How strict should you be with nutrition?

VonLuck

I am a guy in my early 20's and have been trying to keep fit for the past year or so. I workout 5 times a week and try to be very healthy when eating. A sample day would be something like:

Breakfast: Weetabix and Milk
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich with chicken breast, some form of veg and a piece of fruit
Post workout: Whey + Milk and maybe a banana
Dinner: Healthy chicken stir-fry with olive oil, various veg and brown rice
Snack: Homemade protein bars (whey, oats, peanut butter, raisins)

This is my usual nutrition plan for practically all of the week, maybe substituting wholegrain rice for pasta or chicken for fish etc.

The problem is that I feel as though I cant really relax and enjoy what I'm eating. If I'm having something to eat I have to make sure I get the right balance of calories, protein, healthy fats etc. Its like I spend so much time thinking about wheter or not something is healthy that it takes the fun out of eating it!

For instance, I was visiting relatives not so long ago and as I was chatting away minding my own business someone placed a piece of cake in front of me! I couldnt say no as it would have been rude but I couldnt enjoy it! I was thinking "this doesnt fit in with my fat/calorie allowances for the day".

I wonder to myself wheter I am being "too healthy"? How strict are you when it comes to nutrition? Does it bother you if you have maybe 2 or 3 bars of chocolate on week, or maybe you indulge at the cinema, or even go to the pub once a week.

I dont know where to draw the line between being healthy and enjoying myself!

boogle

You need to have a margin where real life creeps in. It's not always practical to stick rigidly to your eating plan. As you said, when you're visiting people's houses (and your aunt gives you a massive white bread sandwich :rolleyes:) or if you're out for dinner all the stuff you stay away from suddenly lands in front of you. In my opinion, having something off the plan once a week won't kill you, as long as it's not taking the mick completely (i.e. a Dominoes pizza and garlic bread)

VonLuck

boogle wrote: »

You need to have a margin where real life creeps in. It's not always practical to stick rigidly to your eating plan. As you said, when you're visiting people's houses (and your aunt gives you a massive white bread sandwich :rolleyes:) or if you're out for dinner all the stuff you stay away from suddenly lands in front of you. In my opinion, having something off the plan once a week won't kill you, as long as it's not taking the mick completely (i.e. a Dominoes pizza and garlic bread)

See this is where I have a problem. I enjoy Dominoes pizza!

Is it really all that bad to endulge a couple times a week?

I must say from all the people I know, I have the healthiest diet besides one. I'm just thinking that maybe I'm taking it too far! The only person I know that has a healthier diet than me is someone who is healthy for a living! (i.e. is involved in nutrition and fitness)

Most people I know go to the pub once a week. Most would have maybe have a pizza, or chipper once a week. They would maybe also go to the cinema and buy some popcorn and get a bucket of coke! But for the rest of the week they would have wholesome meals, exercise a few times a week. Would these people be considered 'unhealthy'?

boogle

All I meant about the pizza is that you don't eat a massive portion of it. Share a pizza with someone once a week if that's what you enjoy. Life's for living! I sometimes feel that if I'm being too strict with myself during the week, I'm ready to fall off the wagon big time by the weekend. I usually work by a rule that I allow one meal per week where I might be out and have chips or something. But I'd eat half of whatever portion I got.

Don't be stressing out over it. If you're good 90% of the time then the other 10% won't do you much damage in my opinion. I'm not a dietician though! :pac:

corkcomp

all depends on your goals! IMO there should be room for dominos in most diets:D whether you have it twice a week or once a month depends on whether your trying to shed pounds or not and how much exercise you do.. if you diet is healthy most of the time dont stress over it

Batigol309

Hey OP....Im kind of in same boat....became a bit obsessed with calorie counting...e.g thinking if I eat this I cant have this etc...

The prob is when you binge you will prob go way overboard....

Obviously moderation is key but Im finding it really hard to shake the idea of thinking of what I eat....people are commenting now that I have lost a load of weight etc.....its prob not the healthiest mindset

Bottle_of_Smoke

early 20s training 5 times a week I don't see any issue with a pizza here or there.

Iristxo

To me, and to a whole lot of people if you have to be counting calories, counting grams of fat etc you are doing something wrong. Eat whole foods, not too much and eat some/a lot of plants and you can't go far wrong.

