healthy eating please help

I've had the same problem but once I made an effort tofollow the food pyramid religiously I felt a lot better and I started pooping regularly (sorry for being graphic)

you need to get on a program...how old are you? where do you live?

You got a pm hun

if you could find that book 'YOU: on a diet' by Dr. Mehmet Oz, it is really just a basic way to eat.

It is more a way of how we should be eating and living, not so much a diet, it emphasizes a ton of veggies and fruits. Also mainstreaming breakfast, lunch and snacks, so there isn't much thought to those and then planning dinnners. Making sure we get Omega 3's in our diet, (that is easy eat raw nuts like walnuts or almonds)

you can even go to realage.com. they will ask you a ton of questions to get your bodies 'age' and then you can look at a food plan as well.

i am in the same boat. my problem is that i am a picky eater and i'm not really a fan of most veggies (though i like fruit)... i try the healthy alternatives but stuff like whole wheat bread does not taste nearly as good to me as white. i will eat iceberg lettuce but the healthy dark green lettuce tastes bitter to me.
i have lost weight due to eating less, but i wish i could eat healthier...I'm just too damn picky.
off topic, but i didn't know you live in Bath Lorna...I have been there twice and I love that place, gorgeous city to live in

I am the world's biggest junk food addict. My housemate makes fun on my grocery shopping since everything I buy is loaded with sugar or carbs. She calls my trips "kid in a candy shop visits."

I like salads OK but I HATE dressing of any type or vinegrette. I will only allow cheese, real bleu cheese, or cottage cheese. I love fruits and smoothies (loaded with TONS of sugar and sub yogurt with ice cream).

And carbs are my dream. Mashed potatoes, stufe dpotatoes, pasta, breads, foccacia, pizza, sushi rolls (with the rice although I eat sashimi too), noodles *DROOL*

Lorna--I keep meaning to visit Bath...But there was a shooting and my coach was delayed by 3-4 hours. You must show me around next time I go =)

Before you do anything here, ask your doctor if its ok. I cant see a problem at all, but if you are on medication for example, he may want to know what I am reccamending you before you try any supplements ect.

Ok Lorna , here goes. I am posting this here in case others can benifit from it. According to what goals you told me and what you eat, heres what I would reccamend..

#1 Your first problem is your eating times. If they are always constantly varying your times, your body cant keep up. For example, have you ever woundered why your stomach makes groaning noises if you havent eaten by a certain time? Its because it has released stomach acid and begun digestion, but there is no food in your stomach. So if you then eat late ( after digestion has already begun) it doesnt do as good of a job and that hampers how much nutrients you will get out of your food.

#2 You MUST eat breakfast. If you dont, your body goes into " starvation mode" Basicly any meal you eat later ( especially ones with carbs) will become stored as water retention and mostly fat. Because your body beleives that its undergoing a " fast" , it thinks it wont eat again for along time so it doesnt use much of what you ate as energy, it just stores it. And this means much less energy for you.

#3 Your meals need to be divided evenly throughout the day. From what you told me you eat roughly 2 meals a day ( excluding snacks). And only dinner is a big one.Try and aim for 5-6 small meals a day encluding snacks. Doing this will allow for better absorbtion of nutrients, and your energy level because you will always have some food in your stomach. Your snacking isnt bad at all, and you dont drink pop. Likewise your smoothies are really good for you.

#4 You need to take a multivatimin as well as calcium and glucosamine sulphate ( due to your lactose intolerence). Your illness as well as the fact that you cant move around much takes a toll on your joints and bones. And being a female you need extra calcium anyways. Glucosamine helps with rebuilding and lubricating your joints, therefore making them more flexable.
Also taking extra silica ( which is found in brazil nuts and other foods) will help you to absorb the calcium and prevent it from being store in your joints ( thanks poorpoohbaby )

#5 I would also reccamend upping your vegitables, or taking a powdered vegitable supplement. Low fiber intake can help cause massive losses in energy, as well as lower how much nutrients you absorb through your GI tract. Also zapping your energy levels.

As far as meals go, let me know what your favourite foods are and I can write you up some things you may like.

wow cutup - you are quite a guy! thank you for those tips even though they're really for lorna - but i'm gonna try some myself - like taking some glucosamine (every morning my joints - especially my shoulders - kill me until i pop them). and the 5-6 small meals i'm gonna try too.

No worries, your more then welcome.

And please dont pop your shoulders.

Im guessing you had an injury that didnt heal properly or you need your back aligned by a chiropractor. Popping them grinds your cartilige/bones down and can damage your ligimants. Working them out lightly with a stability ball or at the gym will help you immensly with the pain by giving them strength and building up the muscle/ligaments around them so it doesnt happen anymore.

