you are what you eat

Pandora123_2

Mrs_A. wrote:

one of my pals just popped in with her juicer to lend me to see if i really want one.
i juiced a grapefruit and an orange and added it to the smoothie i was in the middle of preparing when she came in.
in the smoothie was
handful of blueberries
handfull of blackberries
handfull of raspberries
6 strawberries
and 2 bananas
i added the juiced orange and grapefruit
and its delicious will take me all day eat though.
this is healthy is it not.

Absolutely! That's several servings of fruit right there. Be sure to try and eat some greens every day as well, like broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage or salads (darker lettuce is more nutritious, eg. romaine is better than iceberg). Also tomatoes (fresh, sauce, soup etc) are very nutritious, so choose those often as well.

Best of luck and keep us updated!

:A

lovelyjubbly

If there is anyone out there who, like me, hates porridge (I hate that slimy, gloopy texture), here is a tip

I buy jumbo oats from the health food shop, and it has to be jumbo oats about £1.00 a kilo, and just eat them without cooking them, they taste wonderful, I have always wanted to eat oats but thought you had to cook them, not so! I mix in sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds which taste really nutty and are really good for you and a chopped banana on top.

I also dont use cows milk on it but soya milk instead because I found out that cows milk was irritating my skin and giving me a rash on my cheeks, so a change to soya milk, the sweeteened version, has solved the problem. The soya is sweetened with apple juice so is even better for you and has more calcium that cows milk, I buy the supermarket own brand so it only costs about 70p a litre, not a lot differerent than normal milk.
hope it helps someone trying to lose weight/eat healthier

CFC

I think GM is a bonkers self righteous codswallop peddler.

I am very impressed with Guineapig's advice on here, she knows whereof she speaks. You couldn't do better than follow her advice and thinking.

Well done on stuffing some fruit instead of the crispies and chocs, MrsA !

rach

i've lost a fair bit of weight and managed to keep it off, using weight watchers, am currently back there as a little had crept back on. i know its not free, but its a great way of learning to eat healthily. a friend who has been coming with me who is v large (over 20 stone) has completely revolutionised the way she eats and has lost 5 stone in a few months. i tried the mckeith thing for a while but i don;t think its sustainable - its weird and expensive. on weightwatchers we had a chinese last night and still lost (me 1lb, her 6lb!)

my other tip would be to think about switching to redbush tea - its great for antioxidants and is naturally caffeine free

competitionscafe

CFC wrote:

I think GM is a bonkers self righteous codswallop peddler.

I agree. I seriously doubt she enjoys food either - I think she is firmly in the "Food is fuel" camp. Of course everyone on the programme loses weight as they all go from one extreme to another - diet of complete carp and no exercise to an extreme diet of pretty much nothing but fruit & veg (including obscure, expensive stuff which is not necessary).
Read paragraph 3 of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_McKeith

"..Amanda Wynne, senior dietician of the British Dietetics Association, said: 'We are appalled. I think it is obvious she hasn't a clue about nutrition. In fact her advice, if followed to the limit, could be dangerous. Her TV programme takes obese people and puts them on a crash diet that is very hazardous to health..."
source: http://www.fmwf.com/newsarticle.php?id=402&cat=5

Anyway, yes, porridge is a good choice and if you don't like the cooked variety you can make a very good homemade muesli with oats as a base and then add, nuts, dried fruits etc, I like to have it with milk and a sliced banana. Much better than most of the shop ones which contain added sugar (there is already plenty of sugar in the dried fruit, no need for more) :
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8126-2278749,00.html

By far the nicest ready-made mueslis I have tried are the Southern Alps (toasted/granola one) and the Rude Health Foods ultimate muesli but both of these cost £5 or more for a 500g packet (!) so I basically copied the ingredients and made my own.

