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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Is there anyone who just eats normally?

999 replies

Peanutss · 22/01/2019 13:46

I can't believe the amount of threads where the OP claims to eat only a boiled spinach shake for breakfast, plain cous cous for dinner and a salmon fillet with veg for tea. With of course, only an apple as a snack in between.

Is there anyone like me who just has a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast, a meal deal for lunch and then whatever I can be arsed putting in the oven for tea? I'm beginning to wonder if I'm massively unhealthy in comparison to most or whether people are just making this up.

OP posts:
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7
mathanxiety · 26/01/2019 04:24

Normal to have chips with pie, pizza and lasagne too

I would find this extraordinary.

Imo pizza is a stand alone meal. Pie is a stand alone meal, and lasagna is a stand alone meal.

I would have chips with a burger, with fish (any kind of fish prepared any way - fried, baked, or chipper style) or with fried chicken.

greatbighillofhope · 26/01/2019 07:15

If I was to eat ‘normally’ I would be very, very overweight. Already 2 st overweight while watching what I eat- low-ish carbs, low sugar, plenty of veg, no choc, no crisps etc. To lose weight I have had to go very low cal. It amazes me at work when I see what some people eat for lunch and they’re still slim- I put on a pound just looking at it!
But, I do think my diet has helped me stay healthy, I am almost never, ever poorly. Loads of people around me had a really nasty cold this winter (for some it was a whole week off work/in bed and continuing to feel rough for a couple more weeks). I had minor sniffles for 2 days but soon shook it off. Maybe just coincidence but similar does happen often.

greatbighillofhope · 26/01/2019 07:25

As regards as any particular foods causing cancer, I think it’s generally a lot more complex than that, cutting out one food will not guarantee you don’t get cancer. There are a billion genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that all combine to determine individual health outcomes. However, like the link between smoking and cancer, the link between obesity and cancer I think seems pretty compelling.

Tanfastic · 26/01/2019 07:36

I eat normally 😂 when I did a quick survey of the people in my office who eat broccoli for lunch every day (for eg) there are 2 of them out of 12 of us who don't.
Yesterday I ate
Slice of toast for breakfast
Poached eggs on toast for lunch and a packet of French fries crisps
Tea was pizza chips and garlic bread
One glass of red wine

I do have healthier days inbetwen. I'm a few pounds heavier than I'd like to be

Aethelthryth · 26/01/2019 07:41

Interesting thread. Yesterday I ate:
B: One slice wholemeal toast with butter
L. A bowl of runner beans with butter and a spoonful of leftover mashed potatoes
D. Beef, slow-cooked with tomatoes, onion, wine and carrots, roast potatoes and broccoli, two glasses red wine, pear clafoutis.

I love food, like meals to be reasonably balanced and not too stodgy and think that, unless allergic, the benefits of "clean" eating are largely imaginary

TatianaLarina · 26/01/2019 10:29

Leaving aside the major doubts that many scientists and researchers have about the reliability of claims made about links between diet and disease (here's a good article, but there are plenty more) what is clear is that even if there are links, any disease-causing and prophylactic effects of food are very weak indeed.

Quoting a blog will not get you very far. What you linked is a rambling rant about all food and cancer in general, sidestepping the consistent results wrt to certain food types such as processed meat. Processed meat containing nitrates and nitrites, such as bacon, has shown a link to cancer over decades of research.

Indeed a coalition of scientists and politicians led by Prof Chris Elliott, recently recommended the government take action to remove nitrites from processed meats, based on a “consensus of scientific opinion” in the U.K. and internationally, that the nitrites used to cure meats produce carcinogens called nitrosamines when ingested.

You do not get cancer because you eat red meat. You might increase the risk if your diet is very, very heavy in red meat. That is not a NORMAL diet. Likewise a crank diet will not protect you from cancer any more than a NORMAL one.

I have never claimed that you get cancer from eating eat red meat. But techcnially, if you argue that you can increase your cancer risk by a diet rich in red meat, if you contract it, then you have got cancer due to red meat.

What’s a normal diet? Some people’s diets are very heavy in red and processed meat, particularly men’s. My father is a good example - he’s had a full English breakfast including bacon every day for 40 years, followed by meat for lunch and processed meat for supper.

I’ve no idea what your idea of a ‘crank’ or ‘normal’ is, without defining terms, your vague assertions are meaningless.

Ethel36 · 26/01/2019 10:31

"Normal to have chips with pie, pizza and lasagne too"

I think everyone's 'normal' is different. For example I wouldn't have chips with any of those dishes. We have home made chicken and mushroom pie with cabbage. Pizza is a stand alone. Lasagne has salad with it. I would only serve chips with battered fish. Other kinds of fish would have new potatoes with it and veg/salad. But that's just my 'normal'. Everyone is different.

