31 May 2020 Food Diary

My appetite is firmly changing, I can feel the need NOT to eat SO often. Although evenings are still a little niggly for me, so considering eating a larger breakfast/brunch so dinner can be a little later too.  More protein for that fuller for longer thing, but currently my protein choices come with more fat..... I have not yet ventured to non meat options.

So brunch was sardines on toast with spinach and tomato soup.

Dinner got changed from Prawn curry with CauliRice to a chicken salad for me and the boys had breaded fish with pasta, cheese and chorizo..... was I jealous, nope!!

I'm lacking in calories and protein today, but I'm not going to eat just for the sake of it.

Cals 1274

Carbs 130.1

Protein 95.8

Fat 39.1

Fibre 29.3

Salt 3.46

Week 4

Week 4 and I'm definitely getting there.

Month 1

So this is my four week STATS

I'm mostly pleased but still need to adjust and tweek.....

I think I now have a 4 week rolling menu that's both tasty, easy(ish) and has room to wiggle.

30 May 2020 Food Diary

Brunch

Enjoyed a large brunch with The Hubby this am - we retried the Scotch Eggs but this time I made them with pork mince (8% fat); much nicer!  We had runny poached eggs on spinach with avocado toast to bulk it out..... yummmy!

Dinner

It was so hot that I really fancied a salad, so swapped the planned gammon hash to gammon salad and added a few of The Hubbys cheese stuffed peppers as a treat!

Im still experimenting with the fruit platter and have discovered frozen grapes! 

Today was a yummy, easy day!

Cals 1390

Carbs 119.1

Protein 88.1

Fat 61.6

Fibre 25.1

Salt 7.03

29 May 2020 Food Diary

Another feeling good day, hopefully that means my general blood sugars are coming down (my Diabetic Nurse does not want me testing atm)

Also started my new once a week injectable (instead of a once a day tablet) medication yesterday.  Ouchie it hurt, it stung worse than I was expecting! 😿

Lack of appetite this am, new medication?  it is supposed to work on your gut hormones and reduce appetite..... or maybe Im just actually listening to my body now?

So lunch was quite late and was a wholemeal pitta with boiled eggs and ham. Fruit as my afternoon as a snack.

Dinner was a new trial of Chicken Tandoori skewers on salad with SW onion bhajis.  It felt like a lot of work for what was on the plate, but it tasted fantastic! Next time will make the bhajis smaller and leave more bits hanging out to get crispy rather than make them neat little balls!!

please note the fibre today - thats because I used blended chickpeas as the basis for the bhajis - I will put a how to up later. 

Cals 1404

Carbs 133.4

Protein 111.6

Fat 43.6

Fibre 39.7

Salt 6.49

28 May 2020 Food Diary

Felt SO much better today.

Breakfast with The Hubby was homemade Scotch Eggs (lower fat/salt than shop bought) with wilted spinach and poached eggs in my new gadget.

Lunch was tomato soup with a chicken thigh.

Dinner was "Beef Sizzle" - lean steak strips, "protein" noodles (Morrisons), broccoli, mushrooms, onions and beef stock.   Totally yummy and everyone loved it!

Movie night, so have made a fruit platter - not my previous family bar of chocolate or bag of salted or toffee popcorn AND yes thats ALL mine! 😏

Cals 1368

Carbs 124.7

Protein 131.6

Fat 38.4

Fibre 31.8

Salt 5.63

27 May 2020 Food Diary

Bit of a yukky day, headaches and temperature spikes 

Ate a very late lunch of boiled eggs on wholemeal pitta - easy and tasty

Then threw together the Fish Tacos, prepped all the veg & avacado/Quark chilli lime "butter" yesterday, just mixed the canned/cold fish together.

It was yummy and filling.... Men had wraps instead of lettuce and also enjoyed; so it will go on the (eventual) rotating menu.

Cals 1020

Carbs 52.3

Protein 102.7

Fat 43.5

Fibre 10.8

Salt 4.47

26 May 2020 Food Diary

Dinner

Lots of work put into dinner today and to be honest I was not overly impressed, the men liked it but I think I still need to tweek these turkey meatballs.

So breakfast was boiled egg on wholemeal pitta with dairylea light triangles and spinach (I am loving this veg atm)

Tomorrow I have a double choice! I bought an egg poacher pan today! AND I prepped some "scotch eggs"...... wait to find out 😋

Lunch was quite late but my firm favourite of tomato soup with added spinach and 2 chicken thighs (extra protein = fuller for longer)

On to mega-prep  dinner - Curried Turkey Meatballs with Bombay BNS (not spuds to keep the "white" carbs down) & Saag  Aloo made with root veggies (BNS, Spuds & Swede) - lots of spices, chopping, boiling, mixing and presentation later it looked pretty, smelt amazing but was a little to dry for my liking...... so trial and error. 

