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

You are all doing brilliantly and are an inspiration.
My focus right now is to ditch most sugar and wheat. I am being scuppered by my suagr loving brain at the moment but today, so far, has been good.
(Although I did resort to a bag of nuts part way through the weekly shop because I was having an 'I need food' wobble - I get really wobbly and feel really sick. I'm being positive over the fact that it wasn't chocolate)
My breakfasts are usually bacon and scrambled egg. I eat about 6.45 am and break at work is 11. We have lunch around 12.30 but I generally go for a walk first so lunch is 1.00. If I don't have a snack at break I feel awful but I'm wondering if increasing my breakfast to 2 eggs and 2 rashers of bacon might help remove the need to snack.

Lunches are often left overs.

I had a fab lunch today of rice cakes with philly type cheese and slices of roast beef.

I do eat the odd spoonful of peanut butter - sometimes it helps ward off the OMG I NEEEEEED to eat feeling that sees me nose first in the biscuit tin.
My rediscovered favourite at the moment is apple and cheese.
I'm not weighing myself until the start of next month. The scales depress me.

What's the take on diet drinks? I'd think they'd be a no because the body thinks its sugar and acts accordingly but I don't know.

@JeffVaderneedsatray, anything I've read about diet drinks has been sceptical that they are an effective aid to weight loss and may actually contribute to weight gain.

Hi all, would like to join in if that's OK. I've read both threads over the last few days and ordered the book. Book sounds similar to a few others I've read, apart from the Omega 3/6 thing. I've had great success with low carb in the past, but when I did low carb high fat for 8 or so weeks earlier this year I ended up getting a gallbladder related infection and stopped abruptly. Also found I was getting symptoms related to my thyroid (I have autoimmune under active thyroid) and discovered ultra low carb doesn't necessarily suit me, so this seems like a perfect fit.
I'm another that's rather all or nothing, so I'm either ON a diet or I'm binging because I'm NOT on a diet and have to eat ALL the foods before I'm back on a diet (or because they are there, or someone else might eat them!). No wonder my weight just creeps higher each time!

I'm quite happy with a WOE that allows potatoes while still allowing cheese and butter, so I feel like this will be good. Also, I can mostly feed the family the same things, which was harder on low carb, so win win. Just need to train DH out of the 'freezer foods' habit (he cooks half the time) and find some easy weeknight dinners he can make that don't come from a box. He's very all or nothing with cooking, it's either freezer box foods, or a chili/bolognese/curry that takes 3 hours and uses all the pans...

I think diet drinks are out on the basis that they are usually ultra processed. The main thing that this book stresses is using real ingredients, fresh food.

I feel a bit like I've joined a cult as it sounds so mad when you try to explain it to anyone!

I've lost 10lbs in 6 weeks as I'm 3 stone overweight and was just grazing crap all day.

I haven't had any cravings really, possibly because I've gone low carb/full fat straight away or because it's such a relief to not be constantly stuffing my face with rubbish. It feels really good not to be thinking about food all the time!

I've found during the weak I only eat twice a day, around 11am and 7pm. For brunch I have eggs or leftovers like chicken curry or some stir fried beef and a bit of veg.

For dinner we have all sorts of home cooked things and I just don't have the rice/potatoes/bread.

I've found it quite freeing to not have to eat breakfast as I always thought it was "the most important meal of the day" but I'm happier not forcing anything down first thing.

I do work from home so I'm not restricted by break times, it's much harder at weekends when we're doing things and I can't just eat when I want.

I have actually forgotten to eat a meal recently, I have never missed a meal before in my whole life!

Wow @BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand
Looking at that link, there are loooooooads of foods that are higher in omega 6 and lower in omega 3. (I only looked at the vegetarian ingredients).
Thanks for sharing.

The weirdest thing is that I am genuinely not hungry most of the time and rarely think about food. I’ve actually become one of those people who forgets to eat, rather than someone who obsesses about food constantly and gets panicky if there isn’t a readily available supply of food at all times (I blame boarding school for my rather disordered eating).

