23 overweight and struggling a bit!

Fire_Fox

Sophlowe45: well done for going a few days without cola and chocolate, now you know you can do it! :T For sugar maybe try mixed fresh/ frozen/ canned fruit salads. Canned evaporated milk is really sweet tasting but it's natural milk sugars which are much gentler on the blood sugar, and is rich in calcium. You might also consider baking your own healthy sweet snacks: carrot/ apple/ banana cake, flapjacks or cereal bars and so on. Loads of recipes online but basically switch out sugar for dried fruits/ sucralose/ xylitol/ stevia. Replace butter with vegetable oil or coconut oil, white flour with stoneground wholemeal flour and wheatgerm, porridge oats with jumbo oats or barley flakes. They won't be much lower in calories but should be more filling, more vitamins and minerals, help break the sugar habit. If you need chocolate have some rich dark chocolate, no or low sugar such as the stuff meant for diabetics.

Try to get protein and a little fat into every meal and snack, eat every three to four hours, that will help keep your blood sugar stable and help reduce cravings for sweet stuff. Being tired all the time could definitely indicate a nutrient deficiency, but it also could be the effects of the caffeine in the fizzy drinks and the sugary foods on your adrenal gland. Hunger can be your body not getting the balance of nutrients it needs, or again the effects of caffeine and sugar. Exercise does mean the body needs more nutrients, for fuel and for repair.

LE3

I hope the OP doesn't mind the direction this thread is going - happy to take it elsewhere!

Firefox - where do I find someone like you - I *need* the help/advice!!

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Allergies are a challenge

Oh yes, they can be a real pain, especially when everything nowadays has tomato in it (that's one of my issues!)

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I loathed veggies and fish made me gag when I started! - and all it takes is organisation and cunning. You absolutely have to begin with two at breakfast. Bear in mind beans/ lentils/ fruit juice count once per day each, things like tomato paste, creamed coconut, dried fruit are easy adds and there are loads of delicious ones available now. Frozen or canned veggies are fine. Sweet potato is a vegetable, white potato is not.

I'm going to read what you've written again & see if I can do anything different - I like just about all fruits & most veg but I do struggle to keep them fresh for long enough (I'm cooking for one & buying enough for variety invariably leads to waste!) but I will keep trying!
I didn't know that lentils or creamed coconut counted ...
I do eat small amounts of sweet potato, but I really do find it too sweet to eat often!

I have recently discovered quinoa & after some careful "testing" have found it is something I can eat!

Fire_Fox

LE3 wrote: »

I hope the OP doesn't mind the direction this thread is going - happy to take it elsewhere!

Firefox - where do I find someone like you - I *need* the help/advice!!

Oh yes, they can be a real pain, especially when everything nowadays has tomato in it (that's one of my issues!)

I'm going to read what you've written again & see if I can do anything different - I like just about all fruits & most veg but I do struggle to keep them fresh for long enough (I'm cooking for one & buying enough for variety invariably leads to waste!) but I will keep trying!
I didn't know that lentils or creamed coconut counted ...
I do eat small amounts of sweet potato, but I really do find it too sweet to eat often!

I have recently discovered quinoa & after some careful "testing" have found it is something I can eat!

I am hanging around MSE for anyone who thinks I can be of use. Like you I live alone.

Nothing wrong with eating canned, frozen, jar or dried fruits and veggies. Beans and lentils are always winners: low glycaemic index carbs, fibre, some protein, packed with minerals. Jar roasted peppers/ pickled onions/ pickled beetroot, creamed or dried coconut, canned pumpkin puree/ sweetcorn/ spinach/ peaches/ red grapefruit/ plums, dried pears/ sour cherries/ golden raisins/ apricots/ prunes/ cranberries/ figs/ pineapple rings all count if you don't have much freezer space.

