Why We Eat (Too Much)

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Has anyone come across this book? It's written by Dr Andrew Jenkinson, who is a bariatric surgeon in London. Basically, it's about how to lose weight by lowering your body's natural set weight point. This may take a long time but it's sustainable and doesn't fuck your metabolism.

The book goes into a lot of detail about the causes of obesity, because he says it's important to understand why people are getting fat in the Western world. It pretty much comes down to eating too much omega-6 fat and sugar. The overall volume of food people eat doesn't matter.

I'm trying to work out how you would cut that out practically and I wondered if anyone had tried it. It sounds like going lower carb but not low carb as in low carb diets. He suggests eating low-carb breakfasts and throwing out bread (and anything else baked). I eat toast for breakfast most days and sandwiches for lunch. I'm trying to work out practical alternatives that I actually like.

Porridge
Full fat unsweetened yoghurt
Bacon and eggs
Omelettes
Soup
Oatcakes and cheese
Salads

Other rules include no takeaways or fast food or crisps etc, and no snacks, mainly because most snack food is carb-based with vegetable oil in it.

@Tiredandbored an option for you in future if you wanted is to use a chicken breast as your base if you’re so inclined! Not sure how good it would be though.

I am trying to clear out my freezers ready for cupcakes so I had my last 2 sausages this morning then I won’t be buying any more, along with two poached eggs.

Been out all day so just having an apple and a slice of applewood cheddar to keep me going as too late to cook now, school run to do in half an hour!

Been bucketing it down all day so no exercise for me (I usually do 4 miles a day walking the school run).

I’m making homemade burger for dinner and homemade chips plus a salad to go with it. Everyone else has a roll, mine will be without which I’m not fussed about as GF rolls are dry and shit anyway, and need a tonne of ketchup on to be able to swallow them. I haven’t made burgers in ages but I couldn’t find grass fed ones that didn’t contain gluten.

Fabulous weight loss ladies very well done. Im hoping my weight will go in the same direction. Meals all going ok easy to adapt but still craving and eating sugary carb crap when stressed. What are people snacking on
When you crave sugary junk x

@Hooplawho it’s nice to find someone else who’s doing it, most people I know are proper runners and are very kind about my efforts but must secretly be . How are you finding it so far?

I’ve not eaten a huge amount today, I wasn’t hungry for breakfast so had a cheese omelette for lunch, dinner will be salmon with whatever vegetables need eating.

I’m working on my menu plan for next week and so far have the following:
Lamb dopiaza (using a Spicery blend of ground spices- so good)
Japanese chicken and sushi rice bake (again, a Spicery recipe)
Paprika chicken
Spinach, lentil and paneer curry
Smoked trout with spiced bubble and squeak
Duck with beansprouts and pak choi
Roasted pork belly with new potatoes and peppers

Lunches are still dull but I enjoy them- mostly salads made with pulses, tuna and olives.

@Coconut80 I find a small bowl of raspberries and cream helps with cravings. I also used sheet gelatine to make a sugar free panna cotta, which is also lovely with raspberries. If you are ok with sweeteners it would be even nicer, but I know they stall my weight loss so I’m trying not to have too many.

I’ve found this WOE a lot easier than low carb high fat as I can still have fruit, which really helps.

@BangingOn that is a great list of dinners! I'm feeling pleased with myself, we have just had a lentil shepherd pie topped with sweet potatoes. Last night it was an omelette. Not sure about tomorrow.

I'm struggling to get the shopping right, a few bits have gone to waste but mostly I'm running out of veg!

Lunch: Greek salad
Dinner: Bolognese with salad instead of spaghetti, then chocolate mousse with blueberries

For a sort of snack I had coffee with hot milk and a splash of cream. And a slice of cheese.

Hi everyone, I'm glad I found this thread. I read this book over the weekend and found it fascinating.

I've lost a lot of weight this year doing intermittent fasting and cutting down carbs to less than 80g per day, so implementing the ideas in Dr Jenkinson's book has been easy. I'm hoping it will help me maintain the loss.

One thing I'm slightly perturbed about - has anyone actually lost weight following his plan? I know he's very anti-diet, with good reason, but I found it a bit glaring that he didn't actually say whether anyone had followed his "plan" and lost weight on it. It's all a bit theoretical otherwise, isn't it?

