Good to hear from you BB. Don’t feel guilty about your response to stress. I am reading a book by Dr Robert Lustig called Fat Chance the hidden truth about sugar, obesity and disease. Really interesting read about the link between sugar and our hormones, environment.He looks at why and how there has been a surge in global obesity in the last 30 years.I know that he gives a talk on you tube for about and hour and a half, but I wanted to be able to concentrate for short periods.

But what if is it is the food that we are consuming that is making us crave and binge?

Back to Dr Robert Lustig, I really do urge you to read it. If I understand this correctly then it is the sugar in all it’s guises in our food that is messing up our endocrine system that the not only makes us fat and keeps us that way, but also keeps us craving and binging. Our environment also has a huge impact.

He argues that we need to eat food that has all its fibre, that fat is fine, but the baddy is the sugar that is hidden in so much of our food. In a nutshell, if it is in a packet with a label on, then don’t eat it. I picked up a couple of tins of leek and potato soup and at 200 calories would fill me up on a FD, but when I looked at the sugar content it was a real shock and so the soup went back on the shelf. I made loads of soup from actual vegetables that I cooked which is in the freezer, so that is what I will be eating next week.

Just been out shopping and filled the freezer with frozen vegetables, bought tins of various beans that I don’t quite know what to do with, but will be putting in all sorts of things along with lentils. Biggest change is both brown rice and pasta. We eat wholemeal bread anyway but i do have a weakness for a white loaf toasted at the weekend followed by a pain chocolat…not this weekend.

Thanks Cinque. I will try those bean recipes. I am planning to sneak the beans into chilli or stews, and the green lentils into curry and the red lentils into lasagne or shepherds pie just to get used to more legumes in our diet.

Dr Lustig(Fat chance.The hidden truth about sugar,obesity and disease) suggests that the goal is to keep insulin down and to do that we should have low sugar, high fibre, low omega-6 fats and low trans fats. This means unprocessed whole grains, condiments(homemade hummus, salad dressings, herbs and spices), vegetable oils, eggs, unprocessed meat, nuts and seeds. cheese, butter, beans, fruit, vegetables and plain milk.

No more jar tomato/chilli sauce in this house. The real stuff looks very simple and cheap to make without the high sugar content, so that is a bit of a no-brainer too.

The whole reason that the 5:2 appealed was that nothing was banned and that no food stuff became bad or naughty. I have noticed that my food choices have changed due to the FD restrictions and I think nothing of whipping up a quick and delicious salad dressing-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp white wine vinegar and half tsp Dijon mustard in a small jam jar with lid, shake and then drizzle.

I have been given loads of cooking apples which I am making into crumbles and then freezing. Previously, I would have put brown sugar both in the crumble and over the fruit, now it is just over the fruit.

I had a look at Christmas food in our local supermarket yesterday. No wonder I put on 10 lb last Christmas and the year before.I still have 2/3 of a Christmas Pud in the freezer and will not be making a large cake or loads of mince pies(which I ate loads of) I might just buy a small amount of each and then when they are gone..they’re gone.

I am also going to try homemade oven chips. Cut up a couple of large floury potatoes and drizzle with olive oil on a baking tray and then cook for 45 minutes. Unprocessed, cheap and not taking up freezer space-genius.

I have 2 goals. One is to shift this rather reluctant half a stone and the other is to keep this weight off forever and yet enjoy food. Clearly I need to change some of the food that I enjoy to make that a reality, but that would be worth it to maintain a healthy weight for my height.

More from Dr Robert Lustig(Fat Chance the hidden truth about sugar, obesity and disease) The goal is to keep the levels of insulin down by eating unprocessed whole grains such as brown rice, bread and oats, spices, herbs, homemade salad dressing, hummus, eggs, vegetable oil, unprocessed meat, seeds and nuts, cheese, butter, fruit, vegetables, beans and milk. He also suggests that if you are seratonin deficient(depressed) then it makes perfect sense to eat carbohydrates especially sugar as it will make you feel better in the short term. The flaw is that more sugar is needed for the same effect and that this cycle can happen to anyone.I wonder BB if trying to eat just the foods above might help your mood. What do you think?

It certainly makes food shopping a different experience when you shop from this rather lovely guilt free list. Today I cooked a chicken curry(from the Hairy Bikers) and added 50g red lentils(never used them before so cooked them as per the instructions)and then added them to the curry just before serving. I also used brown rice, which was lovely. We all ate it, the boys have no idea that there were red lentils in the curry or that I plan to put them in all sorts of things(without telling them or someone will refuse) as well as my homemade vegetable soup.I also have tins of various beans which I will be putting in various meals to increase our fibre intake.

