The Diet/Self-Improvement Thread

[EtherealJane]

I just wanted to bump up this thread! I've read the whole thing from the beginning now, and it's really inspiring. I don't really need to lose weight, but heart disease and being overweight runs in my family. I like where I am now, at 24, but I don't want to gain weight and have to lose it later in life. When it was in college it was easy, because the good choices were right in front of me. But now, when I have to cook for myself and find the time to exercise, it's a lot harder!

I've got a pilates DVD and an elliptical machine and home. I'm trying to work out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays where I do at least 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of my pilates DVD. It's made a big difference in how I feel and it's starting to make a big difference in how I look, I think.

Do any of you have some favorite healthy recipes? I think I have a hard time being inventive and coming up with new things to eat.

I'll share a fun trick I've learned. I LOVE popcorn, but the microwave stuff is so bad for you! However, you can make your very own, much healthier (and tastier, imo) just as easily. Just get some brown paper lunch bags, and pour the popcorn seeds into the bottom of the bag. You can put them in without any oil, but I usually use a little bit of olive (I think it tastes better). Just fold the top of the bag over and put a little piece of tape on the top (but don't tape it all the way shut). Put it upright in the microwave, and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or until you count 2 seconds between pops. It turns out perfectly every time! Sometimes I melt a little bit of smart butter and put some parmesan cheese on the popcorn, and it tastes so good!

[sewwies]

I'll share a fun trick I've learned. I LOVE popcorn, but the microwave stuff is so bad for you! However, you can make your very own, much healthier (and tastier, imo) just as easily. Just get some brown paper lunch bags, and pour the popcorn seeds into the bottom of the bag. You can put them in without any oil, but I usually use a little bit of olive (I think it tastes better). Just fold the top of the bag over and put a little piece of tape on the top (but don't tape it all the way shut). Put it upright in the microwave, and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or until you count 2 seconds between pops. It turns out perfectly every time! Sometimes I melt a little bit of smart butter and put some parmesan cheese on the popcorn, and it tastes so good!

Ooo I used to make my own pop corn, must get back on that! I managed to lose a stone and a half in my last push, but I've had to cancel my gym and with uni work and winter I've put on a few pounds the last couple of months, reeeeaaallly need to get back to being good! It's just so wet and miserable over here its hard to get motivated!

[sewwies]

And healthy recipes - quorn bolognaise! Fry an onion, a carrot (just to get a bit more veggie!) and some garlic, then some quourn, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some puree, a bit of honey or ketchup if its a bit too sharp, some herbs, and a bit of brown pasta. And its great to microwave in work for lunch the next day too!

[zeebs]

I'll share a fun trick I've learned. I LOVE popcorn, but the microwave stuff is so bad for you! However, you can make your very own, much healthier (and tastier, imo) just as easily. Just get some brown paper lunch bags, and pour the popcorn seeds into the bottom of the bag. You can put them in without any oil, but I usually use a little bit of olive (I think it tastes better). Just fold the top of the bag over and put a little piece of tape on the top (but don't tape it all the way shut). Put it upright in the microwave, and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or until you count 2 seconds between pops. It turns out perfectly every time! Sometimes I melt a little bit of smart butter and put some parmesan cheese on the popcorn, and it tastes so good!

Ooo I used to make my own pop corn, must get back on that! I managed to lose a stone and a half in my last push, but I've had to cancel my gym and with uni work and winter I've put on a few pounds the last couple of months, reeeeaaallly need to get back to being good! It's just so wet and miserable over here its hard to get motivated!

I just found out that popcorn has tons of polyphenols in it! Which means it's super healthy! So it's pretty much the perfect snack food.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 73779.html

[EtherealJane]

I just found out that popcorn has tons of polyphenols in it! Which means it's super healthy! So it's pretty much the perfect snack food.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 73779.html

At first when I read "polyphenols" I got really nervous. Like, "oh no, don't tell me my favorite snack is bad for me!" Thank goodness you had good things to say Thanks for the link, that was a good read!

What do you all like to eat for breakfast? I am finding that that's my hardest meal of the day to eat truly healthy. I'd generally do better with a protein type of breakfast, because it keeps me fuller for longer. I like to do 2 scrambled egg whites with a bit of cheese on top. However, this isn't always practical as I'm flying out the door in the morning. Is there such a thing as a healthy breakfast to go?

