Healthy and Fit

Snacking is not medical advice; it's diet advice.  Not all of the latest medical research favours three squares and snacks for weight loss.  In fact, the latest medical research shows that eating breakfast does not reduce the overall calorie restriction during the day:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/breakfasts-dont-make-you-eat-less-2186306.html#

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iCEclwJhmz0juka4hbnUkNOOGhDA?docId=N0180061295168795574A

Studies:
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/5

Where the "eat breakfast" advice comes from is the NWLR in the US.  However, that is a body of research which favours certain types of weight loss: namely programs with structured weigh-ins like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.  It doesn't mean that all weight loss maintainers ate breakfast, but only those who submitted their data (and had data verifiable) ate breakfast.  Of course WW and JC (and other programs) provide breakfast (and usually snacks) as a part of the plan.

As far as the ADA, I'd take their advice about a step above taking the advice of that dude on infomercials who claims to have the super secret cure for diabetes.  Sorry if that is harsh.

I don't take advice from infomercials.

I don't take advice from infomercials.

Yeah, it was a sort of figure of speech.  I don't take advice from infomercials or the ADA.

Also, in case you've missed it, I am on your side in this.

ETA: I also think people are confusing what they interpret as "healthy weight loss" plans as medical advice.  To me it's scary how persuasive this message can be to people.  In the medical community, timing and size of meals is wide open to debate, but because the snacky frequent meal plans are a bit faddy the past decade or so, it's assumed that is the safest currently known method of losing weight.

I always eat breakfast through the week, but if I do happen to lie in on a weekend and not get up until after 10 (it's getting harder to sleep in as I am used to getting up early now) then I don't eat until lunchtime, just to keep my schedule on track, so to speak. So on weekends, I sometimes only have two meals instead of three, which I think is okay, as if I don't wake up until 10 and then have a cup of coffee or two, then I'm really not hungry until 12 or 1pm anyway.

I'm trying a slightly different approach for the next few weeks. Instead of counting calories, which just seems to be frustrating me lately, I'm trying to just focus only on eating healthier and I'm trying some bits and bobs from the Nordic Diet. Basically, my plan is to eat mostly fish, eggs, vegetables (including some pickled beetroot, cucumber salad, etc.), fruit, salads, rye bread, baby potatoes, etc. Plus it sounded interesting since I don't normally eat this way and some of the recipes looked intriguing (I don't know much about Scandinavian food). Even if I only manage to add more seafood to my diet, that's an improvement over the amount of meat I normally eat. I will probably try having a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit as a snack if I am hungry, just sticking with natural foods, hopefully, and avoiding junk food!

Well, Jewlz, when I moved to Finland I lost crazy amounts of weight.  At that time they ate full fat dairy, very little wheat, and about 3 meals a day.  A typical day would be:

B:Rye crisp bread, butter, meat slices, cheese, cucumbers, tea or coffee (alternate might be soft boiled eggs, crisp bread, cucumber, butter, tea or coffee)
L:Soup or stew, crisp bread, salad, occassionally a yogurt (alternate example: spinach pancakes, jam)
D:New potatoes with skins on them (peel at table, some ate the jackets, some didn't), salad of some sort, meatballs, dense rye bread

Sweets were the occasional chocolate, licorice, full fat icecream.  At most 2-3 times a week.  Jams were very occassionally used, usually to accompany to dinner, not spread on bread [edit: think Scandinavian chutney rather than strawberry jam.  They tended to be less sweet as well].  Things varied by season and some people ate different things, but that was typically what people ate.  They also ate very much the same things in a routine. Breakfast was almost always the same and lunch and dinner was almost always the same thing on the day of the week (Thursdays, for instance, is pea soup day).

Yeah, it was a sort of figure of speech.  I don't take advice from infomercials or the ADA.

Also, in case you've missed it, I am on your side in this.

