Healthy Eating

B

boydjess

Cathlete
I was wanting to see if anyone could recommend a book that was really good at getting you on track with eating healthy. I am not looking for a "diet" because I am okay with my weight. I just want to eat healthier and can not seem to stick with it for more than a couple of days. I used to be so disciplined but since having kids that has all gone out the door. I feel good about my size and can see all the hard earned muscle on my body, thanks to Cathe workouts. However, there is a layer of fat that I would LOVE to get rid of and I am just really at a point where I am ready to make some healthy lifestyle changes in regards to my diet.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what worked for some of you.

Jessica
 
Covert Baily, a physiologist, has a book called "The Target Diet." Itis NOT a diet book. It is a "target" to eating healthy. It was co-written with a registered dietician. I have all of his Fit or Fat books and he is a down to earth, common sense, writer. He IS GOOOOOOD! Check the (his) book(s) out of your local library before you buy anything.

Blessings from our home to yours...Runathon http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/lach.gif[/img]
 
In my humble opinion eating well is just common sense. If you are already at a healthy weight except for a little extra fat it should be easy.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables (5-9 servings) 1/2 cup servings per day. Including leafy green veggies

Eat healthy protein roughly 6 ounces per day lean meets, nuts, legumes, eggs
legumes- about 2oz or 1/2cup cooked or one egg or 1 Tbsp. peanut butter equal aobut an ounce of lean protein.

Eat two serving of lo-fat dairy products per day

If you are trying to cut down on your weight
I would limit bread and starchy vegetables to 5 serving /day
examples of one serving:potato cooked 4 oz.,
popcorn-air popped 3 cups
about 6 crackers
one slice of bread about an ounce
a bagel may be as much as 3-4 servings depending on the size.
pasta 1 ounce uncooked
whole wheat pasta 2 ounces uncooked
***whole wheat selections are better

drink water- at least 8 8ounce servings (think 4 16oz. bottles)
limit fatty selections too. like full fat salad dressingss , butter etc. to3 a day or so. cook with healty oil; Canola and Olive are good choices. a teaspoon is one "fat"
***limit desserts to once or twice per week on top of this.

If you are doing a strenuous Cathe workout and are extra hungry, then eat ! just choose healthy selections. Some bodies respond better to extra starches, other respond better to extra protein. Extra veggies are always a good choice!

This is a no nonsense way to eath healthy without cutting out any food groups. All foods can fit in moderation. Variety is very helpful both for nutrition and staying satisfied. Bon Apetit!
 
Liz Applegate's "Eat Smart, Play Hard" is an excellent, user friendly book for the fitness enthusiast. She's on UC Davis's faculty, a mom & triathlete. Her monthly articles in Runners' World are always terrific.

Nancy Clark's sports nutrition book is also excellent. Gets into the science a bit more than Liz's book. Neither of these books treat food as a prescription drug that requires exact formulas. They both consider family demands.

Jane Brody's nutrition book from the early '90s is a classic. Walter Willett's "Eat Drink & Be Healthy" is another excellent book that looks into the whole glycemic index issue. Neither of these books are targeted towards an athlete.

If you're approaching 40, then you must read one of Deborah Waterhouse's books or Pamela Peeke's book on perimenopause. You'll learn how changing hormone levels affect our bodies and metabolism and what you can do to fight those fat cells.

Your library probably has some or all of these books. You might borrow them and then decide which one or two you'd like to purchase for reference.

Debra
 
I like "Picture Perfect Weight Loss" (even though the title says "weight loss", it's also good for maintenance and just making better food choices). It's very visual, and has a lot of photos of foods with the same calorie content, but varying nutrients and ability to satisfy. The first example is a fat-free muffin, which is paired with a whole pineapple, a half cantaloupe, two pears, a handful of grapes, two wheat rolls, and maybe some other fruit, all for the same calorie expense.
 
Thanks everyone for all the ideas. I am going to take my kids to the library and see what I can find for myself. I used to read allot of health related books until I had kids, just never seem to find the time. This may just be the motivation I need to get back on track with a healthier way of life. I have the working out down so now it is time to put some focus on healthier eating.

Thanks again,

Jessica
 
Hey Jessica!

Hey Jessica! I tried to e-mail you but it wouldn't go through.

I just wanted to say great for you for committing to a healthy lifestyle. This forum is great for meeting people of the same. I truly enjoy Cathe workouts and rotations and eating mostly healthy.

I will never give up chocolate though!

Keep up the good healthy attitude!
Judy
 
Jessica -
One more good book. "Life is Hard, Food is Easy" by Linda Spangle, RN MA. This book addresses emotional eating and is easy and fun to read. I got a lot out of it.
-Connie
 
I like both Food & Mood and also The Origin Diet, both by Elizabeth Somer who is a registered dietitian. Being a registered dietitian myself, I find these to be very comprehensive books and not just "diets" but ways to improve your overall health!

Thea
 
Thanks again everyone for all the recommendations. Looks like I will be pretty busy reading for awhile:)

Judy, I checked out my e-mail and it was a old address so I updated it. Thanks for the kind words, I agree with you that this is a great site. It has done everything for me in regards to motivating me for my workouts. Now with all these book recommendations hopefully I will get motivated to get back to healthier eating.

Jessica
 
I don't know if this will help but I have a cookbook that I feel is pretty healthy called Low Carb meals in minutes by Linda Gassenheimer. It has a three step program with recipes that start out fairly low in starchy carbs, then by the end you are adding in some things like whole wheat pasta and whole wheat tortillas for your wraps. I really like it and when I follow this I get great results as far as muscle definition. It is not high in fat like a lot of high protein diets.
Diane Sue
 
Both Atkins for Life and South Beach Diet are good. They stress quality complex carbs, "good" fats, and protein as being important during "lifetime" phases of eating.
 
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