My weight loss has slowed to 1lb or so a week which is fine with me as this feels so sustainable. I’m probably still eating too much omega 6 as I’m not always choosing lentils or vegetables with the best ratio, but oils and wheat are gone and everything is cooked from scratch.

@Zanage1

Wow *@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand* Looking at that link, there are loooooooads of foods that are higher in omega 6 and lower in omega 3. (I only looked at the vegetarian ingredients). Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I'm afraid other than the oils, like Banging I don't really pay attention to the omega 6 omega 3 rule. It effectively rules out most nuts and seeds and they are an incredibly good source of fibre and protein, and very good for the gut microbiome so I eat a lot of them!

Hi all, so pleased to spot this thread .

I am 2 weeks into this WOE. I watched the Dr Chris doc on BBC about UPFs. I’m half way through the Why We Eat book and I watched That Sugar Show (it’s free on YouTube). OMG! It’s been a revelation! I feel like my eyes have been opened as a serial dieter, who doesn’t actually eat that much. I just couldn’t understand why I was so overweight. Now I know!!

I’ve eaten UPFs all my life, and although my diet looks pretty healthy (lot of fresh food) the hidden sugar and vegetable oil is high, and obviously the cause of my weight gain. I’ve cut out all wheat, sugar and most veg oil products/ UPFs.

Have lost 8 lbs so far (which kinda feels too much but I did give up chocolate/crisps about a month ago so that might have helped). But I have a long way to go (5 stone, but I’m very tall so BMI was only 32 - now it’s down to 31.5).

I don’t want fast weight loss this time. I just want to see a steady decline over the next year. I have kicked my sugar addiction, no longer feel hungry really and cut out all snacks easily. I’m not going on holiday this year and still wfh, so this is my best shot at finally changing my life and health.

It effectively rules out most nuts and seeds and they are an incredibly good source of fibre and protein, and very good for the gut microbiome so I eat a lot of them!

I'm allergic to nuts anyway, but for seeds I'm just adjusting the mix of seeds I eat. Chia and ground flax seed seem good for omega 3.

Can I just ask some specific questions about food options please?

1. Has anyone found a decent homegrown granola recipe that is on plan? Or something similar to sprinkle over FF Greek yoghurt and fruit in the morning?

1. Has anyone managed to find an EVOO based mayonnaise?

1. Are rice cakes or corn cakes ok? I’m looking for something to eat instead of bread occasionally as a lunch if I don’t have time to make a salad. I like philli, salmon, etc so something to use as a base.

I’m so excited about this WOE. It feels really different to all the diets I’ve done before. If I can make this permanent change, I can finally see myself living as a healthy weight person, enjoying life to the full. Every other diet I’ve been on has felt unsustainable over the long run. Just counting calories made me think about food all the time, which is something I want to knock on the head!

The sugar addiction is my main battle though.

@Ifyoubelieveyouwill I did a mayo theother week with cold pressed rapeseed oil, which I think is ok as long as you don't cook with it as cooking damages the omega 3 (I think that was the reason anyway). The mayo was lovely tho nothing like Helmans!

Back on track properly today. Salad for lunch, followed by liver and onions with mash and veg later, haven't had it for ages and really fancy it for some reason. I pan fry lambs liver and its lush.

Have weighed myself this morning against my better judgement after a boozy week of half term not eating properly. I'm the same as I was middle of last week which is 1lb heavier than the week before and I'm pretty sure that it's water retention from the booze. If it is and it disappears over the next day or so I will be very pleased and very shocked. I've always blamed being fat on being a bit of a drinker. And although food hasn't been perfect this week I would say it was 80% on plan. So if I don't gain any actual weight it'll be the food rather than the beer that does it.

And I've had a lot of beer. And wine. And spirits.

@HighlandCowbag that sounds great- I actually have some cold pressed rapeseed oil in the cupboard. Do you have the recipe link please? I’ve never made mayo before!

