Help me get healthy, please?

DeVore

Ok, here's an interesting little idea.

I'm a single 37 year old man. Live in an apartment with some friends. Don't cook and have a woefully unhealthy lifestyle that I need to change, starting with my diet.

Unfortunately my idea of "healthy eating" is avoiding things that are individually wraped in celophane.

I'm not trying to become Mr World, I have a few pounds I could stand to lose but I'm only about 11.5 -12 stone so I'm not overweight by any stretch of the imagination.

My diet is astoundingly bad though. My typical meals include:
Pizza (Goodfellas or Fourstar)

Thai (fried noodles with everything)

Indian (Baltis, Kormas, Tandooris... very good quality take away though, the food is good but no veg just rice and the sauces are quite rich and creamy)

The occasional decently cooked meal (meat and two veg etc)...

I drink coffee 2-3 times a day, usually for breakfast. I eat a roll with pesto and smoked chicken for lunch or something similar. Occasionally a breakfast roll from centra.

Sweets, chocolates and fizzy drinks by the ton.

So, lately I have been trying to improve things. My coffee in the morning is now supplemented by an Innocent Smoothie and a large Bio Yogurt.
I'm taking some vitamins and trying to find some alternatives to all the take away food I eat for dinner.

My problem is that I don't really know what is good to eat and what isnt. I'm not looking to become a health food fanatic just to tip the scales towards the healthier end of the spectrum. Cooking isnt really an option, the only things I know how to cook are chillis (which I love) and chicken casarole which I don't mind. I really dont get a lot of time to cook though and the apartment isnt really set up for cooking either.

I can't be the only guy in this sort of predicament so I figured it would be useful for others to use me as an example...

Anyone willing to help?

DeV.

DeVore

ps: I've read the stickies (really great work G'em and Neuro!)

For my part I will report here periodically and honestly to let people know how things go and what changes I've made and when I fall off the wagon. Well, I'm not really getting ON the wagon. I'm kinda following the wagon. At a distance. But you know what I mean...

DeV.

Nevyn

I reckon there are a few simple things which even you can be taught to cook, even in that kitchen. What about soup and wholemeal bread ?

I would also suggest getting a fruit bowl for the table beside you and a nut bowl as well,
not just salted peanuts nuts, fill it with cashews, brazil nuts, vanilla flavoured sunflower seeds and dried fruits of your preference. All available in your local tescos and snack on them instead of sweets and lolipops. If you do give in to the sweet tooth then brush your teeth afterwards that way you are less likely to offend.

A little planning and taking the time to go shopping rather then hitting take aways and centra's/spars will make a big difference.

neuro-praxis

Well DeV, there are lots of things you can do without being much of a cook.

I would suggest that you start with some small changes. The first big hurdle is going to be breakfast - you probably don't really have one usually, am I right? But you really should. But it doesn't need to be painful - try to get into the habit of a couple of boiled or poached eggs on some wholewheat toast and a couple of kiwis or satsumas. On the weekends add some lean rashers, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms to this for a fry replacement. Have your coffee but have a glass of water too. Alternatively have a bowl of muesli topped with a nice Glenisk yoghurt. These give you a great start into the day.

Your lunch is not too bad, but there are no fruits or vegetables in it. How about having a salad alongside your sandwich, plus a piece of fruit (try a bowl of strawberries or grapes instead of the old apple), and a bottle of water?

In terms of not wanting to cook but wanting to eat more healthily, have a look in Marks & Spencers. They offer dishes of ready-to-cook vegetables, fish and meat (I do not mean processed stuff - I mean fresh ready-to-cook packages) and you can have a delicious, fresh home-cooked meal without any skill or effort at all in a very short time. I know M&S is expensive but it is cheaper than takeaway which you are eating anyway.

Try and cut your takeaways down to one night a week. This will be difficult no doubt but you will physically feel far better, and you will restore "treat mentality" so that you really, really enjoy your takeaway on that one night.

As for the sweets and crisps, this will probably be the hardest one to kick. Try replacement. Eat bags of dried fruits and nuts, small portions of really dark chocolate, good yoghurt and fresh fruit (melon, mango, kiwi) for snacks, and cut your rubbish intake to one thing a day to begin with, and then see if you can do without the rubbish over time.

Here are some easy tips to help you when making your food choices:

1. "Whole" is good. Wholewheat, wholegrain, wholemeal.
2. "Brown" is good. Brown bread, brown rice, brown pasta.
3. Fruit and veg can and should be eaten in large, regular portions.
4. Meat, fish and eggs are important protein sources. The "vegetarian option" does not necessarily mean the "healthy option".
5. Processed food, sweets and takeaways should receive "treat status", not be the norm.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

g'em

DeVore wrote: »

Anyone willing to help?

Absolutely, we're good like that

DeVore wrote: »

I'm a single 37 year old man. Live in an apartment with some friends. Don't cook and have a woefully unhealthy lifestyle that I need to change, starting with my diet.

