What to eat

[Mustbemad1]

One run to do to finish week 1 was wondering what people have done to their diets when doing this program, my diet is not great at the moment.

[Rudders1984]

I'm at the same stage as you my 3rd run is Saturday.

I've kept the same diet not changed much apart from snacking. And I don't eat after 7.

I like food to much to eat healthy.

[resolution Graduate in reply to Rudders1984]

Same here! The only thing I've changed so far is that I'm trying out healthier snacks and to eat smaller portions, but that's because I know mine are bigger than need be.

[Rudders1984 in reply to resolution]

Yeah I used to have coco pops for breakfast but I could never get to dinner without needing a snack.

We now have a smoothie frozen fruit mix and orange juice only a brew cup size and I get to dinner easily.

But I do my runs in a morning (6ish).

[resolution Graduate in reply to Rudders1984]

6am?! Kill me now! I do them after work at around 5.30pm, it feels good for me to do some exercise after being sedentary all day long!

Actually buying frozen fruit mix is a good idea, saves lazy me all the trouble of cleaning fruits

[Mustbemad1 in reply to resolution]

6.00am no way you are crazy but the fruit is a good idea

[Rignold in reply to Mustbemad1]

Beware the fruit sugars. Kale and spinach are your smoothie friends.

[Mustbemad1 in reply to Rignold]

What fruit can I use?

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Rignold]

Yumsters! x

[Mustbemad1 in reply to Oldfloss]

What's that?

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Mustbemad1]

No.. the 'yumsters' was an expression of delight.. I love the spinach smoothies..

happyfoodhealthylife.com/gr...

[Mustbemad1 in reply to Oldfloss]

Sorry I didn't read it probablylol

[Rignold in reply to Mustbemad1]

you can have a bit of fruit. Just in relation to a lot of veg. A litre of orange juice is a ****ton of sugar and calories. A lot of people eat a vast amount of fruit and/or nuts, thinking they are the healthy option (which they are) but not factoring in the calories. Fruit sugar is better than refined sugar but it is still sugar. When i was on the serious ab-mission I refused to eat a passata I had made from organic tomatoes from my own garden because of the sugar content of tomatoes. This is, admittedly, taking it a bit far.

I typically have in a breakfast smoothie: a good couple of handfuls of kale or spinach, a scoop of protein powder, 10 mg creatine, 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 a banana, maybe a kiwi, chia seeds, maybe an egg or two or some oats depending on my macro requirements, perhaps half a mango. And coconut water to degloop it all.

[Rudders1984 in reply to Mustbemad1]

I do prefer to do morning and chill in the evening.

I used to cycle to and from work so the early rise ain't so bad. 😜

[Mustbemad1 in reply to Rudders1984]

I am still in bed at 6.00am you are starting to make me feel bad

[Rudders1984 in reply to resolution]

Yeah I use the frozen fruit and juice as energy and it works for me. Have that youthful spring in my step again lol

[Rignold]

If your diet is not great, change it.

First of all, use a food trackinging app like MyFitness Pal or similar to record exactly what you eat over the course of a fortnight or better, a month. Record every single bite or drink that passes your lip.

Then you will have a true picture of how you eat.

It probably wont be pretty.

Look at your average daily calorie intake. Then calculate your calorie requirement (there are calculators for this online.)

Look at the macros of your carb/protein/fat ratios. That won't be pretty either, but honesty is the only policy. Reduce the carbs. Replace saturated fats with good fats like avocado, nuts etc.

Then make changes. A little at a time at first. Cut out refined sugar. Then any processed foods that contain refined sugar (pretty much all). Then eliminate white flour products, starchy carbs etc etc. With each change you will see a corresponding result in your weight, fitness and feeling of wellbeing.

Drink at least 3 litres of water a day.

Be beautiful inside and out.

Poop a lot.

Radiate.

Bask in your own glow.

Fight off admirers with a s***** stick.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Well done you....

Now...basically, lose the word ,diet, and think, eating regime. Healthy eating does not have to be boring, or expensive or faddy.

Lots of posts on this...and loads of ideas... I have not changed my eating regime too much... Husband is a Type 2 diabetic and we have always had a good eating regime...Very much Med' style, no processed foods, sugar and salt, real no go areas...but for the last year or so with some tweaks, we have been using large chunks of ( Trust me I'm a Doctor), Michael Mosley's Blood Sugar Diet... very much Low carb' and great recipes; I have his wife's recipe book now too... lovely, easy to prepare, food, and I really love food and cooking!

thebloodsugardiet.com/

We don't fast, because husband's meds would make that hard, and our carb intake is higher... I could not function, let alone run on 800 cals!!

But it works.. husband's blood sugar levels are amazing, and his BP and weight, excellent. He walks,every day and I run three times a week. I find it suits me too, and keeps me feeling full of life!

