One thing that is underdone by seniors is protein.
Not trying to guess what anyone else is eating here but protein for seniors is also like hydrating for seniors easily ignored when it should not be.
iampops5 points to a fascinating article that provides substantial scientific (NEJM) evidence of the potential dangers of modern three meals a day feeding.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1905136
(free but you have to go through a short rigamarole)
We evolved as animals that ate irregularly. Living in imitation of what our genes expected is a good idea. Small scale fasting is potent medicine.
david fb
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Hereās another pdf of the articleā¦
DB2
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Well, I donāt think itās quite so much the 3 meals a day ā¦ or the timing, come to thatā¦so much as the size of 'em and what else is consumed as part of the dayās rations.
The first time my parents visited us from England in about 1989 or so, my dad remarked pretty quickly that heād never seen so many very fat people in one place (and that place was Long Islandā¦not exactly the fat capital of the US!) And that they seemed to eat one meal a day ā¦ from sun-up to sundown!
Human studies on IFā¦or more accurately Time Restricted Feeding, if itās a time window within a 24 hour periodā¦work very well when compared with something close to what my dad observed, not so unequivocal when compared with isocaloric/lean eating.
You might want to read the article before commenting further.
The conclusions of fasting studies do not at all have to be right. Take with plenty of salt. LOL
We can as a species study and prove anything. And by all means we do prove literally anything.
Actually I haveā¦and did at the time of publication. I donāt pass comment on studies unless Iāve had a read and a thinkā¦I learned the value of that as a new dentalstudenta full half century ago (0along with making sure I know something about the topic under discussion) As you can imagine, this is exactly the sort of publication that hits the newswires with a press release appearing in the popular press. It was discussed a fair bit on the H&N board which prompted me to explore what the current literature in human clinical trials had to sayā¦along with actual peer review of the primary document (yeah, dh has a subscription to the NEJM)
As it happens, by the time of publication, I was well familiar with the various iterations of these diets. I say āthese dietsā because the authors include a few different styles under the umbrella of IF. Time Restricted Feeding (what youāre doing) 5:2 fasting (an iteration of Michael Mosleyās 5:2 Fast diet) along with true intermittent fastingā¦a few days of just water (which most mimics a lot of the rodent research behind these diets) Books on all of these are either on my ānutrition libraryā shelves or Iāve gotten from the real library. Heck, Iāve even given some a test drive to see how doable they might be for someone over the long haul.
Just to say, though, that I wasnāt dismissing the value of these dietsā¦especially to you as there is some tangible benefit. Thing is, although youāve said that the āonlyā change is with accountability over your eating time frame and exercise. Consistently and over an extended period, right? Believe it or not, in the arena of behaviour change ā¦ particularly as it relates to diet and exercise ā¦ is a Really Big Thing and is generally the foundation for success. Iām a āminor adjustmentā person myself and Iām pretty convinced that small scale change thatās maintained over the long term is what gets meaningful gains. Not unlike steady consistent savings and harnessing the power of compound interest.
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Without knocking the thinking behind, and strategy of, the study, I think thereās something to this thought. We in the USA have seen markedly expanded obesity rates over the past half century or so and throughout that whole period, we have been on the ā3 meal a dayā diet. What has changed is the magnificence of the portions and the additional frequency in snacking throughout the day. The McD sandwich is the poster food: A Look at How McDonald's Portion Sizes Have Grown From 1955 to Today | First We Feast
I can see fasting and irregular dieting affecting overall health for the better, but supersizing (whether itās called that or not) everything, as we have done in the US, has its effect, too.
Pete
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Yeah. Also add ātransportabilityā to the menu (no pun intended) You can walk around any mallā¦yes, even here in āleanā Coloradoā¦and see lumberjack sized portions (Calorie wise) being carried and eaten very conveniently at, say 10.30 in the morning and the **food court is full also.
** I remember when a ācourtā used to conjure up images of a tennis court or basketball court ā¦ not a place where the primary activity was guzzling.
Itās not just the US. If dad were to be resurrected after close to 30 years, heād be treated to similar visions in England to what greeted him here. Weāve noticed it creeping up on our trips back. Just about this time last year (when our trip included a few days at a specialty hepatology meeting where dh was presenting a paper, ironically enough, on NAFLD and its impact on that organā¦and, indirectly liver transplant numbers) we arrived at Heathrow and got into a big elevator with 10 other people. All English from their accents and all lean. I actually remarked when we got out that you wouldnāt see that in the US. Well, we didnāt see much more during our trip there, either after that. Depressingly, affecting youngsters almost as much as here ā¦ which really does not bode well for the future.
