Can you help me with my diet?

[InstructionsUnclear]

I don’t like fish and I only really like chicken breast but not really. I used to eat quorn but I’m unsure about it now due to all the UPF stuff.

I was having porridge with nuts and fruit or Greek yoghurt with kefir, nuts and fruit or a fruit and veg smoothie with hemp protein, Greek yoghurt and kefir in the morning but I’ve been told to have a savoury breakfast to help stabilise blood sugar. So I’m going to start having them for lunch or dinner instead.

So todays food:

1 slice of Wholemeal toast with avacado, tomatoes and an egg.

some oatcakes with hummus

homemade vegetable pasty

a wholemeal wrap with lots of salad, a vegetable patty and cheese

This feels too carby? But as I don’t like meat or fish, not sure what to switch out where? Other meals this week have been wholemeal pasta with vegetable ratatouille, veggie sausage and sweet potato mash with veg.

Still really carb heavy. I need to lose some weight around My middle.

I do light exercise but I know it’s good that has the biggest impact.

Im going to have vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow and then lentils with tomatoes, spinach and feta for dinner, is that better?

Do you mean all meat and fish, are you vegetarian?

Lentils and pulses have some protein in them but not that high.

Tofu? I was recommended this by my nutritionist

Im still finding my way with it, I cant quite get it to be really delicious but I am still practicing. Also someone posted a recipe receently for a chocolate mousse made with silken tofu, looked really easy, I havent tried it yet though

You need a calorie deficit. However you achieve that, you will lose weight. Use something like MyFitnessPal to record everything you eat and drink for a week to get a grip on what you're actually consuming. Then work out your TDEE and from there you can figure out how many calories to have to lose weight. Is that medical advice to have a savoury breakfast?

Well I will eat chicken if eating with family or something. I don’t like it but I don’t it to be easy!

I’ve tried tofu but it tasted terrible when I cooked it, I need to try again as I have enjoyed it when having it out.

Im trying to increase protein from other sources but it’s hard!

It’s from a glucose specialist but not directly to me! She has written a book.

The issue is the high carbs in my diet. I don’t know what to swap them for to form a meal if that makes sense?

I would agree with @MotherOfGodWeeFella. Focus on a calorie deficit rather than macros (protein, carbs etc). Once you have the hang of calorie counting you can monitor your protein and carb intake more effectively.

As the PPs say, mainly you need a calorie deficit.

You may not may not get on with a higher protein diet, but start with the deficit, a proper amount of veg and fruit, fibre and protein, and see how you get on.

Who told you you needed a savoury breakfast for your blood sugar?! There is protein and fat in the nuts and yogurt, so unless you are putting an entire fruit bowl on it you should be fine.

For meal ideas Google, "High protein vegetarian meals". You need to look at tofu, pulses, etc as sources of protein and don't forget wholegrains. M&S do high protein lentil noodles which are really good for stir fries or ramen. You don't need to be low carb.

Your list of what you've eaten has me wondering how many calories are in that rather than thinking it's too many carbs.

The glucose goddess isn't someone worth listening too in all honesty. Many people more qualified than her have debunked most of it.

She's seems to be quite adept at one truth and two lies.

Are you diabetic? Why are you so worried about carbs? If you want to lose weight you need a calorie deficit. You can achieve that by going properly low carb but that's not what you've got here. Otherwise focus on calories, if a large proportion come from carbs that's not a problem unless you're too hungry to maintain the deficit.

It really isn't necessary to exclude major food groups in order to lose weight.

There are lots of different diets and eating plans out there, but unless you're type 2 diabetic or pre-diabetic or have a thyroid problem, all you need is a calorie deficit.

I've lost 10lbs since starting a weight loss programme with the gym four weeks ago. The weight loss is down to restricting calories. My macros are 40% protein and 35% carbs. I.e. there's not that much in it.

You could try switching out your lunch for a salad, easier said than done I know, but if you like feta then a nice greek salad can be really filling.

Lentils, beans, mushrooms or squashes as the 'main feature' in a meal, rather than meat/ fish, all work well.

I've also been told by my PT to have a savoury breakfast for blood sugar. I do it a couple of times a week but to be honest it's not convenient for me, especially as I don't eat eggs, so it always ends up being carby. I tend to stick to my yoghurt/ fruit/ nuts most days anyway. It's a healthy breakfast and fairly low sugar if it's just the fruit - it's not going to harm you - and I do think some of this blood sugar stuff is a bit of a fad.

