How can I change to eating healthy?

[KestrelLowing]

It has recently come to my attention that I really need to really apply myself to becoming healthier. I know the basics of what I should do to get more active, but one thing that really has me questioning is how to eat healthy without going on binge cycles.

My goal is to begin exercising again 3 times a week for a half hour and do one active activity per week. I also want to better my eating habits and also lose around 7 lbs or so (10 would be fantastic). I am female, 5'10", 150 lbs and fairly small framed for my height. The main reason I haven't been able to shed those 7 lbs I've put on in the last few years is because I tend to binge eat when I attempt to eat healthy.

Currently, this is a typical day:
Breakfast
Cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats or Frosted Mini Wheats)
Cup of juice (generally blueberry pomagranite)

Snack
Granola bar (nature valley trail mix bars currently)

Lunch
leftovers or sandwich (PB&J or turkey & cheese)
Apple or other fresh fruit
fruit cup
Jello
pudding cup

Snack
Another granola bar

Supper (This varies more than breakfast and lunch, so here's a list of common dinners)
tacos
chicken & pasta (cook chicken in some spices, add pasta, sometimes cream)
Spaghetti w/ homemade meat sauce
Baked potatoes w/cheese etc.
BLTs
Salad with chicken breast
Totillini
Homemade pan pizza
Pasta w/ Parmesan
Eggs + toast
etc.

I usually also try to have a vegetable (typically corn, peas, or broccoli) with dinner. Sometimes at night I'll have a can of pop or some (light) popcorn.

I'm a big believer in 'everything in moderation' but I know I'm not eating nearly enough healthy things for the unhealthy things to be in moderation. So what can I change to make my diet more healthy? I know losing weight is a matter of counting calories, but I think what I eat needs to be healthier overall.

Also, I'm a college student so I can't afford too many 'exotic' foods. I usually live in Michigan, so sometimes fresh food is in short supply (although it's almost farmer's market season!!). I just don't know how to cook healthily!

So what can I change that won't immediately make me want to eat everything in sight?

[Izawwlgood]

I'm sure there are more conscientious eaters around here, but for what it's worth, when I'm less active in the winter, I find it's helpful to have at least some protein with my breakfast, as it curbs my appetite through the beginning of the day, limiting the amount I end scarfing for lunch.

[Ulc]

Currently, this is a typical day:
Breakfast
Cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats or Frosted Mini Wheats)
Cup of juice (generally blueberry pomagranite)

Here is priority 1

What you're basically eating here is pure white sugar. I just looked up honey bunches - it's a rather amazing food actually, since out of 30 gram of it (you probably eat 50-60 g. each morning) contains 25 g. of caborhydrates, for a total of 118 kcal. And all of it in a highly processed easy to digest and take up form. Frosted mini-wheats are even worse (impressive as it is!)

You're not going to feel full from that much longer than half a hour, maybe a hour on the outside.

And juice is nearly as bad, it's worse than soda when it comes to sugar!

Good breakfast things:

Oatmeal (buy unsweetened oats that haven't been roasted in tons of fat and/or sugar)
Eggs (preferably hard oiled rather than fried)
Unsweetened low-fat yoghurt (chop a piece of fruit and throw in and it's delicious - but stay away from sweetened yoghurt)
Maybe a bit of dark all-grain bread, but limit it.
Milk (not the high % of course, personally I can't drink skim milk, but the 0.8% I can get is just perfect)
Vegetables (carrots, bellpeppers and what else you can get)

These are things that will keep you feeling full for longer, and contains less calories - and what it does have is something that you wont absorb almost quicker than you can eat it.

The rest actually looks decent. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get rid of the Jello and pudding for lunch, but it's not as important as changing that breakfast.

Your supper are decent depending on how you make it - fairly high in carbohydrates, but not that bad. When buying things like rice and pasta, see if you can get the all-grain version - helps keeping you full for longer, and honestly, they taste of more as well

[Sandry]

The one thing that I try to think about is not "what do I eat less of?" but "what do I eat more of?"

The answer to the latter question is whole grains and leafy green vegetables, or just vegetables and fruits in general.

Often doing a "how do I eat more fruits?" evaluation will end up with, say, tossing the jello and substituting an orange, or whathaveyou, but I don't make that my goal. The goal is just "eat more fruits and vegetables."