Much easier than you think, I promise. Being single and in charge of your own kitchen is a massive help. You don't need to be "set up" to cook either. If you have a pot, a kettle and a cooker you've got everything you need.

DeVore wrote:

I'm not trying to become Mr World, I have a few pounds I could stand to lose but I'm only about 11.5 -12 stone so I'm not overweight by any stretch of the imagination.

Whatever about the weight aspect, I guarantee that you'll feel virtually instantaneously better when you eat well - there's a reason why we bang on about how great good food is

DeVore wrote:

My diet is astoundingly bad though. My typical meals include:
Pizza (Goodfellas or Fourstar)

Thai (fried noodles with everything)

Indian (Baltis, Kormas, Tandooris... very good quality take away though, the food is good but no veg just rice and the sauces are quite rich and creamy)

The occasional decently cooked meal (meat and two veg etc)...

I drink coffee 2-3 times a day, usually for breakfast. I eat a roll with pesto and smoked chicken for lunch or something similar. Occasionally a breakfast roll from centra.

Sweets, chocolates and fizzy drinks by the ton.

I love a challenge


Food is fuel. Think of a bonfire: if you throw lots of crap onto it in one big go, it'll burn brightly but be smothered quickly. If you give it smaller quantities of high-quality fuel at regular intervals it'll burn brighter for longer.

So, that's one of the first aims: you're going to want to eat frequently. That goes against instinctual advice, I know, but trust me on this. So ideally that'll mean breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. Even if it means a small nibble on something it's better than nothing.

Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. You've been starving your body all night, so now's the time to replenish fuel supplies.

Processed food is bad. The more processed a food is, the less good stuff it has in it and the less good it'll be for you. What's processed food? Anything white/ out of a box/ with more than five ingredients (sounds rather drastic I know, and I wouldn't dream of trying to convert you straight away but where possibly try and choose a healthier alternative to something you just *know* isn't good for you!)

You're probably cursing me to the heavens by now and wondering what the hell kind of plan I'm trying to come up with, but I promise you it's simple:

Breakfast: continue with the smoothie + yoghurt but add a piece of fruit (providing fibre). Alternatively a couple of pieces of wholemeal toast. Add peanut butter if you like (lots of good fats). Or beans.

Snack: keep a bag of unsalted nuts at your desk and graze on them. Or a bag of dried fruit. Or regular fruit. Or a wholemeal scone. Or even a glass of milk!

Lunch: I'm guessing you'll be going to a deli or a sandwich bar so choose a brown bread option with meats and salads. If you need something else to fill you up try and choose healthier options like a side of fruit. Coming into winter a nice big warming bowl of soup is always a tasty option.

Snack: as before

Dinner: pasta, tomato sauce and chicken breast. Rice, tikka sauce and meat. Stir-fry meat and vegetables. Good ol' fashioned meat n' veg. There's *loads* of dinner options available but we can get to that later.

Instead of constantly snacking on chocolate and crisps, snack on fruit, nuts and popcorn. Drinking lots of water will help flush you out too.

How's this sounding so far?

DeVore

Ok, thanks all of you. Most of that doesnt sound TOO awful. I like fresh fruit and will increase my intake of that. I like Pistachio nuts and Cashew nuts too, so I'll start eating a bag of those (I had it in my head they were full of bad oils but if not, I'm happy).

My two favourite take outs are Thai noodles which are fried noodles with lots of veg and chicken, beef and prawn. It seems freshly cooked but I dunno how good that is for me. And Indian, chicken smoothered in fresh sauce and pillau rice. Both are reasonably well cooked and fresh so I dunno if they are ok or not. For now I will try and replace a couple of them with home cooking if I can. This week will be a disaster as I am on the road but I'll see what I can do.

Breakfast ala Neuro sounds actually ok! I'll go with the fruit option rather then the muesli.

Lunch: Its fresh chicken and lettuce/tomato on white bread. I'll try and stomach brown bread but it tastes like cardboard to me

Salads: Salads are what food eats. I'll go with the fresh fruit and nuts.

Sweets: Oh boy... I'll try and cut down. I can easily (very easily) polish off two bags of gummy bears (the big bags ), a litre of club orange, a bar or two of Cadburys and packet of Winegums watching a movie at night. That wouldn't be at all out of the ordinary on a daily basis. It might explain why I occasionally think I'm a hummingbird (ala Apu!).

Cooking: the problem is that I mostly work from home which means I am not out and about near the shops. My local is a Centra and doesnt have a great selection so I usually phone out because I'm under pressure anyway. I will try my best to rectify this but it will be the hardest change I think. Well, after the sweets

Ok, so today is the first day of the rest of my life, lets see where this goes...

DeV.

dudara

DeVore wrote: »

My two favourite take outs are Thai noodles which are fried noodles with lots of veg and chicken, beef and prawn. It seems freshly cooked but I dunno how good that is for me.