It is a different thing if occasionally you'd like to calculate the grms of sat fat that you're consuming, for example, that'd be different. But looking at it all the time, not for me.

Well I always remind myself that the reason I started counting calories was to be happy and healthy, not skinny and miserable.

There's no problem with eating pizza IMO. I used to eat whole Goodfella's pizzas, one every Saturday. Then I started buying fresh pizzas instead, cutting them into quarters and then freezing them. While it doesn't feel as indulgent, honestly, a quarter pizza is just as yummy as a full one, and if you still feel hungry afterwards, you can still afford to eat a full healthy meal, as it's only 250kcals extra in your diet, not too hard to work around.
And I did have an Apache pizza garlic bread the other night that I didn't count at all. If it's not every week, there's no harm. It'd be more detrimental to my (mental!) health if I had to sit around watching my friends eat pizza.
Same goes for the pub. I thought I'd get a lot of stick for switching to Bulmers Light, but no one notices really and other than that (plus some mild reductions in volume) I wouldn't ever let it affect my trips to the pub.

But the cake thing is totally ok. Having counted everything you're eating, doing all that work, I'd feel angry if I felt obliged to eat a big wet lump of sugar icing and sponge like that. I mean, it really is just sugar, and isn't at all satisfying after having been on a healthy diet. One eighth of one of those little swiss chocolate gateaux (the ones where the slices always look tiny) is the same calorie count as a half a pizza. I'd far prefer half a pizza, and it's healthier too.

Glowing

I completely hear what you're saying OP. There is a really fine line between obsessing about what you eat, and having a balanced approach to food.

I think about absolutely everything I eat and what affect it's going to have on my diet and excercise - at every meal and inbetween. It's bloody annoying and takes some of the enjoyment out of eating as I love food! The thoughts of eating a sandwich or a lovely cream eclair almost disgusts me now, and that's just rediculous!!! At what stage does having an interest in eating healthily turn into an eating disorder? It's a slippery slope i'd say (speaking more about me than you however )

VonLuck

Glowing wrote: »

I completely hear what you're saying OP. There is a really fine line between obsessing about what you eat, and having a balanced approach to food.

I think about absolutely everything I eat and what affect it's going to have on my diet and excercise - at every meal and inbetween. It's bloody annoying and takes some of the enjoyment out of eating as I love food! The thoughts of eating a sandwich or a lovely cream eclair almost disgusts me now, and that's just rediculous!!! At what stage does having an interest in eating healthily turn into an eating disorder? It's a slippery slope i'd say (speaking more about me than you however )

Yes thats the problem I have. before I eat something I always think wheter or not it will fit in my allowance for the day and thats really no way to live!

I was thinking of switching over to a "eat when your hungry" approach! Just eat what I think is healthy and treat myself the odd time. If I see myself gaining too much weight, or losing too much weight I guess I can adjust the following week.

People didnt eat by calories until recently and it seemed to work up until now!

rocknrol

Hi, I am 37 and have being doing Martial Arts and Weight Training for years. I love my food and I find the following very helpful with my health and welbeing, flexability and joint & muscle pain. I start my day with a drink of Aloe Vera Forever Freedom with MSM a natural anti inflamatory, followed by Bee Pollen a natural energy boost, getting 20 amino acids and the 8 essential amino acids that the bod needs. I will then have tea and tost with Forever bee honey. Lunch I will have chicken sandwidge and at 2pm another bee pollen supplement. Dinners vary but at 5:30ish another bee pollen to maintain energy levels for the evening. On a Kickboxing night I will have bee pollen at 7:30ish. This I do every day and all supplements are 100% natural. I feel I do not have to worry as much abaout what I eat as I get all the body needs from my supplements, they are great and make me feel great and helps the body work at 100% and great for sports people. the supplements I get as I am a distributor of such products. it works for me and it is important to look after your health as much as you can. hope some of this helps with your queries. Tks Dave:) PS also have Kids to look after, they can wear ye out to.

VonLuck wrote: »

I am a guy in my early 20's and have been trying to keep fit for the past year or so. I workout 5 times a week and try to be very healthy when eating. A sample day would be something like:

Breakfast: Weetabix and Milk
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich with chicken breast, some form of veg and a piece of fruit
Post workout: Whey + Milk and maybe a banana
Dinner: Healthy chicken stir-fry with olive oil, various veg and brown rice
Snack: Homemade protein bars (whey, oats, peanut butter, raisins)

This is my usual nutrition plan for practically all of the week, maybe substituting wholegrain rice for pasta or chicken for fish etc.