One thing that's awesome is that I've been able to keep a decent supply of fruit at my desk. Now when it's 3 and I'm a bit hungry, but want to make it until I can get home and prepare a responsible dinner, I eat an apple or orange or whatever. It isn't enough to keep me full forever, but it helps my goal and keeps me going until I get home to do something responsible.

[PictureSarah]

Yeah, Honey Bunches of Oats is not even approaching healthy. Whole foods, (eggs, fruit & veggies, etc) are going to be better for you i general, but if you must eat a processed cereal for breakfast, try something like Kashi GoLean or Grape Nuts. Also, eggs and toast can be a great breakfast, and keep you full for longer, but if you want toast, try looking for a sprouted whole wheat bread - more protein, less sugar. Try replacing your pudding cup with something like a low-fat greek yogurt. I think Yoplait makes one with something like 12g of protein. Any pasta you eat should be whole wheat, but replacing pasta with starches that are brown rice, barley, quinoa or even potatoes will be much better for you.

[Nath]

Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason you want to weigh 140lb? 150lb is a reasonable weight for your height -- if anything, a little on the thin side. 140 is fine too, though.

Your diet seems high in starch and sugar, and low in protein and vegetables. I'd lose the cereal, juice and granola bars, and make jello and pudding occasional treats. There's no reason to eliminate pasta, bread and potatoes, but they should usually be accompaniments, rather than the main dish.

Here's one way to get a balanced diet: figure out how much protein you need, add plenty of vegetables, and then fill up the rest of your calorie budget with carbs and fats. If you're exercising productively (i.e. not just walking on a treadmill), you may want up to 1g of protein per lb bodyweight; mostly sedentary people can get by on considerably less. The optimal ratio of carbs to fats varies from person to person, and the research is pretty shaky in any case, so experiment and see what suits you. Starchy foods are filler -- they are nutritionally pretty sparse, so their main purpose is to fill you up and get you some cheap calories. When trying to lose weight, these are the first thing to cut (after sugary crap, of course). Fat gets a bad rap, but really, it's not evil, and you need some to stay in good health. The main problem with it is that it's quite calorie dense.

So a revised meal plan could look something like this:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with milk
or eggs and toast
or unsweetened yogurt with fruit (I like the Greek stuff)

Snack:
Handful of nuts
or fruit
or a bit of cheese

Lunch:
Leftovers
or sandwich with protein (not PB&J)
Fruit or vegetables

Similar snack

Dinner:
Some kind of meat (roasted, pan-fried, stewed, braised; whatever) with non-starchy vegetables and a bit of rice or potatoes or pasta
or occasionally, beans or lentils with rice
rarely, pizza or pasta

[Bakemaster]

I'mma just go ahead and spoiler my running commentary because I see a lot of it has been said already by other people. Keep in mind that as much as you might want to change a bunch of things at once, sometimes we have to trick not just our bodies but our minds as well into forming good habits, and baby steps work best. If I had to identify one thing to be the first issue to tackle it would be cutting out the parts of your diet that are almost entirely sugar; which is to say, the sweet cereals, the jello and pudding cups, and the soda pop. Replace them with fruits, which are nature's candy. Seriously, have you ever contemplated a dried date? It's a fucking piece of candy that grows on a tree. 60% sugars by mass! What the fuck! And yet, they're also roughly 10% fiber and one of the better sources of potassium you can find anywhere. Which is reportedly a big deal. So, even if you're replacing your pudding and soda pop entirely with dried dates, the sweetest tree-candy I'm aware of, you're taking a giant step in a healthy direction. But I guarantee you'll get sick of dates if you have 'em every day, and it's all downhill from there as far as fruits and sugar content. Frozen banana on a stick, anyone?

Spoiler:

Breakfast
Cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats or Frosted Mini Wheats)
Cup of juice (generally blueberry pomagranite)

Go with a lower-sugar cereal than Honey Bunches of Oats and switch to the unfrosted wheats; replace the juice with a piece of whole fruit and a glass of tea, coffee, or water. Or you could just limit yourself to very small servings of juice; doesn't matter the kind, I think they're all about the same as far as calorie density. It's amazing how much actual fruit you can eat to reach the same amount of calories in a cup of juice. One 8 oz glass of OJ (or pretty much any juice) has more calories in it than an entire pint of strawberries, and hardly any of the fiber. Putting berries straight into the unfrosted wheats makes them totally enjoyable for me, though I had to used to it at first. I remember after I left home I got all the cereals my mom never let me have, eventually got sick of them and moved on to exactly the two cereals you mentioned (plus grape nuts). Frosted mini wheats seems like such a good compromise, doesn't it? I still have trouble eating the straight wheats without some fruit to put in, but I stay away from anything frosted.