Glucosmaine will take roughly 2-3 months to notice a major difference, but the difference will be HUGE. I broke my wrist as a child and had shoulder problems. When I first started working out I could barely lift anything with my shoulders at all. After taking glusoamine for 3 months ( I still take it) I cant feel any pain and my strength in my shoulder is huge.

Be sure to just get plain glocosamine sulphate and dont mix it with anything. They try and sell it with Chrondrotin and shark cartilige, but that other garbage had never really been proven to be that effective. Take it in the morning and at night before bed. Its a natural mineral supplement so you can find it in any health food store.

Also with the meals thing, if you limit your carbs to striclty unprocessed carbs ( brown rice, whole grains ect) you will do much better with energy levels and fat loss. White carbs and processed/bleached rice are whats called high glycemic carbs.

They release their engery almost immidiatly, and anything extra thats not being used gets stored as fat and water retention. These carbs also spike insulin levels and drop them sharply adding to fat gain.

Brown rice and the like dont do that because they are low glycemic carbs.They are releaed over a much longer period of time, therfore not spiking insulin and giving the body much more time to absorb the nutrients and sugars they give off. Thereby making you feel fuller longer ( you wont eat as much) and not adding to excess weight gain...

i was in a car accident about 13 years ago where my head went through the windshield and ever since then i do get neck pain - about once a month i get a stiff neck. i wonder if that has anything to do with the shoulder pain. i'll try not to pop them anymore - i promise

and THANK YOU so much for all of your tips! i'm definitely gonna try them! maybe one day i'll look like your smoking hot girlfriend!!

MISSPOOKIE will luv you for that, that was sweet of you....

You probably need to strengthen your shoulders.

Check out bodybuilding.com for some videos on shoulder workouts and proper form ect. You can do them at home for like 10 mintues 3 times a week, and it will have a huge impact on how your shoulders feel. And the glucosamine will do a world of difference.

Your neck/back/shoulders all have connection points related to your back. If you injured your back, or if it wasnt properly aligned/fixed it could be the cause of your neck problems and it could be adding to your shoulder problems.

When the body notices its injured, it uses other muscles to compensate for the injury and take weight off of the affected area. Like when you hurt your knee or leg you limp and put more pressure on your good leg to compensate. If you do that for too long ( in the case of a injured back or neck that wasnt treated) the other side you where compensating for heals improperly, and that throws what used to be the good side out of whack as well.


I would go to a chiropractor maybe once a month for a few months. They will try and tell you to come weekly but its bs.

^ Hey Cutup, just wondering ...
do you do this fitness thing as a living? or is it just a hobbie?

Just as a hobby Mike

I was a scrawny kid always getting my @$$ kicked in grade school,and that made me study all health/fitness related issues with a vengence over the last 8 years or so.

Cutup- I have a question for you. Sorry for hijacking this thread!! I'll make this short & sweet. I'm on a women's over 30 Soccer team. One women drinks a lot of Mountain Dew before a game or practice. She seems to have tons of energy. Is it a good idea?? THANKS SO MUCH!!

I'll take a shot at this one if you don't mind

Well the first two things that come to my mind when I hear Mountain Dew is ..

Caffeine
and
Sugar

#1. Caffeine- Helps some people be less tired? I also heard that it helps give them more endurance. Downsides? It makes you have to pee more often and it can give some people the jitters.

#2. Sugar- It can give you the energy needed for a short duration ... but then you'll have an insulin crash and your body won't be working efficiently.

As for whether or not it is a good idea ...? I think it really depends on the person.

^^ More than a cup of coffee or MD does give me the jitters like crazy. Which is why I don't do it. But I would love to be able to run and run like that. Thanks Mike!!

Nicely put Mike, spot on.

She has all that extra energy because she consumed massive amounts of fast acting carbs. And the carbs when in liquid form get absorbed faster. Its not the healthiest thing in the world to drink, and the crash she has afterwards is going to be huge.

Gatorade/Powerade has simple carbs as well for energy, and some sodium for the salt that you loose from your sweat.

If you can find a drink called E-Load, use that. All natural lemon flavour, minerals, and carbs. Much less sweet then the other brands of power drinks and better for you then Gatorade ect. It comes in a powder and you just mix a scoop with a glass of water.

And if you want to have added energy, consume some long acting carb laden meals before you go out to play. Preferably 2-3 hours before. Something like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and whole grain breads are good at putting out constant energy and limiting the insulin spikes.