Because I don't know what the fuck to eat anymore!

[MissusWrex]

I'm almost ready to give up.

It's in the news today that a high carb low fat diet is bad for you and that a high fat low carb diet is the way to go with lots of protein.

Though not too much red meat according to the stories a few months ago.

I suppose you could have eggs? Are they bad or good I can't bloody keep up anymore!

I know I know. The advice I should listen to is to just have a healthy balanced diet but I've never had that. I had a terrible diet growing up and still have a very poor relationship with food.

So asking me to just follow a 'healthy balanced diet' is the equivalent of asking me to build a rocket to Mars using only the contents of my bin.

Ive tried to research what exactly constitutes a healthy diet but there is so much contradiction...

I've a few stone left to lose but have been following the low fat high carb route ( no low fat or sugar foods though, I cook from scratch as often as I can)

Will someone more knowledge my that me just tell me what's good and what isn't in a easy to understand format that won't change tomorrow.

Is that too much to ask?!

Eat lots of veg. Eat a bit of fruit. Eat plain carbs ie rice or pitatoes. Eat less processed carbs like bread and oasta. And even less of cakes and biscuits as they are more processed and have added sugar.
Eat lean meat and if you dont eat meat eat beans and pulses for protein.
Some fat is good for you, butter and cheese are fine in small quantities.
Natural food is better than procesed food.refined sugar should be for small quantities as a treat not as regular food.
And lots of water

Ha this cartoon just about sums it up!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2016/may/25/conflicting-diet-advice-its-enough-to-make-you-take-up-smoking-cartoon

JustDance said what I had been trying to say but better and in fewer words:
"JustDanceAddict Wed 25-May-16 20:13:08

I would just avoid processed foods and refined (white) carbs as much as possible. Eat 'real' food - no 'low fat' or ready meals either."

That's how people stay healthy. So for example drink water, rather than diet or full sugar coke. Eat an orange rather than a smoothie. Eat real fish (not breaded fish) with veg rather than a weightwatchers readymeal.

Low fat yoghurt is definitely not good for you - it's rammed full of sugar.

OK, so how about low/zero fat Greek (Total) yogurt. I have been having that with fruit for years - assuming it was healthier than the full fat version. Contains no sugar or sweeteners at all.

I get that low fat versions of food are often rammed full of sugar and other rubbish to make them taste better. So is that what is bad about them - rather than the fact that they are low fat per se??

I don't understand why you wouldn't have full fat Greek yoghurt - it's so much more delicious. If you're worried about the fat (I'm not) then just have less of it.

The most troubling thing i find about modern diet advice, particularly promoted by those diet companies that have subs and products to sell, but you get it with lots of processed food products, is the idea of seeking the greatest volume of food for the lowest calorie intake. It's really worrying because it's completely opposite to what food is for

Yes the problem with low-fat products is that if you take the fat out of something it actually tastes pretty bad. To cover this up food companies add loads of sugar to make it taste better.

I agree with Hap, full-fat Greek yoghurt tastes so much better!

Yes, nothing wrong with foods that are naturally low in fat (although everyone needs some fat for their body to work properly so you wouldn't want to live solely on naturally low fat foods). The problem is foods that are supposed to have fat in and have had it removed and replaced with sugar and thickeners and other yuk to try to make it taste like the real thing.

Also I find low fat foods to be self defeating from a calorie pov - full fat foods taste richer and more satisfying, so I eat less of them, whereas if I have a low fat version I end up eating way more in an attempt to be as satisfied. So the calorie intake ends up the same.

I'm remembering something about dairy and how milk proteins actually helped people lose weight, but only when eaten with the full fat versions - something about about absorption?

Just had full fat Greek yogurt. Haven't done it for years! Felt really naughty, somehow (get a life, woman!).