Also consider a hot breakfast if you've got time. Eggs are good, though if you start adding a couple slices of white toast with butter and jelly you're probably not doing yourself any favors. Simple oatmeal is fantastic, IMO, and very quick. Throw raisins in bowl, generous shake of cinnamon, rolled oats, cover with boiling water, put a plate on top and let it sit a couple minutes. Keeps me full longer than cold cereal, too.

Snack
Granola bar (nature valley trail mix bars currently)

I love those things but I kind of feel guilty for eating them. I think the "sweet and salty" nut ones actually have less sugar, somehow? Can't recall off the top of my head. But if this is the extent of you're snacking, you probably don't need to change much. An apple or a orange would certainly be healthier, but not as filling (which is why I tend to eat 'em both). Since you do morning and afternoon snacks, try replacing one or the other each day with crudité. Bonus points if you insist on calling it "CRUD-ite" in front of company.

Lunch
leftovers or sandwich (PB&J or turkey & cheese)
Apple or other fresh fruit
fruit cup
Jello
pudding cup

Kill the jello and the pudding cups. If you need something fun, I recommend string cheese. Or any kind of cheese, actually. Cheese is awesome. Pairs great with any fruit, too. I have yet to find any combination of fruit and cheese that is less than fully magical. Cheese is our strongest weapon in the war against vegans. (Sorry, vegans; I love you but you know it's true.) Better sandwiches are achieved with heartier bread. Check the ingredients to minimize added sugar and maximize whole grains. Things labeled "multi-grain" sound great but are often not 100% whole grain even if they say they include 12,052 different whole grains, and in my experience tend to have slightly more sugar. My wife insists that lunchmeat is terrible and she's almost certainly right, but it also makes for a really great vegetable delivery system. Plus I get to add pickles and pepperoncini and mustard and tons of other things my wife insists are terrible, but this time she's so very wrong.

Supper (This varies more than breakfast and lunch, so here's a list of common dinners)
tacos
chicken & pasta (cook chicken in some spices, add pasta, sometimes cream)
Spaghetti w/ homemade meat sauce
Baked potatoes w/cheese etc.
BLTs
Salad with chicken breast
Totillini
Homemade pan pizza
Pasta w/ Parmesan
Eggs + toast
etc.

I usually also try to have a vegetable (typically corn, peas, or broccoli) with dinner. Sometimes at night I'll have a can of pop or some (light) popcorn.

Assuming the food is homemade, you're doing pretty well already. Vegetables: Try harder. (I know I should.) Pasta: Eat a little more sauce with a little less noodle? Sometimes we put the sauce over polenta instead of pasta; it's supposedly less processed, it's easy, it's tasty. You can also just put the sauce over steamed broccoli and cauliflower (brussels sprouts for Nightmare difficulty) but as someone who cut his teeth as a cook on pasta recipes I find that kind of unbearable. How about some beans and lentils? Curries or stir fries with brown basmati rice? And don't forget the majesty of a good soup; it doesn't have to be consommé to have consummate vees! Whatever that means. Soup is great because you can throw all manner of healthful shit in there and it tastes like sex. Doogly will back me up on this like you wouldn't believe.

While I'm running all stream-of-consciousness, hey! I just remembered how cottage cheese is actually pretty damn good and works as a breakfast food. Sometimes you can do grape nuts in yogurt instead of a bowl of 'em. As I grew out of my childhood lactose intolerance I found I digested dairy more gracefully when eaten in the morning. But, different strokes.

As an addendum, I realize you are probably looking to lose some weight because you'll feel better about yourself having done it; that being said, it sounds to me like you're at kind of a perfect weight already? But maybe that's just because you're very close to my height and weight, and I am some kind of perfect being. Why do I keep walking the earth, anyway? Three words: soup, dates, cheese. Wait, I lied, also curry. Oh man, I keep thinking of reasons. I'm gonna eat some watermelon. Who knew watermelon was so good for you? They're saying it's crazy awesome now; I thought it was just a mass of pulp with entertaining spit-munitions hidden inside and no other purpose!

