What we ate today in a calorie deficit - whole food edition (and how do we feel?)

[thenewaveragebear1983]

I am on a long running ‘what we ate today’ thread, but I am currently trying to cut out ultra processed foods and Eat a (mostly) whole food diet. Mainly because I am really suffering with a looooooong list of minor ailments that are not independently any issue but as a collective, they are really dragging me down. My plan is to do the next 30 days (barring a weekend away) and to see if I notice any improvements, while also sticking to my calorie and exercise goals.

Hi keep forgetting to post!

B fat free Greek yogurt strawberries raspberries and blueberries
L pea and ham soup slice of sourdough
D not sure yet….. lacking inspiration!

Strawberries,raspberries and banana with Greek yogurt and walnuts

tomato,avocado,butter bean and feta salad

smoked salmon,mixed salad and new potatoes
dark chocolate frozen cherries x3
blood orange

Overnight oats
Salad with chevre - it was the best thing I could find at a fastfood chain, it was quite good with kale, lentils, onion iceberg lettuce and quinoa.
Stir fry with squid, green papaya, carrot, savoy cabbage, onion and ginger sauce with arrowroot noodles.

Snacks: coffee with oat milk, matcha with oat milk, winegums, lemon cake (we were out most of the day) 180 ml of sake.

2480 kcal. I’ve done LM BodyAttack, first time since pregnancy. It feels great to get the post-workout endorphins flowing again.

Bit of a weird food day today. I had a banana before running, and a couple of coffees. Then for brunch I had a few bits of leftover bbq meat from yesterday, with salad and fried egg and hummus. The bbq meat was seasoned/coated so probably lots of UPF. Then we just walked to the local park and I had an ice cream, again, mega UPF. (If I’m right, ice cream is one of the most heavily ultra processed foods that are not overtly UPF because there’s so much in it to stop it melting/collapsing/freezing solid etc)

so anyway, the upshot is I had lots of UPF today. However dinner will be chicken thighs, salad and new potatoes.

pub lunch with family today so roast chicken and lots of veggies

hot cross bun and pitta chips for dinner 🤦🏽‍♀️

i have made a mistake and ordered some protein shakes including a greens drink but I think I would have been better sticking with real food. Will have to use them up now.

bf cheese and herbs omelette
lunch protein shake
dinner roast chicken, parsnips, peas, broccoli and a few roast potatoes.

snack latte and strawberries

Yesterday:

Overnight chia pudding with kefir, other seeds and strawberries (frozen), banana.

Very hot Buldak (so unprocessed 😄) with wakame, fennel, tofu and sprouted radish.

Seafood paella - my DC favourite dish because it features in Zelda Breath of the Wild. Prawns, squid, brown rice, saffron, tomato, garlic, green papaya, onion, yellow pepper and brussel sprouts. I add whatever vegetables I have at home.

Snacks: two coffees with oat milk, donut, Tweek gummies, homemade kombucha.

2217 kcal, recovery day - no exercise.

@CortieTat i wish breath of the wild would encourage my dc to eat seafood paella - it is my dh’s favourite though! I t tried shapes but thibk I am too fat and unfit! I will aim to try it once a week and see if I can get through the full 15 minutes!

bf protein shake and 1 egg fried with courgette ribbons
snack - latte on a walk
Lunch - I made chicken broth and used leftovers from yesterday’s roast to make risotto for family. I used some of the stock and leftover chicken to make myself a sort of broth/ soup with asparagus, spinach, carrots, spring onion, lemon and parsley. I put 200g of chicken in and needed a nap after so think it was protein overload! This kept me full until now, so I am fasting but beginning to feel peckish.

1000 cals but burned 2000 - today has been my first on target low calorie day, although I have been consistently in a deficit.

