To be confused about "healthy eating"

[Van34]

It's not that I don't understand what foods are and aren't healthy (or so i thought). But I have no idea how to eat healthily. Bear with me.
I used to have a jacket and tuna (with a dash of mayo) but then I was told that it was as unhealthy as sandwiches. So then I tried salads but remain hungry no matter how much I had. Went onto soup but was then told that they are also unhealthy and ultra processed. What should I have?
I understand moderation but portion sizes are minute. One portion of cereal is enough for a toddler. That's not going to fill me up until lunchtime. Is a slice of toast healthy? It used to be a staple breakfast when I was growing up. Or should we be having something else (not a tiny portion if cereal)
We eat home cooked food everyday, no ready meals. But are they healthy? Chilli, steak and chips, chicken in pittas, fajitas, mince and dumplings. All staples from childhood and all filling. But are they healthy? I know what's in them so they should be...
It's a minefield. No red meat. No wine. Low sugar. Low salt. Low carb. High fibre. Low fat. No fat. High protein. Low cal. But so many of these diet foods are processed....
I am so confused about it all.

Less than 60g a carbs a day is an extremely low carb diet. Of course, if you’re diabetic or pre-diabetic or have another condition requiring careful control of blood sugar then this may be necessary (and I did indicate in my previous posts that certain illnesses and disabilities require specific dietary restrictions which don’t apply to most people).

If you don’t need to carefully control your blood sugar through diet, a jacket potato is a completely reasonable quantity of carbs for a meal. People who don’t have conditions related to blood sugar sensitivity absolutely do not need to be scared of eating a jacket potato or carrots in case they develop diabetes.

I think you should be a lot more careful about suggesting that your specific dietary requirements are applicable to the general population when you’re actually following quite an extreme form of diet which might be right for you, but is not necessary or healthy for people who don’t have any concerns about blood sugar sensitivity.

@Slothfully this is exactly it. It's all become a minefield.

Like a previous post said, some demographics live on rice for every meal, which in Britain is frowned upon. We knew a Chinese family that literally cooked rice by the sack load. Not one of them was over weight and all lived to good ages.

As someone who developed pre diabetes I try to keep under 120g carb a day- but I don't do keto - I reversed it all round in 4 months. I also no longer have cakes or biscuits or anything that's an obvious sugar apart from the occasional special treat. (Apart from some berries, bananas and grapes in small doses)

I aim for 1400 to 1600 calories a day and have lost 2stone 4 lb in a year- but I eat lots.

I do eat jackets, soup (I don't make it but do buy the better quality carton ones) and the odd sandwich. I've upped tinned fish, sardines, mackerel etc and I eat quite a lot of oatcakes with cottage cheese and porridge with banana

Personally I think it's about eating as fresh as possible, moderating carbs (I previously ate far too much rice and pasta) and upping the veg. It's not about obsessing over every meal

OP -what are your health complaints because it is true that certain health conditions require a different priority on food. The overall view on this thread that eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and cooking from scratch as much as possible is 100% the right big picture advice.

DH is a gym instructor. He does a LOT of exercise. He needs more protein than I do so we try to accommodate that - he has smoothies with protein powder and eats eggs pretty much every day. Plus larger protein portions at meal times.

I tend to be low in iron. I take a supplement but I do try to eat red meat, spinach, chickpeas (I'm not a big bean fan but otherwise I'd eat more of them too!) etc.

Diabetics usually need lower carb meals, and adapt accordingly. when I had gestational diabetes weirdly Ih ad to stop eating tomatoes in any form (not even spaghetti bol) as it spiked my sugar.

If you are overweight, you may need to reduce calories, with a focus on fat and sugar (although as a PP with PCOS pointed out, it might be that you have to remove carbs instead).

On that note, lots of people have to figure out their own personal triggers based on their metabalism. I know that a large lunch m makes me feel sluggish but if I do have one and go for a short walk after, I feel 100% better.

Lots of people are clueless and lots of people are very much in the mindset that healthy food is just low calorie food.

A balance is ideal, and ideally as low processed as possible. Tuna with a baked potato and salad is great- you've got protein & carbs, I'd look to replace the mayo with some healthy fats if you want a more balanced meal. You know your body best, you know what's sustainable and what's going to leave you hungry and stuck in a cycle of restrict and overeat.

Count chemicals, not calories.

sourdough toast with avocado and poached eggs, perfect

jacket potato with tuna, and a massive side salad, perfect. Mayo is a bit shit, but Hunter and gather so a healthier version with real ingredients.

homemade chips in olive oil are fine, oven chips coated in seed oils not so good.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Plus a fair bit of lean protein, as well as healthy fats, especially EVOO.
Cut out UPF, sugar and refined carbs as much as possible! .
Complex carbs in moderation are absolutely fine.
Lentils and beans are very nutritious.
Cook mostly from scratch, using unadulterated ingredients.
A Mediterranean diet - Middle Eastern/Lebanese - is excellent.

