Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 4

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Hi to all regulars and lurkers!

Here's the 4th thread, based on the ideas in Dr Andrew Jenkinson's book. We've seen some amazing losses on these threads, and the benefits for me can be summed up as 'no counting, no starving'.
We don't count calories, and if we're hungry we eat. We're focused on quality.

General eating principles:

No sugar
No wheat (which reduces unhealthy carbs)
No ultra processed foods, and in particular no processed/ultra refined oils
Honourable mention to tipping the balance of omega 3 and 6, but that’s mostly achieved by doing the above.

His principles also include trying to sleep more and reduce stress, and take regular (moderate) exercise.

If any of this sounds promising, please feel free to ask questions and come and join in!

@Words that's a great update 😊

Everyone has their period this week lol. Me too. Though they're a bit of a non event these days thankfully.

@HighlandCowbag that does sound hard. How about yoghurt and fruit? That's what I used to have for lunch at work (long before this woe but I had figured out that bread for lunch sends me to sleep).

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking on these threads for a while and have started reading the book, I've so far found it really interesting and achingly relatable.

Hoping to jump on here for some general support and camaraderie.

I've got a lot of weight to lose, not for the first time, so I'll be hanging round here for a while!

@Aria999 by the time it gets to 2pm when I grab lunch Ive been out of the house since 7.30am, mucked 2 ponies out, done about 10k steps with another 5k to go and am starving hangry, I don't eat breakfast either so have fasted for about 16 hours. Fruit and yoghurt isn't going to do it.

There are loads of food places but obviously students like cheaper options. There is a vegan/veggie cafe that does hot food I might try tho last time I looked it was quorn curry which I really didn't fancy.

Weird - I have my period this week too. Is remote syncing a thing?

@HighlandCowbag wow I can see that.

In your position I would not be skipping breakfast 🤣

I think it must be @TheLeadbetterLife, we have all synced over the web waves.

@Aria999 I never eat breakfast, I can't face it. I sometimes grab a banana or apple but find it gives me stomach cramps an hour or so after eating it. I probably need to face the hoardes of starving freshers a bit earlier than 2pm, or sort a packed lunch out but I always fancy something warm. This week won't matter as am not in all day on Thursday, or next week either.

Not sure what we are eating today, steak I think. Lunch will be something grabbed when I get in from uni.

Morning All

I wrote a long post last night and lost it all!

Anyway- @Tiredandbored . Of course! . Eating well, well-being... virtuous circles, right?

@HeyNowHey - enjoy your hols. Solo travelling is the best.

@HighlandCowBag - so sorry you're feeling grim, and commiserations to everyone else on the remote menstro-sync too. I'm menopausal, and I wish I could say it gets easier. It doesn't really. Just different. Although I have to say, eating this way greatly reduces the symptoms, and not doing totally exacerbâtes them. I was full on with flushing, sleep disturbance and palpitations again. But it has largely settled again now, thankfully.

@koalaroobear - welcome. Ask lots of questions if you need to. We are all figuring this out as we go.

Now, about me. Just weighed and I am a mere one pound heavier than I was three weeks ago. I am utterly flabbergasted. Granted I was probably retaining a lot of water which has been lost over the last week away, along with a pound or two of actual weight after a week eating well, but I find that incredible.

I'm not being dramatic - I've been on this weight gain/loss cycle for decades and kind of sense what my tolerances are, and I would say the way I was eating was way, way over those limits, and for too long.

Not that I am in any way recommending the kind of experience I had. It made me feel really, really horrible, physically and emotionally, as explained in my post upthread.

I do think it further demonstrates the weight set point theory though.

Have a good day everyone.

@HighlandCowBag - just read about your lunch dilemma - and your morning routine

Could you get a wide necked thermos flask, and take in some heated leftovers from the night before in that? Or the always-suggested soup? And/or porridge in another flask? Would that be feasible?

Quorn curry would not appeal to me either!

@Words that's happy news about your weigh in 😊

My 9st 4 has persisted for a few days now despite period and some bread . In celebration I dug my stretch jeans out of The Box of Things That Are Too Small for me and wore them yesterday. 🍾

Well, in the last 7 days I have cut my sugar and carbs dramatically but feel like I've eaten my body weight in cheese and chicken. I also eat a lot of peanut butter, and I do have porridge oats most days.

Still - this morning I'd lost 3 lbs.

I haven't felt deprived, haven't had that awful empty knawing hunger, haven't felt lightheaded. Haven't even had a headache. Haven't finished a meal and needed to eat it all over again.

If anything I've felt dispirited because if I feel normal and satiated, how can I possibly lose weight?!

So I'm pretty pleased and will continue on, slow and steady.

One slight downside - I CAN'T POO.

@RavensWig - Congratulation on your weight loss! To get your transit moving, ground flaxseeds are your friend, promise! It's a natural way to get omega 3 and lots of fibre, just mix up to a tablespoonful a day in your porridge oats or Greek yoghurt, or sprinkle it over a main meal.

