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Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#21

Post by leach »

I’ve been moderately depressed recently and it’s been really ruining my appetite. I have the worst eating habits in the life right now, and I’m unsure how to fix it.

For reference i was always underweight, and medication i was taking was suppressing my appetite. I switched medications and ate WAY more. Was getting to a healthy weight, and i got COVID and that kinda ruined my appetite. Since then it’s almost been a chore to eat. Even when I’m hungry i struggle with what to eat, then i just don’t eat enough of it. My body will physically say “no more”

I think if i start eating a couple smaller meals throughout the day and then a bigger meal at night i can get back into the habit of eating regularly. It really is a struggle trying to think of what to eat though, and i usually go fasting all day until i NEED to eat.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#22

Post by the_only_law »

leach wrote: post #21

I’ve been moderately depressed recently and it’s been really ruining my appetite. I have the worst eating habits in the life right now, and I’m unsure how to fix it. For reference i was always underweight, and medication i was taking was suppressing my appetite. I switched medications and ate WAY more. Was getting to a healthy weight, and i got COVID and that kinda ruined my appetite. Since then it’s almost been a ch…

> I’ve been moderately depressed recently and it’s been really ruining my appetite. I have the worst eating habits in the life right now, and I’m unsure how to fix it

God I've been here for years, and haven't figured it out let. I don't like big meals, and I don't like standard schedule. I'd prefer just to snack throughout the day, but that's somewhat difficult to do in a way that's both healthy and appealing. My hunger occurs at random often extremely inconvenient times. I also just don't have the motivation, especially reading these other comments. Life if already boring enough without eating the same thing day after day.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#23

Post by 121789 »

I'm similar and have had a bunch of success with the meal plans (e.g. hellofresh etc). My day was:]

Breakfast: None (don't crave it anyway)

Lunch: Something predictable and the same every day. Either sandwich or salad

Dinner: Meal plan M-Th, Fri-Sunday eat whatever I want

Mostly I don't mind the cooking part, but I hate spending time deciding what to and the logistics of making sure I have all the right ingredients on hand. The meal plans solve all of that.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#25

Post by klyrs »

When I was single, I tended to make big one-pot meals. Chili, lasagna, stews, etc. Meal planning several days ahead is way easier if you're making 3 or 4 days of leftovers at a time. If you can manage, cook every other night so you can stagger those leftovers between lunch and dinner before they go bad. If you miss a night, no biggie, make sure you've got sandwich fixings or something for easy lunch. But, getting into the habit of cooking regularly is the real hurdle for a lot of people. Once you're in that habit, focusing on "is this healthy" is just a matter of changing up recipes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#28

Post by ellopoppit »

Keep it simple. Experiment incrementally and find out what works for you. Pay close attention to your body and cut out what it doesn't like.

What has been working for me lately is:

1. Eating one big meal and perhaps a small snack later all within a 4-6 hour window; also do a 24 hour fast about once a week. This has eliminated my acid reflux, helped me gain more energy and focus, and have never slept better.

2. Cut out 95% of my sugar and carb intake, also cut out dairy as I seem to have a mild intolerance/allergy to milk which I indentified from performing an elimination diet experiment. This has helped me eliminate various forms of skin inflammation which I had been suffering from for years. Also cutting out sugar has helped me tremendously with emotional balance and equanimity.

3. Eat primarily whole unprocessed foods

I stick to a few simple meals such as:

-Scrambled eggs with onion, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin

-Steak cooked in ghee and oven roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, green beans, carrots)

-Oven baked fish and veggies

-Occasional small amounts of low sugar fruit after rigorous exercise

My typical snacks are:

-Hemp and chia seeds mixed into almond butter and pinch of salt

-Bell pepper and hummus

-A handful of mixed nuts

I also supplement with wild alaskan salmon fish oil, for the omega 3 fatty acid

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

#30

Post by dredmorbius »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #16
devinmcafee wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Common advice amongst the fitness community is to shop around the perimeter of the grocery store, skipping the inner aisles. Of course all grocery stores have different layouts, but in your average American grocer this means you would only walk through the produce, dairy, meat counter, salad bar, and eggs/cheese sections of the grocery store. The processed food is always in the middle aisles because it doesn't requir…

When I shopped in person that's exactly what I would do and oddly enough I was not even aware of that rule of thumb at the time. I was only aware of what good food was. I'd load up on fruits, vegetables, salad components first. Back of the store was meats, milk, eggs. Other than spices, oils, and coffee there is not much reason to ever venture into the center aisles.

They key here is that "the perimeter" tends to be where the less-processed (and more perishable) foods are.

Exceptions which are internal, as you note: spices, oils, coffee (and/or tea). I'd add:

- Frozen fruits and vegetables, particularly if you want to buy bulk and reduce spoilage. Rapidly-frozen foods can be higher in nutrition than "fresh", most notably vitamin C, which degrades relatively rapidly.

- Bulk grains, legumes, and nuts. Other baking supplies as well, which are typically on interior aisles.

- Tinned goods, including fish. Prepared soup stocks. Arguments for/against canned goods exist. There are long-shelf-life goods which make much preparation easier or provide for easy and healthier snacks.

I too can spend years without walking down a crisps / snacks aisle.

Among foods which may seem healthy but often aren't: many breakfast cereals (overly-processed, low-fibre, high-sugar), numerous freshly-baked goods, sweetened yoghurts (plain is generally fine), fruit juice (liquid sugar --- eat whole / frozen fruit instead), many "diet foods" (often trading fat for sugar, overly processed, and overpriced to boot --- see Polan's basic dictum).

I'm not saying "never buy / eat these". But do so rarely, as special occasions, and do so consciously. For the most part, I don't miss such ... food-shaped products ... at all, the few I do sample occasionally I appreciate when I do.

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