Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 5

[TheLeadbetterLife]

Happy New Year regulars, lurkers and newcomers!

Welcome to thread 5 of discussion, encouragement and advice inspired by the book Why We Eat (Too Much), by Dr Andrew Jenkinson.

The basic principles of this "diet" (it's not one in the traditional sense, as it's meant to be a permanent set of changes), are as follows:

• cut out ultra-processed food
• massively reduce sugar, carbs, refined flours and wheat
• eat a wide variety of vegetables, whole grains and fruit
• eat full fat dairy and other healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil
• improve the ratio of omega 3 to 6 by eating greens, fish, eggs and grass-fed meat, and cutting out ultra-refined seed oils

Important lifestyle changes include getting plenty of rest, relaxation and sleep, as well as taking a moderate amount of exercise (or more, if you like that sort of thing).

You don't need to count calories (in fact, you shouldn't), though it may help to count carbs or glycemic load, at least to begin with, until you get the hang of it.

Some of us share recipes by following each other on Copy Me That - www.copymethat.com/recipebox/the-leadbetter-life/6661160/

As well as the book mentioned in the title, the principles are similar to those espoused by the likes of Rangan Chatterjee, Robert Lustig, Tim Spector and Michael Mosley.

There are many successes on this thread, and the main thing is that we are aiming to make permanent, sustainable changes to adjust our weight set-points downwards.

Join us!

There's a thing about how much energy it ought to take your body to process a thing, if it weren't processed in advance. I re-conceptualised the word 'processed' on the strength of this.

For example, a nut. You'd have to stamp hell out of the thing, or go and find a rock to hit it with, and then you'd only get bits of it because it'd be all smashed up. Calorie for calorie, that's quite different from eating from a bag of pre-shelled nuts.

And flour... wow. If we had to take a grain, and actually use our teeth to get the nourishment out of it... well, frankly, we wouldn't bother.

@silentpool that sucks.

I do find bread and other wheat flour products make the biggest difference for me (though I didn't eat much sugar to begin with) so I hope your flour transition helps!

@littlefireseverywhere

Would this sort of way of eating work if I’ve lots to lose?

Some posters have lost impressive amounts of weight on this way of eating. Words Tiredandbored and Billybagpuss if you look at previous threads

I have just found this thread and interestingly for me, I have always instinctively eaten like this. It is also an anti inflammatory way of eating.

All the slim people I know skip a meal or two if they have overindulged the day before and don't obsess about food.

All the overweight people I know find missing a meal incomprehensible or are always thinking about food and have long since over ruled a natural cut off point about satiation. They can literally gorge when someone like me would have reached a satiation point beyond which would make us feel sick, ill or uncomfortable.

The other thing I have found that some people graze food, if you are more suited to grazing rather than say, set meals per day then choosing fruit, veg and nuts are not going to pile on the weight and you can eat quite substantial quantities of the first 2 groups in a day.

And if you prefer set meals, choosing one or two instead of three is going to make a big difference.

Fasting is a brilliant way to reset the balance too.

What I find truly alarming and so sad is the level of self sabotage. For example, knowing you have sore and painful joints from being too heavy for your frame but keeping on eating regardless.

Or knowing the eating habits you have adopted will give you diabetes or heart disease but keeping on regardless

People who are starving such as in war torn countries do not self sabotage and want to survive no matter what; but people who are lucky enough to live in a land of plenty, often actively pursue towards acts of disability and destruction.

I think the human psyche has to be explored in far greater detail, there's no point focusing on diet unless the psychological side is explored first about why people are hellbent towards misery, disability and ill health.

Anyone who has ever been in a care home or hospital can see the results of a lifetime of poor food choices.

It's scary and utterly tragic and often completely avoidable.

@silentpool

I've mostly been sticking to the WOE but not much weight loss has happened.

I already eat a low sugar, very low processed food diet. I also don't use seed oils.

So, now I'm giving up wine for a few months and once I'm finished the wheat flour in the cupboard, will move to spelt flour. Hope that works. I'm also going to try acupuncture to see if that helps with the hormonal element of the weight gain.

That is frustrating. I agree with Aria that cutting out bread and flour made the biggest difference. How much wheat-based stuff is in your diet?

How do vegans and vegetarians fare, do you think?
I'd be reluctant to give up tofu and soya milk (and tempeh). They also have a good effect on my perimenopause symptoms

@thedefinitionofmadness

How do vegans and vegetarians fare, do you think? I'd be reluctant to give up tofu and soya milk (and tempeh). They also have a good effect on my perimenopause symptoms

I don’t know much about things like tofu and soya products, but the main thing the practitioners I mentioned in the OP emphasise is that we should be eating lots and lots of vegetables. Tim Spector says 30 different plants a week to maintain a healthy gut.

