Menu Close

New eating habits - for health, energy and weight loss

I promised that we would talk about our new eating habits today! Are we obsessed with weight and health? No, not at all, but health plays a role in how you feel and what you can do. When you are negatively affected, you feel you have to do something, and that's where we are today.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Share
Share

New eating habits

We have felt for quite some time that we need to do something about our health. We are both tired, and Peter has had stomach pains for a long time. When he quit smoking and started taking cortisone in the same year, he also gained a lot of weight. Weight isn't everything, but it matters, and when you can't wear your clothes or move around like you used to, it's not much fun. (And Peter wants to really be able to have their clothing from Taracci!).

A few months ago we started jogging in the morningsand we have kept it up to some extent. It's good, but it wasn't enough to affect our weight. Then we decided to stop drinking wine, but that's the way it is. so boring. It didn't last and (probably therefore) had no effect. Eventually we had enough and felt that we had to change something else, and that was properly.

Nya matvanor och träningsvanor

But ... didn't we have good eating habits?

In some ways, we probably had good eating habits before. We ate a lot fish and lots of vegetables, and we rarely ate sweets and hardly ever drank soft drinks. So that's positive! Meneveryone has their weaknesses. For our part, the weaknesses have been about wine, beer, biscuits and cheese and a little too large portions. Peter has also been quite generous with butter and oil in his cooking. There are simply too many calories per day, and in the long run it makes you gain weight.

Peter äter hummer

New eating habits - no special diet

No, we haven't started any particular diet, and there are several reasons for that. Firstly, some diets can become monotonous and unhealthy for various reasons, and we don't want to expose ourselves to that. Secondly, some diets (such as the popular 5:2) involve eating irregularly.

We understand and respect that many people may think this type of diet is good, but it's not for us. Because I (Helena) suffer from migraines, I can't manage to eat different amounts on different days. If I try to do that, I get migrainesimply put.

Nya matvanor - kyckling, ris och grönsaker
We try to eat good food, but no specific diet.

New eating habits - counting calories

Our new eating habits are really about counting calories, trying to be even more aware of what we are eating. Recently, we have been counting just everything. We are careful to also count things that are easy to forget, such as marinades and cooking butter. We don't use a special app, but we have mostly looked at the Swedish National Food Agency's database, or we have simply googled.

Nya matvanor - torsk, potatis ocj morötter
Cod loin, baked root vegetables (without oil) and a little sour cream sauce - not so many calories!

New eating habits - prioritising and replacing

Our new eating habits are very much about thinking, prioritising and switching. After counting the calories, we can choose, and we realise that there are lots of smart swaps we can make that still feel ok to us. Some things we changed:

  • Half the portion of yoghurt in the morning
  • 17% cheese instead of regular
  • Water instead of beer at lunch
  • Most food cooked in the oven (without butter or oil) instead of the frying pan.
  • Smaller portions for dinner (and more vegetables)
  • Sauces made from sour cream instead of crème fraiche or mayonnaise
  • No snacks in the evening

But, we're not going to cut out wine completely! Since wine is the luxury that we appreciate the most, we have decided to continue to treat ourselves to a few glasses of wine from time to time. It's all about prioritising, isn't it?

Vin souvenir
The wine will be our jewel in the crown!

Several smaller meals per day

We try to eat slightly more, but smaller, meals per day. On weekdays we start with a small breakfast, with about a cup of yoghurt and half a banana (and on fancy days maybe some blueberries too). When we are done with our jogging round, there will be coffee and sandwiches!

Yoghurt
Vanilla yoghurt, banana and blueberries (early in the morning, therefore so dark!)

For lunch we have usually eaten instant noodles, because it is easy and cheap. It may not be completely optimal from a calorie point of view (since we also usually have two hard sandwiches with butter and cheese), so we may have to change this habit. Yesterday we tried a tuna can from Willys, which is originally mixed with beans, spices and other goodies. Together with this we had boiled eggs, vegetables and some hummus. Tasty and filling!

Nya matvanor - lunch med tonfisk, ägg och grönsaker
Tuna mix from Willys, boiled egg, hummus and vegetables

Sometimes, if we feel we need it, we have an extra meal in the afternoon. It could be a boiled egg, a tin of mackerel or a banana. On other days, we can do without that extra meal.

In the evening we have a relatively 'normal' dinner, except that we count the calories. We try to choose low-calorie products like chicken, fish, potatoes, carrots and various vegetables. Yesterday we tried making cauliflower rice, which is very energy efficient. Tasty and fresh!

Nya matvanor - veggobiff med potatis och grönsaker
Veggie steak cooked in the oven (although this one was not so good), vegetables, some jacket potatoes and a sour cream sauce.
Lax och blomkålsris
Salmon with cauliflower rice, vegetables, sour cream sauce and pomegranate seeds

How do you think about eating habits?

What are your thoughts on eating habits and health? Is this something you want us to write more about, or do you think we should stick to the travel theme?

Subscribe to our newsletter