Maybe take a look... you are on the right pathway anyway! x

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Love it, - "eating regime"

[Slinkyminky Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Same as Oldfloss I have been following this way of eating with some tweaks as it is very restrictive if you follow the 800 cals regime.

I can honestly say it's been great and I don't see it as a diet but a way of eating.

I've done diets before and this way of eating is the only thing I find has properly worked and I can't see us ever going back to eating such a terrible diet as we had before

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Slinkyminky]

Go you... I find the same

I dislike the word , diet, but, healthy eating habit works for me It really does become a way of life and is so easy to follow

[MrsQ Graduate]

Hey...I changed my eating first after noticing my weight had climbed up to 92kg, and added the c25k about 2 weeks later (everything I read up on weight suggested giving this a go!) to increase my activity levels.

I didn't like the idea of a 'diet' so started small...I swapped snacks for fruit, and increased the amount of veg I eat at meals, and added lentils/pulses/beans in too to make me fuller. Swapped sugary drinks for water and fruit teas. Drop takeaways to 'ocassionally' (probably 1 a fortnight, instead of 2 a week!oops) and cook more at home.

But now 3 months on and I generally eat:

Breakfast - porridge OR fruit&yoghurt OR cereal&fruit

Elevenses snack - fruit/rice cake/nuts/crackers

Lunch - salad&tuna/chicken OR baked potato OR leftover meat&veg from night before OR sandwich, with a yoghurt/fruit pudding/plain popcorn

Afternoon snack - fruit (although I don't tend to be hungry here now)

Tea - meat/fish (some protein of some sort), loads of veg, and a carb (rice/pasta/potato etc.)

Using an app like 'myfitness pal', or 'loseit' helps you to spot Your food trends-so I noticed I was eating quite a bit of sugar in my tea (regularly 5-6 cups a day) so I ditched the sugar and that made a massive difference. Same with lunches-daily I was having sandwich, crisps, fruit and a chocolate-ditch the crisps&choc EVERY Lunch, and just have them a couple of times a week instead!

Noticed I was feeling better before runs as I had 'better' energy (fruit and carbs rather than chocolate/sugar!) and noticed the weight drop off too (11kgs so far)

If you're hungry after a run-Laura (on the app) recommends bananas, and I've found they are really good-instant sugar boost and fill the hunger straight away!

Good luck with the runs, and the eating if you wanted to change it.

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

I eat oats mostly for breakfast - either cooked as porridge (which I am not that keen on) or (better) uncooked as "overnight oats" wholefully.com/8-classic-ov... Oats are very filling - being a low GI form of carbohydrates with lots of soluble fibre -- if I do start to get peckish before lunchtime, an apple solves that problem. For lunch generally a couple of slices of Burgen bread with some kind of healthy filling and a banana burgenbread.com/breads/ ( no more cheap white bread for me ) For dinner, a small amount of meat or fish with LOTS of vegetables. I am now never hungry even though I run or do some other exercise every day. Keep away from those aisles and aisles of modern highly processed "foods" and drinks in your local giant Supermarket. The Supermarket is your enemy

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to Bazza1234]

well said

[gdcgray Graduate]

Since I started this running and healthier life style, . . . . Lost 22 pounds and stalled.

This got way long, If you don't read it, I don't blame you :-\

Stubborn belly fat hanging on here. So I cut down on the amount of fruit smoothie sugars and added a different drink in it's place.

I use absolutely no refined sugar. I add sugar to nothing. It's amazing how good things start to taste when we just stop the additional sugar.

I never drink fruit juices from concentrate, sweetened or not. I forget what it is but concentrated orange juice is not good for us. Here's a burb about concentrated O/J.

"But as Hamilton details in her book, there is practically nothing fresh or pure about it. Most commercial orange juice is so heavily processed that it would be undrinkable if not for the addition of something called flavor packs. This is the latest technological innovation in the industry’s perpetual quest to mimic the simplicity of fresh juice. Oils and essences are extracted from the oranges and then sold to a flavor manufacturer who concocts a carefully composed flavor pack customized to the company’s flavor specifications. The juice, which has been patiently sitting in storage sometimes for more than a year, is then pumped with these packs to restore its aroma and taste, which by this point have been thoroughly annihilated. You’re welcome.

Recently there has been a series of lawsuits against PepsiCo, Tropicana’s parent company, disputing its “all-natural” labeling, in part because of Hamilton’s exposure of industry practices. Meanwhile, growers plan to roll out a marketing campaign to address some of these health concerns by promoting drinking smaller glasses of juice. “The industry is trying to revive its healthy reputation against all odds,” says Hamilton. “Not only is orange juice heavily processed, but it’s straight sugar which today people recognize as contributing to obesity and diabetes.” Hamilton admits that orange juice is low on the FDA’s list of priorities, but the British government is taking action by calling for a tax on fruit juice and warning consumers that it has as much sugar as Coke and should be consumed sparingly. In the meantime, though the acidosis scare may be long forgotten, most of us still like to think we can find health in a glass of orange juice—at least more health than in a can of soda. Maybe that classic breakfast isn’t so balanced after all."

