Super healthy diet on a budget: Lois's road to recovery

Lois_and_CK · 12 October 2010 at 11:17AM

Having had a couple of wake-up calls recently with being diagnosed with PCOS and a cervical cancer scare (thankfully just a scare), I've realised I need to take better care of myself and stop stuffing my fat face with processed, sugary and fat foods.

With PCOS I'm at an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, and with my waist measuring 41 inches (OMG OMG OMG) the risk of diabetes is even higher. According to NHS guidelines, a healthy waist size is 31.5 inches - so that's my first goal: to lose 10 inches off my waist. I don't want to calorie count or start obsessively weighing myself, so I like the idea of using my waist measurement as a goal.

When I had the cancer scare, I did a lot of reading about the relationship between diet and cancer, and was shocked to discover that a quarter of all cancer deaths are thought to be caused by diet. So my second goal is to gradually change my diet into one that's healthy and balanced. I feel pretty rubbish most of the time - tired, lethargic, headachy - and I'm sure it's caused by diet, so I'm interested to see if I can improve this too.

Thirdly, this has to be done on a strict budget because like most people on these forums I'm a strict MSE'er. I had a conversation with a friend about this, and she doesn't think it's possible to eat super healthily and not spend more money than on a processed cheap diet. Certainly the last time I went through a diet fad I spent a small fortune on fish, veg, fruit, seeds, nuts, etc. My current food spend for two adults is £200 a month, including toiletries, cleaning products and alcohol (food spend was £450 pre-MSE).

I think I'll post a diary of food and exercise, plus various findings on diet and PCOS/cancer. Being a naturally greedy and lazy person, I need all the motivation I can get so I hope this diary will help. I'd also be really interested to hear from other MSE'ers on eating well on a budget.

prudencekitten · 12 October 2010 at 11:48AM

Saw some recent holiday photos of me with Desperate Dan chin - who is that fat lady? I used to be called Twiggy in my youth!

I too am an applie shape - not a healthy shape to be, is it? Although I do have great legs.:rotfl:

I'll be interested in following your thread. Not quite ready to give up the junk food as it gets me through a boring job. But I will have to as I just get larger and larger.

Good for you for making this decision. Good luck!!

Keeping_Motivated · 12 October 2010 at 1:23PM

Do you like soup? I would make lots of home made soup and freeze so you have something quick to eat when time is limited or you can just use for lunches.

Do you have a slow cooker? Making casseroles can be a healthy way of eating and ideal in the winter months to come home to a ready made meal and stop the picking or reaching for the processed food.

Don't buy sugary cereals, have porridge, granola or weetabix or the like as they are healthier.

Good luck with it.

Lois_and_CK · 12 October 2010 at 1:29PM

Prudence kitten, I too have great legs

Okay, food and exercise diary for yesterday:

Exercise
Spinning class - 45 mins
Slow walk at lunchtime - 30 mins

Food
Breakfast: breakfast smoothie

Snack: cinnamon and raisin bagel (not sure how super healthy bagels are. I guess there are a lot of chemicals/processing that go into bread products?)

Lunch: wholemeal bread roll, feta cheese and salad (with Newman's Italian dressing)

Snack: another cinnamon and raisin bagel (hmm)

Dinner: fish pie, cabbage, broccolli

Snack: very large bag of crisps (sulk comfort food after being stuck in traffic for an hour and a half on way home from work)

Does anyone have any tips on how to resist the 'reward/comfort thyself with junk food' cycle? I'm also interested in ideas for healthy in-between-meals snacks please!

Ingredients/recipes

Breakfast smoothie:
Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), porridge oats, wheat bran, frozen berries, soya milk, cinnamon

Fish pie
Smoked mackeral, salmon, cod
Parsley sauce (packet mix - more chemicals: does anyone have any made-from-scratch fish-pie recipes?)
Peas and sweetcorn
Topped with very thin layer of mashed potato (no butter, mashed with skimmed milk)

Newmans own Italian dressing
I chose this brand as it's made with olive oil - a good fat - and doesn't have many added chemicals/preservatives/sugar etc. on the list of ingredients (Rapeseed Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Olive Oil, Water, Lemon Juice from Concentrate, Red Wine Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar, Onion, Salt, Black Pepper, Mustard Seeds, Spirit Vinegar, Garlic Puree, Celery Seeds, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Ground Turmeric).

I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on salad dressings. There seem to be two school of thoughts on what dressings are best - either low-fat dressings (but which seem to add sugar) or dressings using 'good fats' like olive oil for the health benefits, but without the sugar.

Lois_and_CK · 12 October 2010 at 1:34PM

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

Do you like soup? I would make lots of home made soup and freeze so you have something quick to eat when time is limited or you can just use for lunches.

Do you have a slow cooker? Making casseroles can be a healthy way of eating and ideal in the winter months to come home to a ready made meal and stop the picking or reaching for the processed food.

Don't buy sugary cereals, have porridge, granola or weetabix or the like as they are healthier.

Good luck with it.

Thanks Keeping Motivated. Yes I love soup and there's a microwave at work so that's a great idea. And I do have a slow cooker - I tend to use it for chilli, bolognaise and joints of meat mainly. I'd like to cut down on red meat though. Has anyone ever made chilli or bolognaise with minced chicken or turkey? What's it like? I currently make mine with half minced beef, half lentils/beans/vegetables.

Keeping_Motivated · 12 October 2010 at 1:43PM

I make chilli with quorn which I think actually tastes better and is healthier, I don't do it in the slow cooker though but you could I suppose.