[KestrelLowing]

The main reason for losing some weight would to be "Haha! I can do it!" but also, that's the weight I have put on since college (so, not quite the freshman 15 as it's been 3 years and 7-8 lbs, but...). I know my current weight is already right in the 'correct' range, but I have a small frame and small boobs so my weight should tend towards the lower bound. Also, I'd be able to fit a bit better in some of my clothes (once again from high school). At 140 lbs I didn't really look any different than I do now, but it would be nice to not completely squeeze into some of my shorts.

I'm going to tackle breakfast first - partially because I like eggs and a hot breakfast sounds wonderful. Also, oatmeal isn't too bad and quite cheap! I'm also going to change my typical morning snack to a banana (for now, as I have bananas) and I think that will probably be a little less calories than what I'm eating now, but more filling. I'm not going to throw anything out, so this will be a slow transition and hopefully the slow transition will help with the typical binge issues I have.

Thanks for all your suggestions! It'll be a slow, but steady process.

[poxic]

That's a good way to go about it. Try a few things here and there. Stick with the ones you like. Try a few more things. Toss out the ones you don't like or can't make work for you. Small changes that you can stick with are worth way more than short-lived complete overhauls. But I know you know that.

[Bakemaster]

The greener the banana, the more resistant starch and the fewer calories it contains.

I kind of like how many different stages of ripeness bananas have, and how their use changes with each stage. Like, I think they taste best when the tops are still a bit green, for eating alone or putting in PB&B sandwiches (which reminds me, replacing the jam in PB&J with actual slices of literally any fruit is totally legit); when perfectly yellow-ripe, they are for cutting into cereal or fruit salads; when they get evenly spotty, they're perfect for mashing and blending; past that, it's epic bread and cakes time.

[KestrelLowing]

Well, day one of breakfast makeover. I had a 1/4 cup of oatmeal with a little brown sugar and a few raisins (oatmeal's pretty bland! Anyone got better ideas to make it a bit more interesting?) as well as two eggs (scrambled, but without butter and just a little salt). I could definitely tell that the oatmeal was much more filling, even though I technically had half a serving. I actually couldn't eat it all at once and had to make my lunch, get dressed, etc. with oatmeal in between. I ate that about 3 hours ago and about a half hour ago I had an apple. So far that's ~380 calories so not out of line at all. Sadly it's still two hours until lunch

I may start eating eggs at home and taking (a half cup of) oatmeal with me to work. That way I can space out the food intake and maybe not have my stomach complain. I work mostly in a cubicle so that's entirely feasible. Hopefully once I start doing some more exciting things at work, my boredom disguised as hunger will lessen.

Also, strawberries were on sale!

[Nath]

I like to cook my oatmeal in milk instead of water: the lactose makes it sweet, the fat improves the texture, and the protein makes it proteiney. Sometimes I add some unsweetened cocoa powder and a tiny pinch of salt. Also experiment with different kinds of oats -- steel cut are my favorite, but currently I have rolled (not instant) to save time.

[Bakemaster]

Good quality rolled oats or steel-cut oats are a lot more interesting than instant oats. I buy them from the bulk bins. I actually haven't tried the steel-cut, but a lot of people love 'em so they have to be better than instant. Other than that, try adjusting how much water you use to play with the texture, and if all else fails, fruit it like a boss. You might come to enjoy them more with time, as long as you don't eat them every day. No variety = tired of these motherfucking oats in my motherfucking bowl.

Whoops, ninja'd. Sometimes I try experimenting with spices; I've added cardamom, cloves, nutmeg... Generally not all at once and it's really easy to overdo it, but it can be a nice change from straight cinnamon.

[Stellazira]

I am female, 5'10", 150 lbs

Hey, that's me!

Between times when I have lots of school and don't exercise much and times when I can exercise I'm usually between 145 - 150 lbs. Usually there's nothing too "unhealthy" in the house but there's some treats because everyone's allowed to have them at some point. I try to have a good breakfast in the morning (such as an flipped egg and toast), then a sandwich (if I'm at school) and then dinner. I have various small snacks throughout the day so I'm not too hungry when my next big meal comes.

Since I get all my food groups in a day I try not to worry too much about what I'm eating. I eat when I need to and stop when I'm satisfied.

[SamaraLexx]

I didn't want to make a whole thread about this, but since we're making breakfast suggestions - recently I've been having this for breakfast. I'm reeeeeally bad at preparing meals, and even worse in the morning when I just want to roll out of bed and get to work.

