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!

Thanks @samthebordercollie ! Will follow those others up.

And thanks @KittyKatkin too for those recommendations.

And yes, absolutely agree re cognitive decline. I worry about it hugely as my memory is now terrible at 55.

Father died with Lewy Body dementia and mother has Alzheimer's. Albeit Dad was 98 and Mum is 90 and age is the main risk factor, but still, not great. I actually visited the GP who administered the very basic remember five things and spell world backwards test, which of course was fine.Maybe it's just my age but it's a worry.

The thought of causing oneself brain damage, effectively, is a very sobering one- literally and metaphorically.

koala - if that is absolutely all that's in them, with no veg oil, I guess they are Ok. The only items some might query on that list are the almonds as Dr J is anti-nut.

@Words

koala - if that is absolutely all that's in them, with no veg oil, I guess they are Ok. The only items some might query on that list are the almonds as Dr J is anti-nut.

The one thing I totally disagree with Dr J is his anti nut theory. There are so many important nutrients in nuts that I'm sure outweigh the inconvenience of the fact they also have a high omega 6:3 ratio.

@Words I’m sorry if my post was a bit ‘too close to home’. In an effort to suggest something more positive, I wonder if you have seen this book….

“The 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution is the first action-oriented cookbook for preventing Alzheimer's disease and delivering results like improved mental agility, short- and long-term memory, sharpness, and attention.“

I haven’t read it (still on the ever expanding list!) so I can’t vouch for it but it seems to be getting good reviews and seemingly written by bona fide scientists.

Ooh that sounds excellent! Off to Google!

I have egg with avocado or halloumi

Bacon?

@styletryle -Bacon or Parma ham or roast ham?mushrooms fried in butter or EVOO? grilled tomatoes?

Oatcakes tend to contain veg oil, often palm oil.I make my own - dead easy and quick but understand this may not appeal to everyone.

Regarding learning more:

kitty - I have ordered the Alzheimer's book. It looks really interesting and is full of recipes so looking forward. I eat way too much meat so it will be good to have some interesting recipes to try to reduce my intake. I really don't think I could ever be completely vegan however, which is what the authors recommend to ward off cognitive decline. Thank you for the recommendation.

I have tried listening to the doctor's kitchen podcasts but the adverts really annoy me which is a great shame as there looks to be a huge range of really interesting stuff on there. If adverts don't bother you, do take a look if interested.

On same subject, Tim Spector ( of the Zoe app adapted for Covid research but originally developed to provide personalised diets) was on Radio 4's Thé Life Scientific yesterday. It's available on BBC Sounds and looks really interesting. I heard part of it last night before falling asleep. Like Mosley, he is all about gut health and the importance of eating a broad range of veg, herbs, berries etc and promoting a good range of gut bacteria.

He has done some long term research with twins where one becomes overweight and another doesn't. The difference he has discovered lies in the range of bacteria in the gut.

@Words Tim Spector is a big fan of nuts! But then he is almost vegan I think, except for cheese.
TBH I agree with most of what he says. Although he has almost put me off eating fish.

I'm surprised you get ads on the Dr's kitchen podcast. I like them because there aren't any on apple podcasts. Unlike Dr Mark Hyman who now has far too many of them. Maybe it's because I'm in France but I get ads on other UK podcasts.

Thanks @samthebordercollie . I just googled and clicked on the link. I wonder if there is some other way of accessing them without getting the ads?

I have started reading the book but finding it a bit heavy going but was wondering if taking Omega 3 supplements would mitigate having possibly too much Omega 6, it would certainly change the ratio but is that too simplistic?

Interesting that Flaxseed also helps to fill you up as my main problem is hunger so will try that, so thank you.

@superstar63 hi, I do think that the book gets easier to read and more enjoyable as it goes on. The summary of what he says re your question is that it is difficult to take enough omega 3 to significantly alter the ratio to omega 6 because the amount of omega 6 that we consume is just so large.

Sorry I haven’t been commenting much, it’s been a hectic month, but I’m still following along!

I’ve only lost 2kg so far. I’m still struggling with water retention (have been referred to an endocrinologist, but am wondering if it’s possibly peri menopause so have asked about going back on the pill). Anyway, the water weight makes it hard to judge real weight loss, so I’m just trying to focus on how I feel.

I have had several NSV including reduced brain fog and increased energy, so I know this woe is the way forward.

Have convinced my DH to cut back on sugary drinks (he used to drink Coke and squash all day long). He decided to cut out sugar altogether on weekdays and instantly lost half a stone 🙄

I’m still having oats and nuts (thanks to those who have confirmed this is okay!). Nuts really save me when I’m craving something crunchy!

