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!

I'm sorry for those of you who are struggling with this woe at the moment but can I just share with you that I've just completed a week without wheat or sugar and have lost 3lbs! Mind you I still have the weekend to navigate.
We're having a takeaway tonight so I'll be having a vegetable sagwalla balti with rice, no naan but possibly a poppadom. I had a few gin and diet tonics last night, not 100% if they are allowed but figured they were better than the beer or cider I usually drink.

@Oblahdeeoblahdoe congrats on your weight loss!

I would go for full fat tonic personally as I expect the diet one has nasties in it but others may think differently.

@Styletryle re coffee I have 2-3 cups a day without ill effects. Words does drink a LOT of coffee!

[quote Aria999]@Oblahdeeoblahdoe congrats on your weight loss!

I would go for full fat tonic personally as I expect the diet one has nasties in it but others may think differently.[/quote]
I hear what you're saying but doesn't the full fat tonic have lots of sugar. I clearly need to do more research

I do indeed drink vast quantities of coffee However today I had 3/4 of my usual intake, followed by hot water and a slice of lemon, as per Leadbetter's suggestion. It was nice, and I felt very virtuous ! A start has been made.

I'm another 3/4 pound down this week - third week in a row of loss after ages at my set point. I was beginning to despair but things are moving again, albeit slowly, and that's fine

This coincides with the eating-as-many-plant-based- foods -as -possible challenge, and this last week, reducing my meat consumption so had two veggie days and one fish day.

My mate is coming round this evening so doing partridge breast fried in butter, celeriac, either mashed or roasted, plus greens.

Got a huge punnet of blueberries really cheaply on the market so to avoid the obvious off plan option of crumble/pie/cobbler, I have made a sort of chutney with it ( red onions, sage, two or three dates chopped up small, apple cider vinegar and balsamic, and yes, some sugar.) I've tested it with cheese and that was nice. Thinking also will be good with cold meat.

@Oblahdeeoblahdoe yes it does!

I have been assuming that the 'your body processes calories from alcohol differently' also applies to spirits and mixers. I have no idea if the evidence supports this!

I mostly drink quite a lot of wine but have a full fat g&t maybe once or twice a week.

I originally discovered the 'alcohol doesn't count' thing for myself years ago while doing weight watchers. (I unilaterally decided it didn't count and found it didn't make any difference).

I found the Drs kitchen podcast depressing too. The overall message seemed to be pick a diet you like because you’ll be on it for life.
I’m doing ok with my general eating but I am cheating too much with snacks. My clothes are all a bit tight as I’m still 6 pounds over my normal weight but I keep sabotaging myself! New start tomorrow!!

@Chunkymonkey123

I found the Drs kitchen podcast depressing too. The overall message seemed to be pick a diet you like because you’ll be on it for life. I’m doing ok with my general eating but I am cheating too much with snacks. My clothes are all a bit tight as I’m still 6 pounds over my normal weight but I keep sabotaging myself! New start tomorrow!!

I'm so sorry you thought the podcast was depressing! I found it really interesting although it's even more depressing for me as a menopausal woman. But it's true, you can't eat what you want for life, you need to find a woe that suits you. I'm happy eating virtually no wheat products, 2 meals a day (both light), snacking on nuts and only drinking wine and eating meat at weekends. If I didn't do so much sport (70 miles ran this week) I'd have to eat less.

I read the book last week and it really resonated with me. I was not particularly overweight in my 30s and 40s but at the top end of my BMI. My parents and brother struggle with their weight.

I find at the age of 52 my BMI is 26.5. I weigh 10st 10lbs and at only 5ft 3 it shows.

I used to carry my weight on my hips but now post-menopause it's belly fat.

I go through a cycle of low carb then sabotage and a long cycle of eating crap! I really want to break that and find a long term way of eating the family can stick to.

First week cutting sugar and wheat and I've lost 2lbs. Feel so much better already. I'm so hoping that this is sustainable.

Does anyone have any recommendations on reading of diet post menopause? I'm not on HRT and want to make sure my diet really supports me it's I get older.

I’ve just finished reading Metabolical, which was recommended to us by my husband’s aunt - I think @samthebordercollie has mentioned it too.

Pretty alarming stuff, though it did make me feel better about my fairly lazy approach to food preparation. I can’t be bothered with making soups and smoothies (I’m not keen on puréed fruits and vegetables anyway), I’d rather just eat things raw. At least I’m getting more fibre this way, and protecting my liver from sugar, even if it’s boring.

Based on what Lustig writes, I’m sure I must have (or had?) metabolic syndrome. I wonder if the weight loss, improved diet and reduced waist size means I’ve reversed it though?

@Chunkymonkey123 I didn't see the podcast but it does kind of make sense. Either you are eating in a way that makes your body be a good weight, or you are not.

Or you are yo-yo-ing which in itself confuses your body and makes you fatter.

The good thing about a way of eating as opposed to a diet is that you're not starving yourself, you're just choosing wisely what to eat. And the good thing about this particular woe is the choices include lots of lovely satisfying stuff that fills you up and not just eternal vegetables and hideous low calorie fake foods.

