Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes weee fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
It certainly has the feel of a class-based moral panic. An easy way for Guardian-readers to make themselves feel good about not being poor.
Personally, I enjoy cooking and make most meals from scratch - and I'm lucky enough to have the time and resources to do that. Whether I'm any healthier for eating sourdough vs chorleywood bread is a question that I don't think can easily be answered given the number of other potential factors in play.
It's a very loosely defined term, but it does capture something real.
The real killers are the high amounts of salt and sugars added to make cheap food addictive. 'High fructose corn syrup' is the US apotheosis of that trend.
Quite interesting range of results from those I know who have.
I got 9 on the Cognitive Disorganisation part and 5 on the Introvertive Anhedonia, but low on the other two. Does that mean I have ADD?
I appear to be abnormally normal. It’s almost disappointing. Scores of 2, 3, 1 and 2 for the four tests.
I got a 4 on impulsive_nonconformity, 2 for cognitive_disorganisation, and 1 for the others.
I'd be interested in seeing Leon's scores - high marks for both impulsive_nonconformity and unusual_experiences?
I suspect that cultural and educational factors influence the scores too. Being British I’ve been brought up to avoid hype, so when I saw some of the questions I thought “I don’t do anything that exciting” and “well it’s never quite that intense” (like the question about almost being able to hear your own thoughts). And trying to second guess what they’re looking for brings in some extra bias - eg if you want to feel you are a tortured genius or a natural rebel you might nudge yourself answer questions in a certain way.
The question on instinctively wanting to do the opposite of what everyone else does is interesting. I expect we all have that, it’s a feature of childhood. But some really have the urge strongly and others don’t.
There might be a small effect, but not much, I suspect.
The first measure, for example - when you close your eyes, many people just see black. For me it's a fine grey fuzz on a black background.
Others (more unusually) will see the effect with their eyes open: an overlay of fine fuzz over everything.
That's not something culturally determined.
I didn’t get that question. Perhaps they vary it for each “player”. I see grey fuzz.
My son has just taken it and got 5, 9, 4 and 7. I don’t think he’s that unusual (though I’m not surprised by the second score).
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
It's perfectly easy to eat unhealthily on 'healthy' foods; likewise, it is perfectly easy to east healthily on 'unhealthy' foods.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
"...Compared to traditional bread-making processes, CBP uses more yeast, added fats, chemicals, and high-speed mixing to allow the dough to be made with lower-protein wheat, and produces bread in a shorter time. It was developed by Bill Collins, George Elton and Norman Chamberlain of the British Baking Industries Research Association at Chorleywood in 1961. As of 2009, 80% of bread made in the United Kingdom used the process.."
It sounds depressing and shit and unhealthy. But am I being unfair? Serious question
I make all my own bread. If I can avoid eating it all in one go it freezes very well, but if left out it goes stale very very quickly. It certainly deteriorates by the next day so I have to freeze it on the day of making it. I assume lots of the stuff they put in shop bread is to stop it doing that. The difference between homemade bread and shop bread is chalk and cheese.
PS the only exception is fried egg or bacon sandwiches. They need the crappiest white sliced bread to be perfect.
Bacon etc needs a class up from the crappiest bread. The best in my view is a somewhat soggy bloomer type affair that you'd reject for other purposes. Admittedly I'm inclined to the soggy end of bread generally. The important quality is that when the sandwich was pressed down (key to bacon sandwiches) small areas became a bit doughy.
Quite interesting range of results from those I know who have.
I got 9 on the Cognitive Disorganisation part and 5 on the Introvertive Anhedonia, but low on the other two. Does that mean I have ADD?
I appear to be abnormally normal. It’s almost disappointing. Scores of 2, 3, 1 and 2 for the four tests.
I got a 4 on impulsive_nonconformity, 2 for cognitive_disorganisation, and 1 for the others.
I'd be interested in seeing Leon's scores - high marks for both impulsive_nonconformity and unusual_experiences?
I suspect that cultural and educational factors influence the scores too. Being British I’ve been brought up to avoid hype, so when I saw some of the questions I thought “I don’t do anything that exciting” and “well it’s never quite that intense” (like the question about almost being able to hear your own thoughts). And trying to second guess what they’re looking for brings in some extra bias - eg if you want to feel you are a tortured genius or a natural rebel you might nudge yourself answer questions in a certain way.
The question on instinctively wanting to do the opposite of what everyone else does is interesting. I expect we all have that, it’s a feature of childhood. But some really have the urge strongly and others don’t.
There might be a small effect, but not much, I suspect.
The first measure, for example - when you close your eyes, many people just see black. For me it's a fine grey fuzz on a black background.
Others (more unusually) will see the effect with their eyes open: an overlay of fine fuzz over everything.
That's not something culturally determined.
I didn’t get that question. Perhaps they vary it for each “player”. I see grey fuzz.
My son has just taken it and got 5, 9, 4 and 7. I don’t think he’s that unusual (though I’m not surprised by the second score).
"When in the dark do you often see shapes and forms even though there is nothing there?"
There's a huge range of what people see - for most if us it's either black, or a bit of fuzz (which is probably a mark of how well the brain filters out visual noise).
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Hmm. Dunno. I think you can eat an amazing diet for a relatively modest budget, but you need to source and cook it.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes weee fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
It certainly has the feel of a class-based moral panic. An easy way for Guardian-readers to make themselves feel good about not being poor.
Personally, I enjoy cooking and make most meals from scratch - and I'm lucky enough to have the time and resources to do that. Whether I'm any healthier for eating sourdough vs chorleywood bread is a question that I don't think can easily be answered given the number of other potential factors in play.
It's a very loosely defined term, but it does capture something real.
The real killers are the high amounts of salt and sugars added to make cheap food addictive. 'High fructose corn syrup' is the US apotheosis of that trend.
Isn't the usual definition something like 'a food product that contains ingredients that have no culinary use, and which typically wouldn't be found in a normal kitchen'?
And, yeah, I get the point - whilst HFCS isn't a thing in the UK, stuff like hydrogenated vegetable oil and hydrolysed proteins certainly are. But are they actually any worse for us?
But if added sugar and salt are the problem, why not concentrate on discouraging those rather than panicking about a proxy measure that may not even be all that accurate?
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes weee fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
It certainly has the feel of a class-based moral panic. An easy way for Guardian-readers to make themselves feel good about not being poor.
Personally, I enjoy cooking and make most meals from scratch - and I'm lucky enough to have the time and resources to do that. Whether I'm any healthier for eating sourdough vs chorleywood bread is a question that I don't think can easily be answered given the number of other potential factors in play.