And before anyone says it I'm very aware that porridge is carb heavy- so if I have it I balance it out with salad and tinned fish at lunch -

Doctors are not trained in nutrition. Call them out on their own bullshit.
"Jacket potato is unhealthy"
"Why do you say it Doc? What specifically is unhealthy about it"
"Well, you know... erm... "
" Please be specific"
"Well, erm... carbohydrates and all that"
"Ok doc, are you aware that nutritional guidance recommends we have complex carbohydrates in every meal?"
"Well, erm... I am not exactly a specialist in nutrition"
"Can I please have a referral to a dietician. I would really like to discuss my diet with someone knowledgeable"

Who is telling you this stuff op?

100% of people who consume H2O die...

😂

It’ll take you a while, since LITERALLY EVERYTHING IS CHEMICALS

If I can just mention one thing I've found a real find is a few times a week I have at lunch a lentil shepherd pie from kirstys (Waitrose) at £2.75 - plus an orange it's nice hot lunch, just the right size and looks pretty unprocessed on checking ingredients - only 272 calories too

I'm older much older now, and ignore most of the faddy advice. I just avoid junk and takeaways, sugar, white bread, and fried food. Oh and I don't drink alcohol either. So what's left? Well that's what I consume.

I do the 16/8 most of the time except when on holidays or at a party etc. It works for me as I am so used to not snacking outside the eating "window" that I am not hungry for anything much then. I do have cake now and then and I love nice desserts (so much for low sugar consumption lol), but that would not be every day either. Life is for fun and for living, with a bit of common sense thrown in.

You’re being facetious. If it’s something you don’t recognise, an E number of whatever, swerve it for a better alternative if you can.

it astounds me how many of the general population don’t care about this shit. We didn’t have the sheer number of cancers and chronic illnesses we have these days, all created through lifestyle. Just read the comments on mumsnet, nobody cares! It’s all being driven by how we live, how is it ok to just accept that 50% of us will get cancer? And so many are avoidable if we look after ourselves. But the general consensus is ‘fuck it’.

the OP is asking for help, I’m giving it. Go and eat your chocolate and UPF bread if that’s what you want to do but don’t poo-poo other peoples posts.

Three basics.

I only buy whole foods - ie fresh meat or fresh/frozen uncoated fish fillets, fresh or whole frozen veg, fresh fruit. Dried pulses.

And I cook from scratch - grilled or casseroles. Maybe used in a risotto.

And I eat at least 30 different veg/fruit/fungi a week.

I know what goes in our food. Desserts are home made never pre-made. Cream is fresh not squirty.

Not all E numbers are some lab made unnatural concoction. Some are things like paprika. Can't remember which one it is

Anyone who seems really loud in the nutrition space is usually a quack trying to sell a book, ignore them for the most part. Eat from all 4 food groups, mind your portions and try and get 150 minutes of some exercise a week (even just a walk) and you're pretty much golden.

It doesn't need to be complicated and everyone can picture a healthy plate in their mind!

Please be careful to make the distinction between low fat (or low calorie) vs healthy. Two very different things. A healthy diet doesn't necessarily mean a diet that'll help you lose weight.

(wasn't suggesting you should lost weight, incidentally! On the contrary I mean that depending on your goal, 'healthy' means different things to different people and people who live on low cal diets, often aren't eating healthy in the nutritional sense).

This. That statement is actually technically correct because neither type of food is intrinsically unhealthy.

Absolute bollocks, unless you're unfortunately type 1, genetically predisposed or obese the human body does a fantastic job at managing it's own blood sugar.

You have a couple of health complaints blamed on diet

That's rather vague - but suppose the complaint was sore knees caused by too much weight, then the jacket potato might look much less healthy especially if it was rather large ( as you hint at your portion sizes being rather large )

And your use of the word blamed seems to suggest that you don't think your diet is a problem for your health when your doctor does

If the heath problems include type 2 diabetes then a standard healthy diet is irrelevant because your body is broken and what's good for a healthy body isn't good for a broken one ( you don't exercise a broken bone just like you don't exercise a broken insulin system )

was listening to a nutritionalist the other day and she was saying people are getting too much conflicting ideas out there. She said eg mayonnaise is unhealthy if you put lashings and lashings on but a thin layer is fine, a spoon of ketchup it’s also fine it’s just the people who cover everything in it. Sandwiches also fine! She recommended grainy breads but said white bread in moderation is also grand. She finished up with how unhealthy extreme dieting is and how carbs can be cut down on but not cut and how people need a store of fat, especially coming into winter.