Support NeoGAF

[GeekyDad]

Man, there is and seemingly always has been such varying views on a healthy diet. Now, I know a lot of you are in a place right now where perhaps you don't really care about this sort of thing. This thread isn't really directed toward you. But I've gained some weight back over the holiday (big surprise, right?), and I really would like to shed it off again.

A bit of history about my diet over the past 10 years: I eat a salad everyday for lunch, along with fat-free yogurt and blueberries. On workdays, I have a Lara bar (or a 1/4 cup of nuts (usually almonds or walnuts) and a Kind breakfast bar, things I can eat on the go, for breakfast. And when I get home, I eat an apple (typically) or some other type of fruit and a protein (chicken-breast sandwich, rice and sardines, some sort of beans, etc. -- one of those things), and my natural cereal for dessert. I was drinking green tea before work and having coffee with cream and sugar only on my days off before I took my medical leave, but since returning back to work about eight months ago, it's been coffee with cream and sugar every morning before work. I have also fallen into the trap of eating munchies after work and on my days off -- cheese puffs, extra nuts, things of this nature.

So, I'm of course, doing research, trying different things. Yesterday before work, I'm reading about foods that help you burn fat. Oddly enough, they're mostly foods with fat: whole-milk yogurt, olive oil, fatty fishes, etc. Now, I've known fish is healthy for you, but just like nuts, you wanna eat that stuff in moderation. And there are the folks who just eat vegan, and so on and so on...

I'm not soliciting advice, but I would love to read other peoples' experiences regarding finding a healthy diet -- both their successes and failures. What have you tried, what are you eating now, how has it affected you, and what research have you found that you either find suspicious or you perceive as logical, etc.?

 

[Coolwhhip]

Think the first thing is you need to accept it's a life long struggle. I go up and down 20kg all the time. Annoying as fuck. But the best advice I can give is eat a protien rich diet, protiens help with muscle gains and give you a full feeling for a long time. And as little sugar as possible, that fucks with you in many ways.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

When I shop at the grocery, I tend to avoid the middle section as much as possible. I use other rules as laid out by Michael Pollan in his book Food Rules.

Food Rules - Michael Pollan

An Eater’s Manual Eating doesn’t have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision and wit that has become bestselling author Michael...

michaelpollan.com

 

[IDKFA]

About 15 years ago I fell off the wagon. I was going to the gym, but my diet was shockingly shit and I wasn't seeing any benefits at all. Then I changed up my diet, and that combined with a regular work out allowed me to shed the fat and make some massive muscle gains.

I eat as clean as possible now. I work out in the gym six days a week and my diet consists of a lot of protein (both animal and plant) various fruit and veg, nuts and various grains. I do eat the occasional junk food, but it's not shop bought. For example, if I fancy a cookie then I'll go ahead and bake my own. At least then I know what's in it.

In terms of foods that burn fat, yes there are foods that can help with that (hot chilli peppers for example), but unless you work out on a regular basis then you're not going to see a lot of difference. There isn't some kind of magic food that will shed the pounds on their own without any physical exercise, but eating as clean as possible and avoiding processed food (including fast food) will help.

Basically, if you want to shed weight you need to eat clean, exercise on a regular basis, drink plenty of water and one that people often forget about, get at around 7-8 hours sleep per night.

 

[Papacheeks]

All I can say that has been a revelation for me is finding recipes that are great, use fresh ingredients.

And they are quick meals.

But main part is I intermittent fast. And if you do it correctly the results are insane.

It’s basically what our great grand parents did naturally because back then eating 3 square meals was not a thing. You ate when you could and were eating home made rustic dishes that could feed a family of 4+ easily. So things that came from the farm, or from hunting, neighboring farm.

If you can find 20-30 minutes to cook and don’t eat past 5-6pm you’ll be surprised by results.

Consistency, Schedule and effort are key things.

 

[Coolwhhip]

All I can say that has been a revelation for me is finding recipes that are great, use fresh ingredients.

And they are quick meals.

But main part is I intermittent fast. And if you do it correctly the results are insane.

It’s basically what our great grand parents did naturally because back then eating 3 square meals was not a thing. You are when you could and were eating home made rustic dishes that could feed a family of 4+ easily. So things that came from the farm, or from hunting, neighboring farm.

If you can find 20-30 minutes to cook and don’t eat past 5-6pm you’ll be surprised by results.

Consistency, Schedule and effort are key things.

I'm sure it works, but if I don't eat anything past 6pm (which I'm doing right now) I just can't sleep due to being hungry as fuck. Any tips for that?

 

[nush]

Any tips for that?

vapeing.

 

[Papacheeks]

I'm sure it works, but if I don't eat anything past 6pm (which I'm doing right now) I just can't sleep due to being hungry as fuck. Any tips for that?