When planning meals, my thinking has become “what protein shall I have with this pile of vegetables?”.

Lustig is a big fan of eggs. I keep chickens, so I eat lots of eggs without any moral qualms. They’re probably my main source of protein.

I suppose as long as you can find good, unprocessed protein sources and get plenty of fat from things like olive oil, it’s pretty straightforward.

While I think the lots-of-vegetables approach to this WOE from @TheLeadbetterLife is brilliant it is also not the only way to do it.

I like vegetables but the rest of my family doesn't really eat them. So mostly I eat a very limited range and not very many. I am still losing weight on this woe (though I am sure my gut biome could use work.)

I mention this in case there's anyone out there like me who for whatever reason needs a non vegetable heavy diet that still works. This can be it, if you want it to.

@TheLeadbetterLife @Aria999. Thanks! I don't eat huge amounts of wheat based stuff but probably 3x a week. I've been off the wine for a week so if that doesn't start a downward momentum, I'll cut the wheat too. Not sure if spelt vs regular wheat will make any difference! But this whole WOE is a bit like trial and error, isn't it?

Hello! I’d like to join please. I’ve been reading along (read thread 4) and you all sound like a very supportive bunch. For me this Woe will be more for health than weight loss but I’m sure I won’t say no to loosing a kg or two.

I don’t think I will be fully on board for a little while as I’m 36 weeks pregnant and finding eating a trial. All I want is sugar and bread. Trying VERY hard to eat well but when I can’t stomach anything other than toast, toast it is!

I’m also realising how a lot of this is psychological for me, I have terrible heartburn but because I told myself I could have 3 squares of chocolate I keep thinking about scoffing them down anyway, knowing I won’t enjoy it and it will hurt!

I have a question for you @Aria999 and anyone else with little ones. I noticed you have children about 6 & 2. How do you manage this woe and feeding the kids? I have a 3.5yr old. He’s quite a good eater but I struggle to get him to eat quite a lot of the things I do. Maybe it’s because I favour Indian recipes. Yesterday we had chicken jalfrezi, mashed spiced aubergine and fried cabbage. He had soup.

I hope you are doing ok words (can’t see how to @ you) you were such a strong positive voice on thread 4 and it’s hard reading how you are struggling. You have been an inspiration.

As have a lot of you! Hope I can find my way along with you all.

I see a lot of us are struggling with a post-Christmas carb habit!

Same here. I'm eating the right things at mealtimes, but I have the dregs of the feasting burning a hole in my freezer - croissants and a cake a friend gave me on Twelfth Night, which I diligently sliced and froze, telling myself I would keep it for guests. You can imagine how that's worked out.

I may just have to get through it all this weekend (pretending it's because I simply can't bear the waste), and draw a line under it.

Welcome @Lionnose, and I agree about @Words - hope you're okay matey! Join us when you can.

Hi @Lionnose welcome!

I don't really feel like I have solved the kids food thing. Both my kids are terrible eaters (I had high hopes for dd2 but recently she's stopped eating almost everything just like her brother did around this age).

The short answer is we eat after they've gone to bed and I mostly do myself a different lunch.

I try to be conscious of the woe when feeding the kids but it's pretty minimal. I offer them yoghurt before cereal at breakfast and I try to ensure they have protein and a fruit or veg at dinner but that's about all.

Thanks for the shout out Leadbetter.

I am trying to get back on track after losing my way after injuring my back six weeks ago. That is now fine again thankfully but I am really struggling to get back on track as it turned my routine upside down completely. Gaining weight rather alarmingly and now don't feel motivated either to go to the gym or Pilates.

I just need to get back into it as I feel so much better in every way when I do. Lost nearly four stones following the woe, with only one minor blip before this one. It does work. My problem now is me, not thé eating plan!

Telling myself the good work of the last 18 months is not wasted, the underlying fitness is still there, and hopefully I will return to my set point reasonably easily - once I get my arse into gear.

@HighlandCowbag

🤣🤣🤣

@Words we're right with you! It's understandable the back injury knocked you back. January isn't the easiest month to eat healthily. The evenings are getting lighter but the nights are still too long.
I still have the remnants of my gastro, plus not a huge appetite so weight gain not an issue at the moment.
My new microbiology friendly book has arrived so hopefully I'll have some new dishes to try soon.

Has anyone had or heard of stomach problems with this WOE? I was really enjoying it before Christmas and lost a few kilos but had digestive problems at the same time. I wasn't sure if it was the change in diet - far more fat than I'd eaten before or a coincidence. I didn't stick to the diet over Christmas and didn't have any problems however now I've gone back to the high fat /protein food I've had another attack of severe indigestion. Anyone else had this? Or am I just unlucky?

My main issue was constipation, oddly! Flax seed and stool softener did the trick for that.

