Is this an awful diet?

[Supermagicsmile]

I know I have food issues and need to eat more healthily but I am so fussy it's a struggle.

Typical day:

Breakfast: ham sandwich with cucumber (eaten over sbout an hour at work)

Snack: yogurt, cheese stick and crisps

Lunch: work canteen, set meal but small portion e.g. Cottage pie and veg. Cake and custard for pudding.

Evening meal: Lasange and salad. Piece of cake for pudding.

I am not a big fan of fruit or veg, find evening meals the hardest as I'm so tired after work.

What do you do at the weekend or if you go on holiday?

It's not great, to be honest. Do you have two desserts every day?

Crisps every day is not good. Cake every day is not good. Cake twice a day is a bit alarming.

Crisps and two desserts every day is far from ideal. As an occasional thing, it'd be fine, but if it's an every day thing, then I definitely think your diet could do with improvement.

Sometimes the canteen doesn't have cake, but then I wouldn't have anything in it's place!

On holiday I eat all sorts

It’s a bit grim to be honest.

I think it's a bit much really, 3x meals plus snacks every day. But depends if you're happy with your weight/want to be healthier.

What do you want to change? How is your diet affecting you?

I’d say you need to up the veg and fruit and eat less processed food.

Not easy, but you’ll feel the better of it.

I want to be healthier. Just wish there was a way to do it without fruit and veg

Okay. Cut out the puddings, or at least reduce drastically. Snack on veg, fruit, nuts. Eat full-fat Greek yoghurt with chopped fruit or nuts - much healthier than sweetened yoghurts. Say no to crisps.

Try making your own lunches. Have a really big breakfast - porridge, omelettes, wholemeal toast with banana. Try smoothies made with frozen fruit and yoghurt.

All easier said than done!

Oh and make soups!

Just wish there was a way to do it without fruit and veg

There isn't though! You just have to learn to like them. Or dislike them but eat them anyway. (Or be unhealthy.)

I'm not a massive veg fan. I get around it by making stuff like beef stew and packing it with (using a mini chopper) onion and celery. Then larger chunks of mushroom and carrots plus tinned tomatoes
Pasta bake I add onion, sweet corn, tinned tomatoes etc
Any meal I eat I have with a bag of frozen micro veg
Bananas in my morning pancakes (egg and banana) and I have greek yoghurt with strawberries and raspberries

I don't necessarily like all the veg I eat, I eat it because it's important. I too would have an awful diet if I only ate foods I enjoyed!

Danceswithotters - Pudding! I do love a tangent....

Pudding if it's hot, dessert if it's cold.

Op - yes, cut out the puds and cakes.
Are there any fruit or veg you do like?

How are you with beans and lentils?

I like bananas and strawberries. Not much else tbh.

Goodness you must be constipated!

Rather than seeing food as something that must always be delicious, what about seeing it as fuel that is very important for your health. So it doesn’t matter if you don’t relish broccoli, but fact is - it’s bloosy good for you.

Initially drop one of the cakes for a bowl of sttabwrr is. Easy win. You’ll loose a bit of weight I reckon and that will be the start.

Good luck

Yep. Start switching the cakes for strawberries or banana. Maybe try a different new fruit or veg each day or so.

I don't think it's completely terrible - at least you're eating meals rather than randomly grazing on junk all day. That's a start, although I agree it's too much food generally and too much sugar and fat, not enough veg.

For first steps I'd say:

1. Ditch the crisps
2. Swap one of the puddings for fruit (banana or strawberries are fine)
3. Add an extra portion of veg to each meal, either on the side or as part of the recipe
4. Try to limit meat to once a day

Some simple ways to improve what you're eating might be:

• Keep convenient forms of vegetables at home, eg bagged salad, frozen micro-pouches, cherry tomatoes, good-quality fresh vegetable soups. These will make it easier to get your evening meal together and make sure it's healthy.

• Substitute beans for meat in recipes like stews, curries or casseroles, or do half-and-half.

• Eat fish and lean poultry instead of meat in some meals.

Once you give up the sugary things your taste begins to change. After the best part of 6 months on a low carb close to zero sugar diet veg tastes amazing, celery is a real treat and I just wolf down kale and salad etc. It is the taste of the processed foods that perverts our taste buds. Cut out the carbs and up the veg, before you know where you are you will be won over

Too much sweet stuff and crisps.