what do you think of these hacks for eating better/healthier?

[Vidya]

https://www.quora.com/What-are-hacks-for-eating-better-healthier

they were written by a Clinical Dietitian, but some sound odd.

Re this: “Eat desserts before a meal if need be and not after your meals. Ever.”

Is this because sugars, whether they be in fruit or in pastry or chocolate, digest much faster? i’ve heard one should never eat fruit after a meal since it putrefies on top of the heavier food, but i’m not sure I believe that.

I often start the day by eating ten almonds, then an orange after that. I don't think i’d want to eat the orange first. The orange is kinda my reward for making it through the ten almonds since i’m not that fond of nuts.

I also eat a couple of cucumbers either before or after the orange.

So really i should be eating the orange first? Except i recall reading elsewhere one should not start the day with something acidic on an empty stomach. Tea and coffee are also bad unless you've drunk water first.

Endless dietary rules, all contradicting each other...

[angela]

Sounds like that person is touching on some Ayurvedic rules regarding food combining.

I choose to enjoy a low-carb, mostly carnivore diet, which happens to be Ayurvedic because you can't combine sugars with meat if you're not eating sugars.

Yes, dietary advice is confusing and people argue about it. Same with writing advice. Publishing advice. Politics. Religion. Science. Blah blah blah. Everything. People argue over everything. Some people think the earth is round. I mean, uh, flat. ;-)  That's no excuse to give up on researching something you care about knowing.

[LilyBLily]

You have to consult your own body with these things. Frankly, starting each day forcing yourself to eat nuts you don't much like seems like a lousy way to go. It sets up resentment and entitlement later in the day: "I was good and suffered, so now I can be bad." And so on.

I would not follow this advice about the sequence of what one eats. If I started my dinner with dessert, I wouldn't make it to the main course. I love cake! With frosting! When I'm hungry, it would be folly to give myself permission to eat cake first. Granted, I like ribeyes just as much, but--cake! 

[Maggie Ann]

You have to consult your own body with these things. Frankly, starting each day forcing yourself to eat nuts you don't much like seems like a lousy way to go. It sets up resentment and entitlement later in the day: "I was good and suffered, so now I can be bad." And so on.

I would not follow this advice about the sequence of what one eats. If I started my dinner with dessert, I wouldn't make it to the main course. I love cake! With frosting! When I'm hungry, it would be folly to give myself permission to eat cake first. Granted, I like ribeyes just as much, but--cake! 

Agreed.

Besides which in a couple of years they will reverse themselves. How many times have they said eggs are not good for you, eggs are good for you, eggs are not good for you, and I think currently eggs are good for you. Same with coffee. Same with margarine versus butter.

[LilyBLily]

<snip>

Agreed.

Besides which in a couple of years they will reverse themselves. How many times have they said eggs are not good for you, eggs are good for you, eggs are not good for you, and I think currently eggs are good for you. Same with coffee. Same with margarine versus butter.

That is so true. I developed my addiction to pasta because the U.S. government told us we should eat pasta. I still feel resentment over that piece of official advice.

[Bill Hiatt]

<snip>

Agreed.

Besides which in a couple of years they will reverse themselves. How many times have they said eggs are not good for you, eggs are good for you, eggs are not good for you, and I think currently eggs are good for you. Same with coffee. Same with margarine versus butter.

That is so true. I developed my addiction to pasta because the U.S. government told us we should eat pasta. I still feel resentment over that piece of official advice.

Yes, the advice keeps changing. I've heard dietitians argue about some of these points. There isn't necessarily a consensus on all of them.

Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian.

Based on what I've seen among family and friends, really strict diets may not be a good idea, except in really extreme circumstances. This is because it's hard for people (except the few really strong-willed among us, or those who could care less about eating) to stick with them. Because your body tends to adjust metabolism to food intake, bouncing in and out of diets may actually be worse than not dieting at all (at least in terms of weight loss).

Over the years, I've tried to develop a diet plan that works for me. That means I can maintain it consistently and avoid gaining weight. Basically, I'm very low cal (but nutritious) for breakfast and lunch. I don't eat between meals. For dinner, I allow myself to eat what I want. (Knowing I can in theory have whatever I want for dinner takes away the urgency of really wanting something because I can't have it. In other words, I don't feel as tempted to overindulge or cheat as I would if I were dealing with very narrow constraints and a list of forbidden foods.) I eat relatively slowly, and if I feel full, I stop eating. (Sometimes one meal becomes two or even in rare cases, three.) If I find myself gaining a pound or two, I cut back a little for a while, and that gets me back to my original weight pretty fast. My former doctor used to say that I would keep creeping up, but his prediction turned out to be untrue, at least so far.

Because every human body is different, it may in some cases be good to experiment and see what works for you.

[angela]

The biggest hack is to nourish the body by getting it enough protein.

Get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of goal weight. (1 gram of protein, not just 1 gram of protein-foods)

By comparison, our dietary guidelines from government (I'm in Canada, but it's similar everywhere) recommend around 1/3 of that, but keep in mind that is a minimum.

