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.

Hello

I've discovered sweet potatoes, they're yummy, aren't they?

Sleep- thanks for your help on my transport thread the other day

10k run today and no chocolate for the last few days! Onwards and upwards! Hope everyone is doing well.

Yay Dame! Good for you!

I think Christmas to Easter is always my worst part of the year for eating and exercise. Once spring properly arrives, everything seems a bit easier .

10k?

Yes, I felt a bit like fainting too afterwards! Unfortunately that is only half the distance I need to be able to cover by 7th of June when I attempt my first half marathon .

Not a great day but not disastrous either-

Porridge
Smoked salmon and cream cheese on crisp bread
Chicken and leek in mustard sauce, chips and carrots, sugar snaps and baby corn.

Drooling at your chicken in mustard sauce and chips, Dame!

Chicken, leek and mustard sauce-

Chop chicken breast into small chunks and cover with Colman 's ready mixed mustard( you can use dry mustard but the ready mixed is nicer) weirdly it doesn't make it hot.

Sear in a hottish pan, then add loads of sliced leeks.

Let it all soften a bit then add half a knorr gel stock pot, let it melt then add some boiling water, let it simmer for a bit then add a dollop of cream cheese, only a teaspoon or so, then thicken using thickening granules or a bit of cornflour.

I usually have it with brown rice but I really enjoyed the chips

Mmmm - thanks!

Oh I forgot, a good dollop of whole grain mustard towards the end too!

Food today wasn't great but I didn't binge so all good-

Porridge

Left over mustard chicken
2 slices of pizza, apple and banana and Greek yoghurt.

Hot choc with soya milk.

Going shopping tomorrow so need to stock up on green veg.

Energy levels tons better,I walked over a mile and a half yesterday with a friend (that's the equivalent to a half marathon in my world with my dodgy legs ) skin is settling down too which is a bonus.

Still doing well here - porridge for breakfast, followed by sprint interval training . I always forget what a positive effect it has on my eating when I'm properly back into my running. You'd think it would make me super hungry and want to stuff myself with cake, but it seems to do the opposite!

That all sounds great Holmes

I seem to remember a study where they made people eat exactly as normal but they had to exercise twice a week, can't remember details exactly but it seemed that they lost weight because the effect of exercising made them want to eat healthily.

I wish I had the sort of brain which remembered exact figures/details

Well I'm a bit woe is me today. I went to dr and I've lost weight since last year but have to lose more (won't go into specifics as its a bit grisly and this is after all a food thread). I'm not massive and dr said I was doing well with exercise but the extra 1.5 stone is not helping. I just feel daunted and a bit pressurised to go on a diet. Any words of wisdom?

Hi Still. Please don't be demoralised. You are doing really well. Could you consider eating the same things but using a smaller plate? How is your water consumption. I know if I allow myself to become dehydrated I eat more and even healthy food will lead to weight gain if we eat too much.

Hmm thanks Neeko (crappy Internet connection here!). My tea consumption is great but my water intake not so . Yes i think I should have faith in what I'm doing on here. It's the weighing thing that bothers me - I find it hard and drags me into old ultimately unhelpful habits. Dr said weight loss would be slow too. Something to do with already exercising to a decent level. Although we agreed being active is best of all. I need to cut back on vast quantities of greek yoghurt and a bit if snacking - I just can't believe how heavy I am!

Hey Neeko, chin up, remember you've lost weight without dieting. You can lose more. More mindfulness as a start. Sitting, paying attention when you eat. Then think about what you are eating and drinking, just a week off booze and bread seems to make a difference in my body (I don't weigh myself but pretty sure it would be down). I also have a tendency to pick at stuff between 4 and 6pm whereas if I just make myself a proper snack then I don't. What are you snacking on?

Sorry, that was for Still, obviously - not off the booze tonight!

Hi Sleep. I think re-connecting with the mindfulness is the way. It is just when I have calorie counted or similar I have lost weight but I have found it quite demanding to always be looking for the lower calorie option and if you step off a bit, it all goes back on. In fact lots of it is bonkers.

I am happy that I have lost and kept it off. We were getting into some bad habits. So I would pick up scones on a Tuesday night as a kind of supper, and also have a dessert twice a week (other than stewed fruit, like muffins or marked down apple pie etc). But for the last while we have stopped this. There has never been biscuity or chocolatey things in the house and we have a strict rule now that processed food eg a pizza, vege burger is once a month rather than once a week. A snack would be natural yoghurt, handful of nuts, maybe oatcakes. That sort of thing. So I am on the right lines. But I do think I'd be better off with no snacks at all (has just remembered peanut butter in the cupboard!). I think the biggest culprit would be cheese though. I can go ok just having with the odd meal as you would expect, but then I find I am cutting slices during the day (work from home). So overall - the mindfulness could initially apply to where I need to make that kind of change and extend from there? And more water as Neeko suggests.

I am not getting heavier and that is a thing to remember, I reckon.

I am a bit scared of going for a run tomorrow but I am going to take it really easy (I had unexpected bleeding after running yesterday hence the dr - who was lovely and said that although it may not be helping in that way I should defo carry on running as it brings lots of benefits, and what was happening looked scarier than it was and may never happen again). I think the shock of it added to my shakiness yesterday too. It will all be ok.

It sounds like you know where to pay more attention still, I think once you practice mindful eating for a while you then know too when you are switching that off and that's where we need to work. Using a hunger scale could be useful too, in the context of how long until your next meal. Avoiding snacks can be a good general strategy, particularly if you aren't that hungry and a meal isn't that far away. However if you are hungry at 4pm and dinner is 7-8pm then IMO it's better to have something than get to dinner so ravenous that you end up diving into it and overeating . But a snack when you do have it should be given time and attention as much as a full meal.

Oh dear biscuits and ice cream today, I blame PMT

Tomorrow's another day...

Hey all it's been a while.

Totally fell off the wagon as I've just moved into a new house and was finishing stuff in the old place as well as working and packing. Also went on holiday and it was my first house purchase so all a bit hectic!

New place is lovely though and loving sorting my kitchen. Waiting for bookcases coming for all my cookbooks!

You're all inspiring me with your exercise. Back to the gym tomorrow.

Hmm - I am actually considering doing some running (or perhaps swimming) - my knees were agony when I skied in February half term and I went from feeling very fit and great before the holiday to having to tone down the training after half term to let me knees recover. Then I had a very lazy and indulgent two week Easter break with barely any exercise and far too much wine - now my fitness (and waistline) is showing the combined effects, particularly in kickboxing where I am training for my black belt. It's very irritating, I need to step it up (and cut right down on booze and bread for a while, that usually makes a big difference).

If its knees I would be a bit worried a bit worried about running - although mine are recovered. What about some HIIT (is it called?) type thing. But booze is definitely the thing

Hm, you are probably right still not that I need much of an excuse not to run! I have successfully resisted wine for the last two nights and I slept so well last night, it definitely makes a difference (unfortunately)

Just wanted to share a new recipe that has - amazingly - gone down brilliantly with all 3 DC's - two of whom won't touch fruit and the other won't eat eggs - low carb(ish) banana pancakes. SO easy, especially if you use a nutribullet to mix. 2 eggs, 2 bananas, pinch of salt and a tablespoon or so of buckwheat flour - whizz. Make small pancakes, just 2" or so across, because they are tricky to flip. Add fruit, greek yoghurt, a drizzle of honey or smear of nutella - they are demolished in seconds! You can do them without the flour but I find they are lighter and fluffier with just a bit.