To have come back from Lanzarote feeling geuinely shocked at how fat the British tourists were?

[Illgetmycoat]

I'm not talking slightly plump, I mean seriously, morbidly obese. A whole different race to the German, French and Spanish tourists.

What is going on? When did our country become like this? Whenever you heard a british accent, it would be accompanied by a 3ft wide backside. And whole families, too, all swollen to gargantuan size, with the poor kids unable to put their feet together because of the rolls of fat on their legs.

How has this happened? What the heck are the Brits feeding their children to get them so large? How can you feed an eight year old you love so much food that they become morbidly obese?

It can't just be blamed on poverty, because it's not cheap going to Lanzarote.

I was shocked.

ethelb - yes, like potatoes, peas and fish. See my most recent post. Ain't nothing wrong with those things, but there is something wrong when people start chucking butter on those things left right and centre.

Justaholyfool - I didn't say caveman privileged sweet over white potatoes. I did try to say that I prefer to eat sweet potatoes over white as they don't bloat me out.

RedToothbrush - yes, I exercise quite a bit. I eat a lot of protein and have plenty of energy to do aerobic exercise and to build muscle. I menstruate just fine! Have strong nails and hair. When I was heavier, my periods would be so irregular and very, very heavy. Now they are clockwork and much lighter, with minimal cramping/discomfort.

As I said, it's the lifestyle I choose to follow. What I think a lot of society is up against is that they don't get to choose what they eat e.g. back to fish fingers: you can't take ingredient X out of the Bird's Eye product, but I think if you were at home making your own fish fngers for some reason, you wouldn't put yeast in them!

Spag bol or a roast don't have to be unhealthy! Depends what you put in them!

My point eaxctly! Chocolate and naturla fat aren't unhealthy, it's whatever crap/method manufacturers do to them that makes them unhealthy!

A full roast = a-ok! It's when people start whacking on needless cheese, butter etc that it starts to be a problem.

ethelb - I'm not saying yeast isn't natural. What I am saying is why put that in fishfingers?! That's fucking weird in my opinion. Why not: bit of cod, egg wash on it, breadcrumbs? 3 ingredients only.

Thunder. I don't agree that following any gimmicky diet plan is a good idea. If it has a tag line then its most likely a gimmicky diet.

From what i can see cavemen ate mostly raw bits of animal and the type a fruit etc they would have eaten would have been greatly restricted by their location. So unless you only eat raw eyeballs, roots and the fruit that is naturally available within walking distance of your home then your not eating like a caveman but following a gimmicky diet based very loosely on history.

The sleep thing is very interesting. DD stopped sleeping for 4 months and I put on. 8lb! Some of that will have been being too knackered to turn down biscuits or do the shred. But as soon as she started sleeping again I lost 2lb, which was over Christmas, so I was being quite sedentary and in no way dieting. I've lost another 2 this week, but it looks like her sleep us going haywire again, I might nap instead if doing extra exercise for a bit! (I walk at least 5 miles most week days anyway).

I am 5'7" and I would look hideous at 56 kilo, I look slim at 68 and bony below that (am 74 at present ). How different body shapes can be on the same height and weight amazes me.

meat and simple carbohydrates are staple foods the world over (though obviously veggie societies don't eat meat). As as for 'not a huge amount of nutritional value' Beef contains all three macronutrients, as well as zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium , riboflavin, niacin, vitamin b, folate and lots of essential fatty acids. Potatoes contain vitamin c, calcium, iron, vitamin k, vitabin b, folate, selenium and manganese. They also contain some omega fatty acids. And please, please don't pass on this no carb thing to children, they need carbs way more than adults.

I totally agree.

fuckadoodlepoopoo - the paleo diet isn't restricted to that and you can cook the meat! It's more 'caveman didn't have a Pret panini...so you don't either' or 'caveman didn't have a Tesco pre-made sandwich...so you don't either'

It's about eating natural things - so, again, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, eggs with no added emulsifiers, E numbers, guar gum etc

presumably the yeast is in the breadcrumbs?

ThunderInMyHeart - Breadcrumbs have other ingredients in them, they are not a natural product, therefore your fishfingers will have more than 3 things in them, and there's a good chance that the BREAD that the BREADCRUMBS are from will have YEAST in it.

HTH.

paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/

An idea of what there is to eat on a paleo 'diet'

Jeff - I was trying not to overcomplicate. But, actually, what you just wrote is a great example of what I'm trying to say. The ingredients list on supermarket bread is terrifying and bizarre! If bread was made the way one would make it at home, no problem. It's all these other superfluous ingredients that get thrown into the mix.

I used breadcrumbs earlier inaccurately. I don't know what I would substitute breadcrumbs (crushed pine nuts?!) for in that situation as I would have just lightly pan-fried a piece of cod in olive oil. But my point is that keeping food simple is a good base to start with in the obesity battle.

Thunder. Who puts cheese on a roast? Or butter for that matter. I don't know anyone who cooks with as much butter as the ones you do.

you guys are right about meat and potatos being staple foods the world over so I was probably a bit harsh in my judgement.

I just think they are staple foods - at least pasta, potatos, rice - because they are cheap and generally easy to come by.

I think was I was trying to communicate was that some of the basic staple foods aren't as nutritionally valuable as say something with green vegetables and I do think we make a lot of false assumptions about those things that are healthy. Less staple foods and more variety in our diet would be good.

she says as she heads home to put fish fingers in oven!

I did list what was in the breadcrumbs.
Wheatflour
water
salt
yeast
paprika
turmeric

Also, I'm not saying that one must never, ever touch yeast or a biscuit. Christ, I just ate a chocolate bar. But, I am trying to point out the hidden crap in a lot of food that I just don't think a lot of people are aware of, which is why I've chosen a 'natural paleo' diet so I can keep tabs on what I am putting into my body.

As I said - nothing wrong with a fish finger, but I would rather make it myself than buy a pre-made one. That way there's less chance of the wool-pulling.

fuckadoodlepoopoo - some people have cauliflower cheese with a roast and butter on their potatoes/peas and I'm pretty sure some people smear a chicken with butter.

I'm not picking an argument, you know; just saying what I believe. You can have your own opinion, but don't shit on someone for having theirs.

Did the cavemen have vending machines?

*Wheatflour
water
salt
yeast
paprika
turmeric *

All totally fine, but I'm just suggesting that it would better with UNREFINED flour. Breadcrumbs made from wholewheat flour would be miles better, adding fibre.

Thunder. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. I wouldn't dream of having cauliflower cheese with a roast but wouldn't follow a plan that banned it either.

YANBU, we went to haven last year and there was a catering option. Although not everyone there was fat there was definitely more aware of the number of obese and morbidly obese people when normally i wouldnt register if someone was fat or not. Id be lying if is said that i didn't notice it. Even my ds asked why there was so many fat people

I'm not saying one has to ban anything! There are some people who take over-eating and under-eating to extremes. God, I've just eaten a Mars bar! I'm not sticking my fingers down my throat in regret.

I just think that being aware of what you're truly eating (which is why I scrutinise ingredients lists) is paramount, but life would be pretty boring if you never had a Mars bar.

butter really isn't poison. it is full of calcium, protein, fatty acids and vitamins.

If you're careful 80% of the time, the other 20% of the time you don't need to be