Do You Ever Think About What You Eat?

[IanHenry]

Here in the U.K there are a couple of twin brothers, both of whom are doctors called Chris & Alexander Van Tulleken, they have spent many years investigating food or more to the point Ultra Processed Food. 

It's well worth listening to what those people are telling us.

Here's an interview with Chris Van Tulleken:

 

Also, check out Christophers YouTube Video's

chris van tulleken - YouTube

Edited August 13 by IanHenry
Double post of video

[Larsongs]

I was exposed to Diet & Exercise from the time I was a little kid by my Dad. We try to eat Organic foods as much as possible. I believe you are what you eat. I also believe staying as fit as possible. Exercise is also part of my lifestyle.

[Karloff]

Now that I'm 64 I'm more conscious of it than I used to be.  Now I'm just trying n hoping to counteract all the previous years of not caring.

[Tman]

All of the time. I avoid processed foods and especially processed sugars and starches.  It started when I had lunch with my 94 year old French grandmother in Paris. I was a 35 year old big shot know it all doctor and admonished her for eating steak and slathering butter on it. I was overweight and she was not. She looked at me and said, "J'ai 94 Ans et to vas me dire comment manger!" (I'm 94 and you're going to tell me how to eat!).

At the time the world thought fat free was the way to go. I started to look into the real causes of obesity, metabolic syndrome and what it morphs into: type 2 diabetes. Hence the change.
 

[sparquelito]

I'm 65 now, and I swim cardio laps, 35 minutes solid, a few mornings a week. 
And I ride the mountain bike for 45 minutes of tough cardio on the odd days. 

I have been cutting down on the processed foods for many years, and going more for fresh meats and vegetables. 
Some actual fruit, every now and then. 

Every now and then a good burger goes down really nicely. 
But fast food isn't a regular thing anymore. 
More like a rare treat. 

The real ***** of it is that, as I get older, I have to eat less and less. 
And smaller portions. 

Never mind that I haven't had a sweet treat of any sort for well over a dozen years. 
No donuts, no cake, no pie, no Snickers bars, nothing. 

And I'm still too heavy according to the insurance actuary tables. 

Oh well. 
I still have my cold beers in the evening. 

🤨
 

['Scales]

Absolutely, yes. My project this year is to become the fittest I have ever been as an adult, and it’s fairly straightforward when you just commit to eating better and exercising a reasonable amount. Where heavily processed food comes in is that simply it often contains a lot of calories and is easy to eat a lot of (although to be fair so do some natural foods like nuts) and doesn’t keep you feeling full,  so if you eat and drink it, then it becomes hard to consume less energy than you expend, so you get fatter over time. I still eat it because I like ice cream, chocolate, beer and other treats sometimes, and it’s unsustainable to deny myself things I enjoy - but it’s been so easy to shift the dial toward healthy eating I wouldn’t have believed it, and the results in just 6 months to my waist/weight, energy levels , and mental outlook have been quite frankly life changing. 

[tx-ogre]

About 18 months ago I re-evaluated my diet.  After following all the low-fat, high carb dietary guidance and developing more and more medical problems, I switched to an ultra-low carb diet.  I no longer avoid fat.  I completely avoid ultra-processed foods, sugars and starches.  I also avoid anything with seed (so-called healthy “vegetable”) oils.   I only use butter, extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil or coconut/MCT oil.  I eat lots of eggs, meat (beef, pork, chicken and all kinds of fish and shrimp) and cheese.  I even use lard and beef tallow on occasion.  I eat my first meal between noon and. 1:00 PM and my second/last meal around 6:30 PM.  I eat whole food that is filling until I am full.   I don’t snack between meals because I don’t get hungry.  I have considering going to one meal a day, but would have a hard time consuming the amount of protein I need in a single meal.
 

Where I used to do 60 minutes of aerobic training 6 days a week, I now do 60 minutes of strength training and high-intensity anaerobic training 6 days a week.  Before changing my diet/lifestyle, I rarely lost more than a few pounds at a time and usually gained it back, plus more.  Since the changes, I’ve gone from 332 lbs down to 212 (my same weight the day I graduated from Marine Corps boot camp at age 18).  I reversed my T2D.  No longer take Insulin or Metformin.  My BP is now normal without meds.  My cholesterol (HDL & LDL) are both good and my triglycerides are way down without need of a statin any longer.  My chronic pain, including my psoriatic arthritis, has been greatly reduced without meds, not even NSAIDs.  

Edited August 14 by tx-ogre

[IanHenry]

A few years ago, one of the Van Tulleken brothers lived on fast food for a month as part of a TV experiment, by the end of that month he was really sick.

I think the upshot of what Alexander says is "if it's got a bar code on it, don't eat it".

Where I live I'm lucky that there are good local food producers, a local baker, butcher, etc.  I would avoid supermarket bread like the plague, the stuff they sell in the UK is illegal to sell in France, that tells me all I need to know!

 

 

[sparquelito]

One of our local chain grocery store, Publix, has a bakery. 
And we always buy their sourdough bread, fresh out of the oven, sliced. 
Man, is it great. 
No preservatives whatsoever. 

Down side is, we get halfway thru the loaf, and the rest goes stale. 

Oh well. 
My birds, raccoons, and the fish in the creek all LOVE the leftover bread!

🙂

[gearbasher]

Jack LaLanne once said: "If it tastes good, spit it out."

I get a lot of exercise. Not for the sake of exercise, but because I enjoy it. I pretty much eat what I want. I feel: Why eat what you don't like, just to live longer and eat more stuff you don't like.

[Notes_Norton]

Definitely. That might be why I am one of the few people at my age on zero prescription drugs. Also, I haven't had a cold or flu in over 15 years. Doc says my body is like a healthy person 20 years younger. I've been gigging since 1964 and have never-ever called in sick.

