Is two out of three healthy meals enough?!

[calm201]

So I've been on my health kick for a few months now, but not yet seeing much in the way of results. The biggest change for me was a much improved exercise routine - going to the gym 3-4 times a week but that alone wasn't enough for me to make any gains. So for the last week or so I've improved my diet. I wanted some advice on if this is enough or do I need to go further?? I don't really get on with calorie counting as it stresses me out so I try to keep an eye on sugar and fat content instead - tell me if I'm wrong!! Here's what I generally eat...

Breakfast: a bowl of porridge with semi skimmed milk, sometimes with a little fruit (Sundays I have an egg or two)

Snacks: couple of coffees throughout the morning, no food.

Lunch: Soup (or a big ass salad) with 2x brown toast and butter.

Snacks: usually a handful of peanuts or if its a gym day its peanut butter and a couple of rice cakes to refuel

Dinner: Beef stew and dumplings with lots of brussels (or something similar...)

I realise the dinner was not the quite up to the standard of my other two meals but I love a good filling dinner like that. Sometimes its better, like a risotto, others its a spag bol or a chilli. Anyway, whats your thoughts folks??

[Hidden]

Just looking at what you have posted, If you are not counting calories, it may be that you are having larger portion sizes than you should. I also can't see much in the way of fruit and veg in your day. ALso try using water for your porridge and put some raisins or sultanas in before cooking...they go all fat and juicy and make the porridge really tasty. As for you not seeing any results are you only using scales to see if you have lost weight or are you measuring your waist, arms, thighs etc to see if they are toning up and putting on muscle? Muscle weighs more than fat so you may be staying much the same weight scale wise but losing fat and gaining muscle. I hope this makes sense

[calm201 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for all the helpful info and ideas I think your right on the portion size issue for sure

[bodunchar]

The source of your discouragement is not what you put in your mouth but what you allow to exist or not exist in your mind. Start there and end there.

You have not said what your goal is.

Do you want to lose weight or simply try to lose weight?

If you are serious about losing weight eat nothing but fresh fruit, nuts and veggie (no potatoes etc) for a whole week with only gentle exercise if you have the energy and see for yourself.

If you wish to stay in your food comfort zone then progress will be slower.

[BadHare]

Hi Calm,

I'm not a calorie counter, but think of meals & snacks in terms of nutrients that I need for the day, & I avoid processed food.

If it's weight loss you want, maybe try a change of when, rather than what you eat for part of the week.

I started having breakfast later, & swapped my main meal to lunchtime, with only a small meal such as soup or a salad at teatime. Most days have nothing to eat after 6pm. If I get really hungry in the evening, I'll have something light with protein in, eg, a small glass of kefir &/or a handful of walnuts, brazils & almonds. It didn't take too long to get used to this regime, & I'm sure I can eat more without consequence.

A few people I know have tried intermittent fasting in this way, or having two days a week with only 500 calories, though I'm too fond of eating to try that version.

One sister went down clothes size in a month from doing a food combining diet. It was quite radical for her as she had to cut out everything processed: all flour, tea, coffee, & dairy, as well as never mixing protein & carbohydrates with the same meal. Her biggest challenge was starting the day with a fruit smoothie, as her only fruit intake was wine.

If you're trying very hard, & cannot loose weight, it might be an idea to ask your GP to check your thyroid hormones. Lots of great info on that side of health on the Thyroid UK forum.

Mel

[Venusflytrap]

Hi Calm, Kudos for the gym and thinking about your intake. Part of this issue depends on whether you are a man or a woman. As a feminist, I hate to say that they can eat about twice what we can and still lose weight. So if you are a guy, that food sounds fine to me. But as a gal, I went from a size 14 to a 24 eating like that. But the good news is that by learning and managing portion control, I went from a 24 to a 14. So. If you were me, I would try the following tweaks. Make sure my porridge portion is 30g of raw oats. Make it with water and use skimmed milk, yogurt or quark as my dairy topping. I would consider adding 2 X 80g portions of fruit to that. Perhaps a banana plus a handful of berries etc. Don't forget that frozen fruit and fruit canned in juice with the juice drained off are just as good as fresh, perhaps for the end of the shopping week. Soups and salads are fine provided they are mostly veg without starch because you are having the bread. I would add a protein to this. It could be pulses into your soup, or making your bread into a sandwich with ham or 20/30g of cheese. I would replace the butter with a lower kcal option unless it is one of your favourite treats. I like quark the best, or maybe one of the very low fat spready cheeses. I would swop my peanut snack for a lower fat and lower kcal option. How about mashed banana on your rice cakes or some chicken. Or I like 2 of the Laughing Cow light blue cheese triangles. Have some more of your vege soup before your dinner. How much beef in the stew? I would only have 100g but it would be a very lean cut or the 5% fat mince. Again I would pack it with low starch veg. Try to add an extra veg onto each meal. Try to have 3 servings on your plate plus a starch. Your dumplings are fine as a replacement to potato. But you need to think about portion control here. 200g of potatoes is a good serving unless you want a baked potato in which case I would go bigger like up to 400g. Try to match the kcal of any potato replacement to the potatoes. I know you can't be bothered with kcal counting, but that means you need to know what a serving looks like. So try weighing or measuring the once and then maybe put the photo of what a serving looks like on your phone and check your portion sizes monthly to avoid portion size creep. I would add a dessert to my dinner. I would make it a fruit based one with some dairy. So sugarfree jelly plus fruit plus some yog. Or microwaved fruit plus a third of a can of low fat custard. Fruit plus quark or plain yog sweetened with powdered sweetner and maybe a little vanilla. You haven't said what you're drinking. That is a way to sabotage your diet without thinking. Only one portion of juice a day. Go for skimmed milk in any tea, coffee, cocoa. Either give up sugar in hot drinks or switch to sweeteners. If you are drinking alcohol go for a single of spirits plus a diet mixer. Every second drink: mixer on its own. You haven't got any treats in this menu. I think you need to plan at least a savoury one and a sweet one. There will be a day when you want it. So plan what you are going to have. You don't have to keep them in the house if that is too tempting for you. But plan what you would buy and where before you need it. Also think about alternatives. Something that would satisfy that treat urge but lower the kcal. I have replaced crisps with melba toasts, they have the same crunch satisfaction and I can add my own flavours. Very sweet grapes, berries etc can replace a sweet treat for me. But there will be days and nights when only the chocolate or whatever will do. Sorry to go on for so long. But you did ask. Venus.

[kellbellgrp]

If your worried, a good way to get all of the nutrition that you need in one simple serving is through Daily Lift. I use it everyday and swear by it. You can see it at:

Mywinlife.com/kellbellgrp