[angieand2girls]

Originally Posted by kaplods

All foods are healthy or unhealthy only within the context of each person's individual health, diet, and needs.

I wish more people understood this. It is SO important to learn your unique body. Standards that everyone seems to follow only go so far. One can be bombarded and light-headed from opinions after opinions, advice after advice. What applies to one may not apply to another. My favorite phrase is "Become a master of yourself".......who should know you better than you?

[mountain walker]

They are 2 wise pieces of advice. If I learned anything in the last few months of addressing my food and eating issues it is that my body ain't going to respond like any body else's body!
Personally I love beans...find them filling and tasty. I don't eat them every day ( lucky for my family!!) and I do best with a mixture of carbs to protein of around 50/50. According to Jillian Michaels I should be on a 60/40 or even 70/30 protein to carbs ratio couldn't cope with that.....I tried.
Don't drink alchohol but love a good cup of coffee even though it's supposed to be bad for me.
Haven't a clue what phyatates are though.
This is just a thought......is it possible that for most of us it is easy to fall into the trap of overthinking all this stuff? If we limit our diets too much are we setting ourselves up for failure......?

[Arctic Mama]

You don't want to overthink things, true, but food sensitivities and macro ratios can be the difference between chronic fatigue syndrome vs. energy, between having constant congestion vs. a clear nose and throat. It can end migraines, acne, mood swings, and give you control over your diet where previously the ravenous hunger and cravings controlled YOU.

That's what ironing out and eating according to my body's response to food did for me. Is it overthinking it? Maybe. But when the difference is regaining quality of life in multiple areas I'd say it is smart, not obsessive. Especially when all I had to do was ditch milk, grains, refined sugar, and some yeasts!

Know your own body and watch your reactions. Some folks it truly doesn't matter, they're not sensitive either metabolically or inflammatorily. But a surprising number of folks who struggle with their weight would do well to move to a very different diet than is often prescribed for them, with an eye on how they feel over the recommendations of any particular health group.

[LaurieDawn]

Originally Posted by mountain walker

This is just a thought......is it possible that for most of us it is easy to fall into the trap of overthinking all this stuff? If we limit our diets too much are we setting ourselves up for failure......?

Sorry for jacking the thread, and please don't think I am nit-picking, but I really wanted to address this, because I fear it's one of the reasons I have struggled so long with my weight.

The whole 'setting ourselves up for failure' thought that seems rampant on this Site sometimes makes me crazy. Even if it is a mistake to take this approach, mistakes DO NOT translate to failure. I ate Halloween candy for dinner last night instead of a healthy meal. It's not sustainable, but it's not failure either. Was It a mistake? Maybe. So far, seems like it was an okay occasional choice. Maybe it will start me down a dangerous path. And then I may have to do a course correction. If so, it would be a mistake and will give me more information about how to do better in the future. But it will not be failure. Even something as macro as overthinking can be recognized and adjusted. Again. Not. Failure.

[KittyKatFan]

Black beans. Yummy. Lots o'fiber. Not a bad protein source on those weeks where I try a vegetarian diet. I love to mixed them in with a scrambled egg, salsa, and a bit of cheese. Filling and delicious

And not too terribly high in calories. Definitely on my "ok to eat" list, even though I don't eat them often.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by mountain walker

This is just a thought......is it possible that for most of us it is easy to fall into the trap of overthinking all this stuff? If we limit our diets too much are we setting ourselves up for failure......?

I too doubt that "overthinking" is a primary cause of failure.

Can it be a problem? Yeah, no doubt, but I think that "not thinking" and "not thinking things through" is the much more common problelm.

I know many of us who have discovered that we have problems with certain foods, did so only after suggering needlessly for decades because we never gave our diets much thought.

For most of my life, I was firmly entrenched in the "everything in moderation" and "a calorie is a calorie" club. I never thought to eliminate any food from my diet (except honey because it gave me a scratchy, sore throat and even then I didn't make the connection, my mother did, after I admitted that honey made my thoat scratchy after an allergic reaction to a bee sting when I was in grade school).

I was nearly 40 when I learned that a low-carb diet controlled the "rabid hunger" that I had experience my entire life. "Overthinking" was not my problem. Oversimplifying was.

And I think "oversimplification" is a much more common problem. As is believing the "common wisdom" without question.

There are many myths and traditions of weight loss that contribute more to the "setting oneself up for failure." We're not as individuals setting ourselves up for failure as much as our traditions and myths of our entire cultre is setting us up for failure.

We're taught that the appropriate response to a mistake is to binge. We're taught that by watching others do it, over and over again. Oh we TALK about it not being the appropriate response, but we see it done over and over again (a bit like the scene in Starman where the alien learns that "yellow light means go really, really fast through the intersection").

It isn't just children who "do what they see," so what we teach verbally about weight loss means far less than what we teach by example.

We've learned that a mistake on a Friday means "binge until Monday." and that a binge in late November means "binge until New Years."

It isn't ovethinking, rewriting and breaking the "rules" society has given us for weight loss that is the problem, it's following the unwritten rules that is killing many of us.

[InspiredBy]

I really like beans and think they're great.

Except since I started uncovering a whole bunch of food sensitivities that I hadn't been aware of previously.

