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!

Thank you! I tend to do a light blitz - so I still have a lot of lumps. I love soup.

Thank you, I think I will make some chunky soups, I nearly accidentally typed stews but in some ways I guess they would be a hybrid.

Oh I'm disappointed to hear that about soup. I have got a soup maker, it does have a 'chunky' setting but sometimes I like smooth texture, for example broccoli and Stilton was in my plan. I still think it's better than eating processed stuff. @OddBoots that's is an impressive weight loss, well done. I'd love to hear some success stories to inspire me. How long did that take you?

I met the dietician last week, and she was very encouraging when I said I'd decided to go back to whole foods, cooking from scratch etc. I was delighted to find she endorsed this woe, and she said cut back on the carbohydrates but don't try to cut them out altogether and it should bring my blood sugar down. She was very keen that it should not involve counting, weighing and so on because it's got to be sustainable. She also recommended 16:8 intermittent fasting. She said every time we eat, even if it's not a high carbohydrate meal, our body has to produce insulin, so it's better to have meals with gaps in between rather than 'grazing ' all day, it gives the system a rest.

I was fully expecting to get the stuff that's still trotted out on the NHS advice pages, so was really pleased to hear her confirm everything on these threads.

Soup is still perfectly on plan. It might not be quite as good as whole vegetables but it's still good 😊

Sounds stressful Leadbetter! Well done for making good choices - I bet there were lots of not so good options too which would've been my downfall especially given the stress and the disruption to routine.

Aria, so glad it was the scales having a bad day! I hate that sinking feeling when you look down and see a number that isn't great.

Soups and smoothies- I love both and like green smoothies especially. I don't find they give me cravings even though they are less than optimal fibre wise I suppose.

What I wouldn't have is anything made from very sugary fruits, especially first thing in the morning. So no oranges, bananas, mango or pineapple. If I feel I need a bit of sweetness I add blueberries or cooking apple.

I recall in the early days, having bought a fancy new blender, blitzing some oranges for breakfast. OMG, the craving was off the scale after two hours. Lesson learned.

I went for my NHS MOT last week. The nurse was very complimentary about everything I reported about diet and exercise, confirmed my BMI was slightly over but not by much, and approved of the woe and my 16/8 routine. My BP is excellent as is my heart health.

It would've been a very different story two short years ago!

@Words that's great news on your health check up! September is always a good month to get back on track with things: Easier than January!
My bunion doesn't hurt either, but I know my toes will soon be dislocated as they are being pushed out of shape quite drastically now even though I just wear men's trainers all the time (they are wider than women's): I think I'll have to bite the bullet and go ahead with the operation, it will have to be done one day and recovery should be easier at aged 57 rather than 67: Weight gain is a worry, but hopefully I'll have less appetite if I'm not doing as much sport!

Regarding soups, I live off homemade soup in the winter, I add lentils for extra fibre and blitz it : Even though some fibre may be lost, it still really fills me up and I've never noticed a sugar spike:
I always lose a little weight when I change to soup from salad for lunch in the autumn, probably because of the liberally sloshed homemade vinaigrette used on the salads:

Good work re: the MOT @Words

What's involved in that MOT? I don't think it's a thing here, but I have some private health insurance and am thinking of doing something like the NHS MOT annually with my GP.

Thanks both.

Thé MOT is pretty basic- height weight and bp; results of blood tests for liver function and cholesterol to follow. ( cholesterol will be interesting - am sure both kinds will be quite high as I eat a lot of full fat dairy alongside vats of olive oil) Plus questions about lifestyle, diet and exercise.

It's to assess risk for diabetes stroke heart disease and dementia. I continue to be worried about the last one, so may request follow up on that.

Those of you that have been doing this for a while, how long to you think it takes for your body to settle at a new set weight?

I know everyone will be different but post babies i'm 10kg heavier than what I think was my previous set weight. I've lost 10lb ish over the last 6 weeks but I can feel my body fighting to gain again

@bandbsmummy when you say you feel your body fighting to gain, what is it you are feeling?

If it's that you are hungry you can just eat more, if it's on plan (ideally on the low carb end of plan) it should be ok.

People on here (including me) often seem to lose 1-4 lbs over a week or two, then stay the same weight for several weeks, then bump down another couple of lbs, and so on. It's not always clear if your body has finished adjusting its weight, we often seem to be stuck and then are surprised to lose a bit more.

Tbh I'm not entirely sure that the weight set point thing is all that easy for everyone. While I'm sure it exists, I don't think I can rely on it happening naturally based on my diet changes alone.

To be fair to Jenkinson, a huge part of his plan is attempting to tackle some of the psychological aspects of overeating, but I think he minimises how bloody hard they are to tackle for gluttons like me.

The idea that I could eat unlimited cheese for example, and lose weight, is laughable. Jenkinson writes things like, "eat until you are full", "eat mindfully" etc. Yes, if I were to follow all those rules absolutely faithfully, I wouldn't eat too much cheese, but eating mindfully and stopping when I'm full are by far the hardest part of this for me. Changing what I eat has been pretty easy, but if I eat too much cheese, I gain weight. There's really no getting round it.

What I'm saying is, I still have to be careful about intake. I don't exactly count calories - I certainly don't log them or anything - but I do have an idea of what my daily calorie intake is, and just how much things like cheese, butter and olive oil add to it. Although it's not a purist Jenkinson approach, for me it's psychologically easier than eating mindfully, which I find stressful, because I'm shit at it.

There's only so much one can do, and done is better than perfect.

