Heathy Eating/ Weight Loss

Hi, It might be helpful to work with a dietitian that can help you find the best approach for you. I personally don’t find it helpful to track calories or macros but rather focus more on how I feel and overall patterns and habits. I have the opposite issue though and generally tend to end up underweight due to digestive issues and need to gain weight. But I think whether it’s about losing or gaining weight, it’s always hard to make changes especially when autistic. It can really help to have a dietitian that can help identify some small lasting changes you can make that are sustainable in the long term. At least in my experience any drastic actions or approaches that leave you not feeling well only yield short term results and are unsustainable. This is the dietitian who has helped me so much: https://www.dalianutrition.com She has experience with autistic imdividuals and is amazing- she has a very holistic approach and it is very personalised. I was very lucky that my university helped fund some sessions with her. 

In terms of cooking etc- you can assemble or make very simple meals with little effort. I only make things that take less than 10-15 min. Not sure what you like but things I like: wholegrain wrap or pita bread filled with some kind of protein (you can use prawns or ready grilled chicken slices if not in mood to cook) and you can pair it with some veggies (either grilled or even raw- lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers etc- anything you like) and some sauce/ dip to make it taste nice if you want (like joghurt with herbs, guacamole or hummus etc)- this doesn’t really require cooking and is quick and versatile- you just need to assemble. pita bread and wraps tend to be quite cheap 

I like eggs on toast too- you can get a higher fibre whole grain bread if you want. Eggs are cheap too-

Stirfrys are nice and quick too (choose a protein of choice some veggies and then depending on preferences seasoning eg i like lemongrass and chili with some soy, mirin etc but you can put what you like) and can be really healthy- you can pair it with wholegrain rice or white rice whatever you prefer - if time is an issue you can even get microwave rice sachets - they are done in 1 min or so. A rice cooker also makes it very easy. 

egg fried rice is cheap and easy too

Potatoes ‘baked’ in the microwave are super easy too and make good sides- just poke holes in them first with a knife and place in microwave in a bowl and cook until soft usually 3-7 min depending on size and microwave strength. 

I personally also really like making my own sushi rice and eating it with salmon etc - might be a bit less healthy as there is some sugar in it but oh well. 

If you like pasta you could make a nice ‘bolognese’ but use the lower fat beef mince - add some passata and veggies and done- it doesn’t even need to cook for long- just fry and season the beef and courgettes/ bellpeppers etc. Maybe add a chili, put in the passata and cook while you are cooking the pasta and done. i also like to make a similar dish with seafood


I generally tend to choose one protein one starch and some veggies for each meal and then put it together. If you cook things like rice you can also make a bigger batch and reheat it to save time

these are just some of the quick options that I make - I don’t know if any of these ideas inspire you?

I can’t advise on what’s right for you (I haven’t even figured out my own diet and for me the battle is to put on weight) but I have a lot of experience with quick relatively nutritious cooking for one person and the food I eat is generally quite light (I barely use oil ) due to my digestive issues. 

Maybe a cookbook can help too? For some inspiration. I recently got myself ‘Eat yourself healthy’ from Jamie Oliver - no idea if the recipes are any good as I haven’t tried them yet but it had a nice assortment of recipes and they are meant to be healthy and nutritious. I know there are a lot of recipes on internet but sometimes it can help to just have one good book so that you don’t have to keep searching for recipes. 

Maybe a cookbook can help too? For some inspiration. I recently got myself ‘Eat yourself healthy’ from Jamie Oliver - no idea if the recipes are any good as I haven’t tried them yet but it had a nice assortment of recipes and they are meant to be healthy and nutritious. I know there are a lot of recipes on internet but sometimes it can help to just have one good book so that you don’t have to keep searching for recipes.