I get bad stomach pain if I eat bready things after a long time without. Maybe your bod is just adjusting ?

@aria99 - just read the whole thread and see you all have COVID. Oh no, you poor things!

@HighlandCowBag - my veg situation is exactly the same!

Thanks for the supportive comments re my situ folks.

If anyone would like to share successful strategies for climbing out of a rut and back on plan, please do!

I’m in an exercise rut myself, struggling to get out of it, even though I feel shit for not having done a proper workout for weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of walking, but it’s not the same. Trouble is, I hate exercise. It’s a chore I need to get out of the way, like doing my daily Portuguese lesson. Both of these have been shoved to the bottom of the to-do list since Christmas.

@Words @TheLeadbetterLife
Its cold and miserable here at the moment so I get up, have a cup of green tea, feed all my animals and am out running within half an hour even though it's dark. Like that I don't have to think too much as I'm still half asleep so it's harder to think of excuses not to do it.
Think about how good you feel following your exercise not to mention how good it is for your mental capacities as well as physical health.
Read 'Exercised' by Daniel Lieberman if you haven't already done so.

Can I join please, will have a proper read of thread later so just placemarking for now.

I lit my wood burner. So comforting.
Also arranged a long ish walk with my friend for tomorrow

Hi @Words good to see you, sorry you're also in the post-Christmas pit of doom with so many of us! How's your back now? A wood burner is perfect for this time of year. We finally figured out how to get our wood fire going (I had never really used a raised grate before and all the bits kept on falling out) and it's just lovely in the evenings. We're due a snow storm tomorrow so I think we will want it!

Your work is not wasted. You will be ok when you get back in the zone. I am finally getting there now (back to a weight that doesn't upset me anyway and with weight loss comes motivation).

Not sure I have many tips except to repeat what you guys said to me at thanksgiving, if you have it in the fridge and would rather not end up eating it, put it in the freezer. (The remains of the pecan pie are still in the freezer lol as I can never be bothered to defrost things. They are safe in there for now i think!).

Also slow and steady, a bit at a time. I was upset at how slow it was to get myself back on the rails but at least there's the feeling that you have done it before and you know it can happen the same way again.

Re covid we're ok now, thanks. Unless it has a weird comeback we are all broadly symptom free now and the kids are bouncing off the walls. Hoping they can both return to school Tuesday so i can finally do some work!

Hi @cheeseisthebest , welcome! Nice username 😊

Signing in, thanks for the new thread @TheLeadbetterLife!

Brief update: manic Christmas with moving house and kids catching Covid, healthy eating was the last thing on my mind for a few weeks, but I'm getting back on it again now.

Welcome to the new folk, great to have you join us. @littlefireseverywhere asked about losing a lot of weight, not sure how much you have to lose, but I'm currently just over 3 stones below my heaviest from when I started this way of eating, hopefully another 7-10lbs to follow.

Good news is that I didn't put on anywhere near as much as I expected over Christmas - other years have seen me easily put a stone on when I fell off the healthy eating bandwagon, but this time it was only a few lbs. Hoping that means my set point is becoming established at a lower level

Right, tomorrow is the first monday that has been normal since before Christmas with everyone at school and work. Covid got us over Christmas as well, kids went back last Wednesday.

I am going food shopping tomorrow to stock up on all the right things, meal planning for the week and generally Getting Sorted Out. Christmas and covid is not the best combination for organised, focused eating. I've enjoyed myself a bit too much, had far too many Fuck It days and we still have Christmas chocolates knocking aroubd which tbh I am sick of eating.

Put 6lbs on over Christmas but tbf 2lbs have gone just by cutting bread back out. Last blow out this weekend, have uni deadlines so it's been takeaways all round but am more or less up to date now, or at least not horrendously behind.

Nice to see some familiar and some new faces. I also read The Obesity Code and found the intermittent fasting thing interesting. I never eat breakfast and usually at least once a week don't eat until after 3pm, once the woe gets back on track I may play around with 24 hour fasting, I'd be dropping a 3.30pm snack which is usually something like cheese and waiting til 7.30pmish which is probably not horrendously difficult.

I've also had a weekend of getting organised, cleaning and clearing out the freezer.

I agree with you @samthebordercollie, I need to get into a routine of getting the boring workout out of the way. Tomorrow I'm going to try doing that and my Portuguese lesson first thing, then starting work at 10am (I'm a night owl, so first thing for me is 8am).

@HighlandCowbag the first couple of times I did a 24 hour fast the final few hours were quite tough - I felt really wiped out and faint from what must have been low blood sugar. I was doing them once a week then, and they started to get much, much easier after the first two. I'm going to start them again from this week, as I do find that I lose more weight that way.

One tip I would suggest is to eat early the day before, so that your 24 hours runs something like 7pm to 7pm.