I have never bought low fat food (unless naturally low fat) and have never been overweight. I think the two are definitely connected!

ive just started eating meat veg salad meals i treat food as a soure of fuel and nothing more i know body builders who swear by weighing out your veg and meat too

also low fat = more sugar in my experience when ever something unhealthy is taken out of foods something cheaper and worse is added to make up for it like in ready meals and jar sauces they take out a bit of sugar and add a load of fructose instead

After this thread I made a food swap. I have been having overnight oats for a few weeks now and I love it. As someone who did goes to Slimming World I was using Muller lights, but it has dawned on me (after checking the syns of various yoghurts) that Slimming World have probably got some sort of deal with muller lights (and probably mug shots and other things too) so I swapped and bought some SKYR instead. It didnt taste as sweet, but it didnt taste bad either. I think that I will be able to get used to it and in not time I simply wont like the taste of muller light again.

Im going away this weekend where lots of alcohol will be consumed, but I am seriously considering what Im going to do when I come back. I need to start to train myself to like more veg. There was once a time I wouldnt touch a salad or drink plain water. Now all I drink at work is water and I often like a salad (still dont like tomatoes though). Hopefully I can train myself to like more veg, especially the green leafy kind.

Dr Harleen i do SW and have not touched Muller Lights for YEARS I have the full fat Greek yoghurt but use less of it by having it as a topping.

Ive worked out how SW WW etc get their repeat custom When you finish losing weight and try to maintain you will end up regaining because of all the sugar in the so called low syn food. Thats why i dont do MUllerlights or their bloody hifi bars.

Second time around doing it this way weight loss has been slow 4 stone in 3 years but i dont regain easily like a lot of fellow class members do.

And thats another thing that pisses me off about SW WW FAST weight loss is encouraged and rewarded.

There were have been a few slow losers in the class and of those slow losers im the only one who stuck it out. Because it can be hard psychologically to stick to a plan when its so slow.

I did it by reminding myself i was eating for health as well as weight loss

and by refusing to set weekly targets ...too much pressure and i cant control the slow speed it comes off.

I also only attend fortnightly instead of weekly again less pressure. Im at target now and used to eating like this.

This experience as well as the first times speedy weight loss and the subsequent gallstones has taught me that too much emphasis is put on speed.

Speedy super fast weight loss is the flip side of the instant gratification coin.

When I did WW, I worked it so I lost just 1kg a month and that worked nicely for me - I plateaued, stopped, then started again when I was ready nd lost about 3 stone over as many years. I kept it off until I suffered with ill health. My activity reduced for a while, as I was in a lot of pain and the drugs I took made me really hungry. I also entered perimenopause. So I have put a lot of that weight back on, over another 4 years or so.

I gave up on WW when they changed the points system in a way that prevented me from eating the small amount of dairy I can eat (I'm lactose intolerant) without ending up hungry.

One thing I've discovered is a sweet tooth I never used to have.

I've been playing about with MFP, this week and have linked it to my fitbit. If I cut out the stodgy snacks, it turns out that I come under my target for 1lb a week loss quite easily. I've not changed my mealtime habits and it turns out that my meals average far from low fat, but only about 130g of carbs a day. I know I lose weight when I'm not snacking, even if I have the odd glass of wine or three.

DM im sorry youve been ill and about the side effects of the meds......that sucks.

Aye. It feels a little crap, at the moment. I think once half term is over, I'll have a proper blast of doing what I've been doing for the past few days, see if I can get my BMI back into the not overweight range. It shouldn't be too hard - I just need to re-train myself not to eat the extra shit that I always end up not even enjoying.

I've 'quit sugar' (the book is amazing)... And while the detox phase for someone like me who's diet pretty much consisted of all sugar (not lying) was pretty bad, I feel pretty good now & I'm loosing weight at a good rate. The foods are good & it's not as strict as you would believe it to be... As some of the other posters have suggested it's all about natural being better & no added sugar. Trying to avoid processed foods & make things from scratch. Going back to the way things used to be.....
I've heard good & evil things about paleo too but not sure about trying that one. Think I'm on a good thing already :)

Have lots of fat and unrefined sugars from fruit.

Something like that and you won't overeat as you feel full from it.

Low fat yoghurt is definitely not good for you - it's rammed full of sugar.

Low fat flavoured yoghurt is indeed rammed full of sugar. Low fat plain yoghurt is fine.

Yes. No need to panic over low fat plain yoghurt