Cals 1322

Carbs 108.9

Protein 127.5

Fat 41.8

Fibre 28.6

Salt 4.22

25 May 2020 Food Diary

Breakfast 

Dinner

Bit of an old ball feeling day today.

Breakfast was spinach, sliced hard boiled eggs, a Dairylea  light cheese triangle on 2 wholemeal pittas.

Lunch was chicken thighs spiced with chilli sauce on a mixed salad and 2 tangerines.

Dinner was Teriyaki Salmon with cold boiled spuds and mixed salad with a few sprays of chilli/lime low cal dressing.

and..... berries and 0% greek yogurt with "sugary".

bit low on the fibre today 😐

Cals  1495

Carbs 114.1

Protein 121.8

Fat 59

Fibre 18.4

Salt 4.23

24 May 2020 Food Diary

Dinner

Lunch

So today's menu has been fun and yummy!  But not very well planned on the mix! over by a few calories, 10+g of my planned carbs and almost double my salt - but that was from eating the "healthy" oily fish! 😕
However, all the stats have easily evened themselves out over the week (see my weekly stats post)

Piri Piri Mackerel on wholemeal pitta for breakfast, so much nicer than yesterday!

Lunch was a mixed salad with some boiled spuds and roll mop herring and crab, a favourite memory revitalised; very full of salt though so can only eat one herring not the two I really wanted to 🐷 out on!  moderation.......

Dinner was an "old" meal that I keep tweaking to get the taste vs salt/fat/cals ratio correct and tonight was a winner!! will post the "how to" tomorrow.

Cals 1520  (+17)
Carbs  147.6  (+10)
Protein  126.8
Fat 47.3
Fibre 23.2
Salt 11.46 (+5.46)

Week 3 stats

What have I changed??

So since diagnosis 20 days ago what have I changed??

My whole life has turned upside down to be honest.

I have gone from junk food junkie to "on my way to becoming a foodie guru" on all things nutrients!

I labelled/calculated what I would of eaten on a typical day on my NutraCheck app (love this! and its free) and it was shocking how much fat, salt, sugar and calories I was eating and the lack of fibre.

I maybe brave enough to post these in a few months time...... just not yet, Im sort of ashamed. 

I have started to compile a list of meals that are easy to prepare, have a balanced amount of energy between the carbs, protein and fats.  I am trying to stick with the advice given by my Diabetic Nurse to reduce my carbs where possible and increase my proteins. Adding increased fibre into the mix often gives those all important nutrients and macro nutrients our bodies need. And dont get me started on salt!!

But what is the difference between all these food groups! So far I have learnt this......

not all foods are equal!

They come in SO many forms that I intend to break down each group in other blogs. Mutliple sources of conflicting advice, Govn advice, food industry advice, friends, family and Specialist Nurse advice - it all gets very contradictory and overwhelming.

I have cut out big  areas of food though.

ANY and ALL forms of fast food..... MacD, KFC, Pizzas, Nandos, Chinese, Indian & Fish N Chips

not saying I cant make versions of these at home!! but no more high fat, salt, MSG and addiction for me!

Also chocolate, in all its forms - its just such a nonono for me now; it will spike my blood sugar, show up for all the world to see on my three monthly bloods, make me feel awful and send me back to oblivion.

Cadburys make go out of business, I have warned them 😂

Crisps, chips, high fat roast spuds etc etc

not saying I will NEVER have them again, but in moderation, once my weight is down (and I feel in control) and home made.

Learning to cook again is hard work, I was always reluctant and often cut corners but Im learning this is for ME!

Bottom line is my life NEEDED to change, I have thrown myself in at the deep end with the help of  The Hubby aka Skippy who tastes, advises and critiques my offerings.

I will get better at this, soon it will be easy peasy! I hope 🤞

After all this is DO or DIE (or have limbs removed and organs leave the premises again) 

Time to care for me......

23 May 2020 Food Diary

Breakfast

Dinner

So today I thought I would have the "big fry up" and it was YUCK!!

Basically the low fat version does not work for me...... at the moment......

Turkey Bacon is no substitute for the real thing; the salty fatty taste cannot be replaced.

Add to this my scrambled eggs were dry and hard, my mushrooms cold and a bit slimy - basically I was concentrating on the Hubbys breakfast and fuffed up mine.

