Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 2

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Shiny new thread to continue on with! I hope everyone keeps going.

For any newbies, this thread is based on a book by Dr Andrew Jenkinson. The main principles are to cut out sugar, wheat and ultra-processed foods, while eating fresh natural ingredients. It works!

Previous thread: thread 1

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand

Ok, so I think step one for me is just to stop eating processed sugar and go from there. I already cook with unprocessed oils, but eat a lot of junk that contains vegetable oil, so will look at that too.

I enjoy fruit for breakfast, so will carry on with that for the time being.

I get intense sugar cravings though! Need to train myself out of them.

I think if you cut the sugar back it will stop the cravings.

Win for tonight: everyone else had McD’s for dinner and I nobly drove them home as they scoffed chips and then waited for 45 minutes while my sweet potato baked.

That is a win Too.

I've been a bit wobbly tonight. Finally got last uni assignment in so in holiday mode. Nothing too horrendously bad, a bit of coleslaw and salad cream with my chicken breast and m and s chips. Several beers tho cos holidays. Did ok for lunch with mackerel fillets and cherry toms. And no breakfast as usual so not too bad I suppose.

Am mega busy tomorrow tho. Ds got paediatric dentist at 11.30, have got blacksmith coming to ponies at 1.30 (which could end up any time up to 3pm) and ds got kayaking at 6.30-8pm.

Will try and have some eggs or make a frittata before we go to dentist I think, and probably jacket potatoes for tea after kayaking.

But very much in holiday mode and also have raging pmt so this week may be a balancing act between fuck it buttom amd reasonable food.

Ha @HighlandCowbag that is very much my position this week, teetering between both! You must be overjoyed to get your assignments all done 🙌 I had lunch out with friends today so wheat was consumed but I did an exercise class this morning plus walking this afternoon so would have been a reasonable day if the share bag of Maltesers hadn’t made an appearance. But I knew I was going to relax the rules a fair bit this week and don’t feel as if I’ve fully detonated the fuck it button really.

Hey there folks. It’s great to find a thread on this book. I finished reading it the other day.

In conclusion, am I right to think that the guidance is summarised as?:
Avoid sugar
Up omega 3
Drop down on omega 6
Avoid too many carbs, but don’t cut them out completely
Eat more protein
Do muscle building exercises
Eat homemade foods (like Granny would have made).

I am vegan, which obviously limits what I can have already, so I’m already finding this list of dos and don’ts quite challenging. Can anyone give me any suggestions on what I CAN and SHOULD have to get me on the right path? I am overweight and my BMI and BMR are not where they should be .

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/help/guidance.

Zan

@Zanage1

Hey there folks. It’s great to find a thread on this book. I finished reading it the other day.

In conclusion, am I right to think that the guidance is summarised as?:
Avoid sugar
Up omega 3
Drop down on omega 6
Avoid too many carbs, but don’t cut them out completely
Eat more protein
Do muscle building exercises
Eat homemade foods (like Granny would have made).

I am vegan, which obviously limits what I can have already, so I’m already finding this list of dos and don’ts quite challenging. Can anyone give me any suggestions on what I CAN and SHOULD have to get me on the right path? I am overweight and my BMI and BMR are not where they should be .

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/help/guidance.

Zan

From your list, if you cut obvious sugar and cook like granny you’ll be on the right track.

I am discovering that my downfall is snacking. I need to find some filling snacks that aren't carbs/sugar based.

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand

I am discovering that my downfall is snacking. I need to find some filling snacks that aren't carbs/sugar based.

I'm finding that I need to snack less as my meals have improved and are more filling. I used to have a mid-morning coffee with a few biscuits, the same in the afternoon and always something in the evening once I got the kids to bed. Now I don't eat anything between breakfast, lunch and dinner. Occasionally I get a slight hunger pang, but a cup of coffee is enough to do until my next meal.

However evening snacking is a different matter. That is due to boredom/habit rather than hunger and I've found it harder to manage. I don't buy any tempting snacks, so I've no cakes or crisps etc in the house. Instead I have things like fresh berries and Greek yoghurt, a banana, frozen grapes, or rye crispbreads and Philadelphia that I can have if I want. Sometimes I eat, sometimes I don't, but at least I'm not mindlessly chomping my way through a family-sized bad of Revels and a packet of Oreos.

Meals today:
B - porridge
L - baked salmon with courgette, mangetout and red pepper
D - beef stroganoff with rice

I try to keep a decent stock of cold meats and cheese in the fridge in case I’m desperate for a snack. Olives are good too, or cherry tomatoes.

I need to think of some picnic ideas for tomorrow, we are going to a theme park and I’d rather take my own food than try and navigate the fast food outlets. Sushi maybe, if I can find one without mayo or oil?

@Zanage1 I find it difficult to stick to the omega 3 omega 6 rule because I love almonds and cashews too much and I also think they bring a lot of much needed fibre to the gut so I haven't given up on them. The no sugar (except fruit, honey and 70% chocolate), no ultra processed food and no refined flour products is my aim (except for crisps on a Friday night which I enjoy less and less).

