Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 3

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

We’ve chatted as much as we (used to) eat! New shiny thread for more support.

General principles:

No sugar
No wheat
No processed foods
Honourable mention to tipping the balance of omega 3 and 6, but that’s mostly achieved by doing the above.

Everything else is fair game!

I'm interested in what snacks people have? I usually have Brazil nuts or a hot marmite (delish, don't @ me) but not sure that supports this WoE.

Nuts are technically out because of the omega 6 but the amounts are small and nuts are good for you so some of us are still eating them.

Samthebordercollie shared a good article about it.

No idea about hot marmite (is that a drink? I love marmite but generally on toast so my consumption has dropped a bit recently!)

I generally have cheddar and apple, or cheddar/ other hard cheese and olives, as a snack. Sometimes yoghurt though I tend to feel a bit bored of it now that I also have it for breakfast every day.

I hardly ever want a snack these days though. The WOE mostly fills me up.

I've stopped snacking between meals as I'm usually not hungry. I do have quite an early dinner though, so I often take something in the evening for supper, usually some fruit with Greek yoghurt or occasionally something like a couple of rye crispbreads with Philadelphia and smoked salmon.

Today was porridge for breakfast, lunch was out at a café and wasn't totally on-plan as I had a prawn salad on wheaten bread. Dinner was salmon with a variety of veg and new potatoes.

I'm trying to widen my veg intake and have set myself a ridiculous target of eating 50 different varieties of fruit and veg this week! It's actually been quite fun, though I'm off work this week so have had time to make different things for lunch and dinner than I might normally have.

Current total is 43, two more days to get another 7 varieties!

@Tiredandbored That's an amazing challenge to set yourself. I'm impressed with your current numbers too!!!

I have been reading up about the gut microbiome and one of the key recommendations is to have a wide variety of plant foods in your diet. I do eat quite a lot of veg and fruit, but it might only be a dozen varieties some weeks.

I started by trying to get 30 in a week and am just trying to do 50 this week as a one-off just to see if I can. It has certainly encouraged me to try new foods which has been good!

I find I don't snack much either. Just as well, given my portion sizes!

I've been trying to expand my veg repertoire too. It's very easy just to have the same old things isn't it. 50 varieties is stupendous work!

I know this thread has died slightly over the last couple of weeks, but I'm keen to keep it going as it's been really useful to me.

How is everyone getting on? Are people still following this WoE but just not posting as regularly or have people drifted away?

I'm still here and still reading Tired. Still following it as well, mostly anyway.

Today has been Ok for a friday. Didn't have breakfast or time for lunch. Had a satsuma which was lush (M and S in 5 for 59p offer or whatever it is) about 1.30pm, then a handful of doritos at 5pm, then chinese food just now. Chinese food wise I had beef and green pepper in black bean sauce and some king prawn and veg sauce with special fried rice. But a few tablespoons of each rather than a massive plateful.

I do the same @HighlandCowbag - we get Chinese takeaway much more frequently than I would like, but I compensate by splitting portions meaning I end up with less than half a portion (which is still plenty!)

I've had a good day in terms of meals today:
B - porridge
L - salad with smoked kippers
D - halloumi served with roast veg

Snacks were some fruit with kefir yoghurt and a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

Hello! Please can I join? I’ve read the book and been doing this woe for about 3 weeks. I wondered if anyone else had actually felt worse on this woe? I feel really tired and in need of carbs most of the time. I don’t feel hungry and fill up on healthy food with plenty of fat but it’s like I have an energy hole that just isn’t filled up properly or something. This sort of chimes with why I am trying this woe because I have been successfully using food (sugar and carbs) to try and boost what has felt like flagging energy and tiredness. It worked but also meant I have put a lot of weight on and I know it’s not healthy.

My typical day of food would be something like:

B: porridge with full fat milk, flax and chia seeds and a small handful of frozen blueberries
L: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and grilled cherry tomatoes, plus an apple
D: steamed chicken, Mediterranean roast veg and half a baked potato.

Is that too little carbs?

Welcome @PattiRandall. It's probably the lack of sugar that is doing it, takes a bit of getting used to!

Thank you! So you reckon even after 3 weeks my body still won’t have adjusted? Perhaps it is partly psychological too. It is quite hard to get used to not being able to have a hit of sugar to give me a boost of energy to get through a difficult meeting at work etc. Maybe it is that prop that I am missing rather (or as well as) than the sugar itself.

It took me a good month to get used to it. Looking at your meals tho I'd add a bit of fat to help you feel full. So cook everything in butter or lard and don't be stingey with it. Maybe drop the blueberries as fruit can cause a sugar spike, and the apple. Maybe half an apple and some cheese instead. And swop the tomatoes for spinach or a green salad.

