To not have a clue what a healthy diet is anymore?

[Insearchoffitness]

I grew up to believe that a healthy diet was essentially some type of low sugar cereal/porridge or eggs for breakfast, a sandwich on brown bread or a salad for lunch with some fruit and a homemade dinner with non processed meat/fish carbs and veg.

I also believed that a bit of freezer food, chocolate or a takeaway wasn't the work of the devil and was fine for a lazy weekend dinner once a week. Pretty much have your 5 a day at least and everything in moderation.

When I read on here I feel I'm in a parallel universe. Someone was criticising weetabix with banana as being too high in sugar, there's low carbs, ketosis, zero sugar, people claiming fruit has too much sugar. Someone on tv the other day was slagging off butter saying they'd never eat butter.

@bibbitybobbitycats

I don't get the carbs = evil thing. Italians must eat loads of carbs and their country is way down on the obesity list.

worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-obese-countries

When I was a kid in the 70s far fewer people were an unhealthy weight and we ate everything that has since been deemed "bad" at some point or another. I remember when eggs were the devil, now they are good.

I think portion size is probably key, along with steering clear of processed junk and ready meals.

I agree. Processed foods and seed oils really are the devils food. Hardly food at all.

@FrontToBackTree

Justasecondnow

I've seen multiple sufferers of eating disorders at varying levels of severity whose disordered eating has been exacerbated by low carb ideals.

The fact of the matter is low carbing works because of calorie deficit. The same as every other diet on the planet. People like to think of it as a magic pill. It isn't. Sure, if you have type 2 diabetes then of course a low carb diet can reverse it. But so could losing weight in 6 million other ways.

If the only way you can control your eating is to cut out carbs, your problems are bigger than the carbs.

First, it's low carb, not 'cutting out carbs'.

Second, it's not as simple as saying it's a calorie deficit, because often it isn't.

Third, of course it's not a magic pill - you have to work hard on a low carb diet to lose weight, just like on any other diet. Just ask the hundreds of people who have done the low carb Bootcamp here

Fourth, if low carbing can reverse type 2 diabetes, doesn't that tell you something about its benefits?

Finally, I'd put money on anyone with disordered eating coming from any kind of diet plan - I'd like to see the evidence that it's specifically low carbing that causes this

@bibbitybobbitycats

I don't get the carbs = evil thing. Italians must eat loads of carbs and their country is way down on the obesity list.

worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-obese-countries

When I was a kid in the 70s far fewer people were an unhealthy weight and we ate everything that has since been deemed "bad" at some point or another. I remember when eggs were the devil, now they are good.

I think portion size is probably key, along with steering clear of processed junk and ready meals.

Well, there is a huge amount of science to back up the fact that too much carbohydrate is bad for you.

Italians don't only eat pasta or pizza! They eat a lot of fresh meat, fish and vegetables along with good fats like olive oil. Often called the Mediterranean Diet, it's widely praised as a good diet.

It was government advice back in the 1980s that suddenly changed, and told us that fat was bad. Up until that point, people had been told that if they wanted to lose weight they needed to cut their carbs. Energen crisp rolls anyone? (Only someone in their 60s or over will understand that one ).

We didn't start eating meals based on pasta and rice until the mid to late 70s - up until then, most of our meals were meat and two veg, plus potatoes. Takeaways were very rare and home-cooking was the norm.

But then the advice switched (based on work being done in the US), and suddenly fat was the baddy. We were then told that pasta didn't make you fat, it was the sauce that you put on it that did.

And so from the early 80s onwards, we all avoided fat - switched to low fat diets, low fat foods, etc. Anything 'lite' or 'light' was good. Inevitably if you cut out one macronutrient, you have to increase another - and in this case it was carbohydrate.

Since the 80s we have (along with other Western countries) got fatter and fatter, and rates of type 2 diabetes have soared - even young children are now being seen with the disease.

Don’t start talking sense people

I think your diet sounds fairly balanced OP. Alas, I couldn’t tolerate it, due to PCOS and insulin resistance. What I wouldn’t give to be able to have a sandwich for lunch....

I eat like you and have remained at bmi 22 all my life

Rabbit food everyday.
Takeaways once a year.

Plus people didn’t snack. Processed foods took off in the 70s and we became more sedentary. Food companies love us to eat their shit and come back to it over and over again. It’s designed to be moreish. I see all these people wandering about with their lattes and think about the calories we now get from drinks that no one accounts for.

Italians don't only eat pasta or pizza! They eat a lot of fresh meat, fish and vegetables along with good fats like olive oil. Often called the Mediterranean Diet, it's widely praised as a good diet.

I didn't say that the Italians only eat pasta, for goodness sake I am not stupid! But they do eat a fair bit as part of their overall (Mediterranean) diet. Look at how passionate they are at matching the right pasta with the right food.

