Alright, I'm tired of this bullshit.

For about 3 steady months now I've stuck to my plan of getting healthier. This includes a steady workout, riding my bike everywhere I possibly can and avoiding any heavy drugs. Now it's time to implement the last phase of this plan and start eating healthier, the only problem is that I don't know how. I eat a lot of canned ravioli's, chili and frozen corndogs. I'm no nutritionist here but I have a strong feeling those aren't very healthy things to be eating.

So, I ask you, anyone who has knowledge in these things, to help me out. What are some easy-to-make healthy food items that I could start buying? I don't want to spend too long cooking as I don't have the time. I'm rarely ever home and often eat on the go. I don't own a car so purchasing and transporting these things would have to be somewhat convenient to a bicycle rider. I'm going to start doing the whole not eating after a certain hour, eating at the proper times, etc. but I'm not sure which foods.

I would also appreciate any suggestions on what I could start taking for lunch at work. I often eat out and that's not really helping me lose any more weight. I wouldn't mind purchasing the salads from the fast food places around here but they're extremely expensive and I don't usually like to spend that much on one meal. I guess price isn't a huge issue but $5 is more than I'd like to spend, especially when considering I'm trying to improve on my money saving skills.

So, any suggestions for me? Canned soup, maybe? Any sort of healthy frozen dinners? Another thing is I eat a lot. I'm a big guy and I work out a lot, so naturally I eat quite a bit to keep the energy flow going.

Well, the base of a healthy alimentation is:
-alot of fruits
-alot of vegetables
-don't eat too much meat (prefer fish). Eat some milks, too.
-try to avoid hamburgers ^^

To take a lunch at work, I would rate you to make yourself a quick salad when you're home (with like rice-tomatoes-tuna, or pasta, and so on) and to take it with you.
Eating a lot is not really unhealthy, I think it doesn't matter if you eat alot of rice or pastas for example, but without cheese (or just a little bit of it).

Btw, it is always healthier to eat something you cooked yourself it is quick to cook rice, pastas, canned/frozen vegetables with frozen fish or meat, and it is not too heavy with a bike ^^

Try also to take fruits instead of cakes at the end of a meal (if you use to eat something sweet). Sometimes it is even cheaper ^^

I hope it helped =D

There are usually a lot of healthy salad options at the supermarket; pasta salads and the likes. If you want convenient and healthy you can't go wrong there.

Lean meats are supposed to be quite healthy, those and as Takiaena says, fish. The most important thing is to get the right balance with your meals. A third each of protein, carbohydrate and vegetables at each meal (excepting breakfast) should work well.

Also, don't think you have to force yourself to eat three meals a day; if you find you are hungry at different times, up the number of meals you have but lessen how much you eat at each sitting, if it is convenient for your lifestyle.

If you work out, you don't want to do any stupid dieting. Have you considered looking up good diet plans for your particular exercise regime?

Ah, thank you, Takiaena. I never thought about fish. I'd imagine a good rule of thumb is to avoid baked and fried fish, right?

Also, I have a couple pastas in mind that I can start making and eating with crackers. Like tuna salad, tomato salad, etc. Wow, I never even thought of that stuff until you brough it up. ^^

And no, I never thought about looking up specific diet plans. The reason being, is that I heard if you try and stick to a diet plan, you're pretty much going to be doomed to fail. If you restrict yourself too much, it's just not going to work out. It's better to eat different things all the time, or something? I don't know, that's just what I heard so I could be completely off base here.

Also, does anyone know if canned tomatoes are at least as healty as fresh, or if they're actually unhealthy?

Stay away from canned soups if possible - they almost always have too much sodium, and unless used as part of a larger recipe, they're not all that great for you.

Personally, I end up keeping healthy having two lunchmeat sandwiches and a can of V8 for lunch. I can keep having the same thing often, though, without it getting too old. Having decent breakfast helps, too. Toasted wheat bread with peanut butter is cost-effective, filling enough (usually), and a fantastic balance of carbohydrates, sugars and protein.

