Do you eat ‘well’?

[fetaccompli]

I’ve been reading the various guidelines about eating well and want to see how MN measures up.

5 a day - definitely every day. Nearer to 9 or 10.
Processed meat limited to x2 a week - less good on this. We often will have bacon/sausage/pate/ham/salami/breaded chicken/fishfingers 3-4 in a week.
14 units alcohol a week - I don’t drink alcohol but DH definitely exceeds this
Fish x2 a week incl x1 oily - only once really and I’m trying to stop eating so much salmon as it’s so awfully farmed
Dairy x3 a day - probably 1 portion of milk in hot drinks and maybe some cheese
6-8 glasses of water - I’m bad at this but I do drink a lot of herbal tea and I think that counts
Red meat 350g week - always have more than this and there’s bowel cancer in my family so I will work on this.

How are the rest of you doing? Any aims to improve?

Seeing as herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, coffee etc counts, I smash it every week

5 a day - not always, I need to work on this.
Processed meat limited to x2 a week - I don’t eat a huge amount of processed meat, I’m probably okay on this one.
14 units alcohol a week - definitely okay on this. I do drink, but only on the weekends and it’s less than 14 units
Fish x2 a week incl x1 oily - I definitely don’t eat this much fish, but I eat a lot of vegetarian meals, so eating more would be tricky.
Dairy x3 a day - I have cheese most days, and butter. I drink oat milk in coffee and don’t drink milk in tea. So, often it will be only 2, although sometimes 3.
6-8 glasses of water - I drink quite a lot of various kinds of tea (herbal and black) and water with my dinner, so I’m probably good on this one.
Red meat 350g week - definitely okay on this. This week’s meal plan for dinners contains no red meat at all. I have eaten some pork pie for lunch today, though (which also counts as processed meat). Less than 100g this week, and that’s fairly typical.

I might throw together some giardiniera, so I can have it with my lunches. And make sure I’m eating a piece of fresh fruit everyday, as well. Also, I will get some seaweed sprinkles for omega 3, in lieu of the oily fish.

So, thank you for this thread. It’s spurred me to make some positive changes!

well enough, very little UPF, don't count really

I’m trying to stop eating so much salmon as it’s so awfully farmed

Me too. I've started buying tinned wild salmon and making fish cakes.

Yes, however we’re vegetarians which makes it harder to dodge veg, and I really like cooking and I’m a bit of a feeder. Then we we add a serious allergy in the mix, it means that most ready made things are an automatic no. So we would often have five a day just in one meal.

What veg does everyone eat?

When it's written down like that, I realise how bad my diet is.
I guess my saving grace is that we probably only do processed meat once a week, hardly ever have chips, and only rarely drink alcohol.
I love fruit, veg and salads but, ridiculously, doubt I meet the targets despite that. And I find drinking water very difficult.
Must do better.

We love broccoli, kale, cabbage, peas, Broad beans, runner beans, courgettes, sweetcorn, asparagus....everything really!

I’d recommend wild salmon - I also don’t like to eat the farmed version. Wild salmon tastes quite different (I prefer it)

I think I eat fairly well. I am conscious of choosing good, real food. I no longer eat low sugar or diet versions of anything and I'm down 2.5 stone in a year and the same size and weight I was 30 years ago.

We have an amazing Lebanese deli near us and they do a big fresh lunchbox - all kinds of vegetarian salads plus seeds and houmous and it's so yummy. I reckon that one of those once a week, plus a couple of m&s superfood salads nails my 30 plants a week.

I try and mix up dinners - curries, salads, occasional rice, bread or pasta. Sometimes just a big bowl of soup. I cook with quality olive oil.

I hesitate to tempt fate but I've just realised that since doing intermittent fasting and trying to eat gut friendly foods (plus very little sugar, no milk) I've not been ill at all. Not even a cold in over a year.

I eat what i want when i want.

We're vegetarian and have virtually no ultra processed foods. We hit the 30+ varieties a week as that includes herbs, garlic etc but while we usually hit 5 a day we don't always and certainly aren't hitting 10 regularly. A portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g so that would be 800g of plant.

Alcohol is a tough one. Drank 2 bottles over 3 nights last weekend but haven't touched it since and probably won't until next weekend when I see friends. It probably averages out ok but I know I should drink less when I do drink

Definitely hit the dairy target. Water I don't but I am already trying to improve that

Yes very well, but it's only improved significantly the last few months since discovering Zoe.