It's a very loosely defined term, but it does capture something real.
The real killers are the high amounts of salt and sugars added to make cheap food addictive. 'High fructose corn syrup' is the US apotheosis of that trend.
Isn't the usual definition something like 'a food product that contains ingredients that have no culinary use, and which typically wouldn't be found in a normal kitchen'?
And, yeah, I get the point - whilst HFCS isn't a thing in the UK, stuff like hydrogenated vegetable oil and hydrolysed proteins certainly are. But are they actually any worse for us?
But if added sugar and salt are the problem, why not concentrate on discouraging those rather than panicking about a proxy measure that may not even be all that accurate?
That is pretty well what government is looking at. And getting strong pushback from the large food manufacturers.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes weee fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
It certainly has the feel of a class-based moral panic. An easy way for Guardian-readers to make themselves feel good about not being poor.
Personally, I enjoy cooking and make most meals from scratch - and I'm lucky enough to have the time and resources to do that. Whether I'm any healthier for eating sourdough vs chorleywood bread is a question that I don't think can easily be answered given the number of other potential factors in play.
It's a very loosely defined term, but it does capture something real.
The real killers are the high amounts of salt and sugars added to make cheap food addictive. 'High fructose corn syrup' is the US apotheosis of that trend.
In general, has the demonisation of saturated fat been counterproductive because it's replaced with less nutritious and less filling alternatives so people end up eating more?
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Hmm. Dunno. I think you can eat an amazing diet for a relatively modest budget, but you need to source and cook it.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
There is some truth in this, but most working people endure long, busy, tedious days and don't always have the time, energy and inclination to muck about cooking from scratch afterwards. We also enjoy treats, and most of the food that tastes really nice is loaded with sugar and/or fat.
There are valid reasons why your average person doesn't relax with a bowl of raw cabbage at the end of another day of wage slavery.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
"...Compared to traditional bread-making processes, CBP uses more yeast, added fats, chemicals, and high-speed mixing to allow the dough to be made with lower-protein wheat, and produces bread in a shorter time. It was developed by Bill Collins, George Elton and Norman Chamberlain of the British Baking Industries Research Association at Chorleywood in 1961. As of 2009, 80% of bread made in the United Kingdom used the process.."
It sounds depressing and shit and unhealthy. But am I being unfair? Serious question
I make all my own bread. If I can avoid eating it all in one go it freezes very well, but if left out it goes stale very very quickly. It certainly deteriorates by the next day so I have to freeze it on the day of making it. I assume lots of the stuff they put in shop bread is to stop it doing that. The difference between homemade bread and shop bread is chalk and cheese.
PS the only exception is fried egg or bacon sandwiches. They need the crappiest white sliced bread to be perfect.
Bacon etc needs a class up from the crappiest bread. The best in my view is a somewhat soggy bloomer type affair that you'd reject for other purposes. Admittedly I'm inclined to the soggy end of bread generally. The important quality is that when the sandwich was pressed down (key to bacon sandwiches) small areas became a bit doughy.
If you can find it, give Jones' Village Bakery sliced white a try. It's about 50p a loaf more than your Hovis or Warbutons, so isn't overly fancy - but it's got much, much better flavour (halfway towards what in Northern Ireland would be called 'plain bread') whilst still being squishy enough for a great bacon sandwich. They're based in North Wales, so probably available in supermarkets around there - but Ocado are your best bet anywhere else.
And, obviously, the bacon needs to be streaky and pressed down into the pan or skillet to get the fat to render out properly.
Endless speculation creates the necessary pulp to feed the 24 hour news cycle. The list of people with a reasonable idea of when the next election is going to be held consists either of Rishi Sunak or nobody, depending on how dithery the PM is feeling.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Hmm. Dunno. I think you can eat an amazing diet for a relatively modest budget, but you need to source and cook it.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
There is some truth in this, but most working people endure long, busy, tedious days and don't always have the time, energy and inclination to muck about cooking from scratch afterwards. We also enjoy treats, and most of the food that tastes really nice is loaded with sugar and/or fat.
There are valid reasons why your average person doesn't relax with a bowl of raw cabbage at the end of another day of wage slavery.
Well then they’re all gonna die of plebeian heart attacks - and their ugly obese proletarian children will not reproduce
1. Labour like talk of a May election, because then the government looks frit when they don't call one. (Very likely)
2. Rishi likes talk of a May election as a threat to his rebels. Stop being mean about the PM or I'll go to the country and a lot of you are out of a job. (Quite likely)
3. The government has reached that stage of decay where it longs for the sweet embrace of death. (Less likely, but more likely than it should be.)
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Hmm. Dunno. I think you can eat an amazing diet for a relatively modest budget, but you need to source and cook it.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
There is some truth in this, but most working people endure long, busy, tedious days and don't always have the time, energy and inclination to muck about cooking from scratch afterwards. We also enjoy treats, and most of the food that tastes really nice is loaded with sugar and/or fat.
There are valid reasons why your average person doesn't relax with a bowl of raw cabbage at the end of another day of wage slavery.
Well then they’re all gonna die of plebeian heart attacks - and their ugly obese proletarian children will not reproduce
Darwinism. Deal with it
Ah, the lower orders were so judicious and beautiful when they were voting for Brexit.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
My son's girlfriend is American. Whenever he goes over there, he always moans about the tipping. He picked up a pizza one night from Domino's. The bloke on the counter wanted tipping for handing over the box to my lad. He says if you don't tip, the staff turn hostile and snarky. He's a tight little bastard and won't tip yanks on principle now... his girlfriend doesn't like going out to eat with him!
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
Chuck your entire wardrobe and buy a completely new one. It's one of the compensations for all that effort.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
Chuck your entire wardrobe and buy a completely new one. It's one of the compensations for all that effort.
I have a big wardrobe full of clothes that I will shrink back into...
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Absolutely, but my point still stands. Nestle isn't in business to nourish you.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Maybe like lots of things it's now had its time and overreached.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
Within a decade or two, this will be much easier, with many biometrics being measured by your watch and any deviations from norms (both personal and general) will be reported. We're starting this process now, and I expect it to be immensely positive for public health - as long as the false positives and false negatives can be cut down.
Sadly, the resultant biometrics will also become the property of Big Tech...