ETA: I also think people are confusing what they interpret as "healthy weight loss" plans as medical advice.  To me it's scary how persuasive this message can be to people.  In the medical community, timing and size of meals is wide open to debate, but because the snacky frequent meal plans are a bit faddy the past decade or so, it's assumed that is the safest currently known method of losing weight.

I wasn't sure who you were  addressing your post to.
And who you meant by the ADA (I thought A was diabetes but maybe dairy?)

I wasn't sure who you were  addressing your post to.
And who you meant by the ADA (I thought A was diabetes but maybe dairy?)

ADA=American Diabetics Association.

Mrs R mentioned British and American heart and diabetes associations.  I am only familiar with ADA recommendations, so I was specific.

I was addressing the conversation, not anyone in particular.

Well, Jewlz, when I moved to Finland I lost crazy amounts of weight.  At that time they ate full fat dairy, very little wheat, and about 3 meals a day.  A typical day would be:

B:Rye crisp bread, butter, meat slices, cheese, cucumbers, tea or coffee (alternate might be soft boiled eggs, crisp bread, cucumber, butter, tea or coffee)
L:Soup or stew, crisp bread, salad, occassionally a yogurt (alternate example: spinach pancakes, jam)
D:New potatoes with skins on them (peel at table, some ate the jackets, some didn't), salad of some sort, meatballs, dense rye bread

Sweets were the occasional chocolate, licorice, full fat icecream.  At most 2-3 times a week.  Jams were very occassionally used, usually to accompany to dinner, not spread on bread [edit: think Scandinavian chutney rather than strawberry jam.  They tended to be less sweet as well].  Things varied by season and some people ate different things, but that was typically what people ate.  They also ate very much the same things in a routine. Breakfast was almost always the same and lunch and dinner was almost always the same thing on the day of the week (Thursdays, for instance, is pea soup day).

Yes, this is sort of what I was aiming for. Like...

B: Sliced hardboiled eggs (or scrambled eggs with scallions) on thinly sliced rye bread
L: Smoked salmon on thinly sliced rye bread with Swedish cucumber salad on the side
D: Fish fillet with lemon-dill seasoning, boiled new potatoes and salad (or steamed cabbage)

Snacks, if I'm hungry, would be fruit and nuts, mainly, I guess, even though that's not necessarily a part of the official diet, but healthier than biscuits and crisps. Some lunch times I'll have a big salad with chicken and boiled eggs, pickled beetroot, etc. We are on a strict budget, so I had to stick with what I could get at Aldi, but the fish I bought was surprisingly cheap. I can really only eat a small amount of smoked salmon at a time anyway, since it's so rich, so one fillet will make three meals. I think I might benefit from reduced wheat and gluten, even though this rye bread I bought has a bit of gluten in it, so I'm not totally gluten free. Still, it will be an interesting change, and I like rye bread. 

Well, Finncrisps are usually pretty cheap.  I get them instead of of savoury crackers because both of us love rye.  A box lasts forever and we can pick them up for around £1.20 at our Sainsbury's.  I think they are 30 cals a slice, 3 slices in a serving.

Rye has gluten in it naturally (but less than wheat), but while gluten might be a factor in people's diet, there is research that is showing that wheat might produce addiction (and withdrawal) in people.  Rye and some other grains less so. 

I personally think that rye is more filling and always have.  Rye bread is a bit trickier to bake because of the lower gluten content, but I think that you can get the pre-mixes in Lidl if you ever wanted to try your hand at your own.

If you're interested, I often use this site when I am making Finnish food (some of which is very economical):

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/finnish.htm

Really what I was getting at (but didn't have the time or desire or sufficient interest to go find all the science-y links & start throwing them down, so instead I went my lazy way & mentioned stuff like BHF, WW, etc) on the skipping meals thing - is that when meals are skipped, the brain responds (hormonally) by craving higher calorie food to compensate.  You're more likely to eat more than you should at the next eating, cos you are starving.  If you can resist that - good, but I can't.  This has been my experience & that of others too, so I just wouldn't encourage someone to skip meals - though I do see the point on getting up so close to lunchtime (sadly, that kind of lie in rarely happens for me anymore).

