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!

Welcome @NotSoLittle

I use my slow cooker almost every day now (also to reduce electricity use). I find that once a stew or bolognese is pretty much done and is really simmering away, if I put the cooker on the high setting and take the lid off, it will continue to simmer and then I can reduce it for an hour.

Yes, there's a couple of ways to tackle excess liquid.

Always put less in where you can (sometimes it's all from the veg, though).

Leave it bubbling with the lid off, as Leadbetter says.

Put a tea towel across the top under the lid- it will soak up the steam.

Or perhaps easiest, add a large handful of lentils at the start. They will absorb the water as they cook.

You can also just spoon the juice off and use it as stock for a later meal.

Brilliant slow cooker tips there, noted! I do like my meat browned though...

I used my new mincer yesterday to mince leftover roast lamb for Sheps Pie. It worked brilliantly and end result very tasty. It will really enhance the leftovers repertoire I think.

Am now eyeing the sausage making attachment and wondering if that is worth a try. Home made sausage with no additives? Hmmmm....

Ooh, that sounds exciting, @words! A mincer!

Very traditional making it with left over cooked lamb.

I brown when I can, but accept that often I can't! I have even (shhh!).... made lasagne with frozen minced beef. It was a huge hit with the family, who preferred it to the usual ragout version. Savages! It does mean you can do a no prep lasagne whenever you want by just assembling passata, lasagne sheets, yogurt, cheese and minced beef. Loads of seasoning and herbs on each layer. Bob's your uncle.

Thanks for the slow cooker tips :) and now I find out I can make lasagne in it!

@Tiredandbored is that fresh mackerel you have? I love smoked mackerel especially with black pepper like they do at Tesco. I'm back from a boozy holiday and need to get back on track

I made a parmigiana last night pickle. So tasty.

It's this recipe:

https://www.copymethat.com/r/opcegURQL/aubergine-parmigiana/

Well, astonishing news on the scales front today. If it sticks, I am a further 2.5 pounds off since last weigh in, which means I am eight pounds off goal weight, and almost four stones down on start weight in October 2020.

If you're struggling a bit don't lose heart. It can be done.

Oh words that's fabulous! Well done.

Well done Words. That is a fantastic achievement.

Well done @Words - I bet you feel so much better health-wise. And very encouraging for those of us just starting.

I'm having to try really hard not to eat all the bad things.

My mum is kicking off about something, and my default response is to eat all the snacks.

I've had some 100% chocolate, a strong coffee and some paracetamol. Hopefully that will take the edge off until dinner! (Egg, wedges and baked beans tonight! Comfort food!)

Awesome @Words! Superb achievement!

@picklemewalnuts can you snack on plan? Cheese, olives, cured meat? Normally I find when I get this, there is a bit of a sugar craving (and so a bit of sugar is needed) but actually stopping being hungry mostly takes care of the desire to snack

Thanks Aria, yes. Those would be good choices! I'm actually feeling a bit better with the chocolate coffee combo! Cheese and pickles would be my next step!

I'm doing well this week by slimming world standards, so am keen not to blow it! I want to shift half a stone, then go back on to maintenance, so am trying to eat with both WOEs in mind!

I will get there.
And then I'll finish swapping across to this WOE for my maintenance.
And will hopefully find I can relax the vigilance around high fat foods, as I decrease my HPFs and sustain maintenance.
Which will hopefully mean my binge eating tendencies will reduce, too.

So all in all it's a direction of travel, not a hill to die on! Go me!

@Words brilliant work and proof that this WOE works. 💪💪💪
@picklemewalnuts I've taken to snacking on an apple and/or cheese if I get hungry between lunch and dinner. It seems to do the trick and I don't want to eat continuously as I did after eating walnuts and cashews which I have an unhealthy addiction to. They are now banished to a weekend treat instead of a daily habit. A very expensive habit!

And thanks for posting that recipe too @Words, it looks delicious and can be made with courgettes too. As I'm in the middle of a courgette glut (not to mention beetroot and rhubarb) it looks like a tasty way of using them up!

Yum. Chunk of cheese and some cherry toms.

The parmigiana recipe looks gorgeous. If anyone else likes a short cut, you can just dice the aubergine and cover with mixed herbs, tomatoes, garlic and cheese. Long slow bake in the oven. That's my lunches this week, along with whatever leftovers we have.

I like shortcuts!

How long, what temperature, do you precook the garlic?