Lunch was a safe bet with tomato soup with added spinach.

Dinner was yesterdays left over fajita sauce, added chicken and spinach with some garlic shredded Brussels sprouts, apparently they are high in fibre.

I'm looking forward to my fruit platter; blue/black/raspberries, figs and tangerines.

Cals  1363

Carbs 109.9

Protein 119.6

Fibre 29.4

Fat 46.7

Salt 4.97

22 May 2020 Food Diary

FRUIT & ALPEN BAR

MY FAJITAS!

HUBBY vs MINE!

Feeling rough overnight and lack of consistent sleep made for a fuzzy and slow start, felt like I spent the day on catch up with naps and that washed out feeling.

I had a "big fry up" style breakfast planned, having seen lots of keto diet pictures over the last few days but opted for egg on pitta in the end; probably more for ease than taste to be honest but its a firm favourite now.

Lunch was my easy peasy tomato soup which I had with some spinach (no chicken today) and a fruit platter.

Dinner I had prepped yesterday so it was an easy throw together!
Chicken, mixed peppers, onions, chopped tomatoes and Fajita mix.
I put my version of guacamole on some pepper slices instead of tortilla chips - it was ok!

I have put up my Husbands dinner as a comparison of what I would of normally eaten vs now!!

I have blueberries & figs with greek yogurt planned for later.

Cals 1386
Carbs 119.5
Protein 113.6
Fibre 41.5
Fat 48.7
Salt 8.22

21 May 2020 Food Diary

BREAKFAST

DINNER

SNACK

No breakfast today as I was not hungry, after the behemoth of last nights dinner, I'm not surprised. As my medications don't make me have hypos I am not going to force myself to eat when not hungry.

Brunch was wholemeal pitta with one half covered in 1/2 small can of sardines in tomato sauce, the other had a crushed avocado with cayenne pepper and a boiled egg.

Dinner was chicken thighs, large mixed leaf salad, ribboned carrot and some roasted BNS (butter nut squash) cubes. I used a low cal salad dressing (Chili & Lime)

Snacks: Alpen bar (low cal/fat etc)  berries & greek yogurt

"SUGAR"

GREEK YOGURT

BERRIES

My stats today were pretty impressive - I really felt in control today

but I'm still looking forward to learning, trialing and tasting more.

Cals: 1340

Carbs: 105.7

Protein: 102.8

Fat: 52.2

Fibre: 29.5

Salt: 3.13

20 May 2020 Food Diary

BREAKFAST

DINNER

Sorry for the day late posting but I ended up falling asleep on the sofa!!

Bfast was mushed avacado with cayenne pepper, scram egg & a sun dried tomato on romaine lettuce

Lunch was my current fav of tomato soup with spinach and chix thigh

Dinner was a SW old meal of burger in a bowl - don’t be fooled by pix there was half a lettuce under there!

Berries & yogurt

Cals 1460
Carbs 76.4
Protein 150.1
Fibre 26.1
Fat 62.3
Salt 3.98

Burger in a Bowl

This is basically just a SW menu, +/- a few bits and is a "deconstructed" Big Mac!!

Ingredients:

5% Steak Mince (ground beef) 500g

Iceburg Lettuce - whole (this will add your bulk to the meal)

1x Beef stock cube (low salt if possible - I prefer the Knorr stock pots)

Dill Pickles (amount to taste)

2x Large Brown Onion

1x Small Red Onion

Low Cal Thousand Island Dressing (20ml per person or to your taste/allowance)

Seasoning

**Jalepenos (I love these on anything!)

**Low Fat Grated Cheese (if you fancy a "cheeseburger"!! (to taste)

To Do:

Add the diced brown onion to a large pan - use spray oil/or leave to cook in own steam

Add the mince and stock cube (dont add water, just the cube or jelly)

whilst this  ^^  is cooking......

"crack" the iceberg lettuce on the counter with a big thump! makes it easier to slice/dice into small 2-3in sized chunks

line your bowl/plate with the chopped lettuce

slice your dill pickle and red onion  and leave to the side

once the mince is cooked, ladle on top of the lettuce, use the juices too..... they soak in nicely

"garnish" with the pickle and red onion and then spray/dribble your Thousand Island dressing all over the mince and garnish

(sprinkle cheese on top if you want)

this is a huge meal for two - three in my house so thats how I split it..... 