We have fish twice a week (one oily)
Not much red meat at all, maybe once a fortnight
Couple of veggie/vegan meals a week using beans/pulses
Tons of fruit/veg
Dairy - Greek yogurt most days
Lots of seeds/herbs/spices
Dark chocolate
Don't drink much, maybe every other week

My diet is better than it's ever been really.

5 a day averaged over a week - yes
Rarely eat processed meat maybe once or twice a month.
Red meat twice a week
Salmon once a week
Drink 4 herbal teas, one coffee and a water on a workday so probably need to up that.
Alcohol rarely these days…. Sometimes nothing for months

I eat too much red meat. I love a bacon sandwich. I don't eat enough different vegetables or salad. I do eat fruit. I do drink water and never have squash in water but still probably don't drink enough water. I do have decaf tea. I do have a good balance between protein, carbs, veg. I have a cooked meal every day. I do eat dairy eggs, milk, cheese and yoghurt. I don't eat much processed meat with the exception of bacon. I don't like sugary food and I try not to eat empty calories like crisps or biscuits. I do better than that actually, because I don't buy them so no one in the house generally eats them.

Hmm, we're not too bad.

Eat too much processed and red meat, but a lot of home cooked food.

Lots of fruits not much in the way of really rich foods i.e. cheeseboards etc.

I do find eating well to be a commitment though. Takes planning and effort

@DillDanding
Can you educate me on the bacon point?

@Tilllly processed meats are now classified as group 1 carcinogens.
https://www.cancer.net/blog/2023-09/does-eating-processed-meat-increase-your-risk-cancer#:~:text=The%20short%20answer%20is%20yes,that%20it%20can%20cause%20cancer.

5 a day - almost never. A portion is a large amount, and while I will often have five different types of vegetable in a meal, that’s not my five a day. I fast and eat one meal a day with a 40-48 fast once per week. I easily meet the 30 plants per week target though
Processed meat limited to x2 a week - never, I’m vegetarian
14 units alcohol a week - depends on the week. This week I met this, other weeks I might not. I only drink at the weekend though, so have several consecutive alcohol free days which is also recommended
Fish x2 a week incl x1 oily - never, I’m vegetarian
Dairy x3 a day - depends on the day, but I thought that dairy as part of the essential human diet was fairly dated advice now
Red meat 350g week - never, I’m vegetarian

I also include a portion of fermented food
every day, either homemade kimchi or kombucha.

Bloody hell, didn't realise it was that bad

It mentions turkey tho?

No meat. No fish or dairy.
Doing ok with fruit and veg but I do eat too many crisps/chips.
Nowhere near enough water. I forget to drink, get fed up of visiting the rest room if I drink a lot.

5 a day - Most days, average is 6 a day over the week.
Processed meat limited to x2 a week - yes. Usually reserved for weekly takeaway. Occasionally some cold meat with lunch like salami, or a couple of rashers of bacon.
14 units alcohol a week - I'm teetotal
Fish x2 a week incl x1 oily - yes, and usually more.
Dairy x3 a day - never milk, 2x cheese and 1 x yoghurt most days.
6-8 glasses of water - every day, if not more. Sparking water helps me hit this.
Red meat 350g week - 1-2x a week

Aims to improve: eating too much sugar and crisps. Have recently been increasing my beans, pulses, and whole grains.

I've just looked at my salmon packet - responsibly sourced Scottish salmon.

No mention of wild or farmed though. It's Sainsbury's just for point of reference. Can you responsibly source from a farm? I guess you can 🤷 How do I know?

Veg - probably not 5 a day every day.
Processed meat - once or twice a week.
Alcohol - very rarely.
Fish - we have salmon or trout every week, I'm trying to add another fish dish each week.
Dairy - I have milk with breakfast cereal plus in tea and then I'll have a glass before bed. Plus whatever cheese is in our food.
Water - I normally drink a couple of litres a day.
Red meat - we hardly ever have beef. Pork is probably withing the 350g per week recommendation.

I eat reasonably well most of the time, sometimes not.

However, I eat whatever I want without obsessing over whether it is "good" or "bad". It's just food and I have far more interesting things to think about.