Thread: How good are these things for you?

Well all depends on what your goals are and your stats, post those first then I'm sure some people will give you some great ideas

Please read the sticky at the top of this forum titled- Guide to cutting, bulking and maintenance.
tons of info that your looking for!

Originally Posted by Someone

Im just wondering how good cerial like Ricebubbles, Wheat bix and things like apples and bread are for you?

Well, processed cereals such as rice bubbles are not the best option. They are usually full of sugars, refined carbohydrates and are usually high on the glycaemic (and insulin) index - meaning they can spike your blood glucose levels and cause your blood sugars to be unstable. They also offer very little in terms of nutrition. For that reason I tend to stay away from them.

Apples are great - fruit is great in general. Packed full of vitamins, minerals, fibre, anti-oxidants and other phytochemicals and water they are a great addition to any healthy diet!! Eat up!

Bread, well, it is a little bit of a 'toss up'. You can get pretty good breads - things such as sprouted breads (only ingredients are whole grains, water +/- salt) and pumpernickel grain breads. They are probably the least processed and offer the best option in terms of nutritional value and glycaemic index. Other 'better' bread options are things such as wholegrain seeded breads, sourdoughs and wholegrain rye breads. But I would stay away from the other types of breads - they are usually too processed and do not offer you much in terms of nutritional benifits.

What are other healthy foods that can be eaten as a snack/breackfast lunch or tea? I dont mean things like suppliments but things like fruit etc.

What else?? LOTS!! Check out the 'shopping list' in the stickies up the top of the page.

How much Protein, Carbs etc should i be taking in? As in what should i be eating the most of and what should i be eating the least of?

This depends on your weight, age, activity, goals etc etc. As Jen suggested - check out the stickies for more info!

Don´t forget that for a healthy life style. You need to be happy. Eat once in a while the things that you like. Ice cream, chocolate and so on.

Ok, thanx for the help every one. I had mainly been eating white bread but i think i might buy grainy bread etc instead. What would be some good breakfast cerials?

Im mainly trying to get flatter/harder abbs.

Originally Posted by Someone

Ok, thanx for the help every one. I had mainly been eating white bread

White bread is no good. You may as well shovel sugar into your body for the nutritional benifits you are getting.

Grainy bread would be better (check the ingredients to make sure it does not have 'icky' things in it like high fructose corn syrup or the like - you want the least ingredients possible. Preferably something like: Whole grains, Water, Salt). I would try to get a sprouted bread or pumpernickel.

What would be some good breakfast cerials?

Although people probably get sick of hearing this - a bowl of oats is probably one of the best things you could eat.

Scotch oats (also called 'steel cut oats' or 'kibbled oats') are probably your best choice as far as oats go - they are the least processed and have the most fibre/nutrients as a result. They are basically whole oat kernels that have been chopped into smaller peices. Because of this, they HAVE to be cooked to be fully digested and they do require a little more cooking than other sorts of oats. But it is worth it in my opinion.

Next best is wholegrain old-fashioned oats. These are oats that have been steamed and rolled flat, but they have not been chopped/processed in any other way. The thicker these are, the better they are too - as they will have a lower GI and will keep you fuller for longer (they will also keep your blood sugars more stable). You do not need to cook these again (as they have already been steamed) although many people like to.

Then there is 'quick oats' which are rolled oats that have been chopped into smaller fragments. They cook a lot faster than regular old-fashioned oats - usually only needing a few minutes cooking time if you want to cook them. They have a slightly higher GI than rolled oats.

'Instant Oats' are the 'worst' type of oats to go for. These are chopped again, cooked again and have usually got flavours and other things added to them (including sugar). Although they are better than other cereals, they are nowhere near as good as your regular oats.

You could also try oatbran - which is the outer bran of the oats (which is removed when oats are processed), which is chopped and uncooked. It is really high in fibre and higher in protein than regular oats/rolled oats.


Other options are barley Flakes (just like rolled oats only made out of barley), barley bran, rye flakes, kibbled rye etc etc. Whole grains are all really good to cook into a porridge like meal.

Natural museli (something with UNTOASTED rolled grains, dried fruit and nuts or seeds) is probably another good choice - as this has the benifits of the rolled grains (and is therefore high in fibre, nutrients, vitamins and minerals) while having that little bit of flavour that the nuts/seeds and dried fruits add.

As for 'processed' cereals - well, I am not a fan of them. I am not sure what is available where you are (I am in Australia and we have different options over here) generally anything that has sugar (or any of the other names it goes by) as one of the first ingredients is not a good choice.

You basically want something with wholegrains, low sugar content and a high fibre content. I know Fibre 1 and All Bran are two such options.

Hey Emma-Leigh im from Aus aswell

Thanks everyone for your help, i really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Tom_B

Well all depends on what your goals are and your

exactly.

i can eat anything i want and stay relatively lean. in fact, if i don't eat EVERYthing, i lose size.

it just depends on your indiv. metabolism, that's all...