The Stats for this will vary on what products you use.... but on average this is what mine breaks down to for a serving:

Cals: 494

Carbs: 17.4

Protein: 72.2

Fat: 15.6

Fiber: 5.5

Salt: 1.82

Tomato Soup!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Can of Baked (or mixed) Beans - 400g

Can of chopped tomatos (or chop fresh ones) - 400g

Large Carrot - 80-100g

2 Pickled Onions

Flavourings to taste - Worcester Sauce, Sriracha, Chili, Cayenne Pepper - etc  (I like HOT)

To Do:

Chop the carrot into little chunks and boil til soft enough to mash

Add the tomatoes, beans, pickled onions and flavourings of choice - boil til you can mush the tomato.

leave to cool and then blend.... should make 3-4 servings dependent on how piggy you feel!

I add a handful of raw spinach once reheated for extra taste, fiber, nutrients and bulk.

As you can see this is a REALLY easy and cheap lunch meal - it freezes really well too.

Per serving (if 3 servings):
Cals: 139
Carbs: 25.9
Protein: 8.6
Fat: 1
Fiber: 8.8
Salt: 0.81

19 May 2020 Food Diary

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

 Breakfast:

2x scrambled eggs on wholemeal pitta with a splash of (low salt/sugar) Ketchup

coffee with semi-skimmed milk

Lunch:

Mashed sardines in tomato sauce (155g) on wilted spinach  & wholemeal pitta with an apple & 2 figs

Dinner:

SW Chicken balls with "Firecracker" sauce (home made, pls see reciepe section for details) with BareNaked Noodles, peppers, mushrooms & courgettes.

Snack:
0% Greek Yogurt with Blue/Rasp/Strawberries and Canderal Granulated (yes full of chemicals but I need the crunch and sweetness atm)

slices of ham (I got snacky) 100g

Later in the evening I got hungry - so going to aim for higher cals to each meal tomo' and not leave 400+ cals at end of day.

Cals: 1296                                                            (aim < 1753)

Carbs: 112.1g                                                       (aim < 120g)

Protein: 131.5g                                                     (aim < 150g)

Fat: 33.8g                                                             (aim <   60g)

Fibre: 26.5g                                                          (aim > 25g = 30g)

Salt: 6.64g                                                             (aim <   6g)

Week 2 (11/05/20)

Week One (03/05/20)

Day One - Here I go again.....

So, here I am again - May 2020 (year of Covid19) and I'm still fat, not even podgy, just plain old fat!

Seems my food demons have risen again, well to be fair they never really left! 

New Year intentions were soon gone by the end of January......

Whilst weight wise I'm NOT back to where I started at my heaviest (many moons ago when I sorted of started this blog); I'm not far off.

And now I can add in my newly diagnosed diabetes to the fun of my disintegrating, abused body!

I think I might be the only person in the world to say that getting Covid19 saved my life.

Firstly it shut all the junk food outlets - HooBloodyRa!

Then I really did get sick and my appetite dropped.

Thirdly I ended up at the Hospital again as my bloods were so deranged I was falling off my perch

Blood Sugar 37+

Lactate 6.7

Triglycerides off the chart..... not so much blood in my veins as a fat sludge with sugar particles.... 

I can blame Covid19 for not being able to  walk for any period without getting puffed but not being able to see my feet, do a sit up or fit in to 90% of my clothes without looking like a stuffed sausage or Demis Roussos - thats ALL me. 

I can no longer pretend I am comfy in my own skin.......

Every day now, whilst I get reuse of my lungs and get over this general exhaustion (thank you Covid19)  I spend several hours reading and researching about T2DM, various diets (I feel reviews and opinions coming on!) and planning meals.  With the odd peek at diabetic foot ulcers; dont if you dont have to......

I have seen enough literature and spoken to enough knowledgeable people to understand its NOT the exercise that really matters, although it helps to strengthen, tone and make you feel generally better, its the food I  put in my mouth thats the issue...... and I certainly have my food demons; already I can feel them gnawing at my brain.

Although postprandial walking does have its place....... more on this later!

I am not sure how to deal with these critters, they have been with me from childhood and whilst they are scary, I also know they are pathetic.  But deal with them I must, this is no longer a case of being a porker, this is organ damaging, limb losing, life shortening reality.

I am starting the blog again to try and focus myself, maybe get some friendly support, keep my food diary on track and hopefully get the odd kick up the arse!

I am planning to show daily food diary with pictures, logging the calories, carbs, proteins, fat, fibre and salt content - mostly so I can show my Diabetic Nurse and Dietitian in a few months.  Also for me to show my progress, good/bad days etc etc

My plan today, and every day,  is just to GET through  the day with no slip ups.