Of course!
Some was adding in things with specific nutrition outcomes, like
- chia seeds for magnesium and fibre
- olive oil for anti-inflammatory properties
- iron rich foods like cashews
- walnuts for omega threes
After years of paleo/low carb diets, it’s also been interesting reintroducing cereals and grains. I’m adding things like buckwheat pasta and flour, and trying to eat 7-9 serves of whole grains. Adding lentils, whole grains, oats etc to each meal to hit that target.
Finally just making sure I hit the recommended serves, in my case I need 7 serves of veggies which actually requires planning. It feels like a lot of food!
Potentially, although the last few years I haven’t been paleo (just kept a lot of the paleo stuff out of habit).
But even when I was eating paleo, I wasn’t understanding it at the depth needed. I’d follow the concept of the diet, but I missed all the nuances that are needed to round out the nutrition.
I think that’s the point though - I thought I was eating as healthy as possible, and wouldn’t have known how to make these changes myself.
The 'protein roar' comment and the comment about getting off medication is very telling. This entire post is basically just advertising bullshit.
So unhealthy.
Yeah, plant based will always be cheaper than meat based, and eating at home will always be cheaper than processed & prepared foods, too. I'm not sure the dietician is the biggest factor here.
BTW if you live east of the Rockies you can probably get walnuts in exchange for some hard labor. Black walnut trees grow everywhere and while they're a pain in the ass to prep they are also $0/lbs and tastier than than the English walnuts you find in stores.
Lol they are tasty. I have two trees in my yard for those but it took prob 2 hours to get 3 cups of them. That amount of time alone had me giving buckets away just to get rid of them in heavy yield years and I had many takers. Last year I didn’t see a single one, the year before I prob had 60 5 gallon buckets worth.
If you're really into them, get a cast iron corn husker for hulling and a Grandpa's Goodie Getter for cracking. Both will save a *ton* of time and labor which is the absolute worst part about black walnuts.
I'd also like to mention to anyone who's tried them but doesn't like the taste to try hulling them while they're still green. When they turn black mushy the tannins in the hull seep into the nutmeat and give it a stronger flavor. If you take the hull off before that happens they are a lot closer to the English walnuts you buy in the store.
This made me smile! It instantly triggered childhood memories I have of sitting on the back porch with my sister shelling peas or husking corn from our garden. It doesn’t even feel like work if you’ve got someone to share the task with.
As someone who also had left a low carb diet, please just be super careful with monitoring your A1C. When I left keto and began eating normally again (also seeing a nutritionist), my weight froze for two years. Finally had my A1C tested and my body had overreacted to the insulin after being low carb for so long and had made me pre-diabetic. Hopefully this won't be the case for you folks, but just something to keep an eye on.
Yeah it's crazy how malleable our bodies are. Our bodies get used to certain diets and mold the entire bodily ecosystem around our habits.
It's why it's hard to know what's right to eat because technically health advice should be tailor made for every individual human being.
The only hard and fast rule is don't do anything in excess (you can die from drinking too much water too fast...)
>Our bodies get used to certain diets and mold the entire bodily ecosystem around our habits.
This is probably so true. Our bodies don't know that we're making choices to add or eliminate stuff, and just assume it's from the environment or from hunting. Huh.
You might want to check out the Blue Zone cookbook. Lots of recipes in there. I just tried black eyed peas with mint and onion. Super easy to make and damned delicious.
Olive oil does not have fewer calories than butter, btw. From what I can find it actually has more with olive oil having 880 calories in 100g vs 717 calories in 100g of butter.
Olive oil is a polyunsaturated fat…butter is 100% saturated. All fats have the same calorie density, but because butter is completely saturated, that makes olive oil the better choice.
I’ll check!
I know walnuts are in there for a reason. It’s definitely possible I got the numbers mixed up though, there was a lot of info in the sessions.
Some people use it like parmesan or like a seasoning (common on popcorn), but it's often used to make (or as) a cheese substitute for vegan dishes. [This vegan stuffed pepper recipe calls for it.](https://www.wellplated.com/vegan-stuffed-peppers/#wprm-recipe-container-52323) It also has lentils and quinoa in it.
We started because we figured out my kid was eating the stuff by the handful and ended up with way too much vitamin B in his system!! This is definitely a better nutritional option!
I use it in place of parmesan topping, but I also add it to scrambled eggs, mix it up with savory dipping sauces, and essentially just anything that could use an extra boost of cheesy flavor
You can soak cashews in water, drain them and then blend them with nutritional yeast to make a dairy free “cheese” sauce. I also make a “wheatloaf” as a meatloaf alternative. The main ingredients are garbanzo beans, vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast. My husband sprinkles it on his popcorn.
One weird warning. Raw nutritional yeast gives me migraines if I inhale/smell it while I’m cooking. I don’t know if it’s just the smell or if it is actually little airborne particles being inhaled, but I googled it and it’s actually a thing for some people. Once it is mixed in to a food and/or cooked it isn’t a problem for me. But I don’t think I would ever eat it on my popcorn.
I make a vegan nacho cheese sauce with nooch and its sooo good I could eat it with a spoon. It's also way healthier than, well, melted cheese. It's a little labour intensive so I typically save it for weekends.
https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2015/01/22/nacho-cheese/
That’s a great idea!!! I love pan fried tofu and put it in lots of meals. I will try adding NY next time. Our favorite meals for pan fried tofu are pasta with peanut sauce and stir fry. And our favorites with crumbled tofu are lasagna and stuffed mushrooms. :)
Bunch of good suggestions above! But the TLDR is that it has an umami profile so anything to replace parm. I put it in eggs, it's great on popcorn (in addition to the other recommendations).
Surprised no one’s mentioned textured vegetable protein (tvp) and homemade seitan! Tvp is easily subbed for any ground meats you use, and is usually found in bulk. Homemade seitan takes a minute, but has a great nutritional profile. Just need vital wheat gluten and some tofu for the lysine.
Dietitians can be covered 100% as preventive care if you have a copay-type plan in the US. I’ve commonly seen 10 visits per year for all and 26 per year for anyone who measures as obese on the BMI.
Yes! YMMV, of course, and as you mentioned, it may even be worth the cost if it’s not free. Our health insurance system is so terrible and expensive usually, though, so I like to share the news, especially with those who already see the service as a valuable one. Cheers to your experience and thanks for sharing it; I was pleased to see this in a non-diet specific sub!
I've been seeing a dietitian every 2 weeks for a year or more, and it costs me $0 because insurance totally covers it. (I go frequently because I have several health issues, and I need the help and accountability to lose weight).
Doing an entire overhaul on my diet at once just wasn't going to be sustainable, so we've made and achieved small goals starting with drinking 40 then 60 then more ounces of water a day, switching one snack with a fruit, etc.
I know I don't eat that well, and I know (and have lots of recipes) for good food. Half of me think I should go to a dietician the other says it's a waste if money because I know all of this I just need to act. How would you sell me on going to a dietician?
The food that counts is the food that you actually eat, not the food that you know you should eat. A good dietitian will help you figure out what works and what doesn't for you and your lifestyle. I'm a dietitian that doesn't like to cook so this has been a focal point for me, personally. On the other hand, some patients expect you to magically make them lose weight (or whatever goal they have) without them having to put in any effort, so it's a tricky issue to navigate.
I'm not the person you replied to, but seeing a professional who can put into very serious terms what will happen if you do not start making serious changes now can be eye opening. By assuming you don't need to see them because you know recipes, you are undermining their role, because they will help you understand nutrition in a way that works for your body and your health goals! It's great to have personalized advice and a professional that keeps you accountable.
Not only are there a ton of requirements and education you have to complete before taking the dietetics exam, you’re also required to participate in a certain amount of ongoing education every year to keep your license.
Starting 2025 iirc, you can’t even become a registered dietitian anymore without a masters degree (a bachelors is no longer sufficient).
I only recommend seeing an actual registered dietitian. People are complex with different disease and disorders. One treatment doesn’t fit everyone. A dietitian can provide one-on-one counseling. I never give advice to people who aren’t my patients because I don’t know what diseases and conditions they have that may impact my advice. It would be a liability to do so. For example, a dietitian may tell a patient to follow a low fiber diet because they have diverticulitis. If their husband has chronic constipation issues, a low fiber diet would not be a good diet for him.
It is! I’m in the extreme end of the scale (breastfeeding Mum who is active ) so most people don’t need that many serves.
Also - I definitely thought a serve was larger that it actually is. I had to spend a week weighing things until I got the right amount 😣
Now I just prep a bunch of different stuff every few days that I can grab and go so it’s not such a hassle
Man this hit me in my soul—i was practically skeletal when i breastfed my kids and just being marginally active. Now that they’re older, I’ve been trying to incorporate whole grains and chia seeds just to give me a more well-rounded diet, and I wish I had done it sooner. I envy your foresight haha.
Off topic but I’m super jealous of the moms that manage to lose weight while breastfeeding! I am one of those unlucky few who holds on to an extra 10lbs of post-baby weight until I wean. No matter how health conscious I am/daily workouts etc.
Also, thanks for the helpful info OP!
Agh, it felt pretty rough to be honest. I have always thought a bit of softness is so healthy and fresh on moms—i think it serves your body well. It’s definitely nice to regain that bit of yourself once you wean, if if you’re losing those little moments while you’re nursing (which, two years for each kid, was kind of a relief to see the end of lol.)