Thank you, that’s good to know and some good tips to try.

I do eat fruit now, and loads of cherry tomatoes but in the early days I felt quite drained and headachey if I did. Don't aum for no carb tho, just low sugar more than anything to start with. And that means some fruit (including cherry toms) aren't well tolerated while your body adjusts.

I’m still following and haven’t drifted away so much as been too busy to post. I do catch up and read most days though.

There are plenty of carbs in your menu @PattiRandall, but maybe it’s a bit on the low fat side? E.g. instead of steamed chicken you could have it roasted, with the skin on, in garlic butter.

Hello All. Weigh in day and another slight shift upwards. I knew things had not been great this last two weeks.

Ok so it's only half a pound over a fortnight which is nothing, so I won't obsess, but it comes after ten months of steady decline interspersed with plateaus.

I need to return to the plan, so fewer carbs, cut right back on my choc and any other treats ( yes it's good chocolate but even so...)

I've been so stressed and down the last fortnight, slept badly a number of times - and turned to food. But two cream cakes and several bottles of cider earlier this week have clearly taken their toll.

I know myself very well and this could easily start a slide into poor eating ( and drinking) habits, especially with a holiday on the horizon where I won't be cooking for myself for the majority of the time.

I could cry actually, and I know that's ridiculous and stupid!

Any ideas welcome.

Today's plan :
Gazpacho and chia, with salad and eggs or cheese for lunch
Slow roast shoulder of lamb with veg (I will cut back on the spuds) , then possibly yoghurt and berries. My friend is coming round for dinner and wants me to try a piece of her birthday cake so I will have the tiniest piece.

I'm off into the hills shortly with my dog, so that will hopefully cheer me up. Then back to put the lamb on to slow roast.

Oh yes, and let's not allow this thread to die. I've found it so helpful and supportive.

I have plateaued over the last few weeks - I had celebrated dropping down below 11 stones for the first time in a VERY long time, but since then I have been up and down within a 3-5lbs range and haven't lost any more.

I'm still hoping to lose more, but I also realise I've lost over 2 stones and it's going to take some time for my weight to settle, so I'm not going to panic quite yet about this pause.

@Words, when I get disheartened I find it helpful to look back at how far I've come. I actually drew out a weight-loss graph (old-school way with pen and paper!) and I occasionally look it out to remind myself where I was and where I am now. That helps me recognise that this WoE has worked for me and is working for me and gives me more motivation to keep at it!

I also try to remember that this is not a strict diet that bans foods so I'm allowed occasional treats. For me that means birthday or other celebrations and holidays can be more relaxed. As long as 85-90% of our eating is good we can allow some easing on those occasions.

Don't be too sore on yourself, you've done so well and have made great progress! And two cream cakes is nothing compared to what I used to pig out on...

Meals today:
B - I made the carrot cake porridge someone recommended on this thread, it is delicious! I'm only letting myself have it at weekends though, so it's a real treat!
L - leftover halloumi and roast vegetables from dinner last night.
D - Chinese takeaway, but I'll do what @HighlandCowbag does and split my portions.

Does anyone eat the Fage yogurt? The zero fat version has no added sugar and I can't decide whether to have that, the 5% fat or the full fat version. I've bought all three to try for breakfast this week with some flax and chia to see if I feel fuller with higher fat.

Please don't let this thread die!

It's surprising how much you can reduce your portions and still be full isn't it? I take about 1/4 of a tub of rice and maybe 3 tablespoons of the 2 mains we order and always tell myself I can have some more if I am still hungry. Never am tho!

Steak, Mediterranean veg and roasted new potatoes for dinner, cooked by dh. Not sure on lunch yet, some salad needs using up in fridge so will probably have that.

My weight losses are slower than a traditional diet, but unlike a traditional diet where I would have got bored 2 months ago I'm quite happy with this woe. Am not as strict as I was the first couple of months, and loss has slowed a bit because of that. But it's an easy diet to do. Cutting wheat out has definitely made the biggest difference!

You see this is where I am going wrong I think. A quarter-portion of rice and two tbsps of a main course for me would never happen!

So I avoid take away ( I don't have to fit in with others so that's easy) but my home cooked portion sizes are, quite frankly yuge.

Add in the lure of seconds and an inherited distaste for food waste...

Try halfing what you put on your plate Words, telling yourself you can have seconds if you are still hungry. Even if you have half to start, then the other half after as seconds. Still having a full portion then, but better than a full portion and then seconds.

Ignore if not helpful but it's really helped me, and I was having the same sized portion as nearly 6ft builder dh. Healthy enough food most days but just too much for 5ft 5in non builder me.

I think my stomach must have shrunk, probably with not eating bread which always seemed to make me hungry a few hours later.