To feel eating like this is weird

[CrowsInMyGarden]

I don't have an eating disorder, at least I don't think I do. I have been vegan for 50 years (for ethical reasons) so I would have assumed I'd be slim and healthy but I am the opposite. I put on weight in my 40s and am just into the obese category. I would like to lose 2 stone. I joined Slimming World years ago. Lost a bit, put a lot more on then stayed the same for years, all whilst vaguely following their plans. I ate a lot of carbs thinking rice, potatoes and pasta were the way to go. I drank lots of diet coke. I still drank alcohol which is probably why I never lost weight. My last blood test showed high cholesterol, high triglycerides and high MCH. I also have pain under my right rib a lot. Gallstones ruled out but I do have a fatty liver. Liver blood tests ok.

I have now decided enough is enough. Something has to change. So firstly no more booze. I have been watching a lot of Zoe podcasts and bought a few Tim Spector books and How to Eat 30 Plants a Week by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. I am happy to give up the fake meat and vegan cheese and have been cooking lots of meals using pulses and wholegrains. I've never been into cakes, biscuits, sweets but I did eat a lot of crisps.

I am getting interested in fermenting stuff too and have made my own Kimchi and Kombucha as read that helps.

The thing that just feels wrong to me is eating nuts, seeds, avocados and especially olive oil. I am doing it as that is what I am reading is good for me but it doesn't feel right. I have just made HFW's 7 plant pesto using Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds and 300ml of olive oil (along with spinach, parsley and garlic). It makes a lot of pesto which I will share with others, portion up and freeze but it still gives me a "I shouldn't be eating this feeling". Oh it sounds like an eating disorder but I still don't think it is. I think it is years of Slimming World getting into my head.

Do most people that eat healthily happily pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil on their salads, roast veg etc without a worry and eat nuts/sees every day without putting on more weight?

I'm concentrating on getting the high triglycerides and hopefully cholesterol down and letting my liver heal. Losing weight would be wonderful but I want to sort those first.

I think you might benefit from doing some research on these foods from a 'common food myths' and 'why slimming world doesnt always teach you the right things' angle, for reassurance?

I think you have very poor food knowledge and would benefit on reading up about healthy fats, protein and slow release carbs.

Meditteranean diets are considered amongst the healthiest.

Forget all you have been told by slimming world!

Olive oil and nuts are healthy wholefoods....but if your focus is weight loss then just be mindful of portion size.

Healthy fat is good for you and aids weight loss when incorporated into the diet. Too many simple carbs aren't good for weight loss

Yep, 8 stone here, I drink tablespoons of EVO oil daily, use plain olive oil to cook with. Would never limit how much nuts seeds or avocados I eat, they are so filling they limit themselves

Do most people that eat healthily happily pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil on their salads, roast veg etc without a worry and eat nuts/sees every day without putting on more weight

Yes

Healthy people do

I have a keen interest in this too.

The key is to feel nourished and ignore everything you thought you knew about food and diets.

Quality food and lots of fibre is key, I make lots of dhal, roasted veg, etc and only eat homemade sourdough.

I had to unlearn years of diet culture thanks for Slimming World. I have enjoyed reading books by Mindy Pelz and Davina Taylor (It's Not A Diet is the book that changed eating for me). I've only recently learnt to the difference between dieting and fuelling my body. Whilst I have a moderately large body (16 in clothes) I am very active and can lift over 100kg and, most importantly to me, at 48 I feel full of energy when I eat this way. Good luck, it's a fun journey.

I’ve tried to focus on not feeling guilty for eating natural, whole foods. I’m trying to focus hitting protein and fibre goals, even if that were to increase calories. So I will add Greek yoghurt and seeds to whatever I can as it makes a meal nutritionally dense.

I even don’t blink at cake and biscuits if I’ve made them myself, especially if I’ve added fruit and seeds/nuts!

I find if I am focussing on whole foods I’m not going far wrong and get the outcome I want.

It all fills you up, so less likely to reach for the crap!

Your whole diet could be olive oil and nuts and you wouldn't gain weight, if you were still eating at or below maintenance calories.

Healthy fats can make you feel fuller for longer, especially when combined with protein, but you do need to watch the portions if you're worried about weight gain.

I eat nuts and seeds everyday and I'm a healthy weight. A spoonful may have more calories than a spoonful of pasta, but I'm not eating a full bowl of them. The fibre will prevent bloating too they prevent spikes and dips in sugar that can lead to cravings.

As long as you eat within your TDEE you'll maintain weight, and less you'll lose.

It doesn't matter what actual foods you eat. Though if you are going to eat oils and fats, which you should in moderation. Then nuts, olive oil etc are the best way to get them.

