to think people try to be too healthy

[rwonknextdoor]

Sometimes I find it hard to buy proper crisps these days, so often there are baked crisps. To me these just taste too sweet as all they have done is replaced the fat with sugar and fat is probably healthier in the first place.

Read a thread where people were saying pizza once a month was fine. In my house we have pizza night, chips night and burgers night once a week. This means that out of 21 meals 18 are healthy. I think its important to feed real food otherwise once they grow up and move out they will probably binge on junk if they were not given any growing up. Ive seen this happen to a few people raised on a strict diet.

I try too hard to be healthy according to your criteria. I have a BMI of 22. Before I started really trying, we had a "treat night" at least once a week too - similar foods to what you mentioned . For years my BMI was stuck at 26 - 27 no matter how much exercise I was doing. I don't mind being considered a try hard if it gets the results I want.

I did think this while reading the innocent smoothies thread.. Pure fruit mushed up and even that's apparently bad?! Better than fizzy stuff and cordial.. Surely better to choose a fruit smoothie even if it is full of natural sugar.

Surely better to choose a fruit smoothie

but choose it over what?
if thirsty drink water (since thirst indicates a need for water)
if hungry eat food, possibly fruit

drinking food is likely to contribute to appetite dysregulation and consumption of food in excess of physiological need

I think your first point was fair enough but should have been an AIBU about food companies tricking people into thinking they are being healthy.

I think you are not very good at maths on your second point.

And I think its important that people try to be healthy, there is no such thing as too healthy. Just many shades of healthy and not healthy.

Pizza night, chips night and burger night are junk food. They can be done healthily but I suspect you are not up for that. What you don't yet get I think is that you are sitting on the side of the junk food eaters and are possibly blind to your diet being bad. (maybe its not and you eat the healthy version of the 3 meals a week you say you do and have great food the other nights).

I think trying too hard can alter your perception. If you told me at 9am tomorrow I couldn't eat anything but a ryvita and an apple at lunch tomorrow till 9 at night when I'd get my usual dinner, I'd want more all day and be sat holding my cutlery by 9. Whereas with current low activity I'd easily go from 9am to probably 10pm (dd aside) without anything but drinks.

Suzanne, that is the ideal and I personally agree and would always choose water, but lots of people wouldn't, and don't eat much fruit either. Smoothies are a better choice than what most people drink..

I think if people try too hard to diet and eat only diet foods or starve themselves then that is doomed but eating to feed your body the best foods to create every new cell and keep you healthy, that is important to me. I don't believe you can try too hard to be healthy, its a daily decision.

I agree with Bonsoir that eating foods as close to their natural state as possible is the way forward. I consider food to be my medicine so I am always aware of what goes in my mouth.

I think many people (myself included) expend a lot of energy trying to be healthy and often focussing on the wrong things (more kale is great, but less wine / smaller portions of healthy food probably more important).

Not sure what your point is about the recipes. Yes, burgers have a bad rep, but they don't have to be awful. We buy high meat content, low fat, Aberdeen Angus burgers and while I don't think it's super-healthy, the burger, some wholemeal bread and big mixed salad doesn't seem too unhealthy to me.

I had barbecued monkfish wrapped in Parma ham, garden peas and skinny oven chips (no weird additives) tonight. The latter two were frozen. I do not think this is an unhealthy dinner.

I could make you a stuffed pepper dish with beans and feta that is bursting with vitamins & looks super healthy - but I wouldn't recommend you eat it on a diet....