Is this a reasonable food diary?

[FloatyFlo]

I'm overweight by three stone. I'm unfit, kinda (okay a lot) lazy, fatigued all the time and just generally feeling shite.

I've really come to a point where I've just had enough. I've tried diets before and obviously failed. I am a massive binge eater. I eat for boredom, stress, comfort, whatever.

I'm not going to calorie count. Or weigh food. I get too restrictive and obsessive and then end up failing and going on a binge.

I've been reading 'Never binge again' by Glenn livingstone which has definitely enabled me to reflect on why I overeat and given me some mental positivity to tackle it.

Here is my food diary for the past three days. Where could I improve? What am I missing? Is this good enough to lose some weight? I've been drinking lots of water.

Friday -

Breakfast - Crunchy nut cornflakes with blue milk, An apple and a black coffee (no sugar)

Lunch - Broccoli and Stilton soup, 2 soup lies of toast (white bread - I know I know!) Cucumber and tomatoes.

Dinner - Pasta with Salad (Mixed leaf lettuce, Toms, cucumber, spoonful of colslaw)

(Evening - 4 double gins with lemonade, BAD IDEA as I ate a slice of quiche and a chunk of pork pie after) I don't actually often drink but if I do have a couple of glasses I will make sure I've got something healthy to snack on after -lesson learned!)

Saturday

B - Crunchy nut cornflakes and black coffee

L - Broccoli and Stilton soup
2 toast and salad

D - Vegetable pizza with Salad, beetroot and hummus.

After dinner - a banana and few strawbs

Sunday
B- 2 boiled eggs, 2 toast, rocket and small sprinkle of grated cheese.

L- Slice of vegetable pizza and a banana

D - One Youngs gasto basa fillet with new pots, broccoli, sweetcorn and roasted tomatoes

Breakfast today - I've got shot of the sugary cereal and had overnight oats with grated apple, half a banana, a spoonful of peanut butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

So this is really a starting point. It's a massive improvement on my usual diet which in a day before was - 2 cheese & ham toasties at mid morning, crisps and cake mid afternoon, burger and chips for dinner with heaps of choclate and biscuits in the eve. No water. Sugary coffee and coke throughout the day. Not a fruit or veggie in sight.

Even if I get no replies, I just need to get this down somewhere. So it's helping me all the same.

Once I can crack thsee terrible food habits and I can start to look at my exercise!

I have full-fat Greek yoghurt with a huge handful of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Halfwitpicker Yes! That porridge this morning kept me going until lunch! Didn't feel the need to snack at all.

Been a week today. Weighed myself this morning and I've lost 2.5lbs. I had a few days where I had terrible headaches but yesterday and today they've eased off and feeling much better. I did wonder if it was some sort of sugar withdrawal!

Been easing off the carbs which has been easier than I thought. Dinners are the hardest meal I find with that though. Been working in lots of lean protein and veg. Breakfast this morn was Greek yog and berries and a sprinkle of granola. Was bloody delicious. Yesterday was two poached eggs with spinach and grilled mushroom and tomatoes. I need variety to keep me going else the butter and crumpets call me!

Have been measuring and weighing a bit to watch portion sizes. I wasn't far off at all beforehand.

It's all rubbing off on DP too which is good. He is slim as anything but eats lots of junk. I think he knows it won't last forever so has been following my lead a little.

Feeling positive and more in control. Visited a friend yesterday evening who pulled out the chocolate biscuits and jusy didn't feel tempted. Quite happy with just a cup of black tea and a catch up.

When I say DP knows it won't last forever, I mean him being able to eat what he likes without piling on pounds. Slim doesn't mean healthy right! And he is concerned about it all catching up. Not just weight wise but health wise too. Neither of us fancy a later life full of diabetes and heart problems.

Ah shit. Name change fail there!

Well done op!! Great start!!
Will be weighing myself tomo, even when I had a PT I didn't lose 2.5!!

I'm doing low carb bootcamp and I actually really enjoy the food but I lost 3 stone in 6 months before this and I wasn't doing low carb. I just massively reduced my "heavy carb" intake. I would only eat a small amount of rice once a week, a small amount of wholemeal pasta once a week, 1 sandwich a week and 1 slice of toast. It made a big difference.

I would check your portion size. You don't need to count all the time. But for example a portion of rice is about 60g (I think its 58g), I would weigh your normal portion to see if it's about that. Most people I know serve double that.

Of and porridge is perfectly nice with a tiny bit of FF milk and the rest water!

3stonedown 3 stone in 6 months is simply amazing! I looked at the low carbon bootcamp albeit briefly. I was a little put off by the zero fruit thing? I enjoy fruit. I'm not replacing every sugary thing I would have had with fruit but it does help when I feel like I need something sweet as it stops me craving choc/biscuits/cake. I'd love to hear more about how you went and out losing weight. What's was your exercise routine like? I've been focusing on my diet so far but am looking to get moving more. I've been walking the dog for longer, had a couple of short bike rides and I've dusted off the weights

^ bloody wrong username again!

