Additional Rule for Eating

Don't eat airfreighted American strawberries from M&S when we are in the middle of the English season & the sun is shinning?

#Livewell EatEngland: 10 rules for food Update

Thanks for the feedback, good that it nearly all squares with my thoughts. I hope the slight changes I've made are inclusive?

The same and much more information can be found at EatEngland.org

1. Eat simple, eat less but go for quality, think balance eat no more than you need & build exercise into your diet

- a typical Brit is eating 3500 calories, a 46 year old man needs 2300 - that's as wasteful as binning it

- meals rich in fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains and nuts are great

- good ingredients taste better & are normally better for everyone

- accept food is going to get more expensive & good food will cost more

- 3 meals a day, always a good breakfast, a main meal (best midday) & a light meal

- rarely have I seen a good place to buy fuel for my body that mainly sell it for my car

- processed food is often unhealthy, tasteless, high in fat &/or salt

- go back 100 or even 10,000 years and when we could the healthiest of us did exactly this

2. Choose food for how it's grown: think about - animal welfare (meat & dairy), wildlife & biodiversity, water, embedded oil/carbon, buy local and eat the seasons when you can

- a typical Brit adult may be eating 6.5-8.5kgs of embedded greenhouse gasses (GHG/carbon): by 2020 we have to get that down to less than 5kgs, and by 2027 4kgs of carbon to meet our global obligations

- local food may not always be lower in impacts, but it's better for the economy & our culture for sure

- seasonal food is likely to be lower in its impacts, cheaper & tastier, so why not?

- you cannot eat packaging, sometimes it helps safe waste & is good, sometimes it just costs more

- free range, outdoor reared, loved and cared animals will provide better products, like us animals have evolved over 1000's of years to live in ceratin way, changing that over a few decades will not work

3. Eat Fair

- by eating in excess we will be taking food from others who are not as well off as we are

- the poorest farmers in the world are working hard to feed us, let's pay them for it and also not eat their share

- don't waste your food we throw away between 20-40% of everything we buy, & buy too much

4. Eat more plants, go beyond 5 a day for fruit & vegetables, think 6-12 portions a day

- a portion is around 80g or a good handful

- we include up to 2 portions of potatoes

- count fruit as no more than 3 or 4 if you hit 12, juice a max of 2 if of differing types

- limit high impact fruit & vegetables: airfreighted (out of season herbs, greens & tropical) unless fair-trade, tomatoes/peppers/chillies/cucumbers out of season

5. Eat less than the norm for meat, cheese and dairy

- for meat, hard cheese and butter no more than 2 full portions per day: that's 100-150g per day (count a 50g portion of soft cheese or similar as half/25g)

- presently we eat around 216g of meat per day and a good chunk of cheese and a little butter

- pay for the best, organic, LEAF & Red Tractor, by growing food to higher standards we will hopefully help the environment, have less to pay cleaning up the pollution & have better tasting food

- artisan/expensive usually means more for the farmer, you pay for what you get

- rumour has it we mostly enjoy the first few mouthfuls of meat & cheese

6. Eat fish in moderation and always from sustainable sources

- 2 portions a week, oily fish is good (like sardine, herring, anchovy, salmon, trout & mackerel)

- a portion is a 50-100g fillet, or 100-200g whole

- look for sustainable fish like MSC certified or local day boat caught

7. Drinks: minimise all but the mains tap water

- bottled drinks & definitely water is a treat, tap is better for the pocket & planet

- alcohol in moderation for yours & the planets health

- tea & coffee should be fairly traded with thought for the environment, they are high impact

8. Eat "Real Food" and think about how it's cooked & presented

- give some but not all your attention to the science of nutrition, remember it's not always correct - cooking in animal fats is now thought by many to be healthier than cooking in vegetable oils

- don't always think of specific foods or "food groups" as being the goal, eating real food is most important

- enjoy "meals" cooked for or by you using real ingredients - more social, healthy and kinder to everyone than ultra processed ready to (h)eat products

- oil and fats in moderation, again animal fats/proteins are OK to eat and cook with in moderation

- we eat too much salt around 8-9g per day, we need 6, minimise processed foods and don't add it unless you have too

- the associated electric & gas used in preparing & eating can more than double it's impacts

- food should look good, it makes it more enjoyable

- smaller plates help to keep intake down

9. Eat feasts with friends on high days & holidays - it's fun & what life should be about

- please do eat out and party, but then compensate your lifestyle before/after

- feasts should be happy occasions, for all the participants of the food chain 

10. Learn about food, it's important: think the nutrition, health, the planet & taste & then ask would Great Grandma have known this as food?

