The set-up: I've been vegetarian for going on 4 years now. I did it purely out of ethical concerns (I certainly love the taste of meat although I don't miss it). Been really successful with it, never slipped up once. Caveat: I have been eating fish once a month over that period so obviously I am not a "true" vegetarian. I did that purely out of health concerns, IOW, an extra source of protein once in a while.
Over the last year or so I tried to do the low-carb thing. For a while I did very well on it but I find it incredibly hard to maintain. You have to really earn any weight loss you get through low carb. And, it took very little change in my eating habits to gain back nearly everything I lost (I dropped and gained back about 25lbs in 2018). So, I'm starting on a different path: high starch, whole food, plant based. Basically vegan except I refuse to give half n half with my coffee (out of my cold dead hands). The idea is adopting this kind of eating means you do not have to moderate carbs, but you stick to primarily high starch foods to help counteract them. It's a way to help get/stay full with a much lower calorie load to promote weight loss. And, of course, whole food/plant based eating is incredibly healthy.
Anyway, I'm starting this thread to document my progress over the next few weeks and also to open it up in case anyone else has tried this and has good feedback. Or, recipes, haha.
PS: I'm not a evangelist with the meat thing. I do personally feel people should think about the ethical side of it but I'm not the guy who is going to shame anyone over what they like to eat. I'm the last guy to pass judgement on anyone!
Good on ya.
We've been eating paleo style diet with moderate meat content for some 3 years or so now and feel good on it.
It means gluten free, dairy free and grain free.
What's left you might ask? Lots. Vegetables, some meat, fish, more vegetables, fruit, nuts, berries. And veggies. Coffee, tea, almond milk (not so much soy as that has impact on your hormones). Once you have your pantry adjusted it's easy to cook and make meals.
No calorie counting, eating to satiety. Lost 10 kg without trying and balanced in on what seems my normal weight.
There is a lovely dark chocolate here that is dairy free and super delicious, a life saver... (Whittaker's Dark Ghana).
Overall no hardship when you would sit at our dining table.
Good luck, looking forward to see how you're getting on and what your experience will be.
Quote from: cooder on January 13, 2019, 05:19:59 PM
There is a lovely dark chocolate here that is dairy free and super delicious, a life saver... (Whittaker's Dark Ghana).
Overall no hardship when you would sit at our dining table.
Good luck, looking forward to see how you're getting on and what your experience will be.
Thanks! I pretty much gave up sweets over a year ago and I don't really miss them. I do have sweetener in my coffee (again, my weakness) and other than a very rare treat of a cookie or something I have zero cravings for processed sugar. The thing I found is once you give up a good bit of processed sugar, fruits get incredibly intense. Just a banana or a bit of pineapple is like "wow, this more sugar than I should be eating", haha. I saw a video the other day with Penn Gilette where he swore by mixing blueberries with cacoa powder and cyenne pepper. I might give that a try.
Yes we also feel that fruit etc tastes so much richer and sweeter when your down from that white sugar stuff that's mixed in so much. That's another thing: we buy very little to no processed food in super market because it typically contains gluten, sugar and stuff. So lots of unprocessed food and we enjoy making things ourselves as well where we know exactly the ingredients. We make preserves, olives, kamboucha, pesto, hummus, sauerkraut, kimchi,... and it's fun and very tasty.
I hit 250lbs last May, and decided that disgusted me, so I would lose weight.
At first, I tried Keto. Honestly, wasn't that "hard" and it worked wonders (5lbs in the first week) but god DAMN did it WRECK my mental acuity. Couldn't keep a thought in my brain for more than a few seconds, couldn't sleep, my brain was just garbage. Also gave me acetone breath, which was annoying. I gave up on it after about 4 weeks (Plus, its expensive and I live on a grad student income).
So, after that I swapped to basic portion control (bought some 1-cup tupperwear-esque containers and use those as my plates/bowls for meals), few-to-no sweets, and adding more physical activity. I walk as much as I can, like parking on the wrong side of the mall from where I want to go just for the excuse. I have a cheap recumbant stationary bike I picked up and do a bit of that a day (~10 miles, less than an hour).
Annoyingly stress at work kept me from hitting my goal (wanted to be under 200 by new years), but I'm around 205 now and still trending down, if slowly. If nothing else its nice to fit in a smaller pants size.
