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Fats and Sugars
I've had a suspicion for a long time that sugar and highly-refined foods are probably the biggest factor behind obesity (more so than fat). This research seems to confirm that.
I stay at a comfortable weight by the simple tactic of choosing wholefood options (brown bread/rice/pasta instead of white), beans, plenty of veg, etc. I eat far less meat than most people, but still include it in several meals a week.
I try and avoid anything that contains sugar. That means eating on of the very small number of breakfast cereals that don't contain sugar (watch out for crystallised fruit that several brands now slip in in order to try and make you think there's no sugar when there is). Dorset Cereals muesli, and Grape Nuts are the usual ones at present. (they started adding sugar to my previous brand).
I don't buy or make cakes (but the occasional slice when out for an afternoon is okay - this is a lifestyle, not a prison). I eat small amounts of chocolate (a couple of squares of Green and Black each day), and that's pretty much it on the sugar front.
I've stopped eating things like baked beans and other similar tinned foods. The sugar content has risen so much that I now find them unpalatable.
Cheese is wonderful, and we eat all kinds of varieties.
If I had to offer just one tip for a healthy diet, I'd say to eat nothing with sugar in it. (and no artificial sweeteners either)
I stay at a comfortable weight by the simple tactic of choosing wholefood options (brown bread/rice/pasta instead of white), beans, plenty of veg, etc. I eat far less meat than most people, but still include it in several meals a week.
I try and avoid anything that contains sugar. That means eating on of the very small number of breakfast cereals that don't contain sugar (watch out for crystallised fruit that several brands now slip in in order to try and make you think there's no sugar when there is). Dorset Cereals muesli, and Grape Nuts are the usual ones at present. (they started adding sugar to my previous brand).
I don't buy or make cakes (but the occasional slice when out for an afternoon is okay - this is a lifestyle, not a prison). I eat small amounts of chocolate (a couple of squares of Green and Black each day), and that's pretty much it on the sugar front.
I've stopped eating things like baked beans and other similar tinned foods. The sugar content has risen so much that I now find them unpalatable.
Cheese is wonderful, and we eat all kinds of varieties.
If I had to offer just one tip for a healthy diet, I'd say to eat nothing with sugar in it. (and no artificial sweeteners either)
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Regarding muesli, I eat Jordan's Natural. I used to like G&B's chocolate, but nearly none of it is strong enough for me to eat it safely now; anything less than 85% and the sugar content overwhelms the natural adrenergic cushioning of the cacao.
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I eat no dairy.
My only fat is olive oil and mayonnaise.
I eat meat three to four times a day.
I eat a lot of fruit and veg.
I walk two hours a day.
I eat little to no invisible sugar because I can't eat most processed foods, and regard gf cake as a very rare treat (once a month).
I eat chocolate less than once a week.
Yet I am a full kilogramme higher than a month ago.
You drew a good card in the genetic lottery. My mother weighted 13 stone (at 5'2) when she was 40.
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76kg, 5'3", but I work out three times a week so a fair bit of it's muscle (I'm a size 14 UK), but this weight gain is fat on the waist, and resulted in not being able to wear my first choice of trousers this morning.
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Every human health factor is a mixture of genetics and environment and it would be stupid to ignore genetics. There are non-trivial genetic differences both between racial groups and within them.
My belief is that hidden sugar is probably the biggest *environmental* factor in obesity. (along with lack of exercise) (neither of these are the cause in your case, but they are for many other people)
There are many other factors - eg. I have friends with sleep apnoea, which is a big causative factor for weight gain. It's not a blame game.
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It's been great to free myself from the glucose yoyo that I lived on for years. Part of that has been to eat suitable amounts of fat and protein, avoiding artificially fat-free options which tend to be high-sugar.
I've never had a real weight problem (just a little bit overweight for a few years, now in the past). As you know my priority now is managing my multiple sclerosis. So I tell people that they haven't to take offence when I have no manners around food: I eat what suits me, when it suits me. Certainly a high-sugar diet wouldn't suit me. So I'm glad you're thinking and writing about this.
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It's a bit more complicated than that.
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As so much sugar is 'hidden', it's very hard for people to be certain of what they're actually eating. There's some extremely misleading advertising out there. I recall a friend commenting a few years ago that Frosties were now low sugar and okay to eat. So I went and looked at a packet and was horrified by the amount of sugar.
Likewise, another friend said that Maltezers were fine as they were only 11 calories each. The psychology of that is carefully calculated by the manufacturers. When things come in small portions (like mini cheeses and small bags of crisps), people actually end up eating more than they would if the product came in a larger package.
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Energy: 318kj/ 75kcal
Protein: 4.6g
Carbohydrate: 13.0g
of which sugars: 2.2g
Fat: 0.5g
of which saturates: 0.1g
Fibre 4.5g
Sodium: 0.19g
equivalent as salt: 0.5g
Last time I checked those figures were lower than other brands on the market.
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Mind you, if that's reduced salt, then heaven help us as to what high salt is.
Weight vs health
I consume lots of soft drinks, biscuits, and chocolate. Also lots of bread (home-baked, white-ish with grains), potatoes (vast quantities!), meat (red, white, whatever lies still on the plate). Almost no fruit or other veg.
I'm around 80-82kg, and have been since getting back from the UK - for my height, 188cm, that's a pretty good range. (I was up to 88-90kg in the UK - less active, similar diet).
Now, I wouldn't try to claim it's a healthy diet, but I seem to be doing ok so far.
Re: Weight vs health
You're okay weight-wise, but I'd keep an eye on diabetes risk factors.
Re: Weight vs health
Re: Weight vs health
... of course suggesting there is an exercise component can be just as fraught as suggesting there's a diet component.
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I come from a long line of short fat women. One of them, my great aunt Bessie, never ate sugar in her life. She was a Christian Scientist (a sane one) and practiced rigorous health protocols. She was still fat. She also lived to great old age and was a happy lady. On the other hand, her very slender sister (my grandmother) died much younger from cancer.
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It’s very legit, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and big – involving 21 studies and nearly 350,000 patients.
Fat isn't a problem if you're fit as well - I'll bet your great-aunt was a fit woman and ate a good diet. She sounds like it.
Personally, I don't blame fat people. I know too many intelligent people with weight issues to attempt to simplify a complex problem down to 'eat less'.
However, I do believe that many people think they are eating healthily when they are not, because the information on labels and advertising can be very misleading. I believe the US bugbear is high fructose corn syrup? Am I right there- I'm told it's included in almost everything.
In a different environment, (food shortage) it's likely that your Aunt Bessie's genes would be a lot more useful than mine.
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