Rooibosch tea is good choice too - good tip rach - I also love the peppermint and liquorice tea from 15 minutes - great if you have a sugar craving as it is naturally sweet from the liquorice and the peppermint is suppossed to be good for digestion, so it's also good to have after a meal instead of pud.
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/product_reviews.php?products_id=111&osCsid=bb2db55d054be12a2bd0efeda6749c8c
(Don't have too much though as too much liquorice is not good apparently)

I also got 'Fat Girl Slim' from amazon as it was on offer at amazon for £3.99 and I was buying some other books, so postage was free. Her other book (Something for the Weekend) which I recently got at a bargain price from thebookpeople, is fantastic so I hope that Fat Girl Slim will have some tasty but healthy recipes in it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844001695/

julbags

competitionscafe wrote:

I agree. I seriously doubt she enjoys food either - I think she is firmly in the "Food is fuel" camp.

Why does thinking "food is fuel" mean not enjoying food (or am I just getting the wrong end of the stick).

I love food and I love eating well and cooking and growing some of my own but I firmly believe that food is fuel - garbage in = garbage out. If I fuel my body with crap like high fat chips/burgers/crisps all the time it shows when I ask my body to do something like run or bike, I just don't manage it as well. If I eat well - lots of fruit, veg, good carbs, some meat/fish and little of the indulgent stuff my body runs very well. I have loads of energy to get me through the day etc.

Or is it that the "food is fuel" referred to above just means eating to keep going and not perform at your best ?? Not sure I'm explaining myself very well

Nicki

Eating more fruit and veg won't make you lose weight. Even if you give up the crisps and choc won't make you lose weight. It will only prevent you gaining more.

I'm not sure I understand this post! If the OP swops her crisps and chocolate habit for a fruit and veg one, then she will be greatly decreasing her calorie and fat intake, and is therefore likely to lose weight. One choc bar = 300+ cals, one piece of fruit around 60 cals. If the OP therefore eats at the moment 2 choc bars and one pack of crisps a day, and replaced this with 3 pieces of fruit, she would be saving approx 600 cals a day without making any other changes at all.

Don't forget that the heavier you are the more cals you need. There are lots of sites out there which will calculate the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight based on your height, weight, age and activity level. To lose weight you only need to eat about 200 cals a day less than this amount (which will add up to 1-2lb per week). A very seriously overweight person could easily be given a daily calorie total of 1600 cals a day to start off with (maybe more depending on how overweight they were), and this is a very generous amount of food and drink - especially with the 600 cal saving above.

I would say Go for it Mrs A. If Gillian doesn't do it for you (and lets face it some of her menu ideas are a bit weird) then pick another philosophy that appeals, and keep going until you are where you want to be. There's nothing to say that you have to adopt the same strategy for the whole of your campaign, and there is something to be said for mixing things about a bit over time to stop you getting bored (though in my experience combining a low carb approach with another strategy doesn't work). Look forward to reading your post in a few months about how much you have lost and how much better you feel!

guineapig

CFC wrote:

I am very impressed with Guineapig's advice on here, she knows whereof she speaks. You couldn't do better than follow her advice and thinking.

Thank you CFC, I am very touched by your compliment.

I have experience in to the psychological approach to loosing weight, I also use it on myself;) I am not overweight,(neither am I thin!) but it is so easy to "eat mindlessly" in front of the tv, it takes effort, but there are so many ways to "trick the mind" it is just a matter of application and being honest with one's self, sadly the vast majority of overweight people are often in denial about their eating habits.

After I posted my "take" on things, I was worried that I might have upset some people as I believe that sorting out one's head is the crucial part and the practical part is actually easier.

We all KNOW what we should and shouldn't eat, it's the application that's the hard part right?!

For what it's worth, in our house we think that although GM's heart is in the right place, she is a bit of a pooh sniffing nutter!:rotfl:

Trying_really_hard

Reading this thread made me feel guilty, so I went and ate an orange. :rotfl:

FannyHill

That Gillian woman looks too thin to me and not that healthy.I think you can lose weight with basic fruit and veg it doesn't have to be fancy and sufficient exercise. I personally am able to fast when I want to without any problems.I've never really tried dieting as I think that would leave me hungry all the time. I much prefer just stopping eating altogether for a while and drinking plenty of liquids.
I think eating the foods that are treats but bad for you need to bre taken on an occasionaly basis rather than everyday. My problem is I can't have a biscuit or two I end up eating the whole packet within a few hours.Same with sweets or chocolate I find it difficult just eating a little.