Just be careful that you are getting enough protein and a reasonably balanced diet. Too many people jump into a vegan diet without planning enough (not saying that is what you would do). While I'm not a vegetarian, I'm married to one. As long as she's healthy, I support whatever diet she chooses.
I hope it works out well for you, Mr. Bean.
Personally, I need to get off the holiday eating (too many sweets, too much high calorie food). I don't need to drop a ton of weight, but I had to stop running due to compressed discs in my lower back, so I need to dig back into cardio and get my heart rate back up on a regular basis. The only thing that's kept me going is that I was able to continue to do some weight training despite my back (which doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it's helped offset my holiday eating somewhat). Time for healthier eating and more cardio.
Eating right is certainly half the equation to a healthy lifestyle. Excersize is usually just as critical and it's hard to have one without the other, should weight loss be your goal, unfortunately.
I realize Madbean switched up diets for ethical reasons, which is fantastic, but it seemed like the thread meandered into weight loss.
More power to you all. I've been trying to reduce my meat intake and treat more as a treat every once in a while with some nice organic pasture raised stuff or a good meal at a restaurant.
Yes everyone to their own right and there's many reasons and ways to skin a cat or a vegan equivalent.
I recently got a wild pig from a friend who is a hunter, that made me feel really good because they are an introduced pest here and the freezer was full with gluten free yummy sausages... ;)
I'm gonna give a disclaimer and just say that I am a lunatic permaculture based gardener. We eat as much of our own produce here as possible, and grow it to be as nutrient dense as possible too. We are raising our own animals as garden helpers, and to eat, and are trying to get to a place where we only eat homegrown meat that is slaughtered and butchered here and produce grown here.
I'd encourage you to consider that most grocery store produce is really pretty empty in terms of nutrients. It doesn't matter if it is conventional or organic, the soils most store food are grown in are basically dead, and low nutrient. They will be fertilized to feed them instead of getting nutrients from the soil. If you can find a local CSA or Farmers market with growers that are working from a living soil/permaculture approach I think you'll find it a ton easier to live on the diet you are considering. Also whatever you can grow yourself is always a great plan. Now is the perfect time to start preparing beds for spring planting in healthy living soil.
I work at a slaughterhouse, so obviously have no problems with eating meat :) (every Christmas, everyone gets a free leg of lamb!)
I think I've mentioned this before, but growing up, my sister was medically diagnosed with coeliac disease. Whenever we went shopping, the back label on damn near everything had to be checked. When we went to McDonalds, back in the day, the only things she could have were the chips, and the coca-cola. If we went to Pizza Hut, Mum had to bring a home-made gluten-free base and explain to the kitchen staff not to contaminate it. This was back when gluten-free was a medical diagnosis and very "fringe", not a voluntary diet.
As a result, I've always taken the view that if you enjoy eating something, and are physically able to (ie, do not have coeliac disease, or a severe allergic reaction to seafood, etc), then go for it (in reasonable portions!)
I'm going to chime in on a few things, mainly because it sounds like you want to lose weight:
- You can't out train a bad diet. It sounds like your diet is doing all the right things but the truth of the matter is that your body will adapt to make the most of what is coming in, meaning your metabolism is probably somewhat slower as a result.
- That means you're going to have to up the exercise. For my first tournament I dropped 7 kilos in two months or so and I wasn't training that often - Once a week, plus running 3-5k every second day, due to work commitments. My diet, however, was steamed chicken breast and vegies for dinner, normal cereal breakfast, and I dropped the 3 chocolate bars a day to 1 freddo frog. Several years and many fights later, due to stress and training twice a day in prep for a world tournament, I was down to 63kg and not nearly heavy enough. I managed to get it back up to 65 for the tournament. I didn't look healthy at 63. And I was eating a 250g block of chocolate, a hamburger with the lot, and a 600ml coke for lunch every day just to keep the weight on.
- Don't worry about fad diets. To quote Micheal Pollen, roughly: Eat food, mostly plants. Not too much.
- Long story short, add some exercise to your day or week, 3-4 times a day. In my experience running gets it off fastest, but I hate running.
I’ll preface this post by noting that about 10 years ago now I read every science focused diet book I could find. The common denominators with a couple of exceptions are to eat whole foods, avoid most grains,and avoid inflammatory foods (for most, dairy, beans, etc). It should go without saying that processed foods should also be avoided as well.