Just to add to the reading recommendations, I’ve just read Metabolical by Robert Lustig. It’s all about the problems with processed food and what he calls Big Food in the US. It’s a little more hard hitting than Dr J, but I found it interesting. He also wrote Fat Chance about sugar consumption. And has some good YouTube videos too…

@Styletryle

Re Tim Spector and Michael Moseley books, do they provide information on how the individual can improve their gut bacteria? I find the twins thing so interesting, what specifically was it about the guy of the twin who was slim, and how do we introduce it to our own systems

Yes, and it's very easy. You need to eat 30 different plants a week ( this isn't as hard as it sound as it includes herbs, spices, nuts and seeds)

One thing I've noticed on my 10 days of no (or very low) sugar is that I've had no headaches...not one. I've suffered from chronic migraine and tension headache for 22 years, I wake up with them or they are triggered by stress and exercise. I have between 10 and 18 headaches per month, according to my headache diary.

But I've not had a single one for 10 days. I thought I'd get sugar withdrawal headache at least?

Anyway, like others have mentioned it is the link between high sugar diets and dementia which has incentivised me to try harder. My DM died with Alzheimers last year, her last 8 months were not nice to watch.

@KittyKatkin

Thank you for that info, I shall keep ploughing on with the book as not really sure exactly what is high omega 6 etc. and from what you say it sounds like we eat a lot of it.

I am a little sad that I discovered the secret of eternal slimness so late. I feel like my face is aging very fast at the moment. I normally put on about 10 years around year 4 of each decade it seems.

We need another book to tell us the secret of eternal youth.

I'm very worried that I discovered it too late @Aria999. What if 20 years of being overweight (occasionally obese) has screwed me up permanently?

And yeah, the sagging breasts are annoying.

Anyway, I've been experimenting with slow cooker recipes recently, because we installed some solar panels and electricity prices have increased massively. I'm avoiding the oven and microwave as much as possible. The slow cooker goes on during the day and is offset by the solar panels.

I've been doing a lot of the obvious curries, stews etc, but today I made a mozzarella and herb soda bread, using spelt flour, oats and the whey from my yoghurt making. Absolutely delicious. We're going to use it to make tuna melts in the slow cooker for dinner.

@TheLeadbetterLife that bread looks so good.

I've been enjoying all the chat over the past couple of weeks.
We were away last week and were off plan about what we were eating as it's harder to eat out on plan. I did gain a couple of pounds but it's almost gone now. I'm loving how chilled I felt about the gain. Normally I'd have been annoyed with myself and desperately trying to lose it, but I know that with this woe things will settle if I just get back to normal. It's such a relief actually after decades of giving myself a hard time.

[quote Words]@styletryle -Bacon or Parma ham or roast ham?mushrooms fried in butter or EVOO? grilled tomatoes?

Oatcakes tend to contain veg oil, often palm oil.I make my own - dead easy and quick but understand this may not appeal to everyone.

Regarding learning more:

kitty - I have ordered the Alzheimer's book. It looks really interesting and is full of recipes so looking forward. I eat way too much meat so it will be good to have some interesting recipes to try to reduce my intake. I really don't think I could ever be completely vegan however, which is what the authors recommend to ward off cognitive decline. Thank you for the recommendation.

I have tried listening to the doctor's kitchen podcasts but the adverts really annoy me which is a great shame as there looks to be a huge range of really interesting stuff on there. If adverts don't bother you, do take a look if interested.

On same subject, Tim Spector ( of the Zoe app adapted for Covid research but originally developed to provide personalised diets) was on Radio 4's Thé Life Scientific yesterday. It's available on BBC Sounds and looks really interesting. I heard part of it last night before falling asleep. Like Mosley, he is all about gut health and the importance of eating a broad range of veg, herbs, berries etc and promoting a good range of gut bacteria.

He has done some long term research with twins where one becomes overweight and another doesn't. The difference he has discovered lies in the range of bacteria in the gut.[/quote]
Oh is that who he is!! I heard part of this yday, def need to go back and listen again

Hello
I am new here
I posted on biwi's low carb boot camp but I haven't got the heart for it but I also barely fit into any of my clothes so need to do something

I am on a/d aha have been living under a fair amount of chronic stress since 2018
So am trying to treat that. But bmi is 28/29 need to fix that

Hi @batmanladybird and welcome.

Two years ago my BMI was nearly 30 (and that was the lowest it had been for years at that point too), now it’s 24. You can do it. One day at a time.

@TheLeadbetterLife

Hi *@batmanladybird* and welcome.

Two years ago my BMI was nearly 30 (and that was the lowest it had been for years at that point too), now it’s 24. You can do it. One day at a time.

Oh wow. That's really reassuring