Why We Eat Too Much (thread 7)

[Aria999]

Just realized I filled up the previous thread so here is a new one!

Welcome to thread 7 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!

Previous thread here:
Why We Eat (Too Much) thread 6
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weightlosschat/4590255-why-we-eat-too-much-thread-66_

Evening, I am sorry to see this thread is underutilised of late but maybe it will revive post Christmas/NYE!
I read the first book in October & it made more sense to me than anything else, however, I've also read the Tim Spector stuff and the two contradict each other on quite a few points which leaves me in a quandary. I don't eat UPF unless there are extenuating circumstances... like Christmas!! But I really want to lose weight. Which path to follow, thoughts please

What are the big differences? From memory nuts was one because they are high in omega 6.

To be honest I think if you eat lots of vegetables and protein, avoid UPFs, cook in sensible oils that are low in omega 6 and avoid refined sugar and cut down on refined carbohydrates these smaller details are not such a big deal.

I am still following this way of eating as much as possible and really believe in it. Would be good to have some more chat going.

Thank you. I think that is probably the route I'm going to take but I need to read both books again. The biggies for me were Zoe's antipathy to meat and dairy but I think Tim Spector includes environmental concerns in his recommendations which obviously has a bearing, whereas Jenkinson doesn't.

Yes that is much more fundamental than the nuts question. I have full fat yoghurt for breakfast every day and am by no means a vegetarian. Oily fish are up there on the try to eat more list. Andrew Jenkinson is all for the grass fed red meat for the omega 3. What proteins does Tim Spector recommend?

I've just had a squint at Tim Spector's recipes and they seem to be mainly pulses, vegetables & nuts. I do need to read both books again though.
I also like the Glucose Goddess.

Love the idea of sharing recipes thank you!

Yes thanks for reviving this thread - Jan is a good time to do it.

I've been mainly trying to avoid UPF but it has all crept back in of late.

For weight loss cutting out refined sugar has biggest impact - although it's not an overnight thing

Hi all 👋 been a while
I have succumbed to mounjaro but I'm also largely sticking to this way of eating to lose weight and it's pretty effective. Still no calorie counting and science backed weight loss but with bought willpower

Yes me too. I definitely think both is fine. Andrew Jenkinson referred to the drugs in the book I think I remember but they hadn’t yet been licensed so he didn’t say much about it. Bariatric surgery works on a hormonal level too which he explains in the book and he is a surgeon which is why he knows what he does about obesity. It would he interesting to know what he thinks about the roll out of Wegovy and Mounjaro.

@RunningAndSinging and @Wrapunzel have you heard this interview? In this he talks about the drugs at 56 mins

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-happy-pear-podcast/id1549198108?i=1000683118925

I love the happy pear fellas and I'm not sure this was a great interview. But still it's interesting.

Oh here's the web link shows.acast.com/thehappypear

Interesting. He is right about treating the cause but he is so positive about bariatric surgery and then quite negative about WLIs. I was expecting him to say that he was working on a maintenance regime for the drugs when he said about teaching people what to eat so they don’t regain. He does prescribe them to his patients but then talks about regain when people stop as if that is the main point.

@RunningAndSinging I wasn't really clear whether he thought that the fewer calories you will take in on the injections would lead to metabolic problems such as he described with crash dieting (I realise it's not the same but it is for some people).

The thing is he is a medic and a scientist and so he is very cautious in a way and perhaps just not enough is known. Others online get a bit carried away with pieced together knowledge and maybe that's why the interview seems a bit odd to me.

He has been doing bariatric surgery for years but WLIs are newer so perhaps he has more confidence in what he knows better. He is so sympathetic to people who have been yo yo dieting for years and sees the issues so clearly. He is right (In my experience) about what happens if you come off the drugs. The surgery is irreversible so doesn’t have that issue. I don’t know - I guess I want him to approve of the drugs and be establishing a maintenance program for his patients but that isn’t where he is coming from. He is right to be cautious about long term effects. At least with the surgery the hormone affects all come from the person’s own body.

Sorry to derail the thread a bit . WLIs shouldn’t take over the whole of Mumsnet. The way of eating makes so much sense on its own.

This thread looks interesting will catch up
When kids in bed

The podcast linked is mostly about the food and is a good place to start if you like podcasts. The first book is really thorough about the science behind the system. I liked the idea on the podcast of packaging UPFs in grey with ingredients in large writing. Feels like it could never happen but I guess it felt like that with cigarettes when I was a child.