QOTW: 12/29
 

There was a big change in my eating plan this year. That also impacted my holiday eating a lot too. I over-indulged this holiday season, needing the comfort food as COVID really hit our family hard this month.

So the question this week is....food in 2020. Any changes, anything stand out in your memory, good or bad? Any goals for the upcoming year regarding food?

I switched from a low carb plan to a high carb/low fat plan (plant based/vegetarian).

It was a much easier transition than I expected, I guess b/c I've always struggled a bit with meat texture and meat fat, so am not even missing it, having replaced it with other foods. Being low carb for years (for weight loss), I forgot how much I loved them (I'm remembering quickly now lol). I'm really enjoying beans, starches, lots of veggies/fruit and whole grains.

For the holiday season, my go-to dessert recipes had too much oil/butter so I found some lower fat recipes to try and they were a hit (chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodle cookies). My favorite food this holiday season was stuffing. I made gluten free stuffing (b/c of my daughter's sensitivity to wheat) and enjoyed a huge helping of that for two days. It had been yrs since I had made homemade stuffing b/c I wasn't eating the carbs so just bought a boxed mix for hubs. He didn't enjoy the GF version as much as we did but I will start making a whole grain bread version now and again for him and I. My other fave was mashed potatoes with cream cheese and butter (not on plan for me but hey, it was the holiday time so a little indulging is good).

It'll be interesting to see how I do in 2021 with my plant based/vegetarian eating plan. So far so good.

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If you find something along the way, feel free to share it! I know I'm always looking for new, tried/true recipes to make for the family.

I'm currently enjoying Triple Zero Oikos Yogurt Protein shakes in mixed berry (the only one I can eat without getting sick). I really am thankful that I found them!

Too much food! LOL!

I was only about 3 lbs up from my weight pre pandemic, I got on the scale today, I'm up 10 lbs from March.

I've already started working on my grocery list to get back on track.

I had gastric bypass surgery in March, days before everything shut down here. So LOTS of food changes lol I was on a liquid diet 5 weeks because I was having issues and they couldn't get me in for a scope because of covid, I never want to do that again! I'm eating real food now, just way smaller portions and still trying to do protein first, everything else second. Learning how to not drink while eating has been a hard part!

For years I've been a pescatarian eating a mostly vegetarian diet (seafood about 10-20 times a year). For the last few years I've combined that with lower carb. In March (pre-Covid) I finally decided that wasn't sustainable for me--I'd regained everything I initially lost on it because I was eating too many calorie dense foods like nuts and cheese and couldn't fill up without them. So I went back to Weight Watchers and added back whole grains and fruits. I'm down about 20 pounds but am plateaued there for now. I just made some minor changes to try and get past the plateau, but it's too soon to know if I have to make more changes.

ETA: It was only the low carb part that wasn't sustainable. I've been a pescatarian for more than 20 years, so the only way that would change is if I stopped eating seafood. I've done that for a few of the 20 years and will probably be there again one day.

No big changes just a lot of home cooked meals, less preservatives and more natural. I am feeding 3 boys! Hubby, a 16 yr old and a 10.5 yr old. So there is a lot of food in my house. :) I have to double or triple recipes now.
I have gained 30lbs bc of back issues and other health problems over the last year plus....no happy with myself. I hope in the new year to eat less and start exercising some how.
We tried a lot of new recipes this year though. I used our instapot more and air fryer. I am also teaching my 16yr old son to cook as I go.

I joined weight watchers just before Covid hit so while I’m not 100% on “plan”, I’m way more conscious of what I eat. Within Weight Watchers I aim for a more protein/less white carbs way of eating as that suits me best with having PCOS and a tendency for iron deficiency anaemia. Weight Watchers for me is more of a tool to keep me on track rather than a diet so to speak. I found it too easy to go way off track when you’re only being seen by a specialist once a year if that, WW means I’m never more than a week or two off track. With these subtle changes I’ve lost approximately one dress size and have seen my body shape change/develop for the better.

I've gained 35 and would like to lose 25 before May. I just need to go back to cutting out all the goodies. I was so strict for about 6 years, but when Covid hit, I went nuts with the treats.

Sounds like many of us are in the same boat, COVID derailed us and we changed our eating habits. I've started to cut back on night time eating again. It so quickly becomes a habit for me to want to snack after dinner but that usually is a calorie dense, non-nutritional snack that starts to pack on the weight. I always like January b/c it gives me a chance to start fresh in a new year. I will be focusing on food a lot these next few months.

:unsure:It was a big transition for me to switch from keto/paleo to plant based/pescatarian b/c I was so used to eating lots of nuts, cheese and meat protein with very low carbs. I didn't feel it was good for me to sustain that for too long and have to say that I feel great now with my choices (if I stick on plan and don't eat too much junk). I'm getting used to lots more veggies and fruit and after yrs without much starches, I am loving potatoes, rice and pasta, along with whole grains. I am quite surprised that I don't miss meat at all, I thought I'd miss the few that I really liked but no...not at all. If you have any fave recipes, send them along to me. I'd love it. I've been buying up vegetarian/plant based cookbooks and making lots of buddha bowls but want to vary my meals more as I get comfortable with it.