No wonder people struggle with their weight!!!

[GreenTeacup]

I have decided to turn my life around. Now in my 40’s, I have realised that my eating habits are not healthy and I need to address my relationship with food. I have been slowly putting on weight over the last few years. I am also insulin resistant and struggle with the physical symptoms (eg hair loss and hairy chin).

So I decided to research and I am more confused then ever.

IF for insulin resistance and keep it low carb
weight train and carb load on these days
Eat like a king for breakfast and pauper for dinner.
Spinach is a superfood
Spinach has no fibre

Please, please can someone point me in the direction of where to start? I am more confused than ever!

Think less about what you're cutting down or out, and more about what you're adding in, and therefore replacing the other stuff with.

This with big bells on.

I dont think that I cant eat bread, just now I dont need to because Im making time to make a decent meal that fills me better. Even on days where the fridge is looking bare, a jacket potato with a tin of beans or tuna is much more exciting and filling for me then two slices of white with cheese. A cheese sandwich really doesn't fill me for long, Id be reaching for biscuits or crisps to go along with side and an hour later the hunger will be making its self known again

For me personally it's all about keeping full for as few calories as possible whilst packing in the protein. When I first started to change my diet, protein wasnt a biggie, only now as time has passed and Im actually exercising - no gym or weights - just cycling and walking, I'm looking scrawny so am actively pushing the protein I know I SHOULD add the weight training, but Rome wasnt built in a day and tbh, Im too busy to find time for weights right now - and not a mission am I going to be doing them at home

Eat stuff you make yourself and mostly vegetables

read ingredients lists - a simple yogurt is fine, one with a long list of ingredients isnt. same with bread - flours, salt, yeast water and vit c ( absorbic acid ) is fine - other stuff isn’t . If you make it yourself you don’t need to worry about the ingredients list

eat a huge variety of vegetables
freah, tinned , frozen are all fine
there is no superfood

half plate or more of veg, a handful of protein and a handful of whole grain carbs
protein - eggs, cheese and milk , beans and lentils , fish, white meat, and even some red meat is ok

avoid sugar and simple carbs .choose fruit and veg instead for treats and whole grain bread and pasta and skin on potatoes

don’t over analyse. I have no idea about the fibre in spinach but it’s still great as a green leafy vegetable

be mostly perfect and if you have some crisps or whatever it’s not a reason to give up

but do eat more veggies

Focus on the insulin resistance diet
don’t worry about / get distracted body building diets
eat real food

Zoe is a bit gimmicky but doing their blood glucose monitor thing could help you

spinach is great but just eat with more fibre rich food but I think it’s easy to over think that stuff

good question

It isn't simple maths though, there are many complex metabolic processes involved in digestion, energy expenditure, energy storage etc. Throw the powerful chemicals that are hormones into the mix and it's a much more multi-dimensional picture.

Think about the recent use of medications for weight loss. People talk about the 'food noise' being switched off. One of the modes of action of these medications is to mimic a hormone produced when you're full to tell your brain that you're sated, and therefore to stop eating.

Besides, even if being in a calorie deficit worked every time, many people don't know what that means or looks like in reality.
Humans are social eaters, we eat for reasons other than survival. With any individual it's rarely as simple as a basic maths equation. Information, education and social support are often required.

ETA to use your example of 'it doesn't matter if those calories came from chocolate' you could, theoretically, get all your calories, ie energy requirements, from low-nutritional-value, low-volume, energy-dense foods such as chocolate, but what would happen to your appetite?
Would you be satisfied, or would you be looking for more, to fill you and to meet your other nutritional needs?

look up low GI diets

I cannot recommend this programme highly enough for solid nutrition advice for women. The spring programme started yesterday but you can still sign up for it.

She's just sensible (low-ish carb and lots of nutrition) and the programme is so detailed and well researched.

https://www.ginalivy.com/

Oats are high in carbohydrate. They will raise your blood sugar, but how rapidly that happens depends on what form they come in. Say it's a bowl of cooked steel-cut or Irish oats, they will digest more slowly than a bowl of rolled oats, and they in turn will digest more slowly than a bowl of 'instant oatmeal'.
The more refined they are, the less work there is for our digestive system.

