Which diet advice is to be believed?

[TheDeadlyDonkey]

I've started reading John Briffa's Escape the Diet Trap. It makes for very interesting reading, but has made me question the usual run of the mill low fat type diet advice.
If Briffa is to be believed, low fat diets are unsustainable and can contribute to ongoing obesity issues and increasing the risk of diabetes.

I've also recently heard that if milk is to be drunk, full fat milk is better, as the majority of vitamins and minerals are in the fat.

I'm also hearing varying reports on cholesterol, and how it maybe isn't playing the dangerous role that many drs are telling us.

So, after DH's stroke (which wasn't in any way a lifestyle issue) he has been advised to be cautious and cut down on fat and use benecol spread and yoghurt drink (I have read that these aren't good for you, but can't remember where, could have been on here)

So when there is so much conflicting advice, who do you trust? What do you believe?

John Briffa's book is really convincing, quotes trials, uses scientific charts etc, and makes sense.
I myself have struggled with low fat diets, and failed more times than I care to admit.
I am in no way qualified to interpret scientific trial data (along with the majority of the population) and am growing more and more confused about the conflicting advice that is out there.

I'm not really sure what I'm expecting from this thread, but I'm interested to see what others think about this, and who you trust when it comes to diet advice?

One of best things to avoid is diet low fat food. Pretty much anything marketed as diet food.

Go for fresh, unprocessed food instead.

the main tips I give to people starting on 5:2 are

• if it has more than ten ingredients listed : leave it in the shop
• if you do not understand why an ingredient is there : leave it in the shop

compare the ingredients list of plain simple yoghurt (4%fat) and any 0% fat yoghurt ....

True IIjkk also eating slowly and consciously makes a huge difference to your digestion; it helps you not to overeat because you get to know your FULL point and then (importantly) on Paul Mckenna you STOP eating It's amazing how little food we actually need to feel full!

The other thing the conscious eating does is makes you realise how disgusting a lot of high sugar junk food is! So you eat more healthily because you WANT to!

Don't follow any diet advice - it doesn't work!!

Do your own thing - 3 meals a day but smaller portions - use a smaller plate.
If possible - cook your own food starting with fresh ingredients.
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
No snacking - don't have crisps, biscuits, sweets etc. in the house ( do allow yourself a few treats though!!)
Don't rush meals - eat slowly.
If possible - exercise more.

You need a good balance of everything.
It's as simple as that and has worked for me.

Yes Whowhere but also drink plenty of filtered water when you're thirsty but not too much!

Yes ppeatfruit - forgot the drinking bit!!

I used to have issues with food.

Now I don't. I had cancer a few years ago, and I now look at food as medicine and fuel. These days I am much more likely to worry that I ate a non organic chicken and put hormones and assorted junk into my body than worry about the calories in it.

You cannot see food as just calories to lose/gain weight. You have to see it in the whole. Some high-calorie food is incredibly good for you (avocados, peanut butter etc) so to only count calories might bring your weight down but won't help your body in other ways (immunity, hair, skin etc).

In the same vein, don't exercise just to lose weight. Exercise to strengthen your heart and lungs, to develop muscle so that you're strong, to reduce your cholesterol levels. Get your body into good shape.

Eat wholesome food, lots of fruit and veg and do not eat junk or too much red meat. Don't use 'I'm got PMT' or 'I've had a bad day' as an excuse to put crap into your body.

I get shocked at the threads on here of people's diets or meal planning: people's weekly menus are meat pie, spag bol, cottage pie, pizza, fish and chips. Heavy, stodgy stuff lacking in goodness.

Think about what your body needs and give it to it.

I have large meals, too, I love my food so much I will only eat when hungry so that I know it will taste twice as good, and only when I can sit down peacefully for a spell. So I can get very hungry before I get around to eating.

But if you know you can eat again whenever you like then it's easier to stop the moment you feel full. I think I am good at delayed gratification, that part is hard-wired, maybe.

I mostly drink teas made from tap water too (don't claim to have great skin, mind).

And don't go too long without eating. Snack if you need to, but good stuff, not crisps/biscuits etc. Have a banana if you're genuinely hungry. Going too long without food ruins your metabolism.

rockerrock
as somebody who does 24 hour fasts 2 or 3 times a week, every week for many months, I have to utterly disagree with your assertion.
Intermittent fasting has been around for many years - it is part of Buddhism after all
show me the evidence that fasting damages your metabolism.

rocker the reason I'm on the Blood type (sorry to go on about it ) is because Dsis and Dgran. had cancer so I decided to do the best i could NOT to get it!

PPEAT do you have a favourite website for the blood type diets?
I first heard about them about 25 yrs ago & their advice never fit that well.
Also apparently the Japanese all think we're shifty types.
So I am enormously skeptical, but then again I am always open-minded & willing to reconsider.

I am AB+ (the useless blood type), my mom was probably A (loved her meat, mind) & dad probably B.

lljkk well I bought the Encyclopedia; I go on facebook which has sites for specific Types. ABs are quite lucky in that they can eat some meat and dairy and potatoes. DD2 is AB but takes no notice . I'm about the 'personalities' of the "types" but `I like it because you can personalise your supplements and exercise IFYSWIM.

I know that if you've been eating the 'wrong' foods for your type it takes a while for your body to get used to the correct foods; they talk about that on Facebook.

All you really need to know is - if man made it, don't eat it. Everything else follows from that.

Most British people do not eat enough protein and veg or good fat for that matter and huge amounts of junk foods and drinks.

Just ditch anything processed and you'll be fine.

xenia huh?

so what do you eat?

I'm guessing hardy anything.

I mean you can't even eat a sandwich or a soup - even if YOU make it, you have to throw it away...because it's made by a human!

Xenia is a heavy presence on the paleo / primal threads.

Paleo, low carb.. 80% of the time. That's it!

I read a very good paleo book called It Starts with Food. It promised to sort out inflammatory issues.
DH and I were going to do it for a month to see if it helped with our asthma, but his GP said the large amounts of green leafy veg may interfere with his warfarin.

I came up with my own low fat low carb and very low calorie and it worked for me I lost 10 stone in less than a year

Paleo
roots, berries and lions leftovers ....

Wow! 10 stone - that's fantastic, well done :)
Do you find it difficult to stick to? Have you kept the weight off?

I was thinking back to my childhood, my parents were adults during WWII and we were also quite poor.
We ate well but all was home cooked, a small amount of meat with every meal and lots of veg, mainly homegrown so lots of cabbage, cauliflower and greens with carrots and a small amount of potatoes. No pasta or rice but small amounts of potatoes and homemade wholemeal bread.
We always had puddings but they included a large proportion of homegrown fruit and very little sugar, steamed pudding were made using grated carrot and a reduced amount of sugar as that's what my Mum did when sugar was rationed. All cake was homemade and we drank unsweetened tea or water, very rarely squash and never fizzy drinks.

None of us were overweight even though we didn't exercise much apart from housework and dog walking so it must have worked. I think it was a diet lower in carbs (pasta is too easy and a default meal) and higher in veg, fruit was mainly bottled berries and apples and fats were all natural. Chips were a rarity as they were a pain to make and portions were not large.

I think if I went back to that diet I would lose the weight I have gained. Reducing portion size and replacing the majority of carbs with veg is my aim.

Sorry this is a bit of an essay

lifeisontheup fantastic post, that is food for thought!

My sister and I were discussing it, she still follows that way of cooking/eating and her whole family are slim. SHe's never been near a gym and doesn't own a pair of trainers but does walk her dogs every day.
I think there must be something in it and am going to give it a go. Have two stone to lose.