I don't! I have frozen big cubes of garlic paste (tesco).

If I've remembered to defrost them, fine, if not 30 secs in micro in a glass.
Add some chopped tomatoes or passata to the glass to mix the garlic in more easily, then pour over the veg, followed by the rest of the tomatoes.

Top with cheese.

So nothing's precooked, just assembled and baked alongside the roast. Along with some jacket potatoes. Handy for the rest of the week.

Thanks everyone

Another vote for the frozen garlic. I get it from Ocado. Fed up with ruining things with garlic that's a bit over, and too bitter. Plus the faff.

Speaking of dishes that just need assembling, had this for pudding yesterday :

A peach sliced in half and lightly grilled with a knob of butter. A spoonful of cooked and some raw blueberries. A large, gênerous dollop of double cream in the hole where the stone was, topped with chopped walnuts and a pinch of ground almond. It was heaven.

I am eating roast beetroot almost every day right now. If you like smoothies it's fantastic with blueberries, apple and ginger:

www.copymethat.com/r/p4Vm8M2yI/beetroot-smoothie/

Or this soup:

www.copymethat.com/r/tdhptPPlL/roasted-beetroot-soup-with-horseradish-c/

Or in a salad with goats cheese.

It's this summer's surprise favourite vegetable!

That does sound yum!

I'm eating rhubarb at the moment, with a handful of blackcurrants, lightly roasted with Greek yogurt and toasted oats. Again, all done when the oven is on for a roast.

Just stumbled upon this thread and love the idea of this diet. Simply about nutrition and health
does it actually work though for weight loss, or just a more healthy lifestyle/maintenance of weight?
Do I need to read the book?
I’ve recently cut out lots of meat, and added more whole grains, nuts, seeds and veg to my diet and I’m feeling so much better for it, so this may be a next step to that

Hi @Shedcity!

I think you should probably read the book. There's an element of working out what to eat (he gives some ideas but not a very detailed plan) and it helps to understand why you are making the choices.

I think those of us who are here at the moment have all lost weight. We just celebrated @words losing nearly 4 stone! I only lost 6 to 8 lbs but I am short and it all goes to my belly so it makes a big difference.

There have been a few people on the thread who have given up because they weren't seeing weight loss though and couldn't figure out why, so it clearly doesn't work for everyone.

Welcome @Shedcity !

Definitely read the book as it sets everything in context and explains the lose/ gain cycle very well. And yes, it certainly works for me ( and stops working very quickly if I stray from the plan )

I eat loads of fresh veg, good quality meat and fish, all forms of dairy, full fat only, all cooked from scratch. A small amount of fruit, but avoid the sugary tropical ones. We have a recipe library on copy me that, linked in the initial post.

No UPFs, no bread or pasta or other wheat based food, no sugary stuff except as a treat, although I do struggle with chocolate at times. Limited potatoes. Use olive oil or butter for frying.

Dr J is against nuts as they are high in Omega 6 and his theory is to reduce O 6 and increase Omega 3. Most of us have collectively decided to ignore that though, on account of their many other health benefits.

Drink lots of water too and work hard at reducing stress and getting good quality sleep. Moderate exercise is good.

I've recently started combining this with eating in a restricted timeframe so I fast for 16 hours or more. This really suits me but is not part of the plan so ignore that bit for now!

Welcome on board

@Shedcity I started in March last year by quitting sugar and upfs (except wine) I came across the book a couple of months later and it reinforced everything I was doing anyway.

for Me it was all about health and the weight loss actually surprised me at first but then got exciting. Initially I was losing 1-2lb a week. But this year since Christmas it’s been 1-2lb a month. But that’s ok. I’m still around 3/4 stone down since Christmas and if you think about it that’s often the speed that you put weight on. I’m still a good 1.5 stone more than ideal but I don’t care. It’s slowly levelling out. I feel healthy and strong and I look way better than I have for years at 4.5 stone down.

I‘m now 0.4lb away from not being obese for the first time since my now adult kids were born. My bmi has reduced by 9 points

good luck.

The key thing for me is reducing my 'set point'. He makes a strong argument that our bodies fight our attempts to lose weight. It's crucial to lull your body into compliance, to reassure it that food is plentiful, we aren't going to starve!

So while I want to lose weight, what I want even more is for my body to stop driving me to eat like the tiger who came to tea.

I still haven't quite got my head around that bit!