Do you watch what you eat? Options

[sixfive]

Not to be a health f****t or anything but my family kinda started heading in the direction of actually reading nutrition labels and shit so I decided it couldn't hurt to jump on with them and I've been watching what I eat for the most part. When I go out I don't really pay attention, but when at home I figure I might as well eat what's healthy. When you're in control of what goes into your food and drinks it's pretty easy to avoid loads of sugar / bad fats and focus on more important nutrients to consume. If you do it right you can make it taste just fine, too. Fruits and vegetables if prepared properly can be added into almost everything and add flavor to everything.

Got me thinking. Do you watch what you eat? Do you avoid specific things (carbs, fats, sugars, sodiu, etc)?

[brooklyneast05]

i don't really watch what i eat. i was talking about this with rik not that long ago. i feel like i'm going to be screwed whenever i get older and my metabolism slows down. i eat pretty good because i cook and my girlfriend cooks, so i eat balanced. i don't eat a ton of junk because i don't feel like it usually/buy a lot of it. i'd usually rather have a steak than a bag of chips. if i am in the mood to eat unhealthy stuff i will though without much guilt since i don't really ever gain weight. basically i'm saying i eat more healthy/well balanced food just because it's what i like to eat, not really because of the desire to be healthy. i think if i felt more consequences to my eating then i would care more about watching what i eat.

[tokyo-rose]

The only nutrients I avoid are trans fat and saturated fat. I try to consume most everything else in moderation, especially sodium.

[sixfive]

i don't really watch what i eat. i was talking about this with rik not that long ago. i feel like i'm going to be screwed whenever i get older and my metabolism slows down. i eat pretty good because i cook and my girlfriend cooks, so i eat balanced. i don't eat a ton of junk because i don't feel like it usually/buy a lot of it. i'd usually rather have a steak than a bag of chips. if i am in the mood to eat unhealthy stuff i will though without much guilt since i don't really ever gain weight. basically i'm saying i eat more healthy/well balanced food just because it's what i like to eat, not really because of the desire to be healthy. i think if i felt more consequences to my eating then i would care more about watching what i eat.

I used to eat everything without regard to future consequences. My brother ended up having super high triglycerides so I decided that it may end up happening to me (Granted he weighs 260 / is a football player / got my dad's genes and I got my mom's). I have been able to eat whatever I wanted without feeling shitty or getting fat or anything like that, but I figured why not, might help me out later on in life. My dad and I are the cooks in the house (20% dad 80% me since I moved back home) so I've always been able to make healthy stuff that also tastes good. I guess I've now more than ever avoided the stuff that I know is unhealthy instead of saying "f*ck it it tastes good."

[superstitious]

Ok, I'm SO sorry to be "mom" right now but dammit, Steven. I am so proud of you. haha I constantly have to watch what I eat now because I never cared about it when I was in my early twenties. You'll be so much better off.

[sixfive]

thanks mom!

[datass]

i feel like i'm going to be screwed whenever i get older and my metabolism slows down.

that. i don't watch what i eat, ever. the only other times i read the ingredients just for fun, checking out the E numbers curiously. i probably should start soon in case i become a fat ass later in life.

[synapse]

try to stay off a lot of foods that are prepared in a fryer. I watch how much of something I'm eating. In the past if I had ordered a med pizza for lunch, it's possible if it was made correctly, i could eat the whole thing in one sitting. Now I eat about 1-1½ slices.

[tokyo-rose]

that. i don't watch what i eat, ever. the only other times i read the ingredients just for fun, checking out the E numbers curiously. i probably should start soon in case i become a fat ass later in life.

E? Are those the nutrition facts in Hong Kong?

[none345678]

Never. Though I think I may start. Become a health f****t like Steven

[tokyo-rose]

Never. Though I think I may start. Become a health f****t like Steven

S'one of the few things I approve of if you're going to follow Steven's act. :P

[datass]

E numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number

E numbers are number codes for food additives that have been assessed for use within the European Union (the "E" prefix stands for "Europe").

[smash]

i watch it go in my mouth.

[Matsumoto]

i watch it go in my mouth.

Daaamn you beat me to this ahahaha

[smash]

Daaamn you beat me to this ahahaha

hehe great minds think alike.

