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!

@TheLeadbetterLife I make the most amazing bread (sorry for the immodesty 🤣). I could eat the whole loaf!!!!

@TheLeadbetterLife , there is a sliced sourdough loaf in our freezer just now and I'm thinking of it constantly! It's actually scary to think it has such power over me.

In general, have people found that following this woe helps with cravings?

Well I think there are two types of cravings:

• when you're hungry, so if you're not organised and don't have healthy things available to eat, you might end up eating some shite because it's handy and your body is directing you to eat anything
• when you're not really hungry, but just idly thinking about delicious things because eating is pretty much your hobby

This diet helps with the first type, because getting off the glucose rollercoaster manages your hunger for longer. I fast for at least 16 hours every day, and try to do a 22-24 hour fast a couple of times a month. I find this quite easy now, and am rarely ravenous by the end of the fast (unless I've been eating a lot of carbs the day before). Not that fasting is part of Jenkinson's plan, but I find it compatible and useful.

The second type is different, and more about the pleasures of eating (e.g. thinking about soft-boiled eggs and sourdough soldiers). I would say that this type has improved as well, because my tastes have become more sophisticated having cut out UPFs. I find that I'm able to look at the rows of UPF chocolate at the supermarket and remember how crap and unsatisfying they are to eat, compared with high quality chocolate (which I eat almost every day).

So I can't pretend I don't get cravings, because I love food. But I don't really get "I must eat this thing NOW" feelings.

One of my few UPF indulgences is a topping of M&Ms on my cinema popcorn. As a treat it's an absolute disaster - sunflower oil and sugar on the popcorn, UPF chocolate on top - but I only go to the cinema a handful of times a year. I used to have Diet Coke with it too, but I find I've gone completely off all sweet drinks, especially fizzy pop. So that's something I suppose!

I would agree, and I definitely experience both types of craving.

I just looked at Amazon and the book is £5.99 on Kindle so I'll buy it. I don't have the patience to wait for the library!
And separately, I'll be going down the UPF rabbit hole as I have seen a long thread somewhere on MN about it - needless to say I didn't add it to my TIW and I find the new search function dreadful.

Hi @TooExtraImmatureCheddar we are kind of back but the electrical rewiring in our house isn't finished so we are now camping out in a series of Airbnbs.

It is stressful, I could really do without us all having possibly-COVID on top of everything! Dd2 can't go to preschool until i get her a doctors note. Also trying to get everything ready for the kids back to school (doctors appointments, meet the teacher etc) and I stupidly joined the board of the parent association recently so I have work to do there too.

We don't have a scales but I look dreadful and the kids have been living almost entirely on bacon / croissants/ strawberries for about a month 😳

Hey ho, onwards and upwards, this too will pass...

@MamanCherry this one?

Anyone else cutting down on UPFs? http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/foodandd_recipes/4600183-anyone-else-cutting-down-on-upfs

That sounds really stressful, Aria! This too shall pass.

Dinner today was peppered steak with butternut squash, feta and lemon salad and it was amazing. I ate so fast I burnt the roof of my mouth, doh!

Tonight’s dinner - half an aubergine (roasted in the slow cooker) with pork cheek ragu. Really delicious.

can’t believe it’s the middle of August already. We realised tonight that we still have loads of the pig we bought back in December in the freezer. Over the next few weeks we’re going to make lots of curries, ragus, koftes etc., to make room for this year’s pig.

I need a list of ULTRA processed food and processed food www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4602788-i-need-a-list-of-ultra-processed-food-and-processed-food

@MamanCherry or this one?

Waving to everyone from rural retreat!

Great to read all the updates but so sorry @Aria999 - that sounds immensely stressful. Hope you recover soon and can get back into your house.

Really agree with@TheLeadbetterLife 's hunger types, to which I would add a third- false hunger, which happens when your blood glucose plummets quicker than normal after eating something not on plan.

This happens for me two hours afterwards I've discovered - and the difference between that and genuine hunger, is that rather than intensifying, it goes away if you ride it out. Drinking plenty of water helps.

There is a very good Italian deli in the nearest town. I resisted the pasta and the bread but caved with some sweet things ( good quality choc, reduced in price, and a couple of freshly made tiny yet divine pastries. And an individual pear and almond tart. )

Only the chocolate remains. I can be reasonably disciplined with that now, but the other stuff, not so much. I divided the tart into two. And ate both halves. With cream. Such is the such ness.

Starting to think about the start of school term and how I can make my kids lunch boxes better.