I used to call childhood dental caries the ultimate āgift that keeps on givingā ā¦ I think thatās soon going to be overtaken by obesity and its sequelae (if itās not happened already) 
I noticed the difference at a buffet in London about 30 years ago. In the US, a buffet is generally āall you can eatā for a flat price. At the London buffet, if you wanted more, each trip through was another expense to pay.
One of the things about dining out in the US that they werenāt used in England (based on their once-in-a-blue-moon dining out experiences) was that it was totally acceptable to take what you hadnāt eaten home. No need to pretend it was for the dog. Dad made the perfectly reasonable observation that there was no excuse for all the fatness around when you didnāt have to overeat in a restaurant to feel you were getting your moneyās worth because you could take leftovers home and feed yourself for a week. Doesnāt seem to work like that for a good many
What changed the most is the average age went up. You heard that correlation first here from me.
The age increase leaves more people susceptible to weigh gain.
So why are youngster getting more obese as of the last ten plus years? Young people mimic older peopleās behaviors. You heard that here from me first.
Both items are obvious practical theory and never studied as of yet.
Really big thingā¦
Thatās a problem alright
I do not offer this in person when discussing noom and I tell people I wonāt go into how noom works. It has to be their own experience.
Nooms success rate is extremely high about 8%.
Want some Prozac?
I have the book. As is the case with almost any widely known book on aging, I have it. Iāve read a lot of it.
But after watching the YouTubeās viva longevity review of it, Iāll waste not another minute reading any more of it.
YouTube. Viva longevity. Check it out. There are much better sources for anti aging information.
I must add, I like his views on physical activity. When I go on a powerwalk in these Ozark hills, I often get my heart rate above 130-140 beats per minute and keep it there for an hour and a half at a time and sometimes longer.
But his views on nutrition and diet are ridiculous. 10 of those jerky sticks a day? Thatās thousands of grams of sodium a day, not to mention all that protein. This while he takes two statins. Heās a big zero on how to eat for longevity.
I think we are surrounded by people either waddling or riding those scooters around Walmart because of the high glycemic junk they eat.
You spike your blood sugar with crap, then your blood sugar sharply declines an hour or two later. Your body perceives rapidly dropping blood sugar as dangerous, so it sends an auto regulatory signal to your noggin demanding āmore food. NOW!ā
Foods that donāt trigger spikes in blood sugar and insulin are also less likely to give you hunger pangs and cravings an hour or two later.
When I lost a hundred pounds in 2015, I simply avoided all sugar and never felt hungry.
But boiled eggs and Great Value chicken nuggets drove my cholesterol very high, giving me a new problem to solve. So my VA doc went from trying to get me to go on diabetes meds to trying to get me to take statins and blood pressure meds.
I said no to those too, and read āHow Not To Die.ā
I never did submit to embarking on a lifelong dependency on any drug. Iām 68, take no meds today and my labs are perfect.
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So what did you do to lower cholesterol if the non-glycemic foods were driving it up? I tried that yrs ago. Stopped being a vegetarian after many years and went Atkins. (No not steak and bacon 4 times a day. Just greens and a little meat or fish so save the lecture those inclined) felt great. Lost all the weight I gained on statins (weight gain was listed as a side effects doctors always deny) But, cholesterol went - whoopee! Even Iām not going to look something like that in the face and ignore it.
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I still avoid all added sugars, but went plant based nearly 100%. No more boiled eggs, no more Great Value chicken nuggets.
No meat, eggs, dairy, oil, margarine, butter, cheese, fried and breaded junk, no pizza, no added sugars.
Yes to steamed veggies, oatmeal, blueberries, strawberries, nuts, beansā¦I typically eat a third to a half pound of collard greens a day.
Just in the last six months Iāve been keeping my sodium intake low as well, and that solved a stubborn eczema problem Iāve been living with for 20 years.
I have loosened up and started to have a small amount of air fried chicken now and then, along with no sugar added fudgesicles which I fervently wish I didnāt like but I do. But they not only have no added sugar, they also have only half as much sodium as they do potassium. They also have only 1 gram of protein, which I also like, since animal protein is something I want to limit.
Currently, Iām keeping all protein way down. The last 3 days protein was only 10% of all my calories.
Itās an amazing new phenomenon called āthe sugar diet.ā I saw a video on youtube.com by Nic Norwitz about it.
Upon investigating it, he found that what really made it work was limiting protein, and it didnāt matter how you changed the mix of your other calories from carbs and fats. So no, Iām still not eating added sugars. Just still staying nearly 100% plant based and limiting protein.
He also did a video about it with Vic from Physionic.
Itās really weird. The weight seems to fall off without limiting calories.
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