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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 5

1000 replies

TheLeadbetterLife · 12/01/2022 23:13

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!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
34
angeltattoo · 10/02/2022 11:36

Thanks both. I will just have to move to France 🇫🇷 .

Well done on being prepared @Words, it does make such a difference, I can be terrible at it but it is worth the effort (and essential for where I am in the journey).

I am struggling to get to the gym at the moment for various reasons (DH away all this week so can't leave the kids) and really like the idea of even just 5 minutes strength training a day. Which exercises do you do @SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun?

Aria999 · 10/02/2022 11:56

@angeltattoo re portion sizes, broadly speaking only for carbs.

A whole jacket potato is too much for me but I seem to be ok on unlimited cheese / meat/ veg.

SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun · 10/02/2022 22:11

I have some 3kg dumbbells which I keep near the kettle. Every morning while making the tea and coffee I do bicep curls (in two different orientations), lifting the weights above my head, lean forward and ‘row’ then straighten arms behind me for the triceps. Then lunges or squats still holding the weights. Then standing bicycle crunches.

I would do plank, press-ups and proper crunches but it is all about standing in bare feet on the tiled floor and actually doing it rather than thinking of excuses not to.

Aria999 · 11/02/2022 01:03

I used to go to the gym every lunchtime but then... kids...

And my only weight training these days is lifting toddlers (which is actually fairly effective lol)

But I have just started Kung fu classes! It will require 2 nights a week putting the kids to bed from DH, so I am very grateful. It's wonderful to get out in the evening and do exercise that is also fun.

angeltattoo · 11/02/2022 18:38

Thanks, I do try to do 25 squats each day and I have weights to do arm exercises....just need to do them now!!

So I lost a whooping quarter of a pound more 😂 I wouldn't normally count that except it makes me 14st 13lbs and 3/4 so it took me into the next stone bracket. Goal is to stay in 14s...however thin the thread I am hanging by...over the weekend.

Went our for lunch and had a jacket potato.

Am out tomorrow too and will have some wine but also that's real life (and I don't get out much!).

Have a great weekend everyone.

Words · 12/02/2022 06:08

Morning all

Very slight gain this week despite eating smaller portions, all absolutely on plan, fewer carbs, and no chocolate.

I do seem to be the living embodiment of set point theory. Rapidly lost all bar two pounds of the significant weight gained over Christmas and am now back to bumbling around the same weight I plateaued on at the end of last summer.

Which would be fine, if it wasn't a stone over my healthy weight. All a bit disheartening. I don't look fat anymore apart from the flab around my waistline which I am gradually accepting will probably never go despite all the gym and Pilates in the world...

Last night had a delicious dinner of smoked haddock poached in milk with an egg poached with it. Ate it with spinach as a side dish. So simple and tasty. ( thank you to whoever mentioned Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food - dug out my copy and he inspired me to cook that!)

It's French evening at the tapas real food delivery place tonight. So it is Bouillabaisse, Daube de bœuf with green vegetables and Pommes dauphinoise for special Saturday dinner with my pal. And no pudding (cries).

angeltattoo · 12/02/2022 08:09

Oh that's disheartening @Words. I am sorry you're not seeing rewards for all your hard work.

All that food sounds delicious, though. Enjoy your tapas!

Words · 13/02/2022 05:57

Well that French dinner was absolutely delicious.

I so much prefer eating at home these days, and that company do exceptionally good restaurant-quality food delivered to the door, so win win. Just avoid the puddings!

Dreadful day's weather forecast so there won't be much hill walking happening. I have a whole chicken to cook later, so that will be meals sorted for the next few days for me. Can't decide whether to do a standard roast or spatchcock it.

This spatchcock recipe works well:

https://www.copymethat.com/r/uwzOm0PkT/spatchcocked-butterflied-roast-chicken/

Have a good day everyone.Smile

mycatthinksshesatiger · 13/02/2022 06:55

This thread is amazing, you are such a supportive and knowledgeable group!

