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’ve posted my meal plan before, but here are the meals my children eat @collywobble

@collywobble, I follow a meal plan of sorts. I had worked out a family meal plan prior to starting this WoE which included family favourites and meals that ticked as many of the

• healthy
• easy to make
• inexpensive
• popular with the kids

boxes as possible.

Since starting this WoE I haven't veered too far from that plan as I was really pleased to get a range of meals that worked for us, so have just tweaked the unsuitable ones for myself (eg having courgetti when the rest are having spaghetti).

Meals on my list that fit with this WoE include beef stroganoff, beef stew, baked salmon, fish pie, chicken curry, shepherd's pie, frittata, omelettes, chilli, paella, stir fries, chicken fried rice, mince and onions, baked potatoes, chicken casserole, roast chicken/beef/pork.

Meals I adapt slightly for myself include spaghetti bolognese, spaghetti carbonara, burgers.

Other meals (eg lasagne, pizza) are not on-plan. I either make them for the rest of the family on a day I'm not having dinner with them, or I have a small helping and bulk it out with salad etc, or I just eat the same as them as a couple of meals with wheat each month is hopefully not going to undo the changes I've made the rest of the time.

Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you 👍

@HighlandCowbag, how are you? You've had a hard couple of weeks, thinking of you

Are you all eating brown rice or white still ?

That's wonderful thank you. There are some great suggestions there. Sometimes you get stuck in such a rut with cooking meals for everyone and it's reminded me of a few favourites I had forgotten about .There are some amazing weight losses flying around too which is encouraging.
One last question, Are the fresh egg noodles okay on the plan ?

Noodles/egg noodles are basically pasta and are wheat based so not OK. When I LC I've been eating Oomi noodles which are not wheat based and I really like, but for this WOE they'd fall into the processed food category so are out.

I really like Spelt pasta and bread but in shops it usually contains wheat too. I think further down the line I might experiment with making some 100% spelt pasta and maybe bread too. I'll look at Emmer, einkorn etc too, I've played around with them before and really like the taste. It'll have to wait until I'm more established in this WOE though.

Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with a small handful of blueberries and some pomegranate seeds
Lunch: babybel, marinated mushrooms, chopped tomatoes
Dinner: lambs lettuce, toms, cuc, boiled egg, marinated mushrooms, artichoke, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, chicken souvlaki

Congraulations on people noticing you look great everyone. Please take it easy and be kind to yourself @HighlandCowbag

I'm actually feeling calmer again now, Tired. I think it was the adrenaline of we knew what was going to happen, then the sadness when it did happen and the shock, even though we knew it was coming it was still a kick in the guts. The funeral is tomorrow, thankfully we haven't had to wait too long. And due to covid restrictions limiting the number of people venues can hold, we are having a wake at aunts house. Which means I can have 2 drinks and disappear easily. I was dreading a long drawn out thing in a pub. My family are all lovely individually, but altogether can be a bit much, especially if drink is involved.

So yes, am feeling OK. Tho dm just phoned me and wants me to have a dressing gown I bought aunt for Mothers Day this year which is a bit 😥.

Last night I made a meatloaf pizza for dinner (they tend to be called "meatza" online, but I object to that on the grounds that it's a dreadful name).

I mixed some beef mince (grass fed, obv) with an egg, seasoning and herbs, pressed it into a pie dish and baked it for about 15 minutes. Then I piled it with sliced tomatoes, onions, green peppers, spinach, herbs and cheese and put it back in until the vegetables had softened a bit and the cheese was melted.

It was delicious. Not the same as pizza, but it hit a lot of the right spots. As it was very easy to make I think it'll be a weekly regular for us. I imagine it would go down well with children too, despite having no stodge.

Tonight we're having tuna steaks with an avocado and tomato salad.

I've been eating brown rice for years, so am just continuing with it. I actually prefer the flavour - it's more savoury.

@Laska2Meryls

Are you all eating brown rice or white still ?

I don't like brown rice, I'd rather go without than eat it. I generally eat smaller portions of white rice bulked with red or black rice and veggies. I do like red and black rice both of which aren't hulled, so I need to concentrate on those more I think. I often have brown or green lentils in place of rice too (I bloody love lentils).

@TheLeadbetterLife that sounds incredible, I will definitely try that over the weekend.

@badlydrawncat, how do you cook your lentils? I have only ever added split red lentils to dishes like chilli or lentil soup and very rarely use them, but would like to increase my consumption of them. I've never even tried any other sort of lentil, so please treat me like a lentil virgin and talk me through what to buy, whether they need soaking etc and how best to prepare. Please inspire me!

Ohh, there are loads of different types but they're so cheap you can sample them all. My basic types are red which mush and disintegrate as you know along with basic green and brown lentils and usually some puy and beluga (both 'posh'). But whenever I come across 'odd' ones I'll buy them. M Basically you cook lentils like rice - boil them in water until al dente. 10-15 mind for brown/green maybe up to 25 mins for Beluga. If cooking a casserole, soup or rahi or anything with lots of liquid I just add them to the liquid uncooked. If cooking for a salad or side or as 'rice', I either eat them as is or I boil them, then toss in wholly dressing for salad, add yoghurt and maybe onions & toms to make a 'sloppy' rice. I sometimes add chermoula or harissa. I make a lot of dals and tabbuleh (lentils instead or with buckwheat). Indian recipe books/sites and middle eastern are great for lentil recipes. The sainted Yottam Ottolenghi uses them a lot and has great recipes too.

Hmm my last post has disappeared. I forgot to add lentils don't need soaking, just wash them an make sure there's no little stones in them. You can cook off a whole bag, portion them and freeze them ready to add stuff to, if it helps.

