Come forward EatBetterers and unite - it's the second happy healthy eating thread!

[fuzzpig]

Here's the previous thread where it all began!

EatBetterers are trying to improve the diets of ourselves and our families. No weighing, restricting, calorie counting etc - just finding joy in nourishing ourselves by making positive changes one step at a time. All welcome! :)

Woo hooo, I'm living proof this all works just back from the doctors and bp is so good I don't need to see her for another 6 months and cholesterol is down a whooping 1.5-she was very pleased with that!

So this all works, plus I've lost weight too

Yay- I'm so delighted for you Dame! You must be so pleased and proud!

Holmes I am exactly in the same place as you re alcohol. Funnily enough I am in the middle of writing a blog post re healthy things I do regularly now that I couldn't imagine a year or so ago and also some things that I have yet to change but may be possible, one of them is kicking the booze completely. I really enjoy a glass or two with a meal though (not every night)...more than that and sleep suffers and I end up feeling horrible. It's such a social thing as well...hmmm...

Yay Dame! And thanks btw - I have just posted on your foundation-related thread. Worked like a charm!

Sleepwhenidie - I have often thought about giving up the booze altogether. I didn't find it at all hard when I was pg. I hardly drank for ages after dc2 because it made me feel really crap (bp-related probably). I would lie awake with my heart racing after just a glass.

Ironically, now that I'm fitter and healthier I can tolerate booze a bit better, so I am tending to drink a bit more again. In a way, I just think it would be better to ditch it altogether than always to think 'should I have a drink? Was that too much? Shall I give up for a while?' etc etc. I don't need it.

Oh and thanks to everyone else for answering my alcohol question too. I was reading earlier that middle-aged women now drink much more on average than teens!

I can believe that Holmes, I'm quietly horrified at friends who see it as normal to have a glass or 3 once the kids are in bed.

Food today- porridge with soya milk

Salad, tuna with lemon and thyme and a slice of brown soda bread.

Dinner-not got that far yet

Congratulations Dame! What a fantastic result. :o

I don't think I mentioned that last week I had a phonecall from the consultant at the ME clinic, basically to see how I've got on since diagnosis in 2012. It was fab to tell him how much I've improved, he was really impressed with everything I have tackled and I made sure to mention the dress size reduction and the pedometer I'm now using :o

Ironically though this week has been a real struggle due to dizziness. Busy weekend planned so I'm a bit nervous.

On a more positive note though, and seeing as everyone's talking about pregnancy... DH agreed than in a year or two, assuming things (health, home etc) continue to improve, we will TTC #3! :o :o :o

This of course gives me even more reason to continue improving my - and the family's - diet (although, as I know self-care is a difficult issue for me, I will be careful not to slip into thinking I am only doing this for the sake of the possible baby... I am doing it for myself too!) so I feel the urge to step it up a notch.

DH has struggled over the last few years. He was always really fit (he was the kind of person who would say "WHAT? No way!" when they found out his age) running everywhere and could get away with eating loads of carbs but since his back injury obviously his fitness has decreased significantly and he put on weight. He is gradually getting fit again and has done a few races, often runs home etc, but can't get away with the same diet anymore! Now that I am nearly out of the fog of sugar addiction (though I'm not totally there yet!) I can really see it in him.

Sorry if I'd already mentioned all any of the above BTW, my brain is a mess this week.

As for alcohol - I'm pretty much teetotal through no other reason than I am a right fussy bugger when it comes to drinks! Not keen on wine (never even tried red as the smell makes me feel sick), don't like beer or cider, don't like most strong spirits either. I'll have a very very occasional cocktail in a restaurant, some Baileys at Xmas, now and again one of those premixed cans of Malibu and coke or archers and lemonade. I enjoy mixing my own cocktails (though limited due to not liking most spirits) but if I bought big bottles to use at home I would drink a lot more often, so I don't. I guess in that sense it's a health decision.

I don't like coffee or tea either, so I'm a cheap date :o in a restaurant or pub I just have coke - that's now pretty much the only time I allow myself a caffeine fix.

