the initial revealing

So before my first consultation with the vegan dietician sometime next week I had a nice long questionarre to fill out about my dietary habits, and my god im so ashamed! It would be much less shameful if I actually wrote something decent in there but hey, its not about that is it? Im hiring a dietician to get me on the straight & narrow so its time to bare my soul & essentially get my moneys worth! I thought I would share my answers with lil blog world so I can one day look back and think what the fuck was I thinking?????? (I know any vegan worth their weight in tofu will cringe at this but please dont judge me: ive admitted to my errors! Some support would be much more productive!)

Past medical history: asthma (aged 5), anorexia/bulimia (ages 12-19).

Last cholestrol check: never.

Family history: heart attack, angina & obesity.

Do you smoke: no.

Medications: none.

Allergies: beer, penicillin.

Supplements: none.

Food group avoidances: meat.

Vegetarian: yes.

Laxatives: no.

Appetite suppressants: no.

Weight fluctuations: 5-10kg up & down a month.

Do you want to increase/decrease body fat: decrease.

Past weightloss attempts: numerous! Ive tried weight watchers, tony ferguson, lite & easy.

Are you concerned youre not meeting all your nutritional requirements: very concerned.

Do you ever skip breakfast: yes.

Do you ever skip other meals: yes.

Do you have no time to prepare meals: yes.

Do you eat takeaway more then 3 times a week: sometimes.

Do you drink more then 4 cups of coffee a day: yes.

Do you drink less than 4 glasses of water a day: yes.

Weekly physical activity: 1hr walk with dogs most days.

Do you plan to change this: yes, try go to gym.

Main reasons for seeking nutrition assistance: to lose weight & get healthy.

How would you rate your appetite: above average.

How would you rate your speed of eating: faster then usual.

How many times a day do you eat: 0-5 times a day.

How true is the saying 'eat what you like when you like': very true.

Would you say you have a sweet tooth: yes.

Do you enjoy fried foods: yes.

Do you enjoy salty foods: yes.

What is your goal weight: 65kg.

How much time do you spend preparing food: 5mins a meal max.

Would you like to change this: yes.

How would you rate your cooking skills: quite good.

Does anyone else at home cook your meals: no.

Food frequency

red meat: never

chicken: never

fish: never

seafood: never

cows milk: only in coffee

cheese: once a week

yogurt: once a week

eggs: 2-3 times a week

soymilk: never

soy products(tofu): once a month

peanut butter: once a month

nuts/seeds: once a month

baked beans: never

legumes: once a month

breakfast cereals: never

bread: everyday

rice: once a week

noodles/pasta: 4-6 times a week

green vegetables: 3-4 times a week

salad vegetables: 2-3 times a week

other vegetables: once a month

fresh fruit: 2-3 times a week

biscuits: everyday.

cakes: 3 times a week.

lollies: everyday.

chocolate: everyday.

margarine: 3-4 times week.

soft drink: everyday (diet).

beer: never (allergy).

wine: never.

other alcohol: once a month.

Typical days diet:

Breakfast: 2-3 large skinny coffees. Leftovers if home.

Morning snacks: coffee. maybe a lollie or biscuit.

Lunch: Egg sandwiches with mayo(from work cafe) or leftover creamy pasta.

Afternoon snack: red bull or coffee.

Dinner: fried or baked meat alternative with hot potato chips or a creamy pasta. Usually very large servings.

Dessert: ice-cream of chocolate.

Fluids: 3-4 coffee's, 2-3 cans of diet coke, 2-3 cans of red bull on night shifts, a glass of water a day if lucky.

Oh my god that sounds so shocking! No wonder im so fat! Its not always that bad, sometimes ill go a whole week of eating fruits & vegetables & low fat noodles but generally whats above is pretty typical.

From reading that back I can see my main problems are:

Skipping breakfast and generally the lack of food in the morning which makes me starving by lunchtime.

The coffee & diet coke is just disgraceful! I seriously think i have an addiction to diet coke & coffee- is that possible?? I do really enjoy coffee though, not just as a pick-me-up but whenever I see friends or go out for breakfast I really appreciate a fantastic coffee. Something I will have to change to a treat instead of a daily thing though.

Convenience foods show up alot. I usually buy my lunch from the work cafe and the only vegetarian sandwiches they have are egg & mayo. I usually give in when standing in line to pay and buy some biscuits or a chocolate bar at the checkout.

The red bulls & coffee for afternoon tea are terrible, I should be having something healthy & small to tie me over til dinner so im not so hungry at tea & eat such large portions. The trouble is im usually either stuck in traffic on the way home or just starting work at afternoon tea time so afternoon snacks are very hard to fit in anyway.

My dinners are usually something quick & easy either from the supermarket that I can throw in the oven while i have a shower or take-away. Take-aways are usually vegie chinese dishes or hot chips.

The desserts of chocolate & ice-cream have to stop. Usually im not even hungry for dessert, I just have it anyway & I usually end up going to bed feeling stuffed and then dont sleep well as i have reflux all night.

Im so looking forward to making alot of changes, there is definetely room for that! The main changes I want to focus on would include eating more fresh produce, eliminating all animal products and taking the time to prepare my own meals and stop relying on processed & convenient foods.

So I should be having my first consultation with the dietician in a week or so. Ill definetely be posting about how that goes! (that is if she doesnt pass out from disgust after reading my questionarre responses!)

In the meantime I might post some random vegan/healthy things I find to keep me amused!