Meal and snack suggestions

[Fittea]

Hey all! So I'll be starting my journey from tomorrow. I'll weigh myself and take measurements which I'll put on here, plus fill in on my personally made diary. I was just wondering if anyone can recommend or point me in the right direction for meal ideas and snack suggestions?

I'm vegetarian and lactose intolerant. I wouldn't say I'm a picky eater, I'm willing to try new things, I just don't know much about food and nutrition. My freezer is mostly filled with Quorn products such as escalopes, burgers, pieces and mince. I like making pasta with the pieces and spaghetti bolognese with the mince. I usually add onion, mushroom and peppers into those kind of meals. I like jacket potatoes too. I'm a bit weird with eggs, sometimes I like them sometimes I don't.

My main issue I think is snacking. I plan to try to stick to eating fruit etc but what else is there? I find nuts weird and veg sticks a bit icky. Although I know it would be best to stay away from all kinds of chocolate and biscuits etc, are there any that "aren't that bad". For example when I was on Slimming World before cookies, muffins, cakes, Cadbury chocolate etc would be very bad but their own bars plus some chocolate like KitKats and Mikado weren't too bad when in limitations etc.

Also here's a photo of a new page I made today for my diary So my plan follows two "rules": 123 and FFF....

1 hour of exercise and 1 hour of wellbeing

2 snacks and 2L of water

3 meals and 3 F&V portions

Food, Fitness and Feelings.

In the Food section there are 3 stars for F&V these are the portions, which I'll tick if achieved. There are 3 instead of the "recommended 5 portions" because I personally find it daunting and challenging on a daily basis. I feel 3 is more doable, and 3 is minimum so if I have more I can just add or draw a + or extra star. The hearts for water are 500ml per heart, so minimum of 2L but again I could add or draw a + or extra heart if I have more.

What are peoples thoughts on my plan, diary design and meal / snack ideas?

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

I would suggest you don't have any "snacks" i.e. don't eat between meals and here's why dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

All the ones you mention are heavy with sugar. You'd be best to just eat three meals.

As you know, there are recipes in Topics, you might find some you like there, and if you check in to the Daily Diary you can see what meals others are planning and ask for any recipes you fancy

[Fittea in reply to BridgeGirl]

I can't see me not having snacks, at least at some times. The ones I mention are obviously bad because I stated that they were bad, I'm asking if anyone has any suggestions. I'll have a look at the recipes when I can.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Fittea]

Good luck with it all

[Subtle_badger in reply to Fittea]

All snacks are bad. Some are worse - those high in sugar, or hydrogenated fats. Proteins or carbs in your snack cause a release of insulin, which is a fat storing hormone. As soon as you snack, you stop your body burning fat and start it storing it.

Try to wean yourself off snacks,rather than scheduling them.

[Fittea in reply to Subtle_badger]

People seem to think that by "snacks" I mean super bad stuff and chocolate etc, I don't. My main "snacks" will be fruit, whether an apple or bowl of grapes. I'm just wondering if there's anything I'm not thinking of or things I don't know about that I can also have. Such as nuts, snack size veg, bars etc.

[Hidden in reply to Fittea]

Fruit is high in sugar & even those slimming world bars are full of sugar & processed rubbish. Granola /muesli bars are also full of sugar. Having 70 cals does not make them good for you. Unlike most people here, I need to snack myself as I have something slightly wrong with my food processing. I eat nuts, small pieces of cheese, Greek yoghurt & keto seed crackers (I make these myself, google for recipe). In your early stages, you may also need to snack - not forever but for now.

As I recall, and don’t be offended here please, you have been eating a very great deal of sugar & processed food. This is what keeps your weight high (sorry). It is going to be a very very big transition away from that way of eating & I’d do it very gradually to keep make it manageable. If I were you, I’d give myself permission to eat anything I liked in any quantity, so long as it did not contain sugar. That includes fruit except berries & you need to check the labels of food you buy ruthlessly for sugar. I’d do that for 3 weeks. No sugar at all. Then I would add to that, 3 weeks of not eating any processed food, ie ready meals, & anything with more than 5 ingredients. Then add to that 3 weeks of cutting out carbs, like pasta, potatoes, bread, and rice. Instead you’ll be eating plenty of meat, fish, eggs, cheese and lots of vegetables (the ones grown above the ground). Then, at the end of those 9 weeks, I’d reduce my snacks. You need to snack now because you eat so much sugar which causes blood sugar swings (and other hormone reasons). Start by dealing with the cause & the need to snack will sort itself out in time. You will lose weight in these 9 weeks. The most important thing though, is that you train yourself to eat good food & stop eating bad food. Your weight will come off & you will be a slim woman, not because you go on an effective diet, but because you learn long term good eating habits.

