Wednesday 11 May 2011

What I eat to stay healthy- my daily diet.

Hey all- I am back :)

I have had some really amazing feedback on this little page and actually a fair few requests for things people would like to read about. I think that is so amazing- that I (yes me??) am able to inspire some people.

So the most requested post has been a post about what I eat.

I am very much a believer now in that in life you have to have a balance. You can't be good and diet 100% of the time and still have fun and *live*.
I often find my social life comes in the way of me wanting a  healthy lifestyle - but I do know that that has mostly been an excuse to keep stuffing my face with crisps and cream cakes ;)

I think if you live your life with an 80 / 20 approach you can't go wrong. By that I mean that if you are good and eat well for 80% of the time, then you can afford to be a little naughty 20% of the time.
This approach has worked for me for years and years, so I shall keep following it.

Sadly after I had my second baby, I just had no real motivation to get my pre- baby body back, so he is now 1 year old and I still have at least 1 stone (at least I say, ideally I'd shed 1.5 stones).
People do say to me I look fine, and I know my shape and size is not un-acceptable, but I don't feel great in myself, which is the most important thing, isn't it?

So I'll show you here what I keep in my cupboard and fridge and what I eat in a typical day, hopefully this will be helpful.

These things can always be found in my kitchen:

Protein

  • Chicken




  • Lean ham




  • Crab sticks




  • Fresh or frozen fish such as salmon & mackerel




  • prawns




  • Tuna - tinned in brine or water




  • Low fat yoghurt 0% with vanilla flavour




  • Low fat cottage cheese pineapple flavour (or any flavour)




  • Eggs




  • Skimmed milk




  • Tofu - mince, burgers




  • low fat cheese spread, such as Philadelphia






  • Vegetables 





  • Broccoli
  • Carrots



  • Green beans



  • Celery



  • Radishes



  • Peppers 



  • Onions



  • Peas



  • Sweetcorn



  • Mangetout (Sugarsnap Peas)



  • Spinach



  • Mushrooms



  • Tinned tomatoes - plum, chopped




  • Fruit


  • Apples



  • Bananas



  • Oranges



  • Peaches - fresh or tinned in juice



  • Pears



  • Frozen berries



  • Complex carbs


  • Brown rice



  • Whole grain bread



  • Wholeweat pasta



  • Seasonings

  • Garlic - fresh or minced (in a jar)



  • Chillis - fresh or dry



  • Stock cubes



  • Soy Sauce



  • Honey



  • Mustard - Coarse grain and Dijon



  • Vinegar - balsamic and wine vinegar



  • Fat free salad dressings

    My average day would go something like  this:
    Breakfast: Herbal tea & 1 piece of fruit (personally I can't eat in the morning)

    Lunch Tuna and reduced-fat dressing salad with1 eggs & green beans. 1 apple & 1 little pot of pineapples.

    Dinner: Chicken cut into strips and vegetable stir-fry with brown rice; bowl of fresh fruit salad

    Snacks and drinks: Snack on raw celery sticks, radishes, carrots, apples. Drink water, diet coke, green tea and other herbal tea.
    I like to have a little extra treat now and again, so I keep a box of very low fat ice lollies in the freezer, and have one as and when. Callipos have very few calories.


    Of course that is one average day.. Some days don't go like this... In fact it can be hard being a mum of 2 small ones, and actually get time to make healthy food for yourself.So sometimes I do just grab whatever I can, but the key to stay on track here is to always have nice healthy option in your house, so you grab those  rather than grab a bag of crisps.
    Me with my eldest son a few months after having my second baby (seen in the background)

    Even though my 5 year old is at school and I give him packed lunch, he never has crisps or sweet things in his lunch, as I know if we ad those things in the house- well Mummy might just eat them.. (Whoops..) And of course also I want him to be healthy and fit and have a great source of energy for the long school day they have!I make sure I always have things like Ryvita, low fat soft cheese spread, rice cakes, apples in the house so when the going gets tough I can still grab something fairly low in calories and fat.I have a major weakness for crisps, and am not really a chocolate lover at all.. If I get cravings I tend to go for a bag of Walkers baked crisps, which are extremely low in calories and tasty.  So in my life I still eat things I want, but try to chose the low fat options, it really makes a big difference I think.So that is me- I do hope that was somewhat helpful. Of course I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore anyone too much.. If you however would like posts on diet or food, let me know, I am happy to receive ideas and suggestions in the comments below.
    *Again I feel the need to say I am not a professional, but I do have  long history of working in the health & fitness industry, dieting, exercising and trained as a personal trainer*
  • 10 comments:

    1. Would you consider low fat to be the healthiest diet plan?

      ReplyDelete
    2. Sinead, for me the issue is I want to lose weight, so if I don't eat low fat I won't lose the weight I want to. Also I think the general opinion is that if you eat a low fat diet you maintain a healthy and happy heart and body.
      Also a HIGH fat diet will or can at least (in the long run) give you an unhealthy body, clog up your arteries - cause heart attacks, high cholesterol and so on.

      So to answer in short - YES ;)

      ReplyDelete
    3. Well any low calorie diet will make you lose weight.
      Low fat diets tend to be high in sugar and salt.

      Obviously whatever works for you is awesome, and I do think Atkins was nuts but fat is an important macro nutrient.

      And a lot of low-fat products can be heavily processed. Varies per brand, so check labels.

      P.s your tuna steak looks amazing!

      ReplyDelete
    4. Sinead yes I take your point, although I will say I am concious to keep salt and sugar intakes down.

      But like I said this is what works for me- I eat lots of fresh smoked mackerel and avocado and other healthy fats, I try to stay clear off the trans fats.

      ReplyDelete
    5. Blimey I feel so unhealthy after reading that. I've got the 80:20 thing going on in reverse! *blush*

      ReplyDelete
    6. Whatever works for you Ms Strawberry Blonde :)

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    7. I really enjoyed this post, thank you. Very helpful in terms of knowing what to have in my fridge and cupboards!

      I really hope you stick with this new blog as I am loving it!

      *requests for healthy but tasty recipes!*

      xxx

      ReplyDelete
    8. I don't think you're eating enough calories, this sounds unhealthy.

      ReplyDelete
    9. Good post, how do you get by keeping a healthy diet whilst working a 9-5 job. I always struggle to stick to a healthy diet at work as I find myself eating lunch at my desk and working at the same time! Any ideas?

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    10. Thanks for posting that list Stina x

      ReplyDelete