As for raising blood sugar, have a look at glycaemic index(GI) of foods. You can do like-for-like comparisons.
A potato, for example, has a higher GI than a sweet potato. This is due to the structure and nutritional components of the plant, the starch content, what form the starch is in (if you're really interested, have read about resistant starch & what that does to white potatoes when baked, for eg. or rice that's been cooked & cooled), the fibre content...

Add in some protein to your breakfast oats, such as plain yogurt, or something with more fibre & fat, such as berries & seeds. It'll both slow digestion, and help you feel satisfied for a bit longer.
If I had just toast for breakfast, I'd be absolutely ravenous about an hour/hour & 1/2 later, whereas if I had beans (source of protein) on toast, I'd be grand for a few hours.

I think it's just a case of making better decisions and variety.

Are you actually diabetic or have pre-diabetes? Either way, I'd reduce carbs (you do need some for energy and to fill you up) and don't have too many high sugary things. If you're going to have carbs, look at items like bread with whole grains in as they're slower release, brown rice, wholewheat pasta - have less and add a bit more veg. If you're eating out, swap garlic bread for salad. Spinach is good for you, but vary it with other green veg available and have a decent size and reduce your carbs.

Also, exercise. Great if it's weight training, but if that doesn't work for you another fitness class, walking, cycling are still good for your general health and reducing glucose in your system. If it's hard to find time do so something away from home, look at online classes (some are only 10-15 mins), go for a short walk or do a few push ups, squats, lunges - it's all good for you.

Trying to get a good nights sleep and reduce stress levels is also good for your general health and insulin resistence.

I guess you should also think about “good enough” not “optimal for a super althlete”

and “what works for me” not “what works for someone else “

Say you like oats for breakfast - are they basically ok? Yes, as plant based, whole grain . Sone people find they get sugar spikes ( and so get very hungry a little later) but many others can have porridge ( with fruit not sugar ) easily enough. Many peolle
would chose to cook with milk rather than traditional water which would add protein and calcium - but both water or milk are OK so don’t sweat

Eat less.

I agree there is a lot of conflicting information (and misinformation out there.) I started trying to eat better and lose weight last year as I'm approaching 40 and decided that I really want to improve my health before I get any older/peri menopause etc.

PPs are right that the best "diet" is one you can stick to and becomes a lifestyle rather than something you do for a couple of months. For me, that's intermittent fasting and eating in an 8 hour window, typically between 11am and 7pm. In reality, I'm just cutting out breakfast and most snacks and sticking to two meals a day the majority of the time. It suits me really well and I feel great doing it, but that doesn't mean it is necessarily for everyone. Although I would say that humans didn't evolve to be constantly snacking and there are a lot of benefits to giving our digestive systems a break!

In terms of what to eat I decided that there's so much conflicting information out there that I would try and make it as simple as possible for myself.

Eat more fruit, vegetables and "whole foods".

Eat less processed stuff/UPFs. I haven't completely eliminated UPFs but I cut them right down. If it has ingredients on the packaging that I don't know what they are then I don't tend to buy it. Think plain greek yoghurt and fruit rather than breakfast cereal for example.

Limit snacking and if you do need a snack focus on fruit/veg/nuts rather than crisps/biscuits.

I don't cut out any food group as I just think that's unsustainable for me. I'll just moderate my portions of the less healthy stuff e.g. I'll still have pizza with DDs on a Saturday night, I'll just have a few slices with a salad rather than eating a whole on to myself. Or I'll have one or two squares of dark chocolate rather than a slice of cake.

I focus on consistency rather than perfection. Eating well 80% of the time, week in and week out is more sustainable for me long term than trying to be 100% perfect and then ending up bingeing or giving up.

What test did you have @GreenTeacup to find out that you are insulin resistant?

