To not understand why my healthy (I think) way of eating isn't making me feel energetic and fabulous

[LindyFoo]

AIBU to consider this is a healthy daily diet (not looking to lose weight as already a healthy weight). I want to feel more energetic and fabulous :-). Don't eat meat or drink alcohol. In my 60s, fit and well, very minimal stress.

AM
Smoothie with banana, kale, milk, peanut butter, avacado, skimmed milk powder, greek yoghurt
SNACK
Sourdough bread with peanut butter
MIDDAY
2 egg with onion, peppers, cheese and a mixed salad with olive oil dressing
5PM
Salmon with salad or brown rice with prawns and lots of vegetables and spices

What is missing? Or not helping?

Are the carbs in the room with us?! Yes, yes I know there are carbs in fruit and vegetables, but I mean starchy carbs - I can only see that in the one snack and rice as a maybe with dinner. Honestly I'd be absolutely starving and lacking energy eating that diet.

Sorry that was in response to someone saying you eat a lot of carbs (didn't manage to quote it properly in my reply). I know a lot of people eat for fuel and health but I hope you find pleasure in what you eat too and that you find the answers to your energy levels that you're looking for.

I am genuinely shocked by some of the dietary advice on this thread, all delivered with such authority!

All carbs are processed my arse. All this sugar spike and crash misinformation. Nobody gets a sugar crash from a ruddy banana.

MN really needs to regulate shitty diet advice. It's turning into a pro-ana site around here.

Your post stated she wasnt getting enough protein. Now you have admitted you wouldnt know whether she is or not.

She is perfectly able to get enough protein on what she set out.

HCP all differ in their advice, I was told that around 60ish per day is ample protein and that the amoutns of around 90 - 120 are exaggerated as requirements.

I completely agree. The arguments I’ve had on some threads where people are recommending 1000 calories and other ridiculous advice.

Nonsense. Op is getting plenty of protein.

I'm invested because people saying this is a low protein day are talking shite and I'm invested in calling out people talking shite about nutrition on mumsnet because it's harmful.

I would be very interested to review the evidence for this. Are you able to provide citations?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899900721002562

I will retract my comment about carbs. The criticism is fair. I do not mean fruit and vegetables - it's impractical to eat enough for it to be a problem unless you process them. I mean grains. They really do have limited nutritional value, and are not a natural food. I'm not an idiot. Nor do I parrot theories without checking it. I've a degree in biology and one in health, although not nutrition. And I obsessed over this for months, reading everything I could get my hands on. I know how to critique a source.

It's fair to question it. I would However, you can't just say 'rubbish' and stop there - you are no more credible than I am.

Also, consider the possibility of evidence. Food is a HUGE industry. Snack and convenience food especially. Who is going to fund large scale, long term studies into whether a diet of unprocessed meat, vegetables, fruit and dairy products is healthy? Where's the profit? You cannot ignore that food is mainly about profit.

That study says EXACTLY the opposite. That carbs have a negative effect on thyroid function and high protein and fat a positive effect. I don't want to be a dick, but it proves you flat out wrong. Am I missing something about your point?

Hear, hear. And if i may add, I think the food industry does its best to tempt you with ultraprocessed foods, all cheaper than the alternatives that are healthy yet a lot more expensive. Then if you're lucky unfortunately someone who also has health problems because of said food, the pharmaceutical industry makes a nice sum from your medication prescribing.

Ha. I'm not that cynical, really. 😳

I think that sounds super healthy. On other days do you have lentils, beans and chickpeas for different types of protein? Just watch out for low iron and maybe take a supplement.

Plenty of protein here - milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, nuts, oily fish.

I mean grains. They really do have limited nutritional value

But according to various sources, whole grains such as brown rice are a source of fibre, protein, vitamins b1, b2, b3, b5, and b6, iron, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, potassium, calcium, and phenols/flavonoids. Are you saying none of this is true?

Nobody is saying UPFs are healthy.

But I do believe complex carbs have a place in a healthy diet. I’ve just had some quinoa for lunch. Are we trying to claim that that’s not healthy?

They are nutrient dense and also
a source of fibre. They provide energy and can help with bad cholesterol..

Of course grains are a natural food. They're not made in a lab, and we've been eating them for the entirety of human history.

Copied the wrong link

https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/low-carb-diets-thyroid?srsltid=AfmBOop_2MtUf0aK_nIjADpyvC8U-pcxL8YmkraWmT-bHNpDXqSIn5We

Red meat, fermented foods

Here’s a breakdown of the minerals and vitamins in oats

• Manganese. Typically found in high amounts in whole grains, this trace mineral is important for development, growth, and metabolism.
• Phosphorus. This mineral is important for bone health and tissue maintenance.

Copper. An antioxidant mineral often lacking in the Western diet, copper is considered important in heart health.

• Vitamin B1. Also known as thiamine, this vitamin is found in many foods, including grains, beans, nuts, and meat.
• Iron. As a component of hemoglobin, a protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood, iron is absolutely essential in the human diet.
• Selenium. This antioxidant is important for various processes in your body. Low selenium levels are associated with increased risk of premature death and impaired immune and mental function.
• Magnesium. Often lacking in the diet, this mineral is important for numerous processes in your body.
• Zinc. This mineral participates in many chemical reactions in your body and is important for overall health.

Are both things that some people eat and others don't. The OP, for example, doesn't eat meat, and said that in her OP.

This is an article written for lay person reading, but there are attributions to clinical studies at the end.

https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/low-carb-diets-thyroid?srsltid=AfmBOoqfL9Vn4ur41SvvXCrwz_G1rARp9BLOdTCYPuFFlLwPwyo3qDdN

Aren't you the poster who said that utterly insane shit about carbohydrate earlier in the thread?

What happens if you don't have a thyroid?

That is a poor quality internet page written by a firm selling a diet and thyroid products. It over simplifies both carbohydrate metabolism and thyroid function to the point of misrepresentation. It's not wrong, necessarily. But it's biased, incomplete, basic, poorly contexted and meant to sell products for personal gain. It IS referenced, and I'll check them out. But it's NOT a reputable source itself and even says the study it draws on is small. Giving it equal weight to the first article you linked is exactly people's point about how just anyone can't evaluate this information and conclude with authority. Source matters. Knowledge matters. Context matters.

The article you mistakenly linked WAS a reputable source. It was a large study, by a large team, published a reputable journal, vetted by other scientists, not selling anything. It was quality evidence and should COMPLETELY refute the first source if they are contradictory, even if the references check out (especially if the references check out, actually). This is exactly the problem that others are saying I'm an example of - authority without knowledge or evidence. And here we are, with my point supported both in terms of facts and process.