What do you consider to be a healthy diet? How much crap?

[GreyishDays]

I know what healthy foods are, so less processed, more fruit and veg, maybe fewer carbs, some good fats etc etc. The details seem to vary. But when people talk about a benefit that they see from eating healthily I’m really curious as to how healthily they mean.

So, one end of the spectrum would be eating biscuits all day, then you move to freezer food, then it gets a bit better by adding some veg, making the food from scratch etc.

But I’m wondering if you eat generally healthily, how many biscuits would you eat before it’s not classified as healthy any more? None? One a day?

I never know where I am

I tend to follow the 80-20 rule naturally. So Monday - Friday I'm usually good in that my food is cooked from scratch, packed full of veggies etc. Then on the weekend I tend to indulge a little more, so many a pastry for breakfast, takeaway for tea type thing. Big roast on a Sunday.
However I always have chocolate, biscuits, cake bars and crisps in the cupboard as I don't want to deprive anyone from them and I've always found for me the more I've stopped myself having them, the more I've craved them. When they're in my cupboard I can grab when I fancy, but i don't often fancy because they aren't forbidden.

Great skin, needs great genes. Fresh air some sunshine some physical activity that gives you a good sweat.
If your eating well and exercising but have skin issues it may be more of a food intolerance than healthy diet issue.

Impossible to say precisely, because there are too many variables (not just in dietary combinations but in the metabolism and activity levels of the individual).

You can't even really define it by how much 'crap' you eat, because in theory a person who eats a whole packet of biscuits every day but otherwise lives on salads and does loads of sport might still be healthier than someone who doesn't eat snacks and crap but overindulges portion-wise and eats good quality but rich food.

We don't buy biscuits cakes crisps etc but I do usually bake some shortbread and sometimes maybe a crumble or something at the weekend. I do buy jam and sometimes marmalade and we always have dried figs and stuff.

Generally though, Sweet food - apart from fresh fruit- is "weekend food" (the weekend includes Friday night)

We tend to focus on getting enough of the good stuff (nutrition) then there's not much room left for anything else.

So I guess our line would be if the biscuits or whatever were a big enough "thing" to impact our nutrition.

These threads always bring out the competitive orthorexics...

Balance. No absolute restrictions. I can't stand the anti sugar crowd who wince and suck their breath in at the thought of anything refined passing their pure lips. I can't stand the anti health crowd who think anyone who doesn't want a 14" pizza and large chips and bottle of full fat coke to themselves is a stuck up diet obsessed loser.

I can't put a number on how many biscuits it takes to tip from healthy to unhealthy, but if you did it would be "however many I have eaten today plus 1" .

I really think if most of your diet is healthy fresh food then you want a bar of chocolate or takeaway then that's absolutely fine! I had a friend who ate strictly healthily 6 days a week then had one day off a week where she ate what ever she wanted. Full Fat Friday she called it!

@fallfallfall

Great skin, needs great genes. Fresh air some sunshine some physical activity that gives you a good sweat. If your eating well and exercising but have skin issues it may be more of a food intolerance than healthy diet issue.

My skin is fine, it was just an example of where there’s conversation about ‘a healthy diet’ and me not being sure whether my biscuit intake pushes me out of that.

Just follow my late mother's advice and you won't go far wrong.

All things in moderation

fallfallfall

What a thrilling life you lead we're all super jealous.

We have a basic healthy diet, lots of fresh veg & fruit, chicken or fish, some vegetarian, wholemeal carbs, no alcohol.

I home make a cake and a fruit crumble or similar each week for two of us. DS is 12. They normally last the week.

He has pizza on Friday night when I cba to cook. And we have crisps and cheddars in packed lunches. But no shop bought biscuits, chocolate, sweet sauces, salted caramel anything (bleugh). We sort of got out of the habit.

I challenge @fallfallfall to a pizza race.

I'll get my Aldi ones out of the freezer and put them in the oven whilst she is making her own.

Pretty sure I know who my money's on

How fast? Pizza available 24/7.