Would you say I live unhealthily?

[AWiseWomanOnceSaidFuckThisShit]

I smoke around 6 to 8 cigarettes per week, with a drink at the weekends only. Used to smoke everyday but not anymore. I would like to quit altogether but I'll be honest I do enjoy a weekend fag... however the older I get (I'm 36) the more I really start to worry about health etc. I drink two / three bottles of wine per week. I don't take drugs. I'm around 1.5 stone overweight. I attend around 2 or 3 exercise classes per week, like to go for a walk too. My diet is 50% processed and 50% clean. Am I doing that badly?!

Oh the classes is a new thing - hopefully to combat the weight!

Very normal

Probably right in the middle between healthy and unhealthy

Ummmm I would say it’s great you’ve cut down smoking. Would probs try and stop that all
Together! Alcohol seems ok amount! I would try to cut down on processed food too!

Seems like a lot of alcohol to me but what do I know.

I'd work on cutting that and the cigarettes down by half and see how you go.

That's quite a lot of wine and 50% processed food does seem a lot. That's why you're overweight despite loads of exercise.
But healthy living is over-rated. Die happy! Sausage and chips and a fag might spare you from a care home!

Not healthy at all. You smoke. You drink too much.

Yes there are much more unhealthy people out there but that's because there are very few healthy people actually left in the same way there are very few people left not overweight.

Sounds good to me op, the only thing I'd say is to try and cut down the alcohol - but I'm a non-drinker (not for health reasons, I get ill from half a glass of anything, I don't seem able to process alcohol!) so it sounds like a lot to me but I'm not an expert! I believe everything in moderation is best.

I think you drink a lot. 2-3 bottles a week on your own is just too much. And I'd cut out the fags entirely. Sorry. It's not what you want to hear.
But I'd ditch the smoking and reduce to a bottle a week.

Alcohol seems ok amount!

The recommended units a week is maximum 14.

Three bottles is more than double that.

Doesn't sound particularly healthy to me. The smoking, booze and processed foods are all pretty bad but all three together is worse. Maybe pick one vice and stick with it?

Looks pretty average to me. That's a lot of alcohol though...may seem 'normal' but that's not because it is but because so many people do it.

Alcohol seems ok amount!

Ermmm ... not if you are trying to stick anywhere near NHS guidelines, obviously, which if you're assessing your health you should at least consider.

OP, you'll be healthier than some and unhealthier than others with that approach. (Same here, plenty to work on myself.)

Smoking could go, alcohol could certainly bear to reduce substantially (and certainly not drinking every day). You're working on the weight and general fitness. Healthier cooking wouldn't hurt.

Just depends how seriously you want to take some or all of it, I guess.

@PurpleDaisies

Oh oops sorry!! I don’t really drink any Alcohol so am judging against my mil ( who’s an alcoholic) so 2 Bottles didn’t seem like much!

@Pamelaaaaa

Not healthy at all. You smoke. You drink too much. Yes there are much more unhealthy people out there but that's because there are very few healthy people actually left in the same way there are very few people left not overweight.

So when basically everyone used to smoke, none of them were healthy at all ? It's not a black and white question.

I don't think it is that great tbh. Smoking is terrible for your health. 3 bottles of wine is around 30 units over a small number of days. That is terrible for health.

No idea what your 50% processed food includes eg do you mean ready meals and snacks, or pasta and bread? Are you getting 5 a day minimum?

Weight loss is mainly about diet. The alcohol and any processed crap will be doing you no good.

Exercise is a bonus to maintain condition.

I don't drink every day. I have a bottle on a Friday night in the bath after a stressful week at work. I'll then have one on a Saturday with a friend. I'll occasionally have one on a Sunday night but not very often, so it's more 2 than 3. I'm more concerned about the smoking to be honest.

Others have mentioned the smoking and alcohol, but also 50% processed food sounds an awful lot to me.

10 units in a day is harmful to your health. It has been normalised for far too long in this country. The guidelines I believe are no more than 2 or 3 units.

That’s two sessions of binge drinking.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-support/binge-drinking-effects/

Two bottles of wine is still one and a half times what is recommended. The calories won’t be helping your weight. Alcohol increases your risk of all sorts of health problems, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, as well as the liver damage everyone knows about.

Why don’t you split your bottle over the two days?

The exercise is definitely good, but that is a lot of alcohol and no level of smoking is healthy. Have you found it easy to cut down? Would you be able to quit altogether?

I would also say maybe try to eat healthy in the week and have your treats at the weekend so that your diet tips more in favour of healthy food. Or at least make sure you’re getting your 5 a day, every day if you’re not at the moment.

Absolutely I would. I think you are taking good steps towards being healthier (cutting down cigarettes and increasing exercise) but at the end of the day you are still an overweight smoker, drinking to excess with a diet high in processed foods (although without knowing what your diet consists of it’s a little hard to say). Keep up what you are doing but there’s a fair journey ahead.
I think those saying it’s average could be right but in that case average isn’t healthy.

You're drinking too much, you are smoking too much and you're overweight - no, it's not great from a health perspective OP.

That's a lot of alcohol in a short amount of time. It's classed as binge drinking (more than 6 units, a bottle is around 10 units). Drinking for 2-3 nights a week isn't problematic, drinking a whole bottle each time is way over healthy limits.

Food, it depends what you're classing as processed. It's too broad a term to say what your diet is actually like.

And smoking obviously has to go completely, but you know that and you're working on it, so since you're on a low level at the moment I would concentrate on the other stuff first.

That's a lot of alcohol but I know MN frowns on people pointing that out!

I wouldn't say it was healthy but it's probably fairly normal, tbh.

So diet in the week is fresh chicken, salad, fruit, low calorie yoghurt, boiled eggs, pasta, home cooked bolognese, jacket potato, tuna pasta etc. I try to avoid bread, fizzy drinks, chocolate, sweets etc. I'll also sometimes have things like mugshots or a spicy wrap from Asda or sliced turkey / ham - which is processed.

Weekend... I'll rarely cook properly at all. I'll have a big baguette or sandwich on a Saturday lunchtime (usually tuna salad because I love it!) But I'll also have crisps and a bar of chocolate, I don't tend to bother with dinner. Friday night probably stick chips and a birds eye fish in the oven or chicken burger onto a baking tray. Sunday night the same or a chippy or something.