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
You also get lower taxes. After tax my job would be about 60% more before healthcare and other considerations come in (cars, housing, additional discretionary expenditure, increased cost of living). Not sure it is really worth it. Of the people I know, the ones that have stayed long term in US are those that are entrepreneurs. Those on salaries have returned to the UK after a few years.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
That is high. Hope you've improved since. My BP is on average elevated (150) but if I take it after a couple of (sherry) glasses of red wine it's down at about 115. This, I'm guessing but I'm not sure, is because the wine quells my default background hum of anxiety.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
The invention of the cheap self-usable bp monitor - Omron, £30 - is a huge advance. No need to go for the GP. Just buy one from boots or Amazon and check it daily
I’ve watched mine fall day by day, first with bp pills then with weight loss, reduced booze, exercise - from “hypertensive crisis” - over 180/110 - seriously scary - down through the 170s, 160s, 130s
I just did a test a minute ago
119/79
That’s a healthy reading for a young adult (which I am not). But it is encouraging. Technology is marvellous
What’s more I can feel the benefit in my daily demeanour. I sleep better and wake happier
Having said all that I shall probably die in my sleep tonight but if that happens, please tell my friends and family I departed in quite a benign mood
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Maybe like lots of things it's now had its time and overreached.
Indeed, and that's good. It's also rather time- and skill-dependent. It's fine if you've got a spouse at home and like cooking; not so fine if you're a harassed mother of three who works.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
I'd probably add some mince and pasta sheets on top of that, and a cordial or two, eggs, milk and some fresh fruit. Salad? Maybe. Sometimes. Quite expensive for what you get and doesn't last more than a day or two. I'd probably go for tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn.
Still, I could probably get that within £25 a week and, as you say, you then have a floating few quid around to plug the gaps in condiments.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
My son's girlfriend is American. Whenever he goes over there, he always moans about the tipping. He picked up a pizza one night from Domino's. The bloke on the counter wanted tipping for handing over the box to my lad. He says if you don't tip, the staff turn hostile and snarky. He's a tight little bastard and won't tip yanks on principle now... his girlfriend doesn't like going out to eat with him!
It goes beyond tipping. We like things to be simple and all inclusive: prices including VAT, service compris, ready made sandwiches; they seem to want to see the net price, add on sales tax separately, pay a separate tip, specify precisely what’s in the sandwich “double pastrami on rye, extra pickles, easy on the mayo”. Divided by a common language.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
30p Lee was being a prick to demonise the poor. That's all.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
And a quarter of the population being Trump Magamaniacs. God can you imagine. Constantly running into them. Not sure how I'd price that.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I’m going the other way now - as in not reducing in size. Since my heart op in early November I have added 17% of my body weight purely by an hour a day, five days a week, of weights, resistance exercise and eating very well. I had focussed beforehand on being fit before the op so was quite lean but now back not far to my body shape and weight when I was 18 and playing lots of sports.
I want to make sure that before I hit 50 I’m in as good condition as possible so that it’s quite normal to live a certain way when it’s not irreparable to continue the enjoyment of drinking and eating well.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
Hmm. Dunno. I think you can eat an amazing diet for a relatively modest budget, but you need to source and cook it.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
There is some truth in this, but most working people endure long, busy, tedious days and don't always have the time, energy and inclination to muck about cooking from scratch afterwards. We also enjoy treats, and most of the food that tastes really nice is loaded with sugar and/or fat.
There are valid reasons why your average person doesn't relax with a bowl of raw cabbage at the end of another day of wage slavery.
Well then they’re all gonna die of plebeian heart attacks - and their ugly obese proletarian children will not reproduce
Darwinism. Deal with it
Yeah, I also don't buy it. I work long long days, and have young kids, and often don't feel like doing it either.
I still do. Mind over matter. Much of it is just laziness, bad time management and limited imagination. And I very much doubt some of those who claim they "struggle" are down the pits 16 hours a day - more likely they work a nine to five and want to flop down for a TV dinner at 6pm and watch crap all evening.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
Too much salt ?
Try my two week tofu diet.
No - really there were/are no obvious factors involved. Slightly high cholesterol, but nothing of note.
I have enough cash that I could seek out a specialist opinion very swiftly, and he generally waved his hands, but one thing that I think may well be right is that I need to exercise more. I'm naturally quite strong, but I can easily believe that my core muscles aren't what they should be.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
And a quarter of the population being Trump Magamaniacs. God can you imagine. Constantly running into them. Not sure how I'd price that.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I’m going the other way now - as in not reducing in size. Since my heart op in early November I have added 17% of my body weight purely by an hour a day, five days a week, of weights, resistance exercise and eating very well. I had focussed beforehand on being fit before the op so was quite lean but now back not far to my body shape and weight when I was 18 and playing lots of sports.
I want to make sure that before I hit 50 I’m in as good condition as possible so that it’s quite normal to live a certain way when it’s not irreparable to continue the enjoyment of drinking and eating well.
My right knee hasn't been the same since I had an accident with a manhole a decade back. I got into running - and cycling - but I want to lose more weight first before I start ramping up the exercise.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Maybe like lots of things it's now had its time and overreached.
Indeed, and that's good. It's also rather time- and skill-dependent. It's fine if you've got a spouse at home and like cooking; not so fine if you're a harassed mother of three who works.
We are both a harassed father and a harassed mother of two who work.
We've got the kids used to us cooking and we flip in and out as it proceeds to deal with each if we need to do so, otherwise they play near our feet.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
I'd probably add some mince and pasta sheets on top of that, and a cordial or two, eggs, milk and some fresh fruit. Salad? Maybe. Sometimes. Quite expensive for what you get and doesn't last more than a day or two. I'd probably go for tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn.
Still, I could probably get that within £25 a week and, as you say, you then have a floating few quid around to plug the gaps in condiments.
I would say that you can do it for £25 with almost no effort, £20 with some long term planning, and less if you really have to. But the thing is that the minimum wage is £1500 per month, so your food costs can easily be bought down to £100 per month for a single person, eating healthily without having much processed food.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I’m going the other way now - as in not reducing in size. Since my heart op in early November I have added 17% of my body weight purely by an hour a day, five days a week, of weights, resistance exercise and eating very well. I had focussed beforehand on being fit before the op so was quite lean but now back not far to my body shape and weight when I was 18 and playing lots of sports.
I want to make sure that before I hit 50 I’m in as good condition as possible so that it’s quite normal to live a certain way when it’s not irreparable to continue the enjoyment of drinking and eating well.
My right knee hasn't been the same since I had an accident with a manhole a decade back. I got into running - and cycling - but I want to lose more weight first before I start ramping up the exercise.
What sort of pioneer are you that you collide with manhole covers? Surely they indicate quite substantial pre-pioneering!
It is in the party's interest to go short, so Richi will be removed if he doesn't call it
But as The Lady didn't quite say, "There's no such thing as a Conservative Party, there are individual MPs."
Currently 347 of them.
