To think I eat healthily? My DH doesn't!

[Virtualcareerchanger]

I think I eat a well balanced healthy diet. Me and DH are trying to get fit and I said I don't need to change what I eat I just need to start exercising, however my DH disagrees and thinks we need to cut out carbs as carbs are sugar. He said he thinks we eat too much carbs and dairy. I thought I would bring this to the mumsnet aibu jury. Here is what I have eaten (and DH) over the last two days. Am I being unreasonable to think this is fine for someone trying to eat healthily?

Day 1
Breakfast: porridge oats made with semi skimmed milk a teaspoon of honey and 3 tablespoons of blueberries
Lunch: cheese salad sandwich on wholemeal bread with a scraping of vitalight spread, a raw carrot and an apple
Snack: a banana
Dinner: salmon, sweet potato and brocoli

Day 2
Breakfast: porridge oats with semi skimmed milk a teaspoon of honey and 3 tablespoons of raspberries
Lunch: tin of carrot and butterbean soup, a wholemeal roll with a scraping of vitalight spread, an orange
Snack: raisins and almonds
Dinner: homemade Thai chicken curry with rice

thanks for all the responses! I'm glad I'm on the right track and I will not be following DH's new diet! I'm looking forward to some nice (brown) rice with my home made curry tonight

Your diet sounds healthy to me and I'm usually a bit (silently) judgy about what people eat. Balance and moderation is probably the best way to approach a food approach for life but that is boring and not as sexy aa demonizing a food group to revolutionize your life! The only food group I make a good effort to minimize is sugar and by extension not too many starchy carbs (although sweet potatoes are definitely okay!).

The worst thing about your diet is the vitalight. You should be using butter instead.

Diet is fine. If you want to "tone up" you will either need to be in a calorie deficit to reduce overall bodyfat or start weight training so you put on some more muscle.

OP has already said why she uses vitalite (her dc is dairy free so they don't use dairy based butter)

Far too much carbs for me, but then I don't eat any to cure my type 2 diabetes. All that fruit, carbs, sugar converts to sugar in your blood and isn't healthy.

Dairy is not bad though! I do Lchf.

Huge carb overload imo.

Carbs are not the enemy - your body needs them to function and they are the fuel your muscles use when exercising. Just choose complex carbs like sweet potato, quinoa, basmati rice etc.

If u want to tone up you need to do weights and eat more protein. Women tend to talk about 'toning up' what they mean is build muscle and to build muscle you need plenty of protein. We grow muscle by tearing the fibres in our muscles (that sore feeling you get) then the protein repairs the muscles and they grow back bigger. You need to be doing HIIT training to burn fat so you are simultaneously loosing fat and building muscle hence a more toned look overall.

diet not terrible, depends on your goals. For me it would be too low in protein and good fats ....and I'd be really quite hungry & ratty as a result.

BUT - it does depend on goals, I like to keep a lot of muscle on - and no I'm not bulk, I'm an 8-10, as it helps me to stay lean year round.

I tend to track macros at 40 protein, 30 carb and 30 good fat - used to use my fitness pal for this. Either way, good luck with the exercise, always a great thing regardless of weight

Maybe use vitalight for the kids and butter for yourself?

It's more carbs then I'd eat but I wouldn't go carb free.

Butter doesn't need to be kept in the fridge, so fridge space not really relevant.

We buy Kerrygold pure butter because it is softer and have quite a warm house and it's not useable within hours at fridge temperature so I don't know what the fridge people are doing with it, certainly not spreading on bread or toast.

But yes, your diet looks healthy. There's nothing wrong with carbs in the form of veg, pulses, oats and a limited amount of (preferably wholemeal or brown bread/rice). Its things like cake/biscuits/crisps/large amounts of crappy white bread that you have to watch.

Best way to exercise is to build it into your daily routine where possible and find something that you like enough to do for fun not just another chore to tick off the to do list.

I'd say that's a healthy diet. There may be specialised advantages to controlling different food groups, but you've got a decent spread of all food groups there, and the advantages of nitpicking over carbs/ protiens/ fats etc are fairly minimal to people in good health.

I have a low tolerance to dairy. I can cope with the fatty products of butter and hard cheese, but milk and yoghurts have side effects. I use oat milk. I realised because my system was much happier when DS was allergic to milk proteins which reduced the dairy content of the family diet. When he phased back in, my symptoms worsened. That doesn't mean that everyone else should avoid it.

