What are your principles in eating?

[Crankin]

I eat a variety of foods. At this point, I have to be very careful about carbs (the bad ones), and when I eat certain ethnic foods, both of these things make me gain 2-3 lbs. in a second. I eat a good amount of protein, and try to limit my low glycemic carbs to 1-2 meals a day.
No fried foods, except my 1-2X a year overdose on onion rings and latkes on Hannukah, and I very rarely eat sweets or pastries. It has to be a special occasion.
I should eat more veggies, but a lot of them hurt my stomach. My weight is pretty consistent, but at this time of the year, I struggle to keep it where I want. The switch from outdoor riding 4-5 days a week to other activities messes up my metabolism. Truthfully, I am hungry all of the time and it's difficult. I eat plenty, I eat healthy food, but I could eat a lot more if I wasn't so concerned with my weight. Most of my social life revolves around going out to eat, or cooking, so if I didn't exercise, I would be huge. Really. When I was in my early 30s I weighed 92 pounds, and while I don't want to go there, either, I could gain 10 lbs. in like a second, if I wasn't vigilant.
Oh, and red wine and chocolate a few times a week. Seriously, that, with exercise has brought down my total cholesterol about 40 points.

[ehirsch83]

My food is pretty similar most days- focus similar to you though- on good fats.

breakfast: coffee with whole milk and raw sugar (or agave or honey) and 2 eggs with Ezekiel bread with either nut butter spread, or I create an egg sandwich.

lunch: soup

dinner: either salad (which has to have spinach, carrots, dried cherries, sunflower seeds walnuts and then whatever else wanted to add-avocado, cheese, other veggies,etc.+ protein)

salad dressings are all home made and include good for you fats- olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, mayo that has omega 3+6s,etc.

or for dinner steamed veggies with a homemade peanut sauce(includes amino acids and fish sauce).

I am big on my body working off of good fats and I have an extremely low carb intake.. I do eat out once or so a week, but end up sticking to protein and veggies- my body doesn't handle other food as well(I get really tired after I eat if it is carby,greasy,etc.)

[westtexas]

I eat Paleo too. Since mid-October. Never going back (well, that and I found out I actually have celiac disease). I follow it pretty closely, with a few exceptions for (very occasional) cheese, good red wine and 90% chocolate (can't eat anything else, I find 90% to be almost too sweet at this point). I eat a lot of pasture raised eggs, grass-fed meats, veggies and a few apples now and then (oh, and berries). On the days I eat too many carbs, I can definitely feel it. I also fast a lot - mostly on weekends. I have never felt better in my life. It's a bit more expensive this way but I feel like the money I invest in my health now will pay off later.

It's amazing how nutrition affects your health.

[Reesha]

Do you fast for full days? I used to do it when I could take loooonnng leisurely walks into the mountains in upstate NY, but in the city it's torture. I really need to find a way to fast. I used to do it at the first sign of illness and it always made me feel better.

[westtexas]

Do you fast for full days? I used to do it when I could take loooonnng leisurely walks into the mountains in upstate NY, but in the city it's torture. I really need to find a way to fast. I used to do it at the first sign of illness and it always made me feel better.

Typically I can't. I am always starving when I wake up in the morning, so I always eat breakfast. And since I work 6 days a week, I have to eat before I go to work or I just can't focus and get anything done. Usually on weekends (those I don't work), I skip lunch and often dinner. I just try to eat when I'm hungry. If I am not hungry, I don't eat. During the week I don't always have dinner because I'm not usually hungry after work. Seems to be working out well so far.

[shootingstar]

I have never thought of the word "fasting" as a means to cope with feeling ill.
I don't think of "fasting" in that way at all.

I just think of it as just eating less later, if I've eaten a large, nice lunch.

[westtexas]

I have never thought of the word "fasting" as a means to cope with feeling ill.
I don't think of "fasting" in that way at all.

I just think of it as just eating less later, if I've eaten a large, nice lunch.

I'm not sure if there is any research behind it, but Mark Sisson, the guy behind the Primal Blueprint (one of the major Paleo books) recommends fasting if you feel you are getting ill. It's supposed to increase your body's fat burn and is supposed to help ramp up defenses. I have found it to be very useful in this regard, actually. I guess the saying, "feed a cold, starve a fever" has some merit.

[Reesha]

I have never thought of the word "fasting" as a means to cope with feeling ill.
I don't think of "fasting" in that way at all.

I just think of it as just eating less later, if I've eaten a large, nice lunch.

A number of my students fast for religious reasons for full days or for 12 hours at a time. That's usually the first thing I think of when I think of fasting. I would drink water and tea and rest on the days I would fast. There's no real science behind what I did, other than that it worked for me. I would lay down, give my GI tract a rest, take nice slow walks, and feel better the next day. Working with children, there were a lot of weekends where I could feel something coming on that I was able to nip in the bud this way.