Carb control is a good starter if you want to lose weight - just eat less carbs (potatoes, rice, wheat) - you don't need to cut it out.
General balanced diet, and avoid processed food. I do all this but I like a drink - empty calories though. I cut it out in January and lost about 4kg, and I've maintained the loss, but I need to lose more to get back to 'pre-accident' weight which will help my back.
Don't go for anything radical. Exercise more is also the key.
My BIL is in his mid 50's, about 8 years older than me, but despite him being slim and tall, he has never exercised (prefers his Ducatti). But, he now has some pretty bad heart issues - ex Navy, but never exercised after that, smoked, not a drinker. He is struggling to walk for long now.
I have spinal issues from an RTA (bike v car) and it affects me badly, but I keep going, I'm not as quick as I used to be, but loving the mountain biking - was mainly a roadie before (had an MTB since the 90's).
You can't beat cycling for heart and lung fitness - bin ciggies if you smoke and cycle.
Exercise, and anything in moderation. Lower carbs as we get older (except on long bike ride days).
I think that something important to maintaining a healthy diet is to not necessarily cut out snacking. Personally just having no snacks around leads me down a path to buying snacks when I'm hungry - which doesn't tend to be healthy. Instead I find that if I have premade snacks (some homemade hummus and some carrots or something) then that can satisfy that hunger without eating crap. I follow a diet for specific health reasons rather than weight but I'm not sure it's one that I'd recommend as it's quite hard to stick to.
I've found as I get older (now 40) that if I have a couple of days with big pasta meals, or a weekend with a fair few beers, I notice the padding round the middle straight away! it's quite odd given I used to be a lean whippet and consume several times as much carbs as I do now yet still have almost no visible body fat. Pasta is so quick and easy to make a filling meal with though, and I'm certainly not stopping beer. I have a lot of problems with reflux and stomach acid and if I don't have a good solid meal in the evening I start dissolving myself. Also my jobbies aren't the magical wipe-free logs they used to be!
The stomach bacteria thing is very interesting, I'd like to improve mine, I eat a lot of veg and bananas (can't do acidic fruit like apples or citrus) and onken yoghurt but haven't noticed any magical difference. Some people at work are really into kefir, I've tried it but not regularly, perhaps it's worth a punt. Fecal transplants also sound interesting...
TJ, I can assure you “gluten intolerance” does exist. If you want, I can send you before and after stool samples so you can see the effect it has on me.
Biscuits and alcohol are the problem for me. Question is, if cutting down on them means I live longer.... Do I want to?
Ming - you might have celiac disease. Gluten and lactose intolerance are made up by quacks. No such thing exists. Celiac disease is a real and unpleasant disease. Check the science.
Docgeoff - as well as giving a wee bit advice I also suggests looking at the NHS sites for proper advice with a scientific basis.
Given that I know of half a dozen children who have died because their parents believed " nutritionists" I think its right to say as I did " be very very wary of someone calling themselves a nutritionist" Given that I have seen dangerous advice given to people that would have had very nasty adverse effects if followed I think its right to point people to proper sources of information
Not having any processed sugar makes a huge difference. Not necessarily weight loss but vitality and stomach health for me.
The NHS seems to recognize lactose intolerance and the first answer in this seems quite well backed by evidence https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/25318/are-most-adults-lactose-intolerant
TJ, Have had the NHS celiac test and they are negative. The consultant told me that even though I wasn’t a celiac I may still be intolerant.
I’d pretty much worked out the above after decades of NHS charlatans saying my bowel problems were IBS, “live with it”
Ok - it is possible to be unable to digest lactose or gluten but the real effects are a tiny % of those who are diagnosed with it by charletans. If you don't have the specific enzymes needed for digesting these things then yes - you have a metabolic disorder that can be identified and treated. I was referring to the "diagnosis" given by charletans for people who do not have any metabolic disorder but who are still "diagnosed" with "intolerances" where there is no metabolic disorder.
"Lactose intolerant" is a West-centric term anyway Taken worldwide, it is the default: it's more unusual to tolerate it.
Seem like everyone's a winner if you eat a vegan diet.
A permanent lifestyle change is what is needed, rather than a fad diet.
Lots of places recommend getting in some exercise, but neglect to promote resistance exercise as the priority.
The great thing about adding some exercise is that you can eat more calories.
By lifting weights a few times per week, and eating a healthy diet high in "good fats", and low in "bad" carbs, you can add muscle to your frame while losing fat at the same time.
Check out this article: Build Muscle and Burn Fat – Body Recomposition Facts
While doing this, your calorie requirements will increase as your lean body mass increases, and you shed fat quite fast.