Fried noodles may be tasty but they are very carby and will also have soaked up fats/oils from the cooking process. Try replacing with steamed rice at the very least (brown rice if the takeaway does it).

DeVore wrote: »

And Indian, chicken smoothered in fresh sauce and pillau rice. Both are reasonably well cooked and fresh so I dunno if they are ok or not

Indian cooking can be based on the use of ghee which is clarified butter. Again, not something that you want to have too much of.

DeVore wrote: »

Breakfast ala Neuro sounds actually ok! I'll go with the fruit option rather then the muesli.

I'd personally stay away from the fruit smoothie that you're currently having. Blended and mushed fruit like that has had all the fruit sugars released from the cells and as a consequence the sugar is more rapidly ingested. Eat the fruit the natural way to enjoy the full benefits.

DeVore wrote: »

Sweets: Oh boy... I'll try and cut down. I can easily (very easily) polish off two bags of gummy bears (the big bags ), a litre of club orange, a bar or two of Cadburys and packet of Winegums watching a movie at night. That wouldn't be at all out of the ordinary on a daily basis. It might explain why I occasionally think I'm a hummingbird (ala Apu!).

Hang on a moment, sweet jebus! That's a tonne of sugar (and calories) to which to subject your poor body. While you may not be feeling the weight effects, you're setting yourself up for diabetes and related issues down the road.

I'm not trying to discourage you. You're smart and you can read and digest information just as well as the rest of us. It's not easy to make changes to diet.

Currently I'm starting to run again so that I can get back into full-time training and my diet is also being cleaned out as well. It's no fun when the other half is sitting on sofa saying that he wants chips.

Good luck. Willpower is half the battle.

Lafortezza

I'm trying to improve what I eat lately too.
Most important thing I've found is shopping. Go to the supermarket no more than 3 times a week. Be disciplined and don't buy crappy foods. Fill your trolley with the ingredients for all the dinners you will eat before your next shopping trip. I.e. good quality mince, chicken breasts, plenty of fresh veg, cans of chopped tomatoes, etc.

Ask yore ma, or someone who is good at cooking for simple instructions on making simple non-full-of-crap dinners.
Avoid going to the shop every day, don't buy the stuff for your dinners/meals in Centra.

I bought a blender, make yourself a smoothie every morning, frozen berries are cheap, add a banana+OJ. I've always been bad at eating fruit, smoothies make it easier. Have porridge or muesli with it.

Anyway, biggest factor I found in improving on eating healthy stuff was the shopping part. If your fridge is filled with less crap, you eat less crap.

Imposter

And don't go shopping when hungry!

Beruthiel

DeVore wrote: »

I can easily (very easily) polish off two bags of gummy bears (the big bags ), a litre of club orange, a bar or two of Cadburys and packet of Winegums watching a movie at night. That wouldn't be at all out of the ordinary on a daily basis.

jesus Tom, that's outrageous and will eventually do serious damage to your health as dudara said already. Your body can't take that much sugar, if you change nothing else, cut out that sugar intake asap. If you are desperate for something to chew on, get some grapes or summit.
How's the size of your freezer?
I tend to make home made soups in large amounts and put them in the freezer. I do the same with other meals, beef Beef Bourguignon for example, I cook loads and defrost as required.
It's great if you don't have the time to cook.

As lafortezza said, shopping is important. I do one weekly shop, I get enough ingredients to last for a week of dinners. Fillet steak, mince, chicken fillets, eggs. Veg. I also make my own lunches for work. Loads of fruit. I never buy sweets or the like.
My only vice is red wine and perhaps one bag of crisps for friday night.
Doing one weekly shop like the above means that you have no crap in your house and as you have food there, there's no need to go out and buy crap.
Like yourself, if there was crap in the house, I'd eat it, the above prevents me from doing so.

dudara

Beruthiel wrote: »

Doing one weekly shop like the above means that you have no crap in your house and as you have food there, there's no need to go out and buy crap.
Like yourself, if there was crap in the house, I'd eat it, the above prevents me from doing so.

Ditto the above. Just don't buy the crap. If it's not there, you can't eat it. In fact, my parents and my little sis visited me recently. I was actually embarassed that I had nothing sweet in the house to offer them with their tea. They had to make do with a paprika pork stew. My little sis is a sugar addict (chocolate spread on toast for breakfast, 7-up throughout the day etc) and I think she won't be coming back to visit me again in a hurry.

DeVore

I love it when ruthie talks all mammy to me ... rowr!

So, I have switched the gummybears for yogurt-covered hazelnuts. Havent tried them yet. I bought strawberry yogurt for yesterdays breakfast but its still sitting in the fridge. I hadn't started till today though, officially

I take the point about the shopping and I agree, I need to stack the house full of good stuff because as addicted as I am to sugar, I'm MORE of a lazy git and if it saves me a walk to the centra, I'll eat whats in the fridge first.

