I am going to England for 11 days with my man at the end of this month.

He is from Manchester and we will be going to visit is family. When I asked him about healthy labels in England I got a blank stare in return - ha.

Are there any foods you can suggest that I can keep in the house that wouldn't completely kill my calories?

What foods should I just not eat while I am there?

He has mentioned we will be going out for indian at least once while we are there...any thoughts about healthy entrees?

Thanks for all the help!

Taylor
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im an american living in england with my hubby.. not too far from manchester actually.. anyhow, one thing i have real issues staying away from over here are fish and chips from the chippy... the english make the best fish and chips around lol...
they do have things like coke zero, diet pepsi, and diet coke.. low fat margarine,etc.. but they dont have the multitudes of things that we do in the states which makes it hard for me sometimes.. they dont have crystal light or low fat cool whip which were two of my staples back home.. but there is plenty of fresh veg, fruit, etc... i personally dont like the currys from the indian places, but i heard they are pretty high in cals.. they do have low cal jello, but its called jelly over here.. just wander around the shops and youll be able to find some good foods that arent high in cals... but for the most part it will mean making your own meals... hope that helps a bit

Oh please avoid the curries. I was reading in the newspaper recently that the curry made in the take-aways has in one portion more sugar and fat that a man's daily recommended (and way over for a woman's) So avoid them. Also some of the shops have already made meals that are low in calories and are either by WW or by Eat Smart.

don't touch the curries lol..... sooooo many calories!
Can't really add much other than go to a local supermarket and look at the labels. Places like tesco have a 'healthy eating' range and they put the cals/fat/protein etc per serving/portion on the front of all the packaging.
There was talk of a traffic light system (ya know - green eat all ya like, orange a bit of red hardly ever) but not sure if that ever came into play.
Generally speaking buying from supermarket and prepping your own food would be the healthiest way to go

dont even look at a donner kebab lol all the supermarkets have their own range of healthy ready meals sainsburys bgty ones are the nicest i think
have a great time while your over here

If you do have to go for an Indian meal, try to have something like chicken tikka or fish tikka which can be served with salad and perhaps some cucumber & yogurt raita. Best not to have a curry as they are very high in calories, but if you feel the urge, try to stick with the tomato/onion based ones and not the ones with cream or coconut based sauces ... better still, just have a couple of spoonfuls of hubby's ... likewise, if you have to have rice, stick to plain boiled or share someone elses. The portions are ususally pretty big, so if you have the tikka I'm sure someone won't mind you dipping into their curry sauce with maybe one poppadum or a plain chapatti ... keep away from the naan bread though!

When I first moved to England I gained a good over 10 lbs in one month! Stay away from Sunday roasts, they serve the fattiest cuts of meats drowned in gravy... and load up the plates with carbs (white potatoes and carrots) and the portions are HUGE!

Stay away from curries, unless you allow yourself a cheat meal. The curries are easily 1000 calories a serving. And mushroom pilaf is about 500 cals a serving... they are both really good though. It's best to stick with pompodoms (60 cals), tandoori chicken (300 cals), and green salad.

The grocery stores here don't offer many options for healthy low fat/fat free already prepared foods (at least by my standards), but neither do the restaurants. It's nearly impossible to find a restaurant here that has nutritional info about items on its menu.

Like someone said: you're better off buying groceries and prepping your own food.

Oh, Marks & Spencer has prepacked meals labeled "count on us" that are supposed to be lower in fat/calories... but, like Tesco's version "healthy eating" I find you can't take that label for granted and you really need to read what's in it. I find them too high in cals/fat/carbs sometimes.

OH AND WATCH YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE. PEOPLE HERE ARE BIGGER DRINKERS THEN BACK HOME!

there are alot of sushi restaurants in major cities, many good japanese restauarants to like WagaMamas and YO! Sushi.

try to avoid take aways here as they are so bad for you, we have subway once in a while as our takeaway, i get the low cal subs.

mainly just look out for fresh fish and veg/fruit, espesh markets we have awesome markets in england.

Good point PrettyPaula, the sushi here is FANTASTIC! As well, as the other Japanese restaurants you mentioned.

I think our stores do really well on labeling food in the UK.. its your choice if you want to it! Almost all foods stocked in the supermarkets have a breakdown of calories, carbs..e.t.c....

Curries are notorious... but don't stop your enjoyment of going to an Indian restaurant though..just make careful choices..stay away from the Korma's e.t.c.. heavy creamy curries will give you a calorie overload.

I am in Germany now, and whilst I love it...the food labeling is no where near like the UK...and you have to be VERY careful as label breakdowns are very hit and miss.

Oh and I hope you have a WONDERFUL time!! Manchester is a fantastic city!!

i LOVE WagaMamas, we have a huge one in Nottingham, the coconut broth noodle soup bowls are huge and so yummy

I can understand the need for your bf to want a curry, Manchester is home to the CURRY MILE...a seriously at least mile long strip mall of curry/kebab shops. I'd leave it..if I were you, I only live about a 45 minute drive South of Manchester, but I've been on the curry mile my fair few times.. X___x some of the worst weeks of my life after a kebab or curry from the wrong shop out there X___x

You can find good american names like Weight Watchers in most supermarkets, and they will have their own brands of light choices as well, so you're never really out of options.

I remember when I first got to the UK...I've put on 3 stone in the past three years...btw, a stoke is 14lbs.

I would avoid the take aways, the KFC...you will cry when you go in there...they don't have Extra Crispy...or biscuits...or potato wedges and the popcorn chicken? They're all the same..round..shape. (not that any of that matters when you're on a diet, but hey...really killed me when I first got here and didnt care about my weight!)

They will have packets of Uncle Ben's microwavable rice sachets (250 cals for half a pack of the chicken savoury one) They also have pitas, wraps and brown/wholemeal bread, basically, there is a healthy option for just about anything...Just don't expect to find anything you'd normally see in your local grocers...mac and cheese...sausages..hotdogs...in a can?! eww

My man's dad has a treadmill collecting dust somewhere (where we will be staying and his Dad will be in Spain while we are there) so I am gonna get some workouts on that.

His family is from Leigh which I believe is only 30 minutes or so from Manchester but most of our time will be spent in Leigh. He also said that there will be a lot walking going on, as people walk more in England than here, which is a plus.

As for drinks, yeah his parents and the "lads" (or so he calls them) go out every night. I am gonna stick to 3-4 drinks a night or less. Bacardi and diet coke (65 calories according to TheDailyPlate) but I must try ONE proper pint of Boddingtons (my favorite) ...and then the rest water.

I am gonna watch my portions and try and enjoy myself. When we do go to the chippy I asked him to share with me...and he rolled his eyes and said he would. And stick to the tandoori chicken when we go to indian.

I am also going to keep meal replacement bars in my purse so if we do go out to a place and I don't feel I can control myself I can "try" my entree and then eat my bar afterwards. (Do you think that is being rude?)

He also said his family rarely eats out and we will probably plan for 3 or 4 dinners our the 10 nights we are there so that makes that easier.

I will just have to watch my portions and drinking. I know that I will not enjoy my experience there as much I could if I feel bloated, gross and come home gaining 10 pounds.

Oh guys, this is going to be so hard. I am really scared of gaining all my inches back while I am there. I can handle a pound or 2 but in all reality I am there for 10 days and if I watch my portions and drinking and get some workouts in I shouldn't do that bad, right?

Any other advice is welcome! Thanks so much guys!