Do you agree with the statement you are what you eat

4allweknow
That reminded me that potatoes used to comes in stones and half stones

I remember being sent to the shop for 'half a stone of potatoes'.

A friend of ours (male) only eats once a day, Kim19 and he stayed slim for years, although he's put a bit of weight on recently.

DD reckons 5 small meals a day is best and she is slim.

My friend sent me this after her new year resolution went askew !

Jennifer Eccles your right, I was that fat child and am now a fat adult. I ate the same as all the rest of the family who were all slim, I am talking about the late 40's early 50's so no fast food outlets, no pocket money so no way of eating anything more than was put on the table. When I was a teenager the slimmest I had ever been was a size 16. Now well into my 70's and still fat.

I read that one needs 5% fewer calories every decade which is sad news.

I have been on a diet since I was about 15 and have a very restricted intake now as, if I put on weight, I cannot lose it again without near starvation - which is horrible.

I am slim but, as I'm over 60, I haven't much else going for me. It has had ravaging effects on my face compared with chubbier folks with lovely smooth skin. I eat frugally in the week and have ordinary food at the weekend, when I also have a drinkie and some chocolate.

My DC both have their DF's chubby genes and love food and eating as does he.

I can see that from their eating and weight and my own, that calories and exercise really do have an effect. Eat fewer and stay slim, eat more and exercise less and the weight stays on.

I was a very, very skinny child who was always encouraged to 'eat up' and try to finish my dinner (which was healthy, lots of homegrown veg etc).
It wasn't until the hormones started rising that I put on a bit of weight.

I do find portion control difficult which could be a result.

It’s not about how fat you are but how healthy. And nothing is a guarantee.

All you can do is eat and drink as best as you can and hope it pays off. If you deliberately over eat and constantly binge on junk food then that’s your choice.

Dyou know I think we are what we eat ...2 weeks ago I had an accident and sustained a displaced shoulder and a broken jaw. Well as a consequence I am on a very restricted diet of soups...mash...scrambled egg... rice pud in fact anything that does not have to be chewed....all fruits are getting ‘blitzed’ and drunk through a straw. I’ve lost 2 lbs in weight and I’m on this diet for at least another 4-6 weeks. That’s could be a nice weight loss of about 6 more pounds...gotta look on the bright side ...that’ll bring me down to 9.5 stones . Not a good way to lose weight ,but hey-ho I’ll take it!?

Oh dear, Saggi I hope you feel better soon.
Not the best way to lost weight.

I recollect, as a child, being sent for a 'forpit' of potatoes which I believe is a quarter of a stone.

I believe it is impossible for anyone on a low calorie diet (say 500cal) who is moderately active not to lose weight.
My grandmother while hospitalised was put on a low calorie diet and lost a pile of weight but once home, despite swearing that she was still only eating exactly the same amount, couldn’t lose even 1lb. Clearly she was kidding herself.

Not sure I can agree with “you are what you eat” entirely. More and more cancers are shown to be caused by mutated genes (which all of us have to a greater or lesser degree) and you can’t do anything about your genetic makeup.

My son had a head injury and was told his weight gain might be due to this. I know others who have health problems and can't lose weight.
Perhaps there are other factors, not just food.

Yes we are what we eat since our food fuels the brain, so poor quality food must mean poor quality thinking!

I do think that you are responsible for eating whatever food you choose. If you choose to eat too much or the ‘wrong’ food then it will impact on your weight and how you feel and look.

I’m a bit obsessed with gut bacteria and making sure that I eat a healthy and varied diet. That means I eat full fat everything, never eat or drink low calorie foods or drinks.

I had a very bad patch with my psoriasis, went on a very strict diet and felt I really did deserve the skin I got. I also lost a bit of weight but that wasn’t the point.
Now I basically keep to the principal of the diet but have lots of treats.
I’ve included a photo of the cards my sisters sent me for my birthday. They chose individually!

Maybe I’ve mentioned gut bacteria and real food once too often??

Sorry forgot the photo?

Sorry again, I can’t read the words.
The shark is wondering whether to go for the full fat, semi-skimmed or skimmed.

JenniferEccles - The obesity epidemic hasn't been caused by people eating too much - it's because we've been given wrong health advice over the years. We were wrongly told to avoid fat, therefore too much carbohydrates have been eaten, particularly sugar and processed food.

I've ended up with high blood sugar, I'm pre-diabetic. I'm now eating low carb, have lost weight and hope to reduce my blood sugar.

glammagran whatever are genetic inheritance and the possibility that the genes we inherit or which mutate could increase our probability of getting various diseases, that probability is always lower for those who eat a good balanced diet, keep their weight down and take exercise.

Pamelaj1 I have psoriasis, what was that diet please?

Do try to stick to the Dr Perriconi diet for my skin, it does work, skin best it’s ever looked better now at 61 than at 16! Wish he had a diet for everything else!

Skin on face that is , obvs given previous post skin on body another matter!

Up to a point, we are, perhaps, what we eat. However, poor diet alone doesn't necessarily cause ill health - many factors can come into play including environment, how active we are, genetic factors and so on. It's not so clear cut that diet alone affects our health though a healthy diet is important, and it is well documented that fast foods, sugary foods, convenience foods, etc are not good for us if eaten regularly, coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle from an early age, (which is more common now than used to be the case, as we tend to drive or be driven to places more frequently, less hard manual work is done than used to be the case, and so on). I would say that it is balance in what we eat that is important, along with quantity. If we partake more calories regularly than we can burn off, then weight gain is likely.
As other posters have pointed out, it's much more complex than diet alone.

My bloke, who is beyond skinny, looking a bit emaciated these days, shovels food away. He claims to have a small appetite but eats a big meal, dessert and then a couple of hours later is back for a snack. Frequently finishes my food. Yet it's me that is fat. He is also a lifelong smoker (well over 50 years) yet it was me that had cancer years ago (hereditary, but still...). NOT that I am wishing it on him.

There has been much very encouraging research recently about how type 2 diabetes can be reversed by going on a very low calorie diet for a short while.

Dr. Michael Moseley has written books and newspaper articles about this and the results are astounding.

Of course determination and willpower are required but to be able to reverse such a potentially serious disease just by diet is astonishing isn’t it?

I honestly don’t know why ALL doctors don’t strongly urge their patients to follow it.

I am only talking about type 2 of course.