Why We Eat (Too Much) thread 6

[TheLeadbetterLife]

Whoops, we let thread 5 get away from us a bit there...

I'm going to boringly copy-paste the previous thread opener, because it's too hot to be imaginative.

Welcome to thread 6 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!

I eat potatoes, and some rice but pasta seems to be my nemesis, promoting carb craving.

I've eaten pastry and bread over the last few weeks also and that led to bloating and rapid weight gain. I suspect I have some sort of intolerance now as eating these foods also causes digestive upsets and , weirdly, palpitations and hot flushes.

I made a really nice super quick soup yesterday. Ready chopped frozen carrot onion and celery fried in olive oil, a head of broccoli added cut into florets, veg stock from a cube ( Kallo) simmered till tender, then whizzed it all up with half a Boursin cheese and some full fat Greek yoghurt.

It was a thin, drinking soup but so tasty - exactly what I needed as am feeling pretty ropey at the moment.

@gettingalife I echo what words said about experimenting.

Personally I find oats for breakfast is a killer, it gives me instant weight gain. Even though oats are on plan, and oat cakes seem to be fine for me. 🤷‍♀️

@Words that soup sounds lovely.

Sorry you have had a tough time recently 😢 how are things going now, can you look forward to things easing up at all?

Plan is a bit bumpy for me at the moment, I had a colon issue and had to stop eating solids for a few days. I lost 3lbs in a few days but my body kind of panicked and now my eating is all over the place.

Hovering around 127-128 lbs (recent set point was 126) and have started eating chocolate in the evenings which is normally a sign things are about to disintegrate a bit.

Following

Welcome @GoldenFarfalle 

Thanks@Aria999 - sorry to hear about your colon issue- hope it has resolved? Take care.

Things are slowly improving, thank you - I feel so much better to be back on plan and the weight gain is beginning to shift. It's great to have the motivation back and be cooking properly again.

I can only stomach small amounts of food at the moment and am living off home made soup, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, chicken broth ( all hail the Instant Pot - best stock ever) and steamed or stir fried vegetables. Which all sounds very smug and virtuous doesn't it - but is very alien to me as generally I have a very hearty appetite.

Hello again all

Spamming the thread again!

Appetite and energy returning but trying to maintain the smaller portion sizes. It's largely habit, I think, so am attempting to be more aware. Avoiding food waste is not a good enough reason to eat huge portions. Buy less, instead, Words!

In an attempt to speed weight loss ( which may or may not work) I am being very strict, so not eating any sugar ( used to get away with small amounts of choc) and vastly reducing carb intake also ( used to eat a lot of potatoes)

Am back on the 16:8 too. Am four pounds down in first week, which will largely be water I suspect.

Tonight I am cooking minty lamb koftas served with roast beetroot ( a new discovery on this plan- thought I hated it but apparently not) and flat beans. An ocado recipe. Suggests bulgur wheat to go with so will sub that with wild rice I think.

What is everyone else cooking this weekend?

Hi @Words - thank you for spamming. I always read along!
I've had a post holiday blip. Not all bad which is part of this woe. And no booze - hooray!!!

Hi @Words

Sounds good!

I think my inner workings have returned to normal for now 🤞. And I seem to be back at my set point. I feel like my set point is getting stronger over time - gradually I can get away with more departures from plan.

My weight is really constant these days, mostly the same every day, sometimes plus 1lb but not very often and I normally know exactly why. It used to be up and down all over the place, I had to keep clothes in a variety of sizes.

Have a nice weekend all!

Well, those slightly spicy, herby lamb koftas were delicious. Served with a dressing of tahini ( probably verboten but never mind) mixed with garlic and lemon.

Ocado won't let me link the recipe sadly.

Long walk yesterday so v hungry, but managed to eat until just full, and then stop. Amazing. Plenty of leftovers for today.

Morning all.

More spam.

Yesterday I had an absolute disaster. Decided on spur of moment to use up some venison mince from the freezer and make meatballs in ragu. It was absolutely disgusting. I just couldn't get the balance of the sauce right at all- maybe it was the very very cheap red wine. Even a dollop of umami paste didn't help. And the texture of the meatballs was horrible - I used some wheat free bread to bind. So annoyed- such a waste as I love venison.

Having a day out today so taking breakfast ( cold omelette) and will eat out somewhere at lunchtime so hope to find something not too off plan.

Hey folks - some tentative signs of progress here, I seem to have lost a pound or two. Slow going but I am fine with that if the weight is going.

I do feel like it's really reduced my appetite as well.

The only thing I am finding really hard is being away from home, especially as I am vegetarian, there isn't much that's available to eat on the go

That's good news @Theelephantinthecastle , hope it continues.

Being away from home is really hard, I always fall off the plan with a crash when traveling.

