To feel eating like this is weird

OP those things are healthy fats that you need! Slimming world and diet culture had done a number on people. You need these and eat them instead of all the sugar/bad carbs.

Good luck on your journey- i find the doctor's kitchen really helpful for tips and recipes

Ok so you want to maintain weight, the food you’re eating is healthy. But I’m sorry if you dint have an idea of cals then it’s one of the ways of eating it’s really easy to over eat on.

all you can do is do it and watch the scales/

I am still a member - mainly because I have a lot recipes loaded into the app - but the initial testing program has changed since I did it - I've heard some really positive things and some really negative 🤷🏼‍♀️. There is a new app (I am still using the old one, but it's a "legacy" one, eventually we will all be moved over to the new one) which is supposed to be much simpler - many of the "old hands" hate it, say its too simple, but I've heard people new to Zoe say how much they like it.

For me it always comes down to who to trust - nutritional research is a minefield because of all of the money thrown at it by the big food companies - I do trust the Zoe scientists to navigate a sensible way through the research and make recommendations based on the best science available. They are also not afraid to change those recommendations when new evidence emerges. Eg when I started Zoe it was "live ferments only, the ones from the fridge not on the shop shelf" but there is now evidence that even without the presence of live bacteria the products of fermentation are still nutritionally valuable, so they have changed their recommendations. I find that reassuring.

Staying a member keeps me aware - I can;t imagine going back to old habits - but I really don't want to risk it as I feel so much healthier these days. I see lots of people on the various FB groups saying they are managing fine without - but again, others talking about rejoining because they have regained some weight and gone back to old habits.

Zoe also recommends intermittent fasting / time restricted eating - and I do both of these too, which I'm sure helps with maintaining a stable weight as well as supporting the gut microbiome.

oh yes to red cabbage kimchi ! try fermenting grated beetroot - that is heaven.

Ive never seen those things as bad for you. I eat loads of them.

Do most people that eat healthily happily pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil on their salads, roast veg etc without a worry and eat nuts/sees every day without putting on more weight?

They drizzle the oil not pour it, and they eat nuts and seeds in moderation.

I joined Slimming World years ago. Lost a bit, put a lot more on then stayed the same for years, all whilst vaguely following their plans. I ate a lot of carbs thinking rice, potatoes and pasta were the way to go. I drank lots of diet coke.
Organizations like Slimming World make money from people wanting to lose weight. They aren't going to teach you how to stay slim by eating healthily.

Be careful with the Kombucha. It can really disagree with some people, and make you really poorly.

You don't necessarily need to count whether you are 'in a deficit' to lose weight though. Fat, protein, pulses etc are very satiating and don't send your blood sugar and appetite rocketing up and down like carbs and processed foods, so you may well find that you actually eat less naturally. Calorie counting is tedious. The times when I have most successfully lost or maintained weight have involved no calorie counting or measuring/weighing of portions.

Bu’t weight is about more than simply eating healthy foods. Eating too much is very unhealthy as it makes you obese.

But that ignores the fact that simply eating healthy foods can have a big effect on your appetite.

Op there are 120 cals in a level table spoon of olive oil. Don’t free pour, you do need to count, you do not magically lose weight if you eat above your tdee.

here is a link to how many cals in nuts

https://foodsmart.com/blog/100-calories-nuts-looks-like

as you can see it adds up significantly. With very little volume.

I signed up to Zoe about 3-4yrs ago - game changer - never thought I would become an Olive oil connoisseur or be getting through home made kimchi rather than shop bought chutneys.

It does feel totally weird to be pouring olive oil into a pan without measuring, or making it into salad dressing (rather than using the "fat free" crap with a consistency of PVA) but good fats help you feel full for longer - I bought a range of healthy snacks - but I never feel the urge to snack these days so keep giving them away.

I lost about 20lb, am now a BMI of 21, right in the middle of the healthy range, clothes size 8-10 (bottom) and 12-14 top depending on brand. down from 16+

I had a lunch today of stir fry tofu and veg with black bean noodles, followed by a pudding of healthy homemade chocolate cake with cherries, nuts and full fat yoghurt. I drizzled sesame seed oil over the stir fry for extra flavour.

I had a check at the Drs recently (reached one of those significant ages!) and all my bloods are fine and within normal ranges.

An old Uni friend moved to southern Italy post Brexit, he was a bit on the chubby side when he went, always battling weight, but was decidedly svelt the last time I saw him - he can't get over how much good quality fruit and veg he can get cheaply in the markets there - and of course the Olive oil!.

Eating real food is amazing - I'm not even tempted by shop bought cake and biscuits these days, my tastebuds have definitely changed.

