Part 3- 14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme

14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme Part 1
14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme Part 2
Challenge complete!!

And what an enjoyable ride it’s been. I’ve lost 6lbs (almost half a stone!!) in the last week alone, I’m feeling cleaner, leaner, have a clear mind and an appetite for clean foods. My bowel habits have been….satisfying, my sleep has as good as can be with a newborn baby in the household, and my moods have been consistently happy. All of which are factors which you can judge the effectiveness of a diet. Bear in mind, I have still been following the Feel Supreme guidelines of eating organic wholefoods, 5 times a day (3 balanced meals and 2 snacks) so it is not a case of eating vegetarian pizzas and cheese and onion crisps with a hope to lose weight.
Apart from day 11  when I woke up with a craving for meat, I’ve not missed it in the 2 weeks since I started the challenge.

Before I get into what I’ve ate in the final section, let’s take a brief look at what a vegetarian diet is. Obviously, it’s avoiding eating animals, but the nutrients you would usually get from chicken, fish etc, are still essential for good health. So it’s important to replace these nutrients from different food sources. The most obvious  macro nutrient abundant in animal flesh is protein. So where would a vegetarian obtain a good source of protein? Well nuts, seeds, chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans and eggs are all good sources of protein. Vitamin B12 is another nutrient found in animal foods, which is essential in proper functioning of the brain and nervous system and the production of red blood cells. Eggs are one of the few sources of vitamin B12 available to vegetarians, along with milk, cheese and other dairy products. Although I personally choose not to drink cows milk and my intake of cheese is limited to once or twice per week. And if you have 5 minutes for the explanation as to why I don’t drink milk, then this video explains a lot.

I mentioned in Part 1 that I’d been vegetarian briefly before, and that was due to the poor quality of supermarket meat in this country (any meat I do eat is certified organic or grassfed).  Cheap meat is cheap for a reason. Obviously I can’t make accusations here, but it’s believed that a lot of animals are injected with steroids and antibiotics. From a business point of view, of course,this makes sense- bigger cows, bigger profits! Kerching!! But these injections work their way up the food chain and my health is certainly not for sale! And I haven’t even mentioned the conditions that many of these animals find themselves in. Take a look at the documentary Cowspiracy for a real eye opener into what goes on behind the scenes. But beware, it’s not exactly one for a family film night. The treatment of these animals will release different hormones into their bodies, their diet will affect their health and if they’re confined to a small space with no exercise, how will they release the toxins in the bodies? Again, all of this works its way up the food chain onto your plate.

But I’m not here to advocate a vegetarian diet, I’m here to give an honest opinion on how it has worked for me. We all have a unique biological makeup, and a vegetarian diet may work for some but not for others. For me it gets a big thumbs up!

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter accounts for the new blog episode of “14 Days Vegan with Feel Supreme” coming soon.

So here’s an overview of days 8-14

Day 8 – Monday

Breakfast – Avocado on wholegrain toast

Snack- Blueberries with cashew nuts

Lunch- Mixed bean salad

Dinner- Egg salad with asparagus, broccoli and linseeds

Day 9 – Tuesday
Breakfast- avocado on wholegrain toast

Snack – Apple and roasted sunflower seeds

Lunch – Mixed bean salad with omlette

Snack- kiwi and cashew nuts

Dinner – chickpeas roasted in smoked paprika, red onions, avocado, lettuce, coleslaw wrapped in 2x fajitas

Day 10 – Wednesday

Breakfast- Avocado on wholegrain toast

Snack – roasted chilli pumpkin seeds

Lunch – plain omlette with side salad

Snack- Apple and pumpkin seeds

Dinner- Sweet jacket with mixed beans and green salad

Day 11 – Thursday

Breakfast- Craving meet at this point, but chose cheese on toast

Snack- Pumpkin seeds and an apple

Lunch- Spinach, lettuce, linseeds , onion, pepper and butter beans

Dinner- Potato croquettes, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots

 Day 12 – Friday

Breakfast- Cheese on toast

Snack- Pumpkin seeds and Apple

Another hectic Friday at Feel Supreme HQ meant I skipped lunch (I’m seeing a Friday pattern here)

Dinner- Cauliflower and red pepper curry
Day 13 – Saturday
Breakfast – 3 poached eggs with broccoli

Snack – an apple

Lunch – jacket sweet potato with mixed beans

Dinner – falafel, eggs, linseeds and salad
Day 14 – Sunday
Breakfast- avocado on wholegrain toast

Lunch- roast dinner of potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, stuffing and gravy.

Supper – cheese on toast

So that’s it, episode 1 of the “14 Days…” Series is complete.

If you are still reading, then many thanks for sticking with us.

#feelsupreme

Organic Coconut Oil by Feel Supreme

Part 2 – 14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme

Firstly, let me start by saying thank you to those of you who have come back for Part 2. If you happen to have stumbled across this, then you can check out Part 1 here.

Soooo,for the benefit of our new readers, I’m Matt Murphy, founder of Feel Supreme.  I’m now a week into a  vegetarian diet and what a week of eating it’s been. If you follow Feel Supreme on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram  you will see some of the meals I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Some of asked “don’t you miss meat?” or “don’t you get hungry?”. And then we had Tunagate! But let’s move on from that. 

But to answer the above questions, no, I’m not missing meat atall. In fact, quite the contrary. I’m not a massive meat eater anyway, partially a compassionate decision, but more so for the poor quality of much of the meat on the market, and the ill effects it could potentially pose to me (I will touch more on the quality of meat in next weeks instalment of this blog). When I do eat meat, it’s sourced from certified organic or even grassfed origins.

Anyhoo, back to the questions. The meals I’ve had have been delicious, filling and easy to make, with top quality organic ingredients. Plus, I’m saving a small fortune buying good quality protein sources at pennies, instead of slabs of meat at pounds! All the more to spend on Feel Supreme Organic Coconut Oil! (who says subliminal advertising doesn’t work?) I did get hungry between meals on Day 4, but after a snack and then a butter bean salad ( wait till you see the picture) , I was done for the night.

So “how are you feeling?” I hear you ask. I feel great! I’m into Day 7 and I feel that I could maintain vegetarianism for good (which I can’t with the whole “14 Days…” Series). I’ve lost weight (although weight loss is not always a good indicator of health), albeit put some back on. But the weight gain is due to poor nutritional choices during a hectic day 5, which was a one off and easily rectified. Mood and emotions? Great! I’m happy, optimistic and looking forward continuing to eat clean. My energy levels are good, sleep patterns are (always) good and libido is…..well ask Cheryl!

One drawback though, or it could be a good thing if your a child….or a male, is that gale force winds have been forecast, if you know what I mean. I have been a bit more windy of late, and maybe even slightly bloated, which is completely normal during a transition period of an omnivore to herbivore diet. This is because the foods which I’m consuming in place of meat (butterbeans, pumpkin seeds, falafel) are not only high in protein, but also the wind-causing fibre.

There was also Day 7- Sunday/Roast Dinner Day. Ordinarily, a vegetarian roast dinner would not be a problem, but I sat down to mine in a place which doesn’t cater for vegetarians – Nanny Anne’s. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a Sunday roast dinner at nans house. But the idea of a vegetarian roast dinner is just without the meat. I knew that the mountain of starch-rich potatoes and gravy ( not so much the vegetables) without a source of protein, would shoot my blood sugar levels through the roof, which would ultimately end with the inevitable energy crash! And boy did I underestimate that crash! Every time we eat, our blood sugar levels rise which we use as our source of energy. Protein and fibre allow this rise to be steady, but without these components, too much glucose is released into the blood, which insulin then draws back out. You would think that in the days of iPhones and hover boards, insulin would be smart enough to remove the excess glucose to a safe level…but no. The ancient wisdom of insulin states that as much glucose should be removed as possible and stored (usually in the lower abs as fat – think spare tyre look) which then leads to an energy slump. This goes to show the importance of ‘balanced meals’.