Thanks fuzz, and well done you too. I'm excited about a potential new baby!! x

I'm tee total as I have never liked the taste of any alcohol so I have never bothered. I'm to tight to waste money .

I have decided to o back onto MFP to help me eat and eat better.

You might be waiting a while Dame :o won't even TTC til next year at the earliest, I'd say more likely (if I'm being sensible about it) early 2016

And thank you

My day:
B: slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter, green smoothie

L: barley broth, prawns with a bit of salad

D: pizza, homemade by dd, salad

Pizza not the healthiest thing but I have suggested that each week dd or ds choose one dish for dinner and I'll help them cook it. Dd chose pizza. Still - better for you than the shop-bought ones.

Fuzzpig - I have the opposite alcoholic tastes to you! I like mostly beer and wine and I hate sweet drinks like Baileys, fruity drinks and sweet cocktails! I really think I am going to quit the booze. I have one big event coming up,end of June, at which I will have a glass of champagne, but apart from that nothing.

My day was green smoothie (spinach, berries, coconut oil, chia seeds and super green powder - forgot to add banana!)

Omelette with ham, cheese, onion, red pepper with a pile of green beans and tomatoes.

A rhubarb (!) doughnut (marks that one day in the month, it cured my headache!)

This evening, baked salmon fillet with courgette, Parmesan and pine nut salad. Wine .

Interesting discussion about alcohol. I rarely drink and when I do it's mainly just one or two. Really do think I could do without it but agree with what others are saying about the social aspect.
I had a work's dinner last night. Thoroughly enjoyed my roll and butter with my soup but left some of the main and only tasted the dessert. It was delicious but I just didn't want anymore. Weird, but good weird.

Holmes that's a great thing to do with the DCs, getting them involved in planning and cooking. I've started getting DCs to help more - they loved grating veg into the bolognese yesterday :o I think once I'm a bit more organised (!) I'll get them to suggest meals/look through recipe books etc.

I'm also feeling the urge to be a bit more frugal again, we are doing ok for money but I want to make sure I don't spend unnecessary amounts on food.

Sleep-talk to me about coconut oil please nhs website says no as full of saturated fat but I've read it's good for you and lowers cholesterol

You mean the NHS with it's food pyramid, most of your calories coming from carbs and swapping full fat milk for skimmed and sugary fizzy drinks for diet versions Dame .

Lots more like this available.

Fuzzpig - me too on the frugal front. We are about to move house (re-locating to other end of the country) and moving is such an expensive business!

So looking forward to the move though - rural area, lots of great local produce and beautiful countryside to run in. Also considering getting a dog, which is quite exciting!

We all seem like we are doing well on the eating betterer. Yay us! What's everyone else doing in the way of exercise atm? I'm really enjoying my weights - bit of a change from endless cardio!

Right. Now I want some coconut oil. Do you just use it in place of olive oil in cooking?

I'm sadly not doing much exercise though I walk a lot in every day life. My DH works ridiculous hours which makes it difficult to commit to exercise as I have the DCs. I have a weighted hula hoop that I use sometimes.

Ooooo I'm a bit limited when it comes to exercise but I can hula hoop,I used to love it at school! Thanks

Sleep-yeah, that's what I thought

I am a bit of a fitness obsessive fiend Holmes. Kickboxing is my passion but I enjoy regular weight training and at the beginning of the year started doing hot yoga, which I am loving. I advise clients to do only what they enjoy, regardless of calorie burning/fitness gains but if I had to choose one thing to do to benefit health (as well as fitness and shape) it would be resistance training.

I'm cooking dinner, x posted with last 2! Walking is brilliant, don't underestimate it. Hula hooping, fantastic!

Oh Sleep, I used to go to a kickboxing class preDCs. I was really rubbish but I loved it.
My favourite exercise is swimming but it's hard to do lengths in a public pool. Again, preDCs we were members of a gym and I used to be there for it opening at 6am and do 50 lengths before breakfast. Unsurprisingly, that was when I was at my fittest, thinnest and most toned. I'm all nostalgic now .