Carbs

What, when and how I am eating is still playing on my mind. I am still conscious not to prepare too many meals with ultra-processed ingredients, opting for more homemade recipes and ingredients. I also trying to cut down on the amount of sugar I have, not drinking any cans of Coke or too many sweets or chocolates; I still have that nagging feeling I have type 2 diabetes.

Since my wife badly broke her arm in 2015, I have pretty much prepared all of our meals. But I am aware that over those 9 years, as we are getting older (despite becoming runners) our weight is creeping up. Reading into nutrition more has lead me to believe that the way I have been cooking, or the meals I have been preparing are probably the cause of the extra pounds. I would say that without fail, our evening meal will consist of some sort of starchy or carb based food: bread, potatoes, pasta or rice along with a “main” (fish, meat, vegetarian option) and lots of vegetables. There are times when I will make pizza and salad, a chilli or curry but generally, our meals consist of those 3 main food-types.

If we were to try and change our diet in the hope it would help us lose a few pounds, I would have to ditch the mashed, boiled, roast, wedged potatoes or the hearty and filling pasta meals I prepare because they are quick and easy to feed a family of 4 plus any extra guests.

Although recipe books are useful, I am wondering if being on a diet “plan” or using a service/app might be easier. I have been looking at the Zoe health and nutrition offering, but also found the Fast 800 programme (also a science-based solution) which is a Mediterranean style low-carb diet plan combined with 5:2 intermittent fasting (only 800 calories on the 2 fasting days). They have an app with recipes and shopping lists and also promote exercise as well as eating better.

However, there is still that thought in the back of my mind that I shouldn’t need to pay for these things, that the process should be quite simple and easy to do on my own. Do I really need an app to tell me what to eat and when? Possibly. Maybe that is where I have been going wrong with a lot of changes in my life, thinking I can do it on my own just to save a few quid.

Although, I think the key to anything like this will be getting the support and buy-in from my wife too. Changes like these will be easier if we are working on it together.