KissingInTheRain · 26/01/2019 10:50

Quoting a blog will not get you very far.

The blog is a discussion of scientific research. On a site written by well-qualified commentators, and with links to sources.

If you want to know what I and others think is a normal diet, read the thread.

The rest of your post is irrelevant.

TatianaLarina · 26/01/2019 11:09

It’s a somewhat reactionary blog by 4 doctors, completely meaningless in the context of international cancer research.

I’m sorry I’m simply not interested enough in your views to go trawling the thread. If this thread has shown one thing it’s that there is no consensus on a ‘normal’ diet.

WH1SPERS · 26/01/2019 11:14

This thread has shown me how closed minded some people can be. That regardless of any scientific evidence, they stick their fingers in their ears and shout loudly

“ I’m ok, I’m normal, everyone else is weird, la la la la la “.

No wonder nearly two in three English women are overweight or obese.

Xenia · 26/01/2019 11:19

It depends what you mean by normally. I eat normal food, pretty similar to what my ancestors would have eaten in the 1850s i.e. normal food - veg, fish, meat mmmmmmm lovely. I don't eat abnormal awful junk food.

The problem is if siome sectors of UK society are so closed off they only meet obese people (or thin) people who eat junk food that they think this is normal.

FullOfJellyBeans · 26/01/2019 11:22

Surely by normal you mean "like me and my friends/family". I also think there's too much focus on weight and not enough on health.

MariaNovella · 26/01/2019 11:25

Aethelthryth

Your food sounds lovely, and normal, to me!

KissingInTheRain · 26/01/2019 11:25

It’s a somewhat reactionary blog by 4 doctors, completely meaningless in the context of international cancer research.

Rubbish.

I’m sorry I’m simply not interested enough in your views to go trawling the thread.

You don’t have to be interested in my views. Just read the read to answer your own questions.

KissingInTheRain · 26/01/2019 11:25

*read = thread

TatianaLarina · 26/01/2019 11:42

That’s exactly what it is Kissing. And I can only repeat that this thread makes clear there is no real consensus on a ‘normal diet’.

WunderBlah · 26/01/2019 12:31

Wow the rampant bullying disguised as nannying has really stepped up a gear here! Luckily I am Scottish so the xenophobic comment directed to all the English women is not applicable. I have to consider the fact that if, as suggested, two thirds are not thin then surely a thread describing a lack of food denial as "normal" is entirely correct.

Why have the words stew or casserole been replaced by gargantuan verbose ingredient lists? Does it make it a healthier casserole?

2 coffees and cereal so far Grin

Peanutss · 26/01/2019 12:35

I've not actually eaten anything today yet. Bacon butties when I'm back from walking the dog I think Grin may as well keep up appearances as the obese English woman.

OP posts:
WunderBlah · 26/01/2019 12:40

Bacon butties are a UK classic for good reason Grin

WunderBlah · 26/01/2019 12:41

Am asking HQ for a sandwich emoji ....

Peanutss · 26/01/2019 12:43

There would be carnage @WonderBlah CARNAGE I TELL YOU.

OP posts:
Peanutss · 26/01/2019 12:44

*Wunder Blush Grin

OP posts:
WunderBlah · 26/01/2019 12:49

But we need the healing power of the humble buttie represented, the supreme dangerwich in all of it's life giving forms!

AllSuits · 26/01/2019 13:06

KissingInTheRain

If food could heal it would be medicinal, would have side effects and would require a licence. It's a lovely thought that we could treat disease just with food but it is, sadly, a delusion.

Hmm

A healthy diet can help prevent a wide range of diseases. Why else would there be recommended daily allowances? Our bodies are biological and we require specific proteins, fats and vitamins and minerals to survive optimally. It's not opinion, it's science.

Food can help heal. You can reverse type 2 diabetes by improving your diet and lifestyle. Vitamin C boosts the immune system. Omega 3s aid the cardiovascular system.

Why else do GPs according to NHS guidelines advocate a balanced diet?

It's a huge shame that (for example) a diet high in red meat, saturated fat and processed food IS normal nowadays. It's like the food companies and supermarkets brainwash the general public.

Normal however, doesn't make it healthy or right. It's up to you how much responsibility you want to take regarding your own health.

I'm a healthy eating advocate only because I've been both sides of the coin.

There is a huge psychological link as to why we eat what we eat, and of course you should enjoy food too.

I'm a big fan of the 80/20 approach, and everything in moderation. I don't live off hummus and chai seeds 24/7. Confused

KlutzyDraconequus · 26/01/2019 13:08

Can we stop with the negativity and and stuff and remember our Bible verses

Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Plus, there's bacon for breakfast

Words we can all live by.