I dont have a freezer so thats a problem but I think I'll sort out breakfast and lunch first before tackling dinner! One step at a time Lord Jebus!

I'll periodically update this thread with how things are going, as much to force me to be good as to let others who are thinking along my lines know how things go.

Many thanks to everyone who has chipped in.

DeV.

ps: just tried those yogurt-covered hazelnuts, they're not at all bad! I could live with eating them.

WindSock

One easy and delicious healthy recipe:

Tomatoey stew thing/Pasta sauce

One/Two can of chopped tomatoes (can be bought in Lidl for as little as 30c!)
Cherry tomatoes
Garlic-as much as you like
Chillies/chilli powder (optional if you like spicey)
any other veg of your choice. I like to use baby corn and mange tout or sugarsnap peas, and sliced peppers
Fresh Basil (buy the plant, it's cheaper and keeps longer)
Optional-chicken pieces and/or Bacon
Parmesan cheese or grated mozzerella/white cheddar (not too much)
pasta of your choice optional, or eat as a stew.


Chop the bacon into little squares and fry on a low heat using olive oil. Throw in some chopped garlic. Chop some chicken fillet into small pieces too and throw in to cook until pink is gone from the inside.

Open 1-2 cans of chopped tomatoes and pour into a pot and heat on gentle to mid heat.

Throw everything else in there and let it stew. Throw in more fresh garlic, if you like

Put cherry tomatoes in halfway through. Chop in half first.
I use these only for texture. When they burst in your mouth it is just divine.


When you are satisfied with flavour serve in a bowl on its own or with past, sprinkle some cheese and eat


Yum


Note: A Horse couldn't drag me to tomatoes before I tried this, now I love them. Natures superfood, apparantly

Mr Magnolia

DeVore wrote: »

ps: just tried those yogurt-covered hazelnuts, they're not at all bad! I could live with eating them.

I'l have to try them. I have a reasonably good diet apart from a near fetish for sour jellies.

Faith

DeVore wrote: »

So, I have switched the gummybears for yogurt-covered hazelnuts.

Bear in mind that that yogurt covering is quite high in sugar too. If you look closely at a bag with a label, it's generally described as "yogurt flavour topping". Don't just replace all the other stuff you're eating with a similar volume of yogurt covered stuff.

g'em

Faith wrote: »

Don't just replace all the other stuff you're eating with a similar volume of yogurt covered stuff.

Agreed, but one thing at a time.

Mixed unsalted nuts > Yoghurt convered hazelnuts > Gummy bears


It's a step in the right direction. Just keep heading in that direction and you'll get there in the end

mike65

Has anyone mentioned the food pyramid thingy?

(edited cos g'em knows better)

The diet that is best for you is also the cheapest by a mile.

Mike.

ali.c

Yeah on the shopping thing well i have found if i dont go shopping and come home hungry well its easier to call Dominos.

Just some ideas,

But roasted breast of chicken with mixed roasted vegetables. All you need to do is pre-heat the oven. Get the chicken breast, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil with mixed herbs on it, wrap in tinfoil. chop the vegetables and do the same thing with the oil and herbs. Chuck it into the oven for 50-60mins and there you go. The best bit about meals like this well apart from the taste, less cleaning up that a chinese!

Seriously the thing for me was to experiment in the kitchen and get use to cooking some tasty food, now i have handy options available for dinner which means that when i am starving, i can get some good tasty food.

Also cooking food at home is a lot cheaper than take-aways etc, so you end up with extra cash so its another benifit.

g'em

mike65 wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned the food pyramid thingy?

That's the old pyramid, conveniently sponsored by the American Crop Protection Agency. I prefer the one independently drawn up by the Harvard School of Public Health - mroe emphasis on exercise, good oils, vegetables and fruit:

Beruthiel

DeVore wrote: »

I love it when ruthie talks all mammy to me ... rowr!

I dont have a freezer so thats a problem

Well you could still do enough stew or beef bourguignon to last you 2/3 days in your normal fridge then.
Also, pasta, rice, couscous, tinned tomatoes will last for ages, get yourself some spices, peppercorns, mixed herbs, paprika etc... You can make a meal out of nothing with a bit of imagination.

Learn to read the ingredients on packaging, dextrose is also sugar and sometimes you'll see both which means there's double the amount in the product. In fact, am I right in saying that anything ending in 'ose' is a type of sugar?
They're sneaky fukers like that.

moco

Some days you're not too busy to cook make enough for a few days and freeze them to reheat on the days you're too busy.:)

g'em

Beruthiel wrote: »

In fact, am I right in saying that anything ending in 'ose' is a type of sugar?
They're sneaky fukers like that.

lol, yup

Dextrose and glucose are simple sugars, and tend to be the type we keep to a minimum (the whole GI thing). Fructose (fruit sugars) and lactose (milk sugars) and other food sugars don't have the same GI influence and so needn't be worried about too much.

