New and totally lost

[QPRTYPOWER]

Okay so i paid up to get help with food etc… and it seemed very easy ,follow steps and guides , do a menu planner …. blah blah blah , but…. and heres the massively confusing part of this , A) i hardly ever cook because i have no real idea how to , B) majority of the foods listed on the menu planner i have either never heard of or have never used and C) when it came to selecting food items , as you might guess i am short in most aras and can not be allowed to create a menu planner until i select more items 🙁 So in theory it might work well for those who actually eat helthy food items anyway , but for those of us who don’t where exactly is our help ? I need to eat helathier foods i know that ,but can’t sort a planner out until i start eating those foods and that does NOT help me in any way . 1 of the audio comments was something like ‘ i feel like giving up trying’ …. yeah i feel like that now 🙁 please someone help

[betski]

There is a lot of good info on this website if you can spend some time navigating around and reading different articles. I have learned about new foods that I may never try. 🙂 I had to resort to Google to find out what Seitan is. Yuck! I love to cook so that helps a lot but It’s possible to do this without a lot of cooking knowledge. When you are choosing foods, go ahead and pick foods that you don’t necessarily eat right now but are willing to try. When you get enough to plan a menu, you can change foods or whole meals any time you want. I’ve been doing this for a month and have lost 9 pounds and feel much better already. Good luck!

[QPRTYPOWER]

thanks Betski and i have read so much stuff i can’t take it all in 🙁 I’ve spent over an hour trying to find one simple thing to buy which is whole GRAIN bread but i have lost the will to keep searching as every time i typed in whole grain , i was shown to whole wheat ,whole meal or even white bread 🙁 as for the lists on the menu , if i search for every item that i don’t know or have never tried ,i’ll actually be dead before sorting out a planner 🙁 So if i pick foods that i dont eat now or even know what they are , how is that going to help me plan meals ? i will have a planner that just shows a lot of things i dont have and that doesn’t help in any way . The audio part which i listened to before joining told me i could actually keep eating some of the things i like with my family too but again that is just so wrong because most of the food i like isn’t even listed 🙁 As for cooking, no offence but its easy to say its easy to do without alot of cooking knowledge when you have that knowledge anyway but even with stuff not needed to be cooked like almonds etc… i saw them listed as snacks and thats fine if you eat them , like them or have in the past but i really dont understand nay of this and the more i read the worse it gets!

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, QPRTYPOWER, and welcome. Yes, you are definitely encouraged to start the plan by selecting foods you already have – these are in the Menu Planner lists to get you started. The overwhelmed feeling where you’re learning is definitely temporary, and you don’t have to jump in head first. Make the changes gradually, take the time to learn and upgrade, etc. The following is a guide regarding where to find products (http://www.trimdownclub.com/where-to-buy-uk), and some of the sites (particularly http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk) have brief explanations of the foods. In addition, do make use of the articles on this site – just type the name of the item in question in the search box, and we may have what you’re looking for. You are also welcome to post specific questions here.

[QPRTYPOWER]

1 more thing Sharon, i keep reading that i need to find whole GRAIN bread and yet one of the links you show me lists supermarkets who all stock whole MEAL breads and grain products and you wonder why i’m so confused . Personally i’d willingly swap to whole GRAIN bread if it helps but again all i keep being refeerred to was whole MEAL and from everythnig i read ,they are nowhere near the same 🙁

[AnnaH]

Hi Qprtypower – It seems from a bit of research that whole meal and whole grain are virtually the same, we in the UK use the term whole meal more.
Wholegrain/Whole wheat = Contains the Bran, Germ and Endosperm of the grain
Wholemeal = Contains the Bran, Germ and Endosperm of the grain
but is finely milled giving a finer texture

Ossie will jump in and tell me if I’m wrong, I don’t eat any shop bought bread which is why I can’t give you brands etc. You should be able to get it in the normal supermarkets, just read the labels and check that it either says wholegmeal or wholewheat.
If you want to join the group Sucessful Beginnings and Support Too there quite a few of us from the UK. There is a guy who does hardly any cooking too although he isn’t from the UK so he maybe able to help. This is a link to a food glossary I started which you may find helpful. http://www.trimdownclub.com/groups/talking-cooking-nanas/forum/topic/what-foods-are-called-in-the-uk/

[tessab44]

Hi,
I can feel your frustration, and think you are really quite brave to sign up for this, being a single guy with little cooking experience.
I wonder if in your quest for helpful info you have delved into the “articles” there is quite a bit of helpful stuff there.
3 that you might like to read are…..
Lose waist without want.
Is whole wheat bread actually healthier than white bread
Building meals that curb hunger.
The other thing that might be helpful is to go into the “recipes” section. Trolling through those for some you like would maybe help you form a list of foods you like for your menu planner. If that doesn’t help, buy lots of vegetables of all colours, some lean meat of your choice, Kallo organic stock cubes. Chop everything into bite size pieces, throw into a large pot with enough water to cover, a couple of the stock cubes, bring to the just starting to boil stage, then turn it down to the lowest heat and let simmer until everything is tender. Black pepper, garlic, and chilli will spice it up
a bit. If you buy about a lb/500grams of meat it should give you about 3to 4 servings. All the above are available at any UK supermarket.
Take the programme on a little at a time, keep it simple, and you will ease into it nicely. One thing is for sure, this way of eating is so good for you, that once you have the principles on board you will not look back.
Best wishes
Tessab

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, all. Anna & Tessa, thanks. Yes, whole grain and wholemeal are essentially the same. If there’s any doubt, the ingredients list will tell the story – if all the flours are wholemeal, whole grain, or whole [whatever], then the product is, too.

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