Remember the good old days of eating in moderation? Following a low calorie diet? Skipping the crisps, sweets and cakes and carrying on?
I grew up with a mother always on a diet. Whether it was Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, The Cambridge Diet, The Hay Diet, Atkins and most recently Lighter Life. Measuring cups, scales, shakes and tiny cereal bars, were a common staple in our house. She still battles her weight to this day. I guess it is true – It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle!
The hazy recollection of my old dear eating Bran flakes with banana, then breaking out the Jane Fonda Workout Video, are a distant memory. Grapefruit with black tea or the daily atkins breakfast of bacon and eggs…aaaah the good ole days!
All these diets still exist. Jane Fonda’s 1982 classic, is still one of the best available but the landscape of the diet lifestyle has changed.
Whether you’re Keto, Vegan, Mediterranean, Paleo, Vegetarian, Flexitarian or some hybrid of your own choosing; the possibilities are endless. Much like the advice and information available, it’s rather overwhelming. I have been completely lost in research, after trying a few Vegan recipes last month. It’s a minefield and not a very friendly one. People aren’t just dieting, they are adopting new beliefs and opinions. People are losing friends and being bullied into certain food choices or being made to feel so guilty and wrong, if they decide to turn their back on a particular diet choice. Whatever the plan was to begin with, I don’t think this outcome was the goal. If we are changing the way we eat, to be more considerate to our planet and animals, we can at least be more considerate to each other.
Having researched Keto and Vegan extensively, I can see merit in both. The appeal of both. For me, I’m not sure I want to completely cut out entire food groups. Because…I don’t want to. Last time I checked, freedom to choose and select your own food options was allowed.
In my research I took some time to try out a few recipes. I may not want to go all in for a particular diet but this has made me want to make a few changes.
- I tried cooking with Quorn mince, despite being seasoned and wonderfully hidden in my lasagne, it ruined the whole dish and the texture resembled something close to scrambled egg!
- Overnight Oats – Abandoning the traditional cereal option and avoiding bread, with something that would keep me going until Lunch sounded like a winner. No hidden sugars, adding fruit into your day first thing; seemed like a win win. It was kinda lose lose! What I ended up with, was a subtle blue colour (thanks to added blueberries), pot of cement. The bin enjoyed it. No amount of added milk, heat or golden syrup could save that!
- Tofu Stir Fry – I spent days learning about this. Read the forums and hacks about what type of tofu to use and how to cook it. Got the right spices, oil and dusted off my wok. It looked ok. It tasted vile. Another treat for the bin.
- Vegan pizza – it looked like it had promise but the taste just wasn’t there. The cheese ended up coating my teeth like a paste and all the garlic and spinach was just…no.
Vegetarian sausages, Vegan mince, plant based meatballs and the Beyond Burger, were all reasonable successes. I struggle with a plant based diet, mainly because I can’t eat a lot of salad and vegetables. I also don’t like beans: kidney beans, butter beans (Lima beans), haricots, cannellini beans, flageolet beans, pinto beans and borlotti beans. I just can’t bear the taste or texture of them. I quite like baked beans but I can’t build a diet round that. I quite like Chickpea but not lentils so going full Vegan, was never going to be a real option for me.
The Current Crop of Popular Diets
- Paleo avoids dairy and grains.
- Keto is meat heavy and keeps carbohydrate intake to 20g per day.
- Vegan avoids all animal produce, meat and dairy. Also ‘Bees do not make honey for humans, they make it for themselves. Bees have no way to consent to producing honey specifically for humans. This is exploitation of another creature and is against veganism’. Just thought I would cover that.
- Mediterranean encourages fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and seafood with red meat and dairy in moderation.
- Flexitarian is mainly vegetarian but will occasionally have meat included in their diets.
Obviously my explanations are hugely simplified but you get the gist.
So as it was years ago, diets are still a minefield and not everyone feels the same or wants to eat the same or wants the same result out of their diet. I am currently working on a hybrid diet, using many of the rules of the plans above. Everything in moderation may be old fashioned but it is balanced.
We have cut back on red meat and almost cut out dairy. We have switched our white bread, pasta and rice to wholemeal. I would like to reduce my carb and sugar intake too…baby steps. I may not be thinner or bursting with all this alleged extra energy but I am paying more attention to how I fuel my body. That can only be a good thing.
To be continued…