So it's a question of how well your personal digestion handles them. If you get gassy after eating them, don't. Otherwise go for it

[mountain walker]

I am sorry if I didn't express myself very well in my last post.
I have found red meat doesn't agree with me. I wouldn't call it an allergy or even an intolerance I don't think but eating it just doesn't FEEL right and seems to make my bowel sluggish. I struggle with articficial sweetener too.
And yet on previous diets ( many many many of them) I just didn't notice I was so focused on " less calories". I feel heaps better if I stick to fish.
I was talking personally in that if I tell myself " you can't eat this or that" the inner 5 year old says "But I WANT it!!!" By allowing my body to find it's own way I feel much more at peace with the whole thing. THAT'S what I meant by overthinking......listening to my head instead of my body and getting it wrong.
Hope this clarifies!

[avalonmoon]

I have been a huge fan of beans but Imight have a sensitivity to them. When I eat them weight hangs on too well. I am going to experiment with lentils instead of the larger ones. As far as gas, Ii thhink a healthy diet does that to me. Too much sulfer.

[HungryHungryHippo]

This was such an interesting thread! I learn so much thanks to 3FC!
It made me curious, so looked up nutrition info, and made a little cheat sheet:

Food - (Calories per cup) % Carbs / Fat / Protein
Lentils (230) 70 / 3/ 27
Chickpeas (269) 68 / 13/ 19
Black beans (227) 74 / 3 / 23
Kidney beans (225) 73 / 3/ 24
Edamame (189) 33 / 36 / 31
Brown rice (216) 85 / 7 / 8
Quinoa (222) 71 / 14 / 15
Can of tuna (179) 0 / 6 / 94

[MCGGM]

Thanks asking this questions I have been wondering about this topic myself. All of the different answers have helped as well. Thank you everyone!

[Melissamixedup]

There may be many reasons not to eat beans. In their uncooked form, many legumes and beans are actually toxic to humans.

In their cooked form they still cause problems in part because of their high oxalate content:

Immediate symptoms of high oxalate consumption include burning mouth and throat during consumption, digestive upsets including sour stomach, stomach pains, diarrhea, blood in stools, constipation, bloating, gas in its various forms including burping, belching, flatulence, and flatus, breathing and asthma symptoms, skin eruptions and acne, arthritis flare ups, kidney stones and kidney problems, urinary pain and or problems, blood in urine, foul smelling urine, irritation of the genitalia, body odor, and slowed digestion which makes it difficult to eat enough calories during the day.

Long term symptoms and diseases related to high oxalate consumption include kidney stones and kidney disease, urinary problems, breathing and asthma problems, digestive system irritation and or IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), prevention of calcium absorption and assimilation with risk of osteopenia (bone softening), osteoporosis, and jaw, oral, and dental problems, iron deficiency anemia, and other systemic problems such as calcification of tissues and arteries also known as hardening of the arteries and or arteriosclerosis which can lead to heart problems and cerebrovascular accidents and strokes. Systemic circulation of calcium oxalate crystals can also cause them to be deposited in the visceral organs, bones, cartilage, and synovial fluid of joints resulting in pain, swelling, and arthritis.
Oxalate Health Impact

Beans are also a starchy food and can cause problems such as weight gain and or hypersinulinemia if eaten consistently by some individuals. Other problems they may promote are oral and dental, and acidic conditions in the body that promote low bone density and osteoporosis.

Starchy Foods vs Fruit n Lettuce

There are several other problems with beans, but this should be enough info to get you started.

[mnemosyne]

Beans are high in protein, and comparable to meat in terms of calories, They are also high in soluble fiber, which can help lower cholesterol, and rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Are they healthy? Yes, yes, yes. In moderation, of course.

If they irritate your digestive tract, you might want to avoid them. But over time one becomes used to them and there are both health and environmental benefits to eating less meat and more vegetables.

Please see:

Beans Protein Rich Superfoods

Top 5 Beans for Your Heart Health

LiveStrong

The Mayo Clinic's Guide to Beans

or

Eating Well

Some RAW beans are toxic when RAW, but cooking them properly destroys the toxins. It is also not adviseable to eat CHICKEN or PORK raw and indeed you similarly have to make sure that they reach a certain internal temperature to be considered safe. Cook beans properly and they are NOT toxic. (Proper cooking means: bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes at least. If you cook them primarily in a slow cooker you have to BE SURE they get up to a boil.)

Similarly, yes - cooked beans contain Oxaltes. If you have kidney disorders, a history of kidney stones, gout, rheumatoid arthritis or some other conditions, you may need to follow a low-oxalate diet and avoid beans. It is not a problem for most people, though.

Just as most people do not need to follow a low-acid diet that might be recommended for someone with GERD or the low-fiber/low residue diet that might be recommended for certain people with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or diverticulitis.

[AryaStarks]

Legumes, such as kidney, garbanzo, pinto, navy and black beans, are high in protein and fiber, all beneficial nutrients when you're trying to shed pounds. Protein helps boost satiety and calorie expenditure, and fiber helps you feel full without the extra calories.
A 2016 review of studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that including pulses — a group that beans are a part of — can be beneficial to weight loss, even when not attempting a calorically restricted diet. However, it also notes that more research needs to be done.
Keep in mind that green beans are not a pulse, but rather a vegetable. However, these beans are still packed with fiber and contain just 44 calories per cup, notes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database.

[fitnessforever]

Originally Posted by bargoo

Beans are a very healthy food, loaded with vitamins and other nutrients as well as fiber.

you're right