Help with eating habits?

Question

I was raised on fast food, Taco Bell, Mc Donalds. etc. every day. I am now almost 30 and am a fast food junkie. I am overweight and lately feeling very unhealthy. I need to know how to change my eating habits before I die at a young age.
I'm not obese or anything by the way. I'm 5'10" and about 230 pounds. It's not as much a weight or appearance issue, it's the inside I'm worried about.
I already had to have my gall bladder removed due to stones, and my digestive system is totally out of whack.

Answer 1

Baby steps. Go to the grocery store and introduce yourself to the produce section. Buy some of the things you recognize...carrots, celery, lettuce,(salad mix comes arleady washed in bags now), apples, bananas, potatoes, etc. Then go the lunch meat section. Buy some lean turkey, or ham, some light cheese, then on to the bread section and get some whole grain bread (most companies make whole grain that looks and tastes like white bread) and voila! you have the makings of a sandwich. Add some mustard or mayo. Put the salad greens in a bowl of plate get some light salad dressing and you have a salad. Ask questions at the grocery store. Any other shopper is usually happy to help or talk to store personnel. Go to the book store and get a cookbook for beginers. You'll have fun, meet new people, and be on the right track for a healthier life.
P.S. De-program your car, mind and stomach from making that turn into the drive-thru window. You can do it!!!

Answer 2

If you actually check the BMI Calculator
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.htm
your BMI is at 30.0 which is considered obese.

There is no easy way to do this especially if your so used to fast food. You are going to have to make a complete lifestyle change. It will be hard and will take time but it will be all worth it for you in the end and you can enjoy your 30's and beyond!

First thing is first....throw all the junk food in your house away. Change your route to and from work if you have too so you can easily avoid temptaion of fast food joints. Don't cut out all the foods you love though. You can still eat healthier treats and snacks that will keep you satisfied longer. It is all about moderation. Don't try crazy diets that want you to eat nothing but some soup....you will just end up failing. Don't cut your calories too quickly either....you don't want your body to change too drastically or when you are done dieting the weight will come back. Eat 6 small meals a day with lots of fruits, veggies, and protein. Keep healthy snacks around the house and at work. If you have too find a buddy or a support group, sometimes its easier to make eating changes with somebody else. Another thing that really helps clear the system out is STOP DRINKING POP!!! Water, water, and more water will help you body in so many ways.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/index.htm
also the diet and fitness message boards here have a lot of info
http://www.ivillage.com

Exercise will also be key to losing the weight, keeping it off, feeling better, and most of all keeping your heart healthy!!

Start off easy....find something you somewhat enjoy...maybe swimming? Hiking, walking, bycycling...whatever works for you. Find a schedule you can work with...maybe two fifteen minute sessions a day. Cardio exercise is a must for staying healthy and losing weight so this would be best to do at least 4 or 5 days a week. Also add a weight training regimine that you do about 3 days a week. Weight training is excellent for toning the body AND increasing your metabolism. The higher your metabolism the faster you burn fat and the more calories you can consume.

Last of all don't give up. Like I said...it takes time. If you do this the right way you get the weight off, keep it off, and have an all round healthier body. Hope any of this helped you!! Best of luck!!