You hopefully will get used to the fact that these things are tasty, give you energy and are perfectly healthy. You don't need to use loads on every meal. Though you could if it's within your calorie allocation.

While they are 'good' fats and have loads of other nutrients in, they are very calorie dense so portion control is key.

Unlike a PP, I don't find them especially filling / self limiting, I could easily 'snack' a 200g bag of mixed nuts! Sunday evening I weigh out my nuts into 30g pots, with a teaspoon of chia and teaspoon of mixed seeds to add to yogurt for main snack.

I agree with everyone who has posted so far.

I'm going to give you a bit of anecdata here, OP.

I haven't been well recently. Work related stress and some other things. As a result.i completely lost my appetite. I was eating one meal a day but really only if i was reminded to eat. In reality, I was probably eating around 800 calories a day at most (if that some days). I was really struggling. Never felt hungry. I was burnt out and had hit the wall.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, and after several weeks of work no longer being an issue, my focus turned to my diet.

I now eat three meals a day. Fairly low carb but I'm not tracking it. Lots of healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts etc). Good quality protein, salads with olive oil and ACV, veg etc. I've easily doubled the number of calories I eat and don't eat anything UPF (which vegan substitute foods are).

In that time, I've lost half a stone.

ETA: it isn't true to say that as long as you eat within your TDEE the food you eat doesn't matter. It does. Your food needs to be nutrient rich so that your body is benefitting from what you eat. Otherwise it's just filler to address the hunger. Your body will run better if you feed it properly and that includes weight control.

I think the Slimming World “rules” might be the issue for you.
SW is delivered by “consultants” with basically no nutritional knowledge and the nonsense about not mashing bananas or having to “syn” avocado and such (I think the name has changed) is a load
of rubbish.
Fats are important, fibre,
protein, carbs and all the vitamins. Also there’s nothing wrong with sugar and some
processed food from time to time.
SW gave me some very disordered eating habits that I’m trying hard to eradicate but it’s difficult.
Eat the nuts and seeds and some oil and the avocado. Just be mindful of portion size/calorie intake and you’ll be grand.

Because SW’s only goal is to make you lose weight; not sustainably, they don’t care how you feel, or even how you look. It’s just getting the number down, muscle mass be damned.

I tried SW once, to this day I remember the consultant had the flattest arse I had ever seen, clearly no focus on exercise or other nutritional balancing beyond losing lbs. It made me realise my goal wasn’t simply to lose weight.

have done slimming world in the past and can agree it gives you a ridiculously unrealistic idea of healthy and sustainable eating - definitely read up on how it misleads you and some books PP have suggested :)

Thanks everyone. I agree with what everyone has said and thanks for confirming what I was thinking and recommending some things to read. I have been cooking and enjoying some amazing meals lately. I've just made a huge tray of roasted root veg and brassicas and made a rustic hummus to go with it and some spiced nuts and seeds to sprinkle on top.

This is a kind of mixed up post.

firstly yes those are healthy foods, but no you can’t just pour olive oil on and eat lots of nuts, you need to be aware of the calorie content of your meals and eat in a defecit if you wish to lose weight.

as for slimming world, forget what you learned, 97 percent of people regain on that diet, most people do it repeatedly and remain obese in the end. For spme reason they just keep doing it, rather than realising it’s not sustainable and thays how they make their money.

so eating healthy whole foods is a key part of it, but so is calories and portion control,

And do you know how much of that you can eat to remain in a cal defecit, when added to everything else you consume throughout the day?

The problem is, people like me with disordered eating, and obese, don’t eat nuts and seeds and oils the way think people do. I can’t eat the way think/healthy people eat because my body’s appetite signals don’t work.

Healthy eating people eat all those things but know when to stop and how much to have. People like me don’t. If I did, I wouldn’t be obese. I eat too much whether it’s seeds, complex carbs and avocados or crisps and baked beans.

You may like to read ‘why we eat (too much)’. It’s a book about all of this, but it also looks at what we evolved to eat and why the system goes wrong. He’s not keen on seeds amd nuts I don’t think,

Well look at it like this: what you thought was healthy food obviously didn’t work as you’re obese.

So it makes sense that the other option is worth trying!

Bu’t weight is about more than simply eating healthy foods. Eating too much is very unhealthy as it makes you obese.

@CrowsInMyGarden , it sounds to me as though you’ve been doing the dietary things which whilst purported to be ‘slimming’ in fact raise insulin and eventually lead to insulin resistance which causes us to be in fat storage mode.
I think you’re doing the right things now, I do my housework whilst listening to Zoe podcasts. You might find The Glucose Goddess interesting and Ultra Processed People by Dr Chris Van Tulleken is an illuminating read as is The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. Good luck!