[dreamdeferred]

"Low fat" is one of the biggest nutrition scams going. If a product is advertised as "low fat" it usually has excessively high carbohydrates which leads to insulin spikes and...surprise...fat accumulation.

A much saner strategy is to concentrate on a balanced diet which includes healthy fats, protein, and carbs spread over 5-6 small meals daily.

Here's a real basic overview

Body-for-LIFE Ten Nutrition Tips

Snack wise, it rally depends on your goals if you're trying to lose fat....stick to fruits and some real light treats every now and then with one binge day where you can eat some forbidden foods. If you're just trying to maintain your current fitness level you can get away with a bit more.

[ChotooMotoo]

healthy dinners (mostly desi since I think you're in desi land):

tikkas or kabobs with brown bread (not fried) served with salad and low-fat cucumber raita
lentils/split peas with brown bread and lassi
almost any vegetable dish, such as aloo ghobi with either bread or rice and low-fat raita (just make sure not to use too much oil)

non-desi
grilled chicken served over spagetti marinara (whole wheat spagetti's) and steamed broccoli
chicken pieces marinated and grilled on skewers served with bread, salad, and potatoes cooked as follows:

clean and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces, put in bowl and toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp cumin seads, 1/4 tsp red pepper, a dash of tumeric, 1 tsp salt and lemon pepper. Spread potatoes on baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven until cooked.

Beef and Broccoli served over rice, made with low sodium soy sauce

[sally]

Originally Posted by dreamdeferred

"Low fat" is one of the biggest nutrition scams going. If a product is advertised as "low fat" it usually has excessively high carbohydrates which leads to insulin spikes and...surprise...fat accumulation.

A much saner strategy is to concentrate on a balanced diet which includes healthy fats, protein, and carbs spread over 5-6 small meals daily.

Here's a real basic overview

Body-for-LIFE Ten Nutrition Tips

Snack wise, it rally depends on your goals if you're trying to lose fat....stick to fruits and some real light treats every now and then with one binge day where you can eat some forbidden foods. If you're just trying to maintain your current fitness level you can get away with a bit more.

yeah low fat is such a scam, god. but honeslty even though low carb is better than low fat i still dont like the idea of it. sugar alcohols are overrated. and low carb and low fat both give people the illusion that they can potentially binge on stuff because its not as high in sugar/fat

[ChotooMotoo]

yeah, but non-fat frozen yogurt with fruit is just as filling as the same amount of regular ice-cream and fruit, and you save yourself quite a lot of calories, sugar, and fat. You just have to compare labels to see if you're trading fat for sugars or some such.

[Jaysh]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

healthy dinners (mostly desi since I think you're in desi land):

The Imam is no longer in the Motherland.

[sally]

you shouldnt cut rice out if you're used to it

basmati rice is good for you

whole wheat tortillas

whole wheat english muffins

recently theres been more awareness about healthy eating so ive noticed that whole wheat products have started to taste better.

whole wheat pasta is really good too

start every meal off with a salad..buy a box of croutons..restaruant style. throw some in your bowl and you'll be surprised how much salad you end up eating as a result..yea they have a few cals but like i said, a few go a long way. they enhance the taste of salads insanely. you end up thinking youre eating a bunch of yummyness but you get in some good nutrients

and make sure your salad isnt like 80% lettuce, for the love of god. i dont get people who do that.

romaine lettuce + baby spinach is really good for a salad base..then add on whatever other veggies you like

also, feta cheese with garlic (look in the store for it) tastes awesome in small quantities..sprink a pinch of the crumbled variety over your salad. and mix it up.

olive oil + vinegar (mix on your own at home) tastes good for a salad dressing..throw in black pepper or some other stuff

i love hummus but not the kind they sell in stores..it tastes terrible and has insane amounts of sodium. get some fresh hummus from a local arab store or bakery or something. and eat it with olives and whole wheat pita.

tabouli is also REALLY good to start off a meal with. im often too lazy to make the whole thing (i buyit from an arab place occasionally though) so i actually buy a bunch of parsley and chop it up, throw it in plain yogurt and eat it...and i love the taste of parsley so ill often even just munch of a bunch of parsley...RABBIT diet ftw.