So I tried to find something that would be easy, and possibly even healthy. If you can believe the packaging, that drink seems ok, considering the alternatives. I showed it to a nutritionist and they said it's pretty good as a meal replacement. I believe they said their one problem with it was the sodium, but I'd have to double check that.

It's pricey, so my plan was to only do it until my wedding. But just thought I'd suggest it if anyone wanted to try it out.

[Nath]

It's pricey, so my plan was to only do it until my wedding. But just thought I'd suggest it if anyone wanted to try it out.

Looks basically like half a whey protein shake with some carbs, a multivitamin and a bit of sunflower oil (?!) thrown in. So if you want a cheaper alternative, looks like you could make your own.

[Ulc]

Well, day one of breakfast makeover. I had a 1/4 cup of oatmeal with a little brown sugar and a few raisins (oatmeal's pretty bland! Anyone got better ideas to make it a bit more interesting?)

Like Nath, I cook my oatmeal in milk rather than water - and I usually chop a quarter of a apple or other fruits into it as well (and eat the rest of the fruit by itself) - it's still not exactly the most interesting food ever, but it's heaps better than instant oats where you just add water.

[PAstrychef]

I like a savory breakfast, so I salt my oatmeal and often add cubed cheese or leftover meats. I also steam it in a basket steamer so it stays in whole flakes and has some texture. Try other grains, like barley. Bulgar wheat cooked in broth with herbs and sautéed onion is great too.

[Alexander Falco]

If your are really trying to switch to a more healthy diet, your first priority should be to eat natural foods. Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these. Most corn and soy are GMO so unless you have specific information telling you that certain corn or soy is not GM, just don't eat it. I am not an expert but I do know that GMO foods are probably the largest problem with food safety in this country. The most common genetic modification causes crops to actually produce and excrete round-up. So again, stay away from GMO. Most food you see in supermarkets will also contain one or more other ingredients that you should do your best to avoid. Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, hydrogenated oils, artificial food colorings, and others are not an acceptable part of a healthy diet. Probably the most important thing you can do if you want to stay healthy is to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it. More than half of the municipalities in this country currently fluoridate their water with sodium fluoride (actually it is a mix of dozens of chemicals but they just say it's fluoride). Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK whether or not you are trying to become more healthy. Look up whether or not your water is fluoridated and if it is, get a fluoride filter or start drinking bottled water today. Fluoride and GMO foods are two tings that you MUST research if you want to start eating more healthfully. A better place than xkcd forums to learn about this stuff would be natural food websites, but don't limit yourself to these. The important thing is to go out and do your own research instead of asking people on a forum to bring all the information to you. I read through the thread and people here don't seem to no anything about healthful eating.


P.S. If in your research you see that the FDA has said that something is safe for human consumption it is probably not the best plan to take their word for it. The FDA should be another subject of your research.

[KestrelLowing]

If your are really trying to switch to a more healthy diet, your first priority should be to eat natural foods. Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these. Most corn and soy are GMO so unless you have specific information telling you that certain corn or soy is not GM, just don't eat it. I am not an expert but I do know that GMO foods are probably the largest problem with food safety in this country. The most common genetic modification causes crops to actually produce and excrete round-up. So again, stay away from GMO. Most food you see in supermarkets will also contain one or more other ingredients that you should do your best to avoid. Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, hydrogenated oils, artificial food colorings, and others are not an acceptable part of a healthy diet. Probably the most important thing you can do if you want to stay healthy is to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it. More than half of the municipalities in this country currently fluoridate their water with sodium fluoride (actually it is a mix of dozens of chemicals but they just say it's fluoride). Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK whether or not you are trying to become more healthy. Look up whether or not your water is fluoridated and if it is, get a fluoride filter or start drinking bottled water today. Fluoride and GMO foods are two tings that you MUST research if you want to start eating more healthfully. A better place than xkcd forums to learn about this stuff would be natural food websites, but don't limit yourself to these. The important thing is to go out and do your own research instead of asking people on a forum to bring all the information to you. I read through the thread and people here don't seem to no anything about healthful eating.


P.S. If in your research you see that the FDA has said that something is safe for human consumption it is probably not the best plan to take their word for it. The FDA should be another subject of your research.

I have to call shenanigans. I see you're fairly new to the forums, but typically having reliable sources is a good thing. Fluoride in your water does nothing but possibly cause some aesthetic issues on teeth. The only time it would cause health issues is when the amount is too much (as with anything - including all natural foods). See wikipedia (not the most reliable, but does cite its sources)

As of right now, I really just see you almost as a conspiracy theorist.