The problem is that I feel as though I cant really relax and enjoy what I'm eating. If I'm having something to eat I have to make sure I get the right balance of calories, protein, healthy fats etc. Its like I spend so much time thinking about wheter or not something is healthy that it takes the fun out of eating it!

For instance, I was visiting relatives not so long ago and as I was chatting away minding my own business someone placed a piece of cake in front of me! I couldnt say no as it would have been rude but I couldnt enjoy it! I was thinking "this doesnt fit in with my fat/calorie allowances for the day".

I wonder to myself wheter I am being "too healthy"? How strict are you when it comes to nutrition? Does it bother you if you have maybe 2 or 3 bars of chocolate on week, or maybe you indulge at the cinema, or even go to the pub once a week.

I dont know where to draw the line between being healthy and enjoying myself!

rocknrol

Hi, I am 37 and have being doing Martial Arts and Weight Training for years. I love my food and I find the following very helpful with my health and welbeing, flexability and joint & muscle pain. I start my day with a drink of Aloe Vera Forever Freedom with MSM a natural anti inflamatory, followed by Bee Pollen a natural energy boost, getting 20 amino acids and the 8 essential amino acids that the bod needs. I will then have tea and tost with Forever bee honey. Lunch I will have chicken sandwidge and at 2pm another bee pollen supplement. Dinners vary but at 5:30ish another bee pollen to maintain energy levels for the evening. On a Kickboxing night I will have bee pollen at 7:30ish. This I do every day and all supplements are 100% natural. I feel I do not have to worry as much abaout what I eat as I get all the body needs from my supplements, they are great and make me feel great and helps the body work at 100% and great for sports people. the supplements I get as I am a distributor of such products. it works for me and it is important to look after your health as much as you can. hope some of this helps with your queries. Tks Dave:) PS also have Kids to look after, they can wear ye out to.

VonLuck wrote: »

I am a guy in my early 20's and have been trying to keep fit for the past year or so. I workout 5 times a week and try to be very healthy when eating. A sample day would be something like:

Breakfast: Weetabix and Milk
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich with chicken breast, some form of veg and a piece of fruit
Post workout: Whey + Milk and maybe a banana
Dinner: Healthy chicken stir-fry with olive oil, various veg and brown rice
Snack: Homemade protein bars (whey, oats, peanut butter, raisins)

This is my usual nutrition plan for practically all of the week, maybe substituting wholegrain rice for pasta or chicken for fish etc.

The problem is that I feel as though I cant really relax and enjoy what I'm eating. If I'm having something to eat I have to make sure I get the right balance of calories, protein, healthy fats etc. Its like I spend so much time thinking about wheter or not something is healthy that it takes the fun out of eating it!

For instance, I was visiting relatives not so long ago and as I was chatting away minding my own business someone placed a piece of cake in front of me! I couldnt say no as it would have been rude but I couldnt enjoy it! I was thinking "this doesnt fit in with my fat/calorie allowances for the day".

I wonder to myself wheter I am being "too healthy"? How strict are you when it comes to nutrition? Does it bother you if you have maybe 2 or 3 bars of chocolate on week, or maybe you indulge at the cinema, or even go to the pub once a week.

I dont know where to draw the line between being healthy and enjoying myself!

NotExactly

rocknrol wrote: »

I feel I do not have to worry as much abaout what I eat as I get all the body needs from my supplements, they are great and make me feel great and helps the body work at 100% and great for sports people. the supplements I get as I am a distributor of such products.

Did you come on here just to advertise your products?

corkcomp

I like honey but thats taking it to an extreme:rolleyes:

lachin

What's the pollen count for tomorrow?
(sorry!!)

rocknrol

Nope, hope the info I give about myself helps with the question originally asked.:)

NotExactly wrote: »

Did you come on here just to advertise your products?

rocknrol

Thats a gud one, about 3 tablets:D

lachin wrote: »

What's the pollen count for tomorrow?
(sorry!!)

rocknrol

Yeah, might sound a lot, but most sports people like to take things to the extreme and if you are taking your body to the extreme, it needs help along the way.:o

corkcomp wrote: »

I like honey but thats taking it to an extreme:rolleyes: