Am I just kidding myself

Sugar Drunk

Well, on the quest to be more healthy Ive started eating the following:
Tropicana fruit juice

Knor vie shots - are they really any good for you?

Birds eye steam fresh veg bags carrot/brocolli and sweetcorn & carrot/cauliflower and green beans- LOVE these. I dont cook veg from fresh simply have not got the time so I am hoping these are good as they are so handy

Go ahead orange and sultana slices (instead of chocolate) - figures these are a better alternative!)

Special K crispy bites - again instead of chocolate

rubadub

You have got to learn how to read nutritional info on packets. By the sounds of things you are a marketing mans dream, and believe the crap. That go-ahead stuff is crap, so are cereal bars, or those rice kripsie things. They prey on peoples ignorance about food. I had a mate who was devouring packs of go-ahead buiscuits, you would swear it was celery or something, thought it couldnt make you fat "since the pack says go-ahead".

Your tropicana is around 11% sugar, same as coke, albeit slightly better for you, but you are still better just eating fresh fruit. The knorr shots are overpriced and no doubt fresh veg is better.

Stick with the veg, eat fresh fruit. And I would rather eat half as much chocolate than the go-ahead/diet bar things. They might be slightly better than chocolate, but I would prefer a small amount of something I really enjoy.

ali.c

On the frozen veg issue, well freezing does preserve the nutrients so if it works for you then keep using them, just buy high quality ones.

dudara

Frozen vegetables are generally quite good as they are frozen very shortly after picking. As long as you don't overcook them, they are often better than shop-bought fresh veg.

As for the bars and special K snacks etc, I would avoid them like the plague. They might be low-fat and low-calorie, but they are often packed with sugars and other nasty ingredients. Read the ingredients label to get an idea of what is in them.

If you want a sweet treat, eat some fresh fruit, or go for a little (a few squares) of a high quality dark chocolate.

Sugar Drunk

good news on the frozen veg
I will ditch the special K bars and the go ahead. Im already eating lots of fruit I love fruit. I eat food 5-6 times a day as I am always hungry. I am trying to gradually get healthier I am not over weight Im just not happy eating so much junk. trouble is its often hard to get healthy options especially in convienience shops esp as Im a bit of a fussy eater (hate salad, mayonnaise, potatoes). Compared to my pre christmas diet I am doing a hell of a lot better but I know if I try cut out everything at once I will fail. For example I am substituting a packet of quavers instead of the usual packet of king crisps as its nearly a thrid of the fat content so I will gradually cut that down. Im also lashing the water and tea into me and eating ryvita and brown bread rather than white bread. Thanks a mil for all the advice.

rubadub

dudara wrote: »

As for the bars and special K snacks etc, I would avoid them like the plague. They might be low-fat and low-calorie,

Most are not low calorie at all. This is the type of scam I am getting at, marketing people preying on peoples ignorance. If you find some snack with a big "LOW FAT" emblazoned on it, you can be sure it is high in sugar, and vice versa, "LOW SUGAR" is high in fat. The other scam is messing with portion sizes. So milk will say "only 4% fat", while some people will ingest 1 kilogram of milk per day, 40g of fat.

example I am substituting a packet of quavers instead of the usual packet of king crisps as its nearly a thrid of the fat content so I will gradually cut that down

Classic example of skewed portion sizes. Most crisps/snacks are around the same fat content, quavers/skips etc are very low weight. Walkers "baked" are low in fat but higher in carbs, and around the same overall caloires as standard walkers per gram, some would perfer to be eating the oil than the additional carbs from processed potato. If you prefer the kings then just eat less, they are probably better than quavers, which are overprocessed starch with oil, -in saying that both are bad.

Similar scams is done on chocolate bars, maltesers, creme eggs, aeros, wispa etc are all very low weight. The marketing scum then market them at the same price, half the weight and shout about how low in calories they are! Just get a snack size mars/snickers bar!

Weight watcher meals are the biggest offenders, tiny portions and watered down recipies, and overpriced.
Peanuts would be a better option for snacking on.

trouble is its often hard to get healthy options especially in convienience shops esp as Im a bit of a fussy eater

Just make a packed lunch, cheaper & nicer.

mack1

Sugar Drunk wrote: »

good news on the frozen veg
I will ditch the special K bars and the go ahead. Im already eating lots of fruit I love fruit. I eat food 5-6 times a day as I am always hungry. I am trying to gradually get healthier I am not over weight Im just not happy eating so much junk. trouble is its often hard to get healthy options especially in convienience shops esp as Im a bit of a fussy eater (hate salad, mayonnaise, potatoes). Compared to my pre christmas diet I am doing a hell of a lot better but I know if I try cut out everything at once I will fail. For example I am substituting a packet of quavers instead of the usual packet of king crisps as its nearly a thrid of the fat content so I will gradually cut that down. Im also lashing the water and tea into me and eating ryvita and brown bread rather than white bread. Thanks a mil for all the advice.

Well done on the changes you are making, just to debunk a few myths that you eluded to in your post.
- first, while fruit is good and all, and a lot better than eating Mars bars etc - you CAN eat too much. They call it 'natures candy' for a reason, while natural it is still mostly sugar, and hence has the same insulin affects as sugar. I know that you are not trying to lose weight, but for anyone who is I would limit to 2 pieces per day or so, you are much better off with plenty of veg and some fruit.
- second, while the quakers things may have less fat than that king crisps, it's not the fat in these things that are bad for you, check the sugar content of them quakers. Fat does not make you fat, people do not know this, so food companies replace much of the fat with sugar (naturally low in fat). Sugar is the bad guy, not fat.