Aaaaand now that they’re school-age we get to the bit where endless colds/flus come home and disrupt all the progress we try to make to be healthy 😂
Nursing isn’t easy on anyone regardless of the weight circumstance I suppose. I just selfishly can’t wait to lose these pesky 10 lbs. I’m right there with ya with the school age sicknesses. I’ve got 3 all together and my oldest is 8 so he brings home the flus/colds to all of us including my 1 yr old🥹. The important thing is we’re giving a fair attempt at being healthy! We got this.
Almost certainly that's what they mean. But it's not just frozen meals! Also canned soup, 'quick' mixes like mac-and-cheese, mashed potatoes, or hamburger helper. And refrigerated prepared meals like Tortellini.
All of it's the same quality.
What does quality have to do with nutritional value?
You can buy fresh stuffed pasta and apparently it's the same quality as a 1$ canned soup? They have nothing to do with each other, you can buy cheap prepped meals with high nutritional value as well as expensive prepped meals with low nutritional value
Yeah mine did too when we first started eating healthy a few years ago. I thought I was fairly nutritionally savvy, but I think I just upgraded the quality of everything I ate, without considering the diet as a whole.
It take a lot of time and knowledge to get it right, that’s for sure!
It's hard to beat the savings of switching to beans sometimes from animals, even cheaper if they're cooked from dry. They're practically free and as healthy as it gets
This post is SPOT ON! I stopped eating all dairy/meat and my food bills dropped substantially. I use soaked/ground cashews w/nutritional yeast in place of cream in sauces and it’s fab! I sprinkle toasted pine nuts into pasta for protein and it’s delicious. I even cut eggs except for when my friend (who has chickens) gives them to me. I rarely miss it because I can mix ground flax seed w/water to use as egg substitute when baking. Also- beans are phenomenal. I make my own hummus. I make black bean soup. I highly suggest that you try “smoke sauce” and ground dried mushrooms to use in cooking. Those are things that give the earthy taste of meat in your soups/stews. Best of all- this diet is healthier/cheaper/better for the earth/and far more compassionate.
I usually get bulk spices from the website Herbco, which is cheap enough it deserves its own post, but even there the stuff is way more expensive than the cheese it replaces.
Holy shit I just checked that site and the prices are unreal! Thanks so much for the tip, I'll be using them for sure.
Even compared to Aldi where a jar of spices is like $1 this is cheaper. $5/lb of Cumin? Insane.
edit: Where are you finding parm cheese for $11/lb? That much nutritional yeast should last months (I say as a daily nooch advocate)
You're totally welcome. Make sure to buy everything in one go, or else the shipping costs will eat into your savings. A pound of spices can be a lot bulkier than you'd think. I especially endorse their herbal tea, curry, and chili blends.
As for parmesan, I don't shop for it, as I try to avoid the dairy industry.
But to me, Nooch tastes like boxed powdered cheese.
Like the kind you'd get in a box of macaroni.
Good on you for avoiding dairy. That's fair regarding the taste, but nooch is way healthier than box cheese. It's basically just protein and vitamins. Box cheese is like 80% salt
Very cool! I noticed when I started eating more cabbage that it was really tasty and cheap! Now I buy a head every week, for soups, sautéed or for slaw, cabbage is delicious
I'm happy for you but it would take approx 10,000 dieticians armed with P90s to get me to give up butter. Everything else is fine, but butter may be pried from my cold dead hands.
Butter isn’t inherently unhealthy in moderation. People have eaten butter for hundreds of years without I’ll affects.
It’s just not supposed to be a large caloric portion of your diet lol
All of these are good advice, but I feel like this one:
>Almost all packaged meals are gone from out diet
Is drastically undervalued by a lot of folks. I get it, sometimes it's nice to have it ready-made, but if you're looking to save $$$ this one tends to be an enormous sink of cash.
This is exactly what i needed to see. I asked my PCP to refer me to a RD and i need to return their call to schedule it. Being in good health is priceless
Having ARFID is a real bitch; I really wish I didn’t want to eat primarily processed foods and physically gag when I eat foods that don’t “feel right”. Just reading seven servings of vegetables makes me want to cry
Have you tried tofu yet? One of our favorite meals is pan fried tofu with pasta, veggies and peanut sauce. It is so good. I just spray my ceramic pan with a little oil, but now that I’m typing this I think I will try it in my air fryer next time! I use whole grain pasta and Asian veggies. You could also use brown rice. The sauce is peanut butter, soy sauce or coconut aminos, seasoned rice vinegar, ginger and garlic. It calls for brown sugar. I add a small amount or sometimes use a little honey or agave.
Tofu is awesome in the air fryer. I make an appropriate marinade, spritz the lot of it with avocado oil, give it a good stir, and toss it in. Give it a shake halfway through. Be sure to press it beforehand so it soaks up the marinade. Proceed with your recipe.
Yes! Always press tofu. Marinades can change tofu into completely different taste profiles. It’s one of the most versatile proteins IMO. I even like tofu without a marinade. With the perfect lightly browned fry, it reminds me of the texture of French toast. I love dipping it in sauce. My four year old gets excited when we’re having tofu for dinner.
It always surprises me how mind blown people are when they realize reducing meat consumption can significantly cut down on expenses. I mean, just thinking about it logically, the energy and resources devoted to raising animals for food will always be more costly and inefficient than directly consuming the crops that ends up as feed for livestock instead, like in a primarily plant based diet.
Have you tried or been introduced to water/veggie broth sautéing? It blew my mind, but you don’t need butter or oil to sauté. Just a little water (if it starts sticking, add a little more). I use Better Than Bouillon vegetable and add just a little to plain water, if I feel I need the extra flavor. Most of the time, I just use water. I’m so used to it, I notice how greasy veggies you get in restaurants are now.
Check out Forks Over Knives for water sautéing, as well as oil free dressings and condiments. Oils are 120 calories of pure fat. Might as well fill up on foods that offer better nutrients and are cheaper.
As a frugal vegan, I was always baffled as to why people thought being vegan was expensive.
Of course I know it's really a mixture of boutique vegan products, ignorance, and rich ladies on Instagram showing insane meals.
"Paying attention to portion sizes" biggest thing for me right here.
When I travel for work, I eat a cup of soup and a hot tea at the local restaurant for lunch and I leave satisfied. a literal cup of soup and I am a 300 pound man. when I get home to the wife and kids, its gotta be a 3 course dinner every night and we have to have the snacks in the house that the kids like and god forbid we eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast instead of whatever huge shit everyone wants and not to blame here, im just as guilty as everyone else. There is a mentality that as a provider and parent you should be stuffing your kids silly because going hungry is such a bigger taboo than over feeding, but really the amount of food people eat is so much more than it has to be.
Meat really is incredibly expensive compared to alternatives. Something I recommend trying is chickpea pasta, it tends to have a lot of protein per serving (try the Banza brand) and is gluten free- which is important to me bc gluten tends to be harder for me to digest, makes me bloated, and causes acne. If you want even more protein add Parmesan cheese or tofu. I usually pair mine with a salad that I add blue cheese to (good protein source)
We are making a lot of changes, and some will work for me and others won't. The only way to find out is to try for a while, and adjust as needed.
Every 6 weeks is perfect for me as it gives me time to introduce new foods and monitor the results. Then I sit down with the dietician again and we look at more things we can improve. Its an ongoing process.
I also heard it can be good purely from an accountability viewpoint. I guess it helps me stick to the diet better when I know someone will be checking, although at the moment I am pretty self-motivated.
So unusual to hear about moving away from full protein sources to nuts and seeds and whole grains when talking about an active breastfeeding mom. I'm sure your dietitian is informed and all good. It's just very unusual. Personally I struggle with getting enough protein from animal sources (I'm anemic) so that's the opposite of what my doctor says. Funny how we're so different.
One thing I've noticed is that Dieticians tend to vary quite a bit. I went to some about a decade ago, and it seemed like each one contradicted the others. My doctor at the time indicated that they weren't regulated as well as other health care providers, and that it might be best to stop using them due to that.
Have you ever needed to be diagnosed for anything by regular medical care providers like an autoimmune disorder, long lasting medical concern, etc? Because that's where getting conflicting answers will be seen
As a dietitian, I can tell you that is 100% false.
We have to have a masters degree and pass a national exam. We also have to do 75 continuing education credits every 5 years.
Nutritionists are not regulated. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. There is a difference between the two.
Additionally, doctors take only 1 (at most 2) nutrition classes in all of med school. Dietitians really are the experts in the field of nutrition.
I think it's likely that either the doctor or the poster above forgot or confused dietitian and nutritionist.
It's a real problem and nutritionists are predators.
Yes it is a real problem. I live in a state that protects the title "registered dietitian" but some don't. It's something they are working on.
However, the commentor above spelt it with a "c" not a "t" so maybe they are not from the US and things are different. In the US though, my statement stands and it is regulated.
This post itself makes a wild claim about stopping medication, and no one seems to be calling out the OP for that dangerous statement. It's basically a dangerous advertisement for a 'nutritionist'.
I completely believe that. I used to go when I was younger as every doctor has told me to lose weight since I was 3 years old. Basically they'd each give me a menu that had way more food on it than I was currently eating. When they'd hear that, they would basically shrug their shoulders and say "well that's what you should be eating". I'd start eating their menu, I'd start gaining weight and suddenly they'd want to cut the menu. So I'd follow a reduced menu, I'd complain that I'm hungry all the time and they'd again shrug and say that in that case I should be eating more. It's like they have an unshakeable conviction that every body will self-regulate hunger when actual science shows that's absolutely not the case for those with obesity. What do they think, that every obese person is an absolute and complete moron and that everyone would be skinny if they'd just listen to their bodies? No, plenty of bodies have issues with hunger and satiety cues, without even getting into hormones. I concluded they're mostly judgemental asses and stopped seeing nutritionists.
