Thread for those who are trying to eat "better"

[Octopus37]

Following on from yesterdays thread "Do I eat too much", which I posted on, I was unsurprising told that what I eat is crap. Have been feeling pretty crap the last few weeks, not enough energy low libido, sluggish, wound up, down - so have decided to see if changing my eating habits can shift things a bit. I'm not overweigh 5ft5, 8st6lbs, (slightly on the heavy side for me), but would be pleased if I did loose a few pounds, trying not to make weight the focus. Have decided to take a vitamin pill with iron every day, last year had v low ferratin levels so had to take iron tablets for a while. I'm not promising to do well every day and cut out sugar completely as I feel that I would be destined to fail. However, I am going to try to I improve. Today have eaten:
1 pack of Belvita biscuits
1 Actvia extra creamy yoghurt
1 large apple
1 Danone (high protein yoghurt)
3 Oatcakes
Some cashew nuts
I am planning on sweet chilli chicken & rice (ready meal cause of money diet) with some stir fried veg for tea and plan to eat some red grapes afterwards. Also may have some sort of a treat on school run. Also aim is to replace the Belvita biscuits with oatcakes for breakfast and maybe eat them with some cheese. Know I'm not doing perfectly but I am making an effort. Buddies welcome.

How are we all doing now it's back to school?

I'm really enjoying my daily breakfast of two boiled eggs and one slice of decent toast/butter. I should alternate with scrambled eggs or something though in case I get bored.

But it's really helping me feel less hungry in the morning, I don't get the sugar crash and carb cravings. I honestly never thought it would be that effective. I do like porridge but it seems whatever I have with it I feel hungry ridiculously soon after (worse than with regular cereal), so I think for the most part I'll stick with eggs.

Got my meal plan sorted for the first half of the week. It seems much more achievable to only have to plan a few days at a time rather than a whole week (or is that just me ). Shopping is going to be delivered Mondays and Thursdays, so on Wednesday I'll be planning again!

I'll be making a big batch of leek and potato soup today. Really looking forward to it :)

Bookmarking to read through properly later. I'm also making a conscious effort to eat better/more healthily and if anything to put ON weight as I'm a bit on the skinny side. Really fed up with reading healthy eating guidance (NHS I'm looking at you ) which is all about losing weight and cutting down on fat...

Thanks octopus

Going home for a couple of days, I'm on the train now. I had an egg, they are amazing aren't they? Tiny little things that keep you full for ages

Welcome bramshott!

Hope you have a restful couple of days at home, dame

I haven't been on for a while but apart from a mini bar of dark choc and some crisps a couple of days ago, I've stuck with the healthy eating. My period started yesterday which would explain the choc and crisps but the amazing thing is that I didn't get pmt for a whole week before it! My anxiety which flares up at this time of the month has been heaps better too. I'm so pleased. I hope it isn't just a coincidence.

Another plus is my skin is looking great. Much smoother and more glowy.

Bit annoying that the anti sugar brigade appear to be right but I'll live with it.

Hope you all have a great day today and a good start to the week.

Bram Full fat Greek yogurt with berries (and a bit of honey if you like), is a great way to get done extra calories. As is snacking on nuts. I had to gain weight last year. Know what you mean about all the advice being about losing weight. I found that when I went looking.

Im trying to be better. Ideally I want to stick to the My Firness Pal calories but my head is ruling today and I think some more chocolate than planned will be consumed.

However Ive had scrambled egg on brown for breakfast and am going to stick to the planned meals.
After all it has to be better for me to be having tuna salad for lunch rather than fat laden sarnies and crisps?

Slowly slowly lol

Thanks fuzz

I just got in and there was half a carton of chicken chow mein in the fridge. Oh well could be worse

Salad tonight to balance it out!

I need to eat better again. I've slipped from my gluten free diet and my habit of cooking, so need to get back into both as the gluten has been messing with my system.

I've been having a lot of kefir and homemade yoghurt recently too thanks to my landlady, who started making it a few weeks ago. It's very tasty and fermented foods are great for your gut.

I need to cut down on how much I eat too, I eat relatively healthily but eat a lot when I do eat.

What is eating clean? I've heard it a lot recently but have no clue what it is!

Hi everyone, we got back from skiing yesterday and I went to the gym this morning. I have no idea if I have put on weight (sworn off the scales) but I feel bloated and heavy from all the bread and cheese I consumed - yuk. I did mostly enjoy eating it though! By the end of the week I was craving veggies and some chilli for some variety, glad to be home for that.

