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Original poster

to wonder how the hell she stays so slim??

708 replies

SequinsAndSparkles · 15/03/2011 13:41

My BIL is engaged to a spanish woman, and we spent the weekend at MIL's, all of us together.

She is very slim, I'd guess a size 6/8. Her skin is glowing and she is stunning, yet her diet perplexes me?

On the first morning, we were all having breakfast, MIL made a fry up for everyone, but I am on a diet so I had special K and some toast. SIL prepared her own breakfast (they are currently staying at MILs while they have some work done on their house), and she had some kind of cheese, can't remember what she said it was, about 10 olives and a slice of ham! Yet she said that my breakfast of Special K and toast was stodgy and apparently English women have 'very strange ideas about nutrition'.

For lunch, she had a chicken salad, but it involved lots of extra virgin olive oil, all over the peppers and a big dollop of salsa. And then for dinner she had chicken smeared in pesto, with green beans in salt, more salsa and a slice of cheese.

How is she so slim??

I didn't have a particuarly healthy weekend in the end, we ended up having a takeaway on the Saturday evening, and SIL wouldn't eat any of it, she wasn't rude, she politely declined but I just find it hypocrytical that she eats all this fatty stuff and made the comment about England having strange ideas about nutrition when I was eating Special K and toast!!

OP posts:
Krepsly · 15/03/2011 18:33

I'm similar to you, just not as slim [envious] I'm 5ft 10in and about 10 and a half stone. My goal weight is around 9 and a half stone - I reckon I could do it with atkins diet but to be honest, I don't care enough to put up with the restrictive diet Grin If I really was committed, low carb is the way I'd do it.

Ormirian · 15/03/2011 18:34

Most people feel pretty rough the first few weeks on lc. But leave it a little longer and you feel great. More energy, healthier, more alert. I run regularly and since being back on lc 3 weeks ago, last night was the first run I did when I didn't feel I was going to die. It gets better from now on... on...

Folicacid · 15/03/2011 18:38

Anyone know if low carb would be okay whilst pregnant?

TaudrieTattoo · 15/03/2011 18:46

Thanks for the tips. Seems like eggs are the way forward.

Krepsly · 15/03/2011 18:51

Personally I wouldn't do LC whilst pregnant but that's just because I don't have much info on it. Someone more knowledgable may disagree with me Smile

Ormirian - what do you have for brekkie on low carb? I got so sick of eggs I almost felt like throwing up if I smelt them.

noeyedear · 15/03/2011 18:53

How has this turned into a low/no carb thread? At the start, people were saying don't eat refined carbs, which means you can have wholemeal bread/past/rice in moderation. I couldn't stick to a no carb diet. AFAIK, the GI diet is the best one for weight loss and maintenance and though you do cut down on carbs significantly, you still eat them, you just cut out the white stuff (which incidentally cuts out cake and biscuits!)

WhatsWrongWithYou · 15/03/2011 18:54

As I said, I can't do low carb because of gallstones (weight loss is simply not worth four hours' writhing in pain), but I sometimes substitute the spuds with roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash - they seem to be lighter somehow.
And I think brown bread and rice, in moderation, are okay.
I can confirm the sticking power of peanut butter - two slices of brown toast thickly spread with it easily takes me to lunchtime. Amazingly, Sunpat is the one free of palm oil.

pommedeterre · 15/03/2011 18:55

Her diet sounds awesome. Exactly how I liked to eat when I was single and not really doing anything writing my dissertation in the summer hols in France.
Takes a lot of time and effort. harder.
Cereal and toast is two breakfasts by the way.

hairylights · 15/03/2011 18:57

Sounds like a really good diet to me!

hairylights · 15/03/2011 18:59

Ps. You are dieting but you ate two breakfasts!!

Pekkala · 15/03/2011 19:03

I am a veggie low carber. I can't face faffing with cooking first thing in the morning, so my cheat breakfast (frowned upon by some purists) is a protein shake (whey protein powder from Holland and Barrett, a slug of full fat greek yoghurt, a slug of double cream & water) whizzed for 20 seconds. Easy and cheap and keeps me full from 7.30am til lunch. I eat homemade, unprocessed foods for all my other meals.
Nearly 5 stone lost and maintained...give it a go!