Answer 3

First thing is to stop eatting all fast food. The chemicals that they put into fast food are there to make you addicted to it, and fat. Why? Because if you are addicted you wil give them money, and if you are fat, you will have health problems and give your money to the drug companies.
You absolutely must start eatting at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. If they are organic, that's even better. This is because organic food does not contain any chemicals (despite their useful purpose to rid bugs, you ingest the chemicals). You need to look into doing body cleanses. Start with a candida yeast cleanse, then a colon cleanse. All the fast food and chemicals and antibiotics that you have ingested all your life have clogged your liver, lowered your immune system, and thrown the floral balance in your digestive system way out of line. After your cleanses, you must permanatly change your eatting habits, and look into vitamin suppliments. Why? Because you can not possibly consume enough food in a day to meet your bodies requirements for nutrition. The chemicals in todays soil have depleted the soil and food of the nutrition they used to have. A carrot today does not have the nutrients a carrot did 100 years ago.
I am speaking from experience. I follow natural and organic lifestyle. I enjoy my chicken (free range and organic) I enjoy my cookies, and I enjoy my ice cream. I have not been sick for a year now, I have had no headaches for almost as long. Most of my problems have vanished. I want you to get started by reading a book called Natural Cures they Don't Want you to Know About, by Kevin Trudeau. Look past the controvoursey around the book and just read it. It will only change your life for the better even if you make a small change. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Cut out the fast food all together. If you have to have it, then salads would be better. You can totally change your eating habits at any age. Just make up your mind to do it and stick with it. I have eaten fast food for convenience sake as well and now my body is showing the effects. I've changed my eating over the past month and have noticed a big difference in the way I feel.

Answer 5

It is mostly NOT your fault, if you need to lose weight. The way you have been taught to eat is responsible for making obesity the number one health problem in the world (according to Atlantic Monthly magazine) replacing hunger and infectious disease. You need to re-learn how to eat so you can become thin. Not a diet, but diet lifestyle.

Find out about fastest way to lose weight, gradual ways to lose weight, most effective exercise and anti-water. Lose bodyfat and retained water which also makes you a lot fatter (bloated). Plus click on "Pure Water" to make sure the water you drink doesn't hurt you. Most important-- make sure to read the last "fat loss tip", first before anything else, to see the number one food that causes Americans to be fat.

http://phifoundation.org

Answer 6

The only thing you can do about eating habits is SELF CONTROL. No one else can help you feel healthier except yourself. Try to eat more salads and fruits. Do not cut fast food out of your life completely because that's impossible. You can eat fast food i would say probably once a week to reward yourself when you have eaten healthy all week. And try yoga, it makes you feel a lot stronger, healthier and happier!

Answer 7

Oh dear... well first, congratulations on wanting to make a change.

Try eliminating one thing at a time... and practice it like religion - as in "I DON'T eat at McDonalds for any reason"

Find new types of foods you like - try exotic foods like Thai food - which can be tasty and nutritious.

Good luck!

Answer 8

The following healthy living recommendations will help you if you’re trying to lose weight, tone up your muscles, have aspirations of building lean muscle mass, are attempting to get a wash board stomach, or just want to feel better:

*1) Burn more calories then you're consuming everyday and measure your results using the following formula: Calories Consumed minus Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) minus Physical Activity minus the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). A website that explains this formula in more detail and will help you determine how many calories you need to reach or maintain a certain weight is at http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm

Get a diet and fitness calculator that you can put on your computer or cell phone. This will allow you to easily calculate the above formula, set goals, log your daily calorie consumption, and register your physical activities.

Set realistic goals for your ideal body weight. Here are two websites that will calculate a suggested body weight:
Adults: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm
Teens/Children: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/weight/bmi.html

It is difficult and unhealthy to lose more than one or two pounds per week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound. If you eat 500 fewer calories per day for a week you will lose one pound. If you burn through exercise 500 more calories per day for a week you will lose one pound.

*2) Eat natural and organic foods found on earth versus something created by a corporation to make money. Eat meals in small portions throughout the day and take a good multi-vitamin supplement.

Avoid “High Glycemic Load Carbs” (sugar, pastries, desserts, refined starches such as breads, pasta, refined grains like white rice; high starch vegetables such as potatoes) and drink lots of water. Read this article for more information on high GL Carbs:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates.html

Do not try fad diets or diet pills. Here is an excellent food pyramid that anyone can follow: http://www.rayandterry.com/html/images/PyramidLRG.gif?osCsid=26a424be471d1337e7c2f105d5c64d9d

*3) Exercise on most days by doing cardiovascular training and/or resistance training activities.

Read a book or find a certified trainer to make sure your doing all resistance training exercises correctly. A great book to buy that teaches you the resistance training basics is “Weight Training for Dummies”. A superb magazine to buy with resistance training routines that will not get you bored is "Muscle and Fitness". Signup for the free newsletter. An excellent free online resource is at http://www.exrx.net/

A good book to buy that teaches you the cardiovascular training basics is “Fitness for Dummies”.

