Besides the occasional bowl of cereal or crackers I don’t eat anything that comes out of a box (pizza excluded).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yogurt and granola are healthy, high in protein and fiber and maybe healthy fats.

Only if it’s plain yogurt and granola with very little sugar. Most commercial granolas have a lot of sugar. If you make your own or use just plain yogurts, oats, and add some honey or maple sugar and fruit, then it’s healthy.

I love making my own granola. It’s easy and the house smells delicious.

Me too! I just made some with seeds from the pumpkin we carved. This time is was just oats, honey, pumpkin seeds, cardamom, and oil, but usually I put in a ton of nuts (nut free relative is coming to stay this weekend). I only like cereal type things for breakfast and having nutty granola with yogurt (I always buy plain yogurt; it’s cheaper and I can throw in jam or maple syrup if in want flavour) instead of bran flakes or cheerios actually keeps me full until lunch.

The thing I’ve been tracking recently is how much highly processed foods had crept into my diet. The granola is a great example — for a while I was buying Quaker Oats pre-made granola for convenience — and then I was looking up brands I used a lot on a HPF website and even that granola which shouldn’t have required more than four ingredients counted as highly processed! It’s still hard to avoid them (I have toddlers and cheerios and goldfish are regular things in purchase) but I’m been trying to avoid things like pre-grated cheese and bread even if it makes some types of cooking quicker and easier because those are things I can super easily do for myself at home and not have to worry about preservatives and additives and such.

Oreo’s and potato chips

I try to avoid the aisles in the grocery store.

Ugh- I mostly eat the same, even though I have prediabetes thanks to genetics. (I currently take met Forman, which has helped bring it down some). I was vegetarian but now I eat fish (and chicken but I don’t like to) occasionally. I used to drink more juice- ahh, I love it so! But now mostly avoid.

I feel that life is not worth living with no sugar. I like pancakes and maple syrup on weekends, a donut or cake occasionally and chocolate or other candy or ice cream. Maybe I need hypnosis! I’d rather exercise more than give these things up completely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yogurt and granola are healthy, high in protein and fiber and maybe healthy fats.

Only if it’s plain yogurt and granola with very little sugar. Most commercial granolas have a lot of sugar. If you make your own or use just plain yogurts, oats, and add some honey or maple sugar and fruit, then it’s healthy.

Sugar is not "unhealthy." It's not nutritious but it doesn't hurt you unless

(1) It's all you're eating, which is not an issue with yogurt and granola which, even if full of sugar, also has pleny of nutritious value. Yogurt with added sugar is not the same as candy.

or

(2) You are calorie restricting, in which case the added calories from sugar "cost" too much, and also added sugar tends to induce people to consume more of items because it tastes good to them.

But the sugar is not, in itself, a problem. I am not on a calorie restricted diet and full fat yogurt and granola are a great, filling breakfast for me. I usually buy plain yogurt and sweeten with honey. I'd love to make my own granola (and sometimes do) because it tastes better, but it's generally cheaper and a million times easier to buy it. But there are so many options there, too -- many granolas are sweetened only with honey, and if you can find one heavy on nuts, the nutritional value goes even higher.

But you don't have to fear sugar. It won't kill you!

I used to make two packets of ramen in a giant bowl as an after school snack. Now I have one packet maybe once every month or two. Love that stuff, but the sodium......

Anonymous wrote:First semester of college I would grab two big blueberry muffins on my way to class. I still had my teenage metabolism then.

Skinny in college- used to eat cream of broccoli soup, fried mozzerella sticks, giant choc chipcookie

Small snacks all the time to "keep my metabolism up".
I eat one meal a day now and have a BMI of 21 so not too thin. Feel wonderful.

Used to drink sodas, then juices (OJ, cranberry, etc.) and chocolate milk -- now only water. And coffee and teas, always. But with no sugar now.

Used to eat 80% carbs & sugar, with some green veggies, very little protein, almost zero fat. Now mostly green veggies and protein, some healthy fats, very few carbs. Alas!