Of those, 150 or so are doomed no matter what, so most of them would like to go long and eke out a few more weeks in Parliament.
There are some who win in May and lose later, but not as many and probably few enough to be ignored.
Plus the whole "politicians are special people" thing. If they didn't think they could turn it round given time, they would be doing sensible jobs instead.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
There are at least half a dozen Vietnamese restaurants within a short walk from me on Deptford high street (Deptford has a big Vietnamese population) and inexcusably I’ve not yet been to any of them. I need to change this. My excuse up to now has been a mixture of children not liking chilli (but that has now changed with age), and the restaurants themselves looking a bit uninviting like glorified takeaways and never that full.
Have you been to Vietnam? A well-made pho is a thing of great beauty and refinement - and extreme healthy - but I wonder if British versions do it right (I’ve never tried)
Vietnamese food is also superbly varied. They really do dish up the best sandwiches on earth (alongside the Brits when we are on form): banh mi
Bourdain was not lying. I’ve tried these from this place. Mmmmm
Since as is your wont you were sourly disobliging about Glasgow last thread, who said ‘From my very first time - it was Glasgow. My favourite city in Scotland. One of my favourite places on earth.’
Where you may easily eat your last ice-cream.
"Last Ice Cream in Glasgow" sounds like a "requel" to "Last Tango in Paris".
Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead
I worked for three months near Denver, back in 2011. I lived to tell the tale
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Good luck. It is intensely satisfying - hitting your target weight. I now weigh what I did 10-20 years ago. It’s nice
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I’m going the other way now - as in not reducing in size. Since my heart op in early November I have added 17% of my body weight purely by an hour a day, five days a week, of weights, resistance exercise and eating very well. I had focussed beforehand on being fit before the op so was quite lean but now back not far to my body shape and weight when I was 18 and playing lots of sports.
I want to make sure that before I hit 50 I’m in as good condition as possible so that it’s quite normal to live a certain way when it’s not irreparable to continue the enjoyment of drinking and eating well.
My right knee hasn't been the same since I had an accident with a manhole a decade back. I got into running - and cycling - but I want to lose more weight first before I start ramping up the exercise.
Both my knees have been buggered by sports injuries so found squats painful but thanks to Michael Mosley with his “just one small thing” radio series I persevered as they are really important and found if I get the alignment right there is no pain but you have to focus otherwise it’s pain for days.
Running just bores the tits off me but weirdly long walks don’t so I stick with weights, resistance and walking but I have to be very disciplined. I have to exercise at the same time each day and I increase the weight or duration by 10% each week.
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Maybe like lots of things it's now had its time and overreached.
Indeed, and that's good. It's also rather time- and skill-dependent. It's fine if you've got a spouse at home and like cooking; not so fine if you're a harassed mother of three who works.
We are both a harassed father and a harassed mother of two who work.
We've got the kids used to us cooking and we flip in and out as it proceeds to deal with each if we need to do so, otherwise they play near our feet.
It at least in part an issue of skills and self discipline- but it is taboo to actually discuss it, because it is a form of 'victim blaming'.
If people have parents who never cooked them fresh food or any of these skills, where are they supposed to learn them from? How are they supposed to know?
Outside gastropubs (where it can be fantastic) I worry ours is unspeakably awful in most places.
Most venues seem to serve pizza, burgers, (bad) pasta, jacket potatoes and chips with cake, crisps and fizz on top - with some occasional plant-based permutations - and people really do seem to lap it up.
If I was being charitable I'd say it's because it's longlasting, cheap to buy, easy to cook, and has great profit margins on it.
But boy oh boy is it nutritionally limited and bad for you.
Don’t you have a Bulgarian wife? What is food like there? My experience of south east European food is not great. I do like the deceptive simplicity of Greek food but that’s somewhat different
It's very good, for the first three or four days. And then it gets repetitive and samey.
BUT, salads, mediterranean soups, lamb steaks, peppers, chillis, aubergine, and chicken breasts? Superb. Beer isn't too bad either.
Just don't try getting a real steak. They don't know what they're doing.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Sorry, what do mean processed? Bread and pasta are processed, aren’t they?
Bread is made by a process. But some breads are much more processed than others. Just check the ingredients - from weird colouring to dodgy corn syrup to endless E numbers
Basically, avoid as much of that shit as possible - is a pretty good motto
Is it the difference between processed and ultra-processed?
I mean, if you were being purist about the former, anything you do with wheat, cocoa beans and rice is a form of processing- it's adding in all the unnatural stuff, and taking out too much of the natural goodness, that's the problem.
That’s how I read it. UPF = the weird shit in the list of ingredients where you think, er what?
UPF is a meaningless term that didn’t exist a few years ago when the hand wringing middle classes were fretting over another meaningless term, junk food.
Ultra processed food is a term invented by the sort of people who are proud to feed their children hummus and pepper sticks for lunch (certain killjoy medics, inhabitants of the more fashionable parts of North London, etc.) to make proles feel guilty for eating.
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
No, this is shite
I'm 100% correct, and speak with the voice of experience on this subject. The major considerations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle are moderation in diet and a reasonable level of physical activity. The maintenance of a sensible waist measurement and blood pressure reading are entirely consistent with the consumption of fried food and chocolate bars, provided that you don't overdo it.
It's the unknown man made substances, some of them relatively new that there is no real long term research into their effects on humans that we need to worry about. Gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, sweeteners...that ain't food. Big Food is literally killing its customers.
You could also say the opposite: if it were not for Big Food, many more people would be starving.
Maybe like lots of things it's now had its time and overreached.
Indeed, and that's good. It's also rather time- and skill-dependent. It's fine if you've got a spouse at home and like cooking; not so fine if you're a harassed mother of three who works.
We are both a harassed father and a harassed mother of two who work.
We've got the kids used to us cooking and we flip in and out as it proceeds to deal with each if we need to do so, otherwise they play near our feet.
It at least in part an issue of skills and self discipline- but it is taboo to actually discuss it, because it is a form of 'victim blaming'.
If people have parents who never cooked them fresh food or any of these skills, where are they supposed to learn them from? How are they supposed to know?
Home economics teaching in schools these days seems to be virtually non-existent.
