Replacing calorie-controlled supermarket ranges with OS cooking

lessonlearned

VfM4meplse wrote: »

You can get used to eating diminished portion sizes after 3 days. The size of your palm is a good guide.

If you really want to lose weight, cut down carbohydrates drastically, up your vegetable fibre intake and eat fat in moderation.

Just this. I have been Doing this for just over a month and have lost 10 lbs.

No grains, no starchy carbs, just plant based and small amounts of good quality protein.

Proteins make you feel fuller for longer and you only need small amounts to feel satisfied.

So that's meat, fish, poultry, game, eggs, small amounts of dairy - for calcium - and good fats, ie butter, cream and olive oil.

Plenty of vegetables, salads and no more than two portions of fruit per day.

Low cal ready meals might help you lose weight but they are not healthy and they are not cheap. They leave me feeling hungry.

Maccy cheese and the likes are ok for an occasional treat but they not a healthy every day staple.

june89

persa wrote: »

There must be some Old Stylers out there who cook their own food from scratch, but who are a healthy weight? What are your go-to recipes? Whenever I cook, I add lots of olive oil and full-fat cheese (I find the low-fat stuff doesn't work as well, even with mustard to bring out the flavour) and therefore whenever I cook from scratch, the bathroom scales get mad.

Stop doing this and your calories will go down drastically. There are 120 calories in a tablespoon alone! Cutting fat is the quickest way to cut calories. I don't specifically follow a low fat diet (sugars are more important to control for me) but gram for gram, it has over twice the calories of carbs or protein.

The only food I always add oil to is roasties because they're really not the same without. And we only have these rarely, maybe a few times a year. If I need oil for coating/sticking reasons, I'll use the tiniest amount and blot off any excess. This is more because I can't stand the mouth-feel of oil than for diet reasons but it really does help to keep meals low calorie!

I don't eat pasta (have never liked it) so can't give you any specific recipes, but I would try combining a low/no fat cheese (e.g. quark) or even a zero fat greek yoghurt with a really strong cheese like parmesan. That should give you a blend of creaminess and flavour but be less calories than trying to use a medium cheese on its own.

VfM4meplse

june89 wrote: »

I don't eat pasta (have never liked it) so can't give you any specific recipes, but I would try combining a low/no fat cheese (e.g. quark) or even a zero fat greek yoghurt with a really strong cheese like parmesan. That should give you a blend of creaminess and flavour but be less calories than trying to use a medium cheese on its own.

I strongly recommend that pasta be avoided if for anyone looking to lose weight. Which is easy enough really, given that it tastes of nothing! (Until you cover it in something palatable, of course). Carbohydrates can be hard to give up, but pasta, rice and couscous must be the easiest for that reason.

june89

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I strongly recommend that pasta be avoided if for anyone looking to lose weight. Which is easy enough really, given that it tastes of nothing! (Until you cover it in something palatable, of course). Carbohydrates can be hard to give up, but pasta, rice and couscous must be the easiest for that reason.

This is exactly why I don't like pasta. Even as a kid, I never saw the point of eating something that didn't taste of anything! Mum used to just dish me up a bowl of the sauce like soup. :rotfl:

But I disagree you have to avoid grainy/starchy carbs to lose weight. A sensible portion is perfectly acceptable if you enjoy them. It's more important to get the total calories down, which is why I suggested looking at fats first given that the OP admits she uses a lot of oil and other high fat foods in her cooking.

VJsmum

I am with lesson learned - cut the carbs but particularly anything processed - so bread, pasta, cake, breakfast cereals (hideously sugary - did you know that it was Kellog who first mooted we change from savoury breakfasts to sweet?)

Oil (particularly coconut or olive) and butter are not bad for you - they fill you up and improve the flavour. Low fat diets are old thinking...

lessonlearned

The old NHS guidelines of hi carb low fat eating have now been shown to be entirely misguided, especially for anyone who has issues with type 2 diabetes.

Starchy carbs - ie bread, rice, white potatoes, pasta, etc cause Insulin spikes, it's far better to eat protein which gives slow release energy.

Starchy carbs, especially cakes, biscuits, pastries, sugary breakfast cereals have no nutritional value, they are just empty calories.

Carbs are also addictive, the more we eat the more our bodies crave them.

You will not deplete your body of the energy found in carbs if you eat plenty of vegetables and salads. They contain all the carbs the human body needs if you eat them in sufficient quantities.

The old NHS guidelines of 5 portions of f&v per day are inadequate, they have now been revised to 7.

In Okinawa, an island in Japan which boasts the healthiest and most long lived people on the planet, they routinely consume around 17 portions a day.

Ideally fruit should be restricted to 2 portions because of its sugar content. If you have concerns about diabetes you are advised to eat a couple of nuts before consuming fruit to avoid insulin spikes.

Fats have had a bad press, with no real reason. Our bodies need fat, they need oils to lubricate our joints, they give a mouthfeel to foods improving its taste and texture, and they help satiate hunger. They also feed the skin, keeping it supple and helping retain moisture.

There's no point wasting money on moisturising dry skin which has been starved of essential oils and fats.

There is a world of difference between good fats ie olive oil, flaxseeds, hemp, coconut oil,and even the much maligned butter, cream, and full fat milk and the cheap fats used in convenience foods.

Full fat milk contains fat soluable Vit D, essential for strong bones and teeth. Children should never have semi skimmed milk because when you remove the fat content you remove the vitamin d.

If you can afford it then go for organic milk, it won't contain the steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics that are fed routinely to dairy herds. Organic milk also tastes better.

The fats to avoid are hydrogenated fats and trans fats. Anything that has been heat treated or modified. I will not touch margarine.

If you cook,from scratch and avoid the worst starchy carbs you will lose weight, you will also be eating a much healthier diet.

And if you shop wisely, eat modest amounts of protein and fill up with vegetables and the odd piece of fruit you will probably also save money.

You dont have to forswear all your favourite pasta dishes, or the odd piece of cake or slice of pizza, just make them a treat now and again and don't eat them every day.

VfM4meplse

lessonlearned wrote: »

In Okinawa, an island in Japan which boasts the healthiest and most long lived people on the planet, they routinely consume around 17 portions a day.

I daresay this leaves little room for anything else!

lessonlearned

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I daresay this leaves little room for anything else!

Probably not:rotfl: they are not great meat eaters, the traditional diet was fish and tofu.

Can't face tofu myself and cant tolerate soya so I stick with meat, fish, poultry etc, just modest portions and lots of green stuff.

june89

I think you're missing my point. The OP specifically asked for how to make her meals lower calorie, and mentioned several times that she uses too much oil. Reducing that is an easy way to cut the calories. That does not mean I'm endorsing the 90s style high carb, low fat diet. If the OP enjoys carbs, there is no real need to fully eliminate them. Reduction is a far more realistic goal, and more sustainable as a long term lifestyle.

But purely for the record... my own diet is grain free since DH was diagnosed as coeliac so we don't keep it in the house. And mostly starch free, aside from the occasional potato and small (1/3 standard) portion of rice. And sometimes a gluten free pizza as a treat.

persa

I do use MyFitnessPal, have lost a considerable amount of weight already using the app, and would also recommend it - however all through counting the calories from pre-packaged food.

What I'm trying to do is make the transition from having my portions counted out for me and my meals made for me into OS cooking. I haven't done any proper cooking in a very long time - I gain weight when I cook for myself because I am not a healthy cook. That's what I need to change.

Just looking for some recipe inspiration really - I've been struggling to find many suggestions for tasty sounding low calorie food. I want to trade the ready meals for home cooked stuff, but I'm finding it really hard!