Diet time

[Wain]

Okay, so before anybody reads this thread and goes way overboard from looking at the advice people on here have posted about cutting out certain things, or severely restricting others, just remember that any nutritionist or doctor worth his salt will tell you that MODERATION in the key.  

No, this does not mean in order to eat a balanced meal, you should start adding a salad to your 12oz. steak. :-D

There's nothing wrong with a little glucose as long as you keep it in moderation with everything else.

Now, what all of the carb-this and that- people on here are actually talking about is a foods glycemic index

Glycemic Index of Foods

Different foods are rated as having different glycemic levels in comparison to glucose (which has been given an arbitrary value of 100).  The lower the value, the more time it takes for a given set of carbs to digest.

Ever eaten a meal that was really starch based (pasta, potatoes, etc...) and then gotten really tired a little after? (my friends call this state 'food coma')  It's because you're eating food with a really high glycemic level which is being digested VERY fast, and making your blood sugar shoot up, which in turn is making your pancreas overtax itself making insulin, the result is you get sleepy soon after.

Basic point is, food with a low GI level will leave you fuller longer, and you won't need to eat again quite so quickly, plus it's less taxing on your system.  It's the only way to reduce your calorie intake and not be STARVING at the same time.

This does NOT mean you should try to cut carbs out of your system, a little bread every day won't kill you, just remember that it's not much of a staple compared to what you might put on your sandwich, so don't count on it to fill you.

One thing you can also do with pasta is to prepare it al dente(not cooked as much, chewy), it isn't a cure all, but it does raise the GI level a bit compared to the way pasta is typically prepared in america anyway.

[Wain]

it's NOT fruit that will make you fat, it's the EMPTY CARBS in Crap food! and booze.

fruit has anitoxidants that help heal the body. also, you just can't overeat fruit. i mean, fast food is easy to overeat because it doesn't satisfy the bodies nutritional needs. but fruit does.

Actually most fruits are not good for you in large servings, there is WAY too much sugar in them, and many fruits will leave you hungry in a relatively short amount of time.  Better to stick with leafy greens(spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, etc...NOT LETTUCE!!!!!) and other vegetables(mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers(any color)), and only have a little bit of fruit, or keep the fruit reserved for snacks.

The fruitarian diet is extraordinarily unhealthy, because fruit doesn't actually have very much of the different kinds of nutritional stuff we need in it, it just so happens that what it does have, it tends to have in abundance.

Apples with the skin are a GREAT source of fiber however, also vitamin C (and A I think, don't remember).

Also when dieting or exercising to lose weight, you should avoid fruit juice at all costs.  MUCH better to drink water.