Yes , if you eat correctly you wont have that issue. Though its a hungry feeling if you eat correctly like enough protein/fat, your body wont burn through it like eating pasta, bread, rice. There's also different time frames for fasting. I am up because of my Schedule at 4:00am. SO at around 5am I have 1TSP of supergreens mixed with a glass of water, then make a Bullet Proof coffee. WHich is usually your favoritte coffee mixed with a type of fat. Can be Heavy Cream, butter, or a type of Omega 3 fat. Like a rich peanut butter, or calcoa which are super foods. I do 2 spoon fulls of PB powder which has high protein/fat, but hardly any sugar(best to buy it at a cosco/samsclub you can get it for $9.99 for giant tub). Then I add a spoon full of cashue butter which has hardly to no sugar but has that peanut butter taste.

I blend it with a nutribullet, using a little local 2% milk or none depending. Drink that and it satiates me until lunch or even after. So my schedule is key to how I fast. WHich is going to be the same for you. WHen I get home which is 3-4pm I make dinner.

And sometimes thats just a big stake with nothing else. But I cook it with parsley butter, which just adds flavor and extra fat. I literally am full after that and go to bed around 8-9.

Its all about finding a schedule which works.

So what is your work schedule?

 

[Guileless]

All I can say that has been a revelation for me is finding recipes that are great, use fresh ingredients.

And they are quick meals.

But main part is I intermittent fast. And if you do it correctly the results are insane.

Agreed - if you consistently cook your own food and avoid processed/fast foods, eat in a 10-12 hour window each day, and limit alcohol to the UK weekly unit guidelines, you'll see results.

 

[nush]

limit alcohol to the UK weekly unit guidelines

Hold on now...

 

[GeekyDad]

I'm sure it works, but if I don't eat anything past 6pm (which I'm doing right now) I just can't sleep due to being hungry as fuck. Any tips for that?

Curious what your level of physical activity is throughout a given workday. My work is very physically demanding, so I pass right out when I lay down. But...I have probably the opposite issue you're having. I have trouble staying asleep about half of the days of the week. I think it's mostly due to thinking about things I need to get done for the following workday, as I'm not really hungry when I wake up. Actually, I don't typically get that hunger feeling until I actually start eating. For me, I generally eat from 6:30am to 2:30pm, as I'm due at work at 4am each day. So, I wonder if your job is more stationary, then you might need to adjust for that particular type of workday.

 

[Guileless]

Hold on now...

If you drink a lot, not only do you get those empty alcohol calories, you're more likely to eat junk food at late hours, your sleep is affected, and you're less likely to exercise. I know it sucks but there's no way around it.

 

[Punished Miku]

I have a low calorie protein shake for breakfast, 100 calories.

I drink coffee and water. Sometimes a Coke Zero, or Powerade Zero.

Lunch is usually PB&J on low calorie bread, Icelandic Yogurt and some really pungent cheese stick I get from a local cheese maker. Or leftovers. Or a frozen box lunch thing if I have nothing ready.

After a workout I'll have a 2nd protein shake.

Supper is usually my biggest meal of the day. Usually cooking something at home. Salmon and asparagus. Chicken, rice, curry. Tacos. Usually eat out once or twice a week.

I usually plan on about 800-1000 calories for supper. 400 for lunch. 200 in protein drinks. Estimated at 1400-1600 calories daily. And I work out pretty hard 4 days a week.

It really is down to just counting calories and making correct choices. If you can eat a decent lunch for 400 calories, then you start to realize how ridiculous it is to get a Starbucks milkshake for 500 calories that doesn't fill you up in any way. Just pretend you have 2000 calories to spend every day like money, and you will want to get the best bang for your buck. Finding something filling that is low calorie is finding a "good deal."

 

[Papacheeks]

I have a low calorie protein shake for breakfast, 100 calories.

I drink coffee and water. Sometimes a Coke Zero, or Powerade Zero.

Lunch is usually PB&J on low calorie bread, Icelandic Yogurt and some really pungent cheese stick I get from a local cheese maker. Or leftovers. Or a frozen box lunch thing if I have nothing ready.

After a workout I'll have a 2nd protein shake.

Supper is usually my biggest meal of the day. Usually cooking something at home. Salmon and asparagus. Chicken, rice, curry. Tacos. Usually eat out once or twice a week.

I usually plan on about 800-1000 calories for supper. 400 for lunch. 200 in protein drinks. Estimated at 1400-1600 calories daily. And I work out pretty hard 4 days a week.

It really is down to just counting calories and making correct choices. If you can eat a decent lunch for 400 calories, then you start to realize how ridiculous it is to get a Starbucks milkshake for 500 calories that doesn't fill you up in any way. Just pretend you have 2000 calories to spend every day like money, and you will want to get the best bang for your buck. Finding something filling that is low calorie is finding a "good deal."

I found counting calories is not organic when we compare today's intake vs our grand parents, great grandparents. Our ancestors and great, great grandparents ate when they could and were limited to specific things like mainly beef. Which is why when you add beef to any diet and eat more than 1-3 meals it hurts your body. But when you think about how people ate in harsh conditions it becomes clear that society put the whole three square meals in place because of surpluses from companies that wanted to grow after the war.