Anyway, through my own experimentation I landed on a mostly paleo diet. Through that I lost what little fat I had and, along with exercise (weight lifting), gained that weight back and then some as muscle. About 3 yrs ago I was diagnosed type 1 diabetic. And before this goes offf the rails, that’s the autoimmune one where your body attacks and kills the insulin producing cells in your pancreas, so my diet choices do not influence getting this. Anyway, since then I’ve reincorporated some carbs to help ease the process of medicating. This has come with a price; a bit more fat, a bit less energy, and a general heaviness when I eat outside my paleo diet. But it is what it is. Just noting as, without the diabetes, I’d be sticking to my prior diet.
So, this brings me to a brief but blunt commentary on ethics of diet... I’ll apologize in advance for sounding like an asshole. I’d say your highest ethical obligation is to choose a diet that is healthy for yourself and your family. Personal choices here will not affect global change and martyring your health isn’t worth it. Unfortunately, your personal choices affect nothing other than your personal health. I know you’ll probably disagree, but I see no changes that result from such choices beyond the growth of the vegan processed foods section in my grocery store.
I’ll also add my personal interpretation for why vegetarian and vegan diets fail. These diets would only have been adopted, historically, in times of hardship. Hell, farming grew out of the hardship of supporting and feeding large groups of people. Anyway, as a result, one can sustain on such a diet, but will not thrive. And before anyone starts pointing to a healthy vegan or vegetarian they know, take your own survey of the unhealthy ones and measure your odds. I’d say it’s more likely they’re healthy despite their dietary choice, not because of it.
Final thought, reigning it back in, whatever diet you choose, ditching processed foods and being committed to just that step will make you far better off and far healthier than most. So, if you get only that far, you’re doing something right.
Quote from: cajone5 on January 14, 2019, 06:54:53 AM
So, this brings me to a brief but blunt commentary on ethics of diet... I'll apologize in advance for sounding like an asshole. I'd say your highest ethical obligation is to choose a diet that is healthy for yourself and your family. Personal choices here will not affect global change and martyring your health isn't worth it. Unfortunately, your personal choices affect nothing other than your personal health. I know you'll probably disagree, but I see no changes that result from such choices beyond the growth of the vegan processed foods section in my grocery store.
I'll also add my personal interpretation for why vegetarian and vegan diets fail. These diets would only have been adopted, historically, in times of hardship. Hell, farming grew out of the hardship of supporting and feeding large groups of people. Anyway, as a result, one can sustain on such a diet, but will not thrive. And before anyone starts pointing to a healthy vegan or vegetarian they know, take your own survey of the unhealthy ones and measure your odds. I'd say it's more likely they're healthy despite their dietary choice, not because of it.
Nah, there's absolutely nothing bad about anything you've stated. Of course, you are right that making a personal "ethical" decision does not change society as a whole. They never do. But, I disagree that it isn't a good enough reason. For me it's the best reason because I finally accepted that I have a choice and it was a very easy one to make. And, there are good reasons beyond just my personal feelings about eating animal meat. There is a large environmental factor to consider as well. Back to the point: if it compromised my health it would be a bad choice but it hasn't. My own health problems come from bad habits and a sedentary lifestyle.
Anyway, I think you are right-on about processed foods. I avoid those as much as possible too. Everything is loaded with sugar.
Really, my intention here isn't to evangelize like I said. I only mentioned the vegetarian thing since it is relevant to my endeavor (which is all about me, haha). Trying a mostly vegan diet is more of an experiment right now with the intention of seeing if works for me to lose some weight and still feel healthy. Definitely not a cause celebre. I agree that fad diets are a waste of time, too. For me, it's always been about making permanent changes in my eating habits every couple of years to see how I do.
Also, you know that joke about economists? Ask four economists about the economy and you'll get six different opinions. I think the whole diet industry is even worse!
Quote
Also, you know that joke about economists? Ask four economists about the economy and you'll get six different opinions. I think the whole diet industry is even worse!
Don't get why people think vegan is a bad word. Don't knock it until you've tried it guys.
I have been vegetarian for 25 years and spend a year vegan a couple years back.