If Sunak were smart and sane, he would go for 2nd May. It's by fair his best option financially, logistically, politically and personally.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
I also think he'll try and hang on until the end of the year in the hope that something will turn up, though I must say he did look utterly miserable yesterday so depending on how much he's looking forward to a politics-free life in California be might just decide to get it out of the way... 🙏
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
It is a genuine blight on life in America. It’s as off putting as the weather in the UK
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
If Sunak were smart and sane, he would go for 2nd May. It's by fair his best option financially, logistically, politically and personally.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
I also think he'll try and hang on until the end of the year in the hope that something will turn up, though I must say he did look utterly miserable yesterday so depending on how much he's looking forward to a politics-free life in California be might just decide to get it out of the way... 🙏
I’m not convinced he’ll head off to California, at least yet. He will win his Richmond seat, that much is pretty certain even in a wipeout scenario, and I could see him carrying on for a while. Politics is addictive and Sunak seems to revel in it: even those who either supposedly retired from it or were turfed out, like Osborne, Balls, Gauke, Stewart, Brown, Cameron, all somehow kept at it in other guises.
If Sunak were smart and sane, he would go for 2nd May. It's by fair his best option financially, logistically, politically and personally.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
I also think he'll try and hang on until the end of the year in the hope that something will turn up, though I must say he did look utterly miserable yesterday so depending on how much he's looking forward to a politics-free life in California be might just decide to get it out of the way... 🙏
I’m not convinced he’ll head off to California, at least yet. He will win his Richmond seat, that much is pretty certain even in a wipeout scenario, and I could see him carrying on for a while. Politics is addictive and Sunak seems to revel in it: even those who either supposedly retired from it or were turfed out, like Osborne, Balls, Gauke, Stewart, Brown, Cameron, all somehow kept at it in other guises.
Sunak can pootle along on the backbenches doing very little for the next term and focusing on other things, he doesn't need to officially call it quits and jet off for California. He's a young man still after all, he has so much time.
I cannot see someone who's barely ever had to worry about the day job of a backbench MP, and never in opposition, putting much time into the leg work that goes into that.
Just as an aside, the big cost of living problem in Finland in comparison to England is the cost of beer. A can of vaguely decent beer in Finland costs over 2 euros. There is no way of mitigating the harm by buying it in bulk, unless you go on a ferry to the Aland Islands where it still works out at about 1 euro 40, so you would have to buy 100 cans before you earned back the cost of the ferry ticket. This is in contrast to some good deals in the supermarket in England, where it is about 72p a can if you buy in bulk.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
Though a surprising number of people don’t know that the quality of food that comes out of your freezer is a function of the quality that goes in.
Much pre frozen food in the U.K. is and was of terrible quality. If you bulk cook and freeze yourself, the results can be just fine.
For example, I make matches of bolognese, freeze into blocks using silicon soap molds (think giant ice cube trays). That and other sauces, similarly frozen, make a great quick meal.
It is in the party's interest to go short, so Richi will be removed if he doesn't call it
A challenge still looks implausible to me, but ultimately the question comes down to whether people think things will (or at least might) get better for the party if they hang about. I really don't see where that optimism would come from, but since they seem resigned to some kind of loss regardless it's a hard decision to go early, even if logically it might make sense to reduce the scale of loss from getting worse.
The other cost of living problem in Finland to befall me today was taking my son and his classmate to the local skate park/soft play area. it cost 40 euros for 2 hours, with the bus costing an extra 10 euros. All this discussion about food is rather irrelevant - you realise how something like that would be impossible for people on low incomes and how challenging it must become for them.
If Sunak were smart and sane, he would go for 2nd May. It's by fair his best option financially, logistically, politically and personally.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
I also think he'll try and hang on until the end of the year in the hope that something will turn up, though I must say he did look utterly miserable yesterday so depending on how much he's looking forward to a politics-free life in California be might just decide to get it out of the way... 🙏
I’m not convinced he’ll head off to California, at least yet. He will win his Richmond seat, that much is pretty certain even in a wipeout scenario, and I could see him carrying on for a while. Politics is addictive and Sunak seems to revel in it: even those who either supposedly retired from it or were turfed out, like Osborne, Balls, Gauke, Stewart, Brown, Cameron, all somehow kept at it in other guises.
Sunak can pootle along on the backbenches doing very little for the next term and focusing on other things, he doesn't need to officially call it quits and jet off for California. He's a young man still after all, he has so much time.
I cannot see someone who's barely ever had to worry about the day job of a backbench MP, and never in opposition, putting much time into the leg work that goes into that.
I could actually see him being a very effective select committee chair ("AI" or "Tech") once he's no longer PM. Detail, pointed questions, Good stepping stone if he did want to take up the big bucks in SV/Brussels later.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Impossible when you factor in fuel prices and the need for a balanced diet, as well as practical issues.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
I'm targeting an initial 25kgs, no nearly half way. But then another 5 or so beyond that as well would be good, to get me back to what was my fighting weight 6 years ago.
Maintaining it when it gets slower for that final bit can be very frustrating, but well worth it. Hard to remain disciplined though. I was checking my stats and apparently I'm fairly consistent in letting things slide for about 4 years and then needing to lose a bunch when I finally catch sight of myself in a reflection and realising I cannot ignore it any longer. It feels good to manage it, but probably not the best strategy as I get older.
I stopped eating processed food about a month ago. Just switched to eating fresh food, with some unavoidable exceptions. By this I mean eating fresh meat, fish, and fresh vegetables, and just sticking to food that hasn't been processed, ie rice, potato, bread, pasta. fresh and dried fruit, nuts. The main improvement, amongst many, is that I no longer get hungry unless I actually need to eat, which I think could address my long term problem of being overweight. It also costs much less. I worked out that, if I ever needed to, I could buy a whole weeks worth of food for under £10 from Lidl. But even with extravagancies like cashew nuts, king prawns, sourdough bread from the bakery etc, it is cheaper than cooking tasteless packet food.
Must be some shit you are eating if it only costs 10 quid a week
Per person? Still, better than Mr 30p's ideas - I can't do better than pauper soup on 30p.
beans/tomatos for 20-30p. Bread is 70p a loaf. A whole chicken is £3.50 Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg Frozen veg - peas £1/kg Rice is about 50p a bag. potato 30p/kg porridge oats £1.20/kg chickpeas 45p/tin coconut milk - 70p Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup 2 different curries sandwiches breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
Not really enough protein for a week there, and pretty light on fruit & veg - and you've left out the cost of energy and any form of seasoning!
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
Though a surprising number of people don’t know that the quality of food that comes out of your freezer is a function of the quality that goes in.
Much pre frozen food in the U.K. is and was of terrible quality. If you bulk cook and freeze yourself, the results can be just fine.
For example, I make matches of bolognese, freeze into blocks using silicon soap molds (think giant ice cube trays). That and other sauces, similarly frozen, make a great quick meal.
Assumes you have a freezer that works, though. Not necessarily the case in rented accommodation ...
