Over the past couple of days, I've really been motivated to start getting healthier. I'm easing into what I hope will be an improved lifestyle. I've always taken the stairs instead of the elevator (unless I'm sick), and I walk a great deal. I'm supplementing that by stretching, pushups, etc. However, my food choices are not exactly what they should be.
I have therefore made the decision to cut back on desserts and cheesy foods. I'm going to be eating more fruits & veggies, whole grains, and proteins. I'm going to take the time to
enjoy my meal. But, of course, I'm not perfect, so I decided to consult the government's multi-million dollar project: mypyramid.gov.
I created an account (anarchist12345, how creative), and started to punch in my activities and food intake. It's quite overwhelming, with all the rules and the guidelines. I feel like I'm in an ana heaven. No healthy person could possibly keep track to the minute of what they were doing and eating every day.
Moving onward, I tried to enter my breakfast: granola w/ apples & raisins, organic milk, blueberries, and honey. 90% of the things that popped up were
brand name items. That is, the Government is encouraging me to log my consumption of just plain old granola as "Nature Valley," "Little Debbie," or "Kelloggs."
*facepalm*
Then, it gets worse. The site encourages me to "make half your grains whole." It tells me to eat one serving of red meat per day.
It tells me that my breakfast had too much fat and not enough grains. It tells me to drink
three cups of milk per day (is that even
possible?)
Basically, it's absurd. There is so much misinformation in nutrition "science" that the government can spend
millions and
still not get it right. The best "diet" is to eat what gives you the most energy and makes you feel healthiest.
Comments (27)
food is so awesome. i'm always freaking hungry.. but i'm cutting all my sweets and no more pop/soda.
Oh man, I just had three french toasts, a slice of pizza, and a danish. I NEED to watch my food before I get diabetes, but it's so hard. =[
I think it's nuts. I follow a program called "Naturally Slim" which works incredibly well. (I lost 30 pounds; my mom lost 65; my cousin lost 70) The nurse who started it says that basically there is no way to burn off the calories from all the recommended foods. She says the average adult stomach can hold about a cup of food (without stretching), so that is all that should be eaten at a meal. She says to take vegetable supplements for the rest of the recommended nutrition.
There's more to it, but it's a great plan and not a diet. You can eat whatever you want. The main thing is to drastically restrict sugar intake.
I think the food pyramid is totally insane.
Does Kellogg's even produce simple granola? I only know their sweet corn flake stuff.
The red meat info is wrong, they should advise to eat it three times a day to be super healthy.
I have made a post on what the french governement want us to eat a day :
_5 vegetables and fruits (about 550g)
_3 dairy products
_starchy food each meal
_1 or 2 pieces of meat or eggs or fish (around 100gr)
_no more than 2 glass of alcohol for women and 3 for men
_ not add salt on food
_ not a lot of sugar and fat products
And I also read than all of this is not the same everywhere in the world... Like the amount of calories we have to eat a day !! I will read your government website, it would be funny to compare !
I personnaly decided to learn nutrition some times ago, but It soon became a problem, since I pay too much attention on it, and it turns obsessional...I lost 7 kg really quickly, and my health too.
_
I like how I'm absentmindedly eating a bowl of frosting as I read this.
What I hate about the new pyramid is its design. With the old pyramid, the base, the widest part, contained the foods you should eat the most. Very visual! Makes sense! I like it! With the new pyramid the foods are arranged vertically, which makes no sense at all. The food groups are just colored slivers of a pyramid. It doesn't even need to be a pyramid anymore. It could be a cube and it would have exactly the same impact. I don't like it. I want my piece of the multi-million dollars back.
Instead of organic milk, drink organic soy milk. The animal protein in cow-milk will actually leach the calcium out of you, plus its fatty.
There is no reason why that site should tell you to eat red meat (unless they mean cut down to 1 serving of it a day for someone eating several). Red meat is the ticket to the grave.
Of course it's the government's job to tell you how to eat right, duh! *rolls eyes*
Well, so long as they have a definition for what is healthy, they can tax the fast food restaurants into oblivion because you're a victim of their predatory stuffing of fatty foods down your throat. You may laugh but mark my words, this is coming...
thehealthymuslimah.blogspot.com
if you're interested in learning more about nutrition in general...take a look at my blog. =]
Hey! I saw your post on wherethefishlives' site and found it interesting because i find neuroscience interesting too. im a high school junior trying to figure out what i can do best and love doing, so i wanted to know how it's been going for you?
Oh, and this: "The best "diet" is to eat what gives you the most energy and makes you feel healthiest." I FRIGGIN AGREE! :]
Bravo on your commitment toward eating better. Organics are probably the best foods. I know it's not easy finding affordable organic food but a great place to start in your area is here. http://www.pickyourown.org/gafpfm.php
A great read on staying healthy is Healthy at 100
I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Consequently I'm also trying to eat better and exercise more.
You're right. Just be sensible and follow the very general guidelines for a normal healthy diet. People worry too much. I should talk! I leave it all to my Better Half to sort that out.
I've always preferred the See Food diet. But eating what I see isn't helping and I need to make changes...
3 cups? that's not enough. whatever. i drink three cups with my row of Oreos.
you LOVE oreos!
mmm, Little Debbie.
@TheBigShowAtUD - Actually, I love EVERY kind and color of responsible, mature cookie whose cultural values align with my own. Er. I think the analogy might have fallen apart a little there.
On a more serious note, I hate drinking milk. I can have it in baked goods, in cereal, or for dipping cookies, but just drinking it? Ew.
@la_faerie_joyeuse - it was working for me. i totally understand. we're on the same page with that.
yeah, i don't drink milk like that, either. i flood my cereal, and i dip many cookies. straight milk makes me feel sick... unless it's chocolate milk *make more jokes, do it*
@TheBigShowAtUD - In lieu of the joke-making, I will leave it to say that chocolate milk is always made from the least-fresh batch. You're much better off to mix chocolate into your plain milk.
@la_faerie_joyeuse - oh... i didn't know that. hm. milk and chocolate syrup for me, then.
wow, thats scary. Its easy to make your own granola, and cheaper too! I think our canadian site is pretty good for nutrition.
I decided to work out more to, after all, women want guys with abs right?
Did you know that you burn more calories eating celery than it gives?
Just a thought.
My worse nightmare, being a college student and all, is dieting. I'm used to just eating on the go and getting whatever is available.
I plan on limiting myself to vegetables, rice,chicken, and maybe the occasional bowl of peanut butter crunch.
Well, I try to anyway.
also, ryc: I'm very monogamous as well, its just sometimes with people today, and so much divorce, I wonder if I'll change and become discontent in marriage, which I hope not.
ehh.. i know very little about eating healthy, but then again i never ate much..
Eat healthy foods - foods not fried. Not too much desserts. But most important is the work out. That's where we all fail when it comes to the dieting aspect. I'm having the same problem. I am eating healthy but I am so not working out.
that site was written by lobbyists. It's beyond ridiculous...