MoChan · 15/03/2011 19:11

Don't understand how people still think that low fat high carb diets are healthy. Cereal is pointless and encourages weight gain. Eggs all round for breakfast here. And stuff like that.

MrsGuyOfGisbourne · 15/03/2011 19:14

S&S - glad you have ditched the Special K - rubbish breakfast! We have bacon and eggs, and I never feel hungry till about 3. I don't eat carbs for breakfast as I then just have the urge to snack all morning. Finf it horendous when we have meetings that start @ 10 and my fat colleagues are scoffing danish pastries Shock

skybluepearl · 15/03/2011 19:24

We have bran flakes, porrige, muesli, wholemeal bread, oatabix, grape nuts, shredded wheat in my cupboard. We usually have a crab followed by some fruit. I always assumed this was healthy! Am i wrong?

colditz · 15/03/2011 19:26

A crab....?

skybluepearl · 15/03/2011 19:33

he he yes i have crabs and sometimes even carbs

colditz · 15/03/2011 19:34

I think there's something in what she says.

I normally have ither not breakfast or two rounds of toast. I am not significantly less hungry after eating toast than I am before I eat it.

But the other day, I rammed 100g of pork pie in my mouth, and was full until about 1pm, and didn'yt eat much then.

now, I know you couldn't really get a less healthy breakfast, but I've never been full for so long!

pointydog · 15/03/2011 19:43

special k and toast is not a breakfast to keep you slim.

said · 15/03/2011 19:48

Good point colditz Where's the dividing line between eating food to stay slim and eating food that's linked to heart disease and cancer (eg red meat)?

Francagoestohollywood · 15/03/2011 20:01

Hogsback I don't know, if I google mediterranean food pyramid I get results similar to the one I posted. Which is the same pyramid printed in a brochure my ds has been given by a nutritionist from the Milanese council who visited his primary school last week.

I do agree with you that saying "Mediterranean" can be misleading, as even in Italy there are huge differences in what people eat from region to region, therefore the differences between southern Italy, parts of France or Greece are striking.

I am pretty sure that eating more proteins and less carbs helps loosing weight, but I am not sure it constitutes a healthy diet.

As for hormones and chickens, I do not trust all the producers here in Italy. Chickens are more likely to be given medicines because of their intense farming... as for some Italian farmers breaking UE regulations, I am afraid it is a depressing reality.

pjmama · 15/03/2011 20:05

A girl I used to work with was really slim, but ate tons of food e.g. 4 slices of toast for breakfast (she was tiny, I don't know how she fitted it all in). She never worried about the fat content of anything she ate, but the one thing she had cut out of her diet entirely - refined sugar. The only sugars she ate were naturally occuring ones in fruit and fruit juice. It clearly worked for her, but I'm far too fond of cake to give it a try! Blush

sungirltan · 15/03/2011 20:07

op -you know the special k diet has bee widely disproven to not aid weightloss in any way??? also i bet you are hungry and hour later. i know i am if i eat cereal

spanish lady's diet sounds great - i am quite inspired!

Original poster
SequinsAndSparkles · 15/03/2011 20:57

Ah gosh, a lot of food for thought here then (please excuse the terrible pun!)

I have learnt a lot since starting this thread actually, no more Special K for me, and it is interesting thinking about the way people in general eat in England. There was me thinking that Special K and Muller Lights were the way to go! But after reading through all of these posts, of course they are not going to be as good as pure healthy foods. I'm rather embarrassed actually at my ignorance towards food! Blush

Definitely going to look into low carb, I did wonder why I am constantly hungry depsite having had toast/sandwiches etc.

OP posts:
wildspinning · 15/03/2011 21:34

I'm with said and Francagoestohollywood. I don't understand how a diet involving lots of meat and cheese can be healthy even if it makes you slim. High consumption of red meat and dairy products makes cancer/heart disease more likely, no?

Is it not better to aim for a vegan diet with loads of veggies, fruit, pulses, nuts, seeds and wholegrains than a fat-laden meat-and-cheese diet? (Ham, pork and feta have all been mentioned as components of a low-carb diet in this thread).

moonstorm · 15/03/2011 21:36

Right you lot put your money where your mouth is here

If you know how it works, help us out Smile Recipes important for those of us who are helpless Grin