- talk to the person who selling you the food, they should know more than you

- is meat grown on soya from reclaimed rainforest land local or sustainable?

- Your ancestors only ate real food, we've evolved to eat a good range of this over many 1000's of years

What if: 6 we've got it wrong & animal fat is good

Animal fat is good & processed foods are worse than we thought.

When it comes to cooking anyone who has researched nutrition recently seem to be telling me I should consider animal fat as good & vegetable oil as bad, I know the research is out there but would like to get more references - any ideas?

I'm also sure that our health problems are more about processed foods and the wrong carbohydrates, but again I should be looking for the research - any ideas? 

What if: 5

Just had the desire to have some fish & chips with mushy peas, but I'd need a coke to help digest it would I?

But it means an overload of processed deep fried stuff - 6 processed portions?
At least 800 calories, I'd really question most of the data I've seen on line.
I've said 2.9 portions of F&V (inc. chips) but not really my understanding of fresh
1364 mg of sodium in one hit.
OK on carbon though, and it's weighted quite high.

Common sense says I should do this very often.

What if: Day 4

What if I eat ready meals & fish fingers - fast food in the home.
Well by keeping it simple not too bad: OK on most accounts.
But no other snacks & salad not potatoes for supper.

I love fish fingers, something are better than when I was a kid

What if: Day 3

What if I go to Leon: fast food for a foodie?
It's well within the planets & health boundaries for 2020 (await some feedback on some minor queries at Leon)
Once I calculated it I could have had a pudding, enjoyed my meal fresh, honest & tasty.

If their nutritional guide is correct it is high in sodium, but just meant none used for super

What if: Day 2

I have fast food: ask where I should head & told Ed's Diner was the place?
So healthy breakfast, coffee in meetings & fruit for tea.

Had to guess the nutritionals, they don't provide any - that would be illegal in NYC, should be here too.
Well it was tasty, but why, to keep in my eco limits for the day I could eat next to nothing else.

On papers it's OK I did :
7.5 portions of fruit & veg (5.5 if you take out the potatoes)
Around 2200-2300 calories  & 1300mg of sodium I guess, but sure it could be more.

But critically 5 portions of processed food and 142g of meat, can that keep the Doctor away?

What if: Day 1

What if I use up what's in the freezer & have a normal portion size of steak?
Calories fine, 7.5 portions of fruit and veg but just because of one steak it was 7kilo's of carbon?

The steak was absolutely great don't get me wrong, cooked to perfection (by me for once) Old English Hereford from the great folk at Hazeldene Farm & it was only 160g (raw weight). If I hadn't been cooking it for just me and trying to use up freezer bits I would have definitely have enjoyed just half of it just as much. Half a portion would have meant I was in my daily limits of carbon & Meat/Cheese/Butter!


Has anyone done any work on the enjoyment of small portions of (good) meat versus larger portions??

World Cancer Research Fund: Limit red meat to 500g/week to avoid cancer

The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research’s (WCRF/AICR) report conclusive  links between bowel cancer risk and diet, physical activity and weight. Their detailed review of the evidence was carried out by WCRF/AICR-funded scientists at Imperial College London, resulting in a recommendation for red and processed meat, that people limit consumption to 500g (cooked weight) of red meat a week - roughly the equivalent of five or six medium portions of roast beef, lamb or pork - and avoid processed meat.



For more details on the report go to:
http://www.wcrf-uk.org/audience/media/press_release.php?recid=153


This ties with our findings that for a #Livewell-EatEngland diet which is friendly for the planet & your health you should eat no more than 350g per week.

They say 5 or 6 medium portions, but unless the meat industry gets it's impacts down this decade we say 3-4 medium portions or 5-6 small ones, and we're talking all meat - typically split 1/3 beef/lamb, 1/3 pork & 1/3 poultry: as a rule red meat has the highest impact & poultry the lowest.

10 rules for food: based on WWF-UK Livewell & other friends work

After a month on the Livewell diet, I thought I should firstly thank the great Duncan Williamson at WWF-UK for such a ground breaking paper, the first person in the UK to really quantify a healthy diet for us & our planet.

