Healthy Eating/Supplements/ETC

Since we had a "what shit do you eat" thread, I figured why not. Do you eat healthy? If so, what does your diet consist of?

Also, I was going to send AJ a msg on Facebook to get his opinion, but I figured I'd throw it here - I've recently started taking a flax seed supplement (ground flax seeds). I know it's supposed to be good for your heart, but I recently read that there was a study that says it can also improve your mental focus (which is the reason I decided to try it out). Anybody take flax seed supplement? Or have any experience with other supplements that would help with mental focus? Or maybe even regular foods that have this effect?

Shit, let's get some experience and info flowing in this thread.

I've ate mainly fruits and veggies for a month now and I've lost 20 pounds. Green beans especially. As for fruit, mainly cantaloupe, honeydew and pineapple.

If I get hungry at night I go for a bowl of Corn Flakes (which I've never ate before now, and are fucking delicious).

No soda.

When I was in NYC I kinda let myself go but for some reason it doesn't seem to have affect my weight very much.

It was difficult at first, but a lot of temptation and desire has been cut. I guess the body gets used to it after a while.

I take a men's One a day supplement and fish oil pill every day.

Aside from a general healthy diet (I've stopped eating most fried foods, added a lot of fruits and veggies, much less red meat) I also take a suppliment before ( hydrate , vitamin boost) and after (whey protein) I work out. I Usually drink coconut water while I am working out for hydration (much better for you than Gatorade).

I make sure there are a few cheat days per month (no more than 3 total meals) otherwise I would go batshit insane.

My normal walking around weight is a fairly solid 180lbs. After my last injury in July I ballooned to 230. I'm back down to about 215lbs since going back on my diet in October.

Also i took almost all of the soda out of my diet (I probably go through a single 2L bottle of diet Pepsi or Pepsi one in about a month. The soda is reserved for cheat days).

papaya is pretty good for you.. I have some every morning blended with water, strawberries, blueberries, banana, ground flax seed and hemp seed protein.

To the OP: I would strongly recommend that you remove yourself from the supplement ("the bottle says taking this will do this for me") mindset. Better supplements have their place but it is a small one and it is only necessary when your diet is lacking.


I have been working on my diet for the last 5 years now (it was never shit but it was definitely americanized and needed much improvement to be ideal), learning all that I can from various sources. I have worked toward eliminating processed foods, beverages (soda's & other BS) and I am now working on not just greatly reducing my red meat intake but my meat intake in general. That brings me to the most recent and most signifigant step I am trying to learn more about and impliment into my life.

Before I delve into that this is what would constitute a healthy diet:

- A balanced diet consisting of mixture of fresh natural, organic and local whole foods that is primarily vegetable based with sufficient fruits, grains & legumes (nuts) for a diet nutrient dense & packed with fiber. Plenty of filtered/purified water and other healthy liquids. Low sudiom and VERY low suger. VERY LITTLE IF ANY MEAT &/OR DAIRY PRODUCTS (ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN GENERAL)

Here are some bullet points:

- Fresh is a key word: the longer the food sits and the closer to spoilong it gets the less of it's original nutritional value it has.

- Fruits are great and vital but they come in second when compared to vegitables due to the high amount of natural sugars that they tend to have.


Be back with more, I have to step away from the PC.

If you're truly eating healthy, it can easily be by far the biggest monthly expense you'll tackle.

Contrary to my rep, I'm actually quite the health nut when it comes to my diet. To the point I spend about $250* a week on food.


That's $1000 a month to eat healthy. In contrast my house payments are only $565, which is my 2nd largest bill.

*edit : that's also me looking bargins and going cheap on health food. My old lady is a bigger health nut than me and she's also a vegaterian. On average she spends $300+ weekly just to eat.

Abasuto said:

If you're truly eating healthy, it can easily be by far the biggest monthly expense you'll tackle.
Contrary to my rep, I'm actually quite the health nut when it comes to my diet. To the point I spend about $250* a week on food. That's $1000 a month to eat healthy

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Aba, what the fuck are you buying, pom wonderful with gold flakes in it by the gallon?

