AIBU to ask you to help me with my shopping list today- overweight meno lady!

[donfoxtrot]

Hi all. I reaching a tipping point, I think. Clothes don’t fit, I’ve got no energy. Changes need to be made.
Im going to do the weekly shop this afternoon. I want to make sure I’ve bought ingredients/ items that mean I hit my daily protein and fibre requirements.

Breakfast is most likely to be yoghurt and fruit. I’m too disorganised to make porridge.

Lunch - something simple maybe with tuna / tinned fish.

we (usually DH!) cook from scratch in the evening.

And, I’m newly diagnosed Coeliac so am getting my head around that. Not keen on GF bread, as I never really liked normal bread so it’s just a worst version of that!

So, what should I buy and what should I eat to ensure I get ebough protein and fibre but keep calories low so I can actually start to shift some weight.

Help!

Skyr yogurt is very high protein and very filling. I like the isey ones.

Thanks. I was planning on getting some Skyr for exactly that reason. I do enjoy it.

Bulk out food with beans - I love butter beans or cannellini beans. Also lentils. Make a batch of something like bolognese and add lentils (you’ll not notice they’re in there), they’ll fill you up more and add fibre etc. Also add some cannellini beans.
Personally that’s what I do when I want to make normal meals a bit healthier, more filling and to have extra for lunches during the week.

Seeds to your yogurt like chia?
Strawberries and blackberries have fibre in them
Overnight oats

Also for lunches you could cook a load of chicken and shred it up then each day make different salads with it.
You could do coronation chicken really easily - literally just some chicken, curry powder and mayo (or yogurt might be better for you in this case). Put it on top of a salad with leaves, cucumber, pepper, onion etc. Delicious and great for protein

Frozen berries. Take hardly any time to defrost, freezing breaks them down a bit so when they defrost they release juice and go nice and jammy, very good stirred into yoghurt / overnight oats etc.
Cheaper, and they don't all go mouldy while you're not looking.

Are you OK with oats?
You can eat rice, baked potatoes etc.
Beans and lentils are good for carbs and protein - and there are lots of different ones.

Mounjaro. Probably not in the supermarkets though.

it’s life changing.

I've started having Authentic Greek yogurt for breakfast but with seeds/walnuts and a very small amount of dried fruit, splash of maple syrup.

I don't eat fresh fruit with it as they digest at different times, and leaves me with a bloated feeling.

A big bowl of porridge in the morning makes a huge difference, worth getting up a few minutes earlier for. Failing that, a big bowl of muesli.

I'm always amazed at the numbers of overweight people who either have yoghurt and fruit for breakfast (it's not filling enough) or no breakfast at all.

"I’m too disorganised to make porridge."

Porridge oats in a bowl, add milk, microwave for 3 mins whilst you put the kettle on. I have it most mornings and it takes no organisation at all.

A filling breakfast with plenty of fibre will set you up for the whole day.

Already your breakfast is going to set you up for failure. The Human Being Diet by Petronella Ravenshear is 100% set up for ladies like you and I. Bit overweight, menopause related and the weight keeps on packing on. I know several people who’ve done this diet and have fairly effortlessly lost tons of weight at 60yrs +. The book costs £15 on Amazon. I’ve lost half a stone so far out of managed to completely cut out bread, which means I also don’t feel any joint pain.

If you’re looking to your protein and fibre, hers is the right approach. on that vein I would be looking to have something like sardines or eggs at breakfast with some avocado, salad, or mixed veg.

There is a recipe easily found online for Michael Mosley’s breakfast bread and that is made out of almond flour, ground flaxseed and eggs. It’s a very tasty alternative to normal bread

As an example, for breakfast this morning (and most mornings) I had overnight oats with:
2tbsp oats
1tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp milled flaxseed
30 g protein powder.
Frozen raspberries and blueberries.
A good dash of kefir.
I find having protein powder to hand really useful although get the majority of my protein from whole foods. Lunch will be a salad with peppered mackerel, eggs, beans and a mixture of salady bits.