I'm reading an interesting book called "Grain Brain" by Dr David Perlmutter at the minute. It's about the impact of wheat, carbs and sugar on the brain and how a high-fat (good fats, not those in processed foods) low-carb diet has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and other illnesses.

It's quite scientific and I'm only partway through it, but for the most part he is advocating a similar way of eating as Dr J but because of the benefits to our mental health as opposed to weight loss.

@Aria999 I think that what I didn’t like about the podcast woman was that she was focused on picking a ‘diet’ that you would be on for life and gave an example of a man who had to stay on a very restrictive diet. It has gone against what I have learned in the other doctors kitchen podcasts and the ‘why we eat too much’ book where the focus is on eating healthily and giving your body good food that it needs to function well and if you do the weight loss should follow naturally. For me mentally I’m trying to think along the lines of is this good for my body when I choose to eat something rather than the calories and fat involved. Particularly now my children will start to understand if I’m restricting my eating etc.

@Chunkymonkey123 I think that might have annoyed me too 🙂

@Chunkymonkey123 I didn't get that impression at all from the podcast. It just said to me that realistically we are not all the same and some of us need to modify what we eat and how much we eat to stay at a healthy weight. And exercise is important in turning white fat into healthy brown fat.
Genes have a lot to do with it, apparently certain viruses can also make us more prone to getting fat. And it's important to feed your gut bacteria correctly.

Morning everyone

I haven't yet heard the podcast, but tbh, although there is a wide variety of opinion, it does seem that current research is trending towards the perils of sugar rather than fat, and outlining the very bad effects of processed foods on our bodies and minds, as well as the importance of maintaining good gut health. I've also heard from more than one source what suits one individual may well not suit another, which makes sense to me.

I downloaded Metabolical last night, and Pirsig does seem to be saying the same kind of things,from a quick skip read. I anxiously whipped out my tape measure to do my waist measurement - and to confirm there is still a little way to go!

Regarding recipes - I was thinking yesterday as a few people seemed to be feeling a bit downhearted - if it would be helpful to post some quick to prepare suggestions either here, or on a separate thread? We tried this a little while back and it died off a bit, but we could resurrect it perhaps and add to it?

I'm not talking anything about anything fancy, just stuff that's quick to do if you don' t have the time or inclination to mess about preparing stuff? I enjoy cooking, and have the time, but am very aware that is not the case for everyone.

I love to share tips and recipes - but I don't want to put people off either!

In the meantime, here is a before and after from last night

Oh the second pic didn't post. Never mind!

Hi everyone!

@Words that sounds really useful, especially for 'newbies' such as myself!

I'm slowly losing weight having adapted my diet and started exercising and I'm feeling great for it, well over a hundred pounds to go though.

I'm looking for recommendations on how to adapt one of my favourite breakfasts - a whole meal bagel thin with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Is cream cheese acceptable or is it highly processed? Did I hear something about spelt/rye bread being okay?

I’ve been thinking about the recipe thing since @Styletryle posted.

I found it hard to keep up with two threads so I stopped posting in the recipe one. What we need is an anonymous online group recipe book, that we can add and refer to. I’m going to look into ways of setting one up.

@koalaroobear

Cream cheese is fine as long as it’s full fat.

Some of us have started using whole grain spelt flour to make things like oatcakes and soda bread, thinking that it’s an ancient grain and high fibre, so can’t be too bad in a homemade loaf.

That’s very much an interpretation, though I’d say it’s very much backed up by Lustig in Metabolical.

The important thing is to keep the carbs low overall. Just because spelt bread is fine it doesn’t mean I can eat tons of it, sadly.

My recipe go to is a bag of frozen Mediterranean veg (Sainsburys) with some extra virgin olive oil to coat it. Serve this with halloumi or chicken or meatballs or anything really! The veg is delicious, particularly if you cook it for 20 minutes then add the meat on top to cook for how ever long the meat takes. I eat this several times a week.

[quote samthebordercollie]@Chunkymonkey123 I didn't get that impression at all from the podcast. It just said to me that realistically we are not all the same and some of us need to modify what we eat and how much we eat to stay at a healthy weight. And exercise is important in turning white fat into healthy brown fat.
Genes have a lot to do with it, apparently certain viruses can also make us more prone to getting fat. And it's important to feed your gut bacteria correctly.
[/quote]
I think I was in a bad mood when I listened to it! The bit about brown fat was very interesting.

@koalaroobear do you like eggs? Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon is on of the most delicious breakfasts ever! Thanks for reminding me, smoked salmon is on my shopping list!
If not I went to a restaurant once where the starter was smoked salmon rolled in a pinwheel with cream cheese. It had a olive oil/vinegar dressing and was lovely.

[quote Chunkymonkey123]@koalaroobear do you like eggs? Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon is on of the most delicious breakfasts ever! Thanks for reminding me, smoked salmon is on my shopping list!
If not I went to a restaurant once where the starter was smoked salmon rolled in a pinwheel with cream cheese. It had a olive oil/vinegar dressing and was lovely.[/quote]
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations and for the note on cream cheese - glad it is still on the menu!

I will have to give eggs more of a chance, I am quite iffy with them but can deal with them twice a week maybe, any more than that and I feel queasy looking at them! I could never eat an omelette, for example, it's too much egg!!