Magic Pips

Super thread, very sad reading, because i'd have the same diet as DeVore...

I'll gladly post here too, maybe we can spur each other on?

I'm a single 27yr old male, 6' 2" and about 14-15 stone (varies), again single and dont cook half as much as i should!

I've recently (1 week ago) started having Sultana Bran for brekkie, although i'd only have brekkie during the week, skipping it on weekends due to being asleep!

Lunch in general would be a toasted ham and cheese samitch :P on white bread with butter, or a footlong subway with ham, bacon, pepperoni and cheese toasted, on the italian herbs and cheese bread with mayo and a tiny bit of lettuce...

I'd regularly get a bar of chocolate and can of coke as a snack, and come home and either skip dinner - used to happen quite regularly although i've been a lot better recently. When i do eat dinner it can range from:

a bag of ceasar salad with 2 chicken breasts in a stir in sauce along with 5/6 pieces of bacon mixed in (split between 2)

2 chicken breasts in soup over wholegrain rice

lasagne

pizza (oven cook or dominos)

chinese

I'd also drink quite a lot of beer, but i could replace this with red wine...

I hate nuts too...

ok i'm going to lunch, DeVore best of look with the turn around, let me know how its going... I'm off to order a toasted ham and cheese on brown bread!

thread subscribed to!

DeVore

Magic Pips, you are welcome to join me on my voyage of discovering the myriad things one can put yogurt on!

I'm sitting here, gobbling down strawberry Glenisk right at the moment!

I'm off on one of my regular poker expeditions which usually means I end up eating what everyone else is eating en masse (chicken curry with rice being the usual fare). Being on the road can play havoc with the diet but we shall see how well I can do.

I've also quit smoking since I've had a chest infection for over a week and figured since I was this far, I might as well keep going.

DeV.

g'em

DeVore wrote: »

I've also quit smoking since I've had a chest infection for over a week and figured since I was this far, I might as well keep going.

A massive congratulations on this. It's bloody hard work giving up the fags but so, so worth it.

If you're on the road and finding it hard to eat right, just try your best to opt for the healthiest alternative you can find and get back on track once you're home again.

Magic Pips

+1 on the congrats on getting off the smokes - luckily i've never got into them.

The poker expedition raises a question... how many treats can one have?

Gaz

I like to have one treat a week , eat clean all week then have a pizza or a few beers (or both) at the weekend. Makes it even more enjoyable because you have been looking forward to it.

Best of luck with the voyage DeVore.

P.S. Are you exercising ? Or are we saving that for another thread ?

Magic Pips

How goes the following (at a safe distance) of the wagon? I didnt do too well over the weekend...

Damn you burger king, dominos and MR Heineken

DeVore

Well, good and bad.....

I stayed off the cigs all weekend. Not a SINGLE ONE!! I was disgustingly self satisfied about that I must admit. I think I'm going on almost 2 weeks without one now but since I want to never smoke again, I aint keeping count. I have had one or two bad cravings but have thankfully not had smokes available.

I ate good, high quality restaurant food which is at least better then trash. Two of them were indian meals but they were good quality food and freshly cooked. I drank a lot of juices and ate some fruit but I also guzzled hot whiskeys to fend off the cold symptoms I have had for a week. I'm trying to eat better, I dont really drink a lot normally (most days, nothing at all) but on occasion I like a few whiskeys or guinness.

As for exercise, I *am* trying to get fit again after a period of inactivity which is beginning to show over my jeans. I wouldnt say I was fat but I dont want to GET fat so I bought an exercise bike. Unfortunately due to the cold/cough and the traveling I havent used it much. These things work by osmosis though... right?

I have another trip on next Tuesday to Malta for two weeks which means more well cooked food but also more weight I expect.

I have fallen off the wagon a good few times and indulged in sausage sambos for breakfast on occasion but more often then not I have stuck to yogurt and fruit. Thats al least better then before... which was um, never.

Snacking, on the other hand, has been a relatively easy switch. I haven't guzzled gummy bears and bars of chocolate since we started this. I've eaten yogurt nuts (actually quite nice), nuts and satsumas. I've found I like flavoured water as much as Coke. Ok, not quite as much but more then enough to do.

Dinner is still up in the air as I haven't been home much since the start. Last night I ate half a meat deluxe pizza from 4 star and didnt even think about it until this afternoon, its just such a routine for me. I must, and will, do better.

Finally, I think I should explain that I don't really HAVE to do this. ie: I'm not over weight (about 11.5 stone) and I dont have any medical reason to do it buuuut, I want to be healthy and have more energy, so I don't look at this as being something I could "fail" at as even one clean meal a week is an improvement on what I used to eat. So, if I have a week of 2-3 bad meals I'm not going to beat myself up. Just try each week to improve and see how I feel as things go on.