Tofu is also a UPF.... just to point out if you are worried about quorn ;) Although I don't think it's as bad, I'm not sure. Veggie sausages, too.

Tofu is processed in the same way cheese is and none of the UPF loons consider cheese ultra processed.

The blood sugar thing is a total fad and seems to be the latest in a long line of nutritional silver bullets fed to the masses via books and diet plans.

@Vegetus Thanks, I had been wondering about whether tofu was as bad or not :) I imagine that veggie sausages/ veggie patties are probably not much better than quorn though.

@Vegetus Just did a quick bit of reserach on tofu as I was interested! It looks like tofu can be UPF or not UPF depending on the brand. Some have acidity regulators, flavourings and e-numbers added to them, some don't. Going for organic tofu is your best bet for a non-UPF version. I guess it's a bit like yoghurt and cheese as you say, which can have different degrees of processing.

That’s her, I couldn’t remember her name.

I didn’t realise a lot of the stuff she was saying and blood sugar stuff had been debunked. I confess I fall for a lot of stuff when it comes to health, I’m very susceptible and get so confused, I never know what is right. I’m not diabetic and I’m not trying to cut out a group, I just always hear that carbs should be lessened and protein increased.

I just feel awful all the time. I’m always tired and I think I look and feel like crap. I’ve had blood tests but there’s nothing my doctor can find so I’m trying to improve my health as much as possible so I get sucked in by anything - have this multivitamin, try this ‘diet’, do this exercise. I guess I am looking for that silver bullet, as someone mentioned.

Carbs are not bad for a start!

Unless you're diabetic or very close to it managing glucose is something your body does just fine and if you want to help it along increase your muscle mass as muscle tissue is like a sink for glucose.

Things like eating in a certain order make a tiny bit of difference but not worth worrying about for ordinary people and her book claiming the more spikes you have the sooner you die is just pure nonsense!

There is no silver bullet for any of this health and fitness stuff, find a way of eating that is sustainable for you and that you enjoy, mostly healthy with some fun stuff added in. Find a form of cardiovascular exercise you like add in some resistance training and you're grand.

You need far more protein.

Have eggs for breakfast. Make a frittata with butter beans and cheese. Or baked beans on toast (avo is high cal).

Snack - teaspoon peanut butter on oat cake. Or dates.

Dinner - mushrooms are not proteins! You need two types of protein each dinner and halve the carb portions. Protein yoghurts. Try and find a meat you can hide or tolerate - I eat wild venison in the winter as I'm ok cos it's been shot out in its natural habitat not slaughtered in an abattoir, and turkey in the summer cos they are my least favourite animal :)

Okay so for dinner I’m having mixed leaves, tomatoes. Cucumber, beetroot, tabouleh, a wholemeal pitta, hummus and a slice of Turkey. Does that sound okay?

Without seeing portion sizes it's impossible to say but a single slice of turkey isn't enough protein, you may feel like shite because your protein intake is so low and you're missing enough of the essential amino acids.

Bugger okay! I’ll do some research and look again

@bellac11 , I cut my tofu up and put it on grease proof paper in the oven with a little olive oil and bake it. It improves the texture no end. You could also try tempeh which you should steam before you cook.
@InstructionsUnclear , do you eat eggs? They are healthy and high protein. I mostly don’t have carbs with my meals now which takes a bit of getting used to although my meals can be lots of lentils and chick peas etc which is carby I just don’t then go and have rice, a wrap or potatoes as well.

The good news about that meal is that the bulghur wheat in the tabbouleh, the wholemeal pita and hummus all contain protein.

Not too bad really. I'd add some carrot, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes with your houmous, you can easily get some of your 5+ a day there.

I'd swap your pasty and wrap for something with puy lentils - the sachet ones are so convenient and quick. They do have carbs but nowhere near as many as pasta and are also great for fibre and protein.. You could have a warm salad with them with chopped up/stir fried veggies. I like blue cheese so would have some carefully weighed cubes of stilton and chopped up pear in it. Really quick dinner and tasty.

Try and have one meal a day without potatoes, bread, rice or pasta involved and it will soon cut your carbs. But it sounds like your protein elements are more limited than for some people so don't try to go too low on carbs and keep having the wholewheat versions.