I’ve not had a particularly healthy weekend, in fact, it’s been ridiculously unhealthy and I feel dreadful now, really over-sugared and kind of restless. My face has been really sore today, probably a sign of inflammation returning after eating junk. I feel very tired, all these long weekends (I have a non working day every other Monday due to condensed hours so I have not worked a full week in weeks!) and busy home life, everything is all up in the air.

anyway, this week I’m going back to basics. My period is due so that is always hard, plus I’m not starting from a good baseline. I weighed this morning and I’m a pound down this week, even despite not really being on plan. Plus i ran over 30km this week which is a big increase on miles.

tomorrow, my menu will be:
coffee, hot water with lemon
I’m going to fast til lunch, more out of the lack of shopping than anything else.
lunch will be a simple salad with chicken, new potatoes and tomatoes, and homemade mayo. I need to make a determined effort to drink more water this week and focus on getting my veg in.
not sure what dinner will be tomorrow- I have mince in the fridge so probably something with that.

Strawberries,raspberries,Greek yogurt and walnuts

butter bean ,pickled red onions,tomato,asparagus and feta salad

asian beef mince,rice and peas
frozen chocolate strawberry

I checked what they had on YT and it’s the glute part from Shapes #4 that makes the most of the free workout. I agree it’s very challenging (and it still hurts a lot after doing it for close to two years). There are 6x2 Shapes workouts in the app (6 end with a power yoga set and 6 with a more traditional strength training) and they are progressively more difficult so showing a part of #4 for free is a bit mean!

There’s a whole free series on YouTube called POP Pilates, I did it regularly before I subscribed to Les Mills. It’s free and I remember there were lots of different levels. The instructor was a bit annoying but I enjoyed it and it got me reasonably fit.

I like Caroline Girvan, she has a couple of 30 day strength programmes on YouTube, they are tough but they are effective, and you don’t have to do anywhere near the weights she uses.

@CortieTat thats actually a bit of a relief! Will check out pop Pilates, thanks.

@thenewaveragebear1983 i have read lots of good things about Caroline Garvin so will also have a look at these. I actually did half of an old weights dvd workout as well, and found it a lot more tricky than I remembered! I didn’t finish the workout as I got a back twinge while doing some chest press type thing lying down. I don’t want to end up injured and unable to exercise at all so going to err on the side of caution. But i think I need to start actually completing workouts and making them work by modifying, and light weights are a good idea.

@mikethom81 🙄

😆

It a muscle hypertrophy kind of workout so it has to burn - the burning feeling is tiny damages happening to muscle fibres - our body repairs them and that’s how they grow. I have been doing all twelve Shapes regularly since they were first released (around two years ago) with a break from 22 weeks of pregnancy and they still burn 🔥. The best approach IMO is to find a workout that you can finish but at the same time is challenging enough, so you are tired afterwards.

Yesterday I had:

Overnight oats with kefir, seeds and a banana.

This: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mushroom_chickpea_and_71193 - leftovers from the other day

S&B Japanese curry with beef, carrots, potatoes and daikon. This dish is my DC favourite and it’s so unbelievably full of UPF that once cooked it looks exactly like the photo on the box 😅. The taste takes me straight back to 1985 and the school hot lunches.

Snacks: I’ve been exceptionally good, maybe because the baby had a great night. Two coffees with oat milk, chocolate mousse made of avocado, banana, 50 ml of oat milk, raw cocoa and 4 grams of honey. Highly recommended. 4 mini Lindor eggs (20g)

2151 kcal. 7 km walk with baby and LM Shapes.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs (3), spinach, tomato, kale, onions and a lot of hot sauce

Lunch: chicken breast, sautéed peppers, onions and courgettes

Snack: mixed leaves with 70% less salad cream (very random but I am CRAVING salad cream)

Dinner: will be a chicken and prawn stir fry - I will go light on the noodles

If I fancy a sweet treat I will have some raspberry sorbet but will try to resist or just have a few table spoons with some berries and yoghurt

Similarly to yesterday I have had a big lunch and skipped dinner

BF. Leftover cooked salmon, spinach and a sadly overcooked poached egg.

lunch roasted peppers and courgettes with sweet potato and chicken, and a blob of fresh pesto.

snack latte and super greens powder (spirulina and stuff!)