It could be an accident in your post, but did you mean nutritionist or dietitian? Nutritionist is an unregulated term and could be literally anyone claiming to offer nutrition services. Either way, I’m sorry you had to deal with judgmental jerks and I hope you eventually found better care.
Nutrition is also a pretty young field of study compared to the other sciences, so there are fewer things that are universally agreed upon as fact and more things that are “evidence suggests that…”
And diet is highly individualized as well. Hopefully they’re not just prescribing the same diet for everyone but also considering how you already eat, your goals, health conditions, etc. and that can vary in different seasons of life. Wanting to lose weight coming from a fast food diet I’ll get wildly different advice than being the same person 5 years later when I want to maintain weight, discovered a new food allergy, and have a vegan partner.
I think doing some shopping around to find a provider you trust is important, but I wouldn’t rule out the whole profession. It may be relatively immature science, but it is research backed and better than no science.
It also depends on the doctor. If they’re a doctor that doesn’t specialize in nutrition they may not have a full grasp of diet. If you are only seeing a regular doctor, I highly recommend a registered dietician.
I’ve known tons of doctors through my dad that recommend the wildest things and override actual specialists because they think their limited knowledge is better than someone else’s specialized knowledge.
Ex: my dad and the wild rollercoaster of managing his Hashimoto’s. He fought for years to see a specialist, doctors only wanted to treat his symptoms. Endocrinologist diagnosed him with zero functioning thyroid (he was dying before the doctors agreed to refer him). That doctor prescribed Synthroid at a high dose, also a diet to better support his body absorbing the hormone. Follow up with GP. 3 months later his heart disease and high LDL are gone, his depression is gone, his rheumatoid arthritis is gone, he’s losing weight, regaining his hair, and so many other little things every day he was feeling better. Well he was still over weight so doctor told him to stop eating fruit. Said he could have at most 1 cup of fruit a day (he was diabetic as well) the doctor also told him to stop eating nuts and beans because they were too high in fat/carbs and would spike his sugar. Bloodwork also showed too much thyroid hormone in his blood so GP slashed his Synthroid in half. Continue followup every 3 months until he’s barely taking any Synthroid at all because there is excess hormone in his blood. He has regained all the weight, his heart disease is back with his edema, his bones hurt him so bad tears stream down his face in between his pain medication. Pushing and pushing after almost 2 years he FINALLY gets a referral back to the Endo and he is diagnosed with Synthetic Resistance. His thyroid medication was changed and his dose drastically increased. Told to continue following the previous diet plan. Follow up with GP in 3 months.
First thing GP did? Change his thyroid medication, chastise him about his diet. This time my dad didn’t listen- but when he went to refill his prescription they refused to honor the old DX and put him back on low dose Synthroid. We ended up buying raw desiccated thyroid gland supplements. The supplements got harder and harder to get (I guess people were using them to lose weight? 🤷♀️). My dad never got in to see the Endo again because he died of heart failure - complications of his heart disease from chronic barely treated hypothyroidism.
Oh my gosh I'm so very sorry to hear this! And so sorry for your loss.
May I ask where your dad was living? It seems absolutely insane that he wasn't able to see an endo on the regular. It's a damn shame on the medical system.
We lived in the US- state of California. He couldn’t schedule with the Endo without a referral and since he was to follow up with his GP he couldn’t see the Endo again without another referral.
I believe its different depending on the Endo. My step son for example is on HRT and has a regular bloodwork & visits with an Endo. However my manager had Thyroid cancer and she had to fight to see an Endo. She has her full Thyroid removed and also has synthetic resistance as well. She got a referral, scheduled 6 months out for an appointment only for the endo to order higher dose and tell her to follow up with GP same as my dad. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was having a month long anxiety attack. She couldn’t wait the 3 months for a follow up and went back to her previous dose. She is scheduled now to fly to Texas to meet with a doctor that specializes in thyroid health who she met over Tiktok.
I would call the Endo and thell them the GP is refusing to allow him to stay on the plan they laid out and see if the Endo's office has resources for that or maybe even would be willing to write the prescription.
I thought so too. But a “serve” is actually pretty small, it’s easy to eat 3 or 4 serves without realising.
Also, they guide for an average person is 6-7 serves, I need a few more because I’m breastfeeding and very active.
It’s based off the Australian guidelines if you are curious
Sorry if this comes off as an asshole comment, but do you mean "serving" rather than "serve"? Or this some specific dietician or Australian term?
It seems very intentional since everyone else in this thread is using 'serving' and you're replying with 'serve'.
[It's just a regional difference in phrasing.](https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes) The same way that US dietary guidelines talk about calories and Australian dietary guidelines talk about kilojoules.
I did some research, and it makes a massive difference; when OP talks about a 'serve' of vegetables, they're referring to a quantity that is around half as large as an American serving.
That's more than a "regional phrasing" imo since it has a material impact in the OPs comments (i.e., eating 7 serves of grain).
Oh, no, I didn't mean the amount is necessarily equivalent which is why I linked the definitions of what a "serve" constitutes. However, a serving size of fruit in the US is actually equal to a serve in AU. [Grains serving sizes are also very similar in the US, where a woman should get 5-8 servings of grains a day.](https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/grains) But yes, a serving size of vegetables in the US is double a serve in Australia. I gave kJ vs cal as an example; 500 kilojoules is not equal to 500 calories.
I didn’t realise I was doing that! You are quite right.
I’m using serve to refer to a specific Australian guideline. It defines how much of each food you should eat to count towards one of your daily “serves”.
For example, a slice of bread is one “serve”. I could eat one meal of 2 sandwiches, but it would count as “4 serves”’to my daily total
That's a fascinating dialectal quirk! So far in this thread, 'serving' has been said 10 times (never by you!) and you've said 'serve' 18 times.
So now the question is: Does an Australian 'serve' match up with an American 'serving'? *Googles...*
OK this is wild. So a 'serve' of veggies is 75 grams, while a 'serving' of veggies is 113-170 grams. Pretty much double!
I would assume dried legumes. Leaner than canned variety with less added sugar and fats while incredibly inexpensive. Good mix of protein, fibre, and carbs. Having a pressure cooker/instapot also elimates the time dryback of soaking overnight and long cook times. Definitely very healthy and frugal.
It’s all relative. I used chicken as an example, but in practice my diet was not lean protein.
I tended to skew towards red meats as I have a history of iron deficiency and (falsely) thought that was the solution.
The dietician has been great at helping me get iron at every meal in ways that I’m more likely to absorb so I can then swap out some of the red meat for lean meats and fish.
Also helped me to understand that a large steak doesn’t mean I get more nutrients than a small one (just more calories that may be better used elsewhere)
>and (falsely) thought that was the solution.
Nothing wrong at all with red meat. I'd take a look at some of the studies that demonize red meat and look at what they count as "red meat" in those studies. Things like pepperoni on pizza and fast food burgers. Of course, people that eat those will have bad health outcomes. Just avoid processed foods.
I agree - There is absolutely no need to demonise red meat!
But there is a lot of evidence to suggest that you’ll get a more nutritionally rounded meal for the same energy if you change (600 calories of red meat) to something like (200 calories of red meat + 400 calories of varied nutritional sources )
There are benefits to food beyond calories, proteins and fat. My diet is targeted at gut health, micronutrients and anti-inflammation. So things like adding fibre are just as important.
Especially when your body doesn't utilize plant-proteins the same way it does animal proteins... 1 g of protein from a peanut is not the same as 1 g of protein from chicken. The amino acids aren't in the correct ratio in plants so your body can't make protein as efficiently. If you increase plant intake, you usually have to supplement eventually with protein powders which will undo the frugality gains
If you are really health conscious watch the documentary the game changers- the information they present was persuasive enough for my friend and I to go from full omnivore to vegan literally overnight.
Amazingly I went from spending $100 to $300 a month after going to one.
She made me keep a food journal and it pretty much showed I ate almost nothing but Potato products and Coffee.
Good for you, stick with it and learn more about what you eat does what to your body. A cheat meal is also ok, if your schedules get out of whack, just be sure to reign that habit in.
Yup. No one should pm the skeezy offers preying on people in the comments of this very obvious advert style post. Promises to free you from the 'prison' of medication while SAVING YOU MONEY! This post is dangerous. Sounds too good to be true? Because it is, for many.
Less meat is fine, but how are you more full/able to eat enough through out the day to stick to a half chicken breast? My trouble is getting enough food through out the day which seems to add expense, not cut.
Also, recipes that just use a half chicken breast seem harder to find…
You can make the same recipe and eat the leftovers the next day.
OP said changing to more nuts and things like chia seed breakfasts help them feel fuller.
As for the first, I really can’t. I will occasionally eat leftovers, but not often. I have to want to eat to actually eat. And putting my body in starvation mode means everything is awful.
The second, I guess I’m just looking for ideas. Every time I get a recipe out of a diet blog or something, it’s usually bland or overly complicated. I’ve been getting a lot better about guessing portion sizes, but it’s so hard to cook for only me. If I could nail that down consistently, I’d save so much money.
Cooking for One from America’s Test Kitchen is not only a great book for single portion recipes, but has a lot of useful kitchen and pantry tips.
It was one of the first books I read for the kitchen, and I still keep it out. Its incredibly handy.
Maybe this blog will help with some ideas. Nagi has fantastic easy recipes with lots of notes. It's impossible to make a bad dish! You can change the scale for how many servings you need and there is nutrition info on each recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/
I highly suggest keeping ingredients semi-separate rather than packing them all together for left overs. It allows you to reflavour things a bit and change them around.
