How do you get started???

[WaltMan]

Here is my problem.... I eat out everyday. I do not cook or even really know how. I want to start eating healthy. I really don't think my schedule is very hetic. I work 8-5 M-F and go to school two nights a week on Wed and Thu from 6-10. My question is basically, how do you break out of the routine of eating out daily and start eating like you should? Where do you start? What are some good first steps? I go to the grocery store and it is like overload for me. What to buy and what to do with it? Anyone else been through this?

[Razor]

Gradually go from non-healthy to healthy foods. The slower you switch, the easier it will be to change. Try buying some natural foods that aren't processed, like turkey breast and vegetables.

[jkjk]

Originally Posted by WaltMan

Here is my problem.... I eat out everyday. I do not cook or even really know how. I want to start eating healthy. I really don't think my schedule is very hetic. I work 8-5 M-F and go to school two nights a week on Wed and Thu from 6-10. My question is basically, how do you break out of the routine of eating out daily and start eating like you should? Where do you start? What are some good first steps? I go to the grocery store and it is like overload for me. What to buy and what to do with it? Anyone else been through this?

I disagree with the previous poster. I am in the all or nothing camp. If I were you, I would map out a diet plan with the appropriate number of calories and nutrients that you need and start right away with no hesitiation. To save time, I cook most of what Ill eat during the day the previous night while I am relaxing.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by jkjk

I disagree with the previous poster. I am in the all or nothing camp. If I were you, I would map out a diet plan with the appropriate number of calories and nutrients that you need and start right away with no hesitiation. To save time, I cook most of what Ill eat during the day the previous night while I am relaxing.

For someone who isn't used to eating healthy and has no idea where to start, it's going to be easier to gradually step down over a few weeks than change in a single day. It's possible, but only if the person can handle a drastic change like that.

[WaltMan]

Originally Posted by jkjk

I disagree with the previous poster. I am in the all or nothing camp. If I were you, I would map out a diet plan with the appropriate number of calories and nutrients that you need and start right away with no hesitiation. To save time, I cook most of what Ill eat during the day the previous night while I am relaxing.

Thanks. I would love to see an example of what you eat on a day-to-day basis and even a sample shopping list (if you don't mind).

[Mahdimael]

The thing I started doing at the store was the following, and then worked my way from there:

-No beverages. I have water at home.
-No precooked food- TV dinners, Hamburger Helper, etc.
-Lots of tuna in water
-Bag o' boneless Chicken breasts
-Fruits, Veggies and whole wheat breads.
-Low calorie seasonings - lemon juice, basalmic vinegar, etc
-No snacks- chips, cookies, candy

If the stuff isn't in the house, I won't eat it. With these things, I've found I can have a good mix of stuff that's pretty healthy. I haven't mixed in any supplements yet, but I will if I notice my workouts beginning to stall

[daveo]

Originally Posted by WaltMan

Thanks. I would love to see an example of what you eat on a day-to-day basis and even a sample shopping list (if you don't mind).

WaltMan,

Take in to account that I'm a semi-veggie (nothing that walks) so my menu's a little funny. You can see my spreadsheet (as-of this morning) here.

I just read the nutritional information of the back of the various boxes/cans. If you don't have Excel you can use OpenOffice for free!

Post questions and !

[Idoc]

I am also an all or nothing person. I tried to start eating healthy several times before I finally stuck with it. My problem before was that I would "slip" and eat out due to the convenience. That would start a snowball effect and eventually I'd be back to old bad habits. What finally got me over the edge was educating myself about healthy vs. non-healthy foods. Once I realized just how bad it was to eat out and how much it prevented me from reaching my goals, it was easy to stay motivated to eat healthy.

Here is what I would suggest:
1. Set a goal for yourself. It is hard enough to stay motivated when you're working toward a goal. It is nearly impossible to get anywhere if you don't have goals at all.

2. Educate yourself about good foods for fat loss or bulking or whatever your goal is. I try to keep the popular 40/40/20 ratio (i.e. 40% carbs/40% protein/20% fat). This site is an excellent source on what kind of foods are good and bad.

3. You will also need to figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is necessary to find out what your target amount of caloric intake should be. The key to getting lean is to eat fewer calories than you burn!

4. Keep logs/journals of what you eat each day. This is so that you can track your progress. There is no way to know if you are actually working toward your goal if you don't record your succeses and failures. This will also serve as motivation once you realize that things are going well!

5. Of course, eating right is only a part of the whole equation. If you really want to maximize your potential, you'll need to combine good eating with a good workout and a good aerobic routine. :db:

You're on the right path. You are obviously motivated and asking questions. The hard part is the education part. I can't really tell you what to eat or what to cook specifically, because I don't know your tastes. For example, I love fish. I cook and eat alot of it, but there are others that don't like it at all.

