h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Post blob-ectomy I've been trying to increase my exercise with the aim of getting fitter and more able to do physical activities in June when we next go on holiday. I'm really into snorkelling, kayaking and would like to try some surfing as well, all of which require a more lithe / fit body than I currently possess.

Obviously, 'dieting' would help to some extent and I know the formula = eat less, exercise more.

But that's where I have a problem. My chosen forms of exercise are running and yoga, on alternate days. As I am still getting used to the changed workload at school from last year, this is currently the target and is not often met. I haven't given up on it yet though and will continue to refine my schedule until it is routine, like breathing!

However, when it comes to what I eat, I'm more confused and don't really know where I should cut down / reduce things. I know that I don't cope well with feeling hungry and that smaller more frequent meals make me feel better than three squares.

But what can I cut down? What should I eat more of? What less?

To give you an idea:

I can't eat apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, peaches, hazelnuts, peanuts, or any other kind of nut. I don't drink tea or coffee or alcohol or generally speaking, sugared sodas.
I don't eat red meat, generally speaking, and nothing I cook is ever deep fried. Mostly, I boil, bake, grill or fry in sunflower oil (about a spoonful at a time).

Where I know I'm doing the wrong thing to lose weight:

I eat too much cheese (my biggest fat intake comes from cheese, daily) and quite regular ice cream. I eat chocolate sometimes. I eat baked crisps sometimes. I eat pastries sometimes. (by sometimes, I mean about once a week, truly.)

I mainly drink water, orange juice and Pepsi max.

DT makes a packed lunch for me to take with me - usually involves a carton of orange juice and a breakfast bar, a sandwich, some baked crisps, a can of pepsi max, and sometimes a little treat. I also usually pick up a bottle of water during the day.

A typical menu for us in a week:

baked potatoes (mine usually with tuna mayo and cheese, or baked beans and cheese)
chicken fajitas (1 chicken breast for 2, onion, pepper, tortillas, cheese, creme fraiche)
spaghetti bolognaise (with soy mince)
sweet & sour stir fry (ready vegetables, fresh noodles, 1 chicken breast for 2)
bean burritos (refried beans, rice, onion, pepper, tomato, cheese, tortillas, creme fraiche)
chicken burger & chips (1 chicken breast for 2, the usual trimmings, oven-baked low fat chips)
and usually one night a week where we have no clue what to make and end up having a sandwich, or beans on toast, or soup, or an omelette, or a takeaway.


We don't eat fast food. We cook. We plan our meals in advance on a calendar. We've gotten better at portion sizes although they are still somewhat generous on occasion. Our biggest meal is in the evening, usually between 8-9pm.


So, you beautiful & clever people, what can you advise?
Have I answered my own questions? Am I missing some amazing trick?

Hmmm - I don't think there's a magic instant formula. Unfortunately. (If you do find one, share it with me! But I've given up on dieting until my own version of the blob problem is figured out...)

The main thing you might be missing is the orange juice. You shouldn't be relying on juice for more than one of your five-a-day, and keep in mind that fruit juice, while healthier than soda, contains just as much sugar. So while a glass of orange juice every day won't ruin your diet, don't make it much more than a glass!

I very much recommend raw bell peppers and/or carrots with hummous. When I was living alone, I usually made a plate of that to eat before/while I was cooking, and ended up eating less later. (If the sesame is a problem, you can make your own and leave it out, just make something more lemony/garlicky) But then I had very strange eating habits anyway. Comes of being a student, as you probably realise

My swordfighting trainer was permanently trying to diet by eating only the coarsest rye bread (the kind that's whole grain because it has whole grains in it) and nothing else every other day, because he claimed it used more calories to digest than were in it. The only discernible effect of that was to make him grumpy on bread days.

Good point about the orange juice, but it is only 250ml, 5 days a week. Many of our meals are mainly vegetables, mostly root vegetables, onions and peppers.

I don't really aim for a 5 a day, although of course I should. It's easy to make excuses for it as the fruit thing does limit me, but carrots and bananas and pineapple and peppers would all work, so maybe I should start doing what I did when I was a student the first time round and eat a pepper the way other people eat apples.

I'm not looking for a magic solution here - this is a long term plan with a long term gain. But I'm not hugely well versed in food matters and it was more that issue that I wanted help with.