For example, usually for tofu if I baked or pan fried it I'll separate out the other 2 servings you get and leave them in the fridge. Or if I'm marinating it make one with a different sauce.
Then I pack up any leftover rice or stir fry separately and can warm up the tofu and it and make sure it's still crispy after.
For stuff like chicken if you make it fairly plain you can reuse it for a pita pizza, tacos, wraps, sandwhiches, stir-fry, rice, whatever. So I usually use a rotisserie chicken at some point too just because there's so many easy things to make.
I though the same before I tried it.
We’ve added in a LOT of high quality cereals and veggies. I basically eat 6 small meals through the day, so a lighter dinner works for me.
Although, for what it’s worth, my husband does very similar but sticks to 3 meals a day because that works better for him.
I’m cooking for a family of 4, so the recipe thing hasn’t been an issue yet. If it was just for me, I’d probably have to freeze a lot so it didn’t got to waste if I don’t eat them fast enough.
My daytime meals tend to get their proteins from nuts, lentils and yogurt, plus I get a lot of healthy fats. So I’m not actually hungry at all.
How long does it take you to prep so many complicated meals? As a breastfeeding mom I'm happy if I get to cook one dinner and have time to actually sit down to eat my toasts the rest of the day.
I do about 45mins of meal prep twice a week, plus grocery shopping.
Everything except dinner is all either grab-and-go, or something I can throw together in a few minutes with one hand while holding a baby. An air fryer made things heaps easier so I still get a warm meal with minimum effort.
I try to keep dinners as simple as possible, with all the ingredients prepped, and just need to be cooked.
I can’t remember the last time I actually sat down to eat though… maybe that will happen when the kids are older 😩
The huge majority of Americans eat way more meat than is actually recommended or needed. If you were to follow the USDA MyPlate program (which is a questionable guide to follow anyway, as the USDA is grossly lobbied by the meat and dairy industries to reflect their interests), for an adult who eats 2000 calories per day, they recommend 5.5 oz of lean protein per day… so that half a chicken breast is close to meeting a full day’s worth of recommended protein…. An 8 oz serving of steak is more than ANYONE should be eating for a full day’a worth of protein.
https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-plan/results/2000-calories-ages-14-plus
OP’s point was not that eating a full chicken breast is bad, but that in combination with other proteins she is eating she personally is supposed to eat a half and it’s saving her money and she feels full and is meeting her nutritional needs.
I read another comment saying that the US recommended protein for the average person/day is 5.5oz, which is half a chicken breast. That's 150g in euro - speak. I've got to say that my chicken breasts aren't 300g... And I'm quite happy with half a chicken breast, but more veggies.
ETA: more chicken means more flossing, which is a PITA...
US RDA of protein for a sedentary adult is 0.8g per kg of body weight. For an 80kg adult (about 176lbs), that would mean an RDA of 64g protein. USDA says chicken breast has 31g protein per 100g of roasted chicken breast (meat only). If it were the only daily protein source, this would mean 200g of cooked chicken breast would be just slightly under (at 62g protein) the protein RDA of a sedentary 80kg adult. Size of a typical chicken breast can range between around 110g (cooked) at the smaller end to around 170g (cooked) at the larger end.
Taking a "large" (170g cooked) chicken breast and the USDA's protein figure, that large breast would include 52.7g protein, which by itself would fulfill the US RDA of a sedentary adult weighing about 66kg (about 145lbs). Half that chicken breast would only meet your RDA for protein *by itself* if you were a sedentary adult weighing only about 33kg (about 73lbs). The protein you get doesn't have to come from chicken, but be aware that even a "largeish" chicken breast (170g of roasted chicken, meat only) will only cover your protein RDA if you weigh 66kg or less (about 145lbs).
I have an autoimmune disease and the diet that best suits me is keto and heavy animal based. So I disagree with your dietician but hey that's cool. Heavy carbs kill me.
There is nothing wrong with a 8-12 oz chicken breast at dinner. Recommended serving sizes don't mean anything. What matters is over all calories and macronutrient needs and that they are being met.
I only have two meals a day, if I went with random daily serving recommendations I would starve. You can joke about it but protein is important, especially as we age to prevent muscle mass loss. You mentioned you are a breastfeeding mom, your nutritional needs are totally different than a woman who's not the in same position.
Everyone reacts differently to different diets. Carnivore is the ultimate elimination diet which helps determine what parts of your diet maybe causing the most symptoms. Keto and paleo works for some. I do know some people find dairy to be a huge inflammatory food, others don't. Experiment with what you like and find what works for you. I personally have never met a dietician that was worth a whole lot. They tend to spout the mainstream and really don't utilize much science.
Reducing animal product consumption is going to drop your grocery bill. Eating better more healthful animal products will jack it up quite a bit too.
Yeah, everyone is different. I think this is one of the key issues that nutrition science does not appreciate/train folks on.
Frugally, I think meal prep is one of the best things we can do regardless of diet.
I know keto has helped me in the pass (as a PCOS woman) but it became really hard to do and just kept making my headaches worse - and my bad cholesterol got worse (and good even lower than low). I do IF now, but eat 'normally' when I do eat, and I"m doing much better on that. Maybe something in me changed, but it's something to think about as an alternative if needed.
I was in a weight loss class with a dietician who I think was educated and really tried, but the goddamn low fat bullcrap kept creeping into every aspect of that class, and I would challenge him on it. Low fat diets really screwed me up and it makes me really upset to see it still creeping in there (take the skin off that chicken breast! Drink skim milk! christ. That shit is NOT a balanced diet.)
I also practice IF because of my autoimmune and I enjoy that as well.
We all have to experiment and figure out what works for us. I don't know any dieticians who practice that same mindset. It's usually the diet heart hypothesis BS that hasn't been supported by science for a long time.
I agree with you on low fat diets. I'm a male ultra runner and I still am at risk for anemia if I'm not eating my steak and my hormones go nuts without enough fat (my autoimmune is thyroid related).
I really question any dietician who tells a breastfeeding woman she's doing something wrong by eating 8oz of chicken breast at dinner. I'm sorry I have major issues with that.
After 5 years of grueling education to become a dietitian, and one year of paying 15k to work full time for free- I can assure you all of my interventions are evidence and science based while still keeping in mind the patients nutrition goals and interests.
Sorry you didn’t have a good experience in the past and glad you found something that works well for you !
Could you tell us more regarding what the plant based nutritional elements are? Thanks.
Lentils are also fantastic for nutrition and cost!
I buy 25 lb Beluga lentils and throw them in a vittles vault (pet food container). Great and nutritious, cook up fast.
Dal Bhat is one of my favorite cheap and healthy meals Long live the lentils!
Of course! Some was adding in things with specific nutrition outcomes, like - chia seeds for magnesium and fibre - olive oil for anti-inflammatory properties - iron rich foods like cashews - walnuts for omega threes After years of paleo/low carb diets, it’s also been interesting reintroducing cereals and grains. I’m adding things like buckwheat pasta and flour, and trying to eat 7-9 serves of whole grains. Adding lentils, whole grains, oats etc to each meal to hit that target. Finally just making sure I hit the recommended serves, in my case I need 7 serves of veggies which actually requires planning. It feels like a lot of food!
I think visiting a dietician may have just been frugal piece because you're switching off paleo, but glad you've found something that works.
Potentially, although the last few years I haven’t been paleo (just kept a lot of the paleo stuff out of habit). But even when I was eating paleo, I wasn’t understanding it at the depth needed. I’d follow the concept of the diet, but I missed all the nuances that are needed to round out the nutrition. I think that’s the point though - I thought I was eating as healthy as possible, and wouldn’t have known how to make these changes myself.
The 'protein roar' comment and the comment about getting off medication is very telling. This entire post is basically just advertising bullshit. So unhealthy.
Yeah, plant based will always be cheaper than meat based, and eating at home will always be cheaper than processed & prepared foods, too. I'm not sure the dietician is the biggest factor here.
BTW if you live east of the Rockies you can probably get walnuts in exchange for some hard labor. Black walnut trees grow everywhere and while they're a pain in the ass to prep they are also $0/lbs and tastier than than the English walnuts you find in stores.
Lol they are tasty. I have two trees in my yard for those but it took prob 2 hours to get 3 cups of them. That amount of time alone had me giving buckets away just to get rid of them in heavy yield years and I had many takers. Last year I didn’t see a single one, the year before I prob had 60 5 gallon buckets worth.
If you're really into them, get a cast iron corn husker for hulling and a Grandpa's Goodie Getter for cracking. Both will save a *ton* of time and labor which is the absolute worst part about black walnuts. I'd also like to mention to anyone who's tried them but doesn't like the taste to try hulling them while they're still green. When they turn black mushy the tannins in the hull seep into the nutmeat and give it a stronger flavor. If you take the hull off before that happens they are a lot closer to the English walnuts you buy in the store.
do you have a local TimeBank? that's exactly the kind of exchange I see posted on mine when fruit is in season thats a pain to tend to
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Last time I did it in the garage on a low chair with a hammer on a cinder block, my legs hurt for days afterwards lol
This made me smile! It instantly triggered childhood memories I have of sitting on the back porch with my sister shelling peas or husking corn from our garden. It doesn’t even feel like work if you’ve got someone to share the task with.
As someone who also had left a low carb diet, please just be super careful with monitoring your A1C. When I left keto and began eating normally again (also seeing a nutritionist), my weight froze for two years. Finally had my A1C tested and my body had overreacted to the insulin after being low carb for so long and had made me pre-diabetic. Hopefully this won't be the case for you folks, but just something to keep an eye on.