[Ulc]

If your are really trying to switch to a more healthy diet, your first priority should be to eat natural foods.

Any reason? Beyond quacking "unnatural is bad" with the rest of the ducks in the pond?

Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these.

[citation needed]

Absolutely nothing inherent with GMO is good or bad when to comes to eating healthy - specific instances of it might, but most of them is much more about practicality. Seed-free fruit anyone?

Probably the most important thing you can do if you want to stay healthy is to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it. More than half of the municipalities in this country currently fluoridate their water with sodium fluoride (actually it is a mix of dozens of chemicals but they just say it's fluoride). Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK whether or not you are trying to become more healthy. Look up whether or not your water is fluoridated and if it is, get a fluoride filter or start drinking bottled water today.

Please tell that 1) You're wearing a tinfoil hat as well and 2) You're not the commander of a military base with a bad case of commie-phobia and access to nukes

[Bakemaster]

Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these.

PLUOTS KILLED MY FATHER :(

[poxic]

Well, if you throw them hard enough, maybe?

[Alexander Falco]

If your are really trying to switch to a more healthy diet, your first priority should be to eat natural foods.

Any reason? Beyond quacking "unnatural is bad" with the rest of the ducks in the pond?

Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these.

[citation needed]

Absolutely nothing inherent with GMO is good or bad when to comes to eating healthy - specific instances of it might, but most of them is much more about practicality. Seed-free fruit anyone?

Probably the most important thing you can do if you want to stay healthy is to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it. More than half of the municipalities in this country currently fluoridate their water with sodium fluoride (actually it is a mix of dozens of chemicals but they just say it's fluoride). Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK whether or not you are trying to become more healthy. Look up whether or not your water is fluoridated and if it is, get a fluoride filter or start drinking bottled water today.

Please tell that 1) You're wearing a tinfoil hat as well and 2) You're not the commander of a military base with a bad case of commie-phobia and access to nukes

Ok go and do the SLIGHTEST bit of research on ANY of these topics before you call me crazy. Look up ANY of the subjects you claim to be an authority on. Look up Genetically modified foods, look up the FDA (and monsanto), look up fluoride and read literature on BOTH SIDES of the argument. If you actually think that GM foods are not a health risk at all then you obviously haven't done this. Nice Aristotle quote by the way.....

If your are really trying to switch to a more healthy diet, your first priority should be to eat natural foods. Although the FDA has made it nearly impossible to track genetically modified foods in this country, try as hard as you can NEVER to eat these. Most corn and soy are GMO so unless you have specific information telling you that certain corn or soy is not GM, just don't eat it. I am not an expert but I do know that GMO foods are probably the largest problem with food safety in this country. The most common genetic modification causes crops to actually produce and excrete round-up. So again, stay away from GMO. Most food you see in supermarkets will also contain one or more other ingredients that you should do your best to avoid. Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, hydrogenated oils, artificial food colorings, and others are not an acceptable part of a healthy diet. Probably the most important thing you can do if you want to stay healthy is to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it. More than half of the municipalities in this country currently fluoridate their water with sodium fluoride (actually it is a mix of dozens of chemicals but they just say it's fluoride). Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK whether or not you are trying to become more healthy. Look up whether or not your water is fluoridated and if it is, get a fluoride filter or start drinking bottled water today. Fluoride and GMO foods are two tings that you MUST research if you want to start eating more healthfully. A better place than xkcd forums to learn about this stuff would be natural food websites, but don't limit yourself to these. The important thing is to go out and do your own research instead of asking people on a forum to bring all the information to you. I read through the thread and people here don't seem to no anything about healthful eating.


P.S. If in your research you see that the FDA has said that something is safe for human consumption it is probably not the best plan to take their word for it. The FDA should be another subject of your research.

I have to call shenanigans. I see you're fairly new to the forums, but typically having reliable sources is a good thing. Fluoride in your water does nothing but possibly cause some aesthetic issues on teeth. The only time it would cause health issues is when the amount is too much (as with anything - including all natural foods). See wikipedia (not the most reliable, but does cite its sources

Actually, I do not need to have reliable citations. I'm not here to make a case to you or to anyone else. Someone started a thread asking the question "how can I change to eating healthy?" Basically, I told this person that she should go do some research instead of getting their health advice from xkcd. I suggested she research GMO foods, organic foods, fluoride, and the FDA. What part of what I say do you take issue with? I don't need to bother with citations if my point is "do your own research" and I really don't agree with the whole "we need citations for EVERYTHING or you just shut up!!" mentality that everyone has on this website. If I don't cite something, don't assume it's true, OK? Don't assume it's true and if YOU want to, go look it up and see. If I do cite something, you wouldn't trust it anyway.