All his medical expertise is in bariatric surgery, and some of his ideas would seem to contradict e.g. the Newcastle Study into T2 diabetics - how they put their diabetes into remission on a very low carb diet.

I can see how his plan would work for maintaining weight loss, but he provided no evidence that his theories on how to re-set your weight point actually work. It feels a bit like he rushed to publication, rather than wait to run a trial.

Has anyone in this thread successfully lost weight following this plan?

@Love51 your shepherd’s pie sounds lovely, I will have to try that.

@TheLeadbetterLife I have been eating this way for just under a month and I’ve lost 13lbs and 1.5 inches off my waist. It’s definitely working for me.

I've lost a stone and a half @TheLeadbetterLife initially quite fast for the first stone then gradually slowing down. I'm 5'9" and was almost obese, once I get down another half a stone I'll be in the normal / healthy BMI. My weight loss has been faster than he says in the book, despite not managing the not being stressed thing at all. With it not being prescriptive, results will vary. For example some are having sugar or sweetener ever day still (but less than they were before) others weekly or monthly, I'm averaging once a fortnight. How low my carbs go varies wildly. My skin looks great. I've always exercised, and I'm back to my pre covid routine of regular swimming (no netball as the court is now a vaccination centre!)
Unless you aren't overweight, I think it will definitely help you lose weight. Whatever weight you are there are health benefits to the plan.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/veggie-shepherds-pie-sweet-potato-mash
@BangingOn

@Love51 thank you so much for the recipe and a huge well done on your weight loss, that’s brilliant.

@TheLeadbetterLife I was a ‘healthy’ weight to start with and have lost 6+ (didn’t confirm my SW so it’s at least 6) lbs in 3 weeks. I have also not followed it to the letter (had spaghetti once, still drinking smoothies, eating yoghurts, had a good amount of milk chocolate every Sunday, a brownie last weekend as well, sausages and bacon, fruit with my porridge...)

@Coconut80 I have 70% dark chocolate.

Thanks everyone, that’s really good to hear! I do really like the book and I have implemented all the recommendations (well, attempting to - I’m a terrible insomniac / stress head).

I’m going to give myself some slack at birthdays and Christmas or other special occasions on the wheat flour. Otherwise I’ve only been having spelt and chickpea flour for a while. But I’m not giving up pizza and naan bread for the rest of time!

Is there going to another thread?

@BangingOn and @Hooplawho I follow c25k as well. I did it last year but dropped off running when I started uni in September, then completely stopped over winter. Tried again in February but my asthma was playing up, swapped inhalers and been back at it properly for abojt 6 weeks. Did about 33 minutes today and could have done more I think. I did a charity challenge thing last July, 50 miles in the month. And have signed up for a 10k thing in September so am just going to gradually increase the time/distance until them and hope I am fit enough for 10k. If you run, you are a runner!

I've had a cheese and nushroom omelette, jacket potato with chilli, cheese and sour cream for tea then just had a bowl of strawberries, raspberries and cream with a tiny bit of honey. It was bloody lush I must admit.

@Theleadbetterlife I've lost half a stone in a month. I've had takeaway every friday (tho still wheatfeee), wine and beer over the weekend, the odd bar of chocolate on fridays and have definitely not been low carbing. Lower carb but usually have either potatoes or rice at least once a day.

Is there going to be another thread?

I’m 5lb down in 3 weeks. There’s been quite a bit of alcohol and two days where I ate wheat and sugar (but in much smaller amounts - as in one sandwich and a piece of MIL’s homemade cake, not as in a day-long binge). I’ve found it easier and easier to stick to, and I haven’t had to change my evening meals much at all, although that’s evening meals I cook - I had slipped into a terrible takeaway habit during Covid. Lunches have been harder because I used to eat sandwiches a lot, but it’s very easy to make salads or omelettes at home.

@HighlandCowbag that’s brilliant, I’m so impressed with 10k. I now need to get my speed up, as whilst I can do the 30 minutes I’m not covering a full 5k (although I’m never sure whether or not you are supposed to include your warm up and cool down in the total distance?) so that’s my next challenge.

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar that’s a really good loss, well done.