Nasty_Girl

I was gonna start a thread about special k bars, as I eat them all the time, but have just seen my questions have already been answered!!

So with the special k bars out the window, is special k the cereal anyway good for you or is it just not as bad for you as others?

I'm useless with all this GDA stuff.

rubadub

Nasty_Girl wrote: »

I'm useless with all this GDA stuff.

GDA is another easily manipulated data. Many simply omit the bad ones!

Special K is not terrible, but is still processed grains, check ingredients, and question why they add certain stuff, like sugar or salt.

Porridge is best. I mix porridge oats with whey powder and skim milk, liquidise and make pancakes. Better for you than special K or all-bran but most would think "all bran must be good for you, tastes bland and nasty", and "pancakes cant be good for you, taste too nice".

Sugar Drunk

Ok, rubadub I do see your point but I have in front of me a special K bar, a mars bar and a go ahead bar.

Special K = per bar - carbs 14.8g of which sugars 7.6g, 2g of fat(1g of which is saturated)
Go ahead = carbs 33g of which sugars 18g, fat 3.6g
Mars = carbs 43g of which sugars doesnt say, fat 11g

Now bearing in mind I used to go for the chocolate how on earth can you say that the special K bar is not a better option? its 9g less fat and a lot less sugar! Yes I would imagine the ultimate healthy option is dont eat any of them but as I explained I am taking it in small steps and will be eating something so I am trying to eat the lesser of 2 (3?) evils
I am not a moron who cant read labels I am sorry if I have come across that way. I now a pack of quavers is smaller than a pack of king thats why I swapped - its a lot less fat. yes, theres a possibility of eating less king crisps but If I open a pack I will eat the whole pack

as for pancakes I LOVE pancakes.

rubadub

Sugar Drunk wrote: »

I am not a moron who cant read labels I am sorry if I have come across that way.

You didnt, sorry if I seemed to be getting personal, it is the marketing lads that drive me mad, the way they word it is very sly and seems to make sense, until you really look at the facts.

Special K = per bar - carbs 14.8g of which sugars 7.6g, 2g of fat(1g of which is saturated)
Go ahead = carbs 33g of which sugars 18g, fat 3.6g
Mars = carbs 43g of which sugars doesnt say, fat 11g

Ok, if you look on the http://www.specialk.com/ site is has info on these bars. It says it is 22g, so about 1/3 the size of a mars bar which I think is 60 or 65g. So you really have to look at them as "per 100g", if a item has no "per 100g" figures then you can guess it is a small portion. That is a common trick. For a true comparison multiply the special k by 3, the special K is still better but not by much. The other usual trick is watering down food, so there is less overall food in all, so it is like eating a smaller portion and a glass of water, or diluting soup to give a low cal per 100ml reading.

theres a possibility of eating less king crisps but If I open a pack I will eat the whole pack

I am the exact same!, I had a huge tin of heores sweets that vanished in a week! Most peoples problem is portion control, a mini/snack mars might be the same weight but it is smaller so gives the illusion of being more substantial. If the smaller portions work then go for it, but do watch out for the tricks they use to make stuff seem apparently healthy, thats all.

Read the info on all packs, stuff you might presume is low in calories can be high & vice versa. I think the biggest shocker to many people I tell is the calories in a pack of supernoodles.

Sugar Drunk

rubadub wrote: »

Ok, if you look on the http://www.specialk.com/ site is has info on these bars. It says it is 22g, so about 1/3 the size of a mars bar which I think is 60 or 65g. So you really have to look at them as "per 100g", if a item has no "per 100g" figures then you can guess it is a small portion.

I am the exact same!, I had a huge tin of heores sweets that vanished in a week! Most peoples problem is portion control, a mini/snack mars might be the same weight but it is smaller so gives the illusion of being more substantial.

Ah I get it yes I didnt compare them with 100g they are much smaller. Thankfully my stomach is a bit daft so if I feed it a snack its happy it doesnt seems to realise its a smaller portion thankfully.

Glad I am not the only one who cant open a packet and then put it back:)those damn boxes of maltesers wre the death of me - you CANT put them back after a few!

rubadub

Sugar Drunk wrote: »

Thankfully my stomach is a bit daft so if I feed it a snack its happy it doesnt seems to realise its a smaller portion thankfully.

Portion size is a real problem, and there is a lot of mental play going on. Some tips are using a small plate, so your portion looks bigger/fuller. Use a small sized fork, or teaspoon for cereal. This slows your eating. I used to wolf food down in no time, eat museli in mixing bowls!

Small sized meals do trick you in a good way. Another method is cooking up batches and weighing out portions and freezing them. This way you cook one at a time, and having an extra helping, means another full jar needs defrosting. It is less tempting than a open pack of food.

Problems & success of portion size really shows up with the "success" of Lipotrim, people are able to basically starve themselves with ~500kcal per day since that is the portion size they are given. Willpower can obviously be helped along with controlled portions.

In one TV program they had 2 groups in mock medieval banquets, one group had the plates constantly cleared, the others allowed bones & skin etc mount up on the plates. The ones with all the evidience of their eating at far less.