@Tiredandbored what time do you eat in the evening? Giving up daytime snacking is very beneficial to your body as it needs time off from digesting food. I don't have a dessert in the evening but like some dark chocolate with a cup of tea later in the evening. We don't eat until around 8.30pm so there isn't a lot of time to snack before bedtime!

We eat early, usually at 5pm. We've young kids so bedtime is 7.30pm for the youngest, but as my DH is WFH at the minute so we can all eat together even though it's quite early.

@samthebordercollie
Thanks for your input. I don’t even know what foods have high or low levels of omegas. I’m sad that it seems that almonds and cashews do, as I love them.

Thanks
That’s what I’m gonna start trying to do.

Gonna slowly deplete my convenience foods in the cupboards and not replace them with convenience foods. Gonna try to buy fresh each week instead.

I set myself a challenge to see how many different fruit and vegetables I could eat in one week. Michael Mosley was talking about how a wide range can help diversify your gut microbiome and it got me thinking about how many I actually eat.

I am cheating slightly in that I'm counting every single different fruit or veg that I eat, even if it's only a small amount and wouldn't actually count as a portion for one of my five-a-day. It has helped me eat more and widen my repertoire beyond my usual favourites.

Anyone else want to join in?

@Tiredandbored I'm in. I think MM (or maybe Dr Tim Spector) recommends 30 different fruit and veg a week, veg includes nuts and seeds. The variety (more than quantity) is very important for the gut microbiome as you say.
Mixed salads are a great way to up your total - for lunch I had a salad of cold broccoli, chick peas, cherry tomatoes, flax seeds, and chopped garlic in the balsamic vinagrette. A few almonds and cashews just before and a kiwi fruit for and that's already 8. Although I'll probably eat the same thing for lunch tomorrow so not quite so good

I started doing it this week, more out of interest to see how many I was eating. I had read the 30 a week recommendation as well so wanted to see if I was near it.

Am pleased to say that this week I've had 31 so far! Though quite a few were not enough to qualify as a portion, but I'm still pleased with that!

31 is fantastic 👏🏻I'm only at 23 but then I eat the same meals 2 or 3 days running - I make a big bowl of mixed salad/vegetables on Monday and eat it every lunchtime until it's gone.

Im on week 3 of following this plan. Down to half a sugar in my morning coffee but still having sugar in my morning porridge it makes it palatable to me. Stopped chocolate and am amazed that my 8pm sugar cravings are going. Im vegan struggling slightly with lunches but trying various bhudda bowls.
What im strugglung with is missing the hit or the high that lovely processed carb, sugar
And fat combo gives you. Dark choc does nothing for me. I guess my brain has to get used to this but the wholefood diet has nothing in it that lights up the pleasure centres in my brain like crap does.

Scales and measurements havent shifted yet but they have to i am eating so much better xx

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand

I am discovering that my downfall is snacking. I need to find some filling snacks that aren't carbs/sugar based.

Sesame seed ryvita, layer of marmite, layer of sugar free peanut butter. Nom. 3 ingredient cookies: oatmeal, ripe banana, sugar free peanut butter. Double nom! Lost 5 stone over two years ago and these kind of snacks helped me get there.

I think both oatmeal and peanut butter on the no list for this diet! It's more a ditch the sugar and wheat and veg oil than replace. Which is a shame as I know loads of sw cheats.

I have found that after about 3 weeks I didn't need snacks or sugary stuff. I've had the odd wobble when drunk with raging PMT but most days am happy with 2 meals and no snacks.

Been a horrible day today. Ds had a vile dentist appointment, having a horrendously bad period and also had blacksmith for ponies this afternoon which isn't usually bad but both ponies were arseholes.

When we got in from dentist I was like 'fuck it, am having a sandwich, shit day, am starving and pmt'. But actually had 2 slices of naice ham, a bit of cheese and cherry toms. Tea was a jacket potato with cheese and tuna and a spoon of coleslaw cos half term and shit day.

Not too horrendously bad. But ndn has sent round 8 x bars of 43% chocolate qnd some chocolate ginger. So who knows but am feeling OK atm, might do some baking over the weekend to use the chocolate tho.

Highland sorry you have had such a shit day! I have a good chocolate moelleux flourless cake recipe if you want, 275g chocolate, 200g butter, vanilla essence, 5 eggs and only 80g sugar so 50% on plan!

Ooo sam I may try that! The chocolate is 43% coco so not horrendously bad, and it's wheat rather than sugar I worry about as I don't particularly have a sweet tooth. And I have alldaeegs.

@Coconut80, I still have sultanas with my porridge in the morning as I find it too bland on its own. I have reduced the portion size of sultanas, but find I need a few to sweeten it. I figure that is still better than something like cornflakes for breakfast.

Is it Highland ponies, Highland?

Coconut, what about honey or proper maple syrup in your porridge?

I thought oatmeal was ok - it’s just ground up oats! I thickened my mince for cottage pie with oatmeal today and felt thrifty because it’s how my granny makes it.