I hope there’s another thread, I’ve loved this one.

@BangingOn I did the same thing re speed last year and stopped enjoying it as much. Am sure @samthebordercollie has better advice, but I would look at just increasing the minutes running rather than speed. Look at the average 5k time for your age group and be aiming to run for that amount of time and once you are there then look at the distance to judge your speed.

That's what I am doing anyway. Last year I went to our running club. They were like shit off shovels, even the beginners and it completely destroyed my confidence. I don't want to race, I just want to aim to run 10k once a month maybe, then 5-7k a couple of times a week. The more running you will do the faster you will get anyway but get the distance down before the speed.

Once you want to increase speed over 5k there are loads of programs online, or join a running club for tips (not mine tho, they properly fast already 😁).

@HighlandCowbag that is brilliant advice, thank you. I’d never thought to look up the average 5km speed and apparently for my age group it’s 38 minutes, so I don’t feel bad that I’m not doing 5km in 30 minutes as a beginner.

I will work towards 5k now, ignoring the time and build from there. What I really want to get from this is improved cardio fitness and stamina. I do pole 3-4 times a week which is great for strength and I also train flexibility a few times a week, so it’s the CV aspect that I really need.

Morning all, just checking in briefly before work.

Whoever asked about snacks, I have some 70% dark chocolate with a coffee after my meals sometimes, though I try not to have it between meals so it doesn't spike my insulin. I find the 70% is rich enough that one square is enough, whereas previously I'd have eaten a whole bar of milk chocolate.

In the evening if I'm hungry I have either Greek yoghurt with berries or a couple of rye crispbreads with some Philadelphia.

How is everyone's appetite? Mine has dropped considerably, but I still haven't managed to make the mental switch to adjust my portion sizes yet. I find when I'm preparing my meals I do an amount which is less than I used to eat (and in my head I'm thinking it will never fill me) but when I finish I'm stuffed! I really need to figure out an appropriate portion for my new reduced appetite and not fill my plate the way I used to.

Good morning. Just checking in.

I have weiged this morning after 2 weeks and have stayed the same weight as last week which I am really pleased about as I feel it is more of a real loss now rather than just water.

I too am still having large meals. I just love eating! I am finding that I tend to have lots of food in the fridge and just take out and prep what I fancy, throw it all in a frying pan with copious amounts of Kerrygold and a bit of spice and fry it off! This can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I need to be a bit more varied I think.

I love that potatoes are still on this woe as someone upthread said, it keeps mealtimes more normal and easier when cooking for a family.

I have to admit that I am struggling not to count calories still! I dont know if I can stop which goes against advice. I need to really tackle this!

I really enjoy reading everyones posts and it certainly keeps me motivated with new ideas!

Thanks all.

@BangingOn well done on your couch to 5k. I agree with what @HighlandCowbag says, don't put pressure on yourself by thinking you have to run a 5k in 30 minutes. It isn't easy for everyone. If you want to improve your cardio after your warm up run 30 secs fast, 30 secs very very slow x 10, little intervals like that strenthen your heart which will ultimately help you run faster. Do you have any park runs near you?

@Jaynespain, I was the same as you with counting calories - it feels very strange to not count and total all my meals. What I'm doing to (hopefully!) prove to myself that it's unnecessary is doing a fortnight during which I don't count any calories and I also don't weigh myself. I'm hoping that by the end of 2 weeks I'll still have lost weight and it will prove to me that I don't need to count calories then.

My fortnight ends this weekend, so I'll let you know how I've done!! 🤞🤞

What is good is that I'm much more aware of my body and how I feel - sometimes I found myself eating supper just because I had calories left for that day, not because I was hungry, whereas now I'm only eating if I'm actually hungry.

@samthebordercollie thank you! I really like the idea of intervals, I had been running outside but I’m now using the treadmill so it’s easier to monitor what I’m doing. I ran 35 minutes this morning and could probably have done at least another 5 but I had a Teams call first thing. I don’t know about park runs, although I’m not sure I’m brave enough to run in front of other people but it would be good to have something to aim for.

@Tiredandbored well done for completing your first fortnight. I feel the same on awareness and not earring for the sake of it, which I never thought I’d have as I was so reliant on food to control my emotions.