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

I am finding the sugar cravings the hardest too. Giving up bread, cakes, wine, biscuits wasn’t too bad - but the chocolate is just impossible to say no to .... I am trying 70% choc at the moment as i can’t eat that much of it in one go (unlike milk chocolate!)

I think the trigger has been the fact you can’t just grab something to eat, you know? Like my family were having egg mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch, and I had two boiled eggs. Then I got hungry so I ate some brownies. And then I was starving for dinner and fell face first into cake and chocolate. I miss just having a sandwich and having pasta because it’s easy. The joke is, if I’d just had some bread or pasta, I probably wouldn’t have binged on all this crap! Do’h

I’ve had some milk chocolate a couple of times this week, but I reasoned it was better than eating biscuits and/or heavily processed snacks. There’s also the suggestion that chocolate can have health benefits so I’m seeing it as the lesser evil and I can’t spend my life denying myself chocolate!
Wheat on the other hand - after deciding to try pasta bake last night (with leftovers today) I have been bloated and gassy, which I haven’t been at all over the past month since starting this WOE, so I’ll be going back to avoiding wheat as it doesn’t agree with me.
Tinkling - it’s easy to see with hindsight that just having a sandwich in the first place would have avoided the fall out, but just remember that for next time and don’t feel bad about today. We’re all eating a lot better than we were previously and we can’t be perfect all the time!

How are you finding the 70% @Wandamakesporridge? From past experience I didn’t find it palatable but I haven’t given it a go for years so maybe my tastes will have changed...

I had some birthday cake last night, just one slice, I'm ok with that. I slept badly and thought it was something to do with having eaten too much ice cream.
I have just come to the realisation that I didn't eat any ice cream, that was a dream. Have a good day every one!

Thanks for the new thread.

I've lost 4kgs in about 6 weeks. Slow going but I'm hoping sustainable. Just 16kgs to my target weight.

Last couple of days my teeth have tasted like metal. dlDH reckons it's ketosis. So I had a couple of digestives last night and a brown English muffin with eggs and smoked salmon this morning. The horrible taste is going. I might have to introduce more veg to get good carbs in as I'm breastfeeding and I don't think ketosis and breastfeeding would be healthy (correct me if that's wrong).

Anything with sweetener in now takes bad to me but I'm still having the odd sugar craving but that's chocolate focused.

Morning all! So...today is weigh-day...

In an attempt to prove to myself that this WoE works I decided to do a fortnight in which I didn't count any calories (which was very alien to me as I had always dieted in the past by keeping very close tabs on calories and ensuring a deficit) and not weighing myself at all (again, unusual for me as I usually weigh myself every morning).

Before I started this fortnight I had already lost over a stone, so I knew that any weight change was not the early 'easy' losses that I can get at the start of a new eating regime. However as I was still counting calories during this loss I couldn't be sure if it was because I tried to ensure a calorie deficit or whether it was due to this WoE...hence my trial!

Over the fortnight I have lost a further 1.5lbs 🎉🎉

Bearing in mind that I'm still having a takeaway once a week and still having some 70% chocolate and occasional wheat-based foods I'm really pleased with this. It's evidence for me that I don't need to count calories to lose weight.

I could lose it faster with a stricter plan, but I've done that in the past and put it all back on again. I am really optimistic that I can maintain this WoE long-term as I am not hungry, am not depriving myself and am eating really healthy and filling meals which fit in with family life. I still enjoy occasional treats and I have not had to faff about with weighing portions and tracking everything I eat.

I am aiming to lose around 10-14lbs more.
I accept that it will take longer than in previous diets to lose this weight but am confident I can maintain that loss once I do succeed.

Hopefully this will encourage those of you who have always focused on calories like me in the past!

@OhMyChrist2020

How are you finding the 70% *@Wandamakesporridge*? From past experience I didn’t find it palatable but I haven’t given it a go for years so maybe my tastes will have changed...

I found I had to 'wean' myself onto 70% - I used to eat ordinary dark chocolate (about 54%) as I found the 70% too bitter, but as I gradually introduced it and lost my sweet tooth I prefer it now.

I am getting used to the 70%... maybe start with 54% as suggested above.
I now find regular chocolate (eg Cadbury’s 25%) too sweet and not chocolatey enough.

Afternoon all

I've always preferred dark chocolate tbh, tho apart from the mousse I made the other week I haven't had any. Might nip and pick some up for this evening tho.

Good to hear the losses still keep coming Tired, especially as you are doing it like me and having the odd treat as well. I'd be happy with 1lb a week loss eating like this, it's so easy!

Yesterday I did fine. Was starving cos hangover and had some chargrilled squid rings from the M and S deli range and 3 scrambled eggs (need to buy more salad) and then steak, parminter potatoes and Mediterranean veg for tea. Too much beer tho but better beer and good food than beer and crap food!

Today is easy as it's sunday roast. Not eaten yet today and will probably wait for my dinner now. Fruit and cream for pudding 😋.

@Tiredandbored well done! I agree that this feels like a WOE that can easily be maintained.

I ran for 45 minutes today, which I am so chuffed with. Porridge with chia seeds for breakfast, tuna melt salad for lunch and something involving pork belly slices for dinner as they need eating.

I haven’t eaten any chocolate yet, but after I’ve hit the stone loss point I might see if I can introduce some 95% cocoa chocolate as I do like that.

That’s great news Tired! Very reassuring that calorie counting is not necessary and that this WOE is effective for weight loss.

Thanks for the chocolate advice - think I might attempt the 54% first, although I can’t ever imagine a day where I don’t love Dairy Milk.