So - back to it this week. just a slice of buttered malt loaf before the gym and poached eggs on buttered granary toast after. For dinner I've bought prawns to have with avocado and salmon steaks to bake with a load of roasted veg (peppers, courgettes, red onion, tomatoes) and some green beans. I will probably need something a bit later this afternoon too, kickboxing at 5pm so maybe Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries or a green smoothie with spinach, avocado, celery, apple and banana and a squeeze of lime, if I have time to make it.

Octopus you are doing well, I bet your hair is better because of the good fats you are getting.

Coumarin - PMT improvement almost definitely down to the sugar, I know so many people who have had the same experience.

Funky - welcome and yes, tuna salad much better than sarnies and crisps!

Bramshott - welcome too. What is your diet like at the moment? Could you describe a typical day? What exercise do you do (if any)?

Dame you are amazing, keeping this up with the hospital stuff - how are you feeling?

Confused - I think 'eating clean' means different things to different people ...so a bodybuilder for instance, would be very strict with diet when trying to cut body fat, but to me eating clean means no sugar and nothing processed - some people may cut out gluten and/or dairy completely. I think the key is to find what works for you and as funky says, do it in small steps. Trying to dramatically alter your diet overnight is unlikely to be sustainable, by making small changes it is less uncomfortable as an experience and over time, your tastes change and also you start seeing the benefits to your health, appearance and energy levels and that encourages you to make more gradual changes. This then becomes a way of living and eating - most of the time - there should still be room for treats if not week long carb binges in the mountains .

Hi signing back in, I kinda fell off the wagon as I have spent the last week with a horrible bug, have not been eating better at all!

Yesterday I has cheese omelette, tuna potato salad, and banana with natural bio yoghurt. That doesn't look too bad, though breakfast was tea and toast, plus I had 4 digestives.

Currently I am researching recipes with chick peas in. Something different to hummus and chick pea curry.

I've only skimmed last page of thread so will go catch up.

Im trying to view it as 'food is fuel' as Im in training for a marathon power walk and that will do me wonders on the burning/fitness side but I need to make sure my body has what it needs.

I didnt do it last year and although I completed it with no ill effects I wonder just what I could do if I put the right stuff in.

Good luck all!

Today:
2 slices of toast with peanut butter
2 slices of toast with asparagus and mint humus (v tasty)

Inset day, had to work round kids and have a poorly DS2 so not ideal. Aiming to eat some fruit shortly. I'm finding that I naturally want healthier meals, kids having leftover pasta tonight, quite fancy a stir fry or similar. However, still absolutely love sugary treats, haven't lost the taste at all but have cut down. Want to increase my exercise but hard due to practicalities.

Coumarin that's great news about the reduced PMT! I've definitely found the same :)

Sleep that's interesting about good fats being good for hair. Do you know what's good for skin? Mine has been utterly terrible since I got ill a couple of years ago :(

Hey Pixie :o to me eating 'clean' is basically reducing processed food. As Sleep said it means different things to different people. But I see it as eating mostly whole foods that don't have loads of additives, so I know exactly what I'm eating. I'm not really cutting anything out completely, just shifting the balance. The exception is sweeteners like aspartame, I try and avoid that now.

Fuzzpig - for skin, also good fats and enough protein . Aim to include nuts, avocadoes, eggs, oily fish, seeds, cold pressed oils (cocount, olive, flax, nut oils) in what you consume every day. Do you drink plenty of water?

Octopus - how about another small change, trying some soup for lunch, with some protein, reduce the bread intake a bit? What exercise would you like to do and what are practical constraints?

Ahhh - thanks for all the welcomes! Thanks for the tips on foods for weight gain. I know that if I make a conscious effort to chug a fruit and nut mix through the day, it definitely helps. I will try yoghurt too.

I am not too bad at the moment I think, but would like to get better. Today is fairly typical and has so far gone something like:
Breakfast - porridge with raisins & maple syrup (really don't like eggs unfortunately)
Snack - 3 x spelt/oat crackers
Lunch - leftover lentil dal from weekend, followed by GF bread with homemade lemon curd (oops - that isn't so good!)

Plan for later:
Snack - banana & homemade flapjack with dried fruit & seeds
Dinner - chorizo & potato pan fry with green beans & maybe kale if I can face it
Eve - book club which is where it will all go wrong....