Like most people, I have my issues with food, and many of them are of the comfort-eating variety, which is a part of the battle. Another part of the battle is what one considers a 'satisfying' meal...as well as the simple routine of things. I find myself easily slipping into a pattern of a cup of hot chocolate after dinner or a biscuit to tide me over but it is so much harder to get back out of those habits.

Don't fry stuff.

We've been eating stuff like a poached egg on salad leaves,drizzled with 0% yoghurt.

Also...smaller portions, On field studies, nutritionists routinely express surprise at our portion sizes.

You should have a lot more than 5 servings of fruit and veg a day- you should aim for at least 7 servings of vegetables and 3 fruit. Some fruits have more sugar and you'll want to eat fewer of those.

You might want to consider cutting back from a small bag of crisps a day to once or twice a week. On the days you haven't "indulged" in crisps, allow yourself that cup of chocolate and biscuit! If you don't allow yourself some treats, you'll find yourself craving them and that's worse than allowing yourself an indulgence or two.

You'll know that because of my thyroid issues, I regularly discuss eating related issues with my GP and dietician. It's frustrating because I eat exactly as I did when I weighed 105 lbs (just 8 or 9 years ago ) and it's hard to cut down without eliminating *too* much. They both assure me that what really matters is portion size. Of course some things pack a lot of calories, sugars and fats into a very small portion, so it helps to eat those things less often and bulk up on the other stuff.

I'm always happy to discuss with you in a less public venue as well.

Edward - 1/2 a chicken breast, pan-fried with vegetables in a few drops of oil - do you reckon cutting that out would really make a difference?

I think one of the easier things to do is portion control. We don't eat overly of things like eggs and meats, but variations of bread and pasta probably top the 'too much' list.

PC - how do you manage 7 portions of veg and 3 of fruit daily? That sort of boggles my mind, albeit in admiration.

One of the things I know we need to do better on is just simple things like salads. I'm rubbish at making them and DT doesn't remember to, plus I do most of the cooking anyway.

I think our shopping habits could bear some looking into as well. There's a newly opened Sainsburys supermarket in town which means we rarely go and do the big bulky weekly shop anymore. Instead we're just picking up the bits and bobs we need each time and I'm not sure that's been to our benefit. Shopping whilst hungry and all that. Also their fruit and veg section isn't that inspiring usually. We have one of the largest M&S stores in the country near to us and their veg is usually much better - plus with veg we've found that the extra money spent there usually means they won't go off as quickly.

Hmmm. I think what is boils down to is the KISS principle of just eating less. Dang.

PC - you actually weighed 105 pounds? as an adult?

The crisps are a packet of baked Walkers usually, 28g bag, containing about 90 calories.
I seem to remember you doing quite a lot of calorie counting - any tips on how best to do that?

I have only one suggestion, and that's moving your evening meal earlier in the evening. The later you eat, the higher the proportion of energy is converted to fat, as you don't need it in the coming hours (as you're asleep). However, it's probably a lifestyle choice so it may not be easy to move meal times around.

I usually have dinner around eight but don't go to bed before two or so It all depends on your daily routine, really.

Oh, and for when you get the munchies: air-popped popcorn. Two tablespoons of corn makes a huge bowlful, and you can add salt and ground-up herbs to your own liking.

Yes, Ismarah. I'm only 5'1". 105 is pretty chunky for 5'1".

7 servings of veg is pretty easy, actually. Servings are smaller than you think they should be. A decent soup or stew can have 2-3 servings of veg per helping.

My biggest weakness is bread. Even though I eat whole grain stuff, I've been known to have as much as two slices in a single day. I've switched to quinoa pasta so at least it has protein.

Calorie counting for me, Ismarah, doesn't take as much effort as you'd think, though it does help to measure stuff, especially oils. Really, I just read labels (which I have to do anyway, to make sure I'm avoiding anything with animal protein) when buying packaged bread, pasta, etc. A food scale can help, too, if you're aiming to reduce portion sizes.

I've also learned not to eat every time I think I am feeling hungry. Sometimes I'm actually thirsty, or just bored. Also to eat a little bit and then wait at least 30 minutes before taking anything else, if I still feel hungry after finishing the first bit. I usually find if I wait a bit I'm not actually still hungry, but just wanted more because it was tasty.

Ooh, ooh, my favorite popcorn topping, which adds no fat or anything (but can add a fair bit of sodium unless I make my own) is furikake.

Two slices! In a single day! What's the world coming to?