[Kathleen]

I avoid high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and white flour. I don't consume eggs, milk, meat.

[Matsumoto]

Kathleen, you're a vegan right? Is it hard finding foods?

[tokyo-rose]

Kathleen, you're a vegan right? Is it hard finding foods?

I was a pescetarian (the only meat I ate was fish) for about a month before my mother made it too hard for me to continue, but it wasn't that difficult to avoid the meat I couldn't eat. I think I still consumed dairy products, but I limited myself on that since I was more lactose intolerant back then (year-round runny nose).

From what I've seen at college, it's much harder to be allergic to gluten because that's in so many foods. The Campus Center dining hall only opened a gluten-free section during the 2009~2010 after gluten-intolerant students pushed for it.

[Kathleen]

Kathleen, you're a vegan right? Is it hard finding foods?

Yep! I would say that in the beginning, it's hard. Once I did research (granted, it helped that my boyfriend was vegan for a few years before I did the switch), I was able to find cheap vegan foods (I live on my own and am very poor, haha). Once you get past that and figure out what to find where, it's practically second nature when it comes to eating.

I have yet to go somewhere to eat and find nothing. Even fast food places have vegan items (not that I recommend supporting that or consuming such egregious things)! You'd be surprised...

Also, Whole Foods is a godsend for vegans. It may seem expensive, but compared to local grocery stores that carry meat and dairy alternatives, it's much more reasonably priced.

It also probably helps that I live in L.A. When I went back to visit Pittsburgh, I tried a couple vegetarian cafes and wasn't too impressed. I think that I've become somewhat of a food snob, haha.

Were you thinking of becoming vegetarian/vegan?

[sixfive]

I could never stop eating meat no homo but I can decide to eat the leaner meats and leaner cuts. I can also eat meals composed entirely of vegetables, but sometimes I just have to have a nice sirloin or a loaded turkey sandwich.

[emberfly]

I'm vegan. (so, yes, I watch what I eat)

[Just_Dream]

Oh man, I used to be pescetarian back in middle school. My mom cooked a lot of fish back then anyway, so yea that was my main source of meat/protein/whatevz. Other than that, I had a lot of carbs along with fruits and vegetables. I still don't consume a lot of dairy just because I don't like dairy products as much as vegetables :P But I still love froyo ;x

I only watch what I eat when I have my obese days - days where I feel extremely fat/bloated and I'm realllly picky about what I eat. Other than that, I don't watch what I eat, although I need to. I eat WAYYYYYY too many carbs and snack on a lot of random stuff.

Kathleen - I usually go to Trader Joe's for more organic and natural foods, and I've noticed that they do carry some similar products (even some of the same brands), but for lower prices. Actually, whenever I shop at Trader Joe's, the prices are pretty much the same as regular grocery stores anyway, although I hardly every shop there since I hate driving there (next to UCSD, but HORRIBLE parking lot and difficult to get to). The upside is that Whole Foods is HUGE, so they do carry a lot more than Trader Joe's... :P

[tokyo-rose]

I only watch what I eat when I have my obese days - days where I feel extremely fat/bloated and I'm realllly picky about what I eat. Other than that, I don't watch what I eat, although I need to. I eat WAYYYYYY too many carbs and snack on a lot of random stuff.

"Mongorian Beef" and "obese" do not belong in the same sentence, unless it's to say how you make obese people appear even heavier than they really are.

[sixfive]

that shit will catch up to you - it always does. i don't gain weight at all right now but still, don't wanna become a fatty

[Just_Dream]

"Mongorian Beef" and "obese" do not belong in the same sentence, unless it's to say how you make obese people appear even heavier than they really are.

Ah, but I can't be meating all the time because I do gain weight ;'[ After eating 4-5 meals a day and having dessert 2-3 times a day for 2 weeks while in HK, I gained quite a bit of weight. Surprisingly I still looked slim in my HK photos. o__O p.s. durian's like the most fattening fruit everrrrr.

Whatevz Steven, even if you eat fast food, all the working out work should prevent you from getting fat, so PPSSHHH. Doesn't Michael Phelps eat 12k calories a day?! And with quite a bit of fatty foods too... Just sayin'. He could be chowing down a shitload of fast food and still maintain his physique because of all his intense workout(s)...