Originally Posted by qudsia

1. nutella and banana crepes
2. french fries with feta cheese sauce
3. gyro pizza

or instead of feta cheese sauce...garlic mayo sauce.

yum

[dreamdeferred]

Originally Posted by sally

yeah low fat is such a scam, god. but honeslty even though low carb is better than low fat i still dont like the idea of it. sugar alcohols are overrated. and low carb and low fat both give people the illusion that they can potentially binge on stuff because its not as high in sugar/fat

Yeah..balance is key for sure.........calorie consumption is still the main challenge in terms of fat loss but the nutrient profiles on "low fat" products are usually garbage.

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

yeah, but non-fat frozen yogurt with fruit is just as filling as the same amount of regular ice-cream and fruit, and you save yourself quite a lot of calories, sugar, and fat. You just have to compare labels to see if you're trading fat for sugars or some such.

Word......but non-fat frozen yogurt is still relatively unhealthy. It's a decent alternative treat for rare occasions. All calories are not equal.......having a frozen yogurt every day or so because one is able to incorporate it into their calorie schedule doesn't make it a healthy choice.

[Spice]

Looks like we have another fatty!

[Ayooshi]

Asalamu Alaikum,

Im sure the folks here, are well trained and specialized in designing meal plans for you.

Fi AmanAllah

[sally]

Originally Posted by dreamdeferred

Word......but non-fat frozen yogurt is still relatively unhealthy. It's a decent alternative treat for rare occasions. All calories are not equal.......having a frozen yogurt every day or so because one is able to incorporate it into their calorie schedule doesn't make it a healthy choice.

the thing is that non fat and low carb stuff tastes so horrible most of the time, and i dont feel like its really that healthy of an alternative so i just steer clear and when i do want to eat something like that, ill eat the real stuff.

and i totally agree with you...people are used to consuming so much sugar in their daily lives that they feel it is necessary to have some form of dessert EVERYDAY. we have so much junk food out there.

anyway..im not hating on you at all chotoomotoo. what im saying is that yeah its still better to make small/lasting changes to your diet when you start out on a quest to eat healthy..but a lot of people get stuck on taht low fat/low carb change and dont move past it. meaning it gives people the idea that its ok to just make that a part of your regular lifestyle

and most low fat and low carb products have weird ingredients anyawy and i cant stand the artificial taste so i just steer clear and eat the real thing when i feel like it. and by real i mean i try to go for the pure/natural/organic stuff..and it doesnt make a dent in my wallet because i dont need to eat it everyday.

[Salika]

There's so much junk in foods these days. It's not just about calories anymore

Anyways, when I snack, I get some almonds. Plus studies show that even a small amount of almods can lower insulin rises with high carb foods (such as white rice). It REALLY keeps me full. I've noticed I eat a lot less food now since adding them. I've also added more fats like olive oil to my meals (after cooking) and I eat less and crave less foods.

I also snack on fruits. I'll make a fruit smoothy and that fills me up.

I bought those dove chocolate mini bars and I love em. It's not low fat or low sugar, but theyre small and only 60 calories and the coating is dark chocolate. So I have them a few days a week (not more than one a day).

Also popcorn is good. Just keep out the unnecessary fats and sodium. Probably best to get the actual seeds rather than the bag because that has some unhealthy stuff in em.

And drink water with meals, you'll eat less

[bluey]

Originally Posted by Salika

Anyways, when I snack, I get some almonds. Plus studies show that even a small amount of almods can lower insulin rises with high carb foods (such as white rice). It REALLY keeps me full. I've noticed I eat a lot less food now since adding them. I've also added more fats like olive oil to my meals (after cooking) and I eat less and crave less foods.

Almonds, the regular salted ones that come in cans?

Everyone recommends snacking on them, but I don't know which one I should get.

[minab]

CHOCOLATE CHIP granola bars. Its only 90 calories

[Sha_]

Daal, yummy
With roti?
Soup.

Tuna nicoise salad ..maybe...I duno about low fat cuz I like to mayo it up, but im pretty sure its fairly healthy and can be filling.

sally: I love ricecakes . They were my breakfast when I was tryna lose weight. I'd have one with PB on top. Its okay for those who dont like to eat a lot for brek. But you prob disagree with that totally .

[Salika]

Originally Posted by bluey

Almonds, the regular salted ones that come in cans?

Everyone recommends snacking on them, but I don't know which one I should get.

No like sally said, get them raw. No added oils or salt.

Eat fat people! Fat gives you a feeling of satiation so you'll eat less. That's why living off of salads ain't gonna help you lose weight.

And it's funny because if you compare the labels of low fat foods with regular foods, the calories are almost the same.