But all in all, I’m enjoying the lifestyle. You can find a breakdown of the diet below.

Day 4 – Thursday

I woke up at 204.8lbs, almost 4 lbs down in 4 days!

I had avocado on wholegrain toast for breakfast, and our famous chilli and sea salt roasted pumpkin seeds for both snacks (one with a kiwi) either side of a jacket potato with butter and salad for lunch.

Dinner was a lovely butterbean salad with cheese, linseeds, lettuce, spring onion and coleslaw.

Day 5- Friday 

Probably the hardest day as yet. Not even solely from a vegetarian mindset, but from a nutritionists point of view. Working to tight deadlines at Feel Supreme HQ meant that time was extremely limited. It’s no excuse, as I supposed I should’ve been better prepared, but I’m human. And even more so, I’m a man! Preparation isn’t our strong point.

I started well, waking up at 204.8lbs and having a breakfast of 2x kiwis and a pot of natural yoghurt. But then chaos ensued. I barely managed a minute to drink, and didn’t get any time to eat until somebody ordered a takeaway about 8pm! I chose what I thought was the least disruptive on the menu with chips and gravy.

I went to bed hungry and dehydrated (**violins**)

Day 6- Saturday

Woke up a groggy 209lbs!!!! I’m putting the weight gain down to the poor nutritional choices the previous day, and maybe also fat/water retention.

When the body is not getting an adequate intake of water, it panics and retains what it has as it doesn’t know when it will next be watered. So the less you drink, the more you retain. And the same applies to food (obviously only short term). So with the lack of food and water the previous day, plus the high fat/simple carbohydrate meal the night before I’ve piled on 4.2lbs!!!!

Today was to be another test though. One which I think I passed. We had organised a family day out, so not trusting the catering there, we took our own sandwiches with us. After a breakfast of 2x kiwis and a yoghurt again, I had a cheese and onion sandwich for lunch, and an omelette for dinner. I did sneak in 2x donuts during the day though. Purely to lessen the load on the public of course.

Day 7- Sunday

Running low on fresh produce at this point (organic shopping time is later today) so I had to prepare a breakfast concoction of whatever I could find.

Breakfast- butterbeans, red onion and lettuce on wholegrain toast

Lunch – the sleep inducing roast dinner. Roast potatoes, gravy, cauliflower, peas and carrots.

Dinner- you need to see this to appreciate the beautifullness of it! Falafel, butterbeans, lettuce, coleslaw, boiled eggs, onions and peppers!

Day 8’s dinner

Thanks for reading guys and look out for our final instalment of “14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme” next week.

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14 Days Vegetarian with Feel Supreme- Part 1

Hello and welcome to the brand new blog series “14 Days with Feel Supreme”!!

You may know me personally, you may be a customer of Feel Supreme or you may have just stumbled across this blog during a lunch break e-stroll through t’interweb.

Let me start by introducing myself and Feel Supreme– Matt Murphy meet Feel Supreme, Feel Supreme meet Matt Murphy (insert eye roll here).  Anyhoo, I’m Matt Murphy, founder of Feel Supreme, a healthy, active, distilled-water-drinking, organic-food-eating, Karl-Pilkington-looking 31 year old male.

heres a picture of me looking serious in the woods

As a naturopathic nutritionist, I practise what I preach and follow the Feel Supreme diet, which is basically a diet consisting of organic wholefoods.  Like any other human, I have my “off” days, naughty treats and stodgy meals, but I don’t overdo it and I try to stay “clean” as much as possible.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. “14 Days with Feel Supreme”is a new blog series chronicling my experiences of certain diets over a 2 week period.  We’ll touch on how the diet in focus effects me as a whole, including my weight, emotions, sleep patterns, mental clarity, toilet habits (eurgh!) and (look away now, mum) libido.