The worst thing is this cold/cough. I feel dreadful and am just overcoming it. It means I don't know if I feel better for this healthy eating attempt yet. I wouldnt imagine so but we shall see.

So, so far so good! I give myself a B-

DeV.

g'em

Dev, you're doing an amazing job so kudos to you.

DeVore wrote: »

I stayed off the cigs all weekend. Not a SINGLE ONE!! I was disgustingly self satisfied about that I must admit.

lol, you're perfectly entitled to be a bit smug about this, it's a huge deal. I'm off them 8 weeks now and survived a ridiculously stressful weekend (the one just gone) without one and I've been telling anyone who'll listen how great I am for it. There's no such thing as "just one last ciggie...", either you're a non-smoker or a smoker, and it sounds like you're definitely considering yourself the former.

DeVore wrote:

Finally, I think I should explain that I don't really HAVE to do this. ie: I'm not over weight (about 11.5 stone) and I dont have any medical reason to do it buuuut, I want to be healthy and have more energy, so I don't look at this as being something I could "fail" at as even one clean meal a week is an improvement on what I used to eat. So, if I have a week of 2-3 bad meals I'm not going to beat myself up. Just try each week to improve and see how I feel as things go on.

This is undoubtedly the most positive frame of mind you can have towards the situation. Wanting to be healthy and have more energy are teh primary reasons for eating good food, it's the way our bodies want to feel. By setting up a win/lose sitiuation as many people do when they're losing weight it can cause all sorts of guilt and remorse when you indulge in crappy food. But hey, it happens, just make a bigger effort to keep things clean for a couple of days.

I'm quite sure you're providing some great inspiration for other people in similar situations so keep up the great work.

Magic Pips

Sounds like you're doing well, i've managed to stay away from the treats for the most part - the vending machine in work is constantly taunting me though i shall resist.


I have managed to get back into football and am back playing twice a week at a fairly high tempo too, the next step is to start doin a few weights, nothing crazy just light reps to get me started!

DeVore

Wow pips... I'm impressed. As far as exercise goes, I have been sick so my great start with the exercise bike has come to a total stop. I want to get fit again but I have a two week business trip to Malta (I think my hotel has a pool and a gym though) and then I have micro surgery to fix my knee which will put me out for a week before xmas and then xmas which means no serious exercise until new year....

I will update again with a new food diary of what I've been eating soon. Mostly its yogurt

DeV.

Magic Pips

Enjoy trip to malta!

bill_ashmount

OK,

I've been following this for the last few weeks and have been trying to change myself. Years of eating takewaways, fizzy drinks and chocolate have had there effects. I'm actually finding it quite easy, eating lots of fruit, drinking lots of water, healty meals, pasta etc. Not missing the fizzy drinks and chocolate at all.

The only thing I can't seem to get to grips with is brown bread, it gives me the hipcups . I don't know why and I really miss white bread, so much so that i am eating it now again. Is it really that bad?

Magic Pips

bill_ashmount wrote: »

OK,

I've been following this for the last few weeks and have been trying to change myself. Years of eating takewaways, fizzy drinks and chocolate have had there effects. I'm actually finding it quite easy, eating lots of fruit, drinking lots of water, healty meals, pasta etc. Not missing the fizzy drinks and chocolate at all.

The only thing I can't seem to get to grips with is brown bread, it gives me the hipcups . I don't know why and I really miss white bread, so much so that i am eating it now again. Is it really that bad?

Welcome bill! I'm actually finding that one of the hardest things to do also, i seem to automatically ask for a white sliced sandwich on lunch. I've managed to cut out the sweets/chocolate and coke relatively easy, finding that next step hard enough though.

One of the things that makes these things harder is the shopping for all the bits and bobs, fresh fruit, youghurts etc

LivingDeadGirl

If it's any inspiration, if you stick to brown you will eventually reach a stage where white just tastes like dough and you won't want it anymore.

neuro-praxis

Brown bread is easier to eat toasted, try that. Also there is a large range of brown breads out there - if you try them all you will find the ones you hate and the ones you really love.

Also, try wraps and pittas. They are typically white but less calorific than regular white sliced pan.

ali.c

bill_ashmount wrote: »

The only thing I can't seem to get to grips with is brown bread, it gives me the hipcups . I don't know why and I really miss white bread, so much so that i am eating it now again. Is it really that bad?

Well it depends on your goals but its not a great option, from a healthy eating point of view. Its all relative though and it depends on how much you bread you eat. its not that hard to get rid of all bread from your diet you just need to plan a bit better, stuff like taking a packed lunch etc is great for eating healthy.

As neuro said, pittas etc are an option too. Its pretty easy to get wholemeal pitta breads and tbh if you get your filling right its nearly like pizza!

bill_ashmount

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try out a few different brown breads and try and find one i like.

DeVore

Welcome onto the bandwagon Bill!

Right, time for an update.