If you were a rural trapper/farmer you worked a lot, you were self efficient, so making a pasta dish or something wasn't common. They would eat what was handy, if they had oats from their 1 trip to town they would eat that in the morning. ANd have something like beef or whatever they trapped, killed or had on hand.

Making these weird and multistep dishes you see all over cooking shows and youtube make no sense. The stuff that does which has been labeled bad or taboo are actually what you should be eating. the issue is you are adding in Bullshit stuff like Latte's, smootheies, fast food, breakfast sandwhiches.

I make rustic dishes like pot roast, lamb shanks, chicken thighs for my tikka masala, steaks, pork loin and then just have some potaties or whatever I have on hand with them. Sautued mushrooms/onions, with Spinach is one of my go to. EASY and fast to do.

 

[Punished Miku]

I found counting calories is not organic when we compare today's intake vs our grand parents, great grandparents. Our ancestors and great, great grandparents ate when they could and were limited to specific things like mainly beef. Which is why when you add beef to any diet and eat more than 1-3 meals it hurts your body. But when you think about how people ate in harsh conditions it becomes clear that society put the whole three square meals in place because of surpluses from companies that wanted to grow after the war.

If you were a rural trapper/farmer you worked a lot, you were self efficient, so making a pasta dish or something wasn't common. They would eat what was handy, if they had oats from their 1 trip to town they would eat that in the morning. ANd have something like beef or whatever they trapped, killed or had on hand.

Making these weird and multistep dishes you see all over cooking shows and youtube make no sense. The stuff that does which has been labeled bad or taboo are actually what you should be eating. the issue is you are adding in Bullshit stuff like Latte's, smootheies, fast food, breakfast sandwhiches.

I make rustic dishes like pot roast, lamb shanks, chicken thighs for my tikka masala, steaks, pork loin and then just have some potaties or whatever I have on hand with them. Sautued mushrooms/onions, with Spinach is one of my go to. EASY and fast to do.

Interesting for sure. I could see myself trying that for a while, but I usually mix up my routines every 6 months or so out of boredom.

Counting calories is an essential element for most people in my opinion though, due to the amount of artificial food available for purchase. You just literally would never know if you rely on intuition that some of the things you can purchase are 4-5x more calorie dense than they need to be. People aren't rustic farmers now, and when they navigate modern grocery stores and restaurants, they need some kind of reference to know what kind of creation they're about to ingest.

If you lived in Japan or something, then calorie counting is a lot less important. There just aren't a ton of things around that have insane amounts of calories. It's a societal problem, and a food industry problem.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

If you just cut your calories your body will adapt to that. You will need additional exercise including cardio and weight training to shock your body into burning excess fat.

If you develop a love for exercise and keep the weight off for 3 years you changed your lifestyle and thats when you will have success. You will no longer be on a diet, you will be just eating.

 

[Wildebeest]

The problem with calorie counting is that it is often used as a way to trick you into thinking that the amount of sugar in your diet is normal or healthy. Sugar calories are worse than any other calories because the calorie system is old and too simple. Japanese just eat more healthy food.

 

[Punished Miku]

The problem with calorie counting is that it is often used as a way to trick you into thinking that the amount of sugar in your diet is normal or healthy. Sugar calories are worse than any other calories because the calorie system is old and too simple. Japanese just eat more healthy food.

Very true. I was just in Japan for 10 days, and the entire time I had limitless energy and slept like a baby. Even their vending machines are pretty healthy. You really don't even have to think about it over there.

In the US, it's dodging minefields 24/7.

 

[Papacheeks]

Interesting for sure. I could see myself trying that for a while, but I usually mix up my routines every 6 months or so out of boredom.

Counting calories is an essential element for most people in my opinion though, due to the amount of artificial food available for purchase. You just literally would never know if you rely on intuition that some of the things you can purchase are 4-5x more calorie dense than they need to be. People aren't rustic farmers now, and when they navigate modern grocery stores and restaurants, they need some kind of reference to know what kind of creation they're about to ingest.

If you lived in Japan or something, then calorie counting is a lot less important. There just aren't a ton of things around that have insane amounts of calories. It's a societal problem, and a food industry problem.

My point is if you calorie count it gives false sense of what you should/shouldn’t eat. Like someone grabbing a breakfast sandwich and telling themselves that the wrapper, or even calculated calories of making it is accurate. It’s usually not. All eggs are different in size, protein, depending on where they came from. What they were fed, raised.

If you cook like really cook and set time to do so and are not making some dumb dish with a million ingredients you will be fine.

Simple dishes we and our parents grew up on are that way because they worked.

Stock to basics and be consistent Results will blow you away. It all starts with ingredients in the kitchen.

The best dishes you see in top restaurants and in other family restaurants usually are ones with 3-4 ingredients.

In Italian there is no thing as a cream sauce. Pasta water is what is used to thicken sauces with piccorino cheese.