@TheLeadbetterLife have you ever actually tried the unlimited cheese thing?

I know you are always careful! And everyone is different.

But unlimited cheese and still losing weight did work for me. It's not impossible. I perfectly understand it doesn't work for everyone.

It's about finding an approach that works for the individual over the long term I think.

I am rubbish at mindful eating too, despite enjoying spending ages planning and cooking stuff for myself, but calculating numbers and quantities to track intake carefully are very stressful to me, so it's tricky!

I've never fully mastered the difference between cognition and intuition when listening to my body.

I have found if I consistently eat larger meals than I need, I gain slightly or plateau. If I go back to the flour and sugar over anything more than a week, my weight sky rockets. Alcohol also has the same effect.

I've been on the plan nearly two years now, and broadly speaking I have found following the principles results in quite steady weight loss at first, then very slow and stop start with frustrating plateaus of several months. Persistence does pay off, yet inevitably the nearer to ideal weight you get, the harder it becomes. I do allow myself unlimited dairy and olive oil though.

Yesterday I was reminded of the effect of poor sleep. I had a four am start followed by a stressful and busy day at work, and the food I had taken ( hard boiled egg, cheese salad and oatcakes) wasn't really enough to keep me going.

The more tired I got, the more ravenous I became, and so when I got home I fell on my dinner like a ravening beast- and didn't stop when I was full either. This was followed by another disrupted night of calls relating to my elderly mother's health, so I really need to look after myself today.

Anything off plan, no matter how tiny, seems to pile a lb or two back on here.

I had 2 slices of homemade pizza, ok so it had to have vegan cheese, but nothing else processed and full of veg. 3lbs it cost me

There are definitely other areas of life that could be better but out of my control at the moment - mostly sleep due to children who don't sleep.

Hello I am fairly new at this. I have around 4 stone to lose (will still be overweight but I know my body and that would be an ok weight).

I do think this woe makes me feel so much better in my body and I really respond positively to that. I'd rather do this and take the next 5 years to lose that 4 stone, than do some low calorie thing and then put it back on.

The putting it back on and more rings so true with me. I lost a lot in the divorce diet and again when dp was in a coma. I have put a lot more back on since those events.

I've been casual about cheese for most of this year, and I've gained weight, despite ostensibly sticking to the plan. The cheese is the only difference from what I was doing last year.

Jenkinson doesn't mean unlimited cheese, he means "eat as much cheese as you need to fill full", which are two entirely different things. My "full" switch is faulty, and I can't be arsed doing the mental study required to re-order my disordered eating. it's just one too many things to do.

@TheLeadbetterLife cheese is addictive for sure. I find not having cheddar but something strong and a bit unusual hits the spot. Extra mature cheddar though - I could eat the block while waiting for the kettle to boil!

I agree @Words that all the weighing and calculating is also too much (and inaccurate anyway, because a calorie is not a calorie).

My compromise is to restrict portion sizes. For our evening meals, we don't have any carbs, and we make one portion each. If we were to make a larger amount, to have leftovers for the next day, we'd have seconds.

On Sundays, we often roast a chicken, and while we have leftovers, we always eat too much of it in one sitting.

My partner and I are greedy feckers. Unlimited cheese is just not an option. I've set myself a daily limit of one slice, and my weight has come down again.

Fair enough @TheLeadbetterLife , can't argue with results!

This morning I am back to my target weight of 130 lbs. woop! Normally I hover frustratingly around 132.

Unfortunately it's probably stress which causes me to eat less so I expect it will bounce back.

@bandbsmummy small amounts of pizza do that to me as well 😩

@Words sorry that sounds bad about your mother.

Morning everyone and well done @Aria999 ! Stress nearly always leads to overeating for me. I hope you get everything sorted soon.

My mother's 91 and frail, so hospital admissions are pretty much par for the course, but naturally a late night call always sends the stress off the scale and it's hard to sleep afterwards.

Comfort food is therefore what's needed, so I made this fabulous oxtail stew in my Instant Pot pressure cooker:

https://www.copymethat.com/r/L7c51xCMx/instant-pot-oxtail-pressure-cooker/

So good, and so cheap too as I got two pounds of oxtail for a couple of quid in Booths, and that's made enough for at least four hearty portions. I am thinking the flavour will develop even more, so looking forward to that in the coming days. I might try it with wild rice rather than mash for one dinner.

Using that combo of fish sauce and soy sauce ( not ideal, but there isn't that much of it) gives it a better depth of flavour than the more conventional Lea and Perkins. And no it doesn't taste of fish!

Also, many thanks to whoever posted this Turkish recipe (? leadbetter?) for garlicky yoghurty eggs:

https://www.copymethat.com/r/nIKLRZ85f/turkish-eggs-in-garlicky-yogurt-sauce-l-/

OMG it was tasty.

@Words funny how it goes isn't it, I used to overeat from stress too (I was once bulimic) then it just kind of changed for no obvious reason. I much prefer having appetite loss instead of cravings!

DS6 is having trouble at school and they have both been off ill this week. Friday was better though, they were both back, I didn't have a stressy email from DS teacher, and I actually managed to get some work done.

How anyone managed to hold down a full time non-flexible job when they have school age children is completely beyond me.

Hello. Long time 'watcher' here. Gave up sugar about 3 weeks ago with surprisingly little difficulty.
I used to take half a spoon in tea several times a day and the tea still tastes tasteless after 3 weeks.
Any idea when I will start to enjoy it again? I love my tea!
Thanks