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Healthier eating advice - Is this too much food per day

210 replies

paranoidpammywhammy2 · 20/09/2017 16:22

I'm 5 foot 8 and wear size 18. I'd always been very slim and verging on underweight until about 5 years ago. I wore size 10/12 before. I've always had a huge appetite. People wondered how I stayed slim.

I was happy at size 14. I felt I had a bit of flesh on my bones. My parents made unflattering comments but I ignored them. They have weird food issues and I felt starved by them as a child.

Now at a size 18, I am determined to lose weight as I feel insecure about the size of my belly. I've cut down on unhealthy food, more fruit and veg, drink plenty of water and reduced snacking. I already get plenty of exercise.

I still have a huge appetite but munch on carrots, cucumber, oranges etc. to fill me up. I drink as well if I'm hungry. I took 5 years to gain the weight so plan to lose it gradually.

This is a general typical day's food.

Breakfast - 2 small slices of toast with thin layer peanut butter or bowl of all bran.

Lunch - tin of mushroom soup, 2 low fat cheese slices on 2 small slices of toast

Dinner - large salad with feta, peppers, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, lettuce and low fat dressing or walnut and feta salad.

Snacks are oranges, cucumber, carrots etc.

I am happy with my diet. I am seeing a small decrease in my belly and feel healthier. I still have a huge appetite and my family still say I'm overeating. I struggle to eat less. Are they right to criticise?

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OwlinaTree · 21/09/2017 21:06

Bringing up a child low carb seems unwise to me tbh.

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OliviaD68 · 21/09/2017 21:09

I’m we do accumulate poison no matter what we eat. Mercury from big fish etc.

It is true that carbs increase inflammation and also increase cortisol so that may be what is being referred to.

Just off an intense session now and am going to carb up to get glycogen back up. Don’t like the feeling next day but it’s the price I have to pay. Pure keto diet is so much better but there is no other way

@Nancy91 when do you carb up? Pre or post workout? And why?

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Lovemusic33 · 21/09/2017 21:24

Different things work for different people, there are so many different diets but I tend to stick to eating things that are grown and things that used to walk and swim Smile. I eat porridge for breakfast with a banana mixed in ( so I don't need sugar ), I then go to the gym for an hour mist days, after the gym I have a snack which could be fruit or nuts, lunch is either a salad or soup, dinner meat/fish, veg and potatoes and then some fruit or yoghurt. I think my diet is balanced, at the weekend I might eat some cake or gave a take away (once a month). I'm quite active, was a size 14 but now a 10. Without going to the gym I would gain weight, I need a good balanced diet and exercise.

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Nancy91 · 21/09/2017 21:54

I eat loads of carbs a few hours before I workout, I've figured out exactly when I'll feel strongest in relation to my carb munching sessions. A lot of people do it the night before training. I feel weaker if I don't do it.

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OliviaD68 · 21/09/2017 22:14

Interesting. I’ll have to try that.

I’m getting conflicting signals and the science is very unclear. A lot of bullshit bro science there unlike in other areas of nutrition.

Some say after bc that’s when glycogen needs to be restored and muscle cells are more insulin sensitive.

Others say before because that’s when they feel they need the glucose. I’m gonna do some more looking around until I get a definitive answer.

Thanks in any case.

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paranoidpammywhammy2 · 22/09/2017 12:29

Well I've been having bacon and eggs for breakfast and have managed without my mid-morning snack so brilliant going so far. For lunch I'm going to have feta and walnut salad with olives, red pepper, red onions, lettuce and full fat dressing and then a banana.

I'm going to try cutting out bread, potatoes, rice and pasta and see how it goes for a few weeks. My aim is to cut out the snacking. I want a sustainable diet rather than a quick fix so I'm not interested in the fastest rate of weight loss.

My daughter is very active and slightly underweight so I'm not comfortable changing her diet. If anything I want her gaining weight.

I'm doing the courgette pasta with a chicken and mushroom sauce for tonight and then fruit to follow. I've looked up the cauliflower rice and pizza and that looks good. I'm also looking at the almond flour recipes - is that ground almonds or an actual flour?

