unless mentioned otherwise I only drink mineral water through the day.

Let's start with yesterday, learning day:

Breakfast: two slices of gray bread with liverwurst and a glass of milk. out in the city for 2 hours, after that a pear.


midday: two fried eggs together with a small amount of bacon and a complete sliced (short fried) sweet red pepper.

in between: a couple of olives

evening: slice of gray bread with feta cheese cream, half of a raw sweet red pepper with aceto balsamico, and some more olives and a big glass of multivitamin juice.

today: another learning day, but this time a bit lazier

morning: somehow after waking up I had a huge craving for chocolate, and ate two pieces of dark ginger chocolate
breakfast: big glass of multivitamin juice, hard boiled egg, toast with feta cheese creme.

midday: potatoes with romaine lettuce, tomatoes and grated gruyer cheese (dry, hard cheese, similar to parmesane)

now I just made a slaw which will be the main thing to eat for supper, still looking for ideas of what to eat with it.

 

[codeerror]

Great thread!
I try to eat healthy too, so this thread could give some information on whats okay to eat, and whats not. I use way too much time in the stores reading labels.
Making healthier choices in general is better than doing strict diets for some time, then giving up (and you have the jo-jo effect aswell). I think I've found what works for me, a generally healthy diet, with room for the occasional snack or eating day.

Good luck Corny!

 

[PabloZed]

I've dated two Swiss and a German and I can tell you that there is a big difference between how Europeans eat and how Americans eat. To confess, I do like thin guys so perhaps my three european boys simply ate less as a personal choice, but when we sat down for meals I always felt like the fat king eating with a peasant. I once cooked for my German-Swiss ex and some friends and it was a meal that I would cook for myself. Nothing special to me, but all of them acted as if I had prepared a feast. I recall one guy commenting that the meat portions were enormous.

I guess I should also confess that I come from a family of big appetites. I don't recall ever having salad as a meal. It has taken a while for me to develop healthy eating habits (I rarely fry foods, I avoid red meat, and try to eat smaller portions). But I still think even my healthier habits would seem almost grotesque to some europeans.

 

[Corny]

on a day where i do not need to get up to do something and can sleep long, i really have to force myself to eat something in the morning .. i am just not hungry ..

morning: a bun (the german kind of it, nothing like the american soft hotdog/burger thing) with pork sausage, and two tomatoes and a glass of milk

midday: kritharaki (in italy known as orzo ) with self-made tomato sauce and onions

evening:
will become a sin, we (bf, me and friends) are at a party with an indoor barbecue, so most likely i will have some Ćevapčići, to even it out a bit i will only take some rice salad with cucumbers together with it, but i CANNOT pass on the ajvar it's just to good. as is the beer

 

[fadeinout30]

I once cooked for my German-Swiss ex and some friends and it was a meal that I would cook for myself. Nothing special to me, but all of them acted as if I had prepared a feast. I recall one guy commenting that the meat portions were enormous.

I guess I should also confess that I come from a family of big appetites. I don't recall ever having salad as a meal. It has taken a while for me to develop healthy eating habits (I rarely fry foods, I avoid red meat, and try to eat smaller portions). But I still think even my healthier habits would seem almost grotesque to some europeans.

First, not all Europeans eat a like. England has experienced an overweight/obesity problem in the last decade. So much so, that their government is on the verge of taking away their so called "free healthcare"...lose the weight or lose coverage.

But you are right, we Americans eat like pigs. Very few of us even know what a portion size is (yep, your meat portion was probably enormous). No wonder the majority of Americans are overweight. The ramifications of this is costing our economy over $400B annually.

I eat 4 meals a day with two of them being 2 lunches at work. All my co-workers can't believe I eat so much and still stay fit. Their dumb asses don't understand...it's not about how often you eat, but what and HOW MUCH.

My meals usually consist of 400 calories give or take. I eat 2 snacks sometime during the day. I don't allow certain foods in my house - soda, red meats, sugar, white bread, candies, junk food, fruit juices, vegetable oil. I remember being in Target one day and this lady was bent over complaining that there was not a certain product on the lower shelf. I looked over and said to myself, "oh dear god girl, you do not need any Crisco Oil"...she was pushing 300lbs.

If there is any real "change" needed in this country, it is a personal responsibility revolution that includes people taking better care of themselves.

 

[Corny]

to keep this up a bit:

2 crazy packed days, not really time to cook. at least wednesday at work got some nice broccolis

today, morning:
apple + bread + salami

midday:
wholewheat noodle casserole with (sheep) feta, ground meat and fresh tomatoes.

evening:
i got some free time during the day and baked "crunchy olives" (olives in a crunchy cheese dough crust).
so crunchy olives + slaw + some left over feta.
my bf would say this is a weird blasphemous combination :-/

 

[Cedric]

Thanks for starting this thread. I just got back on track with healthy eating about two months ago after an extended period of not taking care of myself on many different levels.

I make it a point to have one serving of leafy greens per day along with fruit and vegetables in at least 2 different colors. This is easy to do if you always have a bag of baby carrots, a bunch of bananas, and dried prunes handy (I know, I know... about that last one, but they are actually very good if you learn to like them). I also make it a point of taking vitamins.

I don't set my standards too high or else I get depressed about not meeting them. I don't ever declare anything off limits; I just eat the "bad" foods in moderation. I love pork sausage, bacon, and chicken with skin and will allow myself to eat those things on occasion--just not on a daily basis.

 

[Corny]

^ that's about what I try

yesterday:
morning: bread with salami + an apple

midday: fries with a tomato salad

evening: wasn't hungry, but i had a few beer *cough*

today:
morning: 2 bread rolls (the german kind), with feta cheese and sliced chicken breast

midday: mashed potatoes and carrots (and a little bit of onion) - traditional dish and tasty!

in between: olives

evening: an apple, some leftover slaw

 

[3nipples]

^ that's about what I try

yesterday:
morning: bread with salami + an apple good

midday: fries with a tomato salad fries! you're kidding, right? and no protein? instead of fries some mozerella = caprese

evening: wasn't hungry, but i had a few beer *cough* hmmm, skipping meals...

today:
morning: 2 bread rolls (the german kind), with feta cheese and sliced chicken breast 1 roll should be enough... I would have thought either chicken OR feta AND something green (cucumber or zucchini)

midday: mashed potatoes and carrots (and a little bit of onion) - traditional dish and tasty! but again, little protein

in between: olives

evening: an apple, some leftover slaw ...

I'm having trouble finding balance in what you're eating. Surely you can do better than this.