Meal planning for health not hunger

[AuntiePushpa]

I've been on Mounjaro since 1 Jan and happy to have just tipped into 'overweight' rather than 'obese'(hooray!). I have a way to go yet to get to a good weight... The main difficulty I have is working out what to eat to stay heathy rather than just to lose weight.

It feels like there is a gap in the market for a good meal planning book aimed at those of us on WLIs. Most healthy meal planning advice (not just for those on diets actually) has a lot of focus on things that fill you up so you're not tempted by the unhealthy stuff. But we're already full! We're finding it tricky enough to eat three sensible meals a day so the last thing we need is foods designed to make you feel full!

I have noticed my hair getting a bit thin and my skin looking a bit crap, generally having less energy than pre-meds. I'm sure this is because I'm not getting enough protein but I don't understand how anyone manages it. E.g. yesterday I had bone broth for breakfast, tuna mayo on rye plus fruit for lunch, a high protein keffir snack, a slab of salmon with veg for dinner. I can't see how I could be more protein-focussed without resorting to ultra-processed shakes but I'm not getting near 120g a day.

What should I eat to get enough protein, nutrients and fibre in for the day? I'm loving the lack of food noise and ideally would just have what I need in for all my meals, eat mostly the same stuff on rotation, and not have to think about food at all for the foreseeable

Why do you need 120g of protein a day? Do you weigh 120 to 150kg? I can’t see that and being just overweight?

and have you tried biotin and marine collagen for your hair?

I'd go for a wide variety of fresh veg, whole grains, fish and lean meat.

Keep it simple and home cooked....fish pie, grilled fish, chicken breasts etc. risottos, soups and stews that allow you to incorporate lots of veg. Fruit & cream for desserts.

And take a multivitamin to support Vit D levels.

You've made me realise I've been aiming for an arbitrary figure that is way too high! Thank you! Somehow the 1.2g per kg recommended on R4 sliced bread programme morphed into 120g in my head (I blame low calorie brain fog) and I've been looking at my diet wondering how can anyone manage that...

Listen to the Zoe podcasts. Has all the latest guidance on nutrition. If you want an actual book Tim Spector has a new cookbook.

I really like this website and what she puts on Facebook and Instagram

https://hungryhealthyhappy.com/

Go for 0.75 to 1g per kg of body weight,

and take biotin and marine collagen supplements for your hair.

I actually really love the Midlife Kitchen cookbook by Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice - it's a few years old now so you can pick it up for a couple of pounds. It's pitched for recipes that are packed with nutrition and health-focused, but because it's not a weight-loss cookbook it doesn't have that focus on "volume" eating like some weight loss cookbooks can be.

As I weigh around 120kg, I am meant to aim to hit 120g. Which is doable when you focus on it, and often supplemented by shakes / clear protein whey / Greek yoghurt. For example I might have a huel which is 35g, or a peach tea clear whey which is 20g, and some yoghurt in the evening after dinner.

I am definitely considering getting some protein powder. I don't like to eat much meat for environmental reasons which makes it difficult to hit the protein

I've always found it difficult to get enough protein in within the calories specifically