@Words congratulations on your minimal weight gain. Good that you are back on track now.

I seem to have lost another half kilo this week, so now back to the 50 something instead of 60 something scale numbers. I actually put on weight at the beginning of this woe,I only had a little to lose and thought the gain was down to starting HRT. Well, it wasn't. Now I'm back running properly again and not drinking alcohol in the week the scales are going in the right direction and life is so much easier with HRT so that's positive too. Just 2kgs to go now to get back to ideal weight.

@samthebordercollie that's good news!

@RavensWig congrats on your 3lbs loss. I remember my initial 'OMG this actually works' moment too!

@ravenswig - ground flax seed is also quite filling. Don't leave it too long though. I resorted to Dulco-Ease as well recently. It really works and not in an over-exuberant way. Not for me at any rate. One tablet and plenty of water and I was sorted.

And congratulations on the weight loss!

Why thank you all.

It's OK, nature stepped in earlier. Twice.

I do feel a bit full and heavy this evening, oddly...all I've had today is my usual porridge with a few berries and a dollop of peanut butter, and a chicken, broccoli, tomato bake thing that my lovely DH threw together, and half a keto peanut butter square. It honestly feels like I've eaten four three course meals today, my appetite has disappeared. Is that the fat and protein?

@Styletryle sorry you're having a hard time!

Are you certain it was the low carb that made you ill and not just dodgy burger sauce or something?

Good luck with step 1 revisited.

Hi @Styletryle - glad you're feeling better, whatever caused the stomach ache.

I understand the extremes thing- I am similar, and the failure part in the past always led to rapid weight gain again. I sense that cycle for me has more psychological underpinnings than behavioural ones, as in all other ways I am a focussed and disciplined sort of person.

Not sure if you've seen my posts above, but when this happened to me recently I was able to pull it back with minimal damage, amazingly. I feel so much better in every way eating this way. There is no sense of deprivation or punishment.

Yes , I'd forget about the extreme low carb thing for now, and just follow the woe, adapting it to suit you and your circumstances. I eat potatoes, lots of potatoes, but have cut out pasta sugar and wheat to a very great extent, and that seems to work for me. Bread gives me a bloated feeling, and too much flour can produce intense stomach cramping - so that does encourage me to stay largely away.

Chocolate, alas, appears to produce no such ill effects.

A while ago, someone posted a great reading list. I forget who it was I'm afraid.

It included Michael Mosely's Clever Guts Diet and the book about the anthropological origins of diet, whose author I've forgotten. Both were really good reads, and thanks to the former, I am now a huge fan of apple cider vinegar!

If anyone has any other great recommendations for the approaching winter evenings, please do post them.

I would recommend anything by Kathleen Des Maisons. She was on to the sugar issue long before it became a thing, and her plan is similar to this, except with a lot more guidance, especially around making gradual changes step by step- something I struggle with usually.

I've been wondering about if the foods I naturally want to eat fit in well with this WOE, I've not yet finished the book to know for myself.

One thing I've been having a lot, that's really sustainable for me, is a range of meals called 'Nourish' from Morrison's. They're made with real foods (I can read every ingredient on the packet).

An example of one of these is a chicken biryani, which contains rice, spinach, almonds, chicken and curry sauce (made of tomatoes and spices). Another example is chicken paella which contains Pearl barley, chicken, chorizo, red peppers and peas.

I'm sure they're a much better choice than what I might previously have gone for (a sandwich, pot noodle, etc) but I would be interested to hear your opinions on them!

@Words I think it was me who recommended the Clever Guts diet by Michael Moseley and the Daniel Lieberman books (I love anthropology) Since then I've read (or rather listened to) Burn by Herman Pontzer, How to Live by Robert Thomas (a great advocate of flax seeds!) and Dr Giles Yeo Why Calories don't count.

If you listen to podcasts like the Doctor's kitchen there are often interviews with authors which give a free idea of their books, so if you like their theories you can then go on and buy the book.

Hi @Words

I would recommend The Hungry Brain by Stephan Guyenet and Sugarproof by Goran and Ventura.

The former is a bit more for the science geek (!) and the latter is directed at the harm sugar does to children but is, of course, still relevant to all of us.

I find that the things discussed in these books are helpful in keeping my hand out of the biscuit jar. You know, cheery things like cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s…

My ‘favourite’ thought is the theory (not yet proven) that processed food scars the hypothalamus which prevents the leptin signal getting through. For some reason I find the thought of damaging my brain, as opposed to adding weight to my body, more effective at keeping me off the bad stuff.

Sorry, I should probably add that I know my description of what happens (possibly) to our hypothalamus is a gross oversimplification of the science to the point that it is not actually accurate - but it is that quick thought that helps me deal with temptation!