Great news @Theelephantinthecastle . I agree, travelling is really tricky- combination of limited food choices, few of them great, change of routine and possibly stress can all throw me off plan.

I managed my day out ok yesterday. Took a cold omelette for breakfast to eat on the go then had a poached egg and bacon at lunch as they were the only no bread/ sugar choices at the cafe. Also resisted the cake and ice cream my friend went for!

Appetite is back but still managing to restrain myself to sensible portions. Weight still coming off quite fast on a combination of this plan, fewer carbs than before and 16:8 . It will doubtless slow down very soon.

I do wish I'd never put so much back on in the first place. I hate feeling my clothes far too tight again. I'd bought lots of lovely things off EBay and now they no longer flatter me.

However, the great bonus of this plan is that it's such a delicious way of eating it is very easy to get back on track and lose the weight if necessary. It really does work.

Living on pasta with the occasional toast binge this week as DH away and I am just so busy. Been working every evening for the last 3.

After doing well (no weight loss and I have plenty to lose, but feeling healthy and clear), I have gone into a complete fog and a funk. I am finding it difficult to find my way back and I seem so busy there is no time to think!

Can I join (again!) please? I read the book and it made a lot of sense, but then I went back to my old ways of eating loads of processed crap and sugar. I've now been back on track for nearly 2 weeks and I can't believe the difference in how I feel. My mood is better and I don't feel constantly hungry. I have a lot of weight to lose (bmi is currently 41 ) and am planning to take it slow and steady and have realistic aims. I feel determined to stay on track this time!

Hi @manicmom @stilldumdedumming !

I have realised that my gateway to unhelpful eating is rubbish oat milk. How have I let this happen again?!!!

@stilldumdedumming on the plus side, knowledge is power! At least you know!

Hello @stilldumdedumming - great you have identified the culprit. When you get back on track it will all be worth it.

@manicmom . Please don't berate yourself. We all have ups and downs when life intervenes and I am no exception whatsoever. After two and a half years, I have found that this way of eating is so palatable, and the results , especially mentally, so quickly obvious it is very easy and rewarding to get back on track.

I have fallen by the wayside sèveral times and very, very rapidly put some weight back on again as a result. This has demonstrated to me just how addictive sugar, wheat, excessive carbs and ultra processed food can be, and how rapidly detrimental to health it is.

The good news is that the weight does come off again, and fairly rapidly too. Not that cycling through weight gain and loss is a good thing. It's not. But I have a history of fairly disordered eating, especially in response to stress, so I am trying to make peace with that and working towards some kind of balance. The peaks and troughs are evening out, and I remain at least three and a half stones lighter than I did when I was at my heaviest.

I am just really grateful I have found this way of eating that I genuinely enjoy, suits my lifestyle and works. I am on a mission to shed the excess weight recently gained, then I will be back on track to my ultimate goal. Keep on keeping on

@ manic mom - that should have read don't be tempted to berate yourself!
Fantastic work in getting back on track.

Well done for getting back on track @Words . I'm having a tough time at the moment, too, and struggling somewhat.

I'm more or less on plan, but definitely less than I was. Interestingly, like @Aria999 , my new set point really does seem to be fairly fixed, as my weight has barely changed despite travel, increased alcohol and all sorts of other deviations. I look and feel like shite though - flabby, bloated and tired.

The bigger problem is still exercise. As I'm bored of repeating now, it's always the first to go when I am under stress.

This is a huge issue for me, because exercise is also the solution to a lot of my problems. I won't go into all the reasons why (because yawn), but I really need to find a way to make it stick. It's really distressing how difficult this is for me, I just can't seem to get my lower brain to cooperate.

Hi @TheLeadbetterLife!

Re exercise, for me it has to be something I enjoy and / or that fits in with my life. After many years of not doing very much I am on a roll with it now:

Item 1, we now live in a house with 4 levels, so I do a lot of running up and down stairs.

Item 2, I do Kung fu twice a week in the evenings. Unlike other classes in my past life I never have to force myself to go because I really enjoy it and it's a precious little oasis of personal time away from the DC, much as I love them

For me, it's not about not enjoying it per se. I have found exercise I enjoy and I feel good when I do it.

My problem is that I can't stick to any kind of routine, ever. I am finding ways to make this work in other aspects of my life, and I'm getting there, but it's much harder with exercise.

I also struggle with priority of tasks - the order I do things in, or feel the urgency of, makes no sense whatsoever. If I'm under stress, or focussed on a particular project, I struggle hugely to do anything else, and will drop other tasks. Exercise is always one of the first to go, because the nature of it - having to physically tear myself away from other things - makes me feel panicky, like I will lose control over the other tasks.

Sometimes I check emails in the 30 second rest times during a HIIT workout.

I'm insane.

@TheLeadbetterLife do you think you might have ADHD?

A lot fell into place for me when I was diagnosed