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 12:36

Well done. Seriously.

Try to consider this a lifestyle change, not a diet.

Skip the banana! Trade it for another piece of cheese ...! Cheddar?
You can do this slowly if you want of course, but restricting carbs now will get rid of water weight more quickly and you can start burning fat.

Also your lunch seems too light. You should add a bit of protein - piece of chicken, tuna, to stay satiated. Most calories from protein are not used by the body - the protein instead being used for the amino acids.

Tonight, drop the fruit and maybe eat full fat Greek youghurt instead? Rest seems ok, though watch all the ingredients!

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Blahblahboo · 22/09/2017 15:13

Agree with above. Bananas really raise insulin and blood sugar. I'd go with Greek yoghurt or something instead. Eat plenty of meats, fish etc so chicken or tuna salad .

Can I suggest nuts too if you do fancy a snack. Also I suggest only use filtered water in your drinks and a decent amount of pink Himalayan salt. It's delicious and actually really healthy for you ( I tend to get headaches from the lack of salt from the diet if I forget to put that on)

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Blahblahboo · 22/09/2017 15:14

Remember to only have at the most one portion of fruit a day. Or half a cup of berries

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Abra1d · 22/09/2017 15:29
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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 15:56

Sure. These are the same people who think cholesterol is bad, that is causes heart disease, etc.

This has been found to be false ...

What is true on LowCarbHighFat (LCHF):

  • HDL increases and that's generally good if big and fluffy
  • trig decreases and that's good
  • LDL increases temporarily, but it seems there are good and bad LDL too and it's the good (big) that increase. The bad are the small LDL ...


Reason total cholesterol may increase is bc cholesterol is being released from body fat metabolism so it's no bad thing.

Some 30 % of the brain is cholesterol. oh no!

here are a few video links in case you're interested... A bit technical but then the body is not a simple system.

1) insulin resistance, not cholesterol causes heart disease. CAUSE: too many carbs in the diet.



2) Gut Bacteria, Cholesterol and Heart Disease

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 16:01

Here's a simpler explanation on cholesterol.

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 16:07

and another one describing the lie / fraud we have been living under for the past 50 years.

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PostNotInHaste · 22/09/2017 16:30

This is getting a touch surreal, who is the random YouTube guy with the whiteboard and poster?!

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 16:58

The random chap with the white board is www.drberg.com/

There are a few well-researched contributors on YouTube that post regularly; he's one.

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PostNotInHaste · 22/09/2017 17:12

Ah ok. A quick Google suggests he is a chiropractor and a touch controversial with some alleging he might be a scammer and others alleging he pays for fake reviews.

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 17:37

No one is going to be universally popular.

And yet ... His research is well thought through and consistent with human physiology texts and peer-reviewed research that I've read. There have only been a few instances where I thought he was off - eg I don't think he's given enough thought to sports nutrition. No one can be right all the time. And maybe he doesn't need it for his business.

I've also cross-checked a lot of what he says with researchers like Jeff Volek, Stephen Phinney and it lines up.

Our medical doctors are not trained in nutrition yet they prescribe more carbs and low fat to people because that's served us so well - govt suggestions of what constitutes a healthful diet, that is. Did you know this was a result of a data fraud in the 1950s? If you like google searches and looking up shifty types, look up the story of Ancel Keys ...

So where do you get good nutritional advice if doctors aren't trained in nutrition, but mainly to prescribe meds that treat our symptoms?

Frankly, I don't mind that he's trained as chiropractor or a bodybuilder or a healthnut or a housewife, just that he tells the science like it is.

It takes time to verify what these types say but it interests me and I've taken the time. Better that than getting on SlimFast or doing the one-chicken diet.

All this being said, I think the cynicism that you bring into the discussion is healthy.

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PostNotInHaste · 22/09/2017 17:49

Apologies for the cynicism , I'm honestly not trying to be awkward but was a researcher in previous life (not relevant field, arthritis) and it is my nature.