Yes in an ideal world you’ll jump right in and be eating a perfect diet on day one,but given your story, I would advise attacking it gradually. You need to stay on this and with us longer than a few days.

[Fittea in reply to Hidden]

Yeah I remember on Slimming World they'd go on about having as much fruit as you want but surely too much of anything isn't good? I like grapes and apples the most, but also the occasional strawberry and watermelon. I would be up for trying new stuff.

I'm not offended it's fine, and you're right. In the past when I first joined, I did eat weirdly which people liked to point out regularly lol. I won't be doing that this time. I'll be doing my best to have homemade things. Thank you so much for all the advice, it will definitely help me as like I have said I can't just stop snacking and be strict, my body won't be happy and I'll crave badly. I'm vegetarian so I'm a little worried about what to eat that isn't just fruit and veg lol.

I was planning on doing some fitness every day too but now I'm wondering if I should just focus on eating for the first week or two before adding in fitness?

[Hidden in reply to Fittea]

You sound like you are in a good place. I’ve a couple more suggestions for you

- have a look at the videos on carbdodging.com which will explain why you are so hungry & need to snack. It’s something you can fix but it’s going to take a few months & it’s not about ‘willpower’. As very hungry person myself, I find it a bit irritating when people suggest I am snacking because I am bored and could just stop, rather than because I am really hungry. Dr Dan Maggs will explain

- yes do some exercise, because it will make you happy, not because it will make you lose weight. Do what you like doing whatever that is, including swaying round the room to music or a little stroll. Moving is good for our bodies & our minds but it’s not the thing that makes you thin. Trust me, I have tried to out-exercise a crisp addiction & trashed my knees in the process. You can’t.

- strawberries over grapes, watermelon & apples every time. Blueberries & raspberries are also good. Cheaper frozen.

- if you don’t eat meat, eat eggs & cheese. Don’t worry about the fat. Ignore everything slimming world told you about fat. Sugar is your enemy, closely followed by carbs.

[IndigoBlue61]

I also try to avoid snacks. If there has to be a restriction in calories, I’d rather ‘spend’ them on meals than waste on snacks 😊

[Sheperdess Maintainer]

Hello Fittea and welcome to this friendly and helpful forum 😀You have received some great advice about how to wean yourself off snacking. In the meantime, rather than high-sugar fruit you could consider a piece of cheese, spoonful of nut butter (if it’s the texture of nuts you don’t like), coconut, some pieces of marinated or smoked tofu or some tinned fish. These contain fat and protein which will keep you feeling fuller and more satiated for longer 😋I hope these ideas help. I had snacks for the first week or two (nuts mainly) then realised I wasn’t actually hungry anymore on intermittent fasting (no breakfast) and low carb so I stopped them.

[Fittea in reply to Sheperdess]

Hey! Thanks for the welcome. I'm vegetarian so no tinned fish for me, and I'm lactose intolerant so no cheese pieces unless I can find lactose free ones. I have never had tofu but would like to try. It would be nice to obviously not snack but I can't just be strict and not have any from the start, I'll crave more and when that happens I'll cave in so for me it's about adjusting. I might try intermittent fasting at some point.

[Hidden in reply to Fittea]

Lactose intolerant and a veggie. That’s demanding! But try home made smoothies made with almond or coconut milk, berries, a couple of teaspoons of nut butter, a spoonful of coconut oil. The fat will fill you up.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Hidden]

Is everyone forgetting eggs? 🥚

Plain boiled eggs with salt and pepper is a tasty snack. Or even better, chop some veggies and make a frittata. Cool down and sliced, it is nutritious and delicious.

[Sheperdess Maintainer]

Sorry about the fish. You can buy tofu in supermarkets - I have the Cauldron and Tofoo products regularly. You could also have Tofoo’s tempeh but I find it too sour. Taifun do a tofu sausage like a German bockwurst that’s good too. Also, mushroom or yeast pate or tinned seitan would make reasonable snacks although they are processed more than the other ideas. I hope you find something that works and that eventually like many of us, you find you won’t need snacks very soon 😉