I take supplements, try to have fruit and vegetables regularly, plenty of meat and grains and the very seldom piece of junk food...

Orpheus said:

Aba, what the fuck are you buying, pom wonderful with gold flakes in it by the gallon?

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(when employed) specialty foods is the industry that i work in. shits designed to get every dollar you got. need less cruel cold cuts? bam! $3/lb surcharge for being organic. food costs have gone up significantly and steadily over the last 10 years. profits are down across the board and that means higher prices and fewer deals.

eating healthy is a finiancial killer.

Abasuto said:

If you're truly eating healthy, it can easily be by far the biggest monthly expense you'll tackle.

Contrary to my rep, I'm actually quite the health nut when it comes to my diet. To the point I spend about $250* a week on food.


That's $1000 a month to eat healthy. In contrast my house payments are only $565, which is my 2nd largest bill.

*edit : that's also me looking bargins and going cheap on health food. My old lady is a bigger health nut than me and she's also a vegaterian. On average she spends $300+ weekly just to eat.

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Wow.
I don't even spend 250 a month on groceries.
Maybe if combined with me eating out it would be around that.
What's on your menu abs.

We started adding a liitle bit of flax seed oil to homemade fruit and yogurt smoothies because my son has been constipated lately and it is supposed to act as a nutural stool softener, as well as having other nutritional benefits.

Cleared me right out.

Orpheus said:

To the OP: I would strongly recommend that you remove yourself from the supplement ("the bottle says taking this will do this for me") mindset. Better supplements have their place but it is a small one and it is only necessary when your diet is lacking.

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I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not talking about stuff like Hydroxycut. I'm talking about stuff like fish oil caplets. If I can't read/understand the ingredients in a supplement, I don't take it. I really only take 3 supplements - a multivitamin (for obvious reasons), fish oil caplets (because I don't like eating fish and want the healthy omega-3), and flax seeds. Right now I turned my canister of flax seeds over and it says "ingredient: cold-milled flax seeds."

Still, right now I'm pretty big on researching stuff that helps with memory, mental focusing, and the like. I've read articles that says flax seeds (in addition to being heart-healthy) can aid in mental focus, so I'm trying it. There's also studies out there that say dark chocolate (real dark chocolate) helps with this, too. I spend a lot of time studying and I'm open to try anything that doesn't involve Red Bull or caffeine tablets.

That said, this wasn't a thread asking what a healthy diet is. It was intended to be more of a "what's your healthy diet" and get people's input on foods and how it affects them in their day to day lives.

BobbyPeru said:

We started adding a liitle bit of flax seed oil to homemade fruit and yogurt smoothies because my son has been constipated lately and it is supposed to act as a nutural stool softener, as well as having other nutritional benefits.

Cleared me right out.

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I've noticed that I've been shitting my brains out lately. Like, 2-3 times a day. Not just little pellets, either, but regular-sized deuces.

Soilwork said:

I think you're misunderstanding me.

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No, I wasn't. What I was referring to was actually herbal & nutrient (vitamin E, etc) suppliments. When you read those claimed effects on these supplements I would take them lightly, that's all that I am getting at. Say you are the type of person that is high strung naturally and you have a stressful job, some flax seed ain't gonna do much of jack shit for you. You may want to do some yoga, massage, or accupressure/puncture along with that supplement as opposed to relying on the supplement itself.

Soilwork said:

That said, this wasn't a thread asking what a healthy diet is. It was intended to be more of a "what's your healthy diet" and get people's input on foods and how it affects them in their day to day lives.

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Your OP was a bit broader than that. and as stated in my first post i'm not done yet. I touched on my diet and will add specifics but god forbid I outline some bedrock principals of a nutritious diet. Perhaps you took my post a bit too personally.

