What (in your opinion) is a healthy diet?

OneLeggedPig

Based on whole plant foods
Minimally processed
Calorie-dilute (low calorie-density overall)
Low "SOS" (added salt, oil, and sugar)

fairy_lights

I like to follow the 80/20 rule for a healthy diet - 80% fruit and veg, unprocessed meats and fish, dairy and grains.
20% chocolate digestives and Haribo.


I count calories, but that is for my weight, not my health, two separate issues which I think people often get mixed up.
It's really interesting the different ideas of 'healthy' that we all have - one of my parents elderly neighbours has spent most of his life on a healthy diet of cheese, port, and occasional tinned peas :rotfl:

WantToBeSE

OneLeggedPig wrote: »

Based on whole plant foods
Minimally processed
Calorie-dilute (low calorie-density overall)
Low "SOS" (added salt, oil, and sugar)

I'll hazard a guess that you follow High Carb Hannah on YouTube?

OneLeggedPig

WantToBeSE wrote: »

I'll hazard a guess that you follow High Carb Hannah on YouTube?

I know of her, but no, I haven't really watched her videos.

I get information firstly from the dietitian Jeff Novick, who is very good at explaining things in simple ways.

I can recommend his articles, starting with:
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2012/5/20_A_Common_Sense_Approach_To_Sound_Nutrition.html
and
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2010/10/26_The_Myth_of_Moderation_Pt_1__Do_All_Foods_Really_Fit.html
and
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2008/4/10_Marketing_Junk_Food__Dont_Go_Cuckoo_Over_Coconut_Oil.html

And his "placemat" guide to what your daily food intake should ideally look like:



"Calorie density", for reference:

MandM90

For me, it's no processed foods and no animal products. We've never felt better, are both slim with a decent amount of muscle and run regularly too.

We try and get our calories from green veg, lentils/beans/pulses, wholegrains, starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Basically what my (very poor) great grandmother lived off in Algeria...she lived to 110 so didn't do too badly!

We stopped buying squash, juice and, well, any drinks. Just drink water. Also never buy cake, biscuits, crisps etc. When they're not there, you don't miss them Big bonus is that my groceries cost under £100 a month for 3 humans, 2 cats and toiletries/cleaning products.

I must add, as we must sound horribly ascetic, that we do like the odd glass of wine. Today is the last day of Dry January and I must say, I am looking forward to Friday evening

[Deleted User]

Eat when your hungry and drink when your dry isn't a bad diet as long as ,for me anyway its non-processed stuff. I am happy to eat value beans but would not like to eat value bangers so prefer something with a high meat content One of those would to me be nicer than for filled with god know what I enjoy all veggies apart from fennel and all fish apart from prawns (bad experience with some dodgy ones gave me food poisoning )Its really about what your personal taste is .Food is a fuel for your body and if you put poor fuel into it then your body will either reject it or start to slow down a bit

LameWolf

JackieO wrote: »

Eat when your hungry and drink when your dry

That's me. I very often have a hard time eating at all, so I'll stick with whatever I can face at the time.

I don't eat meat or fish in any shape or form (even the smell makes me nauseous), and I don't eat any snacks because if I did there's no way I'd manage a meal at all.

I try not to over-think food, or I go right off the idea of eating; I do cook from scratch though (despite that fact that I loathe cooking).

Bellisima

Fresh food - meat, pulses, nuts, vegetables and fruit I would think are healthy. Not so healthy are ready meals or anything processed. Cook a fresh meal daily if possible, even if it's just pasta or rice with a homemade tomato sauce - delicious and very quick. If you are opening lots of tins to prepare a meal then that may not be so good, although tinned tomatoes and pulses are fabulous for a quick healthy meal!

Skint_yet_Again

When I think of healthy diet I think of what we ate as children


Home cooked meals a little meat, potatoes & veg. Salad. Lots of milk. A little cheese. Bolied eggs. Puddings were a treat on birthdays / xmas mums hm rice pudding or trifle - then arctic roll when it came into the shops in my teens.


Then I remember the bread and dripping sandwiches and bread and dip we had for breakfast (dad got the bacon we got fried bread cooked in the bacon fat with tomato ketchup on )


Maybe not so healthy after all :rotfl:

schiff

No harm in bread and dripping then, as the animals it came from weren't treated with chemicals.

Generally speaking I don't think we can really compare what we ate back then with its equivalent today.