They usually have a wrap or filled pitta, crisps, fruit, veg sticks, hummus, party rings etc. for example. What can I replace the sandwiches with for them that is still child/lunchbox friendly. They are starting reception so your standard picky child

@bandbsmummy will they eat tortilla (Spanish omelette, I mean)?

it’s easy to make with lots of different vegetable fillings, or additional cheese, so you can vary it like sandwiches. Once cold you can slice it into small wedges they can eat by hand. Plus you could make it ahead for the week as it keeps well wrapped in foil.

@TheLeadbetterLife do you have an easy recipe for Spanish omelette? Kids won't eat it but I would! It never comes out well when I try to make it.

I have a very authentic one which is easy, and which I have adapted to make even easier, using my slow cooker (and way less olive oil).

My adaptation:

• Four medium potatoes
• One large Spanish onion
• 4-6 eggs (my hens lay quite small eggs, and I prefer the omelette more eggy)

Slice the potatoes thinly and the onion into thin half-moons.

Put them all in the slow cooker with enough extra virgin olive oil to coat, and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

When the vegetables are nice and soft, beat the eggs in a bowl and add the vegetables to them. Let the mixture sit while you heat the pan.

Heat a skillet and add a tablespoon of whatever fat you cook in.

Pour the omelette mix into the skillet and press the vegetables down a bit.

At this point the original instructions have a repeated tipping the omelette onto a plate and sliding it back in action, which with my cast iron pans was too much bother. You can either put the whole skillet in the oven, under the grill, or on a very low flame with a lid on. Whatever is the best method with your equipment to get it cooked through and the eggs set.

Clamp a plate over the skillet and turn the omelette out, then leave it to cool, or eat warm as preferred.

This can be adapted with all kinds of vegetables - I use roasted peppers or courgettes, sometimes add garlic or a bit of chilli.

The original recipe involves simmering the potatoes and onion in a large quantity of olive oil to cook them, which you then drain. It is delicious that way, but you end up with a lot of flavoured, salty oil, which I don't always have a use for. For the sake of my electricity bill I try to use the slow cooker as much as possible these days.

We had portobello mushroom rarebit for dinner tonight, which was bloody delicious.

I wonder what else would work with rarebit sauce? I'd forgotten how lovely it is, I don't think we've had it since we moved abroad.

Grilled cauliflower? Kind of posh cauliflower cheese.

Oh yeah, cauliflower steak is a thing now isn’t it? Good idea.

I had the lamb koftas tonight. Very nice too.

They're nice aren't they, serenade.

Lamb here tonight too - trying this recipe for Greek shoulder of lamb in thé pressure cooker:

www.copymethat.com/r/CdW9Tt8SJ/instant-pot-lamb-shoulder-roast-greek-st/

Then plum and blackberry crumble with an oat rather than flour-based topping for pud.

Both those dishes worked really well - it was a good dinner!

Astonishingly no gain over my few days away despite lots of delicious sugary straying from the path of righteousness.

I really hope I will be able to report 'goal achieved' sometime in the next few weeks. It will be two years in October since I embarked on this life changing plan.

That lamb looked amazing. Well done for staying the same while away - that’s so hard. Fantastic that you are so close to ‘goal’. Shows what can he achieved with consistency - I need a bit of that.

Thanks for the links about UPFs. I'm up out of the MN rabbit hole! I have skim read the e-book and will have some time this week to read it properly.

It transpires that our overall diet isn't completely dreadful but as I already knew we do eat far too much bread. And not enough vegetables.

My approach to this is going to be to spend the next couple of weeks noting what we tend to eat regularly, look for the less processed alternatives, at the same time will clear the house of the less desirable stuff.
DH is on board and it's just the two of us here now most of the time so no excuses for having crisps and sweets in the house! This week we're working on changing our breakfast of toast to eggs or Greek yogurt and fruit. Although I'm sure I saw in the book that it's not a good idea to eat fruit at breakfast...

Yes the book cautions against having anything sweet for breakfast, including fruit.

Jessie Inchauspe covers this in Glucose Revolution as well. Apparently saving sweet stuff for the end of your eating day is better for lowering glucose spikes.

As a weekend brunch treat, we sometimes have Turkish eggs: www.themediterraneandish.com/cilbir-turkish-poached-eggs/

It's really delicious, but a bit of a faff to make, hence it being a treat. Though actually you could make a batch of the spiced butter/olive oil and then would only need to poach eggs.

He says try to avoid having more than one lot of fruit

He says avoid having more than two pieces of fruit a day, and not to have any at breakfast.