Soilwork said:

I've noticed that I've been shitting my brains out lately. Like, 2-3 times a day. Not just little pellets, either, but regular-sized deuces.

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If you are being serious then that's normal. People are supposed to drop chow 2 to 3 times a day (regulation sized dookies like you stated), Taking a shit once every two days like many, if not most, americans out there is not normal. It means that you are eating to much garbage and not getting enough fiber.

Roughly once a day for me... Hmm, maybe I need more fibre...

Well at least brown rice is a good start, that stuff is delicious and isn't the food equivalent of Styrofoam (white rice).

Orpheus said:

No, I wasn't. What I was referring to was actually herbal & nutrient (vitamin E, etc) suppliments. When you read those claimed effects on these supplements I would take them lightly, that's all that I am getting at. Say you are the type of person that is high strung naturally and you have a stressful job, some flax seed ain't gonna do much of jack shit for you. You may want to do some yoga, massage, or accupressure/puncture along with that supplement as opposed to relying on the supplement itself.

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I'm not taking them any other way than lightly. I completely understand that food and nutrients affect everybody differently as well - that's why I was asking for people's experience with everything they've tried. A few people may say "I tried 'x thing' and noticed it helped me 'this way'" and another may say they didn't get anything out of it. I'm not looking for flax seeds to cure or fix anything. I merely stated that I was trying to see if I found any difference when it came to studying/concentrating when taking them.

Orpheus said:

Your OP was a bit broader than that. and as stated in my first post i'm not done yet. I touched on my diet and will add specifics but god forbid I outline some bedrock principals of a nutritious diet. Perhaps you took my post a bit too personally.

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I didn't take your post personally, but it's very apparent you took mine that way. When I said "let's get some experience and info flowing" I didn't exactly mean stuff like "try to eat fresh and make sure to eat vegetables." While I appreciate the intent behind it, like you said, my "OP was a bit broader than that." That said, I do appreciate you going into your diet and how it's affected you and your life. I'm also looking forward to what else you have to say.

Orpheus said:

If you are being serious then that's normal. People are supposed to drop chow 2 to 3 times a day (regulation sized dookies like you stated), Taking a shit once every two days like many, if not most, americans out there is not normal. It means that you are eating to much garbage and not getting enough fiber.

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While I'm certainly no shit expert, I always believed the rule was once a day for regular people. 2-3 times a day seems excessive, at least in my life, but it's not like they're liquid/odd colors/abnormal amounts. Normally, I've been a once a day guy and it was always in the morning after I woke up. Now I'm getting it in the morning, then in the afternoon, and now in the evenings/nights. In fact, I think I have to press a loaf right now.

That may be a little too much info to share on ng.com, but now you all read it and can't unknow it.

drink water, lots of it.

I drink at least 2 litres of water per day and often more, I tend to eat very little meat as my partner is a vegetarian and I absolutely love vegetables. Theres VERY little I will not eat and enjoy and if I haven't eaten it before I will make it my duty to try so eating differently isn't hard for me at all. I love meat but as an everyday thing? fuck that, too heavy. I keep my portion sizes relatively small and if I eat a large portion I reduce the portion of my latter meal to compensate although hey I love eating so that doesn't always happen . I eat very little junk food and pretty much stay away from fast food unless I have to but hey I'm no saint. Theres no point to a 'diet' as it implies a temporary change of habit, I make lifestyle changes, they stick.
I don't make it my duty to take supplements or to eat certain things. I just eat reasonably and in moderation. I work as a factory cleaner/maintenance guy and get my 10,000 steps a day easy with hard labour thrown in the mix. I figured why workout and work? make your work a workout. I find that not only have I lost fat but gained muscle as well. Something sitting on your ass in an office does not do.

I suppose the only thing that I do eat on a daily basis is a 180g can of tuna 5 days a week as part of my lunch at work. Tuna is full of Omega 3 oils and a few others but this isn't why I eat it, I love the taste. I do feel somewhat 'brighter' after eating it though. Could be a placebo but I can't see the negative here.

