Fat Club Help - Recipes, foods, articles, ideas

[silenthill]

I thought I'd start this thread so that anyone who would like to chat about their experiences of trying to lose weight or how they've lost weight, any articles or any ideas, etc, they have so that they can be shared with others, you might just help someone else out.

[silenthill]

I found an interesting article on www.ivillage.co.uk today -

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How to do all your supermarket shopping for less than £20

Do you arrive home in the evening ravenous, but too tired to cook? Do you spend a fortune at your local takeaway or on pre-packaged foods from the supermarket? If this sounds like you, help is at hand.

The way to eat well, without it costing the earth, is to think ahead. The following ready-made shopping list and healthy, six-day meal planner will get you on the right track for less than £20 a week.

Store-cupboard basics

* vegetable oil
* reduced-fat milk
* couscous
* pasta
* rice
* potatoes
* wholegrain breakfast cereal
* canned vegetables, such as tomatoes
* canned beans and pulses, such as chick peas
* canned tuna fish
* bread
* frozen vegetables
* dried fruit
* nuts

Seasonal bargains
Look out for seasonal bargain buys in the fresh fruit and vegetable section of your supermarket. Better still, pop down to your local market, where you’ll find lots of good deals, particularly on Saturday afternoons.

In terms of meat, go for the cheaper cuts such as braising steak, pork shoulder or chicken drumsticks. Remember, you don’t have to eat it all at once: you can freeze what you don’t need.

Midweek meals

* couscous with spicy chickpeas and dried apricots (Leftovers can be eaten cold the next day for lunch.)
* stir-fried vegetables (Use frozen vegetables to save time. Season with soy sauce, sprinkle with crushed peanuts and serve with rice.)
* chicken casserole (Pop in some potatoes and vegetables like swede and carrots. Make double quantities at the weekend and freeze some for the week ahead.)
* bean and pasta soup served with bread (Use canned haricot beans. This soup tastes even better reheated and eaten the next day.)
* spanish omelette (tortilla) made with potato, onion, garlic and eggs, served with seasonal vegetables or salad (Leftovers can be eaten cold.)
* potato, tuna and egg salad with lemon, garlic and oil dressing (Save leftovers for the next day.)

[Admin]

Thanks SH, I find that I cook mostly chiken breasts now the kids are no longer here. It's all too easy to fall into bad habits, I know, I work odd hours durning term time and it is easy to skip eating.

That list just about sums up my cupboards, yet finding the will to cook even a simple stirfry can be difficult to muster at times.

[silenthill]

admin said:

Thanks SH, I find that I cook mostly chiken breasts now the kids are no longer here. It's all too easy to fall into bad habits, I know, I work odd hours durning term time and it is easy to skip eating.

That list just about sums up my cupboards, yet finding the will to cook even a simple stirfry can be difficult to muster at times.

I eat a lot of stirfrys, mainly because they are one of the easiest things to cook and that they can have anything put in them, I hate cooking with a passion and I hate cleaning up the mess afterwards too!

I also find making meals in bulk and then freezing them helps.

[6alives]

An alternative to stir frys is to have fajita's the cooking is almost the same and instead of putting sour cream on them replace it with Danone Vitalinea it has 0 fat YUMMY!!

[silenthill]

6alives said:

An alternative to stir frys is to have fajita's the cooking is almost the same and instead of putting sour cream on them replace it with Danone Vitalinea it has 0 fat YUMMY!!

That sounds yummy, I've never heard of Danone Vitalinea, I'll have to keep a look out for it.

[6alives]

its a 0% fat fromage frais

[frisky]

I would like to recommend 'I Can Make You Thin' by Paul McKenna. It's a book with a free cd. The cd is full of neurolinguistic programming techniques. The book is also quick and easy to read.

I'm a comfort eater by nature. The book deconstructs your attitudes to eating and sets out the basics:-

Only eat when you are hungry (harder than it sounds)

Eat when you are pleasantly hungry. Don't leave it til you are ravenous.

Chew each mouthful in a mindful way. Actually savour what you are eating.

Finish when you are full. Don't feel you have to finish the whole plate if you are already full up.

It might sound like all this is obvious but it has helped me alot. I'm still comfort eating off and on but the cd is there and when I get back to sanity, I know how to manage my eating properly.

Currently I'm going through some personal issues so the comfort eating is back with a vengeance. However I am making an effort to be more active so it's not all doom and gloom.

[silenthill]

6alives said:

An alternative to stir frys is to have fajita's the cooking is almost the same and instead of putting sour cream on them replace it with Danone Vitalinea it has 0 fat YUMMY!!

I couldn't get the Danone one but I got one of Tescos same thing, it was yummy

For anyone that has a sweet tooth, I found at Tescos that they stock sweets called Sula, I like the strawberry and cream ones, they have other flavours too, they are sugar and fat free and are delicious, just watch you don't eat too many at once or you'll be sitting on the toilet for a long while

[juliejuliejulie]

Found this website - looks very good and its dr chris steel from this morning - www.thefamilygp.com/lose-weight.aspx