I think the thing with weight loss is when we find something that works we all get quite passionate about it and want others to get the same benefits. I think though it gets quite overwhelming at the start on threads like this with lots of people coming on with ways that have worked for them . Personally I think this is the key, it is finding something that is a good fit for your personality. The most important thing is to start doing something, you can always switch it around later and at the end of the day the OP has made changes today which is great.

Meanwhile I have eaten lots of crap so not in position to hold myself up as a good example in any way today Grin (balanced carefully with exercise though so at least won't be gaining weight).

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Nancy91 · 22/09/2017 18:02

Whenever I'm told that carbs are bad or whatever else diet wise, I look at the body of the person telling me. It has always been a good guide Grin

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 18:04

I agree with that sentiment 100% and I still think cynicism is good. That's what saved me from the one chicken a day diet - the harebrained ideas people come up with.

Find what works best for you and always bear in mind individual context and objectives.

I've done about a year's worth of research and self experimentation. Upped my training and was getting fatter even - now that was confusing.

Until I realised I needed to understand how the human body worked and only then pick a mix of foods that lined up to how the body works.

And the best combination of food macros is by far Low Carb High Fat ... for the vast majority of people. It's what kicks our bodies into fat burning vs glucose burning. It works for weight loss and health. Cancer (some types), Alzheimers, Diabetes 2, Epilepsy and a bunch of other nasties can be addressed with this change in food macro intake.

And I say that while eating a sweet potato - high carb - to restore my glycogen stores from a hard anaerobic workout last night ... So I don't believe in dogmatic approaches. Context matters. Carbs for high intensity exercise are a necessity much as it is psychologically difficult to admit and then have to eat a sweet potato.

But what's right for me today - right now - is not going to be right for @paranoidpammywhammy2 who is just beginning her journey and does not do HIIT ...

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OliviaD68 · 22/09/2017 18:09

@Nancy91 : I don't disagree with that - practice what you preach right?

Hey, I'm pretty lean now after following this approach ... If you know what you're doing and get organised to do it, it works.

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TableMirror · 22/09/2017 18:33

Four slices of bread a day seems a lot to me.

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paranoidpammywhammy2 · 22/09/2017 19:00

They are small slices from a homemade loaf - probably each slice is just over half the size of a normal loaf.

I needed to use up my fruit and veg so stuck with the banana. My lunch probably was too light as I got the munchies this afternoon so had an orange, a carrot and a double-decker.

I've worked really slow today and have had little energy, but it's been busy. I've struggled to concentrate, but I kept getting interrupted too.

I just did a chicken stir fry for dinner with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, carrot, peas, onion, ginger, chilli, soy sauce and cashew nuts and noodles - total fail on the noodles....

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Blahblahboo · 22/09/2017 23:08

I'm sorry to say it was also a fail on the carrot and peas too. They are very high in carbs ( I love carrot myself but really limit it due to the starch) and you also can't eat corn which is something else I love. don't fry foods unless you use coconut oil, which btw is delicious and adds a lovely flavour to food.
Coconut oil is good for everything from frying with to rubbing on hair and skin. It's amazing stuff. As for snacks, nuts are brilliant and dark 85 percent Coco chocolate. Aldis do moth rother bars that are only little and have less than 4 grams of carb and sugars. Honestly they are great for a snack.

My food today for example ( I only ever have two meals and very rarely snack these days, but I did fail today and have two small biscuit), was egg for breakfast. No lunch. Tea was absolutely huge and very filling, bacon, eggs, mushroom, tomatoes, sausages. Followed by Greek yogurt and some berries. Then just because I wanted some, I had some salted peanuts.

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Blahblahboo · 22/09/2017 23:14

I worked out that tea was only 6 grams of carbs , it probably helped that I don't use oil just the natural juice in the food. Desert was probably about ten because of the berries but thats ok because like I said only ever have one or two meals a day .my fail today was two biscuit at a total of 8 grams of sugar which I will be working off with at least 24 hours fasting this weekend.

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