[egerandi]

What do you all like to eat for breakfast? I am finding that that's my hardest meal of the day to eat truly healthy. I'd generally do better with a protein type of breakfast, because it keeps me fuller for longer. I like to do 2 scrambled egg whites with a bit of cheese on top. However, this isn't always practical as I'm flying out the door in the morning. Is there such a thing as a healthy breakfast to go?

I make my own protein bars based on Alton Brown's recipe, using different fruits and nuts to change it up (and sometimes chocolate, hehe): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... index.html

Other times I just grab some almonds and prunes before I head to the office (15 min walk) and eat real breakfast when I get there. I found this great high-protein and low-carb hot cereal mix recipe online:

1 cup flax seed meal (ground flax seeds, regular or golden)
1 cup protein powder (I use powdered egg whites, but that's just what I prefer)
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup raw almonds, coarsely ground
1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds, coarsely ground
Directions
- Combine all ingredients.
- To prepare one serving, simply place 1/4 cup of the mix in a very tall, microwavable bowl, or use a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Add 1/2 cup of water (you may substitute part of the water for sugar-free syrup like Agave nectar, in any flavor desired).
- Bring to a boil, stirring, and continue to boil and stir / or in micro, cook 2 mins, stir and cook 1 more minute or less if needed

I add different dry fruits at the time of cooking. If you're using egg white powder, you may find that it cooks funny, but a bit of stirring helps that. The nutritional analysis with the base recipe indicates 7g carbs, 4g fiber, 9g protein, 10g fat, 150 calories per serving, and the above mix makes about 14 servings. Keep the mix in fridge in an airtight container.

I also cook up a big batch of oat groats (steel cut oats are fine too):1 cup oats, half a cup of flaxseed and half a cup of egg white powder and 5 cups of water in a slow cooker (spray with oil beforehand), for 3-5 hrs on high, stirring from time to time. I keep this in a big container in the fridge and scoop out to heat up with some milk and dried fruits and nuts. Sorry, I don't have the nutritional values for this, but whole oats are way better than those little flat ones, and this way you don't have to watch the pot for 40 mins to make breakfast I add the extra stuff to the oats for more protein and omega 3, but you can leave those out, and perhaps reduce to 4 cups of water and check on it while cooking.

[egerandi]

When it comes to dieting, I can totally dismiss the sirens of sweets, but I crumble when I see something salty, be it chips, pretzels, etc. I think I finally found something to alleviate that: seaweed! I bought a big bag of prepackaged flavored seaweed pieces at the local Japanese market, and whenever I crave something salty, I just crack open a baggy. Or 4.

Popcorn is also a good alternative, thanks for reminding me about the brown bags!

[Rhys]

It may be a middle eastern thing (actually, it is a middle eastern thing), but i love garlic yoghurt. Get the full-fat kind - low-fat yoghurt is filled with sugar to make up for the lack of fat, and dairy fat isn't bad for you - too much sugar is more likely to make you gain weight - I have to be careful of it because I'm diabetic, but when you start reading low-fat labels it can get downright scary - sugar is almost always what they substitute, at least here.

You can make it the night before - take about a cup of yoghurt and one or two chopped up garlic cloves, mix together, and refrigerate. Tastes GREAT. I'm not joking. If it sounds too much for breakfast, try it as a side dish at supper. Besides - it wards off germs - and vampires

If that weirds you out too much, both blueberries and strawberries are really good for you, and you could even mix in some thawed ones with yoghurt if you don't have fresh fruit available.

I like eggy breakfasts, too - I like to throw in some mushrooms and green onion with scrambled egg.

[zeebs]

Does anybody else stream exercise videos from their Netflix account? Which videos are good? In the winter here it's COLD so going to the gym is sometimes not very appealing. I am really out of shape and looking for good beginner videos.

[Ghost]

Hi everyone

Okay I have posted in a while and I've had two weigh in's

29th Oct (after b.day) gained 2lbs
18th Nov - lost 3.5kg - 7lb, half a stone. (Homer simpson moment) woohoo

I'm sooo happy right now, but my thanks should go to my new weigh lost classes I started last week. I gained a lot of weight over xmas last year and I don't want to do that again this year. It's Rosemary Conley weight lost classes and I'll be going every wed for weigh in, group talk and 45 mins of exercise. For my first week I'm following Rosemary conley GI hip and thigh diet (it does sound faddy but it's not). I eat more healthly now then I ever did before and more varied.

I did learn something interesting last week so here is some food for thought: If you eat a chocolate bar everyday, over a year you've just gained 2 and half stone (I think that's about 16kg). I was quite (but shouldn't be) surprised!!