Secondly set some guidelines on what I've learnt on carbon footprinting and nutritional analysing everything for a whole mount. So to be a Brit, eat healthy & within our resources this is what my revised rules are

1. Eat simple, eat less but go for quality, think balance eat no more than you need & build exercise into your diet

- a typical Brit is eating 3500 calories, a 46 year old man needs 2300 - that's as wasteful as binning it

- meals rich in fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains and nuts are great

- good ingredients taste better & are normally better for everyone

- accept food is going to get more expensive & good food will cost more

- 3 meals a day, always a good breakfast, a main meal (best midday) & a light meal

- rarely have I seen a good place to buy fuel for my body that mainly sell it for my car

- Processed food is often unhealthy, tasteless, high in fat &/or salt

2. Choose food for how it's grown: think about - animal welfare (meat & dairy), wildlife & biodiversity, water, embedded oil/carbon, buy local and eat the seasons when you can

- a typical Brit adult may be eating 6.5-8.5kgs of embedded greenhouse gasses (GHG/carbon)
- by 2020 we have to get that down to less than 5kgs, and by 2027 4kgs of carbon to meet our global obligations

- local food may not always be lower in impacts, but it's better for the economy & our culture for sure

- seasonal food is likely to be lower in its impacts, cheaper & tastier, so why not?

- you cannot eat packaging, sometimes it helps safe waste & is good, sometimes it just costs more

3. Eat Fair

- by eating in excess we will be taking food from others who are not as well off as we are

- the poorest farmers in the world are working hard to feed us, let's pay them for it and also not eat their share

- don't waste your food we throw away between 20-40% of everything we buy, & buy too much

4. Eat more plants, go beyond 5 a day for fruit & vegetables, think 6-12 portions a day

- a portion is around 80g or a good handful

- we include up to 2 portions of potatoes

- count fruit as no more than 3 or 4 if you hit 12, juice a max of 2 if of differing types

- limit high impact fruit & vegetables: airfreighted (out of season herbs, greens & tropical) unless fair-trade, tomatoes/peppers/chillies/cucumbers out of season

5. Eat less than the norm for meat, cheese and dairy

- for meat, hard cheese and butter no more than 2 full portions per day: that's 104g per day (count a 52g portion of soft cheese or similar as half/26g)

- presently we eat around 216g of meat per day and a good chunk of cheese and a little butter

- pay for the best, organic, LEAF & Red Tractor, by growing food to higher standards we will hopefully help the environment, have less to pay cleaning up the pollution & have better tasting food

- artisan/expensive usually means more for the farmer, you pay for what you get

- rumour has it we mostly enjoy the first few mouthfuls of meat & cheese

6. Eat fish in moderation and always from sustainable sources

- 2 portions a week, oily fish is good (like sardine, herring, anchovy, salmon, trout & mackerel)

- a portion is a 50-100g fillet, or 100-200g whole

- look for sustainable fish like MSC certified or local day boat caught

7. Drinks: minimise all but the mains tap water

- bottled drinks & definitely water is a treat, tap is better for the pocket & planet

- alcohol in moderation for yours & the planets health

- tea & coffee should be fairly traded with thought for the environment, they are high impact

8. Think about how it's cooked & presented

- oil and fats in moderation, animal fats are OK to cook with in moderation

- we eat too much salt around 8-9g per day, we need 6, minimise processed foods and don't add it unless you have too

- the associated electric & gas used in preparing & eating can more than double it's impacts

- food should look good, it makes it more enjoyable

- smaller plates help to keep intake down

9. Eat feasts with friends on high days & holidays - it's fun & what life should be about

- don't not eat out or party, but compensate before & after

10. Learn about food, it's important: think the nutrition, health, the planet & taste & then ask would Great Grandma have known this as food?

- talk to the person who selling you the food, they should know more than you

- is meat grown on soya from reclaimed rainforest land local or sustainable?

- Your ancestors only ate real food, we've evolve to eat a good range of this over many 1000's of year

18th May

Still keeping to the guidelines, with more to say very soon and just about to start crunching the numbers.
Hoping to see if we can make some sense of how to take things forward. Lost 2.5kgs in 4 weeks, no longer obese, just very over weight.