That year was easily the healthiest I've ever been. I lost 25 lbs without changing anything but my diet. I got sick way way less. I had more energy than I've had since I was a teenager. People told me I looked really healthy. Don't believe the lack of protein thing, sorry guys that's crap, there is more than enough protein in a good vegan diet.
It's a great thing to do for yourself, but it is a decent amount of extra work because there aren't a lot of options to eat out, and it takes a lot of planning. Eggs are hard to replace in baking, and Nutritional Yeast is kinda blah but a necessary evil from time to time.
We only gave it up because the stress of buying a house and moving and having kids got to be too much and we needed to just be able to order a couple pizzas.
I really need to get back to it but since it wouldn't be the whole family it's going to be hard.
BTW this is delicious (and vegan)
https://cookieandkate.com/2019/best-lentil-soup-recipe/
I have some more if you want them.
Also Oreo's are vegan (sorry if you didn't want to know that)
Quote from: timbo_93631 on January 13, 2019, 07:23:52 PM
I'm gonna give a disclaimer and just say that I am a lunatic permaculture based gardener. We eat as much of our own produce here as possible, and grow it to be as nutrient dense as possible too. We are raising our own animals as garden helpers, and to eat, and are trying to get to a place where we only eat homegrown meat that is slaughtered and butchered here and produce grown here.
I'd encourage you to consider that most grocery store produce is really pretty empty in terms of nutrients. It doesn't matter if it is conventional or organic, the soils most store food are grown in are basically dead, and low nutrient. They will be fertilized to feed them instead of getting nutrients from the soil. If you can find a local CSA or Farmers market with growers that are working from a living soil/permaculture approach I think you'll find it a ton easier to live on the diet you are considering. Also whatever you can grow yourself is always a great plan. Now is the perfect time to start preparing beds for spring planting in healthy living soil.
Are you claiming that typical store produce has less nutrients than reported, or that the reported numbers are correct, but could be more nutritious with healthier soil?
Quote from: HamSandwich on January 14, 2019, 01:28:48 PM
Quote from: timbo_93631 on January 13, 2019, 07:23:52 PM
I'm gonna give a disclaimer and just say that I am a lunatic permaculture based gardener. We eat as much of our own produce here as possible, and grow it to be as nutrient dense as possible too. We are raising our own animals as garden helpers, and to eat, and are trying to get to a place where we only eat homegrown meat that is slaughtered and butchered here and produce grown here.
I'd encourage you to consider that most grocery store produce is really pretty empty in terms of nutrients. It doesn't matter if it is conventional or organic, the soils most store food are grown in are basically dead, and low nutrient. They will be fertilized to feed them instead of getting nutrients from the soil. If you can find a local CSA or Farmers market with growers that are working from a living soil/permaculture approach I think you'll find it a ton easier to live on the diet you are considering. Also whatever you can grow yourself is always a great plan. Now is the perfect time to start preparing beds for spring planting in healthy living soil.
Are you claiming that typical store produce has less nutrients than reported, or that the reported numbers are correct, but could be more nutritious with healthier soil?
. The latter. Whatever is on a label is an average based on sampling of the produce and analysis of the samples. The point is, in any farming or gardening where tilling is employed you have total breakdown of the soil biology. This means the soil has less available nutrients and less delivery mechanisms for the plants to absorb nutrients, so fertilization has be done at the root zone or through foliar feeding. Growing this way is merely using the soil as a growing medium, not as the food source for the plants. If you want nutrient dense produce you need to try and increase the carbon content of your soil, always keep it covered by a mulch of some sort, and try to disturb the soil as little as possible. You basically want to feed the dirt until it isn't hungry anymore, then your produce will go nuts in terms of size, flavor, and nutrient density. You can look into Paul Gautschi, his back to Eden gardening methods are based on some Japanese research fro the 60's. I think he doesn't quite stress the importance of composted chicken litter when using wood chips, and that you can have huge problems with fire ants and weeds using them in the south. I follow JM Fortier's no till system, combined with the chicken and pig grazingnprsctic s that Joel Salatin uses. The Charles Dowding's no dig methodology is my end goal for making new beds, but it requires more compost than I am making.
I'm a firm believer in cutting out the carbs/sugar.
Whether it's Paleo, Keto, Primitive, Atkins, etc.
It's just what makes sense, it's what's natural. These processed foods and refined carbs are what has made us fat, lazy, and disease prone. All you have to do is quit sugar/carbs for a a day to realize how addicted you are to them. It's insane.