I put a chicken in my slow cooker a couple of mornings per week so that when I get home from work I can have it with salad, new potatoes or rice or whatever then I use the rest for sandwiches/wraps the next day and maybe if there is some left I will make a curry the next night.

Lois_and_CK · 14 October 2010 at 2:52PM

That's a good idea with the chicken in the slow cooker. Thanks for the tip. I might give quorn a try - I wonder if I can sneak it in without CK noticing... Is it more expensive than meat?

Food and exercise diary:

Tuesday

Exercise: 20-minute swim

Breakfast smoothie
Feta cheese salad
Strawberries
Oatcakes with peanut butter
Indian takeaway (poppadoms, madras, boiled rice)

Wednesday

Exercise: circuits class

Breakfast smoothie
Mackeral salad
Strawberries
Mixed nuts
Chicken, salad, jacket potato

Lois_and_CK · 14 October 2010 at 2:56PM

I'm going to visit my in-laws this weekend. Usually it's four days of over-eating and no exercise. They kill us with kindness: 3-course meals, lots of meat/potatoes, snacks, etc, and get offended if we refuse anything (like the rest of the cow after they've had one slice of beef each

).

This trip I've at least packed my walking shoes so I can go on plenty of hearty coastal walks. If anyone has any tips on how to avoid eating too much while still being polite and not offending my lovely and kind-hearted in-laws I'd be very grateful!

londoner1998 · 16 October 2010 at 7:32PM

Lois_and_CK wrote: »

Having had a couple of wake-up calls recently with being diagnosed with PCOS and a cervical cancer scare (thankfully just a scare), I've realised I need to take better care of myself and stop stuffing my fat face with processed, sugary and fat foods.

With PCOS I'm at an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, and with my waist measuring 41 inches (OMG OMG OMG) the risk of diabetes is even higher. According to NHS guidelines, a healthy waist size is 31.5 inches - so that's my first goal: to lose 10 inches off my waist. I don't want to calorie count or start obsessively weighing myself, so I like the idea of using my waist measurement as a goal.

When I had the cancer scare, I did a lot of reading about the relationship between diet and cancer, and was shocked to discover that a quarter of all cancer deaths are thought to be caused by diet. So my second goal is to gradually change my diet into one that's healthy and balanced. I feel pretty rubbish most of the time - tired, lethargic, headachy - and I'm sure it's caused by diet, so I'm interested to see if I can improve this too.

Thirdly, this has to be done on a strict budget because like most people on these forums I'm a strict MSE'er. I had a conversation with a friend about this, and she doesn't think it's possible to eat super healthily and not spend more money than on a processed cheap diet. Certainly the last time I went through a diet fad I spent a small fortune on fish, veg, fruit, seeds, nuts, etc. My current food spend for two adults is £200 a month, including toiletries, cleaning products and alcohol (food spend was £450 pre-MSE).

I think I'll post a diary of food and exercise, plus various findings on diet and PCOS/cancer. Being a naturally greedy and lazy person, I need all the motivation I can get so I hope this diary will help. I'd also be really interested to hear from other MSE'ers on eating well on a budget.

First of all, congratulations on deciding to eat better and take care of yourself.

On the subject of moneysaving it doesn't have to be expensive to eat well, you just have to shop in the right places and plan your meals and your shopping. Don;t fall for marketing traps in the health food business- good honest food is what you need.
Example- I have a budget of £80 for food for two people (£40 x2), my partner and I and I can categorically say that that is achievable and enough (he is a meat eater, I go for fish when I am menstruating but don't eat meat). I just came back from doing my weekly shopping and loaded up on fresh fruit (masses of tangerines, plums and apples: 8 apples for £1), vegetables (carrots, leaks, tomatoes) and pulses (2 kg of indian chana dhal) as well a a couple of toiletries items. I think I spent about £8.00, that will take us through a week and half I think (including pack lunches). There is no way that woudl have been the price at my local Tesco. I would suggest to be realistic, but buy from local producers and markets. The fruit and vegetables are much fresher, might not be organic (sometimes they are), but just wash it throughly and they tend to be better quality (they go off quicker, and that means they haven't been in a freezer for weeks). Indian and middle eastern shops also sell very good nuts and dry fruits much cheaply than chain supermarkets. Ditto for things like feta cheese and yogurt (I buy a kg for about a pound at the lebanese shop). I use a pressure cooker a couple of times a week and make lovely beans and pulses dishes- very filling and nutricious. Also, vegetable soups are very cheap to make

And I would also advise to refuse politely if you don't feel like eating snacks and try not to over eat. Keep regular times for your meals and respect it. I know it is hard, but you have to take care of yourself. Have plenty of fruit first thing in the morning (or a nice juice or smoothy) and try to reduce toxicity in your diet (processed food, booze, too much coffee...) I do regular fasting where I only drink fruit juice and vegetable stocks twice a year, but I won't tell anyone to do it unsupervised- you can consult a doctor for that if you feel so inclined. I am mentioning the fasting only because I firmly believe we eat much more than we really need. Have little and small and listen to your body. Keep hydrated. Once your start to cleanse with good, proper food and masses of fruit and vegetables, you will start to notice you don't fancy crappy food and will have more energy.
Good luck and tell us how you get on!

Ax

ps- to do this you will need to take the alcohol out of the equation, at least for most of the time, so that will leave more room for yummy, healthy food in your budget. Think salads, falafel, hummous, chunky, hot vegetable soup, roasted potatoes with thyme, yogurt smoothies, nuts, even lovely home-made rice pudding with pistaccios and rose water as a treat ... do I need to go on??