Simple dishes are healthier for even if it’s something like clams linguine. I make it as my cheat meal on weekends. And it’s cheap as fuck to make. And the sauce is literally clam juice from clams, olive oil, cloves of garlic, white wine and for spice if u want red pepper flake. That’s essentially 4 things.

Think about it, your great grandfather was more than likely not fat. And calorie counting was not a thing until our generation.

 

[GeekyDad]

I found counting calories is not organic when we compare today's intake vs our grand parents, great grandparents. ...

Yeah, I will say, I definitely don't keep accurate count of my calories for each day, as, like I said before, my daily physical activity is quite high. That being said, I do try to be mindful in the back of my mind not to be gluttonous, though I can be pretty damn ravenous after work, trying to cram in everything I consider part of my daily diet before my eating cut-off time for the day.

Making these weird and multistep dishes you see all over cooking shows and youtube make no sense. The stuff that does which has been labeled bad or taboo are actually what you should be eating...

So, what are some examples of what you think of when say taboo foods?

 

[p_xavier]

Try GABA supplements, I lost 20lbs in a month with that plus I have much more energy. If not I mostly eat fatty meats and vegetables, less carbs possible.

 

[Wildebeest]

General rules. Fibre is good so choose plants over processed solid food or "healthy" food in liquid form (shakes, juices, smoothies, and so on). When you eat plants variety is also good because it helps with your gut micro biome. If you eat meat then don't go all in on meat because when your body thinks it has "enough" protein it very efficiently starts to turn protein into sugars.

 

[Punished Miku]

My point is if you calorie count it gives false sense of what you should/shouldn’t eat. Like someone grabbing a breakfast sandwich and telling themselves that the wrapper, or even calculated calories of making it is accurate. It’s usually not. All eggs are different in size, protein, depending on where they came from. What they were fed, raised.

If you cook like really cook and set time to do so and are not making some dumb dish with a million ingredients you will be fine.

Simple dishes we and our parents grew up on are that way because they worked.

Stock to basics and be consistent Results will blow you away. It all starts with ingredients in the kitchen.

The best dishes you see in top restaurants and in other family restaurants usually are ones with 3-4 ingredients.

In Italian there is no thing as a cream sauce. Pasta water is what is used to thicken sauces with piccorino cheese.

Simple dishes are healthier for even if it’s something like clams linguine. I make it as my cheat meal on weekends. And it’s cheap as fuck to make. And the sauce is literally clam juice from clams, olive oil, cloves of garlic, white wine and for spice if u want red pepper flake. That’s essentially 4 things.

Think about it, your great grandfather was more than likely not fat. And calorie counting was not a thing until our generation.

I'm not really disagreeing with you. I'm just saying that in reality, most people are not going to be cooking every meal or eating paleo. The current rates of obesity reflect this. People have limited time and make compromises.

As a last resort, it's good to at least have a reference and to always keep calories in mind. But yes, that is just the beginning. You still can choose from an infinite variety of foods and some choices are better than others.

For the average person, a great place to START is to always keep calories in mind so you at least begin to understand what you're eating.

 

[Papacheeks]

Yeah, I will say, I definitely don't keep accurate count of my calories for each day, as, like I said before, my daily physical activity is quite high. That being said, I do try to be mindful in the back of my mind not to be gluttonous, though I can be pretty damn ravenous after work, trying to cram in everything I consider part of my daily diet before my eating cut-off time for the day.

So, what are some examples of what you think of when say taboo foods?

Things you grew up on, lit if red meat is considered taboo because if you eat a lot of it there’s possible heart failure. Carnivore diet disproved this. The reason they associate lot of red meat to heart/health issues is their sample set are people that are eating 3 meals abd lot of it is garbage food. And they drink or drink sugary stuff like soda.

I’ll link some of the YouTube stuff soon.

 

[Punished Miku]

Things you grew up on, lit if red meat is considered taboo because if you eat a lot of it there’s possible heart failure. Carnivore diet disproved this.

I would never do that in a million years. Especially not long term. It's not heart failure, it's colon cancer.

But a lot of those high protein diets do tend to ignore fat content, which can lead to increased cholesterol, and eventually atherosclerosis.

 

[Papacheeks]

I would never do that in a million years. Especially not long term. It's not heart failure, it's colon cancer.

But a lot of those high protein diets do tend to ignore fat content, which can lead to increased cholesterol, and eventually atherosclerosis.

Like I said your omitting buying local raised ingredients. My family come from farming and hunting I get wild deer meat all the time. I get local beef that I know has none of the hormones,steroids and all the things that cause those. Do what you want but everyone in my family who all use local and have used what they have off their farms are still around. And they are in their 70-80s still working and eating eggs, beef, pork, whole chickens.

Modern manufacturing is what brought on a lot of what your talking about. I also eat fish a lot and it’s local lake trout, salmon from Pulaski, Lake Ontario.

