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!

Welcome @RhubarbAndMustard

Speaking of recipes, I've just made this gorgeous soup, (without the bread, added extra mashed beans to thicken) and I also prefer it without the cabbage too.

It's one of those nicer than the sum of its parts dishes, and perfect as we head into colder weather.

Hello, I originally read the book quite a while ago and had some success with following the principles but want to get back into it again. I’ve recently lost a few lbs and am now at my preferred weight so am really hoping that I’ll be able to maintain. I’ve already mostly cut out refined sugar and don’t eat much wheat now.

Due to my mum currently suffering from dementia, I’m really keen to look at ways to improve health and avoid similar problems in the future. I’ve just started reading the Alzheimer’s Solution but am put off by the authors’ suggestion to adopt veganism due to the need to reduce saturated fat. I’m happy to reduce meat as I’m not a massive fan but feel like their approach towards saturated fat is perhaps a bit outdated? I’m only near the start of the book but I suspect that a lot of the health benefits of being vegetarian/vegan come from the increase in vegetables and pulses etc in the diet so that will be my aim, along with the inclusion of full fat dairy, eggs, fish and some meat (and will just hope for the best..). I don’t currently eat enough veg so will be looking for recipes to get a lot more in, but am put off the 30 Day Alzheimer’s Solution recipe book as they’ll all be vegan, so any suitable recipe books or sources would be appreciated.

I’ve managed to stop my nightly habit of eating milk chocolate or Maltesers etc and don’t miss it (which is really quite amazing!) but I decided yesterday to have a strip from an open bar that’s been in the cupboard for weeks. It honestly just seemed almost like plastic and so synthetic, so thankfully it’s lost it’s appeal. I just need to get more organised with meal planning and making sure I include lots more veg and variety. Like others have said, I need to avoid the all or nothing mindset does that a slight deviation doesn’t totally derail me. I’m also going to have a bit of a battle persuading DH over to this approach as he eats a lot of sugar currently. I’ll start with a healthy dinner each night and try to encourage other improvements gradually I think.

Hi @MadameLeotta and welcome.

I too am perplexed by all this Alzheimer's / veganism talk, as it does seem to contradict current ideas about saturated fats, as well as a lot of the advice in Dr Jenkinson's book, and what I've heard on things like Dr Chatterjee's podcast.

Also, when I did my archaeology degree, it was accepted science that humans evolved big brains from being able to process and cook highly nutritious meat, especially the fattier parts, organ meat, bone marrow etc. Do hunter gatherers get Alzheimer's?

Something doesn't add up. Or maybe I'm in denial, because there's no bloody way I'm going vegan.

I don't get it either. The Alzheimer's book scared the shit out of me, and none of the recipes remotely appealed, so I hid it at the bottom of my reading pile.

As you may have seen though, it has given me a bit of a kick in the behind to at least attempt to moderate my meat consumption, so that's my plan, along with eating as wide a variety of veg as I can manage, along with fat.

I real recommend The Mindful Chef recipes which you can get on their website. I've planned all of my meals for next week around it. Their meals really fit around this way of eating. No need to actually sign up for their delivery boxes you can just shop and cook for yourself. It's changed my way of eating and made me really enjoy cooking again. Everything is gluten and dairy free and non processed. www.mindfulchef.com/healthy-recipes

Thanks @Arcadia I’ll have a look.

Glad it’s not just me who’s a bit confused by the Alzheimer’s guidance. I’m also aiming for at least a 14/16 hour daily overnight fast as latest research indicates that might help brain health. Not sure if the book touches on that, I’m hoping to read a bit further tonight.

I am having a strange time with food the last few days.

I am still a stubborn 1lb up from my recent set point despite basically no carbs for days. My appetite has fallen off a cliff too. I ate breakfast today but couldn't get excited enough to eat lunch and am so far doing ok without dinner though I will have some.

I expect it will sort itself out, it normally does. Has anyone else had this kind of thing?

Something doesn't add up. Or maybe I'm in denial, because there's no bloody way I'm going vegan.

This was my exact thought when I heard about it. Lol.

I go through periods of pretty healthy eating and then I just saw f*ck it all and I eat whatever I want for awhile and end up gaining 10 pounds. Then all my fat clothes are too tight and so I go back to healthy eating for a few months and lose the ten pounds and then I do it all over again. Currently at the clothes are too tight stage - and have been eating just junk. I used to have great self control and was never overweight or unhealthy until my mid 30s - now ten years later I can't seem to get back on track or care enough to not let myself go.
Hoping this thread motivates me to at least try!

@Midlifemusings this WOE doesn't always require as much self control as you would think.

When I am in the zone I actually don't really feel like eating bread / chocolate/ processed food most of the time and often when I do, it doesn't taste nice.

It's not perfect- I fell off the wagon big time when we went to the UK and I was suddenly inundated with lovely fresh bread that didn't have sugar in it. (We are in America. The bread here is mostly horrible).

But the woe is also fairly forgiving. Normally after a blip I can regain my weight set point fairly fast just by getting back in the zone.

@Midlifemusings - welcome ! What Aria said, basically. That's exactly been my experience too.

@Aria999 - that sounds weird re loss of appetite. I have to say, the only time I ever lose mine like that is when I've had very bad news or a shock of some kind. You don't mention anything like that ( thankfully !), so no, that's a puzzle.

