Nutrition for beginners: Hi, Not sure where... - Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

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Nutrition for beginners

Sean_Davies profile image
12 Replies

Hi,

Not sure where this post goes yet so take it easy with me :-)

I have a lifetime of bad habits and lack of nutritional knowledge/skills to make up for coupled with terrible eating habits and an addiction to all things Cadbury’s, McVities and Haribos. I felt a twinge a year ago in my chest which triggered some action so I bought a fitbit and a treadmill - now my day doesn’t start before my 15k sweat walk with Jack Reacher or Pike for company. This has been a great start and has begun to change my life but it didn’t stop the cravings and it also petered out after a year. No body toning and weight is yoyoing.

Which led me to discover joe wicks a couple months ago and I’m loving his lean in 15 program. It takes some effort but is fitting with my now complete addiction to the treadmill.

But ultimately I am missing any kind of support mechanism, still have sooooo much to learn about nutrition/fitness and still get strong urges for sugar. I’m looking for like minded people with similar health and fitness issues who are keen to change their lives. People I can share ideas with and learn from and who are in the same boat regarding sugar cravings and how to curb them.

Sorry for droning on, hopefully I’ve not bored you too tears and there’s similar people/forum groups out there??

BR

Sean Davies

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Sean_Davies profile image
Sean_Davies
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12 Replies
Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator

Hi Sean_Davies ,

No, you’re in the right place!😀 You can check the Topics section for information and Healthy Recipes for cooking ideas for meals and snacks.

Please feel free to continue posting your postings and comments, asking more questions, take the polls on the Polls section, attend the monthly meetings (we have a meeting this Saturday on the Diabetes India group at 10 am/3 pm/7:30 pm) and of course, meet the other members of the group.

Zest profile image
Zest

Hi Sean_Davies ,

Welcome to the Healthy eating forum, and your post was interesting to read - I can see you're enjoying your exercise and learning about nutrition. This forum is connected to the NHS Healthy eating pages, and a link to those is here, if you'd like to take a look:

nhs.uk/livewell/healthy-eat...

There are quite a few 'active' challenges that go on in the NHS weight loss community - so maybe have a look in there too - and there are other communities too - so maybe put your interests in the 'search window' (top right' and you'll see what other communities you might like to join in with.

I hope to see you around and about this community - the Topic 'HE and Exercise' is a new one - hence it's only got one post so far, but hopefully it will grow as more people post and get involved.

Zest :-)

Hi Sean, I gave up sugar, including fruit entirely 4 weeks ago following the guidance in Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar, the 8 Week Program book. Everything, including jars of sauces, sugary pickled things, etc. went. I realised I can't even eat a piece of fruit without getting cravings so cold turkey was best for me. After the 8 weeks I'm going to continue because I feel great, I'm not constantly hungry anymore because I'm not getting sugar highs and lows and have been losing weight steadily. The Weight loss forum is a very active place I recommend. Jem 😀

in reply to

Hi there Fab_Jem

I have the Davina McCall's 5 weeks' to sugar free book and it's not the best as she still includes honey etc so you still have that sweet craving. I'm going to look at Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar, the 8 Week Program.

This is why I like these forums, it's amazing how we pick up a lot of tips.

Alicia :)

in reply to

Great! Let me know how you get on 😀

in reply to

Thank you and I will :)

Sean_Davies profile image
Sean_Davies

This is great guys, thank you very much. I’ll head over to these forums and get stuck in - exactly what I was hoping for!

I read a quick ebook a few weeks ago by Ellen Parker (OMG I would die without chocolate) which is a fun look at how she also went cold turkey on cutting out sugar instead of making gradual changes here and there. It’s a good cheap read (£1.99 or whatever). She emptied the cupboards and threw away all the sauces and tins. I haven’t gone to that extreme but I’m no longer eating processed stuff or anything out of a tin. I haven’t given up fruit - in fact I’m eating more because I’m making more and more smoothies and I use cacao nibs for the choc sensation - I haven’t noticed any sugar cravings related to fruit BUT I was horrified when I read that making fruit juices (especially with apples) concentrates sugar and should be avoided. Eating fruit with the fibre has a natural way of cancelling out the sugar apparently but strip out the fibre and it’s a sugar nightmare to be avoided.

I’m shocked at what our food companies are doing to us and our kids, surely this can’t continue..... can it???

in reply to Sean_Davies

I know, it's disgusting the way big business exploits us and governments take backhanders from them to maintain the syatus quo.

I will have a look at the Ellen Parker book by the way, it sounds good.

happydodderer profile image
happydodderer

What you are really searching for for, Sean, is nothing complicated or extreme but simply to get back to natural living.

We humans are simply mammals and need to live as all mammals are intended to live, simply by consuming the other life forms which our bodies are designed to thrive on, i.e in our case, raw fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc. This does not mean you can't enjoy a good fry-up or meat dish from time to time, you certainly can if you like, but you simply must make sure that every day a good proportion of live natural food is a significant part of your intake. If you do this you can virtually forget any other dietary concerns.

One of the things I am less enthusiastic about in this group is it sometimes seems more like a cookery club than a health forum, with recipes very regularly included. I have no objection to it of course if others enjoy them but when did you ever see cans, sachets, tins, processed items, bottles, etc. growing on trees or in the ground. Never of course. And what other life forms on the planet kills it's food my boiling, super-heating, sterilising, pasteurising, etc. before consuming it. Again none.

Simply stay as close to nature as she intended us to be and the majority of our health problems will simply go away.

Dt_RiyazKhan_Hyd profile image
Dt_RiyazKhan_Hyd

Hi Sean,

Welcome.

I will give suggestions which are on a tangent - specially to the 'throw the cans out of window kind of advice'. :)

I have maintained my weight at 70-72 kgs for the past 30 years. Now I am fifty plus going towards 25!!

I preach and practice simplicity and mindfulness. That works amazingly on people and me.

1. If you crave for sugar - So be it - accept it - Stop feeling guilty - stop fighting it.

I mean if we have tastebuds on our tongue and goodies around us, so its not a curse. It is just a biological phenomenon.

2. We just have to manage the quantities and frequencies of these goodies, that is it. Don't run away from taste. It is a boon and it is a bliss.

3. Mindful eating is the key to good health, eating less and reducing weight.

4. Love your body more than the Pizzas and you will never fall in love with Pizza again.

This is my approach. It works for me and other people.

All the best!!

Penel profile image
Penel

Perhaps have a look at Michael Mosley's latest book / website? "The Clever Guts Diet".

cleverguts.com/clever-guts-...

He writes about the importance of having heathy bacteria in our guts, how it affects both our physical and mental health, and how to achieve it with healthy eating. He emphasises "eating the rainbow" and trying out things like fermented food.

Good luck with giving the sugar. It took me several goes to do it. I gradually lengthened the times between eating something sugary and eventually found the cravings had gone away.

BadHare profile image
BadHare

Sugar cravings can be a sign of magnesium deficiency.

Try taking chelated magnesium at bedtime on an empty stomach with water only, using a transdermal spray, or soaking in a bath with a few mug fulls of Epsom salts or magnesium crystals.

I make my own transdermal spray as I find the commercial brands sting too much, as well as expensive.

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