Dietician Plan which makes sense for me....

[ScoutyPat]

Spoke with my GP following dislocating my kneecap last week (needed stronger pain relief). And after a conversation, she referred me to the new onsite dietician the practice has hired. Well - I didn't hold out much hope, as previously they have said it's all about the calories and suggested low fat/high carb. I was pleasantly surprised as she explained it isn't the quantity of food (we need to eat and feel full to lose weight), but the quality of the food (fat doesn't make you fat - carbs turn to sugar which make you fat). She gave the example of a person who has cereal for breakfast; sandwich and bag of crisps for lunch; meal with white potatoes, limited veg and protein for dinner - they will likely not lose weight, even though it doesn't look like a lot of food.

So here is the plan she has given me to follow to Christmas, when we are going to review my progress and adapt as needed. Thought I would share, in case it proved useful for others.

GREEN FOOD - EAT AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO FEEL FULL

protein: chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, kippers, white fish, shell fish, eggs, cheese, chick peas, beans, soya, quorn, tofu, lentils, yoghurt, milk, red meat (ideally keep to twice per week)

vegetables: lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, avocado, asparagus, olives, aubergine, cabbage, courgette, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, sprouts, carrots, beetroot, onions, celery, peas, sweetcorn, parsnips, swede, squash, seeds,

also here - 30minutes per day of being active (not necessarily exercise, but moving) & drink water/herbal tea and plenty of it to stay hydrated.

YELLOW FOOD -EAT WITH CAUTION, but needed for a balanced diet

max 1 per day of these: 2 slices, wholemeal bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta/noodles, 2ryvita, oats, Weetabix, shredded wheat. sweet potato.

max 4 per day of these: all fruit,

nuts: pecan, brazil, macadamia, hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts,

fats/sauces: butter, olive oil, cream cheese, soy sauce, guacamole, mustard, pesto, salsa.

RED FOOD - IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE? SPECIAL OCCASIONS ONLY

processed food: anything with more than 5 items on the ingredients label is to be treated with caution and if it has lots of chemical additives - definitely don't eat as it isn't real food.

alcohol: never more than 4 per week - small glass wine, can of beer, spirits (with low cal mixers or water).

sugar: all types - usually end with ...tose (fructose, glucose, lactose, etc)

[Lytham 3 stone]

Hi, the only thing I would say, is beware of the carbs and fruit in the yellow and the alcohol in the red, they end up as one of those toses at the end x

[ScoutyPat in reply to Lytham]

Thanks Lytham. I've already decided that unless I need something in yellow, or it's a special event for red; I'm going to see if I can eat mainly from green only and treat yellow with caution.

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to ScoutyPat]

Awe that sounds like a great plan to me, go for it hun, I know you can do it! x

[Hidden]

Oh My Goodness!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your post... I finally feel a bit more heartened by a realistic diet plan.

[ScoutyPat in reply to Hidden]

You are welcome. If you try it out, let me know how it works for you.

[TheAwfulToad Visitor]

Excuse me a minute while I check to see if hell has frozen over.

Crikey. It's definitely icing up a bit over there. A dietician not banging on about calories! Where will it all end?

I'll just add that Ryvita, Weetabix, bread, oats etc are not needed for a "balanced diet" (whatever that even is). In fact if you have one portion of that sort of thing per day, your results will be far from optimal. For some people, a single portion of high-GI foods can stop weightloss dead.

Just drop them entirely for the time being. You can bring them back later, but for now, the most reliable and most painless way to make the switch is to just keep your carbs as low as practically possible (without getting obsessive about it).

Nor do you need to treat butter, olive oil, cream cheese, etc with caution, for the simple reason that you'll soon get sick of eating them if you binge on them to begin with. If you stick to rule 1 about green veg and meat/eggs/dairy (please, not "protein"), you should find that you naturally eat sensible quantities of fatty foods. Fat is very much self-limiting because greasy meals just aren't nice. But if you cut back on carbs, you do need to source more of your energy from fat instead, so the advice to cut both starchy foods and fatty foods is incorrect.

Apart from those relatively-minor criticisms, I'm glad to see the dietetic establishment is finally getting with the programme! The recommendations you've been given are quite similar to those promoted by Dr David Unwin, who is having lots of success.

[ScoutyPat]

Hi TheAwfulToad, I was sceptical when the GP said to have an appointment with her, but she sounded very sensible. Thanks for your feedback. I have read your 4week plan (Lytham shared it with me) and I think this plan fits somewhere between the traditional calorie counting, low fat plan and the full on LCHF plan. So going to give it 100% and I already have decided to ignore the yellow and red lists unless I am wobbling and need something.

[bobz17 7lbs in reply to ScoutyPat]

What a change to have a dietician who is actually interested in helping rather than giving you a generic answer and trusting that you are adult enough to use your common sense with the plan. Good luck, look forward to hearing about your journey. X

[ScoutyPat in reply to bobz17]

Thanks bobz17

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi ScoutyPat

I think your plan, from the dietician, looks really great, and I'd like to wish you success with your goals. I think it's great that you've shared it, so that others can have a look. I really like it.

Zest

[ScoutyPat in reply to Zest]

Yiu are qelcome Zest

[Hidden]

That’s fantastic that doctors and dieticians have stopped prescribing high carb low fat diets. This is the most sensible thing I have seen recommended by an NHS dietician, and eminently do-able, as it is presented in such a simple way. No points or calories to count, no must or mustn’t eat this or that, just common sense and good advice. Best of luck, ScoutyPat !

[ScoutyPat in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Trimmerteacher. I like it as it useable by all my family and we can adjust as needed (hubby has a heart condition and needs to keep his cholesterol low. Son is type1 diabetic so the low carb works well for him as he has looked at it and said he can follow it and just add carbs as needed when his blood sugar is low. )

[Kickupbum 1 stone]

Thank you so much for that! It will be printed out and tried. It is what a lot of us are trying but isn't it wonderful for a dietician to come out and say it all! Hope you feel as little pain as possible! Doesn't sound nice.

[ScoutyPat in reply to Kickupbum]

You ate welcome Kickupbum. Let me know how you get on.

[walkinthewoods 7lbs]

Great that you dont need to count calories and agree about caution with carbs. I am doing similar but keeping food diary as my biggest problem is grazing through day and portion sizes. Best if luck

[ScoutyPat in reply to walkinthewoods]

Thanks walkinthewoods. I do find writing in a food diary helps cut down the snacking

[Craftyperson]

Good to see dietician not trotting out usual calorie counting etc and good luck, looking forward to finding out how it goes

[TotalNewbie1]

Thank you for sharing. Very useful.

[Bakingmad12]

This sounds like a good, no nonsense plan. I like the look of it for myself to be honest so Thanks. ☺️🐾🐾

[ScoutyPat in reply to Bakingmad12]

Feel free to give it a try. I like the fact it is based on proper food and works with a family, with minimal changes needed.

[ScoutyPat]

It has helped well. I had lost 7kg in the 3months to Christmas. I have started following it again this week (had a break from it to get my physical body repaired) and looking forward to weekly losses