I'm struggling to work out the basic principles though especially around fats, nuts and avocado. Could someone link me to the plan you're following? Thank you!

Words · 13/02/2022 08:49

Hello @mycatthinksshesatiger and welcome.

My cat does too Grin. Then he forgets all that big boy alpha male stuff and creeps under the duvet for a cuddle at night time...

We are following the advice in the book Why We Eat Too Much by Dr Andrew Jenkinson. It's really best to buy and read it to be honest, but the basic principles are pretty much set out in the opening post on this thread.

Avocados are fine. Dr J is against nuts as they are high in Omega 6 and one of his ideas is to increase O 3 and decrease O 6. But most of us have concluded that the health benefits far outweigh any downsides, so continue to eat them defiantly.

Hope that helps!

Words · 13/02/2022 08:52

Oh yes and fats. No veg oil at all, except for extra virgin olive oil.

Butter and other full fat dairy are all absolutely fine. Do not touch low fat options of anything as they are crammed with sugar. Ditto all processed foods of course.

Some posters use coconut oil. I haven't yet tried it as I am not fond of the taste of coconut itself and unsure how much it would notice in a dish.

mycatthinksshesatiger · 13/02/2022 08:58

@Words thank you! That's really helpful!

angeltattoo · 13/02/2022 09:14

So we went out last night and I had a pasta dish, it was delicious so we'll see what effect it had. I avoided the starters by just having olives - they are ok to have, aren't they?

I also had one slice of toast with scrambled eggs in a cafe, I avoided the other one though. Didn't drink too much so no hangover which will help today!

The others wanted spag bol today which they will have, I am trying an italian soup instead. It will have a small bit of pasta in it but not too much.

Happy sunday all Smile

AnotherMansCause · 13/02/2022 09:37

Hi all, I was on one of the earlier threads but fell off. Have been concentrating on identifying food triggers for my migraines & so far it's actually gone pretty well. Am now going to gi back to trying to lose some weight. Am already on organic meat, eggs & dairy due to the migraine issue, when I tried non organic the migraines got worse. And non-farmed fish only. I tried vegan, didn't work. Shame as I love beans but they're a trigger too.

I need to beat my chocolate addiction into submission. Other than that I don't really eat much added sugar, or very much UPF type food.

I've joined Copy Me That, my name is Eat Sleep Replete.

angeltattoo · 13/02/2022 09:39

I have started having a drop of cream instead of milk in my morning coffee and that has helped me not feel hungry.

AnotherMansCause · 13/02/2022 09:47

@Words I find coconut oil to be completely fine in curry. I'm not fond of coconut either but would always use it for any curry or stir fry as the flavour goes much better with Indian, Chinese Thai etc, compared to olive oil.

AnotherMansCause · 13/02/2022 12:47

Can I ask - those who have a paper copy of the book, do you refer to it often to look things up? I have it as an Audible copy, but I'm unsure about buying a paper copy as I struggle to read - due to my migraines I have issues with reading large blocks of text, it just doesn't seem to work in my head, I can't follow it. But I'm thinking if it's useful to refer to, I should probably get a copy & slowly work through it & highlight any relevant bits, annotate it, mark specific pages etc. Obviously I can't do that with an audiobook.

angeltattoo · 13/02/2022 17:38

@AnotherMansCause I read it more for info to understand the concepts, I haven't had to refer back to it regarding specific foods per se. I did fold over some pages e.g. step 1, step 2 etc.

I made this lovely soup today, although it feels more like a stew!! It does have pasta in it, which I would at least half next time or even use rice instead.

Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 5
Why We Eat (Too Much) Thread 5
TheLeadbetterLife · 13/02/2022 23:39

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't checked in for a while. I'm very much in the zone of my pet project, which may or may not one day turn into an actual career move. I get into an obsessive head space when I'm like this, and find it hard to keep a normal routine.

I do wonder if I might be somewhat ADHD actually, I do tick a lot of the criteria, though in general I'm a bit wary of all these labels.