I mostly keep in frozen mixed broccoli and cauliflower, petit pois, supersweet corn, spinach, mixed berries and rhubarb. Fresh stir fry veggies I choose the mix without/ few beansprouts then eat a whole or half a pack at a time, and I don't buy stir fry at the same time as salad leaves because neither last well. Produce lasts longer in the refrigerator with 'stay fresh' bags but you can also stew up fruit, eat a giant fruit salad, make a veggie soup to use it up - check out the Old Style board. Fresh stuff like onions, red or Savoy cabbage, carrot, parsnip, broccoli, cauli and apples last ages. If you are eating nine a day combined with frozen, canned or dried there shouldn't be too much waste.

HTH.

euronorris

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I come from a family full of teachers so have sympathy for you!

It's not just the sugar in the muesli unfortunately, carbs behave like sugar once in the body and some convert faster than others. What grains are in the muesli? Wheat and rye are higher glycaemic index than oats and barley. Also is it the large flake grains or the porridge type stuff? What percentage of nuts/ seeds? Not having milk is an issue although milk is actually not that rich in protein and does contain lactose (a carb), definitely try soaking in some plain live yoghurt. Mango and orange are fairly high GI, not that they are bad for you but your breakfast is too carb heavy overall IMO. What about a whey protein and fruit smoothie? Frozen berries need no preparation, with a stick blender it takes a minute to make. Do you like peanut butter or other almond butter?

Again where is the protein in your lunches? Cream cheese and meat in your leftovers yes, but it sounds inconsistent? Ditto what is the protein source in your vegetarian evening meals? Are you taking a high strength DHA/ EPA (long chain omega-3) supplement if you only eat fish at weekends? Humans absolutely don't need to eat meat, but we cannot store spare protein so need to eat it little and often from breakfast. Ideally this would be 'complete' - so dairy, eggs or a combination of two vegetarian sources. Nuts are good sources but we tend to eat too small a quantity to be relied upon as a protein source. Grains and pulses are much lower in protein. When you are exercisibng regularly or stressed your need for protein and essential fatty acids is significantly increased.

I am not sure either whether you have enough healthy fats in your diet, most of your lunches look low in fat as well as low in protein. Both fat and protein slow the digestion and keep you feeling fuller for longer. Your snacks sound healthy. :T

I realised that cereals were bad for me, especially the chocolate cruesli I was knocking back(!), but I really struggle to get away from something cereal based because it's so easy. So I searched the supermarket for a decent museli.

The one I found contains oats, barley, seeds (sunflower I think), dried fruit (peach and banana I think - am going by memory here), nuts (not sure which ones) and raisins. There's no added sugars, or preservatives etc, and it's organic (all the others had added stuff like sugars etc). Is this a good one? I tend to have that with milk, and then snack on nuts (peanuts that have been baked in their shells - stops me from eating handfuls at a time) and berries (raspberries and blueberries this morning) in the morning at work.

My lunches still need work. I tend to either opt for the soup option (usually tomato, veggie or minestrone) or an egg salad sandwich (it comes in a 60gm serving pot and has bits of gherkin & chives mixed in and I add cucumber too), and then have plain yoghurt and add tangerine/mandarin peices to it, and a banana. I feel a bit stuck because option 1 doesn't contain much protein, but option 2 seems carb heavy.

Dinners are easier, and are always (well mostly) either chicken, beef or fish based (though fish is new to me, so I am still trying it out to find ones I like). And then loads of veggies. Sometimes potatoes, sometimes not. Occasionally deviate with something like spag bol (home made), oohh, or bacon & scrambled eggs *yum!).

I will usually have either another banana or an apple too, and then some unroasted almonds in the evenings.

I know it's not great, but it's a vast improvement on what it was before. Still need to fine tune it though.

Oh, and drinks during the day is water, black tea (it's a Dutch thing - I adapted) & sometimes squash in the evenings.

I wish berries and nuts were cheaper though!!!

rdchick

Woah! go away for a while and it's information central!

Thank you guys!

For me I know it's a slow and steady race, it's not gonna be a quick fix, I need to kick the sugar and introduce real meals and snacks. I am totally dependant on sugar. If I don't have sugar I get the most cronic of headaches... so I think cold turkey on that is not good.

