Jane Plan

I know you are asking for advise from anyone who has used this - and I have not but can I just offer my point of view.
Healthy eating and a regimen of exercise (that is tailored to your abilities) will always be a much better idea.
As soon as we set ourselves very strict guidelines we are setting ourselves up to fail - its human nature, motivation to deny ourselves is proven to be a very weak force. Its far better to motivate ourselves to do something i.e. take the dog out or go for a swim.
If you cook from scratch anyway then you can cook how you like. A good vege/vegan book will help. But I would never rule meat out totally as chemically its complicated to replace all the nutrients we need. Just big up the vege element and you will automatically cut out a lot of excess calories. I've also learnt that if I don't buy stuff in the first place I can't eat it. If its not in the cupboard - I just have to go with out. I was the sort of person who used to buy all those silly diet biscuits years ago....be good for three days then binge on the whole cupboardfull - a very expensive way to get a biscuit fix!
My major saving was to get a trainer who helps my motivation. I work hard at what my body can do (I'm not super healthy so have some underlying things that we have to be careful of). A class that suits would work too its just lack of availability here that is the problem.
Its a delicate balance ..... do some exercise, feel a bit better and then look at food much more as a fuel than a treat. But also when you do eat, buy good ingredients and prepare it with care - enjoy good food. I'm not perfect, its not fool proof but I am fitter and lighter than I have been in a long time.

Hilda I do lots of exercise already despite my RA, and the food I eat is fairly healthy. I just need to control the portion size and stop buying crisps . I needed someone like you to convince me that I don't want to try this plan! Perhaps it has been the lure of the shopping channel that made me interested. It is not something I would normally even watch but happened on it by mistake intending to select Create and Craft! The sales people can be very persuasive! Thank you for your wise words.

shysal, Its the time of year. Some of the products are so cynically advertised - its very difficult to see past the hype.
Sounds like you have a good grasp of the situation, its just in the cold dark days we can get a bit too negative for our own good.
P.S. smaller plates help too - wandering around some of our local antique/junk shops reminded me that Grandma's china was a lot smaller back then! Good luck.

Thank you Hilda. I use this Diet Plate for my dinner but it holds a huge amount, especially if the food spills over onto the rim! I no longer even read the guidelines on it . I have selected a medium sized one for tonight's chicken and broccoli dish.

I m afraid I find these selling plans vegan, vegetarian, and diet to be a money making scheme There’s so many advertised now I m not sure but I think if you sign up to a trial run they take your card details and keep sending until you remember to cancel I know some friends got caught out with graze that way They did a special offer week then found it quite difficult to cancel
I d rather buy the stuff and try and do it myself even though I m not much of a cooker

BlueBelle... you are quite right with any of these subscription things be it food, shavers or that old chestnut 'Franklin Mint'.....once they have your details its a real hassle to remember to cancel, cancel in time (they always manage to make the consumer out to be in breach of any contact dates) or stop the dreaded Direct Debits. Evidently its a well known marketing strategy refereed to as customer apathy ....they bank on a percentage of folks just not caring and factor that into the finances. Yes I'm an old cynic....but can still remember the trouble I had cancelling some darn mobile phone contact....am scarred for life!

The problem with these diet plans (apart from the previously mentioned difficulty in stopping the payments) is that once you do stop, you go back to your normal eating habits which put the weight on in the first place! (I speak as someone who needs to lose a pound or 10!). I am currently cooking from scratch and eating more veggies and allowing myself the occasional treat so I don't give up.

Oldwoman70, sound advice and keep it up. (Says she nibbling on the last of the Christmas cake - but hey ho sooner its gone the sooner I can behave).

The diet plates are on sale in Poundland at the moment, hope that helps.

HildaW they do say you need to get rid of all the high calorie foods in the house before you start to diet

Shysal, I too have RA and deal with steroid weight issues, it’s really tough, isn’t it?
I’ve gone low carb in the past and it’s great for weight loss, but it’s unsustainable for longer periods, and when you start eating normal again, you gain even more weight.
Right now I am eating less carbs, more lean and more home cooked meals instead of boxed. Seems to be slowly working. I use SparkPeople to chart my nutrition and to get great recipes. I belong to an RA group on SparkPeople but it’s barely active

Here’s a free guaranteed diet plan

Breakfast (try to alternate all three if possible)
Either 1 poached egg on 1 slice lightly but buttered toast OR
Bowl of porridge made from real oats OR
Yoghurt and berries

Lunch
Bowl of soup (preferably veg based)

Dinner
Portion of meat or fish or another protein source
Loads of vegetables - all you can eat
(No rice, potatoes or pasta)

I small glass of wine or juice or water

Nothing more until breakfast next day. Guaranteed.