As of right now, I really just see you almost as a conspiracy theorist.

OK this is a term that gets thrown around a lot and it doesn't seem to have a fixed meaning. Since you are the one who said it, what does it mean?

[SamaraLexx]

OK this is a term that gets thrown around a lot and it doesn't seem to have a fixed meaning. Since you are the one who said it, what does it mean?

One who theorizes about conspiracies?

[Bakemaster]

Basically, I told this person that she should go do some research instead of getting their health advice from xkcd. I suggested she research GMO foods, organic foods, fluoride, and the FDA.

Yes, after you said all this:

your first priority should be to eat natural foods...
try as hard as you can NEVER to eat [genetically modified foods]...
I do know that GMO foods are probably the largest problem with food safety in this country...
stay away from GMO...
Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, hydrogenated oils, artificial food colorings, and others are not an acceptable part of a healthy diet...
make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the water you drink does not have fluoride added to it...
Drinking fluoridated water is 100% NOT OK

Your suggestion which followed, that the OP do some research starting with "websites" because the rest of us "don't seem to no anything" about the topic, does little to support your rose-colored recap.

No, you don't "need" to cite anything. But when you present such bold claims in a manner that insists they are incontrovertible fact, yet provide nothing to back them up (except the advice to look at "websites"), people will call bullshit and people will ask for citations. If you don't like that, there are a few options available. You can get over it—i.e., start providing citations when possible and acknowledging when what you're providing is opinion (informed opinion is still opinion) rather than defensible fact. You can get used to it—i.e., keep acting this way and getting rebuked by the community for it. Or you can get lost.

It's actually a pretty decent array of options, when you think about it.

[Ulc]

Actually, I do not need to have reliable citations.

Then don't expect to be taken seriously when you claim that fluoride in the water is unhealthy. Claims like that require at the very least a argument as to why it is the case, or far better, a citation of a scientific study.

Preferably a scientific study by someone that isn't wearing a tinfoil hat.

Edit: Nah, flour probably isn't good for the plumbing - fluoride on the other hand.. In my defence, it's early in the morning.

[SecondTalon]

Actually, I do not need to have reliable citations.

You have 48 hours to change this. Provide reliable citations, or I am removing you completely from High Culture.

[Nath]

Then don't expect to be taken seriously when you claim that flour in the water is unhealthy.

I don't know about unhealthy, but it can't be good for the plumbing.

[a_fuzzyduck]

Any reason? Beyond quacking "unnatural is bad" with the rest of the ducks in the pond?

HAW! we're not *all* like this...

[netcrusher88]

Apparently a side effect of fluoride hardening your teeth is that cavities are more likely to develop into a crater in the side of your tooth. But you get less cavities in general, so I call it a win.

Also, I'm not sure "precious bodily fluids" here understands what Round-Up is. Protip: it's an herbicide. Not pesticide. Most crops wouldn't survive the ability to produce it.

[KestrelLowing]

As of right now, I really just see you almost as a conspiracy theorist.

OK this is a term that gets thrown around a lot and it doesn't seem to have a fixed meaning. Since you are the one who said it, what does it mean?

Basically, when I said this I used the phrase to mean you may believe everything is a conspiracy and everyone's out to get you and trying to harm everyone.

But, update: I've continued with the eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. It's really helping me feel full for most of the morning. By taking the oatmeal to work, I've nearly eliminated the need for a snack in the morning because I'm eating the oatmeal from 8:30 to 10:00 (I usually eat lunch at 11:30 or so) However, if I really get hungry, I do have a little bit (as in it's in that 1/2 cup Tupperware container that seems to come with all of the sets but was previously useless) of gorp I mixed up - mainly raisins and nuts. This basically takes the place of one of the granola bars I was eating.

Also, thinking of what I should be eating more is really working for me, especially when I'm in that mindset when I go to the grocery store. I'll buy more fresh fruit and veggies (especially now that it's basically strawberry season in California - can't wait until it's berry season here!) and less chips and candy.