So, I fell off the bandwagon over the weekend before last. Hmmm... perhaps I should be more accurate and honest.
I leapt, gazelle-like from the bandwagon as it careered down the hill, bursting into flames as the wheels fell off, smashing into a wagon-making factory, burning it to the ground along with all remaining blueprints of wagons and killing the master wagon makers.

Yes, thats a bit closer to the truth now...

So, we got an Xbox 360 and a bunch of games. Ended up having a bit of a "lost weekend" gobbling Mint Aeros, Coke, Pizzas and takeouts.

On the plus side, I didnt smoke and still haven't, though sitting in that room was the equivalent of a pack and a half. Thats the one ray of sunshine in an otherwise glorious disaster!

Ok, so I've been in Malta for the last week and the good thing about this place is that its hard to eat crap. The Mediterranian diet is pretty good by the looks of it. Lots of olive oil and fresh produce.
My hotel had a gym. Apparently. Now I'm in a smaller hotel which doesnt. I've been eating sushi, tuna, lean pork fillets but breakfast has been an omelette (ham, cheese and mushrooms) which I'm not so sure is good.
Have been guzzling Jamesons with mates but no mixer.

So, I aint so happy about the fall from grace but I figured one weekend of wild abandon wont kill me and has made me determined again. Not smoking is becoming easier as a single cig now will ruin weeks of determined will power.

Oh and as for brown bread, it tastes like ironed out squirrel **** to me. I hate it with a passion. I would rather cut out all bread then eat it frankly. Its nasty bland cardboard stuffed full of hard kernel things just waiting to hurt your gums. Yuk!
I dont eat much bread anyway (mostly white fresh baguettes if I do, are they as bad as sliced pans?) but I will switch to wraps when I do.

DeV.

mike65

If you are struggling with sliced pans try a small high fibre wholemeal loaf.


Imagine that with jam! (or low fat spead )


Mike.

g'em

DeV., to be honest you're doing exactly what you could/ should be doing right now given your restraints:
1. You're still not smoking. That alone is fantastic.
2. Meh, so you ate stuff you probably shouldn't have. I subsisted on a diet of German marzipan Christmas cake and Bailey's hot chocolate for two days on Saturday and Sunday. We all have 'treats', especially at this time of year. In the grand scheme of things, it's all good.
3. The Med diet is one of the best diets going - full of healthy fats and proteins. I'd actually say that an omelette is a LOT better than the processed muck lots of people call cereals these days too - plenty of good protein that keeps you full up longer and kickstarts your metabolism nicely.

Sounds like you took the advice on board and applied it to your personal situation.

*g'em keels over is shock at the thought of the simplicity of it all...

neuro-praxis

DeVore wrote: »

I dont eat much bread anyway (mostly white fresh baguettes if I do, are they as bad as sliced pans?) but I will switch to wraps when I do.

DeV.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but eating a white baguette for your lunch is pretty much like eating a bag of chips. High in calories and saturated fat, and devoid of nutrition.

Magic Pips

neuro-praxis wrote: »

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but eating a white baguette for your lunch is pretty much like eating a bag of chips. High in calories and saturated fat, and devoid of nutrition.

I really wish i had read this AFTER lunch! heading to obriens now, normally get a toasted ham and cheese on white bread... i'm going to try and get either the same on brown bread or... a ceasar salad! :eek:

DeVore

G'em, it really is a lot simpler then I expected. Now, admittedly my diet couldnt have gotten much worse to be honest so anything is an improvement but its actually been a whole lot easier then I thought it would be.

I just don't eat masses of chocolate and gummy bears any more. I will admit that when we are planning a good old night in with the consoles there is a temptation to grab a load of crap and scoff it all but I'm finding satsuma's, nuts, yogurt-nuts, dried dates (much nicer then they sound!) and Innocent smoothies actually an enjoyable alternative. I mean, that sounds nuts when I read it back but they're actually a viable alternative so when I'm in the shop it doesnt seem like a huge ordeal to veer away from the gummy bears towards that stuff.
Thats been the biggest surprise of all of this (though I'm still not eating brown bread... sorry Mike, I hate that kinda bread.:( )

The other thing I realised is that I havent really outlined the reasons I started this. It probably didn't NEED to be outlined given that my diet was atrocious before. So, here are my goals.

1. I have very high cholestrol apparently. I have no deposits on my arteries yet but my dad had a quad-bypass and I definitely dont want one. I've been drinking an Activa a day as well as all these changes to try and reduce that.

2. I'm finally getting a middle-aged spread. I have guzzled everything in my path for years with a myriad of warnings from everyone that I would balloon in (my age + a few years). That was from when I was 21 and I had a good innings but now I have bits of me where I dont want bits of me and I figure its time to clean up my act.

3. I would like to get fit again and have more energy.

4. I would like more mental focus and concentration as all my various jobs need a lot of brain power and there are days I feel like I'm sleep-walking them.

