My (poor) diet is making me ill!

[Ilovemyview]

I've got to get a grip and pay more attention to my health and wellbeing.
I need to lose weight as I'm 3 stone overweight.
I usually cook decent food but its becoming more and more of an effort as I've got stuck in a cycle of poor diet, probably lack of nutrients and so no energy so reaching for easy food like bread, crisps and croissants.

I'm really feeling the effects of this awful diet as I'm irritable and can't be bothered to do anything. Everything seems like its too much effort. I feel like I'm just trudging along, doing the minimum. My house is messy and my laundry basket is overflowing.
I know its diet related as when I do make an effort, I feel a million times better and can get things done.

I don't understand why I do what I do when I know what I know and I know I have to sort myself out.

Is anyone else in the same situation and want to do this with me?

Its too daunting for me to do any drastic overhauling. I'm thinking of increasing my fruit and veg intake so I'm getting at least 5 a day (I'm lucky if I currently get 1!) and increasing water to 8 glasses a day and cutting down on wheat to only once a day and cutting down sugar to once a day (apart from fruit)

Give yourself a break, dieting is hard enough without adding in the extra of cooking the stuff.

Can you afford M and S fuller longer meals? Or their healthy salads? They're about 400-500 calories, cost between £3 and £5.

Chock full of lentils, pomegranate seeds, posh lettuces that would just wilt in my fridge if I had to buy the individual ingredients.

I would love to just have a fridge of meals ready but I cook for the children and dh anyway.
But the meals would be good for lunch. I love M&S food!

Ok, so that's lunch for you sorted.

And breakfast can be those instant porridges? M and S and shhhhh... McDonald's do them I've driven through the drive through loads of times just to get porridge and the day off to a good start.

So if you do the cooking at home is it normally pretty healthy for the family anyway? Meat/potatoes/2 or 3 veg?

If bread and stodge leave you feeling really meh I would recommend low carbing. I'm not low carbing officially but I find not eating bread makes a massive difference to me.

I second the suggestion of low carbing, but think you should go one step further!

COMPLETELY remove grains from your diet for a time - 30 days. And see how that makes you feel. I can pretty much guarantee that, as you feel pretty "meh" on your current diet, you will feel worse for about 4 days (carb flu) and then feel fantastic.

These foods really affect your mood as well as your blood sugar, and we crave them so much - all of which makes weight loss and healthy eating very difficult in the long term. Especially with gluten containing grains, eating none at all is so much easier than eating some (I speak for experience!).

30 days is not long, try it and see, you may be really surprised at how easy it is after you are over the initial withdrawal from grains/sugar.

If you want to read a bit more about grain free diets, there are lots of free blogs with good info, one of the clearest, and most sensible is "Marks Daily Apple", its a great place to get started if you want to give it a go.

I second the suggestion of low carbing, but think you should go one step further!

COMPLETELY remove grains from your diet for a time - 30 days. And see how that makes you feel. I can pretty much guarantee that, as you feel pretty "meh" on your current diet, you will feel worse for about 4 days (carb flu) and then feel fantastic.

These foods really affect your mood as well as your blood sugar, and we crave them so much - all of which makes weight loss and healthy eating very difficult in the long term. Especially with gluten containing grains, eating none at all is so much easier than eating some (I speak for experience!).

30 days is not long, try it and see, you may be really surprised at how easy it is after you are over the initial withdrawal from grains/sugar.

If you want to read a bit more about grain free diets, there are lots of free blogs with good info, one of the clearest, and most sensible is "Marks Daily Apple", its a great place to get started if you want to give it a go.

, sorry about double post!

Wow marks daily apple is incredible. That gorgeous german/Scottish couple list shed loads of weight - and neither if them exactly fat to start with.

I need to look into this - apart from rice and pasta neither of my kids are all that crazy about carbs anyway. And I can always cook them a separate portion.

Please don't make me low carb. I've tried it and can't do it

Yes you can. I keep thinking that too. Lets try it together.

I'm looking through Marks Daily Apple though and it looks good. Too hardcore for a wimp like me though.

LaurieFairyCake yes, I cook healthy meals for the family. Anything from roasts with veg to currys and rice (today I am making dahl and cauliflower curry with rice).
If I make shepherds pie or lasagne, I put loads of veg in with the mince.
I've just got into a rut at the moment.
I often end up eating so much crap in the day that I'm not even hungry when it comes to dinner. In fact I think its like that every day at the moment.
Yesterday I cooked a Spanish style salmon, pepper, potato and tomato stew which everyone had and I hardly touched it because I'd eaten so much bread and pastries.
Its stupid.

Ilove paleo/primal DOESN'T have to be low carb - not particularly anyway, ditch the grains and increase fat and protein from natural foods and you will lose weight, but more slowly if you eat more fruit and starch veg.

It's all about blood sugar and your hormones and the effect on your hunger levels and cravings. If you take away the grains and sugars that mess those up, everything else falls into place

Chubb, that's what I do - cook the same food for the whole family, but the kids and Dh get a bit of white rice if they fancy it.

Btw, I was previously the biggest wheat/grain addict (and I probably actually was both allergic and addicted to them)... And now I don't eat any grains at all with the exception of white rice on a rare occasion. Sometimes I miss it, but I don't miss the constant pain, lethargy, headaches etc! And I don't miss the 6.5 stones I've lost either!!!

It is my opinion that those of us who think we can't live without bread/pasta etc are the ones who desperately need to kick it right out of our lives .

If you can make your meals 20% carb and the rest protein you should see a different without cutting out carbs completely.

6.5 stone. My god that is awesome. I've lost three and am in a major plateau to get the last 1.5 off. 10lbs would get my BMI down to 24.5 but I want to look as amazeballs as a 35 year old can.

I am also on a bit of a plateau... Probably have about 15-20lbs to lose, and it's slowed to about a pound a month. I have had several plateaus, maybe it's quite normal, your body adjusting to a new way of life.

Mostly I don't care, it would be nice if it was faster but I don't really want to mess with what is keeping me healthy and happy! I think I'm just reaching a new equilibrium?

I think I need to keep eating the same, but boost my activity levels a bit!

Come and have a look at 5:2
it involves free access to carbs at weekends

I'd try Paleo - you're encouraged to eat food which contains the maximum amount of nutrition density, staying off food that frequently cause dips and spikes in blood sugar levels...it will help your body feel better, you'll lose cravings, have more energy and most people lose weight as a bonus. Mark's Daily Apple is a great place to start.

porridge is a good filling breakfast. A big bag is about a pound from a supermarket and takes the same time as the instant stuff at a twentieth of the cost.