Exercise - I try to walk every morning and aim for 2 miles. Last week was of course a disaster as it was half term, but before then I had got up to about 10-11 miles a week

My digestion has been atrocious for the last few months, and is being investigated at the hospital (endoscopy Monday, deep joy). Hopefully they will find out why, but I am trying to do everything I can to help, and am also aware that they may well say there isn't anything specific "wrong"...

Sorry - long post!

Bram - do you like nut butters? Maybe add some to your porridge (and/or crackers) for a bit of extra fat and protein? There are also some nice porridge mixes with combos like linseed, flax and sunflower seeds around. May be worth a try. If you fancy a change, berries would be a better option than raisins.

How about a bit of houmous/guacamole (or just avocado) or nice cheese with your crackers?

What was happening around the time your digestion problems started? When is it worst/better? Any particular foods you recognise make you worse? Would you say you are a fast, medium or slow eater?

I have always been slightly bemused about nut butters. I'm guessing you don't mean peanut butter. That I really don't like!

I did buy an avocado for book club thinking I might make a dip. Maybe I will do that but not give it to book club! Is your thinking that more protein might be a good idea?

My digestion has always been a bit rubbish, with a vague GP diagnosis of IBS, but in the past has always flared up and then gone down again. This latest flare up has been going since mid-November though. Just following a busy patch at work/erratic eating, but I have tried to be really good since then, so seems a long time if it was affected by that.

Last year I went wheat free which initially seemed to have dramatic results and thought I had cracked it. But apparently not. I'm still mostly following a wheat free diet though. Apart from that, it's very difficult to see what impacts it, although refined sugar is a definite trigger.

Oh, and I'm definitely a fast eater .

Look at me - I'm new, and I'm monopolising the thread already!

I'm sure no one minds Bram

I'm an eating psychology coach - so I help people who may be struggling to lose weight, or with chronic fatigue or digestive issues, are sick of dieting/obsessing over food, or who just have a bad relationship with food and/or body. I advise on nutrition but as importantly, look at the other aspects of life that affect how we eat and how our bodies deal with food. The first thing I advise everyone to do, no matter what their problem, is to relax and slow down with food. Its harder than it sounds because most of us have the habit of eating far too quickly and without focus. Stress badly affects digestion, assimilation and metabolism. Simply eating quickly creates a mild stress response in the body and this inhibits our digestive process because we are in a state ready to deal with external attack - digestion and metabolism isn't a priority at that point. There are of course other sources of stress in our lives that can affect our body, but this is an easy and often very effective place to start .

It does sound like you have an issue with wheat (doesn't have to be full on coeliac disease, there's a spectrum of intolerance) Bram, but just for a couple of weeks, try and focus on taking as much time as you can manage to eat your meals, always sit, take a few deep breaths and look at your food (think of stopping to say grace if you like, it doesn't have to be religious, the process of that pause can be very effective in terms of relaxation and starting the eating process in the mind, which is as important as the tummy!). Ideally eat without distractions such as a screen or book - definitely try that a few times a week with dinner. I'm happy to give you some more suggestions after that, up to you if you want to wait and see what your tests show first.

Re adding protein, yes I think try and get a bit more in, also more good fat, like most people you have a large proportion of carbs in that run down of your day . Changing the balance to have more EFA's and protein would be good.

On the exercise front, maybe add in some resistance training, push ups, tricep dips, planks, squats and lunges, all of which you can do at home. Adding in some more protein to your diet along with this may help you gain a bit of muscle and feel more substantial - a better approach than just eating 'more' haphazardly and gaining fat .

Hi sleep, thanks. Glad you had a good holiday it's not me that's ill, it's my Dad, so I've been visiting 10 hours a day as he's in critical care. Anyway, this is the first time EVER that I haven't used emotional stuff as an excuse to just eat rubbish. I am really proud of myself in marks and Spencers my mantra was 'I am CHOOSING to eat this lovely fresh food, crappy food will make things worse' apart from one hot cross bun and today's chow mein it worked

Hello bram-makes a change from me monopolising

True about eating fast,I used to bolt my food but now eat slowly. I actually taste the food now.

Thanks for your help sleep, it's much appreciated

Watching with interest. I will be back later to properly catch up.

Thanks Sleep - all much appreciated. Eating more slowly and mindfully is definitely something I will try.