Pizza-liscious 'n' Fizz-spec-tac-u-lar!

Former Member

OKAY

So I'm gonna be 18 on the 27th April!

I'm going out for a meal, going clubbing etc. Gonna wear dresses and other going out clothes.

I've decided my diet pretty much consists of Pizza and Coke/Pepsi/Dr.Pepper


I'm going food shopping with my Father tonight and I want some ideas of what to get, cause I really want to feel better, the whole eating junk kinda gives me a bad overall feel. They say you are what you eat I spose.


So yeah any ideas?

I have tried getting strawberries, and eating this with skimmed milk and wheatabix - which is nice, but I usually add a lot of sugar -_- so maybe it kind of cancels it out. - Plus the strawberries usually run out quick and I don't like wheatabix on its own.

P.S I hate water, the only time I can drink it when its ice cold and I've just been working out and desperately need a drink.



ALSO: Running, whats the best way to do it, if your unfit, I mean I can run fast but burn out quickly etc. I wanna start being more active etc. When I go running I end up stopping a lot, walking I'm fine with but running is another story.

Oh and...
Situps? I've got laminate flooring so the floor is out of the option any ways of targetting abs without floor sit ups?

Former Member

With the running, do one minute jogging, one walking to start with and build up the running from there. If you hate plain water, have you tried the fruity-flavoured waters that Volvic do (other brands obviously available )? I like the peachy one . Also, sugar-free squash is a good alternative as it's only 8 calories per 100ml of the concentrated squash (this is based on the Robinsons sugar free orange that I have by my bed).

People may not agree with me here but...instead of focusing at first on fruit and veg because that's a big jump, try healthier foods that you would still like and don't 'feel' healthy. Fish fingers are fairly good, stuff like cous cous, maybe try home-made curries and if you like pizza make your own! I'm sure someone on here will give you a good recipe for one of theirs, which will be much more nutritious and healthy than a store-bought or takeaway pizza. Make veggie alternatives like veggie lasagne to get your five a day up.

Definitely cut down on the coke/fizzy drinks though. They have so much sugar.

Former Member

Cheers!

The only fruit and veg I like are:

Strawberries,
Apples,
Cucumber,
Tomatoes,
Mushrooms,
Potatoes,
Sweetcorn.

I figured adding some of these in with a meal would be a plus although Potatoes are quite starchy and if you dont use the energy up it gets put into fat?

Pretty much the only exercise I get is walking 2 miles back from college/work [I could walk the extra 2miles to work/college but its usually too early to wake up and do]

I also sometimes do this dance workout I got at home, I feel so stupid doing it though lol.

Also, is running, walking or cycling better?
I always wondered which was best.

I use to buy the pre-made dough and make pizza, but I usually use a lot of cheese. -_-

I tried I think evian with strawberry, wasnt that nice tbh I like squash, but I kept getting told it still had rubbish in it so stayed away, but I guess it would be a major improvement fom the coke etc.

BTW!... is the diet options of the fizzy drinks any good in terms of calories/sugar and all the rubbish?

Former Member

Don't give me too early lady! I used to get up at 3am every morning to get to walk three and a half miles to be at work by 5! I don't take too early as an excuse for anything .

Apples, cucumber and sweetcorn would go well in a salad together, maybe add some grated carrot if you can deal with that and a little grated cheese and OOF tasty! Grilled chicken salads are my fave, with a low-fat dressing. Maybe you might like other veggies or fruit if you try them in different ways e.g. grilled pepper stuffed with cous cous.

I'm not sure about diety fizzy because I don't really drink fizzy, but if you buy sugar free squash it seriously is pretty good. My bottle by my bed says 20 serving per bottle (unless you're me and like it seriously strong), which in a 1litre bottle at 8kcal per 100ml makes FOUR calories per serving. It has virtually nothing in it, seriously. And the sugars in it are natural and therefore not as bad.

