has anyone a "7 a day" meal plan please?

[Deleted User]

adouglasmhor wrote: »

I used to come close sometimes when I was playing rugby, training 7 days a week and vegetarian but only if you remember chic peas are a nut.

Me too. I can burn up to 7000kcal in a days cycling, and scoffing a whole bag of nuts can go a long way to filling the hole.

~Chameleon~

jack_pott wrote: »

Me too. I can burn up to 7000kcal in a days cycling, and scoffing a whole bag of nuts can go a long way to filling the hole.

So, you're cycling non-stop for 12-14 hours per day? Sorry, but I find that quite difficult to believe. I burn 700+ kcal/hr on the rowing machine but I can't sustain that level of work for more than 30-40 continuous minutes without a breather. I certainly couldn't keep it up for 10 hours straight! I don't know anyone who could!

I also participate in 12 hour spin-a-thons and usually burn on average 4500-5000kcal. You'd have to be going some to burn 7000kcal in a day!


ETA: Tour de France cyclists burn on average 3500-4500kcals per day and need to consume 6000kcals of food to maintain energy and muscle mass.

terra_ferma

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's me
I like to read these things, but then the list and arguments and different viewpoints puts me off trying to be honest

I'll eat more veggies soon ..... just not now or in the last 5 years. Once I get a freezer it'll be a doddle.

I LOVE veggies .... and some fruit .... just, mostly, not the stuff they've put on charts like this: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Documents/Downloads/5%20A%20DAY%20z%20card.pdf - a lot of that I've never even had. Or they're impractical/impossible to use up unless you eat the same meal every day just to load it with those and be able to use up the pack/tin/whatever you had to buy to get the 1-2 tablespoons that is a portion.

So then you have to be in a position to have some scales and the food/s in question to be able to weigh out 80 grams and take a photo, then pin it on the wall so you remember.

I would say that there is very little controversy about the fact that eating a lot of vegetables and a reasonable amount of fruit can only be good for you.
I would forget about the chart and all the marketing gimmicks pushed by (processed) food manufacturers, and do what feels right for you.
You could start eating more of what you already have normally, and try some new things as well.
For example when cooking a sunday roast you could add one extra veggie and reduce spuds/yorkshire puddings.
At the supermarket if you see something yellow stickered that you have not tried before it gives you a good excuse

Frozen veggies could help because you don't have to worry about things going off, or bulk cooking and freezing portions, if you are not already doing it.

It's about doing more of what you are already doing right, not following a portion-controlled diet in reverse, where if you don't eat enough portions it means that you have been naughty.

terra_ferma

LameWolf wrote: »

To me that's a huge amount of veg to eat all in one hit.

This is another big problem with a lot of the advice given by the NHS in terms of nutrition, same as the recommended calories. Theirs is a one-size-fits-all approach.
The calories eaten by one person depend on many factors (age, gender, weight, level of activity etc), so the arbitrary amount they recommend is meaningless, although it still a good thing to encourage people to eat more unprocessed fruit and veggies.

~Chameleon~

terra_ferma wrote: »

This is another big problem with a lot of the advice given by the NHS in terms of nutrition, same as the recommended calories. Theirs is a one-size-fits-all approach.
The calories eaten by one person depend on many factors (age, gender, weight, level of activity etc), so the arbitrary amount they recommend is meaningless, although it still a good thing to encourage people to eat more unprocessed fruit and veggies.

Exactly this^^^

The recommended 2000kcal for women and 2500kcal for men is a complete nonsense.

My BMR is 1450kcal which means my body metabolises this amount of energy just by existing. If I was laid in bed 24/7 and did nothing at all I'd need this amount of energy intake just to keep going. (Which is another reason I hate programmes such as My Fitness Pal which recommend 1200kcal a day because this is lower than many people's BMR and not healthy!)

When I take into account my level of activity and the amount of exercise I do, most days I need to consume approx 2700-3000kcals per day just to maintain current body weight. However, if I was to eat that amount without doing any exercise I'd soon gain weight!

There is a good BMR calculator here if people want to find out how much they really should be eating rather than what the NHS says they should. It's a good habit to get into as our requirements change according to what we're doing and how active we are in our day to day activities, plus any extra exercise we do. A desk-based office worker is classed as sedentary so wouldn't need half as much food as a farmer who is on the go from morning to night.

lostinrates

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Exactly this^^^

The recommended 2000kcal for women and 2500kcal for men is a complete nonsense.

My BMR is 1450kcal which means my body metabolises this amount of energy just by existing. If I was laid in bed 24/7 and did nothing at all I'd need this amount of energy intake just to keep going. (Which is another reason I hate programmes such as My Fitness Pal which recommend 1200kcal a day because this is lower than many people's BMR and not healthy!)

When I take into account my level of activity and the amount of exercise I do, most days I need to consume approx 2700-3000kcals per day just to maintain current body weight. However, if I was to eat that amount without doing any exercise I'd soon gain weight!

There is a good BMR calculator here if people want to find out how much they really should be eating rather than what the NHS says they should. It's a good habit to get into as our requirements change according to what we're doing and how active we are in our day to day activities, plus any extra exercise we do. A desk-based office worker is classed as sedentary so wouldn't need half as much food as a farmer who is on the go from morning to night.

