Live Well For Less BBC 1

I started to watch this but decided against it fairly rapidly. Maybe they thought that exposing themselves to the public they would have to do something about their lifestyle. With all the info out there about diet and obesity, I struggle to understand why so many people are seemingly unable to make more healthy choices.

Interestingly, I was called to give a blood sample by the practice nurse to check sugar levels as I’d previously shown as pre-diabetic. She then wanted to send me to the local diet clinic to improve my diet. I didn’t take up the offer as I believed my diet was ok. My bloods came back as normal.

I’m very glad our local health people are starting to use these methods to improve understanding of diet for ordinary folk rather than just giving medication. If all health authorities, schools etc. followed healthy eating patterns and taught the basics of household management, maybe our health would improve.

I just feel very sad for those on benefits who have little knowledge and rely on highly processed food just to get some calories into their bodies.

Sorry for straying from the subject. I can’t help feeling that so many people have been brainwashed into thinking that big brands are better, with supermarkets making it difficult to shop healthily. There is so much food rubbish about!

I didn't see the programme but I often wonder if such people just want to be on the telly.

Born before WW11 I have rationing to thank for not having snacks or overeating.
My mother cooked every day from scratch and we ate veg from the garden.
I admit to being overweight now but mostly from lack of exercise
I still have all my own teeth but for one which became loose but had no decay.
Most of this is down to luck and good genes rather than judgement but restraint has played a part.

Oh we had snacks ! Stck of rhubarb and a poke of sugar ! , a poke of cocoa ands sugar and a damp finger , doorstop of bread and butter with sugar .............. I haven't a tooth left

We didn’t have snacks.
End of.

Welcome Pttr....

What did you all have as snacks between meals when you were children? I only remember having apples (always in our fruit bowl) or bread and butter. Crisps were only available when my parents took us to a pub (where we sat outside on the wall). However we went to the sweet shop most days.

I was gobsmacked at this pair. I found it scarcely credible that a pair of adults can eat like that. They were like a pair of out-of-control toddlers.

She was particularly infantile. And the "poor me I can't cook" attitude...

An average day for them was more than 4000 calories. That's almost three times what I eat....

No excuses - this is just sheer, unadulterated greed. That woman has had T2 for 20 years FFS. She obviously couldn't give a flying f..k about her health, of that of her husband.

Shocking.

BBbevan well done to you. I know how hard it is to change eating habits but we found Michael Mosley’s Books and television programmes so helpful. There was also a wonderful television programme The Truth About Carbs which we have watched several times. We did have input from the nurse but to be honest she wasn’t au fait with the low carb approach and how effective it is.

Don't people realise their weight is creeping up though. You don't suddenly wake up obese.

Anyone studying for a degree is not short of a few brain cells. If your clothes start getting too tight surely it makes sense to make an effort to lose weight rather than keep scoffing junk food and buy bigger clothes?

My niece was amazed at the lack of information on nutrition and the effects of diet on health when she was training.
Coming from a family that was very aware of food and it’s effects she was very surprised that her mother seemed to know more than she was taught.
You have to be aware that most doctors spend about 12 weeks on each specialty and they are very constrained by ‘the rules’.

Are you surprised?
Medical students get very little information on food & exercise while they are at university studying how to keep us well You couldn't make it up.

One of our GPs is, I would say, morbidly obese. He is enormous. Maybe he has a condition of some sort.

When my husband goes for his BP checks, the nurse talks about his BMI, ‘Now I don’t want to see it get any higher!’ Pot and kettle come to mind, she is hardly Twiggy, plus my DH, although not slim, is certainly not in the obese category.

This week in our local free paper there is a photograph of a group of nurses in uniform when they qualified 30 years ago, all slim attractive things, even the few men.
Underneath is a photograph of most of them at a recent reunion.
At least a quarter of the women are obese.
It is something I and other notice when visiting outpatient clinics.
Several very ,very large nurses.

She shouldn't need to read the papers or watch TV to find out about health if she's a nurse.