But hey - believe & do whatever makes you happy & what works for you!  For me, that means I need to get out there & walk the trails. 

I was looking at some info on the newest Weight Watchers 'ProPoints' system & it looks to me like they are now leaning towards a low GI/GL sort of thing - reading between the lines.  I could be wrong, but maybe someone doing WW right now could advise better.

Well, Finncrisps are usually pretty cheap.  I get them instead of of savoury crackers because both of us love rye.  A box lasts forever and we can pick them up for around £1.20 at our Sainsbury's.  I think they are 30 cals a slice, 3 slices in a serving.

Rye has gluten in it naturally (but less than wheat), but while gluten might be a factor in people's diet, there is research that is showing that wheat might produce addiction (and withdrawal) in people.  Rye and some other grains less so. 

I personally think that rye is more filling and always have.  Rye bread is a bit trickier to bake because of the lower gluten content, but I think that you can get the pre-mixes in Lidl if you ever wanted to try your hand at your own.

If you're interested, I often use this site when I am making Finnish food (some of which is very economical):

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/finnish.htm

Oh, thanks! That looks really useful. I don't have the Nordic Diet book, just read an article about it and thought it sounded healthy and different. Worth a shot! So far, so good. 

I think the word "starving" is bandied about too munch. For a true definition of starving, look at photos of famine victims, concentration camp victims, and people dyng of anorexia. Craving food because you have missed a few meals is not "starving" .

You're right those people are truly starving. However, if you're someone who struggles with food and losing weight it can feel like you're starving if you have to wait hours to eat again. Eating three meals a day with healthy snacks in between can keep your body (and mind) from feeling so overwhelmingly hungry that you 'pig out' at your next meal. Personally, I tend to obsess more about food if I'm completely denying myself of something. That's why diets where you have to completely cut something out just don't work for me. It feels more like a 'diet' and less like a 'lifestyle change'. If it works for your husband, then that's great.   

I joined my gym about 3 months or so ago, but I've only just started going regularly.  I like that it's about a minute walk from my apartment and that its cheap, what I don't like is that the trainers bug me several times each visit about signing up with one of them.  It's like they all say 'oh look, fat girl!' and swarm.  To avoid this I go early in the morning before work  when there are less trainers around and I have been avoiding the weekends.  My new exercise dedication program requires me to go there. 

This morning another trainer approached me.  This time he told me that he's seen me the last couple of weeks and thought that I was doing a good job.  That was it.  As df is 3500 miles away and my bff had a baby two weeks ago I feel like I'm alone.  It's just so nice to have someone who didn't need to say anything say something nice!

Science can go one way or another everyday -one day eggs are horrible the next day, recommended for weight loss -

There is a lot of evidence that eating small meals throughout the day can keep blood sugar in check and can help you not overeat at the next meal. This has been beneficial for many people with a lifestyle change.
Knowing many, many, many people with Type 2 diabetes, this has been a saving grace for them in trying to regulate their blood sugars.
 It hasn't worked for others as well- as they found they still overeat. So they had to increase the protein and good carbs at other meals.   So people need to do what works for them.

There is also a lot of evidence that low carb helps, or South Beach, or Slimming World, or that Jenny Craig/Lighter Life/Nutrisystem diets help too. 

There isn't a one size fits all kind of way of losing weight.  What is helpful though, is that we, with the advice of our own health professionals, lose weight in a healthy manner.    We should all remember not to take medical advice off a message board, but to double check that we don't harm ourselves and that we need to check with our own health professionals before making drastic changes. 

We also need to be supportive of anyone trying to make a lifestyle change. Because its bloody hard, no matter what way we do it.