Calling diet/nutrition experts

[Futureplanning]

DH has recently been diagnosed with a heart condition, I'm now trying to follow the Mediterranean diet as it's supposed to be good for the heart. I do all cooking and meal planning.

The problem is that I'm lucky and struggle to put on weight, so dieting is new to me and I am struggling to work out what is normal, too much etc. He doesn't seem to be losing much at all and for the moment has been told to do no exercise.

Please could someone tell me if the typical day below is ok or give me pointers for a big guy needing to lose about 2 stone.

Breakfast: 40g porridge with almond milk and handful of blueberries

Snack: handful of nuts and dried fruit

Lunch: bowl of salad with a bit of lemon juice and olive oil, chopped veg with 1 small brown pitta and a boiled egg or chicken in a seeded wrap and chopped veg with a dollop of hummus.

Snack: benecol yoghurt, chopped apple

Dinner: stir fry with salmon or baked cod, chickpeas and veg. Which we're now eating much earlier.

1 tunnock teacake as a treat.

Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks

Has the GP not provided any guidelines at all? They can usually print off info for you.

If your DH isn't losing weight then look at portion sizes and count calories.

Dried fruit is very high in sugar because the sugar is concentrated. An apple might be better.

Whose handful and how many nuts is it in total? Some nuts are lower in carbs than others, e.g. almonds vs peanuts.

40g of oats is a large serving and are you weighing them out every time?

What are the chopped veg in the salad and how much are you giving him? A dollop could be a couple of tablespoons or much more. Chickpeas contain carbs as well as protein so are you splitting a whole tin between you or what are you doing?

What I'm getting at is although these may be healthier choices, calorifically he may not be having less. High quality protein and some fat will provide energy.

Thank you.

It's my handful and the hummus is about 1 tablespoon.

Chickpeas is almost a whole tin 😬.

Ok I can see I need to control portion size better, I'm just struggling to fill him up.

Please could you give me examples of good proteins?

Oh and no guidelines have been given yet, everything is woefully slow but he has an appointment with the heart failure clinic in Aug, so hoping they will provide some guidance then.

Sorry I'm answering in dribs and drabs, chopped veg is usually a mix of cherry tomatoes, carrot, peppers, cucumber, celery.

You need to measure and weigh things to get an accurate grip on the calories.

Have a look at some of Michael Mosley books for ideas - there's a recipe book to accompany one of the plans by his wife too. She's a GP called Claire and I forget her surname.

For protein, you want lean protein, so chicken breast, salmon, tuna, eggs, other fish, pork loin fillet, ham is okay in moderation due to salt content, plain yoghurt, some cheeses such as feta and Edam are lower in fat and even a small amount can be more satisfying to eat than salad. Give him more protein, so chicken and an egg or two eggs perhaps. There are 135 calories in 2 medium eggs and most lean protein is around 100 calories for 100g to give you an idea. Use herbs and spices to flavour things and make them more appetising.

Vary the meals too - an omelette with ham and some cheese for breakfast or egg and half an avocado on a slice of toasted rye bread instead of porridge.

Drop the treat of a Tunnock's teacake as that will give a sugar hit then he'll feel hungry. Don't use food as a treat/reward, use something else - it makes the healthier food seem like a penance and increases the sense of deprivation.

He also needs to realise this isn't a quick fix, it's a lifestyle change for his health. He probably is going to feel hungry for a few days, maybe longer until he adjusts and the new way of eating becomes a habit. A few days of feeling hungry or years off your life? It's a stark choice, but presumably he wants to make the change?

Get in touch with the British Heart foundation they are the experts and have lots of dietary advice leaflets you can download

That's really sound advice Andromeda

Thanks @wowfudge lots of great advice and ideas, will definitely take heed of offering variety, weighing food and yes it's a lifestyle change. He is embracing it but it's a big change, it's going to take him a bit of time.

Will do some weekly meal plans with him so that he is taking a bit of ownership.

Great idea to look at British Heart Foundation, we've been on to look at meds etc but hadn't noticed the dietary advice.

Thank you

You can come and have a look on our blood sugar diet thread

Blood sugar diet and Fast800 thread 15 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/3593022-blood-sugar-diet-and-fast800-thread-15

It's our chat group for Michael Moseley's diet plans ** , we have lots of advice and recipes etc on there