Daily, I consume 1 orange, 1 banana and one lime for fruit. The orange and banana are in a smoothie with organic peanut butter, Ginger, organic Greek yogurt and milk.

The lime is in a drink with parsley, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper. I love that one! I call it green fire.

The fiber in the fruit helps for slow uptake and something about bananas actually makes us more insulin sensitive according to some studies I read on pubmed. But with me still holding onto too much belly fat, I have to keep the sugars down.

Absolutely no high fructose corn syrup.

I don't eat white breads at all. Nearly no bread period.

Salts I eat are only all natural and unrefined as well, We get a lot more beneficial minerals with real salt.

No refined oils! They are endocrine disruptive and they make cholesterol into smaller dense pliable and sticky particles which as we know is not good for the arteries and heart. Plus they raise the PUFAs too high.

Absolutely no trans-fats, no exceptions for me.

I choose my foods for their ability to help the body make nitric oxide for vascular health and get more oxygen to the capillaries and try to keep a constant supply of polyphenol foods in me but that gets expensive. Foods like black berries, blueberries, dark cherries. They can actually clean your arteries as well as promote good nitric oxide. Some of these foods are combating the stress hormone cortisol which levels are reportedly higher among distance runners. At my age, I need to protect my testosterone production and keeping that cortisol at bay is one battle front to do so.

I avoid GMO's like the plague. Anytime you see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list like Canola, palm kernel, sunflower, soybean oil etc.... it's going to be GMO. GMOs are known endocrine disrupters.

over 95% of all soy products are GMO. I avoid them.

Leafy greens like spinach and cruciferous veggies are in abundance in my diet.

I avoid all foods that say heart healthy and low or nonfat. They are filled with refined fats and often loaded with sugars.

I eat meat nearly daily and I don't overdue or deprive any macronutrients. Carbs, Proteins and fats are all important for a healthy metabolism. Of course these may need to be dealt with on an individual basis depending on what's going on with a person. But, I am generally healthy with none of the common health problems people get like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease etc.

(((Bottom line is eat whole foods, prepare your own meals and avoid processed foods.)))

Even canned tomato products are loading us up with way too high levels of BPAs. BPA's a really really bad. It's almost as if they are hell bent on messing us up.

I feel way better after these changes and running seems to have created a desire to do so in me.

My main snack is non GMO white popcorn popped in olive oil.

I do cheat from time to time. But it seems that if I eat something like cake or another processed sweet, I regret it later. It's like I get a hangover from it. So my desire is diminishing tremendously for processed foods. I have also found that eating a piece of cheese settles those sugar cravings. I don't know why but that suits me just fine.

If you read this far, you must be a saint.

[useitorloseit Graduate in reply to gdcgray]

I glossed over quite a lot of that. I eat relatively healthily, though should probably cut down on cake and weekend wine tbh.

But where, in your diet, are McVities Choc Homewheats? Is human life sustainable without these? Asking for a friend.

[useitorloseit Graduate in reply to useitorloseit]

*for the record, yes, I'm being facetious*. I'm on another forum (not running related) where I would be shot down in flames for this kind of behaviour. It kinda takes the pleasure out of life.

[gdcgray Graduate in reply to useitorloseit]

I don't know what McVities Choc Homewheats are but it sounds like something I'd have to try just to get a taste of England.

but . . . . not if that Palm oil is GMO. I found a commercial from 1996.

youtube.com/watch?v=CUYperV...(Not working as expected?)

[useitorloseit Graduate in reply to gdcgray]

No GMO in the EU! Ah - Jane Asher - a national treasure. Happy days!

[Rignold in reply to useitorloseit]

Palm oil is pretty dismal stuff regardless. Environmental disaster.

[rammsteinqueen Graduate in reply to Rignold]

It's vile stuff and I cannot understand why it's in so many products - we didn't have it years ago - it's so sad. I sent a Facebook message to Hotel Chocolat yesterday as I was astounded they use it considering they bang on about how much they appear to care about the environment on their website! Needless to say they didn't reply.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Just call me St Oldfloss Phew!

Main thrust for all of us is fresh, home-made, and relevant to you and your lifestyle.

We are all different and our eating regime should reflect that .

[rammsteinqueen Graduate]

I feel terrible if my diet is bad. Usually have porridge with a few berries for breakfast, lunch is a chicken, spinach and red pepper wrap, dinner I have something like sweet potato with chicken or fish and massive salad or load of veggies. I will have an apple if I'm hungry. I don't eat white bread, pasta or dairy - apart from eggs. And I don't really drink either - God it all sounds so dull doesn't it?!