Anja interesting. Strict. Care to share why you guarantee it? I only ask as it seems very strict so wonder how long it is possible to stick to it especially on days wgen you only ha ve toast and meet friends for coffee?

No day when you only have toast Lollin ???

Assume unlimited tea and water. If meeting a friend for coffee - how often? If every day then go for an Americano. If once a week or thereabouts have whatever kind you prefer.

Why do I guarantee it? Try it for a week and see for yourself.

Do you really think that’s strict? It’s more or less how I eat anyway. Tonight having a traditional homemade beer stew with onions and carrots and side vegetables broccoli and sweet potato mash. With a glass of red wine. What’s not to like?

Beef stew! Nor beer!

I just looked at the meals wiltshire farm foods main meal it was around £5 each.
That looks to me, that for anyone living on state pension that sounds it could be very expensive but I am rather out of touch.

I don’t think anyone can guarantee anything and how long could anyone keep eating the same thing day in day out
Sorry Anya what ever works for you but that is boring?

I think that's half the battle, if you find something that works for you, then go for it. It might not work for others though. We all have so much emotional baggage tied up with eating food - years of Mums and Grandmas brought up in harder times saying 'eat-up' and 'don't waste anything'. Then we have our own comfort eating and enabling issues - introducing our own children to the pleasures of cake on a rainy Sunday afternoon fgs!! Its a nightmare. Once we can begin to see food as fuel and yet enjoy its preparation and consuming without going over board then we are doing well. Variety is good and its better to eat a broad spectrum but then clever types will tell you that if you keep the regime boring then you will eat less....evidently we have self limiting devices. However, on the other hand, they get reset to zero when we change a course. Yes, there is truth in the idea of having one stomach for mains and another for pudding!!! Its a nightmare!
When I feel a bit over indulged I go down the thick homemade soup route. Contents of fridge.....cooked well and seasoned appropriately then liquidised but keeping a few chunks to add textures or a toasted vege garnish. Cheap as anything and very satisfying and smug making!

NanaKay, I have read that low carb eating helps to avoid RA flare-ups, have you noticed this? I was only diagnosed this year so quite new to the disease and am not yet on an even keel medication-wise. I take Methotrexate and have tried to cut down the steroids but I still seem to need them.

How can it be boring when you can eat any meat, fish, or other protein source (eg, cheese, eggs, seafood, quorn) wirh any vegetables as your main meal? Or do you mean no cakes, biscuits, ice cream, puddings, etc?

I thought this was about losing weight and maintaining that loss? You literally can’t have your cake and eat it.

Hilda soups are delicious and can be so different.

Sorry anja i read it too quickly.

shysal - I see no difference in high carb vs lower carb vs no carb. I see people with RA swearing by the patterson diet (vegetarian) - the paleo diet (meat no carb) and others, but how can diets totally opposite have the same effect?
I believe that by following any of the diets you are automatically paying more attention to what you are eating, and also exercising, that you start feeling better.
I have yet to see ANY documented before and after test results for blood work on rf or anti-ccp levels actually reducing on those diets.

I do see a big difference in warm weather vs cold though.
Not happy pain-wise last winter and was just deciding to see if I could get my prednisone upped but I went to Florida to visit my daughter and I felt soooo much better!

Now winter has set in pretty good here (warmer than last year though) and it's getting harder and harder to get out of bed to take my medz, lol - within about 3 hours of getting up, taking my meds and walking around a bit though I am feeling so much better. I know I can wait out until warmer weathers, come on April!!

I was diagnosed in 2014 but I only take prednisone so far. They wanted me on methotrexate immediately, but I have so many drug allergies that I'm scared to try it.
I have hand disfigurement, getting a little worse each year and pain/inflammation in ankles, knees, hips and shoulders but at this point, with pred and supplements the pain is at manageable levels right now.
I'm not against meds, but just not yet.

Do you have any methotrexate side effects, Shysal?

Anja, sure you can! I lost 30lb after I quit smoking and I never cut my calories or any food or food group. I did, however, exercise like a pack of nicotine devils were chasing me, (they were!) but I had my cake and ate it too!

No Anja you’re jumping to conclusions I don’t eat biscuits cakes, puddings or sweets very often at all, in fact very rarely in fact I rarely buy sweet things I m much more of a savoury gal No not that at all it just sounded very regimented and the idea of a bowl of soup every day made me think, boring. I don’t mind homemade soup now and then but certainly wouldn’t want it every day
I do like rice dishes, noodles, stir fries, curry’s, jacket potatoes I d certainly miss them if I ate Quorn and veg every day I enjoy variety and suddenly thinking oh I fancy trying some of that today, so knowing what I was having even if it’s dressed up differently every day I would find boring
But it’s great that you ve found something to suit you and are happy to stick to it and as you say it’s much what you would be eating anyway so obviously easy for you to keep to it