...and of course these desk jobs and lack of exercise doesnt help.
Quote from: peAk on January 14, 2019, 03:17:27 PM
I'm a firm believer in cutting out the carbs/sugar.
Whether it's Paleo, Keto, Primitive, Atkins, etc.
It's just what makes sense, it's what's natural. These processed foods and refined carbs are what has made us fat, lazy, and disease prone. All you have to do is quit sugar/carbs for a a day to realize how addicted you are to them. It's insane.
...and of course these desk jobs and lack of exercise doesnt help.
Wait, wait. Are you saying...now, lemme see if I have this right...you're saying the SuperSonicChocolateRectumBlaster I have every day before bed is the problem? It's got milk in it and shit. I thought it was like, health food.
Quote from: madbean on January 14, 2019, 04:44:29 PM
Quote from: peAk on January 14, 2019, 03:17:27 PM
I'm a firm believer in cutting out the carbs/sugar.
Whether it's Paleo, Keto, Primitive, Atkins, etc.
It's just what makes sense, it's what's natural. These processed foods and refined carbs are what has made us fat, lazy, and disease prone. All you have to do is quit sugar/carbs for a a day to realize how addicted you are to them. It's insane.
...and of course these desk jobs and lack of exercise doesnt help.
Wait, wait. Are you saying...now, lemme see if I have this right...you're saying the SuperSonicChocolateRectumBlaster I have every day before bed is the problem? It's got milk in it and shit. I thought it was like, health food.
If you like your rectum blasted before bed, I ain't here to judge.
Something I discovered tonight: baked potato with just Habenero-based hot sauce is god-tier food!
Quote from: Matmosphere on January 14, 2019, 08:30:12 AM
Don't get why people think vegan is a bad word. Don't knock it until you've tried it guys.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6589687/Vegans-storm-ethical-grocery-store-protest-hurl-abuse-customers-staff.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6589687/Vegans-storm-ethical-grocery-store-protest-hurl-abuse-customers-staff.html)
It's chiefly nutters like this who give vegans a bad name.
Quote from: alanp on January 14, 2019, 07:45:37 PM
Quote from: Matmosphere on January 14, 2019, 08:30:12 AM
Don't get why people think vegan is a bad word. Don't knock it until you've tried it guys.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6589687/Vegans-storm-ethical-grocery-store-protest-hurl-abuse-customers-staff.html
It's chiefly nutters like this who give vegans a bad name.
(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6589687/Vegans-storm-ethical-grocery-store-protest-hurl-abuse-customers-staff.html)
Smiths' fans. I never got it either.
I've exercised regularly for years but never made much consistent headway with weight loss... Last summer I started working for an agency that helps farmers be better environmental stewards. The work includes working at a lot of concentrated animal feed operations or CAFO's. The conditions the animals lived in combined with the environmental impact of their production, and the impact of eating the products of that process on my health was enough to finally drive me to go vegan. I was considering just going vegetarian until I worked at a couple mega-dairies and that broke me of my commitment to cheese... It was a bit of an adjustment at first but I got used to it. It forced me to cook more, eat out less, and eat less processed food. I've continued to work out about 5 days a week, mostly running, and I've managed to drop weight and keep it off like never before.
As far as meat goes, I don't have much of a problem with wild game as long as it's sustainably hunted. I used to farm and raise my own animals on a small scale, kill, and butcher them. I do think that small scale production can be a better life for the animals and a lesser impact on the environment as well as better quality/healthier meat. I have decided for simplicity's sake to just not eat animal products (except small production honey). I am seeing and feeling the health benefits of going vegan so I'll just stick with it. It's also nice to know that my actions and ethics are finally aligned on the issue after many years of wrestling with whether or not to eat meat. Good luck and health to you and I hope your efforts are successful!
Week 1 update: This week was all about "shocking" my system. I eliminated most of the foods I normally eat. Diet was a lot potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit and greens. I'm not sure what my caloric intake was but I'm guessing around 1200/day. I'm also following the "16/8" rule. This is where you contain your eating to one 8 hour window and intermittent fast between dinner and your next meal.
Overall, I feel great. Lots of energy, mental acuity, etc. I could feel the effects within a couple of days from starting. Next week I will start increasing the greens and allow more variety of foods. I have definitely been hungry but it's been mild most of the time. I think the potatoes go a long way to keeping hunger pangs from getting out of control.