Finally, Neuro, thanks for the heads up about the baguettes. I thought I should clarify though. These are not the Centra cook-in-the-shop processed ones. They are freshly baked, non-mass produced real baguettes. Are they still bad? (When did fresh bread become bad for us? did I miss a meeting? )

DeV.

g'em

DeVore wrote: »

G'em, it really is a lot simpler then I expected.

Glad to hear it. I think there's a terrible misconception that eating healthy = hard work, which in reality couldn't be further from the truth. An apple is just as easy to eat as a chocolate bar, buying a bag of nuts takes as much effort as buying a bag of crisps, and eating meat and vegetables involves using a steamer for 10 mintues (ok, ok I know I'm pushing it with the meat and veg but we WILL get you cooking at soem stage!! )

DeVore wrote:

I will admit that when we are planning a good old night in with the consoles there is a temptation to grab a load of crap and scoff it all but I'm finding satsuma's, nuts, yogurt-nuts, dried dates (much nicer then they sound!) and Innocent smoothies actually an enjoyable alternative.

They don't bloat you or make you feel nauseous either - you may not have found this yet, but trust me, after a while you'll notice that when you DO eat processed foods your body will have a terrible reaction to it and all the chemicals in it. Our bodies don't like having to eat all that junk, but when we eat it all the time we just become accustomed to it.

DeVore wrote:

I have very high cholestrol apparently. I have no deposits on my arteries yet but my dad had a quad-bypass and I definitely dont want one. I've been drinking an Activa a day as well as all these changes to try and reduce that.

high fibre foods like green veg and oats will do more to lower cholesterol than activia will. Walnuts and almonds will also help so make sure those are among the nuts you snack on.

Without wanting to go all Oprah on the thread, Great Job!!!

padser

g'em wrote: »

They don't bloat you or make you feel nauseous either - you may not have found this yet, but trust me, after a while you'll notice that when you DO eat processed foods your body will have a terrible reaction to it and all the chemicals in it. Our bodies don't like having to eat all that junk, but when we eat it all the time we just become accustomed to it.

Thats a really good point. One of my friends came over at the weekend and bought a chinese. In fairness I had chicken balls which is the worst thing possible, but its the first bit of fast food (in fact almost the first genuinely unhealthy thing) I have eaten in about 6 weeks or so and I felt REALLY nauseous about an hour later. I have to say I was actually kinda pleased

DeVore

Funny you say that, I was looking at the new Sub from Subway , the breakfast roll thing today. Now, usually I would be all "fnck me I'll have 2" but this time I thought "euw... looks greasy". Which was weird hahaha...

Anyway, I've eaten fresh fruit and yogurt every second day for two weeks for breakfast and dinner has been all restaurant food but lots of fish (and a few cheeky pasta-and-cream) dinners.

Still no smokes. My lungs are wrecked with a cough though which has been bloody persistent as its going on a few weeks now!

DeV.

DeVore

God damn xmas. all bets are off. fnckin' tin-fulls of sweats, great games and booze galore. I've kept away from fried dinner but just about everything else has collapsed. No bags of jellies but far too many Cadbury's Roses.

Slowly recovering from this cough but its been long road. New year will bring a regime of fitness driven a mate of mine who is a trainer. Not real sure about that all the same...

Still, it must be done and while I havent lost any weight I do feel a bit better for the improvement (however slight) in my diet. Just need to get the kitchen to the state where cooking isnt life threatening!

Merry Xmas everyone, how are the others doing on their endeavour?


DeV.

Magic Pips

Haha, yep Xmas is bringing its own... fun! ah im too tired to cook, sure its xmas... order a chinese!

Merry Xmas to all!

DeVore

Xmas sucked. I'm still (STILL) sick and I'm going to the doc soon to get it sorted once and for all.

I tried my best to curb the excesses of xmas and chose the healthy options as best I could. My mother nearly dropped dead with shock when I orders a tomato and mozzarella salad in a restaurant. Dinner has been a disaster zone but I've steered away from chinese and crap as I could. Not always with success I must admit.

I'm eating Onken 1L Biopot fruit yogurts, about 1 a day. Are these ok? They seem to taste too nice to be good for you
Is 1L a day too much?

Along with that I have Innocent Smoothies and either fresh mandarins or fresh nectarins.

I'm still off the smokes. Not one. I must admit that it hasnt been easy. Both my flatmates smoke, the place is covered with boxes of smokes that are communal supplies and we spend a fair bit of time playing xbox and playstation which is highly conducive to smoking. Playing poker is also very hard as everyone smokes at the break and socialises and compares notes. I havent smoked since the start of this so I'm not about to break that now but there have been times I've really really wanted one.

I wish I wasnt sick because I'd like to know how I feel after all this change. I am going to be starting a training routine soon, but I feel bllleeergh.

I'm trying to knock the kitchen into a state where I would be prepared to eat something that was made in it. Then I will start to cook.


DeV.