Fourth, if low carbing can reverse type 2 diabetes, doesn't that tell you something about its benefits?

Well chemo kills cancer... Doesn't mean it's good for someone without it...

@Fronttobacktree - I don't think you understand how insulin works, or the role it plays in weight gain, particularly around menopause. There is a lot of research that shows that two people can eat the same thing, but they won't have the same outcome in terms of weight gain/loss. Due to insulin sensitivity/resistance. That's why some people have to lower carbs to lose weight. They've usually explored lots of other ways before that. Remaining consistent is a problem for some.

(Sorry I don't know how to tag every one).
Keto flu by the way is just a withdrawal reaction to not eating/drinking sugar. In the same way a coffee drinker might get headaches if they suddenly give up. If I had keto flu (I haven't) I would thank goodness I realised how addicted my body is to sugar. Getting keto flu is a wake up call.

Your diet is probably OK for you. Having had a healthy diet and not being overweight, I found myself with T2D so I have to eat low carb high fat. Weetabix with banana would send my blood sugars sky high!

I agree that some Mumsnet posters have a crazy attitude for food - take a recent thread where people were saying 1200 calories for a young teenager was plenty as that’s what they eat in a day!!

Fourth, if low carbing can reverse type 2 diabetes, doesn't that tell you something about its benefits?

It's losing weight that causes the reversal, BIWI.

I've extensive experience of the low carb bootcamps on here and I know what I'm talking about.

don't think you understand how insulin works, or the role it plays in weight gain, particularly around menopause.

Yes I do. It is literally my job.

@BIWI - low carb works because it creates a calorie deficit. The only reason someone would lose fat is through a calorie deficit. Sometimes strict rules help people but in my opinion it's not sustainable.

Combination of carbs and fat (eg toast and butter) add up calories quickly without giving much satiety. Protein helps you feel full.

I agree with everything @FrontToBackTree says and I've read a lot on the subject. A good starter book for you would be The Fitness Chef. Emilia Thomson and ESG Fitness worth a follow on Instagram. Also James Smith PT but be warned he has some horrible misogyny alongside his dietary advice.

Just a quick question. Is low carb what used to be called GI diet?

@Jellytot844

low carb works because it creates a calorie deficit. The only reason someone would lose fat is through a calorie deficit. Sometimes strict rules help people but in my opinion it's not sustainable.

Not true.

The way people lose fat is is by burning fat. When you cut the carbs in your diet, you switch your body from burning carbs to burning fat.

This is low carb 101.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Just a quick question. Is low carb what used to be called GI diet?

It has its principles in the glycemic index of food.

For me it’s the satiety and fasting that low carb allows that makes the difference. I had persistent gingivitis that no amounts of hygienist visits could remedy. Since I’ve started low carb with intermittent fasting it’s gone. My fatigue has gone. My embarrassing body acne - gone. Various aches and pains - gone. The anti- inflammatory diet effect on my body personally can’t be ignored. Perhaps for someone else the diet overhaul I’ve done wouldn’t be necessary. For me it’s been life changing and there is no way in hell im going back to sugar, crap carbs and processed foods.

Oh and my DP who has a nasty auto immune condition decided to join me a few days ago as he saw what a difference it had made. He is a great weight but constantly tired. So far he feels good on it. So it will be interesting to see if he feels some health benefits too.

I agree with you to a certain extent OP. Im vegan so some may see my diet as 'extreme' but my 'meat & 2 veg' is just a 'vegan meat & 2 veg'.

I get plenty of fruit & veg, enjoy carbs, crisps & cakes, plenty of protein, plenty of fat. Haven't calorie counted for years.

I do try to keep gluten & high sugar (as in sweets & fizzy drinks, not bananas ) items to a minimum, just purely cause of how bloated i get.

At 5'7 im a healthy 11 stone and get plenty of exercise.

I absolutely cannot bear Weight Watchers & Slimming World. Basically paid for disordered eating. Just have a balanced diet for heavens sake it's not rocket science.

I dont agree with the keto diet.

Yes low carb in the short term if you are obese.

Not keto. It does cause weight loss but wreaks havoc on your body and provides minimal nutrition. Very short sighted way of thinking.

@Fronttobacktree - You work in nutrition? Gosh that's worrying.
You said the only reason low carb works is because of calorie deficit. Not true. I lost 12lb on Biwi's bootcamp (I was 11st.9lb and 5ft 4) and I have never eaten as many calories. Full fat yoghurt, double cream, oily fish, avocado, coconut oil, grass fed butter, cheese (lots of veg too). That was my daily food, 3 meals a day. Does that sound low calorie to you??
The second thing you said is that yes, someone could turn T2 diabetes around with low carb eating, but so could they with a million other diets. Hmmm, so they could turn T2 around on a pineapple and smoothie diet? Or on a low calorie mid to high carb diet ? I don't think so.