To ask if this is a healthy lunch?

[Vilanelle]

I am easing into a low blood sugar diet.

For lunch today I had a few slices of extra lean chicken breast, green olives, lettuce, carrot, edamame beans, table spoon of low fat cottage cheese, spoon of hummus and a wholemeal pitta.

It beats my usual sausage roll, crisps etc but colleague saying it isn't very healthy.

Was planning on having the same tomorrow as really enjoyed!

I'm always a bit dubious about edamame beans (but not tofu or fermented soy).
There is a bit of a question as to how good unfermented soy is I think? Perhaps worth a google?

Sounds good to me and healthy,

Sounds good but I would advise full fat everything and no “low fat” products. Fat doesn’t make you fat - tell her to read The Obesity Code.
I love a hard boiled egg but my colleagues do not 😂
I enjoy a rocket, walnut and Parmesan salad with chicken
You should check out the low carb bootcamp there are lots of recipe ideas as people think low carb is limiting but when you get into it you can become quite inventive

What does your colleague have for lunch?

@EmperorBallpitine You could have the boiled egg instead of the chicken.

Why would that be healthier? They're both high in protein but the chicken is lower in fat, and OP already has fat from the hummus + cheese.

Ditch the Pitta for extra chicken and extra everything else you had.

Carbs are not great for blood sugar levels.

It does sound quite a lot to me, too, tbh. I'd just have the pitta with the hummus and veg, or chicken and veg. Leave the cottage cheese out of it.

But if you're used to eating a lot and are trying to ease yourself into a healthier way of life then good for you!

Seems like an awful lot for one meal.

It really, really isn’t.

It sounds great.
I’d make sure the cottage cheese was fat free and the hummus low fat (fats can easily build up without us particularly noticing), and I’d add an apple.

Please don't go for low fat dairy products either, they're more unhealthy than regular because when the fats removed the taste is compensated for by sugars or flavourings.

This isn’t true for all low fat dairy, for example natural yoghurt and skimmed milk.

Or frozen berries! Low sugar, feels like a treat.

And life is too short to eat fat free cottage cheese IMO.

Sounds lovely and also healthy ... whoever thinks that's an awful lot must have a very small appetite ... if I were you, I'd add the egg and forget the pitta if you want to do low blood sugar diet. Also, fats are fine if you're cutting down on carbs - good luck

High in fat isn't bad on a low sugar diet OP. You WANT higher fat when doing lower sugar. You cant have low fat and low sugar otherwise there is no energy in any of it.

Fat isn't bad for you. Fgs. Low fat shit is fucking terrible for you.

Don't eat low fat anything - full fat is much healthier and better for blood sugar.

Yes I'd like to know what colleague had?

“Please don't go for low fat dairy products either, they're more unhealthy than regular because when the fats removed the taste is compensated for by sugars or flavourings.

This isn’t true for all low fat dairy, for example natural yoghurt and skimmed milk.”

This^^ in fact most low fat dairy doesn’t have sugar added- are you thinking of muller lights which it seems everyone is when they state low fat dairy has sugar added? 🤣

I honestly thought you were going to say the colleague called it unhealthy because they thought you weren’t eating enough. I’ve seen other threads where colleagues are making comments about an OP not eating enough following a diet shift.

Didn’t see the criticism of low fat cottage cheese and hummus coming!

Like others have said, if you’re looking to follow a new diet then do some reading, try not to massively cut out any food groups especially straight away, and keep an eye on your progress or changes in general - eg weight loss, inch loss, energy levels, complexion, cravings etc.

IMO the healthy diet for a person is one that is relatively balanced in terms of nutrition sources (eg fats, protein, carbs, fibre etc), is one they find easy to follow (ie it comes fairly naturally to them), and leaves them feeling well, sufficient energy, not hungry or cranky. That varies by person for all sorts of reasons. For me, it’s low carb (especially low sugar) and high fat, with a good array of dairy and vegetables, some meat/fish, some nuts, some low sugar fruits (like berries). For me, this leaves me feeling satisfied, fits my natural food preferences/palate (don’t care about not having a bowl of pasta for instance, but feel deprived without cream and cheese!), leaves me with plenty of energy, not bloated, no cravings, and a healthy weight. The added bonus is my complexion is better since having moved to this. But, not everyone would feel the same, so the key is finding what works for you.

You can see from the replies here OP that "healthy" is a nebulous concept. I've lost 7 stone doing a calorie deficit diet using mfp. I try to eat a balanced diet but initially didn't bother too much as long as I had a deficit at the end of the day. But I quickly realised I could have a small plate of pasta or a huge one of veggies, so it didn't take long to get in to the swing.

Good luck!

@SerenDippitty skimmed or semi skimmed milk is just sugar water with minimal benefits. Everyone should be drinking whole milk as it's the only one with enough fat for the other vitamins and minerals in it to be soluable ffs. We have emerging generations of people with serious bone health disorders because they bought in to the skimmed and semi skimmed low fat bullshit.

Jesus f christ, the public health advice in this country needs a kick up the arse. Low fat dairy is not good for you. It is not inherantly bad, but it is not good.

What are you talking about? There is no sugar added to semi skimmed milk. Take a quick look at the label

Skimmed milk contains as much calcium (in fact a little more but the difference isn’t that great) and nutrients as whole milk, just without the fat.

rocket, walnut and Parmesan salad that sounds delicious! That’s tomorrow’s lunch sorted.

If you're doing low carb (for blood diet), you shouldn't have the pitta, and I would change the low-fat cottage cheese for full-fat. Otherwise it's fine. Fat is not your enemy, it will help you to feel full and will not have an impact on your blood sugar. Have you read the book? Highly recommended.

Doesn't look too bad as said just be careful on the low fat things as they sometimes replace it with sugar.

Lot of scaremongering at moment about carbs from keto followers, most foods are ok in moderation, but that's the key.