I *think* cycling is better as it works your stomach muscles a bit more but I think it depends what you're going for and I'm sure g_angel, go_away or CheeseOnToast will be along soon with some better advice for you. Dance workout is good though! Maybe start by committing to doing that at least twice a week and going for a jog/run twice a week too. If you can, try eBay for a mega cheap electric bike if you have space. Just a basic one will do - don't see the need for all this fancy rubbish!

Cheese is my downfall too, and salt, but everything in moderation is fine. If you put lots of other toppings on your pizza (like the mushrooms, sweetcorn, tomatoes and maybe ham/cooked chicken) you won't need so much cheese - easy!

Good luck .

Former Member

Very dilute sugar free squash if far better for you than any fizzy drinks.

With fizzy drinks you need to not only think about the calories/sugar, but all the other junk and chemicals they've got in them as well. Anything more than a couple of cans a week is bad news. Squash isn't perfect, but it's a million miles better.

Another thing to think of is your teeth. Acidic fizzy drinks like Coke/Pepsi/Dr Pepper destroy your teeth. Again squash isn't perfect but pales into insignificance when compared to coke.

Jacket potatoes and fillings make good easy meals. You can do them in the microwave so quick and easy.

Stir fry? If you've got a non stick pan then it's yummy and healthy as you don't need to use gallons of oil.

Go for baby steps, you don't need to become a healthy eating model of perfection over night. Getting some variety would be a really good starting point. Mixing some veg into you main meals is a basic but key step.

Chicken, Mushrooms and sweetcorn would make a mean stir fry. With Rice, Couscous, Pasta, Wraps....

And with stir fry you can try mixing in small amounts of veg you don't actively dislike. Little bit of chopped pepper adds good flavour. Bean sprouts go in well. Little bit of courgette.

Don't worry about using packet/jar type sauces to go with it to begin with. After a while you'll get some ideas for doing them on your own.

I do a lot of mine with chopped meat/chopped veg and a squirt of light mayonnaise (I loathe mayonaise on it's own but it works in cooking), some tomatoe puree stuff out a tube and a shake of cajun spice out a jar.

Other options for a more liquidy sauce, eg, to go with pasta would be to use chopped tinned tomatoes rather than the puree paste.

Former Member

Thank you all for the info!

I'm gonna try it, I'm fed up of being a lazy couch potatoe!

I never knew you could do stir frys without using oil, my dad has a heart condition so I try and keep him away from the frying pan as he coats it in oil. Might be worth trying out a stiry fry without oil!

And franki lol I guess I really am lazy then, I figure walking/cycling/running to college/work would wake me up anyways making me more alert and on the ball. =]

Ahh I cant wait to try some new stuff, I dont like most things on their own, I DISPISE ONIONS.. even with pizza or anything, god their horrble stuff, they make me throw up! :P

But I'm gonna try stuff like pepper and couscous (never even thought about couscous before)

Former Member

I didn't mean to suggest you were lazy haha. Even the people I worked with thought I was crazy to bother. Though given I was working at McDonalds, they were probably right although it burnt off my free food, and it really does wake you up, especially if it's a little cold outside (don't worry, you SOON get warmed up if you go at slightly-faster walking speed.

And it's really good that you're willing to try things you've not had before. I LOVE cous cous, if you like rice you'll definitely like it and the packet ones come in yummy flavours (my fave is Ainsley Harriott roasted vegetable).

Also, if you *do* need to use oil, you can buy a 1-cal-per-spray oil called fry-lite which is actually fairly good.

Good luck!!

Former Member

You can also fry things in a non stick pan using on the tiniest dribble of oil. Oil itself isn't the end of the world, it's oil in large quantities that's bad.