Diet plans often fail because they end up being sudden commitments to major lifestyle changes that require a lot of a willpower to stick to. Consider instead making small changes to our lifestyle slowly, over time. For example, substitute healthier alternatives whenever you can - whole wheat, high fiber cereal instead of the sugary stuff, etc.

In general, increasing fiber will help you out. It's healthier for you - plus, it makes you fill fuller without adding on the calories, since dietary fiber is indigestible. Soluble fiber like the kind you find in oatmeal also helps lower cholesterol. You can add fiber to your diet by eating whole-wheat bread and cereal, and also oatmeal.

Eating more vegetables and fruits is a good idea, too. Vegetables actually take very little time to prepare, if you start from frozen or prepacked vegetables. Just heat some oil up with garlic in a pan, toss in the defrosted vegetables with a little water, cover until done, add a little salt or dehydrated broth stock for taste, and serve. Alternatively, if you don't want to do that, you may be able to microwave vegetables like spinach , with a little bit of water- although to say the truth, I don't know of a good way of making them taste good that way. :P

Consider investing in a rice cooker and a slow cooker if you lack time. You can set the food to cook and go and do something else in the mean time. That way, you can prepare healthier soups without buying canned ones, and steam food easily as well.

For example, when I'm pressed for time, I just stick a salmon fillet into the rice cooker, and let it steam. The salmon comes out nice and juicy - and it's not fried, so it's healthier.

Baked fish doesn't have to be unhealthy - I also sometimes bake fish in a toaster oven. I just put uncooked fish filets (like cod, or roughy) onto an aluminum-lined baking pan, season it (with roast beef seasoning or anything you like), maybe a little bit of sesame oil, and let it broil in the oven at 450 until done (about 15-20 minutes). This is also a relatively healthy way of cooking fish - plus, the prep time is minimal.

Tofu is another way to go if you want healthier food - tofu is actually a pretty good source of protein but without the animal fats that make meat unhealthy.

I don't know if canned tomatoes are any worse than fresh tomatoes - but it's better than eating no tomatoes at all! :P Fresh tomatoes aren't that hard to prepare, though. One way I like them is to wash, and slice the tomatoes quickly, fry it in a pan, and then add egg to it - instant tomato omelette.

Originally Posted by Stop Sign

I don't know if canned tomatoes are any worse than fresh tomatoes - but it's better than eating no tomatoes at all! :P Fresh tomatoes aren't that hard to prepare, though. One way I like them is to wash, and slice the tomatoes quickly, fry it in a pan, and then add egg to it - instant tomato omelette.

If you cook the egg first with garlic and add the tomatoes when the egg is almost done, it's fantastic over rice, too. One of my favorite easy dishes.

Originally Posted by Drex

If you cook the egg first with garlic and add the tomatoes when the egg is almost done, it's fantastic over rice, too. One of my favorite easy dishes.

Hmm, I should try that too. Maybe today, since I have some egss that need to be cooked soon..

I forgot to add that I also add sliced green onions into the eggs just before I stop cooking.

And if we're going easy and fairly healthy recipes over rice, cut up one chicken breast and cook it on the stove in salsa (half a cup? a cup? I never measure). Serve over rice, and if you want, add cheese on top (just not too much). I also add some sour cream, but that's pushing the healthy line a bit. :P It's just so yummy.

If your salsa is bland, add chili powder or taco seasoning or something to spruce it up.

Oh man, I'm getting hungry just listening to all these healthy food items. They also sound like the kind of food that wouldn't leave you feeling like shit after you finish your meal.

About soups, it is also an easy way to have a quick-cooked-meal (and now it's winter... x))
You just need to own some stuff to turn your vegetables into soup (I can't find the english for the word I am thinking to... ) I mean this -> http://www.discounteo.com/images/Moulinex___DDG141.jpg
For example, I am cooking right now a green beans soup ^^ I took canned green beans, I make it hot with one litre of water, then I put in garlic and parsley, and I turn it into a soup, it's just so yummy. Moreover, this makes me personnaly feel full for a long time XD

Originally Posted by Drex

And if we're going easy and fairly healthy recipes over rice, cut up one chicken breast and cook it on the stove in salsa (half a cup? a cup? I never measure). Serve over rice, and if you want, add cheese on top (just not too much). I also add some sour cream, but that's pushing the healthy line a bit. :P It's just so yummy.