I found a 15 minute beginner Pilates workout that I managed to get to the end of! Also did a bit of running/walking on treadmill as my steps are lower than usual.

I had a good day up until dinner time and it all well to shit 🤣 I’m really tired and frazzled after being at the office and I feel hormonal and dehydrated. No excuse really. Will try again tomorrow.

Yesterday was-
berries,Greek yogurt and a crumbled walnut
bacon and Brie sandwich ( out with a friend and very poor options available)
tomatoes and burrata
today will be -
mango ,berries and Greek yogurt
tomato,avocado and feta salad
pork loin chop with herb butter,jersey royals and asparagus
Ive lost 5 lb in two weeks and really thrilled after months of being in denial about how much I was eating and blaming it solely on Hrt .
this thread keeps me accountable
thanks Op

Yesterday:

Overnight oats, same as usual

Hot Buldak (they come in packs of 5) with tofu, wakame seaweed, savoy cabbage and fennel. Had to eat while standing with DC in a wrap.

Medium vegetarian Domino’s on thin dough. Tuesday is the day when we don’t have time to cook.

Snacks: two coffees with oat milk, winegums, 4 Lindor mini eggs, beetroot juice with ginger.

2496 kcal. 5 km hike with baby (pushing the pram uphill with the baby in a carrier was not the best idea but at least I had a free workout. LM Body Balance, done 45 minutes only because DC woke up and was hungry.

Had a wedding tasting for my British Indian friend’s wedding.

GORGEOUS food.

I skipped breakfast knowing I was going to stuff myself.

Having a lighter dinner of tomato soup as I’m still a bit stuffed.

I’ve tried really hard to get back onto the no UPF wagon today. I’ve been really really hungry all day!
breakfast I ate a banana and a piece of chicken
lunch I had a big salad, a tin of tuna and homemade mayo, an apple
dinner I made bolognese with no UPF ingredients, served with pasta and a bit of grated cheese.

i prepped a few bits so I roasted a chicken (ate some delicious hot crispy chicken skin as well 😋) and some boiled eggs, I stripped the meat off the chicken and made a coronation mayo with it so I have that for tomorrow.

I’m at the point in my cycle where I feel incredibly bleak and depressed, unfortunately this happens to me every month and the world seems/feels almost too much to cope with. Usually I hide behind food to comfort me through it but I’m determined not to this month. I went for a run this morning and really pushed myself, and am just trying to be positive because I know this will pass. My aches and pains are still there as well, my rib pain is quite burning today. I have had a recurring breast cyst two months running but touch wood it has not returned this month, although it normally comes day 26 of my cycle so a few more days to go.

anyway. Tomorrow is a new day, my food is sorted and I’m going to try to run again in the morning.

Breakfast was 5 water biscuits with Philadelphia light, smoked salmon and cucumber. Coffee with oat milk and collagen powder

Skipped lunch

Dinner was yoghurt with banana and strawberries

Snack was a slice of Soreen

I've not had much of an appetite today

@thenewaveragebear1983 hopefully a couple of non upf days will see your pain reducing again. I’m very admiring of your planning skills!

Lots of yum food everyone! My days get a bit repetitive- partly as dh has lots of things he can’t eat.

I ate quite a lot today, but weirdly just as hungry!

BF skyr with warmed apple and seeds, plus egg & egg white omelette with a little cheese (I like to get organic eggs but dh likes carton egg whites because he is worried about cholesterol, but they really stick to the pan and the taste a bit yuck if the ratio is off).

lunch - stir fry vegetables with roasted salmon and a little quinoa and usual lemon and fresh herbs.

Dinner - Turkey steaks with spices and butternut squash, greens, leeks, potato, carrots

snacks - squ dark chocolate, latte, protein shake blended with ice, coffee and almond milk.