The other cost of living problem in Finland to befall me today was taking my son and his classmate to the local skate park/soft play area. it cost 40 euros for 2 hours, with the bus costing an extra 10 euros. All this discussion about food is rather irrelevant - you realise how something like that would be impossible for people on low incomes and how challenging it must become for them.
I wish I could remember which writer it was who first really nailed the "It's expensive to be poor" line. Possibly Orwell.
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
It is a genuine blight on life in America. It’s as off putting as the weather in the UK
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
It is a genuine blight on life in America. It’s as off putting as the weather in the UK
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
The other cost of living problem in Finland to befall me today was taking my son and his classmate to the local skate park/soft play area. it cost 40 euros for 2 hours, with the bus costing an extra 10 euros. All this discussion about food is rather irrelevant - you realise how something like that would be impossible for people on low incomes and how challenging it must become for them.
I wish I could remember which writer it was who first really nailed the "It's expensive to be poor" line. Possibly Orwell.
Oh, definitely old Eric. But it must go back to late Victorian/Edwardian times at least.
Weight loss this year is now 12.1kg. Cutting out ultra-processed food is definitely part of it. Cutting out refined sugars is *definitely* part of it.
I’ve lost 14.3kg, I’ve hit target weight. Lost over 2 stone in 10 weeks
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
My BP was something like 220/125 recently. GP reckoned I'd be dead if not so generally fit. He was a bit astonished at the numbers.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
I thank god daily for my Thai dentist checking my bp - as they do. That’s what freaked them out, then me out. Then sent me to the local private hospital - bumrungrad - for a total check up
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
I stumbled into measuring my BP. I'm no more than slightly overweight, and really never feel unwell. Just bought a BP contraption because it was cheap and ten years ago my BP was slightly above where it should be. Quite astonished as to the numbers, so I check the procedure, and I'm reading it correctly. A browse of the internet suggests I'm basically dead. So... I phone the GP.. never really done that before, and it's very slow. Then about 10 minutes later they're all over me. Doctors, appointments, you name it. (well done HNS)
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
The invention of the cheap self-usable bp monitor - Omron, £30 - is a huge advance. No need to go for the GP. Just buy one from boots or Amazon and check it daily
I’ve watched mine fall day by day, first with bp pills then with weight loss, reduced booze, exercise - from “hypertensive crisis” - over 180/110 - seriously scary - down through the 170s, 160s, 130s
I just did a test a minute ago
119/79
That’s a healthy reading for a young adult (which I am not). But it is encouraging. Technology is marvellous
What’s more I can feel the benefit in my daily demeanour. I sleep better and wake happier
Having said all that I shall probably die in my sleep tonight but if that happens, please tell my friends and family I departed in quite a benign mood
I really suffer from "white coat" hypertension - as much as a 35 point drop between the initial reading and one 5 minutes later.
'With the support of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, the SNP will table a motion to be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, which intends to challenge Starmer by calling for an immediate end to the violence.
Labour is desperate to avoid a repeat of last November’s sizeable rebellion by MPs over Starmer’s stance, which saw 56 Labour MPs back a similar SNP motion and three shadow spokespeople resign.'
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
It is a genuine blight on life in America. It’s as off putting as the weather in the UK
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
Ok you get the occasional coup but hey
Islam is non-existent in Thailand? Er…..
Aside from the regular Muslims who like most people are just spending their days wondering what to have with their chips/rice/bread for dinner - there's only been around 10,000 deaths due to Islamist attacks in Thailand. That doesn't count as terrorism compared to having a transvestite read a book in a library, I think you'll find.
I read something along those lines in a specialist (if declining) gazette a few years ago.
The pacemaker is working but under strict instructions from the medics to take it easy for the next 6 weeks as the 2 leads grow heart muscle and become difficult to dislodge
Also DVLA affirm my licence to drive subject to a lifetime of pacemaker checks which is indeed medical practice
'With the support of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, the SNP will table a motion to be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, which intends to challenge Starmer by calling for an immediate end to the violence.
Labour is desperate to avoid a repeat of last November’s sizeable rebellion by MPs over Starmer’s stance, which saw 56 Labour MPs back a similar SNP motion and three shadow spokespeople resign.'
Can't wait for four or five years of this of Labour just scrape a majority. It'll make the Tory DUP deal look stable. And strong...
The pacemaker is working but under strict instructions from the medics to take it easy for the next 6 weeks as the 2 leads grow heart muscle and become difficult to dislodge
Also DVLA affirm my licence to drive subject to a lifetime of pacemaker checks which is indeed medical practice
'With the support of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, the SNP will table a motion to be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, which intends to challenge Starmer by calling for an immediate end to the violence.
Labour is desperate to avoid a repeat of last November’s sizeable rebellion by MPs over Starmer’s stance, which saw 56 Labour MPs back a similar SNP motion and three shadow spokespeople resign.'
Can't wait for four or five years of this of Labour just scrape a majority. It'll make the Tory DUP deal look stable. And strong...
Especially given the SNP policy of not interfering with rUK stuff (unless it interferes with Scotland, of course). Can you imagine?
I've just done a bit of research online tonight and the salaries on offer in the USA are astonishing. Not just a little bit more: like 100-125% more than you'd get paid for the same job here. And that's after the exchange rate.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
As you say, you have to pay 20% tips on everything.
Apparently, that's entry level tipping: 15% is considered extremely offensive, and 30% is more like it. More if you genuinely want to please someone.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
It’s basically VAT, only with added guilt and social awkwardness.
It is a genuine blight on life in America. It’s as off putting as the weather in the UK
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
Ok you get the occasional coup but hey
And a year zero now and again.
Last time but one we were in a B&B it was shared with a pleasant American couple. Had a farm etc. Turned out - I can't recall how it came about, but I don't think he was boasting or anything - maybe I happened to have an air book on the table - that the husband had flown in the Linebacker offensive. I could only grunt meaningfully.
The pacemaker is working but under strict instructions from the medics to take it easy for the next 6 weeks as the 2 leads grow heart muscle and become difficult to dislodge
Also DVLA affirm my licence to drive subject to a lifetime of pacemaker checks which is indeed medical practice
Oh, that's good.
I had my first bath tonight and it was wonderful but not sure how my new steely lump will look on the Italian Costa d' Amalfi !!
The judgment in the Trump NY case is remarkable in many respects. I think my favourite paragraph is this:
"The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first declared, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Defendants apparently are of a different mind. After some four years of investigation and litigation, the only error (“inadvertent,” of course) that they acknowledge is the tripling of the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be gainsaid. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” posture that the evidence belies." This is used to justify keeping the Trump Organisation under strict judicial control including an independent director, a retired judge who has to approve expenditure in advance and, of course, the banning of Trump and his children (except Ivenka who got out on a time bar) from being directors or involved.