Aaah and again! 😂

Well done for ditching surgary cereal- id swap the pasta and the soup around- so pasta (wholemeal pasta) for lunch then soup for dinner- instead of bread maybe try those Krisprolls or Crispbread- that's like 19 cals per slice and is really nice!! swap white bread for seeded- its WAY nicer anyway. Ditch the blue milk straight away go for red or green- or soya- soya milk is amazing!!! Carbs aren't BAD- white carbs and that are but you will still loose weight with portion controlled wholemeal healthy carbs. Good luck!!xx

Sounds like a good start OP.

I would just like to add my voice to the suggestions of low carb. I have been on a low carb diet for a few years after developing diabetes (which has now been reversed completely due to low carbing).

I wanted it to be an easy way of eating so never worried too much about carb counting, I just stick to the principle of plenty of protein and fats (which fill you up and really, really reduce your appetite over time) and generally low carb. For me that means cutting out obvious carbs, ie sugary foods, pasta, bread and potatoes. Anything I buy has to be ideally in the single figures for total carbs - below 5% is even better but very restrictive.

My biggest tip is to just replace the potato or pasta part of a meal with more of the other stuff - so just a bigger portion of veg, salad, meat or whatever.

And for quick lunches and snacks, I have lots of instant soups and cheese portions in the fridge.

THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH CARBS! God I hate the carb vitriol. Carbs are our bodies preferred source of fuel. Oats, whole grains, even rice are healthy and great sources of nutrition. Cut the cakes and biscuits maybe but don’t tar all carbs with the same brush.

Please pick up the book The Wellness Rebel - it’s full of some proper science from a biochemist/nutritionist.

You are eating way too much sugar /simple carbs. Stop the crunchy but immediately. Swap for unsweetened muesli or porridge. Swap white bread for brown. Likewise keep all pasta/pizza etc wholeweat not white.

Oh and don't go for skimmed milk. It is a con. It is less filling but has pretty much the same calorie content (milk really isn't high fat too begin with).

That's a great start OP. Well done.

I'm not low carb officially but I do try and restrict it to once a day. I had bread with breakfast so lunch will be a chicken salad, no carbs and no potato wedges for me at dinner

Have you read the thread Racecardriver?

No need to shout Kirsten

We're just sharing ideas and opinions on here and mine happens to work for me. A few years ago I was a little overweight and was diabetic. Eating low carb has meant my blood sugar is now consistently in the normal range and I have dropped to a healthy weight and stayed there.

Carbs are our bodies preferred source of fuel

That's not necessarily a good thing though.

3 stone in 6 months sounds like loads but I was 16.5st so I think it comes off easier when you are that big

I was eating fruit though! I am doing bootcamp currently as I fancy a mix up and something to help me shift the last 1.5stone. hides from fellow bootcampers as I praise fruit but even on bootcamp you can have some fruit after the first 2 weeks if you go onto bootcamp light.

Exercise wise I started walking a lot more and doing 15 min of a little routine each day but after 3 months I started to C25k and now I run 5k 3/4 times a week and I've added in things as I go along. I do a fair bit now probably works out to be a solid hour of good exercise a day.

Sorry BadTasteFlump! I just get so frustrated at the unscientific vilification of carbs, and the fact so many people then turn to diets of bacon and cheese instead. A diet of mainly plants (not exclusively plants) is really so much better for our microbiomes, hearts and bowels. Most people in this country eat nowhere near enough fibre and it’s seriously detrimental to health.

I did low carb a few years ago. Got v depressed suddenly, it was quite scary. Started eating carbs again, and lo and behold, felt immediately better.

I believe that its the processed carbs that are the main culprit. If anyone stops them completely its almost guaranteed weight loss. Most people can't though - at least not 100%.

Vegetables, rice, fruit etc I think are all fine carbs in my view .

I get miserable on low carb too. I’d much rather eat lentil soup or a big salad with feta and beetroot or new potatoes or brown rice with veg curry.
I can still lose weight eating that kind of food.
The important thing is you find a way of eating that works for you and you can maintain it.

Oh I get the opposite with low carb. Loads of energy and feel fantastic because I've lost or am losing weight. Plus get to eat a load of really yummy food without calorie counting or portion control.

It's a shame it doesn't work for you both, but at least you've both found a way to eat that keeps your weight stable and healthy and makes you happy.

It really is a personal thing.

Most (not all) people I know who followed low carb, pile the weight back on as they go mad for carbs later.

This. Unless you are maintaining a low carb diet forever then 'low carb diets' are simply a temporary fix.