Anyway, despite the disruption, I am managing to stay on course diet-wise, even though a lot of other things have fallen by the wayside, like keeping on top of the garden.

A big problem I have is sleep, because this project is creative, and I'm finding it very productive to allow my brain to go where it wants. However this means that some nights I don't sleep at all, because my brain is coming up with good ideas, and out of fear of shutting down the creativity I am not doing my usual CBT exercises to wind down and switch off in the evenings.

I don't really know how to deal with this, but since the situation is temporary for now, I'm just letting it happen. Maybe if this project turns into something bigger I will work on a healthier routine, but that would be way down the line, if it happened at all.

OP posts:
TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 13/02/2022 23:48

Sneaking back into the thread after the best part of 6 months off. Blush I got disheartened as everyone lost stones and I was still at 12lbs off - and it’s not that I don’t have it to lose, because I do! Still, going to try again to reset my set point lower. I have Covid as well just now - seem to be loads of us with it! I used this as an excuse to fall back into sugar and sandwiches, but I shall be back on it.

Things I have learned:
I find it reasonably easy not to snack on this woe now. After a few days of sticking to it I seem to settle back into cups of milky tea, lunch and dinner, without much need for anything else.

I must weigh myself at least every couple of days. I got out of the habit and as soon as I take my eye off the scales I start sliding into bad ways.

Portion size. We’ve been trying Gousto boxes (picking potato/sweet potato type meals rather than pasta/rice) and they send a box geared for 4 adults. We’re 2 adults and 2 children and I must stop serving all the food, because once it’s on my plate I can’t not eat it. However, it is mainly unprocessed and with lots of veg, so I quite like it.

Sleep. My sleep is abysmal atm. I’m lucky to get to sleep before 2 most nights and then I’m up at 7. I just can’t turn my brain off.

Exercise. I did Couch 2 5k with my mum, and can now run for 30 mins very very slowly. New goal is to run it faster so that I am actually covering 5k in 30 mins.

Aria999 · 14/02/2022 03:49

Hi @TooExtraImmatureCheddar welcome back. Sorry you felt disheartened. This WOE is amazing but it has a mind of its own!

Hope things go well for the new attempt!

Words · 14/02/2022 06:33

Welcome back @TooExtraImmatureCheddar ! I was wondering the other day of you were ok. Sorry to hear about Covid. Hope you get better quickly.

It's good to be back on track isn't it. Portion size is my downfall also, but am finding it easier to manage ( and cut out any evening snacking) by also only eating within an 8 hour window. Scales are being very stubborn and progress has been very slow for months, not helped by a massive diversion over Christmas. Back to around my current set point but the final stone is proving very challenging. The overall trend is going down, albeit frustratingly slowly!

Angel that stew looks tasty! Leadbetter - your new project sounds intriguing!

Picked up a couple of cookbooks in a charity shop this weekend. Pinch of Nom which put me off instantly as it is all low fat sprays, cut off all visible fat, low fat dairy etc etc, and Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home. Was very surprised tbh at the number of very appealing recipes in there so have bookmarked at least five to try!

This week for me , it will be chicken, chicken and , erm, chicken. Except today when I am going to give a new aubergine recipe a go.

AnotherMansCause · 14/02/2022 06:54

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar I struggle with getting to sleep too. I started taking a 5htp supplement several months ago, it takes a week or two to really kick in but it does help many people with chronically disturbed sleep patterns. Unfortunately I ran out a few weeks ago & have yet to pick up a new bottle (I have 2 bottles waiting for me at H&B right now). It's not particularly cheap but I've found a definite difference since taking it - I usually struggle to get above 5-6 hours, often much less, but with this & as long as I also stick to decent sleep hygiene I can get 8 hours every night. I've tried various other sleep aids in the past & this one works the best for me, & no drugged feeling in the morning either.

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 14/02/2022 13:53

I'm reading the book now and would love to join the thread if that is ok.

I'm just placemarking for now while I catch up but will be back to discuss properly soon

Aria999 · 14/02/2022 20:32

Hi and welcome @JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon

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