That calculator gave me a very flawed bmr but I know mine is freakish. I am lucky to receive good monitoring.


However, my gasteroenterologist recently told me something I have still neglected to research . That contrary to previous thought increased bmi doesnot necessarily increase bmr after a certain point, and that infact it can plateau at a statiscal average of around 36 then potentially even decrease. So some obese people who have claimed they are eating very little and struggling are potentially not as misguided as common belief holds.

Edit: I reiterate, I have not researched this myself yet, because its only a side interest to me really. I don't really care about statistical averages tbh, just my own health, but I just thought it was an interesting thing and it was an interesting explanation over something I had misunderstood in application to myself ( I had believed that my bmr if I were healthy at my weight would be higher than if I were the weight I should be as I am over weight and the GI was explaining this was now actually the case and why.....). This is something I have never taken on board before if I have seen it and have always just accepted the.....' Must need more to maintain ...' So its interesting I think,

~Chameleon~

lostinrates wrote: »

That calculator gave me a very flawed bmr but I know mine is freakish. I am lucky to receive good monitoring.


However, my gasteroenterologist recently told me something I have still neglected to research . That contrary to previous thought increased bmi doesnot necessarily increase bmr after a certain point, and that infact it can plateau at a statiscal average of around 36 then potentially even decrease. So some obese people who have claimed they are eating very little and struggling are potentially not as misguided as common belief holds.

Edit: I reiterate, I have not researched this myself yet, because its only a side interest to me really. I don't really care about statistical averages tbh, just my own health, but I just thought it was an interesting thing and it was an interesting explanation over something I had misunderstood in application to myself ( I had believed that my bmr if I were healthy at my weight would be higher than if I were the weight I should be as I am over weight and the GI was explaining this was now actually the case and why.....). This is something I have never taken on board before if I have seen it and have always just accepted the.....' Must need more to maintain ...' So its interesting I think,

I'm a little confused as to exactly what you mean here as one thing appears to contradict the other.

However, I wonder whether your GI consultant is talking about something which is generally observed as a flaw in standard BMR calculations, especially amongst obese or morbidly obese people.

Whilst it's true that there is a positive correlation between BMR and BMI rates when using a standard calculator, once you get beyond a certain level you need to start looking at body composition and using lean body mass to make the calculation. It's something we often do, even amongst normal weight and athletic sizes as BMI becomes totally meaningless in this situation where a high muscle mass content would push a person's BMI into obese levels yet they have very little body fat.

Hope that make sense. I feel I'm not explaining myself particularly well today. Have a bit of a brain fog going on due to lack of sleep and increase in meds

lostinrates

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I'm a little confused as to exactly what you mean here as one thing appears to contradict the other.

However, I wonder whether your GI consultant is talking about something which is generally observed as a flaw in standard BMR calculations, especially amongst obese or morbidly obese people.

Whilst it's true that there is a positive correlation between BMR and BMI rates when using a standard calculator, once you get beyond a certain level you need to start looking at body composition and using lean body mass to make the calculation. It's something we often do, even amongst normal weight and athletic sizes as BMI becomes totally meaningless in this situation where a high muscle mass content would push a person's BMI into obese levels yet they have very little body fat.

Hope that make sense. I feel I'm not explaining myself particularly well today. Have a bit of a brain fog going on due to lack of sleep and increase in meds

No, that's not what he was talking about, though I am not explaining it well either!

I will try and think how to re explain maybe, though its probably not that helpful, and potentially could be wrongly interpreted ( like the five a day is by food producers!) by some people so maybe I won't.

sarahemmm

jack_pott wrote: »

I know this diet meets the following guidelines because it's been through a spreadsheet:

Seven (80g) portions of fruit and veg a day,
Under 6g of salt,
Half the 20g limit for processed meat,
Less than half the 70g limit for red and processed meat combined,
Nearly 2.5 times the recommended fibre intake,
Half the recommended saturated fat,
Two thirds of the maximum total fat limit,
Meets the recent advice that added sugar should be reduced from 10% to 5% of total calories,
16% above the recommended 23g of seafood.

Billie-jo wrote: »

B/fast - Porridge with banana. Apple or orange juice (2)
Lunch - Salad with piece fish or meat. Coleslaw. Piece of fruit for after (3)
Tea - cottage pie with carrot, leek, onion and celery in it so at least one portion there served with cabbage & peas or sweet corn (3)
Snacks - few grapessmall piece cheese, apple. (2) 10 TOTAL

The Australian 5+2 (5 veg portions and 2 fruit portions) is a good way to go. Also, try to 'eat the rainbow' - have a portion of white (onion, leek, banana), yellow (sweetcorn, pepper, swede), orange (carrot, pepper), red (tomato, pepper, beetroot), green (cabbage, kale, lettuce, cucumber, peas), purple (red grapes, blueberries).

We ought to be able to come up with a menu plan between us, I'm sure...

Auntie_Sceb

I just found this recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7742/fiveaday-tagine - it looks tasty too.