*4) Get plenty of sleep. Sleep experts say most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health, and safety.

*5) Educate yourself continually on health issues and make a life long commitment to good health. A great free publication is “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005”. A superb book to read is “You The Owner’s Manual”. An excellent periodic publication is the “Nutrition Action Health Letter”. A reputable test you can take to measure your biological age is at http://realage.com

Look at all areas where you can enhance your health. For example, make improvements in the quality of the air you breathe. Review outdoor air quality forecasts where you live and get an indoor air purifier. Send me an email or yahoo instant message to "gainbetterhealth" if you want an indoor air purifier recommendation and if you have any questions.

*Click on all the source links below to get the full benefit of the recommendations. The answers presented to your health questions are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Answer 9

I have lost around 60 lbs in 6 months and I will tell you what not to eat. The first myth we have been told is that fat is bad. Sugar and carbohydrate are the big nasties. In fact, reduced fat food that has had some of the fat removed is actually more fattening than the regular food because the removed fat in most cases has been replaced with carbs! This is the main reason why you must absolutely stay away from ALL processed food with no exception. Eat fresh and natural. You must have 3 meals a day and get into a routine so your body knows when to expect food. Your body is capable of doing exquisite things to avoid weight loss if it thinks it’s going to get starved, so you must feed it and regularly.

The other thing you must do is keep your insulin as low as possible by getting sugar and carbs in your diet as close to zero as you can and not having ANYTHING between meals except water. Also having at least 5 hours between one meal and another. The last meal of the day must be no later than 9pm. Insulin is a hormone that will absolutely block fat and protein burning in your body and force it to burn sugar, that's how it works. You will NOT lose weight with your blood stream flooded with insulin, even with exercise. It’s impossible. You must have at least 8 glasses of water a day in order for your liver and kidneys to excrete the fat from your body this is crucial.

Now, what you must stay away from and I mean, non at all. Bread, pasta, rice, pastry, flour of any kind, sugar, potato, onion, parsnip, sweet potato, pumpkin, beetroot, carrots, peas, beans, beer, sweet wine, spirits, spreads like butter and margarine and be very careful of sauces and condiments. Fruit and milk should be taken very, very sparingly because they are fattening. Fruit is full of sugar too, only a very small amount. Avoid all processed food including diet soda it will stimulate insulin. 3 cups of black tea or coffee WITH meals a day is OK. Use Stevia for a sweetener.

OK, if you are still with me, what can you eat? In a nutshell you replace the carbs you have removed with protein and green leafy vegetables. Do not mix protein only 1 per meal. This is what you can eat. Lean meat, poultry, fish, cheese, yoghurt and eggs are your permitted proteins. Cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, capsicum, mushroom, celery, zucchini and a small amount of tomato. You can have unlimited amounts of lettuce and cucumber but ONLY at meal times. You can use balsamic vinegar as a dressing; mustard is ok too but only made from the powder. Shop bought is full of sugar! Curry powder in cooking can be used as well. One tablespoon of olive oil is ok per day, in cooking and as a dressing. Garlic is OK but not shop bought; you guessed it, full of sugar. Use fresh.

I will GUARANTEE if you stick to this you will loose heaps of weight, fast. I know it's not easy and you need the support of your family too.

Just another couple of things I forgot. NO breakfast cereal and avoid really heavy exercise you will just burn glycogen in your muscles, not fat and it will just make you sore and tired. You need prolonged gentle exercise to burn fat like walking. You don't need to exercise at all on this diet as long as you're moving about. Last but not least read food labels and look at the ingredients. Avoid foods like the plague with more than 5 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams. If you like a drink, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (very dry and low in carbs) with a little soda water is OK with meals.

Good Luck. Jules, lecturer. Australia.

Answer 10

watch the cooking networks and eat stuff that looks somewhat similar to what they make.