You could add olive oil to your diet to help with extra health. I use it on toast or ryvitas with marmite for the vitamins B3 and B12 (i think) instead of a spread. Your dh would benefit from it too.

Ppeat is correct about the b vits, it contains I think b2 and folic acid as well I think. If your dh does go for low carb high fat, marmite will be very beneficial. I drink it all the time. Your body loses a lot of salt when flushing out the excess water and drinking marmite or bovril helps to replenish the body. It helps with carb flu.

I do think you're eating a darn sight better than most. And far better than I previously used to eat. As I said upthread, I don't think you're eating enough vegetables. Others have said about increasing good fats including saturated fats, which are no longer the enemy - butter/cheese, olive oil, coconut oil. I concur.

You can turn Olive Oil into a spread by putting it an empty Vitalight tub and into the freezer. Of course taking it out means eventually it will go back to being liquid again but you'll soon get the timing right.

Thanks Mummyof And Petronius You can also use olive oil in pastry by whisking it up. I won't link but you can google it.

I use a low salt marmite type spread by Meridian. I do find normal yeast spreads too salty. Too much salt makes me crave sweet things!

Your diet is fine and coupled with exercise you will see results. NO carbs is ver tully impossible and sets people up to fail, if you feel you are having to much sugar then adjust it. There are also other alternatives like whole wheat pasta blurgh and rice, quinoa etc if you want to adjust the type of carbs you are eating instead buy on the whole you are good.

OP the only thing I'd question is the lack of protein a teacher breakfast. Porridge is a big bowl of starch and causes a big blood sugar spike. My fertility consultant (i.e. A medical professional not joe bloody wicks) put his head in his hands When I said I have porridge for breakfast. It depends on your insulin sensitivity, but I'd consider mixing brekkie up with some scrambled eggs or kippers (if you like them!) once in a while. Good luck with the exercise. HIIT & heavy weights is the way to go; my OH has bupa they do annual checks on him. Year 1 after months of steady state jogging he was shit. Year 2 after HIIT sprints he was MUCH LESS shit. Godspeed!

*at breakfast - bloody phone!

Eat everything, not very much, mostly plants.

Any diet that suggests you cut out a food group is to be avoided.

It depends on your particular metabolism. Seems quite healthy and balanced generally if a bit carry (I think ppl forget that there are carbs in veg) but for me that amount of carbs would make me fat.

I don't know if it is my hypothyroid but I can barely look at bread without ballooning. Can eat as much fatty meat as I like!

Don't start worrying about something that is not a problem for you. Look at your 40,50,60,70 and 80 year old relatives and realise that bodies lose muscle and tone gradually whatever your lifestyle - and that's ok. Think about what will make you enjoy life more, not what will make you look xyz, whatever the latest unattainable body standard is. Exercise good, food good, but only if enjoyable.

Please please please don't listen to your DH.

you have the holy grail - a diet that works for you that isn't neurotic, over-thought, doesn't result in hunger or overweight or weird sugar crashes or anxiety at parties or constant vigilance or - or - or - or

If I could go back to a time when I could have been you, and turn the clock back and tell my teenaged self DO NOT DIET; FORGET ABOUT FOOD; EAT YOUR MEALS; EAT NOTHING ELSE; AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE I would do it in a heartbeat.

True, some wouldn't be able to be a size 10 and eat carbs the way you do - not because there is anything wrong with complex carbohydrates - but because for some people, they trigger bingeing and various forms of dysfunction. just be happy you are not one of those people. and live your life.

If anything, I think you need more protein and good fats as most of the food in your list is actually a carb although personally, I ignore veges in the carb spectrum.

I notice a big difference in bloating when I cut down on sugar and grains. But generally your diet is fine.

I am way overweight. I have lost a stone and half since June. My diet has not changed much, but I exercise more. The thing I found interesting is in order to lose weight I had to eat MORE not less. I still eat carbs and butter instead of low-fat stuff, and I use full-fat milk not semi-skimmed (can't stand the stuff) I watch the amount of junk I eat, and I used to use a meal replacement called Huel. I stopped for a bit but may go back to it soon. I'm 14stone 7.4lb stone, down from 15stone 11. I am aiming for 12 stone and to be able to do an Ultra Marathon in June.