 

[BigBooper]

Most things balance out if you take it in moderations. Things like low-fat yogurt are generally counter-productive unless you have a specific need to avoid that type of fat. Low fat yogurt has a higher ratio of sugar than whole milk yogurt, and sugar burns up faster than fat and leaves you feeling hunger quicker. So, if you were to eat the full fat yogurt, you would feel fuller, longer, and your glucose would spike less causing your energy to feel more consistently high.

Pretty much everything said about diet in public seems to be wrong, so it's very difficult for someone who can't or won't look into things to know.

Salads also are good if you just need to feel full, but with fewer calories, and you don't load it up with oil and croutons and fruits to make up. I mean the loaded salads can taste great too, but at that point it's just another meal. No point in forcing yourself to eat salad to imagine it's healthier if it's loaded up anyways.

People really get caught up in marketing and overthink stuff. If you just want to lose weight, eat fewer calories. If you want to maintain health, eat a diet made of words that you can spell.


My ideal everyday meal say for dinner is about 3/6 vegetables, 2/6 meat, 1/6 bread/carb.
Vegetables are usually common. Green, pinto, lima, bean. Black eyed or english peas. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, turnip greens, sweet potatoes, potatoes, or squash. I don't usually go for corn because it's just sugar.

Meat is usually beef, pork, or chicken, and occasionally fish. Most of my fish comes from a can at lunch.

For a bread/carb cornbread is my favorite, but I have pastas sometimes too. I very rarely eat flour breads unless it's a desert or sliced bread for lunch.

 

[Scotty W]

I have 2 sandwiches for lunch everyday. I know it is probably not that healthy, but I have no idea what I could possibly have everyday that is cheap and delicious.

 

[chixdiggit]

I do Muay Thai/BJJ 6 days a week. I will stay the exact same weight no matter what or when I eat. I could eat nothing but ice cream and onion rings or low calorie fasting and I'm roughly 8 to 10 pounds over what I would like to be. The only thing that works for me to lose those extra few pounds is Keto.

 

[Kenpachii]

Only drink water = can eat more.
Eat salad with chicken in a big bowl in the evening and eat a can of premade soup as filler in the middle of the day, and some bread with ham in the morning that i wash down with water.

Feel like i can consume more? i eat some random stuff 1/2 days a week. If i start to gain weight, u revert back to the above again for 7 days a week no cheating.

 

[Papacheeks]

I have 2 sandwiches for lunch everyday. I know it is probably not that healthy, but I have no idea what I could possibly have everyday that is cheap and delicious.

If you cooked regular, fresh food and made a good amount you can take small portions for lunch and vice versa. When our ancestors cooked they were cooking for a large family, so they dont let that go to waste. They make other meals from it. If you cooked a roast of chicken you can use the drippins and pieces to make a soup, or something. You can boil the bones for chicken broth and add celery fresh carrots, some onion and make yourself a pretty great hearty soup thats pretty healthy.

Same goes for left over beef, or steak. Like if you eat a high protein breakfast even if your active I found i start getting hungry at dinner time if my schedule had me up at certain times. Like having left over steak tips with eggs in the morning no toast is great. Tons of protein and fat. You have to think like someone who lived where they ate what was available. If they had a garden or knew where wild mushrooms and the likes grew they added that to their meals. But for the most part fish, beef, oats, rice were what came easily. When you bought oats you were buying a giant bushel of it. Same with Rice for people from the east.

By intermittent fasting similar to how carnivore diet worked, your body takes fat and burns it similar to how carbs are burned in your body. If there's nothing else in your system your body absorbs it immediately. It's when eat things like steak with a baked potato, or something else high in carbs like bread that your can get into trouble if you eat it alot. When its just meat and something like a natural starch like potatoes or some greens your body absorns the fat and uses it as energy instead of storing it which is where heart disease issues arise.
Rice is fine within moderation. I make 2 cups full and it gets me a couple meals. Because I portion correctly. Thats another thing. POrtion size. If im eating a good size steak I only make the steak. And basically eat all of it depending on how hungry I am because I fasted all day and my last meal was the day before at the same time.

If I eat lunch like a wrap, rarely do I eat a lot at dinner. Fish and rice or some chicken Tikka masal made from scratch, and it's usually a small bowl size. And no later than 5pm. By 9pm my body has digested most of it, so by the time I eat again which might not be until after 12pm the next day I have fasted for a good portion.

Today I brought some sushi for lunch, its small. But im going to eat some bone in lamp chops tonight that are small.

 

[Nester99]

I have 2 sandwiches for lunch everyday. I know it is probably not that healthy, but I have no idea what I could possibly have everyday that is cheap and delicious.

1 sandwich and a side of raw cut veggies/fruit with a tall cold glass of water.

 

[synchronicity]

I've been forced to find a supremely (for me) healthy diet due to auto-immune problems and just general digestive troubles that have plagued me for years.

What has worked best for me is an all-natural, lower carb diet (most of the time)...think Paleo, generally speaking. I will eat some higher carb foods at times, things like plantains, sweet potatoes and some fruit, but generally, again for me, a diet of vegetables, (healthy, minimally processed) meats/fish/eggs, and healthy fats (avocado, olive/coconut oils) is what my body functions best on.