I went food shopping and bought a very small Christmas cake in the shape of a rectangle topped with marzipan and icing. Only 2 of my boys like fruit cake and they both loathe marzipan and icing-I of course, love them both! I put all kinds of lovely sugary treats into my basket, looked at the sugar content and put them back on the shelf.

I am now having half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea(from a whole one)which is another step in the right direction.I will be fasting tomorrow and am feeling very hopeful that by changing what I eat, I will be happier, healthier and continue to shrink.

Perhaps we are what we eat after all?

Very very scary Iona. Glad that your friend is on the mend.

The lentils and the rice from last night kept me full all morning which is a FD, so that has been lovely. Bumped into a work colleague who was telling me that sugar makes her very bad tempered and she certainly knows the effect that it has on her mood. She then suggested that I try various seeds as well, so I need to do some research as I have no idea what might be good and we might like to eat.

I am making a vat of Bolognaise tomorrow that simmers for 3 hours and will be putting in a hefty slug of red lentils, now that I know they boil down to nothing, which will become a couple of lasagnes for the freezer and ragu for tea with our yet untried wholemeal pasta.

It is really scary the effect that sugar(Fructose is the real villain of the piece)has on our biochemistry with the craving/bingeing and effects on mental health. I am going to see if I feel better by avoiding processed where I can.

I have stopped buying fruit yoghurt and chocolate mousse for the boys, as I am horrified by the sugar content. I will be doing some baking tomorrow though and making a couple of tray bakes, but will be reducing the sugar by a third that makes the lemon syrup for the drizzle cake. I am going with the treat occasionally approach
to this and see how we get on.

I love the notion that we are not all weak and feckless, that if we had tried harder that we wouldn’t be in this mess…is all nonsense. The idea that sugar has messed up our endocrine system and has made us fat/binge/crave makes me feel that part of the solution is in my hands and that I can control food(eat like a normal person)is completely brilliant. I am going to give it a try.

Have a look at what people put in their shopping basket and then have a look at them. Do they look grey?Tired? Cross? Overweight?…how much processed food do they have? Not scientific at all but really interesting and a little bit scary.

Onwards and downwards fast friends.

Thanks for that information. Well done, no wonder you are thrilled.

I have looked on the 5:2 as a change to the way of life. I became aware that I felt better on a FD and I am now wondering whether this was just to do with what I was eating. I usually have prawns and salad for lunch , or homemade soup, and then baked salmon fillet with a heap of peas in the evening. Perhaps it is both the fasting itself that has ‘reset’ my eating habit and whole food that has helped me feel better.

It will be my 3 year anniversary of this way of life in January and although my weight loss has been up and down(when I had a break…why??), there has been an over all downward trajectory of my weight from January(another Christmas when 10 lb went on) which is great as I have been told that it would be impossible to lose weight as I am menopausal.It is interesting to note that I cut my tea consumption drastically then and so was consuming 35 tsp sugar less per week. I then found that puddings at work were making me feel rubbish in the afternoon, so I cut them out to see if there was any difference. I felt much much better without, so just had fruit instead. Over the weeks I noticed that other food tasted sweeter, which reduced my consumption of them too.

I think that changing the attitude to food is the key. For me puddings/cake/chocolate were my go to thing when I was sad/lonely/tired/angry, now if I can, I go for a short run and always come back feeling cheerful. I walk as much as I can(I don’t own a car anymore) and find that helps too.

My favourite treat is no longer a bowl of sticky toffee pudding with custard(which I know will make me feel rubbish afterwards) but a couple of slices of wholegrain toast spread with a mashed avocado. How times have changed!

Morning All,
I am quite disappointed that I am not a bit lighter on the scales or there is less of me according to the tape measure. But my jeans are baggy and sliding down, so it is going from somewhere, t shirts that I have had for years are off to charity as they have became rather plunging as there is less fat on my body to keep them higher and the nighties are getting longer.

So, starting today I am back to writing down everything that I am eating/drinking and making sure that I am not scoffing above my TDEE on the other 5 days.Eating more wholefoods is keeping me fuller for longer and I think that I feel better.

How is everyone getting on?

Update on the yoghurt, it is absolutely fine on my meusli. I am not buying chocolate mousse or fruit yoghurt anymore, just too much sugar and other rubbish.I am going to buy more fruit and my overweight son is now going to have fresh fruit on top of the homemade yoghurt(which he liked). He has said that he doesn’t like lentils( he had them in curry and bolognaise and didn’t notice) or beans, so I am going to have to be more canny at hiding them, the red lentils do get much softer, so will be going into casseroles etc at the start.He is willing to eat whole grain pasta and much prefers the brown rice. I am hoping that he can lose weight without really noticing if I can fill him up by stealth, as he very resistant to change. The whole grains are very filling, I am waking up full.