Does anyone know if sugar free fizzy drinks affect your blood sugar levels? I know it’s better to wean yourself off sweet things, but we have a stash and just wondering if it’s ok to drink them now and then

@Ifyoubelieveyouwill

Does anyone know if sugar free fizzy drinks affect your blood sugar levels? I know it’s better to wean yourself off sweet things, but we have a stash and just wondering if it’s ok to drink them now and then

IIRC from previous reading, they don't necessarily change blood sugar but they do cause insulin to rise slightly as your body anticipates sugar. So not great, long term. But occasionally, shouldn't be too bad?

www.fishforthought.co.uk/recipes/mayonnaise

I think it was this one I used, it does use a lot of oil though and am sure you could reduce that a bit without losing any flavour. I'm going to maybe knock it down to 250ml next time.

Thank you @RagzReturnsRebooted and @HighlandCowbag much appreciated

Afternoon everyone, how are you all doing this sunny Monday? Sunny here anyway...

Welcome @Ifyoubelieveyouwill, great username for a thread like this!! 💪💪💪

I have to confess to having dessert after dinner yesterday - I did restrict to a half-portion though, so wasn't a total disaster.

Meals today:
B - porridge
L - peppers stuffed with a Greek yoghurt/mustard/salad veg mixture
D - fish pie

My weight-loss has slowed recently, if it doesn't pick-up again soon I will have to see what I need to change to get it going again. In an ideal world I would love to lose another stone, but I'm not sure if my weight set point might be higher than that.

Day 2 back on plan for me and so far feeling good. In answer to the fizzy diet drink question, I know they’re not recommended but I’m still having at least 1 glass of Pepsi Max a day 😱 I can’t change everything at once and it helps keep me off sugar. I’ll tackle giving it up a bit further down the line..!

@OhMyChrist2020 that sounds sensible to me - one battle at a time!

How much have you lost so far Tired? I want to lose 2st at least. But know it's going to take a while. I was reading a thread this morning about weight loss using one of the meal replacement programmes and was amazed at some of them, absolutely fantastic losses over relatively short times.

Then I remembered all the times I've lost weight and just dumped it straight back on so decided to stick with this woe rather than another (bloody) diet.

I've had an ok day. Mackerel salad for lunch then omelette with peppers and mushrooms in, with airfryer chips and a portion of mushy peas which I decided were OK as its just soft peas and I had an urge for a chippy tea and it scratched an itch.

Was supposed to be liver, onions and mash but I was so hot and bothered I couldn't face it.

I’m with you on that @HighlandCowbag. My family member lost nearly 8 kg in 6 weeks on one of those FB diets, but it’s all low fat/ low calorie so I suspect it’s encouraging a diet high in hidden sugar.

There’s no point dieting, losing lots of weight and it not being sustainable. Then you put it all back on (and some). I’ve been doing that all my adult life and am convinced I’d be in a better position now if I hadn’t bothered. I think it’s made me more obsessed with food dieting on/off long term. Feast or famine.

Is there a scientific explanation for why we plateau during weight loss. If there is, I think it would help me wait it out as this is the point in a diet I usually give up.

I suspect what many people do when they plateau (if they don’t give up!) is reduce portion sizes and fat. However I would think that might trigger your brain towards starvation mode ... meaning your metabolism slows down and it’s harder to lose weight. So perhaps increase your portions of healthy food instead and it might kickstart a higher metabolism?

I’ve read regarding weight set point that you should aim to lose no more than 10% of your body weight at any one time and once you’ve reached that you’re better aiming to maintain for a few weeks to allow your body to adjust. This apparently helps to slowly move your set point and avoids your body trying to stop you losing more weight.

@OhMyChrist2020

I’ve read regarding weight set point that you should aim to lose no more than 10% of your body weight at any one time and once you’ve reached that you’re better aiming to maintain for a few weeks to allow your body to adjust. This apparently helps to slowly move your set point and avoids your body trying to stop you losing more weight.

Yes, I listened to a podcast on sustainable weight loss on The Docto's Kitchen. It involved periods of eating to lose weight, then eating enough to maintain weight for several months to ensure your body got used to the new weight, before losing weight again. On a similar thing its the same with exercise, you can do too much. When you do a lot of sport and burn a lot of calories, your body slows down the overall metabolic rate to compensate for the shock, so the net calorie loss really isn't what your Garmin is telling you. The body always aims for homeostatis, this will win over miracle shake plans every time!