Weight lost: 7lbs (I was actually -9lbs yesterday!) This is pretty aggressive and I'm going to try and keep it to 3 to 4lbs/week.
My road map: 12 weeks of 3-4lbs a week. Feb 1st: quit smoking (again). Feb 15th: quit alcohol for 30 days. Goal weight: 215lbs. Second goal weight: 200lbs but then put on maybe 10lbs of muscle (minor sick gains, brah). At 210lbs I'll still be "overweight" but I also have a pretty bulky frame and frankly, I think it's a reasonable goal for now.
Week 2 update: I did very well this week. Still eating lots of potatoes but I introduced lots more fruit and salads. I gave myself one cheat with a foo-foo bullshit Starbucks coffee. It was nice, but I didn't have a big craving to satisfy. I also learned that cacao powder makes me violently sick. Really a surprise because I never get ill from food. So, scratch that off the list!
Weight lost so far: 11lbs. I'm right on target for my 12 week goal. I'm seeing the changes - maybe an inch or so gone from the waist, face and arms thinning up a bit. Energy level is also very good. In another week or two I'll be able to put on my old jeans, haha.
Wish you the best and necessary courage needed for...
Mich P.
One month update:
Weight loss seems to have stalled out. I haven't lost any appreciable amount in the last 10 days despite sticking to the diet and eliminating alcohol on top of that. It's a bit frustrating. I'm going to give it one more week and if the needle doesn't move I may add low carb to the mix.
Quote from: madbean on February 11, 2019, 10:44:27 AM
One month update:
Weight loss seems to have stalled out. I haven't lost any appreciable amount in the last 10 days despite sticking to the diet and eliminating alcohol on top of that. It's a bit frustrating. I'm going to give it one more week and if the needle doesn't move I may add low carb to the mix.
"Plateau"-ing is pretty common from what I've found. I was stuck at about 210 for 2 months before I started dropping again, no idea why. More or less the same food intake, more or less the same amount of physical activity, my body just decided to be lazy for a bit.
A steady weight loss of no more than 1 kg a week is 'healthy'. I can't diet for shit. I need to do sports with it, but I find less and less time (and motivation) to get into it. I have a racing bike and I should start somewhere this month for cycling to work in the spring (30 km one way). Hoping to drop 10 kg again this summer.
Anyway, that plateau is nothing to worry about. You went down fast, maybe too fast, initially. Your changing your lifestyle, takes time. Think about how it makes you feel better, that's the important part for now.
Brian,
I got back on low carb/fasting diet about the same time your diet started and I dropped about roughly the same as you have. I have kind of stalled, too.
It is what it is. We are paying for our sins. We can't expect it to fall off as easy as it is to "fall on". Those first few weeks are always awesome because the (water) weight gives us those big numbers but those are always short-lived.
Just got to keep on keepin on!
Somehow, I missed this thread.
I've been doing keto for a year. Lost about 30 pounds, and now I 'm mostly in "maintenance mode" for the time being, but I do want to do another push for loss of about another 10-15 pounds.
It's been far easier for me than I thought it would be. I'm rarely hungry, which is clutch for any sort of dietary change. My biggest challenge is blowing past the daily calorie goal with alcohol. :)
Quote from: culturejam on February 11, 2019, 06:44:02 PM
Somehow, I missed this thread.
I've been doing keto for a year. Lost about 30 pounds, and now I 'm mostly in "maintenance mode" for the time being, but I do want to do another push for loss of about another 10-15 pounds.
It's been far easier for me than I thought it would be. I'm rarely hungry, which is clutch for any sort of dietary change. My biggest challenge is blowing past the daily calorie goal with alcohol. :)
It's amazing how removing the sugars actually makes you not hungry. It's something that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.
Quote from: peAk on February 11, 2019, 08:48:41 PM
It's amazing how removing the sugars actually makes you not hungry. It's something that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.
Agreed. I think it's the fact that I'm eating protein- and fat-dense foods, which are very filling for a long period of time. Protein and fat take a while to process, while carbs/sugar have very quick metabolism times and then get stored as fat if not needed in the moment.