A big mistake people make is thinking the gov't guideline for protein is the goal, as opposed to the absolute bare minimum that, for example, prisons must legally provide for their inmates.


If you're interested in why government guidelines are so messed up, here's a great organization and place to start: https://www.nutritioncoalition.us/news/

[David VanDyke]

Most people don't get enough fresh/raw/unprocessed veggies.

It's not a magic bullet, but to counter this, I prepare easy-to-eat raw or ready-cooked veggies--I really like radishes, carrots and celery--and eat one or two bites minimum before every intake--before every cup of coffee, before every cookie, before every sandwich or whatever. Then it's not so much of a pain.

Also, vitamin D deficiency is endemic among those who don't work outside, and I have it as confirmed by my lab results. So, I make sure to get enough D and doing so has markedly improved my health and well-being.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I try to eat by the rule: 'Eat what God made. Avoid what man made."

I read that it is a good idea to end a meal with fibre of some sort, which could be fruit or nuts etc. This will help the food you have eaten to move through your digestive system and it will be ready for your next meal 

[notthatamanda]

I try to eat by the rule: 'Eat what God made. Avoid what man made."

I read that it is a good idea to end a meal with fibre of some sort, which could be fruit or nuts etc. This will help the food you have eaten to move through your digestive system and it will be ready for your next meal 

I go with "Food comes from a farm, not a factory." Most processed food is designed to be hyperpalatable, interesting enough to keep you wanting more, but never ever satisfying. Just knowing corporations are trying to manipulate us makes the processed stuff a lot less appealing.

[LilyBLily]

There definitely are incomplete flavors in processed foods that urge one to eat more, trying to get to satisfaction.

We haven't attempted to order processed anything during this self-quarantine period. It has been difficult enough to get food staples.

I'm curious if all the nuts and dried fruits and wild berries I've been eating (antioxidants!) have made any difference in my cholesterol numbers--but not curious enough to buy a home test kit and have to prick my already overly sensitive fingers. I usually go in to the doctor's office and get a blood test once a year just to make sure my sugar numbers remain good (diabetes is in my ancestry). It can wait, but I do wonder. Except for the year plus when I was doing strict Atkins (high protein, very low carb) dieting, I can't think of another lengthy stretch of time when I've basically been on the straight and narrow. (Which does not mean I haven't put honey on my crepes or made brownies.)   

[angela]

I try to eat by the rule: 'Eat what God made. Avoid what man made."

I read that it is a good idea to end a meal with fibre of some sort, which could be fruit or nuts etc. This will help the food you have eaten to move through your digestive system and it will be ready for your next meal 

I go with "Food comes from a farm, not a factory." Most processed food is designed to be hyperpalatable, interesting enough to keep you wanting more, but never ever satisfying. Just knowing corporations are trying to manipulate us makes the processed stuff a lot less appealing.

All true about the manufactured stuff! I've never opened a bag of anything I couldn't finish in one sitting LOL. What most of it is missing is protein. If my body doesn't get enough protein, I'll never stop being hungry.

I'm a fan of Dr. Ted Naiman, who explains that the energy to protein ratio of our food is the big factor when it comes to health and satiety. He recently had a video where he recommended adding protein powder to yogurt for a treat, saying it's an example of a processed food where the processing has actually improved the value. I use a no-sugar (just stevia) whey powder in my yogurt and it's great! I tolerate dairy well, so it's a neat hack for days I haven't yet gotten my goal of 1 gram protein per pound of body weight.



https://burnfatnotsugar.com/

[Luke Everhart]

I try to eat by the rule: 'Eat what God made. Avoid what man made."

I read that it is a good idea to end a meal with fibre of some sort, which could be fruit or nuts etc. This will help the food you have eaten to move through your digestive system and it will be ready for your next meal 

I go with "Food comes from a farm, not a factory." Most processed food is designed to be hyperpalatable, interesting enough to keep you wanting more, but never ever satisfying. Just knowing corporations are trying to manipulate us makes the processed stuff a lot less appealing.

All true about the manufactured stuff! I've never opened a bag of anything I couldn't finish in one sitting LOL. What most of it is missing is protein. If my body doesn't get enough protein, I'll never stop being hungry.

I'm a fan of Dr. Ted Naiman, who explains that the energy to protein ratio of our food is the big factor when it comes to health and satiety. He recently had a video where he recommended adding protein powder to yogurt for a treat, saying it's an example of a processed food where the processing has actually improved the value. I use a no-sugar (just stevia) whey powder in my yogurt and it's great! I tolerate dairy well, so it's a neat hack for days I haven't yet gotten my goal of 1 gram protein per pound of body weight.

https://burnfatnotsugar.com/

I follow him (Dr. Naiman) on twitter. I actually only discovered him a few months ago; though, I was already practicing the essence of his diet as it comports with a weight training, LGN lifestyle.
I didn't know he recommended adding protein powder to yogurt but that's something I've been doing for a couple years. I call it 'protein pudding'. I use greek yogurt and whey protein isolate and it blends very well.
Anyway, his book and videos are a good recommendation imo and I 2nd it.  👍