After today I am not drinking any more fizz until my birthday (and holiday) in October. I will replace this with Robinsons for now and eventually water... this is where most of my sugar is 'topped up'. I love water but I think going from Diet Coke by the gallon to water is gonna make me sugar crash hard.

I will also make sure I have 3 meals a day. I do have breakfast most days, except weekends when I basically fast until the evening meal, which makes me realise that most of the food I eat is out of stress and being bored.

I start my new job on Monday, this will be my real test, I will be on the road and plan to not take my purse out with me, I will take a bottle of water and some chopped up fruit to snack on if needed. I will be moving around a lot as I will be a care worker and not sitting behind a desk all day like I am now - which has contributed to me gaining 2 and a half stone in 2 years.

as for vegetables,I am not a huge fan but I do like: potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, sweetcorn, cabbage, cauliflower (SP?!)... and most things if they are disguised in something - unless it's butter beans... and they are made by the devil.

The dutch have taught me lots of ways of disgusing vegetables, as when I go there I eat so healthily like mixing cabbage, leaks and sweed (sp?!) in mashed potatoe and cauliflower in a sort of curry sauce stuff... yum yum!

it could be cucumber that gives me acid perhaps, I don't know but fruit does the same like I said before - lots of yummy fruit repeats on me and gives me excrutiating acid - I had acid reflux when I was younger but now only reacts to acidic foods and juices.

(Euro, you're right black tea is a dutch thing - they think I am crazy when I put milk in mine - however I will drink it black... but only in Holland and with the cool double glazed glasses my 'MIL' has) xxx

~Chameleon~

angelil wrote: »

You must be superhuman then! I have a proper breakfast every morning (cereal, toast, juice, coffee, and sometimes fruit), but quite early (7.00), often don't get lunch until 1pm, and then we usually don't have dinner until 8.00 or 9.00 at night (husband works late and it's no fun eating a meal on your own lol). To manage those massive gaps with no snacks...well, you just tell me how

Your breakfast is very high in simple sugars (cereal, toast, OJ) which will cause an insulin spike and explains why you're feeling hungry again mid-morning. Try including more protein/fat for breakfast i.e. eggs, bacon, avocado, wholegrain toast, porridge etc as this will keep you feeling fuller for longer and also release energy slowly keeping blood glucose levels steady

One of my favourite breakfasts is banana & cinnamon omelette. Don't knock it until you've tried it, I've yet to meet anyone who hates it after trying it

~Chameleon~

rdchick wrote: »

Edwardia, thanks for your advice, I would never eat diet junk (those rubbish grain bars as they usually have more cals in them than chocolate bars!) as for shakes and replacement meals - again I see them as ridiculous - you can't go out for a meal and order a shake etc!

Forget the high sugar cereal bars such as Jordans etc and opt for Eat Natural or Nakd bars, both of which only contain natural products and no hidden nasties.

euronorris

Yes, when I used to add milk to my tea when I first got here, they looked at me like I was a loon and told me that it was 'babies tea'!!! lol

~Chameleon~

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I will say now it's 45 mins of absolute HELL for 60 days (see my other thread about it!) but it's working and you feel brilliant after each workout!

HBS x

If you guys enjoy the Insanity workouts have you thought about checking out your area for bootcamps in the local park or recreation ground? They're springing up all over the place now and are an excellent way of keeping fit plus meeting new friends, but most of all they increase your motivation as you suddenly have other people to compete against (not literally but psychologically). I love 'em and try to do one at least 3 times a week. No stuffy gyms or lycra clad women staring at you, exercising outdoors in the fresh air, great mental boost too

~Chameleon~

rdchick wrote: »

Yes I think I will ditch the fizz and replace with some no added sugar squash just for something sweet then replace that with water... I know it will take time to kick the habit. I actually think I have a slight sugar addiction which is never good

If it's the fizz you're after and you're struggling to go straight from diet coke to water then how about mixing sugar-free squash with soda water for now?