@CrowsInMyGarden , it sounds to me as though you’ve been doing the dietary things which whilst purported to be ‘slimming’ in fact raise insulin and eventually lead to insulin resistance which causes us to be in fat storage mode.
I think you’re doing the right things now, I do my housework whilst listening to Zoe podcasts. You might find The Glucose Goddess interesting and Ultra Processed People by Dr Chris Van Tulleken is an illuminating read as is The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. Good luck!

Bu’t weight is about more than simply eating healthy foods. Eating too much is very unhealthy as it makes you obese.

Well look at it like this: what you thought was healthy food obviously didn’t work as you’re obese.

So it makes sense that the other option is worth trying!

The problem is, people like me with disordered eating, and obese, don’t eat nuts and seeds and oils the way think people do. I can’t eat the way think/healthy people eat because my body’s appetite signals don’t work.

Healthy eating people eat all those things but know when to stop and how much to have. People like me don’t. If I did, I wouldn’t be obese. I eat too much whether it’s seeds, complex carbs and avocados or crisps and baked beans.

You may like to read ‘why we eat (too much)’. It’s a book about all of this, but it also looks at what we evolved to eat and why the system goes wrong. He’s not keen on seeds amd nuts I don’t think,

And do you know how much of that you can eat to remain in a cal defecit, when added to everything else you consume throughout the day?

This is a kind of mixed up post.

firstly yes those are healthy foods, but no you can’t just pour olive oil on and eat lots of nuts, you need to be aware of the calorie content of your meals and eat in a defecit if you wish to lose weight.

as for slimming world, forget what you learned, 97 percent of people regain on that diet, most people do it repeatedly and remain obese in the end. For spme reason they just keep doing it, rather than realising it’s not sustainable and thays how they make their money.

so eating healthy whole foods is a key part of it, but so is calories and portion control,

have done slimming world in the past and can agree it gives you a ridiculously unrealistic idea of healthy and sustainable eating - definitely read up on how it misleads you and some books PP have suggested :)

Because SW’s only goal is to make you lose weight; not sustainably, they don’t care how you feel, or even how you look. It’s just getting the number down, muscle mass be damned.

I tried SW once, to this day I remember the consultant had the flattest arse I had ever seen, clearly no focus on exercise or other nutritional balancing beyond losing lbs. It made me realise my goal wasn’t simply to lose weight.

I think the Slimming World “rules” might be the issue for you.
SW is delivered by “consultants” with basically no nutritional knowledge and the nonsense about not mashing bananas or having to “syn” avocado and such (I think the name has changed) is a load
of rubbish.
Fats are important, fibre,
protein, carbs and all the vitamins. Also there’s nothing wrong with sugar and some
processed food from time to time.
SW gave me some very disordered eating habits that I’m trying hard to eradicate but it’s difficult.
Eat the nuts and seeds and some oil and the avocado. Just be mindful of portion size/calorie intake and you’ll be grand.

I agree with everyone who has posted so far.

I'm going to give you a bit of anecdata here, OP.

I haven't been well recently. Work related stress and some other things. As a result.i completely lost my appetite. I was eating one meal a day but really only if i was reminded to eat. In reality, I was probably eating around 800 calories a day at most (if that some days). I was really struggling. Never felt hungry. I was burnt out and had hit the wall.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, and after several weeks of work no longer being an issue, my focus turned to my diet.

I now eat three meals a day. Fairly low carb but I'm not tracking it. Lots of healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts etc). Good quality protein, salads with olive oil and ACV, veg etc. I've easily doubled the number of calories I eat and don't eat anything UPF (which vegan substitute foods are).

In that time, I've lost half a stone.

ETA: it isn't true to say that as long as you eat within your TDEE the food you eat doesn't matter. It does. Your food needs to be nutrient rich so that your body is benefitting from what you eat. Otherwise it's just filler to address the hunger. Your body will run better if you feed it properly and that includes weight control.

While they are 'good' fats and have loads of other nutrients in, they are very calorie dense so portion control is key.

Unlike a PP, I don't find them especially filling / self limiting, I could easily 'snack' a 200g bag of mixed nuts! Sunday evening I weigh out my nuts into 30g pots, with a teaspoon of chia and teaspoon of mixed seeds to add to yogurt for main snack.

As long as you eat within your TDEE you'll maintain weight, and less you'll lose.

It doesn't matter what actual foods you eat. Though if you are going to eat oils and fats, which you should in moderation. Then nuts, olive oil etc are the best way to get them.

You hopefully will get used to the fact that these things are tasty, give you energy and are perfectly healthy. You don't need to use loads on every meal. Though you could if it's within your calorie allocation.

I eat nuts and seeds everyday and I'm a healthy weight. A spoonful may have more calories than a spoonful of pasta, but I'm not eating a full bowl of them. The fibre will prevent bloating too they prevent spikes and dips in sugar that can lead to cravings.