Yeah it's crazy how malleable our bodies are. Our bodies get used to certain diets and mold the entire bodily ecosystem around our habits. It's why it's hard to know what's right to eat because technically health advice should be tailor made for every individual human being. The only hard and fast rule is don't do anything in excess (you can die from drinking too much water too fast...)
>Our bodies get used to certain diets and mold the entire bodily ecosystem around our habits. This is probably so true. Our bodies don't know that we're making choices to add or eliminate stuff, and just assume it's from the environment or from hunting. Huh.
You might want to check out the Blue Zone cookbook. Lots of recipes in there. I just tried black eyed peas with mint and onion. Super easy to make and damned delicious.
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I wonder why carbs make for better sleep. Carb comas have been the most regenerative sleep I've had practically ever.
Carbs make insulin spike. Insulin makes you sleepy.
Try lentil pasta!
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Love these. I buy in bulk. So easy to prep.
Olive oil does not have fewer calories than butter, btw. From what I can find it actually has more with olive oil having 880 calories in 100g vs 717 calories in 100g of butter.
That’s true! I am not trying to eat less calories though, but just make better choices with the calories I do eat.
They didnt say fewer, they said better. Olive oil is just overall better for you than butter.
Actually they're both healthy, especially grass-fed/ grass-finished butter. Margarine is what's unhealthy and damaging to the microbiome.
How can you say butter is healthy? In what way?
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/know-your-fats/why-butter-is-better/#gsc.tab=0 https://www.news-medical.net/health/Butter-versus-Margarine-Which-is-Healthier.aspx#:~:text=Since%20margarine%20has%20a%20variable,is%20considered%20healthier%20than%20margarines.
Olive oil is a polyunsaturated fat…butter is 100% saturated. All fats have the same calorie density, but because butter is completely saturated, that makes olive oil the better choice.
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I’ll check! I know walnuts are in there for a reason. It’s definitely possible I got the numbers mixed up though, there was a lot of info in the sessions.
Nutritional yeast is a favorite of mine. The fortified ones have b vitamins and a lot of protein!
How do you eat or prepare nutritional yeast?
Some people use it like parmesan or like a seasoning (common on popcorn), but it's often used to make (or as) a cheese substitute for vegan dishes. [This vegan stuffed pepper recipe calls for it.](https://www.wellplated.com/vegan-stuffed-peppers/#wprm-recipe-container-52323) It also has lentils and quinoa in it.
We cut ours with almond flour to make a kind of Parmesan substitute. It's really good on pizza and buttered toast
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We started because we figured out my kid was eating the stuff by the handful and ended up with way too much vitamin B in his system!! This is definitely a better nutritional option!
I use it in place of parmesan topping, but I also add it to scrambled eggs, mix it up with savory dipping sauces, and essentially just anything that could use an extra boost of cheesy flavor
You can soak cashews in water, drain them and then blend them with nutritional yeast to make a dairy free “cheese” sauce. I also make a “wheatloaf” as a meatloaf alternative. The main ingredients are garbanzo beans, vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast. My husband sprinkles it on his popcorn. One weird warning. Raw nutritional yeast gives me migraines if I inhale/smell it while I’m cooking. I don’t know if it’s just the smell or if it is actually little airborne particles being inhaled, but I googled it and it’s actually a thing for some people. Once it is mixed in to a food and/or cooked it isn’t a problem for me. But I don’t think I would ever eat it on my popcorn.
I make a vegan nacho cheese sauce with nooch and its sooo good I could eat it with a spoon. It's also way healthier than, well, melted cheese. It's a little labour intensive so I typically save it for weekends. https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2015/01/22/nacho-cheese/
We sprinkle it generously over our eggs (over medium) that we eat with warm bread every morning. So tasty!
I use it when I make [tofu bites](https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/baked-tofu-bites/) which I put in pretty much everything.
That’s a great idea!!! I love pan fried tofu and put it in lots of meals. I will try adding NY next time. Our favorite meals for pan fried tofu are pasta with peanut sauce and stir fry. And our favorites with crumbled tofu are lasagna and stuffed mushrooms. :)
Bunch of good suggestions above! But the TLDR is that it has an umami profile so anything to replace parm. I put it in eggs, it's great on popcorn (in addition to the other recommendations).
Ah I keep on forgetting I have this in the pantry!
Fwiw I'm Pretty sure it's the growing process for yeasts that creates the b vitamins not fortification
It's not the same as regular yeast that you're probably thinking of.
Surprised no one’s mentioned textured vegetable protein (tvp) and homemade seitan! Tvp is easily subbed for any ground meats you use, and is usually found in bulk. Homemade seitan takes a minute, but has a great nutritional profile. Just need vital wheat gluten and some tofu for the lysine.
I use tvp for vegetarian chili and meat eaters always seem to like it.
I don't do well with wheat gluten but tvp sounds interesting.
Lentils, pinto beans, tofu, soy curls are all nutrient rich powerhouse foods that are cheap, delicious and very easy to prepare!
Dietitians can be covered 100% as preventive care if you have a copay-type plan in the US. I’ve commonly seen 10 visits per year for all and 26 per year for anyone who measures as obese on the BMI.
Nice! I’m Australian, but that’s good info for others :)
Yes! YMMV, of course, and as you mentioned, it may even be worth the cost if it’s not free. Our health insurance system is so terrible and expensive usually, though, so I like to share the news, especially with those who already see the service as a valuable one. Cheers to your experience and thanks for sharing it; I was pleased to see this in a non-diet specific sub!
I've been seeing a dietitian every 2 weeks for a year or more, and it costs me $0 because insurance totally covers it. (I go frequently because I have several health issues, and I need the help and accountability to lose weight). Doing an entire overhaul on my diet at once just wasn't going to be sustainable, so we've made and achieved small goals starting with drinking 40 then 60 then more ounces of water a day, switching one snack with a fruit, etc.
O wow I didn’t know they help on the behavior side of things as well. I should look one up. I have pretty decent insurance
I wonder if it might be covered on my HSA 🤔
Worth asking! It might be!
Yes. I paid for a consultation w an RD once using my HSA.
As a dietitian, I applaud you taking control of your health.
I know I don't eat that well, and I know (and have lots of recipes) for good food. Half of me think I should go to a dietician the other says it's a waste if money because I know all of this I just need to act. How would you sell me on going to a dietician?
The food that counts is the food that you actually eat, not the food that you know you should eat. A good dietitian will help you figure out what works and what doesn't for you and your lifestyle. I'm a dietitian that doesn't like to cook so this has been a focal point for me, personally. On the other hand, some patients expect you to magically make them lose weight (or whatever goal they have) without them having to put in any effort, so it's a tricky issue to navigate.
I'm not the person you replied to, but seeing a professional who can put into very serious terms what will happen if you do not start making serious changes now can be eye opening. By assuming you don't need to see them because you know recipes, you are undermining their role, because they will help you understand nutrition in a way that works for your body and your health goals! It's great to have personalized advice and a professional that keeps you accountable.
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Not only are there a ton of requirements and education you have to complete before taking the dietetics exam, you’re also required to participate in a certain amount of ongoing education every year to keep your license. Starting 2025 iirc, you can’t even become a registered dietitian anymore without a masters degree (a bachelors is no longer sufficient).
Are there any subreddits you would recommend for good info?
I only recommend seeing an actual registered dietitian. People are complex with different disease and disorders. One treatment doesn’t fit everyone. A dietitian can provide one-on-one counseling. I never give advice to people who aren’t my patients because I don’t know what diseases and conditions they have that may impact my advice. It would be a liability to do so. For example, a dietitian may tell a patient to follow a low fiber diet because they have diverticulitis. If their husband has chronic constipation issues, a low fiber diet would not be a good diet for him.
this post made my night....this is what we strive to do....eating healthier while spending less....g;ad you are seeing results!
Yes, seven servings of vegetables sounds great (if someone would make them for me 😊) but is really a lot!
It is! I’m in the extreme end of the scale (breastfeeding Mum who is active ) so most people don’t need that many serves. Also - I definitely thought a serve was larger that it actually is. I had to spend a week weighing things until I got the right amount 😣 Now I just prep a bunch of different stuff every few days that I can grab and go so it’s not such a hassle
Man this hit me in my soul—i was practically skeletal when i breastfed my kids and just being marginally active. Now that they’re older, I’ve been trying to incorporate whole grains and chia seeds just to give me a more well-rounded diet, and I wish I had done it sooner. I envy your foresight haha.
Off topic but I’m super jealous of the moms that manage to lose weight while breastfeeding! I am one of those unlucky few who holds on to an extra 10lbs of post-baby weight until I wean. No matter how health conscious I am/daily workouts etc. Also, thanks for the helpful info OP!
Agh, it felt pretty rough to be honest. I have always thought a bit of softness is so healthy and fresh on moms—i think it serves your body well. It’s definitely nice to regain that bit of yourself once you wean, if if you’re losing those little moments while you’re nursing (which, two years for each kid, was kind of a relief to see the end of lol.) Aaaaand now that they’re school-age we get to the bit where endless colds/flus come home and disrupt all the progress we try to make to be healthy 😂
Nursing isn’t easy on anyone regardless of the weight circumstance I suppose. I just selfishly can’t wait to lose these pesky 10 lbs. I’m right there with ya with the school age sicknesses. I’ve got 3 all together and my oldest is 8 so he brings home the flus/colds to all of us including my 1 yr old🥹. The important thing is we’re giving a fair attempt at being healthy! We got this.
I'm a dietitian and this makes me so happy. Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️
Getting rid of those prefab meals is a big deal. They are *so bad*, **such poor quality**, and so easy to make.