Everything in moderation for me. I eat fruits and veggies at home, eat salad with basalmic vinegar, and when I go out to eat, I try to get just a mcchicken and side salad. I do drink lots of soda and eat out at fast food often though, but I try to balance it out when I make stuff at home.

i do flax in capsule form as well as plenty in its natural seed form (lot of my breads are flax-heavy)

didn't know about the mental benefits of it though until you mentioned it here

i supplement ginkgo biloba for memory/concentration but i've read conflicting reports about the validity of its claimed benefits

i do dark chocolate as well (75% or higher cacao) and i've definitely noticed myself in a better overall mood since consuming it regularly but i haven't noticed anything related to memory/concentration (being stoned a lot doesn't help there though...)

not sure what else can be good for memory/concentration

if anything that's an area where i'd think that mental training exercisse would be far more beneficial than herbal supplementation/food consumption

i'll talk to the Whole Body people next time i'm at work and see if they have anything that might help supplement-wise

also: love this thread

I do flax seed since it's omega 3 rich without being animal sourced.

I was told to watch Fork over Knives, which is a documentary about eating habits leading to the problems many people face today. I'm a firm believer in diet being able to prevent disease. In fact, I would go as far as to say that contemporary food production is spreading diseases like cancer (diabetes being already widely accepted).

Agent Sands said:

In fact, I would go as far as to say that contemporary food production is spreading diseases like cancer (diabetes being already widely accepted).

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i subscribe to that line of thought as well

and i think that anyone who is paying attention does too

Average Joe said:

i do flax in capsule form as well as plenty in its natural seed form (lot of my breads are flax-heavy)

didn't know about the mental benefits of it though until you mentioned it here

i supplement ginkgo biloba for memory/concentration but i've read conflicting reports about the validity of its claimed benefits

i do dark chocolate as well (75% or higher cacao) and i've definitely noticed myself in a better overall mood since consuming it regularly but i haven't noticed anything related to memory/concentration (being stoned a lot doesn't help there though...)

not sure what else can be good for memory/concentration

if anything that's an area where i'd think that mental training exercisse would be far more beneficial than herbal supplementation/food consumption

i'll talk to the Whole Body people next time i'm at work and see if they have anything that might help supplement-wise

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You rock. I got the memory/mental focus from an article that referenced a study with these claims. I know for every study out there, there's another that disproves it, but that's just life. A quick Google search turned up some stuff, but then I came across somebody saying it makes them feel "foggy" when it comes to concentration. So you never know. I'll check out ginkgo biloba and do some research on it (which I also want to clarify, because I didn't above - I don't read bottle claims and get a hard-on to try them. I do pretty thorough research with medical studies and cross-reference them with personal claims, and even then go in with no expectations.)

But, yeah, if you do happen to talk to your people I'd be glad to hear what they have to say. I appreciate it.

Started dieting after like a year without eating properly and 2 months without weight training after 11 years of non-stop training

Started dieting on Monday. I will diet up until the summer. Diet consists of

Carbohydrates

1) Rice
2) Brown pasta
3) Oats

Protein

1) Chicken breasts
2) Lean Beef (occasionally)
3) Tuna
4) Pork
5) Whole eggs

Fats

1) Organic peanut butter (small doses)
2) A bit of virgin olive oil on my salads

Supplements

1) Whey protein powders (whey isolate and whey concentrate)
2) Creatine
3) Glutamine
4) Beta-Alanine
5) L-Tyrosine
6) Udo's Choice ultimate oil blend (best omega 3-6-9 fatty acids out there!)
7) Vitamin C
8) Vitamin B

and 4 times training per week (2 upper body wrkouts, 2 lower body) NO cardio since it flats me out. I only need to diet properly for 6 months :P

No sweets or sugar whatsoever (I use sweeteners - stevia in particular)

No canned drinks, only carbonated water. No sauces on foods, only some mustard which doesnt contain sugar