Porridge is a tricky one. There is the time factor and me being realistic about that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have it in non-working days.
But, I’ll also need to buy GF oats. They don’t get the greatest feedback on the coeliac groups I’m on.
I’ll get some anyway and see how they go. Should I use my usual semi-skimmed milk to make them?

Excercise is the key to actually losing weight, but a stepper machine. You can do it while watching tv,

I'm celiac and eat tons of potatoes. Low cal, high in fibre, filling, you can't go wrong. I'm not a massive fan of all of the gluten free stuff so mainly just stick to whole foods that are naturally gluten free. Oats even if they are gf don't agree with me so I stay away.

Breakfast: eggs, smoked salmon, tomatoes and I have an avocado every other day.
Lunch: I LOVE Raku salads you get at Lidl’s, not very cost effective to eat every day but delish! They are salad with all sort of veg, and chicken or salmon or no meat. Some of the salads have beans or chickpeas, sweet potato etc. Or I have homemade soup like butternut squash and add shredded chicken/chorizo. Really filling.
Dinner: grilled meat and loads of veg. Last night I made pork stirfry with protein noodles. I have no idea the gluten in those but I’m sure there’s alternatives.
I eat about ten servings of veg a day. It really helps bulk out meals and makes me feel full. I tend not to eat fruit maybe an apple here or there. I also treat myself to a cup of coffee made with cream after dinner, and/or a Cadbury’s Delight (92 cal). If I get the munchies I eat Opies gherkins!
Plan your meals a few days in advance. Weigh and measure and log your food into an app like My Fitness Pal. You could have the healthiest diet in the world but if you are eating too much you will not drop the weight.

Lots of good suggestions here...
Once you've got today's shopping done, I'd use the next week to get some menus sorted out for the next week. Write down the 7 days, then for each one put what you'll have for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Take your time, enjoy thinking about it, planning it. Then by the time next week's shop is due you'll be able to compile the shopping list from what you've decided to eat. Saves waste and those impulse buys... "Ooooo, that might be nice..."
Then it sits in the fridge until it's gone past its date.

What are you eating that’s making you overweight? Portions too big? Snacking between meals? Wrong choices eg “salad” of pasta smothered in mayo with some token veg stirred through? OK diet but spend 90% of your life sitting or lying down?

Whatever it is, don’t do that, or do less of it.

I’m having a post-xmas reset - my two big issues were cakes/mince pies/sweets between meals, and portion size. Fixed those plus switched up the exercise so it all feels doable and the inches and kilos are gradually slipping away.

I've not heard of this.

I've just looked it up and will listen to the podcast when I get chance but what are the main principles if you don't mind me asking..?

I don't eat bread and eat the things you've mentioned otherwise already so I'd be interested in hearing how you've found it and why it appeals (rather than just the official sales pitch 😉)

I’m older than you, @donfoxtrot - not thin (only a size 10 in brands with gigantic sizes now) but I maintain a reasonably healthy weight and have no significant health issues. This how I shop:

Not quite weekly Riverford veg box. Choose my own individual products, skip whenever I want to. I am continuously increasing my orders to cover more products.

Bulk order of wholefoods from Hodmedods probably every six weeks to two months. I honestly never see ‘white’ pasta unless someone else is cooking.

Fish - tinned from The Tinned Fish Market - bulk order once a month; fresh from online fishmongers as and when needed.

Bread, wine, cheese ordered from local suppliers. (All deliberately so damn expensive I consume very careful amounts.) I don't stint on coffee beans though.

Ocado for anything else. (Which isn’t much these days and probably doesn’t justify my monthly delivery pass.)

Don't know if any of that helps?

https://hodmedods.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOopcmGwdT5KODpDCAMEijoZFoafva1UepXJ0dHG7pGkId4r4UsS8

Nairns GF oats are nicer than supermarket ones - they breakdown more easily when cooked. But, many coeliacs don't get on with GF oats, so be careful.

Skimmed milk is like white water, not filling enough for breakfast. Semi-skimmed is better.

Go for the full fat milk. It's hardly got any fat in it anyway.