Clean eating starts today-anyone want to join me?

[DirtonthePlough]

I am pushing maximum density and eating too much crap in the way of highly processed foods. I had a bad Asda cinnamon swirl addiction because it was so easy to go in there when I passed each week day on the return school run. I'd eat them as a second breakfast/lunch. My intake of fruit and vegetables has been piss poor and I'm a vegetarian 🤦‍♀️ Breakfast is usually oatcakes with a tiny bit of butter and damson jam, cinnamon swirls for brunch, more oatcakes around 2pm, dinner... well sometimes I eat it, sometimes it's more oatcakes at 9pm with a couple of kitkats or cereal bars around when dinner should be. I'm disgusted with myself and bloated and miserable about it. I have IBS, chronic gastritis, endometriosis and have had more courses of steroids and antibiotics for my asthma over the past two years than I've had healthy dinners. All in all my insides are a mess. Despite this I think of myself as quite healthy! I'm very active walking around 40 miles per week up and down big hills. It's a 6 mile round trip walk to take my Dd horse riding and I have no trouble doing that even on a roasting hot day. I'm rarely still but despite all my physical efforts I have far too much body fat.
So, it's time for a reboot. I've been reading about ultra processed foods and want to cut out the crap from my diet and am hoping for others to join me. I've made a good start today: breakfast: sourdough toast, butter, tea
Lunch: organic rhubarb yogurt, muesli, raspberries and strawberries. I haven't enjoyed a lunch in so long.

I love fruit but have to be in the mood for it. I'm planning a mumsnet style salad for dinner 🤣

I'm proud of no snaking and no cinnamon swirls today. I've had lots of water too. That's all I usually drink anyway apart from my morning cup of tea.

My overall plan is more fruit and veg and no ultra processed food/ones with long ingredient lists.

Anyone up for joining me?

Can I join please? Twins last year, have a toddler and next big life change is on the horizon. I feel sluggish, hot and my nearly three year old prodded my belly this morning and said 'awww, nice big tummy.'

I have about a month to get back into better habits and clean eating feels like the place to start. Although I ate bad sugary muesli this morning as I have bags of it in our drawers bought as an an emergency pregnancy blood sugar hack and now expiring!

Kelly's ice cream 😍😍 one of my faves!

Hi @JennyForeigner
At least your baby said your belly is nice! Could of been worse.
Is the museli no added sugar and salt? Just wondered as I've been eating museli myself thinking it was good for me.

Technically, he said it was 'big tummy, nice cuddle' 😶

I don't want to get into trouble with the muesli marketing board or anything - this is not very nice Tesco muesli which turned out to be packed with sugar and milk powder.

Aww that's cute 😍@JennyForeigner
I'm pretty sure I have the same museli. Well I need to rethink that one. To be fair it's the first time I've checked the sugar content. I thought it was low because it says no added sugar.

I have a squishy tummy that ds loves to hug. I have the Dorset cereals simply fruity muesli. The sugar content is 20% but it's my way of getting fruit and fibre down me without too much effort. There's 40g of sugar in 2 cinnamon swirls by contrast, all of it added sugar rather than naturally occurring sugars like that in dried fruit. There's some added sugar but I'm not a sugar is the devil type person. Good job as one bowl of muesli and my yogurt takes me over the recommended daily intake.

I feel for you OP, diets are so hard when you have young kids, I've found this over and over. Also feel you on the muesli, so many cereals are labelled healthy when they are defo NOT.

From what you say, I wonder if it could be the case that you're not eating enough filling foods like protein and eggs and vegetables? That could be why you find yourself tired/hungry, reaching for the sugar - and then getting into a cycle of craving it?

If that sounds like you I really sympathise. I got heavily into eating sweet/ sugary things from having young babies and little sleep... but ultimately, it just made me feel exhausted, gain weight and feel rubbish! I learned that I really needed that wholefood energy when I was running around after kids. If I don't get that energy from proper whole foods I end up reaching for the cinnamon rolls too... or sugary yoghurt or whatever it is... because I feel exhausted and need an easier fix.

The sort of foods you're describing eating are still high in sugar (that Rachel's organic yoghurt is lovely but it's 14 per cent sugar which is like a digestive biscuit so should be like a treat or a pudding). Those foods also don't have a high satiety value, which means they won't fill you up like eggs for breakfast, or steak with veg, or a jacket potato would. They are more likely to make you crave more sugar.

I know it's personal... you may find those foods agree with you better than they did me... but in my experience trying to lose weight after having kids, they were not helpful. I have just had to accept that any fruit flavoured yoghurts even if "organic" as well as granola and other cereals (marketed as "healthy" even when they have 20 per cent sugar) are OK occasionally, or for small treats after a filling meal (when they'll spike your blood pressure less) but definitely not for every day. If you eat them often, especially if you eat them on their own rather than as a dessert, your insulin (the hormone that makes you store body fat) will spike and you'll likely gain weight. Any white bread - even sourdough - will do the same as the flour is highly processed. This podcast is really interesting on the science of it.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3u2f2Rgtmp4QeXhjCGnILt?si=GeieDKLxTX6AkXtpi_W4pw