Change of diet

[snowflake677]

I have recently decided to change my diet. I grew up eating a lot of processed food and no fruit of veg. I craved fruit and veg during both my pregnancies and ate a really good diet and from my first pregnancy onwards I stopped eating processed foods and started cooking from scratch. That was around 12 years ago and I have continued home made food to this day but I eat very little in the way of fresh fruit and veg, apart from the veg that I have at dinner. I also eat a lot of sugar. I have a bar of chocolate every day, dessert after dinner every night and usually a cake (or two) and a few biscuits during the day

I decided recently I want to improve how I eat. I absolutely hate green veg but I bought one of the nutribullet blenders and have been making a morning smoothie containing celery, kale, spinach, flaxseed and broccoli. I am drinking this every day. I have been drinking several cups of green tea throughout the day. A typical day is now as follows

Porridge oats, milk, pinch of salt
Water
Green smoothie
Green tea
Beans on toast
Grapes and an apple
Green tea
Water
Chocolate bar
Homemade bolognese
Ice cream

I know the sugary crap is still there but I thought if I introduce more good stuff then slowly phase out the bad it would be a lot easier. I usually would have had more sugary things previously. Can anyone give their opinion on this? Would you say this is relatively healthy or at least on the right track? I have felt pretty bad since starting this and experienced bad bloating and diarrhoea too but I'm assuming that's the increase in fibre. Will this improve? Sorry for the long and boring post but I'm just looking for some encouragement as I'm finding it quite hard to stick to

Thanks

I would say that that looks like a really good start. You know you would ideally have more fruit and veg so I guess that would be a good thing to slowly tackle, although depending on portion size you could already be topping your 5 a day. (2 in smoothie, 1 for beans, 2 for apple in grapes, 1 in bolognese)
I’m assuming your bolognese is a regular sofrito, tomatoes, minced beef kind of recipes? It would be really easy to up the veg count in that.
Do you every do main meals where the veg is the main part of the meal? I’m thinking sweet potato, chickpea and pepper curry, veggie curry with beans, cauliflower cheese, veg stir fry? Meals like that really help.

That's a good start.

BUT, you don't have to eat veg you hate - especially as it appears to be upsetting your stomach.
I'm a long-time Weight-Watcher, & smoothies are discouraged because they break down the fibre - which is possibly the cause of your upset.
Do you like peas, green beans, peppers? They're easy to add to meals.
I suggest trying to eat lots of different colours of veg - e.g. tomatoes, sweetcorn, aubergines etc
Try something new. My mother thought that corn was only for animal feed (lucky animals), & would not know what to do with a courgette or aubergine.

Best of luck. There will always be someone around on these boards to help with a recipe.

For anything to be sustainable you need to enjoy it. If you’re struggling with the smoothies then why not look for other ways to add those nutrients into your food? I started adding much more veg to meals and it’s just become the norm now. Eg double celery/onions/mushrooms in spagetti bolognaise. I’m similar to you that I’ve not got it 100% yet, but we’re definitely improving! Maybe soup might help you add in veg? Find a main flavour you like and hide a few extra bits in there?! Good luck - you sound like you’re on the right track!

Your sample diet sounds pretty healthy to me!

Everyone I know, irrespective of size or attitude to health, keeps little treats in, and most people I know definitely have something sweet after dinner each day. The reason our bodies want something sweet after dins is apparently because our bodies crave variety (as evolution learned that variety = a greater range of nutrients). No harm in having a little treat to keep you sane if your meals are moderate.

I think the key is to resist urges to eat sugary stuff as a dessert etc when you are mentally hungry but physically stuffed. But for the most part, you'll be in a much healthier place mentally if you permit yourself a little something whenever you fancy it. No rules or restrictions! Just moderation.

Ps it's poss that the stomach issues are coming from one particular thing you are eating. Do you have any history of IBS? I don't think the smoothie would sit well with me tbh but I like just a banana and a bit of milk if I ever have a smoothie. Everyone is diff though, if you feel like you can pin point where your tum issues stem from it might be worth eliminating things but by bit.