One frankly wonders how long this organisation can remain solvent under such restrictions. Certainly no lender who reads the judgment is likely to lend Mr Trump funds once again. As current loans become repayable assets will need to be sold to realise them. Even so, the cash flow implications are severe. There are issues that the judgment ignores and rather weirdly so. In particular there is no finding in fact that these various misrepresentations and outright lies actually meant that the covenants were breached. There is no balance sheet exercise on Donald Trump at any point. So we do not know, for example, whether he met the liquid cash requirements without treating his investments in a limited partnership as cash when in fact he was unable to realise the interest without his partners consent. We do not know if the findings about the over valuation of assets meant that Trump was in fact worth less than $2.5bn. It is possible that Trump wanted to show he was much richer but still met the terms of the loan. I think that this will probably form a basis for an appeal. The court has taken "materiality" to mean that that the values were out by more than 10%. I think that is an error and the real materiality is whether or not the covenants were in fact being breached. To put it in simple terms if he was worth $2.5bn is it material that he was claiming to be worth $5-7bn?
If Sunak were smart and sane, he would go for 2nd May. It's by fair his best option financially, logistically, politically and personally.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
I also think he'll try and hang on until the end of the year in the hope that something will turn up, though I must say he did look utterly miserable yesterday so depending on how much he's looking forward to a politics-free life in California be might just decide to get it out of the way... 🙏
I’m not convinced he’ll head off to California, at least yet. He will win his Richmond seat, that much is pretty certain even in a wipeout scenario, and I could see him carrying on for a while. Politics is addictive and Sunak seems to revel in it: even those who either supposedly retired from it or were turfed out, like Osborne, Balls, Gauke, Stewart, Brown, Cameron, all somehow kept at it in other guises.
I think he'll do what John Major did after defeat. He'll continue as Con leader and LOTO while Con elect a new leader and then he'll stand down.
Unlike Major I don't see him hanging around Parliament for four or five years so I think when a new leader is chosen he'll resign his seat and be off.
Comments
Healthy eating requires a sufficiency of essential nutrients and enough energy to support daily activity, without going overboard and turning yourself into a lard blob. Beyond that, if half your food comes out of a packet then who gives a toss?
The consumption of microwave ready meals and plates of chocolate biscuits is, within the bounds of common sense, entirely consistent with a healthy lifestyle for the vast majority of the population, i.e. anyone who doesn't have specific medical issues that force a restricted diet, and isn't an Olympic athlete or an obsessional bodybuilder.
The real killers are the high amounts of salt and sugars added to make cheap food addictive. 'High fructose corn syrup' is the US apotheosis of that trend.
My son has just taken it and got 5, 9, 4 and 7. I don’t think he’s that unusual (though I’m not surprised by the second score).
There's a huge range of what people see - for most if us it's either black, or a bit of fuzz (which is probably a mark of how well the brain filters out visual noise).
Others see more.
That's not necessarily difficult to do either but it does cut against instant gratification and require at least some effort. And you need to set aside 45 minutes.
More importantly, I think plenty of people now simply don't know how to do it.
STORY
Tories are starting to eye up a May election to 'stop the bleeding' and head off mutiny against Rishi Sunak
https://x.com/mikeysmith/status/1758924528103604313?s=46
And, yeah, I get the point - whilst HFCS isn't a thing in the UK, stuff like hydrogenated vegetable oil and hydrolysed proteins certainly are. But are they actually any worse for us?
But if added sugar and salt are the problem, why not concentrate on discouraging those rather than panicking about a proxy measure that may not even be all that accurate?
And getting strong pushback from the large food manufacturers.
My bp now averages around 130-135/75-85 - down from the utterly freaky 180/110 of late November last year
My alcohol intake is down 50-60%
Fasting, diet, exercise, and accepting a fuck of a lot of boredom, seems to be key
Feels good tho. Despite the tedium
There are valid reasons why your average person doesn't relax with a bowl of raw cabbage at the end of another day of wage slavery.
Now, you have to factor in a massive chunk for healthcare, and the fact you might get shot, or die in the ensuring civil war - and that's if you don't kill yourself first over the insane tipping culture and the total absence of a soul to any of the towns and cities - but still.
Hmm.
And, obviously, the bacon needs to be streaky and pressed down into the pan or skillet to get the fat to render out properly.
Finding this out was almost entirely accidental. The only bad thing I do is drink. Oh and visit PB!
Edit: Bacon sandwiches too, as detailed below!
Darwinism. Deal with it
1. Labour like talk of a May election, because then the government looks frit when they don't call one. (Very likely)
2. Rishi likes talk of a May election as a threat to his rebels. Stop being mean about the PM or I'll go to the country and a lot of you are out of a job. (Quite likely)
3. The government has reached that stage of decay where it longs for the sweet embrace of death. (Less likely, but more likely than it should be.)
19th December, I reckon.
Bread is 70p a loaf.
A whole chicken is £3.50
Fresh fruit/veg - carrots 70p/kg
Frozen veg - peas £1/kg
Rice is about 50p a bag.
potato 30p/kg
porridge oats £1.20/kg
chickpeas 45p/tin
coconut milk - 70p
Cheese £2.50
From the above you could make
chicken and vegetable Soup
2 different curries
sandwiches
breakfast
I would say under £10 for the whole week, on average, with advance planning. If you have more people then economies of scale come in, the 30p meal is not impossible.
I was heading for a stroke or heart failure or cirrhosis - now - inshallah - maybe not
I could keel over tomorrow but at least I gave greater longevity a shot. Also I quite like sobriety - in moderation. Going without for a day or two makes me appreciate the next gin and tonic quite a lot more. And I sense my liver welcomes the chance to recuperate
Only problem is some of my clothes now look weirdly baggy. I shall cope,
I was really very scared for a week or so - death, death, and death being amongst my thoughts. But, I'm still here.
Try my two week tofu diet.
I like the approach of @darkage upthread.
Sadly, the resultant biometrics will also become the property of Big Tech...
The problem with this is that the debate has been poisoned by the like of Jack Monroe's "I can feed a family of 3 for £20 a week" stuff - it usually turns out that person making those claims is talking about the cost of a top-up shop in addition to their already well-stocked cupboards. It's may well be doable in the short term, but isn't sustainable beyond a few weeks.
I believe that 30p Lee was talking about something slightly different - a single portion of a large batch-cooked meal using ingredients from a food bank. Again, the costings work out for that specific meal... but they can't really be extrapolated to a weekly budget, let alone a monthly one.