Been out all day on a family day trip which was spent walking for hours. I enjoyed a Mr Whippy ice-cream with everyone else and as it turned out ended up being lunch, I can’t imagine it will have done much harm. Am having cheese & broccoli frittata for tea.

@BangingOn what’s your tuna melt salad? I really struggle to eat tinned tuna without adding mayo as I find it too dry but know that’s full of omega 6. I’ve also just bought a big bottle of EVOO which I need to find a use for...

@BangingOn well done on your run! Is that your longest so far? My legs felt stronger on this morning's run, I'm so relieved. Covid really affected my muscles.
95% chocolate is really hardcore! 💪🏻💪🏻

@OhMyChrist2020 my tuna melt recipe is proper comfort food and feels really indulgent, but it’s on plan and I am loving it. I use tuna, sweetcorn, sour cream and grated cheese then grill it until the cheese melts. Sometimes I have it with green leaves or something with cannellini beans or similar if I need more fibre. I honestly don’t miss the mayo, sour cream works just as well for me.

@samthebordercollie yes that’s my longest run so far. I only got to 30 minutes a week ago so I’m really proud of myself. I’m still not that first, but I’m running for fitness and to help with my pole training rather than to be a fast runner so I’m happy to prioritise time over distance at the moment.

Well done on your run and I’m so pleased you’re feeling stronger, did you feel ok afterwards?

Sounds lovely BangingOn, I’m adding sour cream to my shopping list and will give it a go.

I’m going to give this a go this week too gimmedelicious.com/creamy-tuna-broccoli-casserole/

The tuna melt salad sounds lush @BangingOn

I like sour cream so will look for some of that

I struggle a bit with high fat foods as I've been eating low fat alternatives for the last 30 years . I don't eat meat and I couldn't face full fat milk or cream. I've got some EVOO and I bought some butter today, although I don't like it to cook with .

I've been having lots of fish, including salmon and mackerel , cheese,'avocado and almond butter , although, having now finished the book I see that this isn't recommended . I've been putting it on porridge (which I make with water) and mixing into natural yogurt for an evening snack .

But in the spirit of an 'improved diet' and considering what I used to eat I'm really impressed with both myself for not going for the sugary snacks , and also the fact that I've been so satisfied with what I've eaten that I haven't needed to.

I have got some rice cakes and some dark chocolate which I've eaten occasionally.

@shinynewapple21 it sounds like you’re doing brilliantly. It is a real shift starting to eat full fat, but anything that involves melting cheese on things I can get into .

I’ve attempted a sugar free panna cotta tonight, using inulin instead of sweetener. It’s setting in the fridge now but I have high hopes.

I do truly believe that slow, steady and sustainable weight loss is the way to go!

That might have something to do with being in my mid 50s...but I think it’s true, and takes all the angst out of eating. My MH over the subject of food, has been all consuming over the years.

If you have a bad day, just move on.

I make a lot of soups in the winter - often out of the bottom of the fridge! - which I eat most days for lunch.

I also don’t eat breakfast, and eat lunch as late as possible. Interestingly, I did eat a cooked breakfast yesterday, and then ate a biscuit, then lunch, then dinner and crisps.

Lesson learned!

Bravo @Tiredandbored 👏🏻

Morning all! What's on the menu for everyone today? For me:
B - porridge
L - leftover vegetarian shepherd's pie
D - baked potato

I counted up how many different fruit and veg I had yesterday - the total was an incredible 18!! 😁 Granted not all were a full portion (e.g. for dessert yesterday I had mixed berries with Greek yoghurt, so raspberries, blueberries, strawberries - 3 different fruits, though really only one portion) but I was rather childishly pleased with my score! 😂😂

I think I might start a sticker chart... 🤔

Excellent @Tiredandbored

Given traditional diets aim for 1-2lbs a week, seems pretty good to me!

I had a horrendous Sunday food wise, ended up full on bingeing which was awful because I had the worst headache and felt so cruddy, and the only thing that fixed it was more sugar. I wouldn’t even tell you what I ate.

Today is a new day though and I know I’m going to have a rubbish couple of days coming off of the white stuff, have I learnt my lesson? Probably not. Old mental health habits die hard (I first started bingeing around the age of 11/12)

Where is our summer? I so need the sun today!

@BangingOn well done in the running!

I did C25K a couple of years ago and once managed to run for 30 mins but hated it so much I haven't done it since. I want to like running but unfortunately I hate every moment of it.

Birthday weekend went well. I realised DD doesn't actually like cake so I made her a tower of shortbread with cream and berries, she was very happy.

I had a small piece of shortbread but really concentrated on it rather than just shovelling it in and realised it just tasted a bit lardy so was fine not having more.

We had lunch out on Saturday which was wildly exciting. I had sea bass with asparagus and I had a couple of the roast potatoes.

We had a charcuterie sharer to start so just had some meat and a quarter of a slice of sourdough but as I make my own bread, DH and the DCs all agreed mine is better so I didn't bother eating it. I am officially a lockdown sourdough wanker.

I'm trying to keep the sourdough starter alive but I'm not making any at the moment, I might try in a few months with spelt or some other ancient grain type thing.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

@Tinkling that sounds tough. Try not to worry, things happen and at least with this there's not the horror of a slimming world weigh in and public self flagellation, you can just eat better today!

Yup thankfully no scales in the house so I need not worry!

I had fried potatoes and poached eggs for breakfast and am having a JP stuffed with cheese and broccoli for lunch. Walked the school run.

I’m actually feeling ok, headache from this morning has gone, the sun is out (not sure how long for!)

We submitted our planning application today for the extension - at last!

Re: c25k, I once joined a running group and ran 5k a few times and soon gave it up. I hated it too!