Fats and Sugars

[watervole]

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)

Comments

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

I do much the same, though not for weight reasons; eating sugar makes me really grumpy and irritable.

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.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Any statement on your weight whcih does not include a reference to your own genetics is just a bit patronising don't you think?

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.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

You're right, I believe. I do include some sugar and other carbs in my diet. But I'm wary of how much, how refined, when in the day, and what else is in the same meal.

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.

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

Your diet is much the same as I have to eat for my diabetes and while I was controlling it by diet I was losing weight. Since having gone on to tablets for it's control I no longer lose weight(the diet wasn't really working probably)but I am not actually gaining weight either.So there could be a lot in what you say. I usually gain weight very easily and am 5ft 3ins and weigh around 13 stone now. I must cut out more of the refined food,pasta and rice mostly.

[emmzzi.livejournal.com]

i do not believe one diet suits all and I do not believe a lot of weight issues are caused by lack of knowledge. The vast majority of people know cake = bad, veg and wholegrains = good.

It's a bit more complicated than that.

[rockwell-666.livejournal.com]

Regarding Baked Beans, ASDA do a "reduced sugar and salt" version which I buy now. The details per 100g on the back are:

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.

Weight vs health

[davidcook.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I have to also note the huge part genetics and activity play in weight.

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.

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

Judith, anything that places blame for obesity solely on evil fat people (and glorifies virtuous thin people) will be the newest medical finding. It seems to be the way of things. (I'm not saying you think that, I'm saying that's the medical trend -- and medicine is as stilted a field of study as any other) The supposition that thin = health or thin = preferable is the problem.

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.

[jon-a-five.livejournal.com]

I try to eat as well as I can, fail quite a bit and the last time I had a check up about 18 months ago I was my perfect weight (BMI, which isn't a great measure). Which was surprising considering I have a bit of a pot belly.