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Eating Healthier: Advice Appreciated

Legacy

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Hi everyone:

With my heart issues, I'm looking to switch to a more heart-healthy diet. Prior to the issues I've had, I was eating a typical American teenage diet: pizza, burgers, etc.

But the one problem I have with eating healthy is that it's hard to find things that are healthy yet truly satisfying. If I try to limit myself to a simple salad or an apple for lunch, I always end up stopping at McDonald's an hour later anyway. Some of it is will power, I know, but most of it is not knowing/having healthy AND satisfying options.

Any suggestions on meals, dishes, snacks that you like that are healthy? Recipes would be appreciated for the more elaborate dishes.

I guess one dish that I like that is somewhat healthy is:

Baked salmon, baked with mushrooms and onions, served over whole wheat pasta.

Any others?
 
There are vegetarian substitutes if you're looking for food items with less cholesterol; however, if you don't want to give up meat, you could try turkey burgers, turkey bacon, etc. Lean meat is healthier, so try going for that; white meat (poultry, seafood) > red meat (pork, beef).

Additionally, try consuming grilled/baked foods over fried; they're much less greasy. And like you said, whole wheat pasta is healthy. Foods that are naturally white in color (white rice, regular pasta, white bread) tend to have more carbohydrates, so try going with their alternatives (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread). Basically, eat whole grain foods.

Good luck with your healthier diet!
 
Tofu is great because it's filling, and chicken and fish are definitely going to be better, low-carb alternatives to traditional beef and pork.

I would advise you to not eat big meals over the course of the day, but eat 5-7 small ones. Also, snack on fruit, not chips and other things similar to chips. Mix unhealthy with healthy, and you typically have better balance. Eat a little bit of peanut butter with apple slices or apple slices with cinnamon and you have a pretty amazing snack. :3
 
Throw away all the junk food in your house, and don't buy anymore. That is the first step. :/

After that, I suggest eating oily fish(Salmon, Sardines, Herring) as a protein, it is good for your heart with Omega-3 fatty acids. Chicken is a good substitute for red meat in most every dish I can think of, and most of the fat can be trimmed off of chicken before cooking. Another simple change in your eating has to do with butter. Anytime you're going to use butter in cooking a dish in a pan, use an oil (extra virgin olive oil is my favorite) as a substitute as the mono-unsaturated fatty acids are much healthier than the saturated fats in butter. Sweet Potatoes are a good food to start eating at least a few times a week as they are full of important nutrients. Green vegetables are very good for you, and I am a big fan of broccoli myself. Try and eat a serving of carrots everyday as a snack as they are full of important nutrients as well. Almonds are a healthy snack as well in moderation.

Biggest advice I can give is just do your best to avoid the food that you know is bad for you. I lost about ~30-40lbs by just changing my eating habits a year or two ago.
 
Everything in moderation, including moderation.

That is the best bit of advice I can give about food (din't come up with it myself though). Just paying attention to what you are eating is important as well. Knowing how many calories/how much fiber something has is rather important (but don't obsess over this).
 
What's always good to remember is that it's not necessary to cut junk food out of your diet entirely. Just eat less of it and eat more fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods for the most part. You can have dessert, but try to limit yourself to having it only a few times a week as opposed to every day. You can have pork or beef as your meat, just don't have it all the time. I've found it's better to just treat yourself every now and then to the foods you enjoy eating rather than substituting a healthier alternative each and every time, but that's just me personally. Just keep a balance of mostly healthy food and occasional treats and you're basically good to go.
 
There's also low-cal desserts that you can eat in moderation but still have your fill of snacks.

If you're craving ice cream/chocolate, I recommend Skinny Cow products.
 
Well, I also think that you shouldn't cut the foods you like completely. While, you should cut down on how many times, and how much you eat of them, I do think it would be a good idea to indulge once in a while. Just make sure it's a single serving size of whatever it is you're eating. That's helped me lose 20 pounds this summer.
and Trident. Trident sugar-free gum. Whenever you think about eating out of boredom, stress, etc. I suggest chewing a piece of gum, so, you don't think of eating those other foods.
and I would also look into taking some multi-vitamins(if you don't take them already). Because, if you're a picky eater like I am, these do help a lot. You're getting the vitamins and essential nutrients you need. However, since there are different types of Vitamin supplements out on the market, I would suggest doing a little research and figuring out which one is right for you.

One more helpful hint....Cut out the soda to one can a day, and drink mostly water, milk, or juice.


I hope this helped.
 
Do you like sausage? I started something similar about a year and ago, and one of the things I discovered I loved was chicken sausage and grilled vegetables.
Just cut up zucchini, summer squash, onions, and peppers, rub them with olive oil and salt and grill them in a grill pan with cut up sausage.

I also loved making salsa, though salsa a very 'personal' dish, no one likes it the same way. :)
 
Well what I'm gonna say isn't that different from what everyone else before me has said.

1. Moderation of junk food. You're going to have to accept that you're not perfect and it will be impossible to completely cut them out of your diet. Take the Cookie Monster's advice and treat them as a "sometimes food": when given a choice, you should go for what's best for your body. But you should allow yourself to have a treat sometimes or when you don't really have other options.
2. Alternatives. You can stay a lot healthier just by looking for lower fat alternative ingredients and meals for yourself. Instead of having a burger, make yourself a sandwich with wholemeal bread and salad. Even by just limiting your grocery store purchases to lower-fat variants you can keep the same taste but a lot better for you.
 
Soy Milk. Soy Milk everywhere. Buy the plain egg whites that come in a carton.

Also, I discovered the joy of just drinking Perrier in lieu of soda. By only drinking water for a couple weeks, I've lost six pounds. It isn't a lot, but it's solely because I cut out soda.

Also, fruits. Just eat lots of fruit. And onions. Onions are good for your eyes.
 
I'd say one of the big things that hasn't been mentioned here is to basically avoid soda entirely. That's really key to being overall "healthy." Although if you have heart problems, you're probably looking to cut things like sodium and cholesterol from your diet--so avoid salty stuff and eggs, etc. And a good thing to do in a situation like that is talk to your doctor, because there may be specific dietary recommendations for you. But giving up soda and other sugary drinks (natural juice is okay, something like Snapple really isn't) is extremely helpful. There's just tons of bad stuff in it that you don't need. Stick to coffee, tea, water, and fruit juices.
 
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