Former Member

hi
running walking and cycling are all good for you. to start running do 2 mins jogging 2mins walking etc for 20mins, 3 times a week then after a couple of weeks progress to 3mins jog 2mins walk and keep progressing like that until you are just jogging and then gradually keep increasing the amount of time/distance that you jog for and go at a speed that means you will keep jogging no matter how slow.

if you like pizza then try making your own with less cheese and put loads of veg on it that you like. something i eat lots of is low fat yogart with fruit. try drinking fruit juice or if you only like water really cold keep a bottle in the fridge so it is always cold.pasta with veg and pesto is really good and easy to make.

try cutting down on fizzy drinks, i only have them occassionally like when i go out for the night.

with the sit ups maybe try putting a towel on the floor, thats what i do so it is less painful. sit ups are really the best exerciese for abs, i cant think of other ones sorry.

hope some of this helps, let us know how you get on with it.

good luck:)

Former Member

imohorn18 wrote: »

sit ups are really the best exercise for abs

erm..no, they're not. Rocking crunches and planks are much better for core strength. It's always good to excersise all parts of your body, granted, but simply excerising your abdominals won't give you a flat stomach/6 pack. To get that perfect toned look you need to lower your body fat which is done through a lot a of cardio excerise and eating correctly (and at the right times!)
You say your birthday is at the end of this month..sorry to tell you but it's unlikely you will notice any significant changes in your appearance by that time. It is good that you realise you need to change your lifestyle though and with the right eating/excerise program you will feel a hell of a lot better after a while.

Excercising at home is not the best idea imo, its unlikely to work unless you're incredibly motivated! and not many people generally are. I'd probably try and join a gym..maybe rope in your dad to go with you and speak to the staff there as they can prove themselves to be very useful!

As for the food situation: Try making homemade versions of your favourite foods, like someone else mentioned - veggie lasagne can mask a lot of veg and fill you with nutrients. Jacket potatoes with fillings (not too much cheese however! and if you can live without it, no butter - you wont even notice the difference after a while), beans on toast is filling and pretty good for you, homemade chilli-con-carne, soups

Former Member

If you make veggie lasagne with cottage cheese rather than cheese sauce its realllly good for you (and wholemeal lasagne slices) - just grate a little normal cheese on top.

Former Member

does it taste good too? You just spoon cottage cheese instead of bechamel?

Former Member

sorry Icey I forgot about crunches and planks.
I wouldn't reccomend joining a gym as it can be pretty expensive and can be intimidating if there are loads of other people around.
Try to get some friends or family member involved and go running outside, its cheap and you get some fresh air, it can be heard to motivate yourself thats why getting some others to go as well is good.
if you want overall fitness you shoudn't just work on your ab muscles also try doing some squats, press ups etc look some stuff up for different muscle groups, that way you are working your body equally.

Former Member

Instead of fizzy drinks buy a fruit syrup. Yea, they still contain sugar, but that's why you dilute them with water. It's good, cheap and the next best thing to water. It's the only thing I drink at home. Sometimes apple juice (half half with water) etc.

I could not imagine to drink fizzy drinks or ice tea all day, because I annihilate beverages in gallons. That would just be too expensive.

Strawberries are pretty good themselves, but I add a bit of sugar myself. I think that's fine when you cut back on all that sugar from pop drinks.

Eat smaller meals and have a salad to it. I don't really eat salad and I don't know why, maybe out of defiance to my father, but if I'm on my own in a restaurant I love myself some good salad.

You don't need to overextend yourself with all the healthy stuff, because it might go over your head and you stop all together. Just learn a few (halfway decent/healthy) meals (look into the food forums) and cook them from time to time. Always add a bit more recipes etc. Don't worry if it tastes a bit "bland" at first, especially if you eat a lot of junk food. I found that junk food is really rich in flavor enhancer. If you quit them for a while, "normal" food starts to taste better (and junk food makes you bloaty and is just "too much")

One of the more difficult things: cut back on sweets/chocolate. It's pretty hard at first, but it's kinda like an addiction. Once you break it, you don't crave for it that much, but you can still indulge from time to time without being "hooked" again.

That's just a few things easy things for starters coming from a person who never made a diet in his life, but I think those things are general knowledge anyway.