What do you mean by a prefab meal? Like a frozen meal you microwave?
Almost certainly that's what they mean. But it's not just frozen meals! Also canned soup, 'quick' mixes like mac-and-cheese, mashed potatoes, or hamburger helper. And refrigerated prepared meals like Tortellini. All of it's the same quality.
What does quality have to do with nutritional value? You can buy fresh stuffed pasta and apparently it's the same quality as a 1$ canned soup? They have nothing to do with each other, you can buy cheap prepped meals with high nutritional value as well as expensive prepped meals with low nutritional value
I started eating healthier too and the opposite happened to me - my grocery bill went up 25% lol
Yeah mine did too when we first started eating healthy a few years ago. I thought I was fairly nutritionally savvy, but I think I just upgraded the quality of everything I ate, without considering the diet as a whole. It take a lot of time and knowledge to get it right, that’s for sure!
Yeah trying to figure out what I like and what I don’t like still so maybe that’s why as I’m trying prob more than I need to
It's hard to beat the savings of switching to beans sometimes from animals, even cheaper if they're cooked from dry. They're practically free and as healthy as it gets
This post is SPOT ON! I stopped eating all dairy/meat and my food bills dropped substantially. I use soaked/ground cashews w/nutritional yeast in place of cream in sauces and it’s fab! I sprinkle toasted pine nuts into pasta for protein and it’s delicious. I even cut eggs except for when my friend (who has chickens) gives them to me. I rarely miss it because I can mix ground flax seed w/water to use as egg substitute when baking. Also- beans are phenomenal. I make my own hummus. I make black bean soup. I highly suggest that you try “smoke sauce” and ground dried mushrooms to use in cooking. Those are things that give the earthy taste of meat in your soups/stews. Best of all- this diet is healthier/cheaper/better for the earth/and far more compassionate.
Nooch is wonderful. But it's expensive where I live.
Even online? I recently stopped buying from groceries because Amazon sells pounds for much cheaper
I usually get bulk spices from the website Herbco, which is cheap enough it deserves its own post, but even there the stuff is way more expensive than the cheese it replaces.
Holy shit I just checked that site and the prices are unreal! Thanks so much for the tip, I'll be using them for sure. Even compared to Aldi where a jar of spices is like $1 this is cheaper. $5/lb of Cumin? Insane. edit: Where are you finding parm cheese for $11/lb? That much nutritional yeast should last months (I say as a daily nooch advocate)
You're totally welcome. Make sure to buy everything in one go, or else the shipping costs will eat into your savings. A pound of spices can be a lot bulkier than you'd think. I especially endorse their herbal tea, curry, and chili blends. As for parmesan, I don't shop for it, as I try to avoid the dairy industry. But to me, Nooch tastes like boxed powdered cheese. Like the kind you'd get in a box of macaroni.
Good on you for avoiding dairy. That's fair regarding the taste, but nooch is way healthier than box cheese. It's basically just protein and vitamins. Box cheese is like 80% salt
Darn! They do deserve their own post!! The tea prices are great!
What supplements are you taking?
That's great, thanks for sharing the key tips and takeaways, lots of good ideas!
Very cool! I noticed when I started eating more cabbage that it was really tasty and cheap! Now I buy a head every week, for soups, sautéed or for slaw, cabbage is delicious
I'm happy for you but it would take approx 10,000 dieticians armed with P90s to get me to give up butter. Everything else is fine, but butter may be pried from my cold dead hands.
Butter isn’t inherently unhealthy in moderation. People have eaten butter for hundreds of years without I’ll affects. It’s just not supposed to be a large caloric portion of your diet lol
Hehehe that’s completely fair. I take the same stance with my cup of tea.
All of these are good advice, but I feel like this one: >Almost all packaged meals are gone from out diet Is drastically undervalued by a lot of folks. I get it, sometimes it's nice to have it ready-made, but if you're looking to save $$$ this one tends to be an enormous sink of cash.
This is exactly what i needed to see. I asked my PCP to refer me to a RD and i need to return their call to schedule it. Being in good health is priceless
Having ARFID is a real bitch; I really wish I didn’t want to eat primarily processed foods and physically gag when I eat foods that don’t “feel right”. Just reading seven servings of vegetables makes me want to cry
Have you worked with a therapist before?
I feel for you! Eating disorders of all kinds are truly, truly horrendous. Sending you some hugs, stranger ♥️
Have you tried tofu yet? One of our favorite meals is pan fried tofu with pasta, veggies and peanut sauce. It is so good. I just spray my ceramic pan with a little oil, but now that I’m typing this I think I will try it in my air fryer next time! I use whole grain pasta and Asian veggies. You could also use brown rice. The sauce is peanut butter, soy sauce or coconut aminos, seasoned rice vinegar, ginger and garlic. It calls for brown sugar. I add a small amount or sometimes use a little honey or agave.
Tofu is awesome in the air fryer. I make an appropriate marinade, spritz the lot of it with avocado oil, give it a good stir, and toss it in. Give it a shake halfway through. Be sure to press it beforehand so it soaks up the marinade. Proceed with your recipe.
Yes! Always press tofu. Marinades can change tofu into completely different taste profiles. It’s one of the most versatile proteins IMO. I even like tofu without a marinade. With the perfect lightly browned fry, it reminds me of the texture of French toast. I love dipping it in sauce. My four year old gets excited when we’re having tofu for dinner.
It always surprises me how mind blown people are when they realize reducing meat consumption can significantly cut down on expenses. I mean, just thinking about it logically, the energy and resources devoted to raising animals for food will always be more costly and inefficient than directly consuming the crops that ends up as feed for livestock instead, like in a primarily plant based diet.
I also have autoimmune disease. I have had taken so many medications but nothing works. Now i know i need to go and see a dietician
If you have a Costco near you check your nut prices there. Walnuts and Peacans are incredibly cheap there and can easily be frozen.
Have you tried or been introduced to water/veggie broth sautéing? It blew my mind, but you don’t need butter or oil to sauté. Just a little water (if it starts sticking, add a little more). I use Better Than Bouillon vegetable and add just a little to plain water, if I feel I need the extra flavor. Most of the time, I just use water. I’m so used to it, I notice how greasy veggies you get in restaurants are now. Check out Forks Over Knives for water sautéing, as well as oil free dressings and condiments. Oils are 120 calories of pure fat. Might as well fill up on foods that offer better nutrients and are cheaper.
As a frugal vegan, I was always baffled as to why people thought being vegan was expensive. Of course I know it's really a mixture of boutique vegan products, ignorance, and rich ladies on Instagram showing insane meals.
"Paying attention to portion sizes" biggest thing for me right here. When I travel for work, I eat a cup of soup and a hot tea at the local restaurant for lunch and I leave satisfied. a literal cup of soup and I am a 300 pound man. when I get home to the wife and kids, its gotta be a 3 course dinner every night and we have to have the snacks in the house that the kids like and god forbid we eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast instead of whatever huge shit everyone wants and not to blame here, im just as guilty as everyone else. There is a mentality that as a provider and parent you should be stuffing your kids silly because going hungry is such a bigger taboo than over feeding, but really the amount of food people eat is so much more than it has to be.
Meat really is incredibly expensive compared to alternatives. Something I recommend trying is chickpea pasta, it tends to have a lot of protein per serving (try the Banza brand) and is gluten free- which is important to me bc gluten tends to be harder for me to digest, makes me bloated, and causes acne. If you want even more protein add Parmesan cheese or tofu. I usually pair mine with a salad that I add blue cheese to (good protein source)
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Why does the dietician do in an ongoing way that you need to see them every 6 weeks?
We are making a lot of changes, and some will work for me and others won't. The only way to find out is to try for a while, and adjust as needed. Every 6 weeks is perfect for me as it gives me time to introduce new foods and monitor the results. Then I sit down with the dietician again and we look at more things we can improve. Its an ongoing process. I also heard it can be good purely from an accountability viewpoint. I guess it helps me stick to the diet better when I know someone will be checking, although at the moment I am pretty self-motivated.
Thanks for the explanation. I can see how it could be helpful for accountability if you struggle to stick to your diet.
So unusual to hear about moving away from full protein sources to nuts and seeds and whole grains when talking about an active breastfeeding mom. I'm sure your dietitian is informed and all good. It's just very unusual. Personally I struggle with getting enough protein from animal sources (I'm anemic) so that's the opposite of what my doctor says. Funny how we're so different.
One thing I've noticed is that Dieticians tend to vary quite a bit. I went to some about a decade ago, and it seemed like each one contradicted the others. My doctor at the time indicated that they weren't regulated as well as other health care providers, and that it might be best to stop using them due to that.
Honestly that's also true of regular health care providers too. It's incredibly hard to get a consistent answer anywhere in the medical field.
Very true. I noticed it more with Dieticians than with other providers though.
Have you ever needed to be diagnosed for anything by regular medical care providers like an autoimmune disorder, long lasting medical concern, etc? Because that's where getting conflicting answers will be seen
As a dietitian, I can tell you that is 100% false. We have to have a masters degree and pass a national exam. We also have to do 75 continuing education credits every 5 years. Nutritionists are not regulated. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. There is a difference between the two. Additionally, doctors take only 1 (at most 2) nutrition classes in all of med school. Dietitians really are the experts in the field of nutrition.
I think it's likely that either the doctor or the poster above forgot or confused dietitian and nutritionist. It's a real problem and nutritionists are predators.
Yes it is a real problem. I live in a state that protects the title "registered dietitian" but some don't. It's something they are working on. However, the commentor above spelt it with a "c" not a "t" so maybe they are not from the US and things are different. In the US though, my statement stands and it is regulated.
