Eatbetterers part 3 -gather around healthy people !

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Third thread of healthy eating, no calorie counting just good, healthy food for us and our families.

Think that's a great idea sleep. It doesn't feel as overwhelming and hopefully will lead to long term success.

Yes, good idea sleep. The run was lovely - i have a 35 minute paced podcast that takes me out of my front door and round a lake - all in all around 6k and it was lovely. Had to take ds out and then nipped to Aldi for some winter running gear. I only started feeling really grim later - like yesterday it seems its when I'm having to rush from one thing to another, driving people around and back etc. It should pass.

I have now watched the Ted talk and checked out the other blogs you mentioned. I loved 'look positive' and jennifer lawrence. I also liked the TED talk - but I found some of it a bit confusing I am afraid. It seemed to be saying that if you got fat there is no hope for you!! Can anyone see if I am missing anything? For myself, it is ok - I am overweight but I eat reasonably well and I exercise, and so unless I need surgery or something I feel ok at this weight really. You know i can bend and move around and breathe properly while running up stairs and so being not slim all over is ok. Its just my dd I am wondering about she loves dance and wants to be a circus skills teacher - have I wrecked her?

The link is here in case anyone wants a look?

I don't think it's saying that still, I think if you learn to truly eat intuitively, your body will find it's healthy weight naturally. Years (decades perhaps) of repeated dieting may adjust that 'set point' so that the weight your body wants to be is higher than you would like though! I definitely think that within reason, you can be 'overweight' and as healthy, if not more so than someone of 'healthy' weight whose diet is terrible and does little to no exercise. Studies bear this out, there's increasing evidence to show that BMI bands are arbitrary and, at least up to the lower end of the 'obese' category do not correlate to longevity. In fact, those in the overweight category seem to do best!

Thanks for the welcome Sleep. That's interesting as I've often read that BMI is flawed when calculating taller people, putting them at a higher number than they are. I agree with your perspective in that I'm in the 'healthy' range, verging on underweight, yet my diet is terrible and obviously my cholesterol level proves that.

I 'recognise' you stilllearning from when we were both on the couch to 5k thread. Really glad to see you've kept it up, me too :)

hmmm, yes I see your point Sleep. Wrt dd, we had a very candid chat tonight and I am feeling a bit out of my depth. She thinks she's fat when in fact she has a sticking out tummy that sometimes bloats. I think you're right - you would need to diet for quite a sustained period for the set point thing to happen.

I think one of my 'do something different' things would be to make an effort with flavours. I reckon if I paid a bit more attention to popping in an alternative to garlic, pepper etc I could jazz the meals up a bit.

Perhaps DD should try cutting out wheat/dairy for a couple of weeks if she suffers from bloating still, or at the least keep a food diary noting down meals and how she feels afterwards. Also definitely work with her on slowing down when eating, that could make a big difference.

Hi Morrigu - i only really go on 3 threads (this, c25k, and the archers - oh the glamour never ends)!! I sometimes get brave and venture into somewhere else. I'm still on the c25k thread as I love seeing people start off. It is my absolute priority exercise wise. i'm currently up to 8k and sneaking in the intervals during my lunch break which makes me feel quite athletic

Sleep, defo on the wheat front. She naturally avoids bread rolls, wheat and pizza because it hurts. She drinks a lot of milk too but I am finding it hard to work out how to encourage her to limit something without saying it is bad for you or unhealthy. I think patience is key here as with so many other things.

Morrigu, is there anything in particular you want to change or be more thoughtful about?

Could you just explain that it's a short experiment still? Which is the truth. No one is saying she has to give anything up completely, it's about finding out how her body feels on/off certain foods then making her own choices based on that.

Well done still. I don't venture much away from the runners thread myself either. Was doing longer distances during the summer but after having to take a month off for injury and illness I'm going to stick at 5k for a while. It's a major priority for me too - body health wise and I find it really helps me mentally with my moods and stress.

Need to change so much, feel a bit lost about where to start. My downfall is dairy and carbs and since stopping smoking I scoff a lot of sugar and crisps at night. Need to up my veggie intake as I appear to have really gone off them though I am good with fruit.

I used to do meal planning years ago so am going to sit tonight and try and work something out. Dd is 2 and going through a fussy phase though so I do find it difficult to think of different things to eat that she will too plus my oven has broken and I'm waiting for a part to delivered.

Think I've decided on lifting a home-made bean soup out of the freezer for lunch and making a chicken stir-fry with lots of veg for tonight bet the kids screw up their faces at it

The bean soup and stir fry sound good Morrigu How about starting with breakfast though? It's usually a good place to begin, studies show that if you have a sugar and carb heavy breakfast (typically cereal/toast) rather than something with protein and fat, you are more likely to crave/consume more of the same throughout the day. What do you usually have?