I know! Shock! Horror! Wait... is that a sandwich? uh oh

I've never tried air popping popcorn, but I love popcorn as a snack. My thing is nibbling on stuff through out the day rather than big full meals necessarily.

PC is absolutely correct though - I find it very hard to gauge what equals a portion of veg... I know a portion is not the same the whole veg... but other than that, I have no idea.

I'm 160cm which I think equals 5'4" and according to online things I should weigh about 48 - 64 kg (105-141lbs). I haven't weighed that since I was a teenager - a more realistic target for me would be 70 kg (154lbs), considering my build, but I'd be happy with 75 to start with.

I don't think I'll necessarily make it down to that before June, but then that isn't the aim. The aim is simply to be fitter by then so that I'd be able to spend the whole day surfing, kayaking or snorkelling without keeling over from exhaustion or taking to bed the following day stiff as a board and unable to move. I'm not bother by wobbles and cellulite, if I was then I wouldn't generally leave the house. Plus with the scarring currently on my stomach I may never wear anything supposed to be slinky and sexy ever again (but I will, dam it!)

We experimented with tonight's dinner, cut down on the tortillas by half and had a salad to the side - it was lovely. I'm a bit peckish now, but partly that's mental and partly it's because I'm cold.

I'd be willing to bet that if what you really want is to be "fitter" for vacation, i.e. not stiff as a board after a good hike, then what would be most important right now would be to incorporate lots of little activities into your daily routine, and not worry about what you weigh while you're doing it.

I swear I get about half my exercise taking the stairs at work. In fact, since I'm on the 27th floor (our suite occupies 27th and 28th), there's ample opportunity. I always take the stairs between floors, but sometimes my co-workers walk all the way down to the lobby and back up. If you have a chance to do anything like that- it'll whip you into shape. And you can always quit and get on an elevator when you're bushed.

Sadly, I live in a mostly single level world, with only one flight of stairs at the most. Whenever I've had the opportunity, I take the stairs rather than the lift (provided I know where I'm going). My other option is to walk the dog, which I don't do often enough as DT walks him while I'm at school.

DT's going to try out some yoga with me, which should be interesting.

I think if I've seen anything from this thread, it's that every little helps and to reduce my portion more. We usually yoyo a little in our portions as we realise they've gotten a bit big, we reduce them, and then they'll slowly grow until we twig again.

Had an interesting conversation with DT at lunch today (my first BA level assessment is tomorrow so I'm really 'working' at home today) about what the internet has done for us.

Not only do people have all sorts of conversations in all sorts of nice places, but most of our shopping is done online, we found our dog online, organised our wedding, our next holiday, several computers and repairs thereof, as well as meeting online in the first place! . The internet has allowed me / us to try things we'd never have done without it.

Have just wasted some time online to read about air popping rather than finalise my project for tomorrow.
I may have to have the in-laws pick up a little bowl thingy for me while they're in the US this time as I haven't found those in the UK (yet). Just found the 'hair dryer' variety.

Hi Ismarah, glad you are raring to go after the blobectomy, how is the weightloss going?

I think your current menu sounds fairly healthy so I was wondering if you are in fact already losing weight, or are you looking to cut things out to make it come off faster? I think you are right that you need to cut down on the cheese and snacks (although not completely - denial is the fast track to cravings!). If you use cheese in cooking try using a little amount of really strong cheese rather than a lot of a medium or mild one. You might find that increasing the amount of lean protein you eat helps you to resist the urge to snack a bit longer - so having a whole rather than a half chicken breast might see you through without needing to nibble on anything.

I'm currently doing weightwatchers - not finding it hard because I get loads of extra points due to breastfeeding t'Other but I don't actually use the extra points at all, it just helps to know I *could* use them. The main thing I like about WW is that they are very big on managing portion sizes and that is the thing I am learning - I don't need to eat as much as my 6'6 husband! I generally stick to lean proteins and vegetables with the occasional treat, and although I have the occasional slice of bread I have really cut back on that. The weight is coming off steadily so must be doing something right.

Hope you find an approach that works for you

I found this yesterday which will help for sure.
http://www.5aday.nhs.uk/WhatCounts/PortionSizes.aspx

Good to see you here Kelli - and good idea on cooking with mature cheese.
Sadly, since blob went, I've put on weight rather than lost it, although I've also somehow lost circumference due to less water retention. So my clothes are looses but the scales disagree on the progress.

By summer, I'd like to be fitter aerobically speaking, and a little less wobble would be great, but I won't cry over it if the wobble is still there.