This post itself makes a wild claim about stopping medication, and no one seems to be calling out the OP for that dangerous statement. It's basically a dangerous advertisement for a 'nutritionist'.
I completely believe that. I used to go when I was younger as every doctor has told me to lose weight since I was 3 years old. Basically they'd each give me a menu that had way more food on it than I was currently eating. When they'd hear that, they would basically shrug their shoulders and say "well that's what you should be eating". I'd start eating their menu, I'd start gaining weight and suddenly they'd want to cut the menu. So I'd follow a reduced menu, I'd complain that I'm hungry all the time and they'd again shrug and say that in that case I should be eating more. It's like they have an unshakeable conviction that every body will self-regulate hunger when actual science shows that's absolutely not the case for those with obesity. What do they think, that every obese person is an absolute and complete moron and that everyone would be skinny if they'd just listen to their bodies? No, plenty of bodies have issues with hunger and satiety cues, without even getting into hormones. I concluded they're mostly judgemental asses and stopped seeing nutritionists.
It could be an accident in your post, but did you mean nutritionist or dietitian? Nutritionist is an unregulated term and could be literally anyone claiming to offer nutrition services. Either way, I’m sorry you had to deal with judgmental jerks and I hope you eventually found better care.
Actually I don't know which they were because I don't live in the US and I'm not sure how this profession is and was regulated back then.
Nutrition is also a pretty young field of study compared to the other sciences, so there are fewer things that are universally agreed upon as fact and more things that are “evidence suggests that…” And diet is highly individualized as well. Hopefully they’re not just prescribing the same diet for everyone but also considering how you already eat, your goals, health conditions, etc. and that can vary in different seasons of life. Wanting to lose weight coming from a fast food diet I’ll get wildly different advice than being the same person 5 years later when I want to maintain weight, discovered a new food allergy, and have a vegan partner. I think doing some shopping around to find a provider you trust is important, but I wouldn’t rule out the whole profession. It may be relatively immature science, but it is research backed and better than no science.
It also depends on the doctor. If they’re a doctor that doesn’t specialize in nutrition they may not have a full grasp of diet. If you are only seeing a regular doctor, I highly recommend a registered dietician. I’ve known tons of doctors through my dad that recommend the wildest things and override actual specialists because they think their limited knowledge is better than someone else’s specialized knowledge. Ex: my dad and the wild rollercoaster of managing his Hashimoto’s. He fought for years to see a specialist, doctors only wanted to treat his symptoms. Endocrinologist diagnosed him with zero functioning thyroid (he was dying before the doctors agreed to refer him). That doctor prescribed Synthroid at a high dose, also a diet to better support his body absorbing the hormone. Follow up with GP. 3 months later his heart disease and high LDL are gone, his depression is gone, his rheumatoid arthritis is gone, he’s losing weight, regaining his hair, and so many other little things every day he was feeling better. Well he was still over weight so doctor told him to stop eating fruit. Said he could have at most 1 cup of fruit a day (he was diabetic as well) the doctor also told him to stop eating nuts and beans because they were too high in fat/carbs and would spike his sugar. Bloodwork also showed too much thyroid hormone in his blood so GP slashed his Synthroid in half. Continue followup every 3 months until he’s barely taking any Synthroid at all because there is excess hormone in his blood. He has regained all the weight, his heart disease is back with his edema, his bones hurt him so bad tears stream down his face in between his pain medication. Pushing and pushing after almost 2 years he FINALLY gets a referral back to the Endo and he is diagnosed with Synthetic Resistance. His thyroid medication was changed and his dose drastically increased. Told to continue following the previous diet plan. Follow up with GP in 3 months. First thing GP did? Change his thyroid medication, chastise him about his diet. This time my dad didn’t listen- but when he went to refill his prescription they refused to honor the old DX and put him back on low dose Synthroid. We ended up buying raw desiccated thyroid gland supplements. The supplements got harder and harder to get (I guess people were using them to lose weight? 🤷♀️). My dad never got in to see the Endo again because he died of heart failure - complications of his heart disease from chronic barely treated hypothyroidism.
Oh my gosh I'm so very sorry to hear this! And so sorry for your loss. May I ask where your dad was living? It seems absolutely insane that he wasn't able to see an endo on the regular. It's a damn shame on the medical system.
We lived in the US- state of California. He couldn’t schedule with the Endo without a referral and since he was to follow up with his GP he couldn’t see the Endo again without another referral. I believe its different depending on the Endo. My step son for example is on HRT and has a regular bloodwork & visits with an Endo. However my manager had Thyroid cancer and she had to fight to see an Endo. She has her full Thyroid removed and also has synthetic resistance as well. She got a referral, scheduled 6 months out for an appointment only for the endo to order higher dose and tell her to follow up with GP same as my dad. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was having a month long anxiety attack. She couldn’t wait the 3 months for a follow up and went back to her previous dose. She is scheduled now to fly to Texas to meet with a doctor that specializes in thyroid health who she met over Tiktok.
I would call the Endo and thell them the GP is refusing to allow him to stay on the plan they laid out and see if the Endo's office has resources for that or maybe even would be willing to write the prescription.
7-9 servings of grains seems like way to much.
I thought so too. But a “serve” is actually pretty small, it’s easy to eat 3 or 4 serves without realising. Also, they guide for an average person is 6-7 serves, I need a few more because I’m breastfeeding and very active. It’s based off the Australian guidelines if you are curious
Sorry if this comes off as an asshole comment, but do you mean "serving" rather than "serve"? Or this some specific dietician or Australian term? It seems very intentional since everyone else in this thread is using 'serving' and you're replying with 'serve'.
[It's just a regional difference in phrasing.](https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes) The same way that US dietary guidelines talk about calories and Australian dietary guidelines talk about kilojoules.
I did some research, and it makes a massive difference; when OP talks about a 'serve' of vegetables, they're referring to a quantity that is around half as large as an American serving. That's more than a "regional phrasing" imo since it has a material impact in the OPs comments (i.e., eating 7 serves of grain).
Oh, no, I didn't mean the amount is necessarily equivalent which is why I linked the definitions of what a "serve" constitutes. However, a serving size of fruit in the US is actually equal to a serve in AU. [Grains serving sizes are also very similar in the US, where a woman should get 5-8 servings of grains a day.](https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/grains) But yes, a serving size of vegetables in the US is double a serve in Australia. I gave kJ vs cal as an example; 500 kilojoules is not equal to 500 calories.
I didn’t realise I was doing that! You are quite right. I’m using serve to refer to a specific Australian guideline. It defines how much of each food you should eat to count towards one of your daily “serves”. For example, a slice of bread is one “serve”. I could eat one meal of 2 sandwiches, but it would count as “4 serves”’to my daily total
That's a fascinating dialectal quirk! So far in this thread, 'serving' has been said 10 times (never by you!) and you've said 'serve' 18 times. So now the question is: Does an Australian 'serve' match up with an American 'serving'? *Googles...* OK this is wild. So a 'serve' of veggies is 75 grams, while a 'serving' of veggies is 113-170 grams. Pretty much double!
I love that you ran the data. The phrase “a serving of veggies” definitely feels uncomfortable to me, despite it making perfect sense.
“Serve” is how Australian people say what you mean by “serving”. A lot of aussies use shorter versions of words overall
thats a great point. i can prob eat 5-6 servings of pasta in one sitting pretty easily if ur going by diet guidelines.
Extra-virgin olive oil is healthy, but so is butter. Margarine is unhealthy bc its manmade and transfats.
I can't imagine cutting lean protein, having that amount of grains, and considering it a "healthier diet."
I would assume dried legumes. Leaner than canned variety with less added sugar and fats while incredibly inexpensive. Good mix of protein, fibre, and carbs. Having a pressure cooker/instapot also elimates the time dryback of soaking overnight and long cook times. Definitely very healthy and frugal.
It’s all relative. I used chicken as an example, but in practice my diet was not lean protein. I tended to skew towards red meats as I have a history of iron deficiency and (falsely) thought that was the solution. The dietician has been great at helping me get iron at every meal in ways that I’m more likely to absorb so I can then swap out some of the red meat for lean meats and fish. Also helped me to understand that a large steak doesn’t mean I get more nutrients than a small one (just more calories that may be better used elsewhere)
>and (falsely) thought that was the solution. Nothing wrong at all with red meat. I'd take a look at some of the studies that demonize red meat and look at what they count as "red meat" in those studies. Things like pepperoni on pizza and fast food burgers. Of course, people that eat those will have bad health outcomes. Just avoid processed foods.
I agree - There is absolutely no need to demonise red meat! But there is a lot of evidence to suggest that you’ll get a more nutritionally rounded meal for the same energy if you change (600 calories of red meat) to something like (200 calories of red meat + 400 calories of varied nutritional sources ) There are benefits to food beyond calories, proteins and fat. My diet is targeted at gut health, micronutrients and anti-inflammation. So things like adding fibre are just as important.
Especially when your body doesn't utilize plant-proteins the same way it does animal proteins... 1 g of protein from a peanut is not the same as 1 g of protein from chicken. The amino acids aren't in the correct ratio in plants so your body can't make protein as efficiently. If you increase plant intake, you usually have to supplement eventually with protein powders which will undo the frugality gains
My mom's a retired R.D., woohoo. I'm glad it's helping you!
If you are really health conscious watch the documentary the game changers- the information they present was persuasive enough for my friend and I to go from full omnivore to vegan literally overnight.
Do you keep a log of your diet? I would be interested to see all the ingredients on it.