Here are some links to help get you started:
John’s BMR calculator: www.hussman.org/fitness/bmrcalc.htm
Body type: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm

Here’s a great link posted on this forum by Schteevie:
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=51

Hopefully this will get you going. I’m sure there are more links that could help you, but I’m not at my normal computer, so I don’t have them readily available. If you do a search on this forum for nutrition or diet or something like it, I’m sure that you will find some excellent advice. Good Luck!!! Keep us posted!

[haven97]

It looks like you are looking for some examples of a healthy diet.

Use a grill for cooking or the GF Grill. You can cook chicken breasts on that. Learning to cook has been the most benefical part of eating healthy for me. My cheat meal is usually something from the food network that I cook on Sunday night. Usually its not even a cheat meat but it tasts like one.

Must Have food in no real order:

Chicken Breast - I eat at least 6-7 per week
Tuna - Almost daily/daily
Nuts - good for a small snack
Peanut Butter - I mix in a protein Shake
Hot Sauce
Ketchup
eggs - Eat only whites or Egg Beaters if you cant deal with whites
coffee
green tea
Ground Turkey - I sub this for ground beef all the time.
Oats
Scliced Turkey Breast
Only Whole Wheat Bread
Brown Rice Not white
Whole Wheat Pasta - measure how much you eat.... I was suprised of how many calories I was eating everytime I ate Pasta
Whey Protein
MultiVitiam
Skim Milk
Green veggies - I love snap peas, green beans, etc
Sweet potatoes - These taste so good with Chicken
Fish - Fish is so good for you. If you dont like it now you better start!
Lots of water - I drink so much people must think I have a blatter problem

Measure everything! Do lots of research. If you have to eat out daily get a salad with Grilled Chicken NO Fried food! Oil and Vin Dressing or something light.

Write down everything you eat and how much. If you do this ahead of time you will have no problem eating healthy.

[WaltMan]

Thanks so much for your replies! I am grateful for the information to get started.

[HunkOLove]

You say you can't cook. Try my recipe from the recipe section and see how you like cooking. Takes a total of 12 minutes to make this.

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=463


If you have a wife or significant other that can help out that really makes it easier to keep things on track with your diet. If your own your own no bother just means more planning ahead.

You should search for "spreadsheet" without quotes on this forum and you will find a zillion food plan spreadsheets you can look at with people's sample meals.

For easy starters you want to eat 10X your body weight in calories everyday. You want 40% to be from protein 40% from carbs and 20% from fat. You want to avoid saturated fat and processed sugars. Drink LOTS of water. You will need to exercise at least 3 days of cardio a week. [cardio - walking, jogging, running, aerobics, exercisxe bikes etc.]

Start out slow and if you are over 30 and haven't exercised in a long time see your doctor first and get checked. Tell the doc the exercise and diet plan you intend to undertake.

Cut out anything fried, get rid of mayo, non-diet salad dressing, anything that is described as "creamed or creamy" is a goner, any snack foods like chips, candy are gone. Ya gotta ditch soda. No fast food. I don't care if Wendy's has some chicken low carb crap. Bun is loaded with sugar. If you have to have something hit Subway for a low carb chicken wrap but you can skip the dressing and the mayo. Watch the cheese. Switch to skim or 1% milk. Drink a protein shake. Will get you proteins while helping to keep your fat intake under control. You can do lean red meats in moderate portions.

If you want to lose weight those are the rules. At least for me.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by daveo

I just read the nutritional information of the back of the various boxes/cans. If you don't have Excel you can use OpenOffice for free!

OpenOffice is a good program. I prefer it over Excel. Anyone looking to make a spreadsheet for their food intake should download it, unless they already use Excel and have no plans on switching.

[Yossarian]

Lots of good advice in this thread. Keep in mind though that it is OK to cheat now and then. Pick one day a week, or even just one meal a week, and eat whatever you feel like (within reason). I'm not talking about binging, but a Wendy's burger or something is not going to set you back.

A cheat meal every now and then is a good thing and feels like a reward for being good all week. Last weekend I had a beer and an awesome chicken burrito from a little hole in the wall place, they tasted even better because I've been watching my intake so carefully lately (down 5 lbs fat in the last 3 weeks).

[Malikai]

I had the same problem i'd constantly eat out cause it was just easier to buy something. The way I solved it was when I go to work I just left my money and credit cards at home. Very hard to eat out when you have nothing to pay for it with and now that I have broken the cycle taking food to work just seems like the normal thing to do.

[WaltMan]

All of the replies have been great! Thanks a lot.

I am not a big boiled shrimp fan but I will give the recipe a chance. I love chicken breasts on the grill so that may become my meat of choice. Now to get that grocery list together and go shopping. Living in a small rural town gives me limited options unless I drive an hour to a larger town. I will probably do that once a week to be able to get fresher food and a better selction.

Thanks again for all the info!

Walt