Eating lots of fruit and veg, plant-based proteins wherever possible, as well as chicken and oily fish a couple times per week is all you need. You'll get enough complete proteins from that, too.
Having a cheat day isn't an issue because, for the most part, you are eating well and exercising; fine-tuning your metabolism and improving other factors like your insulin sensitivity.
The problem as I see it stems from childhood, when we grew up in a period of consumerist plenty, and would often stuff our faces with food and drink.
That's fine for most people until they hit early middle-age, when your metabolism slows down. Add to that the general stress of middle-age like work and family, and many people often end up doing the direct opposite, and increasing their consumption to reward themselves (and the advertising industry is happy to promote such behaviour).
I notice people who grew up under rationing tend to have a healthier relationship with food and drink. Diets rarely work in the long term, the only person I know whose managed to cut down their size for the long-term took up mindfulness and that stopped the overeating and over-drinking. Ultimately you reach an age when you can't burn it all off on the bike or in the gym, so the only answer is a long-term reduction in meal sizes, alcohol, fatty foods (i.e. all the good things in life).
Trying to cook everything from scratch is recognised as a very good thing.
maybe try a slow-cooked very fruity Moroccan inspired curry with one of these
...not with the lid in the 'locked' position.
youll need to sit it on an oven tray to catch any potential drips.
and oven gloves, lol.
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
I think the problem with the increase in intolerances (particularly wheat)is to do with modern farming and food processing methods. In the West we are extremely reliant on wheat in our diet and a very few strains of wheat that have been bred as they are the most productive. Wheat is in so much stuff and it's highly processed.
It's possible that over exposure to this could cause these intolerances in some people. The best possible diet is therefore one that is massively varied. Not necessarily eliminating anything but not being so reliant on one food type.
Some people who react badly to normal bread can handle spelt or sourdough. So if you are suffering with intolerances or digestive problems have as much variety as possible and reduce processed food and work on gut health with fermented foods to reintroduce the good bacteria. Kefir has 30 to 50 different bacteria which will colonise the gut whereas supermarket yogurt has only a few that do not and are eliminated from the gut in 24 hours.
The problem as I see it stems from childhood, when we grew up in a period of consumerist plenty, and would often stuff our faces with food and drink.
One not unreasonable theory is that as hunter-gatherers we are hardwired to binge eat on sweet, high-energy foods when they're available - they (allegedly) trigger different parts of the brain to, say, celery. That works fine when you may not find another, say, stash of bees and honey for a month or two, but less well when all you have to do is pop into Greggs / Tesco / Burger King and hand over dosh / pick up five packs of cookies for the price of one.
In the spirit of TJ's absolutist adherence to speed limits and with simple dog wiring, I say if you don't want to eat rubbish food, don't buy it. Or at least buy it in moderation rather than in huge multi-packs. And if you do have it in the house - the cat dragged it in etc - then keep it hidden away in cupboards rather than in your face.
is that a spam post full of links from paton. (no thread complete without them...)
is that a spam post full of links from paton. (no thread complete without them…)
Suggesting a diet that works for a subset of elite athletes doing 6+ hours of exercise over 20-odd days of intense competition at a time would be a model for Joe Public seems a bit of a stretch.
Diets are know to make you fat, fact.
Diets are there to make people rich
Just eat normal food in moderation and enjoy life
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."
for the win.
My diets been pretty good for the last ten years following heart surgery; living with a veggie definitely helped curb my fondness for bacon butties.
But, since I started adding greens to my morning smoothy I have felt better than I have , ever, in my whole life.
Spinach, Kale, Chard, you name it, get it down in bulk.
Yer gran wasn't wrong...
Try fasting. Dr Michael Mosley 's book is a good read. Esp for healthy gut bacteria.
I fast approx 1 day a week /fortnight. Feel much better for it and keeps me in ketosis.
Dropped a stone and a half thru fasting and exercise. Never bonk now either.
Lots of info online regarding the benefits
But, since I started adding greens to my morning smoothy I have felt better than I have , ever, in my whole life.
Spinach, Kale, Chard, you name it, get it down in bulk.
Yer gran wasn’t wrong…
Pretty sure my gran wouldn't have a kale smoothy for elevenses though.
This is well worth watching. Primarily about mental health and diet (spoiler, drugs don't work as well as diet), but goes on to general health, well being, diet and nutrients.
There is very little in the way of metastudies and nearly everyone who writes about them are huge proponents of one over all others, also they seem largely preoccupied with fat loss or some other vanity-centric metric.
See posts above.