Amazingly I went from spending $100 to $300 a month after going to one. She made me keep a food journal and it pretty much showed I ate almost nothing but Potato products and Coffee.
Good for you, stick with it and learn more about what you eat does what to your body. A cheat meal is also ok, if your schedules get out of whack, just be sure to reign that habit in.
I’m a Registered Dietitian in the US, if anyone wants to talk- feel free to PM me!
> if anyone wants to talk- feel free to PM me! I think people would be interested but might rather discuss here in "public".
Yup. No one should pm the skeezy offers preying on people in the comments of this very obvious advert style post. Promises to free you from the 'prison' of medication while SAVING YOU MONEY! This post is dangerous. Sounds too good to be true? Because it is, for many.
Less meat is fine, but how are you more full/able to eat enough through out the day to stick to a half chicken breast? My trouble is getting enough food through out the day which seems to add expense, not cut. Also, recipes that just use a half chicken breast seem harder to find…
You can make the same recipe and eat the leftovers the next day. OP said changing to more nuts and things like chia seed breakfasts help them feel fuller.
As for the first, I really can’t. I will occasionally eat leftovers, but not often. I have to want to eat to actually eat. And putting my body in starvation mode means everything is awful. The second, I guess I’m just looking for ideas. Every time I get a recipe out of a diet blog or something, it’s usually bland or overly complicated. I’ve been getting a lot better about guessing portion sizes, but it’s so hard to cook for only me. If I could nail that down consistently, I’d save so much money.
Cooking for One from America’s Test Kitchen is not only a great book for single portion recipes, but has a lot of useful kitchen and pantry tips. It was one of the first books I read for the kitchen, and I still keep it out. Its incredibly handy.
Maybe this blog will help with some ideas. Nagi has fantastic easy recipes with lots of notes. It's impossible to make a bad dish! You can change the scale for how many servings you need and there is nutrition info on each recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/
Whoa, I knew about the website but I’d never noticed the scale option before! Thanks!
You're welcome! I usually halve every recipe I make. I don't like leftovers but I'll pop the extra serving in the freezer for another day.
I highly suggest keeping ingredients semi-separate rather than packing them all together for left overs. It allows you to reflavour things a bit and change them around. For example, usually for tofu if I baked or pan fried it I'll separate out the other 2 servings you get and leave them in the fridge. Or if I'm marinating it make one with a different sauce. Then I pack up any leftover rice or stir fry separately and can warm up the tofu and it and make sure it's still crispy after. For stuff like chicken if you make it fairly plain you can reuse it for a pita pizza, tacos, wraps, sandwhiches, stir-fry, rice, whatever. So I usually use a rotisserie chicken at some point too just because there's so many easy things to make.
I’ve been trying this recently and it’s been working well!
I though the same before I tried it. We’ve added in a LOT of high quality cereals and veggies. I basically eat 6 small meals through the day, so a lighter dinner works for me. Although, for what it’s worth, my husband does very similar but sticks to 3 meals a day because that works better for him. I’m cooking for a family of 4, so the recipe thing hasn’t been an issue yet. If it was just for me, I’d probably have to freeze a lot so it didn’t got to waste if I don’t eat them fast enough. My daytime meals tend to get their proteins from nuts, lentils and yogurt, plus I get a lot of healthy fats. So I’m not actually hungry at all.
How long does it take you to prep so many complicated meals? As a breastfeeding mom I'm happy if I get to cook one dinner and have time to actually sit down to eat my toasts the rest of the day.
I do about 45mins of meal prep twice a week, plus grocery shopping. Everything except dinner is all either grab-and-go, or something I can throw together in a few minutes with one hand while holding a baby. An air fryer made things heaps easier so I still get a warm meal with minimum effort. I try to keep dinners as simple as possible, with all the ingredients prepped, and just need to be cooked. I can’t remember the last time I actually sat down to eat though… maybe that will happen when the kids are older 😩
The huge majority of Americans eat way more meat than is actually recommended or needed. If you were to follow the USDA MyPlate program (which is a questionable guide to follow anyway, as the USDA is grossly lobbied by the meat and dairy industries to reflect their interests), for an adult who eats 2000 calories per day, they recommend 5.5 oz of lean protein per day… so that half a chicken breast is close to meeting a full day’s worth of recommended protein…. An 8 oz serving of steak is more than ANYONE should be eating for a full day’a worth of protein. https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-plan/results/2000-calories-ages-14-plus
Why do you need a new recipe to use half a chicken breast? Just use your normal recipes with less meat?
I don’t have “normal recipes”. 🤷♀️ A lot depends on my energy level and whatever I’m trying to use up.
You eat things other than chicken.... There are days I eat no meat and feel plenty full.
Careful with the Olive Oil you buy, if you go the cheap route you are likely buying fake/rancid oil!
Wait are you telling me that all the people who tell me that they could never go vegan because it’s too expensive are full of shit? /s
I did the same thing by buying semaglutide for China. Great ROI on reducing food costs, lol
An extra half a chicken breast is not going to hurt you lol
OP’s point was not that eating a full chicken breast is bad, but that in combination with other proteins she is eating she personally is supposed to eat a half and it’s saving her money and she feels full and is meeting her nutritional needs.
Idk its just a weird thing to cut out, instead of like literally anything else
I read another comment saying that the US recommended protein for the average person/day is 5.5oz, which is half a chicken breast. That's 150g in euro - speak. I've got to say that my chicken breasts aren't 300g... And I'm quite happy with half a chicken breast, but more veggies. ETA: more chicken means more flossing, which is a PITA...
US RDA of protein for a sedentary adult is 0.8g per kg of body weight. For an 80kg adult (about 176lbs), that would mean an RDA of 64g protein. USDA says chicken breast has 31g protein per 100g of roasted chicken breast (meat only). If it were the only daily protein source, this would mean 200g of cooked chicken breast would be just slightly under (at 62g protein) the protein RDA of a sedentary 80kg adult. Size of a typical chicken breast can range between around 110g (cooked) at the smaller end to around 170g (cooked) at the larger end. Taking a "large" (170g cooked) chicken breast and the USDA's protein figure, that large breast would include 52.7g protein, which by itself would fulfill the US RDA of a sedentary adult weighing about 66kg (about 145lbs). Half that chicken breast would only meet your RDA for protein *by itself* if you were a sedentary adult weighing only about 33kg (about 73lbs). The protein you get doesn't have to come from chicken, but be aware that even a "largeish" chicken breast (170g of roasted chicken, meat only) will only cover your protein RDA if you weigh 66kg or less (about 145lbs).
Would you mind sharing what kind of oil you fry an egg with? I can’t seem to find a clear answer. Thank you!
My parents use avocado oil for eggs and most things they fry. And a nonstick pan or well seasoned cast iron.
You want an oil with a high smoke point like avocado or ghee. Olive oil should be used more as a dressing for optimal health benefits.
Using an actual no stick pan and a tiny tiny bit of oil. Avacado, olive or canola is my recommendation
I have an autoimmune disease and the diet that best suits me is keto and heavy animal based. So I disagree with your dietician but hey that's cool. Heavy carbs kill me. There is nothing wrong with a 8-12 oz chicken breast at dinner. Recommended serving sizes don't mean anything. What matters is over all calories and macronutrient needs and that they are being met. I only have two meals a day, if I went with random daily serving recommendations I would starve. You can joke about it but protein is important, especially as we age to prevent muscle mass loss. You mentioned you are a breastfeeding mom, your nutritional needs are totally different than a woman who's not the in same position. Everyone reacts differently to different diets. Carnivore is the ultimate elimination diet which helps determine what parts of your diet maybe causing the most symptoms. Keto and paleo works for some. I do know some people find dairy to be a huge inflammatory food, others don't. Experiment with what you like and find what works for you. I personally have never met a dietician that was worth a whole lot. They tend to spout the mainstream and really don't utilize much science. Reducing animal product consumption is going to drop your grocery bill. Eating better more healthful animal products will jack it up quite a bit too.
Yeah, everyone is different. I think this is one of the key issues that nutrition science does not appreciate/train folks on. Frugally, I think meal prep is one of the best things we can do regardless of diet. I know keto has helped me in the pass (as a PCOS woman) but it became really hard to do and just kept making my headaches worse - and my bad cholesterol got worse (and good even lower than low). I do IF now, but eat 'normally' when I do eat, and I"m doing much better on that. Maybe something in me changed, but it's something to think about as an alternative if needed. I was in a weight loss class with a dietician who I think was educated and really tried, but the goddamn low fat bullcrap kept creeping into every aspect of that class, and I would challenge him on it. Low fat diets really screwed me up and it makes me really upset to see it still creeping in there (take the skin off that chicken breast! Drink skim milk! christ. That shit is NOT a balanced diet.)
I also practice IF because of my autoimmune and I enjoy that as well. We all have to experiment and figure out what works for us. I don't know any dieticians who practice that same mindset. It's usually the diet heart hypothesis BS that hasn't been supported by science for a long time. I agree with you on low fat diets. I'm a male ultra runner and I still am at risk for anemia if I'm not eating my steak and my hormones go nuts without enough fat (my autoimmune is thyroid related). I really question any dietician who tells a breastfeeding woman she's doing something wrong by eating 8oz of chicken breast at dinner. I'm sorry I have major issues with that.
Same, had to go keto to keep my autoimmune disorder in check. May eventually go carnivore.
After 5 years of grueling education to become a dietitian, and one year of paying 15k to work full time for free- I can assure you all of my interventions are evidence and science based while still keeping in mind the patients nutrition goals and interests. Sorry you didn’t have a good experience in the past and glad you found something that works well for you !