If your salsa is bland, add chili powder or taco seasoning or something to spruce it up.

This sounds good, too. I'm not a huge fan of putting cheese or sour cream on that kind of stuff, but I'm thinking of thickening the salsa with some corn starch or egg white!

Originally Posted by Divest

Oh man, I'm getting hungry just listening to all these healthy food items. They also sound like the kind of food that wouldn't leave you feeling like shit after you finish your meal.

Healthy eating can be really tasty! And yes, the whole no guilt thing is nice, too. One thing you could also consider doing is to set aside one day a week (or the weekend) as "cheat days". That is, eat very healthy for the majority of the week, and allow yourself a treat at a scheduled day.

Myself, I cook healthy for all 5 weekdays, in spite of my crazy schedule as a graduate student. I allow myself some slack on the weekends (without going crazy and gorging on unhealthy food, of course). That way, if I'm tempted to eat something unhealthy during the week, I deal with the temptation by saying, "Okay, just a few more days until the weekend" - and then, on the weekend, when I eat something unhealthy, I don't feel bad because I know I ate healthy the whole week.

Also, avoid sugary drinks. This means soft drinks, "energy" drinks like Gatorade, sweetened teas, even juices. Basically, your goal is to not add extra calories with what you drink, because drinks don't make you feel full. Water is your best bet.

I once heard of a mother who was wondering why her kid was morbidly obese even though she put him on a "healthy" diet. It turned out that she was making her kid drink a gallon of orange juice a day based on the idea that OJ is healthy. And while it is true that OJ is full of nutrients, it's also full of sugar - which was why the kid got obese in the first place. It's not good to overdo anything.

Ooh, egg white sounds fantastic with that. Hmm.

Also, I love water. That always helps. (:

Wow, that's a really smart idea about the whole eating healthy during the week and eating whatever during the weekends. That's a good way to make sure that you take care of yourself. I never would have thought of that.

I've always found that exercising after lunch and supper to be helpful in feeling healthy. A good jog or bike ride is enough to burn off any excess calories your meal might have gained you. Also, it helps your metabolism speed up a bit. Pot bellies are a genetic thing in my family, so during the winter, I find if I don't exercise after meals, I get a little pudgy on the stomach realm. I eat pretty healthy, so usually it's just a case of combining the meals with a bit of physical activity.

Originally Posted by Divest

Wow, that's a really smart idea about the whole eating healthy during the week and eating whatever during the weekends. That's a good way to make sure that you take care of yourself. I never would have thought of that.

You weren't kidding about not reading much on the topic, eh? That's one of the most commonly-heard pieces of advice around in the nutrition world.

And to our experts in here: would it be a good idea of just trying to choose the healthier version? I have such an all-or-nothing approach to dieting it's not a wonder I'm still obese.

Originally Posted by Drex

Toasted wheat bread with peanut butter is cost-effective, filling enough (usually), and a fantastic balance of carbohydrates, sugars and protein.

Quick question on that. I love toasted bread with peanut butter, but I don't really like it using wheat. How different is it healthwise if I use french bread or plain white bread instead?

Originally Posted by Hachifusa

And to our experts in here: would it be a good idea of just trying to choose the healthier version? I have such an all-or-nothing approach to dieting it's not a wonder I'm still obese.

Eating the healthier version is better, of course, but you have to exercise portion control as well. To use my previous example again, orange juice is better than soda, but you're still going to get fat if you drink excessive amounts of it.

Originally Posted by Squib

Quick question on that. I love toasted bread with peanut butter, but I don't really like it using wheat. How different is it healthwise if I use french bread or plain white bread instead?

Wheat bread has more fiber in it - that helps your digestion and may help control cholesterol levels.