But I think everyone should listen to their own body. Having said that, I don't think any body benefits from an ultra-processed foods diet. You might get away with it, but you're doing your body no favors. Even in moderation, they're no benefit to health in my view.

 

[jason10mm]

A lot of this is fairly general good advice, but there is a big genetics component to what diet is optimal for you versus what someone else can eat and get away with.

Limit sugar AT ALL COSTS, hydrate, and cook your own food from the rawest/simplest ingredients possible. It's all the processed food that's fucking with us, along with a steady flow of sugar 18 hours a day. Stop eating before you are stuffed, used to being a little hungry in the am and before bed. No one can eat a massive breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as a bedtime snack and stay lean. Counting calories is really just an exercise in portion control and shows you just how much damned food we shovel down our traps or are at least handed to us when we buy it.

If you are eating a varied diet made from fresh veggies and meat it's pretty damned hard to have a serious nutritional deficiency or caloric overload unless you are chasing that salad and salmon fillet with a big slice of cake and a few beers.

Dedicated exercise is secondary to avoiding prolonged periods of sedentary activity. If you are up and walking all the time that in and of itself kinda resolves a lot of issues caused by 8 straight hours in a chair followed by an hour commute sitting in a car followed by 5 hours on the couch followed by 6 hours in bed. MOVE YO ASS!

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I generally follow the advice of Michael Pollan

edit:

When I shop at the grocery, I tend to avoid the middle section as much as possible. I use other rules as laid out by Michael Pollan in his book Food Rules.

Food Rules - Michael Pollan

An Eater’s Manual Eating doesn’t have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our daily decisions about food. Written with the clarity, concision and wit that has become bestselling author Michael...

michaelpollan.com

just saw your post

 

[Pagusas]

for me its 1. stop drinking sugar drinks (priority #1), 2. sign up for hello fresh and make myself cook fresh food 3 - 4 times a week, and 5. gradually increase that number until eating fresh food is the majority thing I do, not the minority.

 

[jason10mm]

Also, if this stuff really stumps you AND you have the $$$, there are actually quite a few services now that will deliver pretty decent, relatively wholesome, fairly easy to prepare meals at around $8-12 a meal. I've done Home Chef, Blue Apron, and a few others and you usually get decent meat, a bunch of veggies, grains, and just a little sauce/seasoning to make the meals. If nothing else, getting the recipe cards for these services will give you a lot of ideas for what to buy, how to prepare, and how to cook a variety of dishes that can be good for you so you don't get into a rut, get bored, and then fall off the wagon into fast food hell.

 

[GeekyDad]

...something like clams linguine. I make it as my cheat meal on weekends. And it’s cheap as fuck to make. And the sauce is literally clam juice from clams, olive oil, cloves of garlic, white wine and for spice if u want red pepper flake. That’s essentially 4 things.

...

1. That sounds delicious.
2. So...one thing I noticed in your post was the failure to mention adding salt to that dish. Was that simply a matter of you forgot to mention it, or you don't add it?

I ask because, well, salt, of course, seems like another one of those ingredients that, like sugar, we need, but perhaps not as much as we (Americans, anyway) tend to consume.

Things you grew up on, lit if red meat is considered taboo because if you eat a lot of it there’s possible heart failure. Carnivore diet disproved this. The reason they associate lot of red meat to heart/health issues is their sample set are people that are eating 3 meals abd lot of it is garbage food. And they drink or drink sugary stuff like soda.

I’ll link some of the YouTube stuff soon.

Ah...

Now, for me, when it comes to red meat (and especially cheese as well), though I enjoy eating them, that's a personal choice for me. I only do red meat or cheese very occasionally. I just don't care for the way they bind me up. Chicken, eggs or fish don't seem to do that to me, so I consume all three once a week, along with chickpeas, lentils and other beans (I try to alternate days between meats and beans for my daily protein).

...Things like low-fat yogurt are generally counter-productive unless you have a specific need to avoid that type of fat. Low fat yogurt has a higher ratio of sugar than whole milk yogurt...

Okay, now I had just read that yesterday morning before leaving for work, so I bought whole-milk Greek yogurt on my way home instead of the 0% Fage (plain) yogurt I've been eating for years. I didn't even think to look until reading your post, and since I had a Fage 0% yogurt still sitting in my fridge, I looked. Seems the Fage 0% has 5g of sugar (no sugar added), and the Simple Truth whole-milk Greek yogurt says 7g of sugar, no sugar added -- both showing their serving sizes to be 170g. So, I'm confuzzled. This is the kind of thing that confuses me.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

If you want to lose weight, download a calorie counter app and log your food every day, make sure not to exceed 1200 calories for the day. You can eat whatever you want.

To try and eat healthy, I have a subscription to Hello Fresh - services like this and Blue Apron are a godsend.