I am bunged up again! This happened when I first started this woe, and more recently when I got back on the wagon after a blip. At a loss as to cause, as I have reduced meat this last week ( which I previously thought could be the culprit) and also massively increased my roughage and veg varieties. Maybe it's just my gut going ' Whoah! What's going on now?! ' If this happens to you ladies, and ground flaxseed doesn't get things moving , Dulco-Ease is your friend.

@Arcadia thanks for that link- there are some interesting recipes there, and it's great to be able to manipulate the choices by content and season.

Yesterday I had some of that soup I posted for lunch, and cottage pie made with venison mince for dinner with green veg. Yoghurt and a teaspoon of coffee sorbet for pudding ( just to keep my friend company you understand, who loves ice cream and sorbets.) Then argh four squares of that gorgeous dark choc with cherries from Lindt.

Today gym this morning then nothing till lunchtime when it's soup again. Roast chicken for dinner with leftovers during the week except for meat free Monday tomorrow. Working on that. I have an aubergine, celeriac and kohlrabi in the fridge. Will also see what's available at the market. May go to Arcadia's website link for some inspiration!

@Styletryle that's interesting. It's possible actually. Wouldn't I lose some temporary weight though?

@aria999

That is true that once I have been off sweets / simple carbs for a few weeks I don't crave them at all anymore. But then a couple months down the road when life is stressful I treat myself - not because I am craving it but because I know these things hit a reward centre for me and it is only a matter of time before one treat turns to two then three and I am back to craving it again.

Afternoon everyone

I was bunged up last week as well, not sure what caused it but it resolved itself after a few day. Had a couple of apples and satsumas and that helped I think.

Fairly good week considering it's half term. Had takeaway last night and friday night but a grillled kebab and salad and garlic mushrooms on Friday then Indian last night which fits this woe if you avoid bread which I do. Also made a huge pan of veg soup on Saturday.

If you make soup, use loads of butter to cook your veg off in, then a dollop of grated mature cheddar on top makes it very luxurious and filling 😉.

Got a chilli cooking away for later to have with rice and sour cream.

Me ( yet) again.

I decided to have my 'veggie' day today so cooked this recipe from the mindful chef website. By fluke, I happened to have all the ingredients in, including the pomegranate, and made up the spice mix myself.

www.mindfulchef.com/healthy-recipes/persian-aubergine-lentils-pomegranate-and-mint-rice

It was rather good! I confess to using chicken stock instead of a veg stock cube ( really don't like using those) - so a bit of a cheat.

Can I still count it as a veggie day, as long as I don't have joined up meat, do you think?

Also plenty left for another day!

@Words

Me ( yet) again.

I decided to have my 'veggie' day today so cooked this recipe from the mindful chef website. By fluke, I happened to have all the ingredients in, including the pomegranate, and made up the spice mix myself.

www.mindfulchef.com/healthy-recipes/persian-aubergine-lentils-pomegranate-and-mint-rice

It was rather good! I confess to using chicken stock instead of a veg stock cube ( really don't like using those) - so a bit of a cheat.

Can I still count it as a veggie day, as long as I don't have joined up meat, do you think?

Yes! That counts à a veggie day. I often, use chicken stock instead of veg in my vegetarian meals. Thanks for posting the recipe, it will be a nice alternative to the lentil and spinach Dahl I often make! @HighlandCowbag good idea about adding cheese to the soup. My lunch soup for the week is so thick with veg it's almost purée consistency.

I had some spinach with it Sam. Was very tasty and made a nice change.

@samthebordercollie just poking you to see if you have a trusty galette recipe. I did it today very soberly, with just flour and water. Worked fine but I thought you might have something finessed that I could steal

I’m getting increasingly sceptical of the dietary advice in the Alzheimer’s book - when they’ve lumped margarine and butter in together as equally harmful and say eggs should never be eaten due to cholesterol levels, I really can’t take them seriously! They’ve quoted ‘evidence’ from Ancel Keys to support their saturated fat = bad theory and fail to differentiate between highly processed meat and unprocessed meat. They’ve then recounted evidence in support of the DASH and Mediterranean diets - including meat, fish and dairy but then say you should be vegan to avoid harmful saturated fat from animal sources. I think the book contains lots of useful advice, including the negative impact of sugar and processed foods, but I’ll be following Dr J’s guidelines over theirs.

Years ago I read a book called The Perfect Health Diet (or something similar) and will try to attach an image of their recommendations - very similar to Dr J I think. Might try to dig out my copy of the book.

I’ve enjoyed reading the thread and I’m just checking back in after 2 weeks off for half term where I have had far too much sugar. Weigh in tomorrow morning.
Well done to everyone for their weight loss.

@Aria999 I’d agree that it could be the low carbs reducing your appetite - or high protein if that’s what you’ve been eating. I think it can often take a few days for the scales to catch up.

[quote VinoBianca]@samthebordercollie just poking you to see if you have a trusty galette recipe. I did it today very soberly, with just flour and water. Worked fine but I thought you might have something finessed that I could steal [/quote]
Flour and water are the main ingredients but I add salt and an egg too, so for about 10 galettes
330g buckwheat flour
75ml cold water
10g salt
1 egg

Mix the flour and salt, then gradually stir in the water. Add the egg (for colour more than anything!) and less add vector batter covered in the fridge for 2 hours.

My family all love the 'galette compléte' the best, so one egg, plus grated emmental and ham. My favourite is goats cheese and red onion. So many possibilities - because galettes are the regional disg where I live (and my husband is a Breton) we eat a lot of them!