The notion that sugar is messing up our biochemistry and both making us fat as well as keeping us that way, is too exciting for me to keep to myself. The idea that I can reverse that by eating wholemeal bread, cheese, milk, cream,wholewheat pasta,beans, vegetables and fruit is rather fabulous….and I generally cook from scratch. BUT there are things in the cupboard that will not be replaced when they have been used and some things from the freezer that will just be thrown out.

The key point for me is that question that Lustig posed originally ‘what has happened in the past 30 years to cause such a global epidemic of obesity?’ He argues that the sugar in just about everything is to blame and I think that he is right.

I am responsible for what we eat at home and I am happy to make the changes that I think will improve our health. If Lustig is wrong, we have lost nothing by eating for fruit and vegetables, brown rice and pasta, wholemeal bread, and some beans or lentils.I am looking on this as a personal experiment between now and Christmas.

The calorie content of the beans is not much split between 5 of us and if it means that there is less snacking then I think it is more than worth it. I am no paragon of virtue and bake regularly, but I have been reducing the amount of baking from several times a week until once a week.

I feel much better and less like a mad woman looking for the next sugar fix, so for me this way of eating is my new normal. I am convinced that lentils/beans are keeping me fuller for longer. I did 2 FD last week and they were both easy as i still felt full from the evening before-result!

The jeans have become a joke as my hips were holding them up, so I bought new ones yesterday and I am now down to a size 10. Never thought that was possible the wrong side of 50!

Thanks Lori. very uplifting about the girl who does your hair. Her experience ties in with what Lustig believes.

Why not just try eating whole unprocessed ordinary food for a week, and then see how you feel?

Thrilled with the jeans too. Thanks.

Despite the measly lb loss(after 2 months) and the tape measure seems to be broken, there is definitely some shrinkage in the body. Clothes that were tight are certainly looser and those skirts that were snug when zipping up, are not anymore. I have had to go out and buy some smaller fleeces and jeans which is completely thrilling and replace my winter tights from a medium to small-whoop whoop! New sports bras are now on order and the winter running kit is looking a little roomy.

My wardrobe is shrinking all the time.

I am tempted not to fast next week(back to work) and just avoid sugar and eat more wholefoods and see what happens.

Thanks Iona. I am now the lowest that I have been for the whole year, had it been another lb then that would have been the lowest that I have been in the past 3 decades(which was Sept 2014).

Thinking about making a hummus dip(just chick peas and garlic with a squeeze of lemon) for lunch, which I plan to have with raw carrots-a favourite of mine.I am hoping that the avocado will finally be ripe to have with it too.

My nemesis is the biscuits at work, which are freely available. I had also slid into having the occasional pudding too. So my plan is have NFD week and not have any biscuits or puddings, and carry on with more wholefoods.

Off out to buy smaller bras……

It’s easy to be focused when you can see a positive change Lori.Plus I have found the ‘perfect bra’ and we know how rare that is!

I went out for a run/walk in the sun yesterday and wore shorts/vest and sun cream in the UK on Halloween! I can see the change in my running clothes, less bulges and fitting/looking better. I was out for a couple of hours chasing the sun trying to top up the rays to get me through the grey days. Today it is cool, grey and miserable.

That sounds very sensible Lori.

Have a great week everyone. Back to work tomorrow….

Thanks Iona. I like Lustigs view that we are victims of our biochemistry and that by eating whole food and taking some exercise that we are helping to reverse the effects of sugar on our bodies and our minds.

I am making different choices for lunch at work(provided for free) and will opt for a hot meal rather than a roll, which I think will be the less sugar choice. I am also sleeping well, I had weeks of a 4am menopausal waking which seems to have disappeared too, bit of a co-incidence?

Been to a funeral and at the wake had a glass of bottled orange juice followed by a small glass of wine. I was obsessed with crisps and chocolate on my walk home, so I decided that if I wanted them both after the toast/avocado and nuts…then I would. But I am full, the craving has gone although I do feel tired now. In my head avoiding and banning are not the same thing and that works for me.

Lori, There are 4g sugar in each teaspoon. 24g sugar/per Hershey Bar=6 tsp sugar x2=12 tsp. WHO Guidelines are for no more than 6 tsp/day. It really isn’t so much of a big deal Lori when you reduce the amount and then feel much better. This is from the woman that thought that a day without a pudding and several biscuits was a bleak day!

I know that I am a bit evangelical about avoiding sugar, but it really makes a huge difference on my mood and removes that craving for the next sugar fix.My aim for every meal is to eat real food and avoid sugar, nothing else. This is week 3…and I do feel better.

I don’t have a figure that I try to stay below in this experimental week of avoiding both puddings and biscuits. Success so far!