After tax my job would be about 60% more before healthcare and other considerations come in (cars, housing, additional discretionary expenditure, increased cost of living). Not sure it is really worth it.
Of the people I know, the ones that have stayed long term in US are those that are entrepreneurs. Those on salaries have returned to the UK after a few years.
I’ve watched mine fall day by day, first with bp pills then with weight loss, reduced booze, exercise - from “hypertensive crisis” - over 180/110 - seriously scary - down through the 170s, 160s, 130s
I just did a test a minute ago
119/79
That’s a healthy reading for a young adult (which I am not). But it is encouraging. Technology is marvellous
What’s more I can feel the benefit in my daily demeanour. I sleep better and wake happier
Having said all that I shall probably die in my sleep tonight but if that happens, please tell my friends and family I departed in quite a benign mood
Still, I could probably get that within £25 a week and, as you say, you then have a floating few quid around to plug the gaps in condiments.
I want to make sure that before I hit 50 I’m in as good condition as possible so that it’s quite normal to live a certain way when it’s not irreparable to continue the enjoyment of drinking and eating well.
I still do. Mind over matter. Much of it is just laziness, bad time management and limited imagination. And I very much doubt some of those who claim they "struggle" are down the pits 16 hours a day - more likely they work a nine to five and want to flop down for a TV dinner at 6pm and watch crap all evening.
I have enough cash that I could seek out a specialist opinion very swiftly, and he generally waved his hands, but one thing that I think may well be right is that I need to exercise more. I'm naturally quite strong, but I can easily believe that my core muscles aren't what they should be.
It might be in Richi's interest to go long.
It is in the party's interest to go short, so Richi will be removed if he doesn't call it
We've got the kids used to us cooking and we flip in and out as it proceeds to deal with each if we need to do so, otherwise they play near our feet.
I think I'd just stay at home and not bother going out. It's the faff of carrying and thinking about a wad of small-dom bills everywhere you go on top, if nothing else, and constantly calculating if you've called it right.
Currently 347 of them.
Of those, 150 or so are doomed no matter what, so most of them would like to go long and eke out a few more weeks in Parliament.
There are some who win in May and lose later, but not as many and probably few enough to be ignored.
Plus the whole "politicians are special people" thing. If they didn't think they could turn it round given time, they would be doing sensible jobs instead.
Running just bores the tits off me but weirdly long walks don’t so I stick with weights, resistance and walking but I have to be very disciplined. I have to exercise at the same time each day and I increase the weight or duration by 10% each week.
We must therefore assume the election will be on December 12th.
If people have parents who never cooked them fresh food or any of these skills, where are they supposed to learn them from? How are they supposed to know?
It’s also another reason why life in Indochina is sweet. No tipping. You might give a small tip to a bargirl or waiter but that’s it. And if you don’t they won’t dare get stroppy. Its not the culture
They do the job as well as they can for the money they get - and they are incredibly polite. And crime is minimal. It’s a very seductive place for a westerner
Islam is non existent so everyone drinks and has fun but they don’t get smashed and have fights and there’s no terrorism or cousin marriage of honour killings or mass racist gang rape. Or fgm or acid attacks or anti semitism. Or burqas or niqabs or wild homophobia
Ok you get the occasional coup but hey
I cannot see someone who's barely ever had to worry about the day job of a backbench MP, and never in opposition, putting much time into the leg work that goes into that.
Much pre frozen food in the U.K. is and was of terrible quality. If you bulk cook and freeze yourself, the results can be just fine.
For example, I make matches of bolognese, freeze into blocks using silicon soap molds (think giant ice cube trays). That and other sauces, similarly frozen, make a great quick meal.
What does Starmer do now?
https://news.sky.com/story/scottish-labour-unanimously-backs-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza-13073951
BTW hope you are keeping as well as can be expected! Or indeed rather better!
🚨 New polling w/
@ObserverUK
Labour leads by 15 points
• Labour 43% (n/c)
• Conservatives 27% (+2)
• Lib Dems 10% (-1)
• SNP 3% (+1%)
• Greens 7% (n/c)
• Reform 9% (-1)
Conservatives have seen a two point recovery in the polls bringing the lead back down to 15 points.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/17/labour-seeking-snp-deal-to-avoid-new-gaza-ceasefire-rebellion
'With the support of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, the SNP will table a motion to be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, which intends to challenge Starmer by calling for an immediate end to the violence.
Labour is desperate to avoid a repeat of last November’s sizeable rebellion by MPs over Starmer’s stance, which saw 56 Labour MPs back a similar SNP motion and three shadow spokespeople resign.'
I read something along those lines in a specialist (if declining) gazette a few years ago.
The pacemaker is working but under strict instructions from the medics to take it easy for the next 6 weeks as the 2 leads grow heart muscle and become difficult to dislodge
Also DVLA affirm my licence to drive subject to a lifetime of pacemaker checks which is indeed medical practice
"The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first declared, “To err is human, to forgive is
divine.” Defendants apparently are of a different mind. After some four years of investigation
and litigation, the only error (“inadvertent,” of course) that they acknowledge is the tripling of
the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be gainsaid. Their complete lack of
contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values
to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a
mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint.
Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of
their ways. Instead, they adopt a “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” posture that the
evidence belies."
This is used to justify keeping the Trump Organisation under strict judicial control including an independent director, a retired judge who has to approve expenditure in advance and, of course, the banning of Trump and his children (except Ivenka who got out on a time bar) from being directors or involved.
One frankly wonders how long this organisation can remain solvent under such restrictions. Certainly no lender who reads the judgment is likely to lend Mr Trump funds once again. As current loans become repayable assets will need to be sold to realise them. Even so, the cash flow implications are severe.
There are issues that the judgment ignores and rather weirdly so. In particular there is no finding in fact that these various misrepresentations and outright lies actually meant that the covenants were breached. There is no balance sheet exercise on Donald Trump at any point. So we do not know, for example, whether he met the liquid cash requirements without treating his investments in a limited partnership as cash when in fact he was unable to realise the interest without his partners consent. We do not know if the findings about the over valuation of assets meant that Trump was in fact worth less than $2.5bn. It is possible that Trump wanted to show he was much richer but still met the terms of the loan.
I think that this will probably form a basis for an appeal. The court has taken "materiality" to mean that that the values were out by more than 10%. I think that is an error and the real materiality is whether or not the covenants were in fact being breached. To put it in simple terms if he was worth $2.5bn is it material that he was claiming to be worth $5-7bn?
Unlike Major I don't see him hanging around Parliament for four or five years so I think when a new leader is chosen he'll resign his seat and be off.