Breakfast? Ummm, 3 cups of coffee so yeah probably a very good place to start. Bought oatmeal a few weeks ago with the intention of trying overnight oats, will give it a whirl tomorrow. Have been considering the amount of sugar the dc are getting from cereal recently too so I was thinking of eggs for a change?

Welcome Morrigu...I hear you on 3 cups of coffee for breakfast! I can't normally stomach something as early as DC do so I often have a smoothie or just put off breakfast til 9/10 but make it a proper breakfast and not just a snack IYSWIM.

I also had the same thing over DC breakfast and sugar - especially with DS starting school. He starts at 8am and doesn't get a break for snacks until 10:30, whereas at preschool he didn't start til 9, so would be able to eat at home until 8:30, and they did a snack at 9:15! He's hungry constantly so we focused on breakfast being filling to get him through to snack time and he seems on board with that. Weekday breakfast is now either porridge with chia seeds and almond milk, spinach and scrambled eggs, peanut butter and banana on toast, and he usually has a peanut butter and banana smoothie most mornings too. He can have Cheerios one weekend morning when he can eat again fairly soon after, an he normally has pancakes the other weekend morning - which as I make myself they're as healthy as I can make them! unless DH takes him to IHOP

Thanks for some great ideas there Americas. I don't eat bananas or eggs myself as they kill me with stomach cramps but the kids would love them. Never tried chia seeds although I've recently read a bit about them. Out of interest is there a lot of texture to them as both dc can be funny about that and wouldn't touch the likes of mixed seeds through yogurts?

Yep I find it hard to stomach food too at that time of the morning and I'm rushing around trying to get stuff done before the school run Only time I've ever ate breakfast is when I've been pregnant and forced myself to. Have my oats in the fridge so am going to try my bestest

They go a bit gelatinous, I only sprinkle about a teaspoon in the oats then cook in milk altogether so they barely notice them.

They're worth adding to your overnight oats too. Tons of calcium, omega 3 and all sorts of other good stuff and they last ages as you don't need very much

Should be honest and say while DS eats all that, DD quite often refuses it!

Hi all -- have been struggling for time/energy recently, thus my lack of posts, but thought this article was pretty interesting and worth sharing.

That's interesting Serendipity. I'm certainly not a restrained eater as I've never given a thought about what is in my food and I see food as one of life's pleasures to be enjoyed. I'm not moderate either as I haven't been considering my diet as a whole. I do agree with listening to internal cues and if you're hungry eat, if not don't. Something to mull over.

Sounds like my house Americas, it's either one of the other doesn't like something, usually dd is a bit more fussy. Bought a couple of the shots of the chai seeds to give them a whirl before I splash out on a bag that may possibly fester in my cupboard.

I have really noticed a huge difference in dcs appetite since I cut out a lot of junk from last week (got into bad sugar habits over the summer). Even dd has been impressing me with the amount and variety of foods she is beginning to eat at mealtimes.

Wholesome day of the overnight oats for breakfast. Didn't particularly like it made with yogurt so I'm going to try again tomorrow with almond milk and some other stuff thrown in. Sushi for lunch as we were out shopping and dinner fish with 4 different types of veg for dinner including roasted peppers with feta so I could get my cheese fix. Quick 5k run to add in so I'm hungry again now. Going to have a look through the thread again for some ideas for tomorrow.

Serendipity - thank you for the article - I thought it summed things up nicely (which is easier for me as I often need a quick reminder).

I have porridge for breakfast. I like that it's predictable to be honest and of course, it's quite a busy time of day.

I'm still poorly and I think I should really go to the doctor soon. Driving is horrible although luckily I usually have just a school run and then back home to start work. I made soup in advance but I am finding it hard to eat well feeling so rough.

Oh sleep I may be over thinking your blog idea but I find changing one thing a week quite hard. I often have to either break down change into smaller steps or, more often I have to chip away at something, sit with it, charge at it, retreat etc etc until I feel I've got the knack of it
Have you ever read Oliver Burke's 'help'. It's funny but quite astute in its appraisal of the self help world.

That's interesting still (sorry you still aren't well by the way, definitely see doctor). I did my first one yesterday and it was on mindful eating, the aim being to slow down and pay a little more attention to taste, texture, enjoyment etc and to have at least one meal without distractions such as work, tv or something to read.....how would that go down for you?

And I will check out the book thanks!

And I will check out the blog!

Just popping by to say that I had my over-40s health check this morning and got top marks for both cholesterol (4.3) and glucose (also 4 point something) so this eat-bettering thing is obviously working!!

Nice one Bram, you must have been pleased!

I was Sleep ! She did the "calculating your risk of a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 yrs" thing and said she had never had one come out under 1 before, and I was 0.6! I don't mean to sound smug, but I'm absolutely sure that those numbers wouldn't have been nearly so good even just a year ago before I started embracing eating healthy unprocessed food as a real life-style change.