How do YOU personally define "healthy food" and "eating healthy"?

[Prof_Don]

Please state how you personally define both quoted terms...b/c frankly someone aiming to lose weight may not 100% understand what these terms mean.

Thx for your input, everyone.

I know this ? will help someone. :)

[toulouse]

Well, for me 'healthy' means quality AND quantity.

good nutrition, also means proper amount. not too much, not too little.

I think knowing what is healthy is so,what quicker to learn, then knowing how much is healthy, for your particular body.

Vegetables are the main source of calories. all vegetable are healthy, when raw. once you add salt, oil, for cooking, you can take something highly nutritous and turn it into junk.,

EX. "i just ate a really healthy salad for lunch. it had 15 diff kinds of vegetables & really good quality cheese, & nice simple dressing". if it has 10 ounces of high quality cheese & a half cup of good simple dressing, its a nutritional mess.

No space, to go into detail, but generally speaking, vegetables are good for anything from meat substitute to dessert.

Fruits are nutritious, but unless you are calorically deficient, or doing really intensive work outside in the heat, & need to replenish potassium, quickly-honey & cantalope melon is good for that- you don't ned a tremendous amount. they are like vegetables, but higher in sugar & lower in nutrition & completely lacking in protien, so vegetables are superior.

Sugar, is never necessary & often stressful on the endocrine system. Were not made to eat concentrated sources of sugar. Sugar organic Sugar, Brown Sugar, Fructose, Guava, Sucrose. doesn't matter--All Sugar.

Stevia, for smoothies, Steamers, baking, Tea..

Meat. White skinless turkey or chicken, is healthiest & easiest to come by, a few ounces in one meal provides you with plenty of protien. its important not to skimp on veg when eating meat because its pure protien,m which is dehydrating & ull want to replenish vitamins minerals & water, for maximum use.

Important not to skimp on protien, especially if your not eating as much as usual. protien needs remain the same, whereas carbs & fats can be reduced.

Fats are important, for healthy skin, nerve endings ,organ function, energy but we don't need much extra in our daily diet, as like woth crabs, we can store it.

Safflower, olive, sunflower oil. not fried, if cooked, cook at low temps. avoid butter or margarine, as its high in saturated fats, f which you should have no more than ten grams-one tablsepoon. , but don't 'need' any.

Add a bit to salads, or stir fry or lightly coat if you are baking vegetables.

(Whole) Grains are a good source of energy & have some protien & b vitamins. just don't eat more grains than vegetables.

if you eat meat you don't ned to worry about b 12, but if you don't ull need to take a suppliment. you can get it from a few veg sources-like seaweed, but its not absorbed as efficiently. b 12 is essential for healthy nerve function & a depletion, leads to neuropathy & pernicious anemia.

Dairy is a good source of protien potassium, magnesum, phosphorus, but can be a very good source of sarturated fat. Get 2% or less.

[toulouse]

Soy. Can be good, but is unhealthy in copious amounts. Also, a lot of soy products have huge amounts of salt & additives that your better off without.

Tofu is a good choice, because its simply soy, with some calcium & magnesium as caking agent. Tempeh is good as well. its got a tougher consistency for replacing meat.

Textured veg protien is a good choice for chiles, casseroles, meatballs etc,.

hmm do watch salt intake, its a bit of an extra stress on kidneys etc.

[toulouse]

you can use potassium chloride-usually called no alt, or saltless etc. which is not accurate, its just not sodium, its still salt. but its salty tasting & is healthier for your heart organs & nerve function.,

u can't store potassium the way you can store salt. it gets saturated in the tissues & can cause health problems.

also if you are eating less , adding a bit of potassium, can help keep you from feeling sluggish, as it does get depleted, with water loss, which you have when there is weight loss.

[toulouse]

idk if you want to lose weight, or just eat healthier .

good to just watch what you eat for a week or so, write it down.

once you have a base, you can exchange healthier foods, for same amount & or reduce amount& change foods, but not too quickly.

i eat about 40 % 40% 20%

40-carbs, 50-protien. 40- fats.

but you can work out what's good for u.

cutting down no more than 500 calories a day, is recommended.

use LOTS herbs & spices. they have health benefits, not fully understood& taste GREAT.

[paigems]

Healthy foods: Complex carbs, veggies, fruits, and protein.

Eating healthy: Eating those things...lol.

Ex. Breakfast: bran cereal with milk and eggs

Lunch: Fish, veggies and brown rice

Snack: Fruits or nuts

Dinner: Chicken, veggies, and fruit

That's pretty much how my diet is and I think I "eat healthy." Also, I think splurging a little is part of eating healthy too! Depriving yourself make you feel bad, so treats every now and then are good too :)

[smokahontas]

Healthy foods for me are: white turkey sandwhiches with spinach on whole wheat bread, fish, grains,brown rice,brown sugar, oatmeal, nuts, fruits(grapefruit is really healthy and so is bananas) organic, tomatoes, cream cheese bagels and vegetables. Fast fod and pizza is not healthy. Eating healthy is making sure that you are getting 1,200 calories a day, negative calories is unhealthy for your body.