Jane43 How I agree with you. I was diagnosed T2 , 5 yrs ago. No suggestion of anything at all from GP. So I did the Michael Mosley '8 weeks to reverse your diabetes' . Lost weight and blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol all reduced. 3 months in I had an invitation to talk to a diabetic nurse. When I rang and spoke to her she could only give me an appointment 6 weeks hence. I said "I will be svelte by then". She said " what's svelte?". Needless to say I didn't go. 5 years on I am still non diabetic, and eating a low carb diet. .
So I firmly believe that you are responsible for your own health. Full marks to that lady for asking for help. But does she never read the papers or watch television. There has been so much of late about diabetes and obesity. Let's hope she , and her husband,havethe willpower to continue .

Yes Calendargirl She applied for the programme and there was obviously a camera in the supermarket following them around. I couldn't believe that anyone would put so much rubbish in their trolley. Still, I hope it helped them in some way.

KatyK

I too watched the programme on I Player and I agree. She seemed to be playing to the camera, really enjoying her 15 minutes of fame, particularly in the supermarket. Plus they must be fitted up with microphones as they go round the supermarket, so how can they not know they are being filmed?

Having watched the whole programme on iPlayer, I have a feeling there was a bit of 'acting', particularly with the lady. They knew they were being filmed in the supermarket and everything she picked up that was sugar free etc, she made a big deal of saying 'oh no we don't want that'. I'm not convinced with this one.

I also think that the approach to dealing with patients with Type 2 Diabetes is wrong. After my DH was told he had Type 2 diabetes he was given an appointment with the nurse who advises diabetic patients. We had both done some research in advance so knew what things he would have to change in his eating habits but the GP had written a prescription for medication ready for him and when he told the nurse he wanted to tackle it by changing his diet she was a bit taken aback and said he should try it for three months. When we returned three months later he was in the normal range purely because we did the research and changed the content of our meals.

Working shifts is no excuse as it is easy to take a nutritious meal or snack from home. Neither is the excuse of cost, supermarkets like Aldi have a wonderful selection of fruit and vegetables at a very reasonable cost, they also have a cabinet with a good range of healthy snacks.

I’m glad they managed to change their eating habits and that they both lost some weight and I hope they carry on in the same vein.

Sometimes I think that people put themselves through what I would term Torture by Television because they are desperate.
This couple didn’t have a clue about nutrition and , I think unfortunately, that they represent a huge percentage of the population.
I would also say that, even though she is a nurse, also clueless about the link between good diet and health.
What hope for the country?
There is another thread on here about taking the NHS for granted. I have a relative who also seems to think he can keep on eating whatever he likes. He’ll just take more medication. His diabetic nurse asked him what it was he wasn’t understanding about her advice.
He truly doesn’t believe that losing weight would make a difference. They have a snack drawer in their kitchen!

Is shift work really an excuse? I think if you want to cook you will cook no matter how hard you work in your job.

I admire NHS staff tremendously but why does everyone blame any shortcomings on their shifts or environment when actually they might just be a bit lazy when they get home? What about the police force, firefighters, factory workers putting in extra shifts to pay the mortgage. It's the same for them isn't it?

I know and have known lots of nurses and they have all brought their children up with a healthy eating ethos.

thanks merlotgran. hope I've got staying power. Do admit sometimes I'm a bit opinionated.

Please don't attack me for sharing this personal observation of our National Treasure, but I've spent a lot of time recently in NHS settings. GP surgery and various clinics and hospitals. It has been impossible to ignore the amount of obesity on view, both patients and (mainly female) staff. All the on-site cafes and shops are selling horrendous junk food. I don't think this is acceptable from our so called Health Service.

The remedy is hidden in plain view. Eat more natural plants. Gorge on them, if you want! They'll only do you good. Get away from the dependence on processed cr*p dressed up as meal "solutions". These make vast profits for those who sell and advertise them. When did you ever see a sexily-lit or funny ad for cabbage or apples or barley? There is so much evidence based research demonstrating how these foods can actually reverse diabetes and other very serious illnesses that plague industrialised societies. But most people prefer to rely on medication and continue doing what made them ill in the first place.

There is lots of righteous indignation on other threads about the selfishness of those unwilling to be vaccinated against flu. This is similar. People who stubbornly maintain their right to 'live' on junk despite the evidence are diverting resources from those whose illness is not self-induced.