Without good health, you have nothing. Some people live to eat, I eat to live.

What works for me may not work for the next person, so I won't go into it.

[duane v]

Only things I don't touch are cheese cake,  pecan pie, macaroni and cheese and ketchup...... it's game on otherwise.

[Tadamori]

Always. Try to eat well

['Scales]

6 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

Without good health, you have nothing. Some people live to eat, I eat to live.

What works for me may not work for the next person, so I won't go into it.

Yep. It’s become a bit like religion or politics, fueled by every self anointed guru on social media with a pseudo-degree and a book or system to sell. I believe however you get to what you are happy with health-wise without becoming sick or miserable in the process is the right way for you.
Soon now, when I hit my goal bmi, feel that my muscles are strong enough to serve me well, and get a blood test that shows nothing problematic, then I’ll be happy to just maintain all that and just enjoy the benefits that flow from health and fitness. 

[Sgt. Pepper]

8 hours ago, sparquelito said:

One of our local chain grocery store, Publix, has a bakery. 
And we always buy their sourdough bread, fresh out of the oven, sliced. 
Man, is it great. 
No preservatives whatsoever. 

Down side is, we get halfway thru the loaf, and the rest goes stale. 

Oh well. 
My birds, raccoons, and the fish in the creek all LOVE the leftover bread!

🙂

Ever eat sourdough from SF? Nothing else compares. Trust me I love SD and I have not had good SD outside of the Bay Area. 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Beer

Scotch

Chocolate

Bread

Cheese

These are the 5 food groups.

[sparquelito]

58 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Ever eat sourdough from SF? Nothing else compares. Trust me I love SD and I have not had good SD outside of the Bay Area. 

No sir. 

I flew helicopters in and out of California many times between 1979 and 2017. 
I have spent good times in Woodland, Modesto,  Bakersfield, Sacramento, Monterrey, Fresno, Lemoore Naval Air Station, San Jose, Paso Robles, Jolon, Fort Hunter Liggett, Ford Ord, Edwards Air Force Base, Barstow-Daggett, and (just passing thru) L.A. 

Never experienced San Franciso in any way, shape, or form. 

There was a time when visiting there would be an exciting and pleasurable experience. 

In 2024, eh, not so much. 
🥲

[gearbasher]

As I'm typing this, I'm cooking up a bacon cheeseburger with a side of white potatoes smothered in butter. Gonna wash it down with a Coke.

4 hours on the bike, tomorrow, should get it out of my system.

[Sgt. Pepper]

40 minutes ago, sparquelito said:

No sir. 

I flew helicopters in and out of California many times between 1979 and 2017. 
I have spent good times in Woodland, Modesto,  Bakersfield, Sacramento, Monterrey, Fresno, Lemoore Naval Air Station, San Jose, Paso Robles, Jolon, Fort Hunter Liggett, Ford Ord, Edwards Air Force Base, Barstow-Daggett, and (just passing thru) L.A. 

Never experienced San Franciso in any way, shape, or form. 

There was a time when visiting there would be an exciting and pleasurable experience. 

In 2024, eh, not so much. 
🥲

Looks like you saw it how it should be seen. No one needs to go to Sacramento. 

Get a  good whiff in Bakersfield?

Edited August 14 by Sgt. Pepper

[IanHenry]

19 hours ago, sparquelito said:

One of our local chain grocery store, Publix, has a bakery. 
And we always buy their sourdough bread, fresh out of the oven, sliced. 
Man, is it great. 
No preservatives whatsoever. 

Down side is, we get halfway thru the loaf, and the rest goes stale. 

Oh well. 
My birds, raccoons, and the fish in the creek all LOVE the leftover bread!

🙂

Stale bread makes really good toast, also you can freeze it or make breadcrumbs and freeze it for when you need them in a recipe.  Don't waste anything.

['Scales]

I used to hang out with a French friend whenever I was in Switzerland and he’d buy these artisanal baguettes that would seriously turn into weapons if you didn’t eat them within about 24 hours, so then we’d take ‘em down to feed to the geese on the lake - these poor geese would be drinking all this water to eventually soak the lumps of bread stuck halfway down their necks enough to swallow down. I love baguettes but….😬

Edited August 15 by 'Scales

[Sgt. Pepper]

15 hours ago, sparquelito said:
🥲

They probably don’t have to worry about taxes. 

I guess fixing our problems inside the USA is not a concern for DC. It’s what candidate we can throw up (get it) to win the big election.

Edited August 15 by Sgt. Pepper

[RBSinTo]

I think about what I eat all the time.

For example:

"I think I'll eat this Kosher Salami."

"I think I'll eat this Club Sandwich."

I think I'll eat these Spareribs, with a baked Potato."

I think I'll eat this Cheese Burger, with French Fries and gravy."

And I'm 76 , weigh 170 lbs., and play hockey with people much younger than I am three times a week.

Make of this what you will.

RBSinTo

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, RBSinTo said:

I think about what I eat all the time.

For example:

"I think I'll eat this Kosher Salami."

"I think I'll eat this Club Sandwich."

I think I'll eat these Spareribs, with a baked Potato."

I think I'll eat this Cheese Burger, with French Fries and gravy."

And I'm 76 , weigh 170 lbs., and play hockey with people much younger than I am three times a week.

Make of this what you will.

RBSinTo

 

My wife is gonna eat Poutine when we go to Canada in 9 days. I know she is thinking about that. I’ll have one bite. Fries, brown gravy and cheese curds are not my thing.

Edited August 15 by Sgt. Pepper

[merciful-evans]

Yes. I researched nutrition 20 years ago and did some heath promotion work while at GE Aviation.

But tonight its fish & chips. A rare indulgence.