Oatcakes...good or bad?

[Daffodil17]

Hi, any help would be appreciated. I plan on eating these oatcakes for my food for today. If I add some fruit also will it be ok. I am trying to calorie count, I'm new to it all and haven't a clue. Also I drink coffee with sucralose in and coffeemate. I'm just soo confused with it all. Sorry for poor picture quality.

[Elke516]

Hi daffodil17, I'm not an expert but in principal you can eat anything you like as long as you plan it into your daily calorie intake...

On the packaging you can see how many calories 1 oatcake has.

An apple or an orange, depending on size usually have 50 calories. You can check this on the NHS calorie checker online. it's very easy to use.

Are you tracking your food?

Personally I find it easier to plan my meals in advance. Once you've done a week or two it mostly repeats itself so you already know the calories.

Good luck hun! You can do this, baby steps...

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello Daffodil17 😊

Firstly, no food is 'good' or 'bad' they're just food. It's a question of how you choose to 'spend' your daily calories. It's important to include a variety of foods over the course of a day, and oatcakes are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates. I would add some protein (meat fish cheese eggs etc) and some salad to make a balanced meal. 😊

For more help choosing a good balance of ingredients see here healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Best wishes

Anna

[Daffodil17 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

I'm a vegetarian, and also,do not eat fish or eggs. I feel everything is a mess x

[IgaT in reply to Daffodil17]

Tofu, lentil, beans, nut butter, quinoa, milk (can be non-diary) are very good sources of proteins

[Hidden in reply to Daffodil17]

Do you take vitamin B12? You need to with your diet. I am a peskatarian which means I don't eat meat but do fish and eggs etc. I would love to cut these out too but recognise the difficulty in having a healthy diet without them. . I think to go the whole hog you have to gather enough knowledge how to stay healthy and like, and have the time to cook from fresh.

My nephew was vegan until very recently, but is now just vegetarian as he found his health was suffering and it was too difficult with his very busy lifestyle.

[50up in reply to Daffodil17]

I was a strict vegetarian for 10 years. However, latterly I felt that I was not getting a good balanced diet though and eventually decided to introduce fish back into my diet. That worked well for me (apart from the guilt pangs of eating another animal) and I felt healthier. It also meant that I could go out for meals and have a decent choice.

I always said that garlic sausage or chorizo would be my downfall, and last autumn a visitor left one in my fridge. I was going through a stressful time and thinking about eating meat again, so I succumbed.

I have been eating meat again in small amounts, but still have doubts about it. At the moment I am thinking that I can do without it, but reserve the right to indulge now and again.

Watching the mockumentry 'Carnage' by the wonderful Simon Amstell on BBC iPlayer has certainly made me think again.

Link: bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04sh6zg

[Edit: Daffodil17 - Really sorry to read about your health issues, if you are feeling anxious maybe don't watch the mockumentry. Your situation can improve, taking little positive steps is difficult to begin with, but slowly you can regain some sense of control and begin to feel better. I suffer from depression and have emerged from a bad situation, with the support of others, to be in a much better and brighter place. Wishing you good health and happiness.]

[50up in reply to Daffodil17]

Please don't feel that everything is a mess. You have started on the right track here and things will get better. Your friends are here to support you x

[Mochta Maintainer]

Daffodil17 is that second ingredient palm oil? Sorry, I can't make it out.

[Daffodil17 in reply to Mochta]

Palm fruit oil x

[Mochta Maintainer in reply to Daffodil17]

I love homemade oatcakes but won't touch anything containing palm (fruit or kernel) oil.

[Hidden]

Do you plan to have the oatcakes for your 3 meals today? They would get rather boring I would think!

You need to have a variety of food every day for optimal health which includes protein, vegetables, fruit and some carbs (for energy). You need to eat regularly otherwise your body will think it is in starvation mode and hold on to calories by lowering your metabolism. This will defeat the object of trying to lose weight.

There is lots of advice in the pinned posts and topics on the right so if you read those it should help. .