@badlydrawncat would you recommend Yottam Ottolenghi for the this woe? Which book is best to start with? I eat meat

Hi everyone, can I join please?

I've been on a diet nearly 30 years, absolutely sick of it. I've done WW, SW, calories, Cambridge, 5:2.

I bought the book a few weeks ago and felt enlightened reading it.

I've been trying to make changes since.

I'm now drinking water instead of sugar free squash

Buying Full fat cheese, milk, butter etc.

I do have food to use up which isn't on the plan but like the book says - change one thing at a time. This week all our dinners are unprocessed and most lunches too. Today I had to use some coleslaw (ingredients weren't awful but not exact for the plan) and I had some frozen McCain jacket potatoes again OK usually but they have sunflower oil on them.

Not sure what to expect from any weight loss, I am peri-menopausal and the past year has been tricky to shift any weight. I am just fed up of dieting and feeling awful. 7lb off here, 9lb on there - rinse and repeat!

Ideally I need to lose 3 stone but I'd be happy with anything!

Dinner tonight is roast chicken, baby new potatoes in butter and salad.

Welcome @LifestyleReset you’ve come to the right place! I’m a 20 year yo-yo dieter. I’ve always struggled with keeping up the momentum and motivation to calorie count. It wasn’t working for me and I definitely put on more weight due to yo-yo dieting.

For me (and many others on this thread it seems) we’ve changed our food environment and our bodies are now regulating our appetites for us (you’ll know the theory from reading the book). It really does work and I’m genuinely not hungry or feeling deprived. For me, the biggest difference is not being on the blood glucose rollercoaster. I eat decent meals, but don’t really think about food too much in between.

Previously (especially when on a diet) I was thinking about food/ hunting out things to snack on all day long. Not because I was greedy or lacking willpower, but because the carbs and sugar were clearly causing massive spikes in my blood sugar. Now I’m free of that feeling I really don’t want to go back. This is me for life. No more dieting and feeling bad about myself!

How do I roast chickpeas? Should I use seasoning/ olive oil ... or just dry roast?

Thanks @badlydrawncat, loads of great lentil inspiration for me!! Definitely will try as many of those as possible!

Welcome @LifestyleReset, you're singing from the same hymn sheet as a lot of us who have all tried many different diets. Don't worry about using up the stuff in your cupboards, I've been following this WoE for a few months now and am still finishing up some jars of sauces and things now and again! The difference is that I'm not replacing them when I do. One step at a time!!

Change of plan for me today, we had childcare issues so changed from a meal out this evening to lunchtime instead. I'm actually quite glad as I had a fabulous duck dinner with stir-fried veg which was utterly delicious. I'm so full I don't think I'll need very much later on.

Very unusual for me to feel like that as I had a starter, then my main and I only had a very small helping of rice with it. Usually I could knock that all back, have dessert and coffee and then still be hungry a few hours later! My appetite is much less than it used to be and I'm still surprised at how little I need to eat and yet still feel satisfied.

@ BrightShark
Yes I think so. Ottolenghi's books are middle eastern and Southern Med based cuisine. I just love his food, it's so fresh and flavourful. I can't comment on the desserts though, I just simply don't eat them (unless it's Ben & Jerry's or Ottolenghi's halva & Tahini brownies). 'Simple' is a good book to start with. As suggested by the title the recipes are quick or easy or both. 'Plenty' is all veggie recipes, great even if you're not veggie. I think my favourite is 'Jerusalem. He uses nuts quite often but they're usually easy to omit or sub, lots of different pulses and lentils. I haven't read 'flavour' but it's on my list, 'hacking vegetables to access hidden flavours' sounds just up my street.

Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet book is good too, mainly low carb and easy to sub veg oil for other fat

Hi & welcome @LifestyleReset
I think we're either all clearing out cupboards or have already done so. I have some gorgeous ravioli calling me in the fridge, I may have to eat them tomorrow. However looking at what people are eating, it all sounds lovely. I don't think many of us will be feeling restricted.

I have bought the book but not read it yet. Could someone give me a summary so I get the jist? I will read it but would like to get an idea if the principles first.

@BirdsandBeesmakinghay

The recommended dietary guidelines are:

1. Cut out all ultra processed food from your diet. You can find UPF definition online.
2. Avoid sugar. This is basically achieved by not eating UPFs (also no sugar in coffee).
3. Avoid eating wheat/ highly processed grains, so bread and pasta are out. All other carbs are fine to eat in any quantity you want to feel full (eg potatoes, rice, veg).
4. Stop using poly fats, so all form of vegetable/ seed oils. Use olive oil/ avocado oil/ cold pressed rapeseed oil.
5. Following on from above, eat full fat butter / yoghurt/ milk/ cream. Avoid anything labelled low fat as it will be a UPF.
6. Eat anything else you want but try to minimise Omega 6 intake and maximise omega 3 intake.

You’ve probably guessed by now that it’s not a diet book as such. It’s more a scientific explanation of how appetite and weight loss works, which will help empower you to make the changes needed for sustainable weight management. Definitely read the book, but take your time as it’s pretty heavy going. He does write in an accessible way, but it’s still a science book!

1. I’m not quite sure exactly what the scientific terms are, but basically avoid vegetable oils like sunflower oil, , margarine etc.

Other cookbooks I recommend that are very compatible with this plan are Claudia Roden's Invitation to Mediterranean Cooking and River Cottage Light and Easy (though Hugh F-W does use seed oils and no dairy in that one - some fabulous non-wheat baking recipes though, as well as meat, vegetable and fish dishes).