Less is more

 It's time to get back to my slimming drive which got suspended at the end of April because of travelling over the spring and because the summer has been too lazy. I did well, losing 32 pounds between November and April. I don't have much more than a stone to lose till I'll be back in my healthy weight range. 

Here's my good-luck whale on my lap to help keep me motivated!

Lose this belly, he says!

Notice how my feet are trying to emulate his tail. We are one, he and I: siblings in blubber. So let's see if I can get well into the healthy weight range by Christmas.

I mentioned various books in my last post and one that I have just finished reading is relevant to weight loss, or rather weight gain, and that is the bestselling tome Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken. 

It's a pretty disturbing look into why the world has developed an obesity crisis in the last forty years, especially in poor countries or among poorer classes. The easy-to-eat processed food that abounds would seem to be the culprit. The stigma attached to being fat makes fat people depressed but, the author argues, their size may not actually be their fault. I recall how thin people used to be in the 1970s - look at any old TV show of the era - before ultra-processed food really got a grip. Modern ultra-processed food is designed to be appetising so you eat more than you should because it tastes good, and it's soft so it goes down faster. And the food industry makes more money as a result of your overeating what is cheap to produce.

Reading this alongside other scientist authors working in the same field, such as Tim Spector of King's College, London, I get a fairly awful picture of how processed food is bad for us; how trying to maintain longer shelf life and improve palatability is harming our bodies. The correlation is not certain, but then neither is that between tobacco and cancer. But just as smokers on average die sooner of nasty diseases more often than non-smokers do, ultra-processed food consumers are fatter and unhealthier than the few who can still find 'real' food. 

I'm fortunate in living in Italy where people are still keen on local, natural foods. OK, so cheese and wine are processed, of course, but not to the extent that, say, US-style burgers and ice-creams are. Food origin, hygiene and overall food policing here are very strict. For example, pork sausages here are around 93% pork from specified farms, the rest being salt, herbs and casing. This compares to the UK where half the sausage may be rusk, to say nothing of preservatives, colourings and other agents. Pasta in this region is made of durum wheat flour and water; nothing else, not even egg. There are local denominations for certain specific products that are jealously guarded, and this guarantees quality. There is also a Slow Food Movement specifically to contrast the idea of fast food. In fact, fast food restaurants, such as McDonald's and Burger King, have somewhat different products from elsewhere in the world as there are requirements for them to use local ingredients here. To be honest, a quarter pounder with cheese wouldn't sell here - never mind the metric system - because US-style meat, cheese and pickles just wouldn't appeal to the local palate.

So I'm in a better position to get healthier simply because the food is better quality and not so full of processed stuff. I am spending more on proper bread, but I eat less of it as it takes more effort and is more filling than a processed loaf. I'm also weaning myself off sweeteners as they are not good at all.

I recommend the book if you're into reality horror and maybe feel it's better to eat well.

Anyway, wish me luck for the rest of my slimming journey.

Sue x