 

[jason10mm]

1. That sounds delicious.
2. So...one thing I noticed in your post was the failure to mention adding salt to that dish. Was that simply a matter of you forgot to mention it, or you don't add it?

I ask because, well, salt, of course, seems like another one of those ingredients that, like sugar, we need, but perhaps not as much as we (Americans, anyway) tend to consume.

I find that salt YOU add with a shaker is trivial compared to the amount of sodium in processed food. So barring a water retention, kidney, or specific blood pressure issue I am liberal with the salt I add to food I make as it greatly enhances the taste. Now adding salt to an already salted fast food burger/fries meal, that's adding insult to injury.

Okay, now I had just read that yesterday morning before leaving for work, so I bought whole-milk Greek yogurt on my way home instead of the 0% Fage (plain) yogurt I've been eating for years. I didn't even think to look until reading your post, and since I had a Fage 0% yogurt still sitting in my fridge, I looked. Seems the Fage 0% has 5g of sugar (no sugar added), and the Simple Truth whole-milk Greek yogurt says 7g of sugar, no sugar added -- both showing their serving sizes to be 170g. So, I'm confuzzled. This is the kind of thing that confuses me.

When they take fat OUT of a food they gotta add sugar to it, otherwise it tastes like SHIT. So (if you believe the [conspiracy] theory the sugar industry demonized fats for this very reason). So 2% yogurt has all the (now recognized as good?) fats in it, as well as some naturally occurring sugars, but no one added EXTRA sugar to it after removing the fats. The end calorie content may vary, but if you are giving up fat for sugar I'm not sure that is the best option.

Make sense? I avoid "low-fat" versions of things if possible because this is the case with almost all of them.

 

[Xyphie]

The best thing I ever did diet-wise was get a kitchen scale and start weighing stuff like pasta and rice and try to limit them to 50-60g uncooked per serving.

 

[manfestival]

There is plenty of great info in here. The problem with "healthy eating" or any sort of dieting is that there is no one solution. It requires a ton of trial and error.

In my case I have tried many diets including workout plans but the one that has actually worked for me was going after the High Protein diet. Now there are plenty of variations within it as well. Mostly carnivore. Lately been listening to a ton of Keto people on youtube that are doctors or just well informed individuals. I do not do Keto nor even attempt to go into ketosis. However, they almost overexplain everything and the information is absolutely fantastic. Health/Fitness is definitely a rabbit hole like any hobby but it has actual benefits that are more important than anything else since this is your life/longevity.

The only time I ever actually lost weight despite not having a good diet was when I was doing Intermittent Fasting. Now I do recommend it for many reasons(it also reduced inflammation I was experiencing). It is something you can add on top of your diet and working out to get better metabolic benefits. I stopped doing it because of... reasons and haven't done it again. However, I can imagine how much better my current results would be if I added IF.

Last thing that I will say is to actually track what you eat. It may seem like a chore but it can give you perspective of your actual caloric intake. A caloric deficit is important for losing weight and necessary if you have a sedentary lifestyle.

 

[Papacheeks]

1. That sounds delicious.
2. So...one thing I noticed in your post was the failure to mention adding salt to that dish. Was that simply a matter of you forgot to mention it, or you don't add it?

I ask because, well, salt, of course, seems like another one of those ingredients that, like sugar, we need, but perhaps not as much as we (Americans, anyway) tend to consume.

Ah...

Now, for me, when it comes to red meat (and especially cheese as well), though I enjoy eating them, that's a personal choice for me. I only do red meat or cheese very occasionally. I just don't care for the way they bind me up. Chicken, eggs or fish don't seem to do that to me, so I consume all three once a week, along with chickpeas, lentils and other beans (I try to alternate days between meats and beans for my daily protein).

Okay, now I had just read that yesterday morning before leaving for work, so I bought whole-milk Greek yogurt on my way home instead of the 0% Fage (plain) yogurt I've been eating for years. I didn't even think to look until reading your post, and since I had a Fage 0% yogurt still sitting in my fridge, I looked. Seems the Fage 0% has 5g of sugar (no sugar added), and the Simple Truth whole-milk Greek yogurt says 7g of sugar, no sugar added -- both showing their serving sizes to be 170g. So, I'm confuzzled. This is the kind of thing that confuses me.

With the clam juice no salt is really needed. There's natural salt, plus if you are doing this the authentic way which I do, I use Rao's Linguine you salt your water that you boil for pasta. More than enough salt. pepper is optional if you like a little more kick/flavor. Which I do, but also by the time I'm done I also add fresh chopped parsley and Pecorino.

There is plenty of great info in here. The problem with "healthy eating" or any sort of dieting is that there is no one solution. It requires a ton of trial and error.

In my case I have tried many diets including workout plans but the one that has actually worked for me was going after the High Protein diet. Now there are plenty of variations within it as well. Mostly carnivore. Lately been listening to a ton of Keto people on youtube that are doctors or just well informed individuals. I do not do Keto nor even attempt to go into ketosis. However, they almost overexplain everything and the information is absolutely fantastic. Health/Fitness is definitely a rabbit hole like any hobby but it has actual benefits that are more important than anything else since this is your life/longevity.

