Diet Opinions II

ASJ112

This topic is a two parter really, firstly I'd like some opinions on my general diet ( I've cleaned it up a lot since I first posted here a few months ago ), and the second being ( not my proudest moment ) I'd like to remove some foods from my diet that are causing me ( to put it bluntly sorry ) fart and go to the toilet a lot more than I used to.

I want to lose weight, reduce my body fat, and try cover all the key areas nutrition wise. I thought I could get by the second part above, that my body would get used to it in time, but its not and am noticing it too often these days, and I've always been known for smelling rather nice which is even more painful. So here is my core diet, I would particularly love it if people could point out any "gassy" foods that may contribute to the above problem.

Please please help ! I don't want to cut out certain food groups just because they are giving me trouble, but I would like to know which ones are responsible so I can avoid eating them before hot dates.

I will start with some foods that I suspect may be causing me problems


Spinach
Broccoli
Kale
Eggs
Avocados
Flax seeds
sugarsnaps
whey protein isolate

and here are other foods from my general diet that I would like opinions on, if any are not particularly healthy or "gassy".

Canned fish for Omega 3s - mackerel, sardines, anchovies, etc ( I try eat fresh when I can )
Turkey and chicken - lean slices
Cinnamon
hemp
Tea - white, black, green
Nuts - wide variety, macadamia, pecans, almonds, brazil, cashew, pistachio
Seeds - wide variety, pumpkin, linseed, sesame, sunflower
Fruit : Bananas, umeboshi plums, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries
Onions
Tomatoes
Watercress, arugula
Oatmeal
cherries
goji berries
kiwis
Yoghurt - Glenisk probiotic greek yoghurt
asparagus
Manuka honey - I know you don't have to say :P
Apple cider vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

Anything above that I should be aware of ?


Please don't laugh at me too much, but I would really appreciate some help.

ApeXaviour

Do you eat any wheat (pasta/bread etc.)? I've found cutting that out pretty much stops gas in its tracks for me, and makes my time in the water-closet a lot more pleasant affair. It's not just that they're carbs; rice and oatmeal don't affect me that way so much.

Other gut offenders include beans/pulses/legumes and possibly dairy IF you're lactose intolerant.

In terms of general diet, slimming down while maintaining muscle tone. Reduce your overall calorie intake (counting calories works), but keep your protein intake high: ~2g per kilo of bodyweight per day is a reasonable good rule of thumb for most people.

corkcomp

ASJ112 wrote: »

This topic is a two parter really, firstly I'd like some opinions on my general diet ( I've cleaned it up a lot since I first posted here a few months ago ), and the second being ( not my proudest moment ) I'd like to remove some foods from my diet that are causing me ( to put it bluntly sorry ) fart and go to the toilet a lot more than I used to.

I want to lose weight, reduce my body fat, and try cover all the key areas nutrition wise. I thought I could get by the second part above, that my body would get used to it in time, but its not and am noticing it too often these days, and I've always been known for smelling rather nice which is even more painful. So here is my core diet, I would particularly love it if people could point out any "gassy" foods that may contribute to the above problem.

Please please help ! I don't want to cut out certain food groups just because they are giving me trouble, but I would like to know which ones are responsible so I can avoid eating them before hot dates.

I will start with some foods that I suspect may be causing me problems


Spinach
Broccoli
Kale
Eggs
Avocados
Flax seeds
sugarsnaps
whey protein isolate

and here are other foods from my general diet that I would like opinions on, if any are not particularly healthy or "gassy".

Canned fish for Omega 3s - mackerel, sardines, anchovies, etc ( I try eat fresh when I can )
Turkey and chicken - lean slices
Cinnamon
hemp
Tea - white, black, green
Nuts - wide variety, macadamia, pecans, almonds, brazil, cashew, pistachio
Seeds - wide variety, pumpkin, linseed, sesame, sunflower
Fruit : Bananas, umeboshi plums, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries
Onions
Tomatoes
Watercress, arugula
Oatmeal
cherries
goji berries
kiwis
Yoghurt - Glenisk probiotic greek yoghurt
asparagus
Manuka honey - I know you don't have to say :P
Apple cider vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

Anything above that I should be aware of ?


Please don't laugh at me too much, but I would really appreciate some help.

I cant see a single food item in the list above that is "bad" per-se ... so its really down to trial and error

ApeXaviour

corkcomp wrote: »

I cant see a single food item in the list above that is "bad" per-se ... so its really down to trial and error

Yeah, they're all pretty damn good aren't they?