Well said, @arcticpandas Breakfast is the greatest scam ever! There is not a shred of scientific evidence that it is necessary / important. The whole "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" was a marketing ploy put out by Kelloggs (who, surprise, surprise, sell breakfast cereal) and then amplified by the USA bacon guys (another "breakfast" food). If you are not hungry, don't eat.

I love that you are healthy, but can also eat chocolate sometimes. Life is about living!

(Of course, for those posters who are hungry at breakfast, of course you should eat. What I am saying is listen to your body, not a marketing department).

I can't help with the insulin resistance, but other than that, if you've recognised that you've been eating unhealthily then you can easily make small changes.

I presume by unhealthily you mean processed, junk food and too much of it.
You'll see benefits by just replacing some of the junk food with healthier stuff, you don't need to research it.

What exercise do you do?

I’m 5’3’’ and 49F, if I want to loose weight I need to eat 1200cals max and 1500cals to maintain, you should also be walking 8000 (min) steps a day

OP, it is so confusing. Even Mosley's celebrated 800 diet is a total fad to flog bars and powders, just like the 1970s crash diets. Avoid them all.

Focus on two things: eating when you are physically hungry, and when you do, ensure the food is as a PP said unprocessed, mainly plants.

Eg. High protein Skyr or Greek yoghurt with berries for breakfast. Or one slice of wholemeal toast and a boiled egg or half a mashed avocado. Or one tablespoon of no added sugar muesli mixed with grated apple and frozen blueberries to bulk it out with a splash of milk. Or banana milkshake with a drop of vanilla essence, no added sweetener.

Home made veggie soup or crudités and humous or chicken/tuna salad for lunch. If you need more carbs go for no added sugar wholemeal toast with poached egg or sardines in tomato sauce, or a baked potato with home made coleslaw using yoghurt not mayo or cottage cheese with fresh herbs.

For dinner, have about four veg or more with lean protein. Steak with garlic spinach and mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and a few new potatoes or salmon steamed with fennel, ginger and spring onion with pak choi and edamame beans. Or a stir fry of different peppers, carrots, tofu, beansprouts and cashews with brown rice or wholewheat noodles.

Drink water and fruit tea during the day. If you are hungry for a snack have a piece of fruit, or some sliced veg with ham or chicken.

Have cake on your birthday, crisps or ice cream after a ten-mile hike, chocolate at Easter and Christmas. Not as regular snacks.
Don't keep biscuits and other treats in the house. Have several alcohol free days a week and only one glass on other nights unless it's a special occasion.

Move every day 10k steps plus 2 or more full workouts like bootcamp or a gym class.

Find non food items to reward yourself when you need a treat and non food comforts to help you distress.

If you stick to this for a year, you'll be healthy, toned and have lost weight effortlessly. No more yoyoing. If you stick to this for life you will find your natural healthy weight.

You are spot on. However, for those of us who are Insulin Resistant losing weight is horrendous. Currently, I have to avoid anything that might increase my blood sugar levels. If I do this I can lose weight. The downside is waking up with night terrors because my body thinks my blood sugar level is too low when it isn’t.
Too many doctors see a high blood sugar level as a definite case of Type 2 Diabetes and it isn’t that simple.

It was a few years ago now but from what I remember, I went to the GP for the physical symptoms that I was having and was sent for a scan. They found PCOS. I was then sent for a test where they had me drink something and took bloods.

Thank you for all of your messages. I am just researching the recommendations now.

Ah right! I knew about the difference in potatoes (prefer ordinary spuds to sweet ones unfortunately!) So maybe I will go back to oats, yogurt and fruit then.

Team RH

YANBU

It's ridiculous

If you are insulin-resistant, then look up pre-diabetes information on the Diabetes UK website, there's loads of information about healthy eating on there.

Basically at each meal, half the plate/bowl should be fruit and veg, a quarter protein and a quarter carbs. Ideally go for lower GI carbs such as basmati rice, which is better for you than ordinary rice for some odd reason.