I am working on the theory that the sugar in fruit and vegetables is fine because it is in fibre which is good(Lustig). I am now making my own plain yoghurt which doesn’t have any added sugar or sweeteners in and the lactose in milk is fine too. Try making your own yoghurt(very easy) and then if you add fresh fruit to it, it will be sweet enough. I make my own meusli-plain jumbo porridge oats, add some nuts that I chop and a few raisins and sultanas(dried fruit is very high in fructose-so don’t have much) with the yoghurt.

Have a look out for sugar in all its guises- there are over 20 words that manufacturers use. If it is in the first 3 ingredients…put the item back!

My focus is on eating food that is unprocessed, whole grain and with plenty of fibre. I haven’t actually had any chocolate for 3 weeks…a couple of pieces of homemade cake, and lots of nuts/brown rice/wholegrain bread etc which is filling and good foe you.

Morning All,
My weight and measurements are the same, BUT clothes show a very different picture. Those grey smart trousers that I have been waiting to wear, and haven’t yet, are looking roomy. So I will be wearing them next week.

I have had a ‘try on’ on a range of clothes and there are some that are simply the wrong shape/cut and will be going to charity. There are dresses that fit so much better although I suspect will be too big by next year. Cropped trousers that I haven’t worn because I couldn’t pull them up at all, now fit zipped up. Jumpers that simply swamp me and tops that look very silly. I was delighted to find that my winter running kit looks like I have borrowed it from someone larger…new smaller sports bras that now fit perfectly along with new bras.

I have managed a week at work without biscuits or puddings, and I don’t think that will be difficult to maintain. Half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea now.

Lustig argues that weight and BMI are not good to measure health. Waist measurement is the true measure as it measures the visceral fat around organs.

Hi Cinderella,
Remember that dress sizes were created in the 1950’s. I have thought that it all needs updating and I certainly agree that vanity sizing certainly exists. I find that any jeans/treggings from M and S just look dreadful on me, they seem to all give me a muffin top and fit poorly elsewhere. The fact that they are flares doesn’t help! My jeans that fit well(skinny-who knew?) and suit me are from TK Maxx and I have simply gone from their size 12, which have started to slide down when they are zipped up and become very loose everywhere, to a size smaller.I have no idea which are more accurate, I am just pleased that I have gone down as this must mean that there is less of me, rather than the magic of a number.
I have some clothes that I bought when I was this weight before-most from charity shops-new jeans from M and S that have never been worn and won’t be me as they look godawful on me.They will all be going to charity and I will see if I can find anything to replace my dwindling options when I am there.
Lustig talks about stress reducing weight loss too, so don’t be too hard on yourself. If your waist measurement is fine then perhaps you just need to try on different style and shape of clothes. It has made a hell of a difference to me.
I feel my Christmas goal, which is exactly the same as yours, slipping away as well. So I have decided to create a new one instead, which is to continue to avoid sugar and eat whole foods/grains and see what happens to my shape. I am going to put the scales away and just check my waist measurement once a week, but will continue to try on my clothes as they are the greatest reflection of just where I am shrinking.
Less sugar means that my cravings have all but gone. I feel better, my mood is more even and I am sleeping all night-as I am menopausal and had been regularly awake since 4 am which was exhausting. I might have an Almond Croissant when I am in town today, just to see how it is and how I feel during and after.

Hi Lori,
I agree with you and your sister. I have shorts/cropped trousers/work trousers that are all my trousers of truth….nearly forgot the pink linen shorts that have never been worn!

Morning All,
After 3 weeks of avoiding sugar, the wheels came off over the weekend! It all started with a bag of roasted peanuts and went downhill from there…so I am back today with just avoiding sugar. I simply didn’t feel very well after the sugar, so that is enough of an incentive to avoid it. I did hear once that it takes 6 weeks to make a habit, so i have enough time to get this cracked before Christmas.

I am going to focus on sugar avoidance for the rest of this week. That is my one and only target.

That cat would not be waking me up. I have been reading that lack of sleep can stop weight loss, something about the release of ghrelin.Food for thought,Lori?

I thought of you Lori when I made my own Tahini and then put it in some homemade hummus-eaten with raw carrots dipped into it-scrumptious. I know that I just feel much better eating real food, the other stuff just makes me feel rubbish. I am just going to tell myself that it is simply my biochemistry that makes me seek out the sweet sugary stuff and that I will try and avoid it as much as I can.

I had a large bar of chocolate/almond croissant/dry roasted nuts over the weekend and I don’t think that I will bother with them anytime soon. They were no where near as fabulous as the were in my head, quite a disappointment really, and made me feel very tired and sluggish as well.

Have a go at making hummus yourself Lori-very easy as is the Tahini too.