The only one I'd say is a bit BS is apple cider vinegar. I've looked into it a little and apart from some vague "goodness of apples" holistic crap I couldn't find anything positive about it. (I'd be happy if people could point me otherwise). Vinegar in general isn't the May West for bone health (kidneys have to try keep a certain blood pH, and will take calcium from your bones to do it). It's not terrible for you in moderation, especially if you eat a lot of fruit&veg; it just irks me a little that it's marketed as a health food.

Personally I love a bit of vinegar on salads. If balsamic and cider vinegar are just as bad as eachother, then balsamic wins every time for taste...

ASJ112

No I don't eat many wheat products, I used to eat some but cut them out as they were causing some issues. Same for beans/legumes.

I like apple cider vinegar and olive oil when I'm making salads, would be the only time I use them really. They add some nice flavour, be the main reason for having them.


Really wouldn't be a huge consumer of pasta/bread/dairy. My mom made a comment that the spinach could be responsible, that its known for this side effect. I was eating spinach/kale every day so I have an inkling it could be responsible, especially since I've had no problems at all today and haven't had any spinach. Think I may cut this for a week and see how it goes.


Thanks for your answers. Just so this topic isn't solely about my bowel movements, any thoughts on wheatgrass and plant roots ? I see some company supplying supermarkets with these, and have read that both are particularly healthy myself.

Does wheatgrass have to be juiced, or could I eat it straight, or throw it in a salad ?

Transform

ASJ112 wrote: »

No I don't eat many wheat products, I used to eat some but cut them out as they were causing some issues. Same for beans/legumes.

I like apple cider vinegar and olive oil when I'm making salads, would be the only time I use them really. They add some nice flavour, be the main reason for having them.


Really wouldn't be a huge consumer of pasta/bread/dairy. My mom made a comment that the spinach could be responsible, that its known for this side effect. I was eating spinach/kale every day so I have an inkling it could be responsible, especially since I've had no problems at all today and haven't had any spinach. Think I may cut this for a week and see how it goes.


Thanks for your answers. Just so this topic isn't solely about my bowel movements, any thoughts on wheatgrass and plant roots ? I see some company supplying supermarkets with these, and have read that both are particularly healthy myself.

Does wheatgrass have to be juiced, or could I eat it straight, or throw it in a salad ?

you have not laid out a typical day - post that.

you might just need a good clean out of your colon also - magnesium oxide would do the trick along with a ton of water.

ASJ112

This is what I had today, which would be pretty typical for me ( in no order )

Porridge with manuka honey, cinnamon, flax seeds, hemp
blueberries
Kale + spinach with a splash of olive oil and apple vinegar cider
Breast of chicken
2 cups of green tea
Glenisk greek yoghurt
Goji berries
Nut and seed mixture - macadmia, almonds, pumpkin, sesame, hazelnuts, etc
2 boiled eggs
Whey protein

Think that covers it...

you might just need a good clean out of your colon also - magnesium oxide would do the trick along with a ton of water.

I think it gets a pretty good workout already, and I do drink a lot of water. This is definitely something I've noticed only over the past few months.

Am going to try narrow it down myself by cutting out a few things for a while.


Question about calorie counting and weight loss. Say I am burning more calories than I consume and lose weight as a result, wont I just put that back on when I go back to my original diet/stop counting calories ?

ApeXaviour

ASJ112 wrote: »

Question about calorie counting and weight loss. Say I am burning more calories than I consume and lose weight as a result, wont I just put that back on when I go back to my original diet/stop counting calories ?

It depends what your original diet is. Call it maintenance... when you're not actively dieting.

So say your maintenance calorie intake (that which causes you neither to gain or lose weight) is 2000 calories per day. Your original bad diet caused you to gain weight, say you were eating ~2500 calories per day, which included some junk food.

Now you're actively dieting, so say you're eating 1700 calories per day. Nice calorie deficit, no insulin spiking junk food and plenty of protein allows you to lose fat fairly efficiently while maintaining much of your lean body mass.

So what happens when you go off this? Well hopefully from your dieting experience you will have learned a few tricks and things about portion size and nutrition and can apply them to "normal" eating. Your goal is to now eat at around your maintenance 2000 calories per day. Allow yourself some reward, some free junk-snacks (say two per week), and say one free meal per week where you can relax and have that big bowl of pasta with parmesan and butter (or whatever it is you want). It's very important to keep your protein intake high when coming off your diet as it's been shown to help keep weight off after. Maintenance is not back to old bad habits, but a lifestyle thing that shouldn't be difficult or stringent. Keeping around that magic maintenance calorie number.*

I would recommend looking up on google about the book "A Guide to Flexible Dieting" by Lyle McDonald. He gives some very sagely advice in this regard.


*since you said you won't be counting calories while on maintenance, I'd suggest doing it just for the first few days of "normal eating" so you can get an idea of what your normal calorie intake is and modify it to maintenance accordingly!