[Daffodil17 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, today I am planning to eat these and some fruit. I don't really do breakfast because in the past when I have eaten it, afterwards I have been really sleepy to a point I have to lie down, so I skip breakfast but i would love a bowl of cereal in a morning to be honest, but it just leaves a horrible feeling x

[Hidden in reply to Daffodil17]

Skipping breakfast will not help you lose weight, but it will convince your body it is starving and needs to hold on to calories. If you can't face any breakfast why not wait an hour or so then eat something to fill you up until lunch?

I used to do that when I was working. I didn't eat until I had been at work for an hour or so then had something small which I took with me.

It may sound contrary but often you can't lose weight coz you don't eat enough as well as eating too much as the lovely helpful members on here will tell you.

[IgaT in reply to Hidden]

I agree with @lilaclil wait an hour or so and then eat breakfast.

You could eat oat porridge or non-sweetened cereals, or at least banana or apple with peanut butter. But the best is to have protein and complex carbohydrates for breakfast to give you energy and prevent your metabolism from slowing down.

[Hidden]

If you're calorie counting then they're fine as long as you allow for them - I hope this isn't your main food item of the day though!

If you're struggling I think you should have a go at pre-planning breakfast, lunch, dinner and some snacks so you can get an idea of what a typical day should look like and just calorie control it.

All calorie information can be found on packaging but you do sometimes need to weigh things.

I'm sure the NHS 12 week plan has some information you'd find very useful. Maybe have a look at it: there are meal plans on there as well somewhere and this will give you a good guide to variety so you don't get bored.

[Daffodil17]

Yes, this is my food and some fruit 😁 is this a bad thing. I would normally just eat a whole pack in one sitting and then more...my eating was terrible,mainly large portions of fried chips, curry and rice. But I noticed the weight gain and went my doctors on Monday, my bmi is 28 and I had a bloot test...waiting on results. So from Monday I've cut out the chips curry and rice and trying to stop comfort eating x

[Hidden in reply to Daffodil17]

I wouldn't say it's good to only eat this in a day, regardless of how much of it you have to eat. It's all about variety and giving your body the nutrients it needs. I see that you're a vegetarian and don't eat eggs or fish and you don't eat breakfast.

I'd suggest having your oatbakes (a portioned amount) as ONE of your meals (possibly lunch, maybe even just as a snack) and trying to branch out and have other things as well.

What about salads (with cheese as you don't eat meat) or soups (tinned or homemade, but homemade is better as you can pack loads more veg into it), and fruit and yoghurt is a good snack or breakfast! Porridge can be made sweeter with the right berries and provide a lot of fibre and things your body needs. What about mugshots? They're quick and easy and provide a bit of variety if you don't have time to prepare lunch. Having nuts and dried fruit as snacks would be a good idea too if you like them what about having something like cheese and potato bake or veggie fingers and homemade chips for dinner? all of these things, if portioned correctly, can be eaten on a calorie controlled diet - it's hard and first but you do get used to it. Are you relying in these oatbakes because you're worried about eating the wrong foods and feel that this is a safe option?

Well done on making such positive changes to your diet so far and for cutting out the unhealthy things - but this doesn't mean you can't replace them with other things. One cannot live on oatcakes alone!

[IgaT in reply to Hidden]

Do you eat diary?

I have a vegan friend. She east a lot of veggies with rice or with beans, as a snack she eats different fruits (also dried, but be careful they are usually packed with sugar). You could think of incorporating it into your diet.

I'd suggest using MyFitnessPal (or similar app) and track your macros (carbohydrates / fats / protein) as well as nutrients (fiber, calcium, sodium, potassium, vitamins) along with calorie counts. I'd use it for a week (at least 3 days) just to track what you're eating and see what you should concentrate on.

Do you cook? Do you used to cook? Do you like cooking?

I cook, but I don't like it, so I'm picking meals that are fast, easy, cheap and as healthy as possible. I may be sharing some recipes, but there are a lot of them out there.

[mayaena]

I'm a huge fan of oatcakes because they fill you up in a way that lasts and they have health benefits too. A pack of six adds up to less than 300 cals + 150/60 for light spread (30/35g) + 100 cals for 30g reduced fat cheddar makes a pretty good lunch in my book...

[mayaena in reply to mayaena]

PS to make sure you are eating enough try calculating what your body needs just to exist without any exercise - you're not supposed to go below this amount - it sends starvation signals which mess with your weight loss. bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calc...