Part 1

I’ve decided to start this challenge with a vegetarian diet. It’s something that I’ve experienced briefly in the past and quite enjoyed.

To carry this out successfully, I sat down with my other half, Cheryl, to plan out what we were to eat for the forthcoming week, and took a trip to our local organic farm shop to stock up on some nutrient dense goodies. By cutting out the protein source that is meat, we decided to buy extra protein rich foods including and not limited to cashew nuts, apricot kernels, eggs and a variety of healthy beans.

After spending out on the weekly shop and stocking up our fruit and veg corner, we done what any self respecting person preparing for a challenge would do and filled ourselves up with a takeaway pizza!

Day 1 – Monday

I woke up excited to start the challenge, albeit a little sluggish after a sleepless night courtesy of 3 week old Baby Murph.

With a slight wobble, I sucked my belly in and stepped on the scales- 208.6lbs.

Next task- breakfast! I eased into this challenge with a breakfast favourite of mine anyway, 3 poached eggs and steamed broccoli.

Breakfast

Being Bank Holiday Monday, I didn’t need persuading to conserve my energy supply by doing a whole load of nothing before real life started again the following day.

I managed to move myself to get a snack (or was it handed to me?) consisting of an apple and a handful of cashew nuts, and then my evening meal of jacket sweet potato, tuna (OK,technically part of a pesco-vegetarian diet) with salad, which was delicious.
Day 1 over. Mood optimistic. Libido level – stallion! (Jokes)

Day 2 Tuesday

Woke up at 207lbs (1.6lbs lost on yesterday) for a hectic day in the life at Feel Supreme HQ, which is all the more important to eat balanced meals and snacks at regular intervals to maintain energy levels.

Breakfast- avocado on wholegrain toast. The healthy fat content in the avocado should burn as energy until my mid morning snack.

Mid morning snack- Apple and cashew nuts, with a cup of coffee. At this point I was feeling energised (maybe something to do with the coffee and blood sugars) and still excited to see what vegetarian concoctions I could come up with over the next 2 weeks.

Lunch- this proved a bit trickier, which was probably my own fault. I left the house leaving my pre-prepared lunch at home (sorry Cheryl) so was confined to the nearest cafe. Not fancying the “belly buster brekky” or the “double whopper McCheeseburger” I went with the (probably microwaved) plain jacket potato with baked beans. Not the greatest option, but by far not the worst.

Funnily enough, I actually felt really hungry not long after this meal, so had an early evening meal of  organic chickpea fajitas ( chickpeas roasted in smoked paprika, red onions, avocado, lettuce, coleslaw wrapped in 2x fajitas). This was enough for the night.

At this point, it is still too early to notice any significant difference from my usual self

Day 3 – Wednesday

Started the day early, with avocado on wholegrain toast again, and weighing 207lbs (deja vu?)

Although I’m weighing the same as yesterday, I’m feeling leaner and cleaner. My once slightly jiggly abdomen is now feeling as though it’s losing its sexy curvature.

It’s important to note at this point that weight loss is not always an indicator of good health. I’d rather not focus on weight loss, but focus on getting a good range of micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and a balanced supply of macro nutrients ( protein, fat, carbohydrates).

My snack this day was an apple with a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds. These were roasted in Feel Supreme Organic Coconut Oil, chilli flakes and Celtic sea salt. They tasted so good that I couldn’t resist handfuls 2 and 3!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe-

• In a bowl, mix a handful of organic pumpkin seeds with a spoonful of Feel Supreme Organic Coconut Oil, a pinch of chilli flakes and a pinch of Celtic sea salt
• Spread the contents out into a baking tray
• Bake on gas mark 4 for 10-12 minutes
• Leave to cool, then enjoy!

My lunch was a salad consisting of 2 boiled eggs, last nights leftover chickpeas, lettuce, spring onions, garlic and peppers! Yes, my breath could probably of got a skunk high at this point.

Day 4, lets see what’s in store.

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