The only time I ever actually lost weight despite not having a good diet was when I was doing Intermittent Fasting. Now I do recommend it for many reasons(it also reduced inflammation I was experiencing). It is something you can add on top of your diet and working out to get better metabolic benefits. I stopped doing it because of... reasons and haven't done it again. However, I can imagine how much better my current results would be if I added IF.

Last thing that I will say is to actually track what you eat. It may seem like a chore but it can give you perspective of your actual caloric intake. A caloric deficit is important for losing weight and necessary if you have a sedentary lifestyle.

The guy that was on Joe rogan literally is the guy who helped me lose 30-40 pounds naturally and I still was able to eat things I liked. Just cooking healthy and using fresh ingredients is key to getting the most out of it.

 

[BigBooper]

Okay, now I had just read that yesterday morning before leaving for work, so I bought whole-milk Greek yogurt on my way home instead of the 0% Fage (plain) yogurt I've been eating for years. I didn't even think to look until reading your post, and since I had a Fage 0% yogurt still sitting in my fridge, I looked. Seems the Fage 0% has 5g of sugar (no sugar added), and the Simple Truth whole-milk Greek yogurt says 7g of sugar, no sugar added -- both showing their serving sizes to be 170g. So, I'm confuzzled. This is the kind of thing that confuses me.

I was more focused, or at least meant to be, on the feeling fuller longer effects of eating fat along with the protein and carbs versus not eating fat. To be honest, I wasn't thinking of plain yogurt, but flavored ones.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

But I've gained some weight back over the holiday (big surprise, right?), and I really would like to shed it off again.

Have a calories deficit? How is this still news to some people?

I eat as clean as possible now. I work out in the gym six days a week and my diet consists of a lot of protein (both animal and plant) various fruit and veg, nuts and various grains. I do eat the occasional junk food, but it's not shop bought. For example, if I fancy a cookie then I'll go ahead and bake my own. At least then I know what's in it.

Great, how about some advice for people that have kids and regular work?

 

[Jsisto]

People tend to overthink diet because there’s so much information we’re being bombarded with on a daily basis that is mostly complete bullshit. Don’t worry about the latest “superfood“ or trendy diet. The best advice I can personally give is cook for yourself, and eat mostly fruit, veggies and meat(if you’re not vegetarian or vegan of course). Limit processed foods and sweets as much as possible, but don’t be so obsessed with it that you don’t allow yourself any flexibility. One of the best things you can do is normalize the idea of a meal being a protein and a vegetable/fruit. There does not always have to be a starchy side dish. Doing this alone you will be amazed how much more energy you will have and how much better you will consistently feel.

One of the few things that I am hyper devoted to and don’t compromise on is not getting fast food. Maybe a few times a year I’ll get some wendies french fries if I’m having a bad day and need some comfort food but that’s about it. Having to go gluten free made this a lot easier for me because there’s very little fast food I even could eat!

 

[IDKFA]

Great, how about some advice for people that have kids and regular work?

I have kids and a regular job. What advice are you looking for? Time management?

 

[GeekyDad]

I find that salt YOU add with a shaker is trivial compared to the amount of sodium in processed food. So barring a water retention, kidney, or specific blood pressure issue I am liberal with the salt I add to food I make as it greatly enhances the taste. Now adding salt to an already salted fast food burger/fries meal, that's adding insult to injury.

When they take fat OUT of a food they gotta add sugar to it, otherwise it tastes like SHIT. So (if you believe the [conspiracy] theory the sugar industry demonized fats for this very reason). So 2% yogurt has all the (now recognized as good?) fats in it, as well as some naturally occurring sugars, but no one added EXTRA sugar to it after removing the fats. The end calorie content may vary, but if you are giving up fat for sugar I'm not sure that is the best option.

Make sense? I avoid "low-fat" versions of things if possible because this is the case with almost all of them.

Well, again, neither of the yogurts I was comparing have added sugars. They're both just plain yogurts. That being said, the sugars weren't the reason I wanted to try the full-fat Greek yogurt. The article I was reading yesterday mentioned something in full-fat yogurt not found in non-fat yogurt. I can't remember what it was called and I can't find the article, but it's something that helps boost metabolism.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I have kids and a regular job. What advice are you looking for? Time management?

Let's start with the need to go to the gym 6 times a week. TF you are doing there?

Also - no, 6 days a week is not reasonable to anyone with a small kids.

 

[haxan7]

I'm sure it works, but if I don't eat anything past 6pm (which I'm doing right now) I just can't sleep due to being hungry as fuck. Any tips for that?

I noticed when I'm exercising regularly, being hungry affects me less. I can ignore it more easily. My completely unfounded, unscientific running theory is that it has something to do with built up energy stores from the exercising. When I say exercising, I mean cardio in particular.