Next change: Whole grain pasta (but I have to finish the stuff I've got now) and actually starting to exercise. Sadly it's really warm here (85F - too warm for northern me!) and I'm very prone to heat exhaustion (to the point where I have to wear sunglasses, a hat, and sometimes long sleeves, and carry my 1L Nalgene, if not my 3L camlbak on nearly every outside thing I do) so it will probably just be walking or very tame biking.

I haven't been weighing myself regularly as I don't have a scale and losing weight is a secondary goal, but I'm back down to 147, which is where I've been for the past year or so. I am debating buying a scale though just to see how my weight fluctuates.

[Ulc]

I haven't been weighing myself regularly as I don't have a scale and losing weight is a secondary goal, but I'm back down to 147, which is where I've been for the past year or so. I am debating buying a scale though just to see how my weight fluctuates.

If you do this, be a little careful about trusting the result, your weight easily fluctuates by 2-3 kg. from one day to the next, just because of water retention.

But good news on getting your diet changed, breakfast is definitely what is going to make the biggest difference, but changing to whole grain pasta and brown rice is going to help as well.

For exercise, try to get it done early in the morning, or late in the evening (the last hour before the sun goes down is great), if the heat is causing you a lot of trouble.

[Bakemaster]

Also, I'm not sure "precious bodily fluids" here understands what Round-Up is. Protip: it's an herbicide. Not pesticide. Most crops wouldn't survive the ability to produce it.

Well, such a plant would have already been engineered to be Roundup Ready as a matter of course.

[netcrusher88]

Fair. Still, not actually a thing that happens. Maybe if you have parasitic plants taking root in your plants. Which is not actually a thing that happens. Until they're dead.

[Bakemaster]

I dunno. In principle it doesn't seem too outlandish to me? There are plants which not only thrive in salty soil, but take up the salts into their structure, causing an increase in the salinity of the topsoil when they drop leaves and die back. This effectively blocks out any less-salt-tolerant competitors. The plant in question when this mechanism was first described to me, during a private tour of a salmon spawning ground restoration project last spring, was referred to as "saltgrass" but that's probably a fairly broadly-used common name so I'm not confident I could identify the particular species; here's a different example I found with a quick search, though. It seems generally analogous to a plant that's engineered both to resist some herbicide and to excrete/accumulate it for a competitive advantage; in the case of crops, an advantage over weeds that would reduce productivity.

[KestrelLowing]

Right, but the real question here is: is eating crops that are roundup ready actually harmful to your health? As I don't believe there are any plants that actually secrete roundup, I doubt eating a (washed) crop would be an issue.

While there are definitely issues to be thought of when using herbicides and pesticides (but I can't afford organic stuff if I actually want fresh fruits and veggies) I don't think that eating a roundup ready crop is really that problematic.

[Alexander Falco]

Right, but the real question here is: is eating crops that are roundup ready actually harmful to your health? As I don't believe there are any plants that actually secrete roundup, I doubt eating a (washed) crop would be an issue.

While there are definitely issues to be thought of when using herbicides and pesticides (but I can't afford organic stuff if I actually want fresh fruits and veggies) I don't think that eating a roundup ready crop is really that problematic.

Yes, eating roundup ready crops and most other genetically modified foods is very dangerous to your health. Even animals that are fed GM foods are dangerous to eat. You should definitely look this stuff up. You wouldn't believe the kinds of stuff that gets put into our food. Almost NOTHING in the supermarket is totally free from poisons. And people wonder about the soaring cancer and autism rates.... Meanwhile the FDA and DEA team up to conduct swat team raids on organic food producers (mostly the Amish). You'd think they'd have better things to do in the name of food safety but no. You also might want to look up the FDA and some of its recent new employees.

[jestingrabbit]

The most common genetic modification causes crops to actually produce and excrete round-up.

You see to be misinformed about what "roundup ready" crops are. They don't produce roundup inside themselves. Instead, they are resistant to being damaged by roundup at many more times during their lifecycle. They are as problematic as any other crop treated with roundup ie they're not if you rinse them before eating them.

You keep making a whole lot of claims with no sources at all. Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. You've provided none. Please consider backing up what you're saying with more than your opinion.

[Cynical Idealist]

Almost NOTHING in the supermarket is totally free from poisons.

In fact, everything in any supermarket is filled with potentially poisonous substances. The important question is, are they present in poisonous quantities?