If I truly ate just for max efficiency (with no consideration for enjoyment), I could probably feel satisfied with about 1000-1200 calories a day at my current level of physical activity. Doesn't sound like much, but when it's 95% fat/protein, it's very filling.
Disclaimer: All the below opinions are my own based on my own experiences :)
Good on you Brian. Since about 2000 I've been doing the diet 16 weeks thing to take off what I slowly gain over the course of year. I always take off between 20-35 lbs each the latter of which was just too much as in I shouldn't have gained that much nor is it good to lose that much every year. There is not a feeling I've not experienced in doing this over the years. The plateau thing is always present and never goes away but try not to let it get you down. If you keep at it you can always push through it until the next plateau. Rinse and repeat. There will be a point however that when you get your body fat down to a certain point then it becomes a grind, if you want to lose weight. The rubber really meets the road then and I'm talking about bringing in the 6 pack or at least bringing in the 2 pack or if not the 2 pack, to where your gut doesn't nudge over the belt. My problem always come with maintenance though which is why I slowly creep up. My problem is I'm an all or nothing guy so if I'm not actually dieting I tend to let it go and since I love beer and pizza it doesn't go well.
I'd like to comment on exercise versus diet. I'm not sure how old you are Brian, but prior to when you turn 40 a lot of what you eat you can burn off with exercise. I'm here to tell you that around 40 that ratio begins to change. And when you hit 50 all bets are off. I'm 55. I believe that short of running marathons, or at least training like you are, that diet is 90% of the weight loss and exercise is 10% for anyone over their mid 40's roughly. Obviously I'm generalizing but I know several people this holds true for. I've lost weight doing zero cardio exercise (injury related) but I've never lost weight not keeping a diet tight. The other problem with exercise over 50 is the injuries start to mount. The minor crap one got in their 20's and 30's has now resurfaced and it won't go away. This says nothing about the new injuries you get in your 40's and 50's that don't go away or if they do they show up again real quick. At some point and there is just no way around it, it becomes about the diet and how strict you can stand to be from week to week.
The fad diets I hate. I don't pay any attention to them. The regimen I've always used is more along the lines of how body builders train for competition (since the 60's really), minus the crazy stuff the last month before said competition and of course minus the steriods ;D Don't under estimate what these guys know when it comes to losing weight as they have it down, if you happen to know any. Try to look past the "meatheadedness" and glean the knowledge they have on this subject of diet and losing weight. Having said all that it's funny how all the diets come back to controlling carbs (anyone heard of Atkins?).
Oh yeah, sugar is bad. I eat the hell out of it unless you tell me Skittles are not sugar :o First 2 things I cut out when I begin a diet. Refined sugar and alcohol. I'm not sure which is harder. I do my cheat meal Sat night. It gets me through the week looking forward to it.
Oh, and this carnivore loves meat and I am unapologetic. I believe the human body is designed for it. But shoot, it doesn't bother me what someone eats one way or the other. More power to you if you feel healthy, you love the taste of tofu 'burgers' and or keep a healthy weight etc... Do whatever makes you feel good.
Giving up alcohol is the hardest for me.
I have narrowed it down to a glass or two of dry red wine or a few Michelob Ultras (water, basically)
Quote from: peAk on February 12, 2019, 10:13:41 AM
Giving up alcohol is the hardest for me.
I have narrowed it down to a glass or two of dry red wine or a few Michelob Ultras (water, basically)
The best way I do it really is having this Sat night cheat night thing. Surprisingly, I can make it the other days once I get into it but without my Sat night man it would be a total grind.
The times I crave a few beers the most is sitting down and playing for an hour or two. I sound so much better too :P
Quote from: TNblueshawk on February 12, 2019, 11:47:47 AM
Quote from: peAk on February 12, 2019, 10:13:41 AM
Giving up alcohol is the hardest for me.
I have narrowed it down to a glass or two of dry red wine or a few Michelob Ultras (water, basically)
The best way I do it really is having this Sat night cheat night thing. Surprisingly, I can make it the other days once I get into it but without my Sat night man it would be a total grind.
The times I crave a few beers the most is sitting down and playing for an hour or two. I sound so much better too :P
I think this is the best way to do it. I just am trying not to have any cheat meals until I reach closer to my goal weight. While I realize Keto/Atkins are basically "fad" type diets, I think they are really the best way to go. Cut out all the refined sugars, breads, rice, flour, etc. Just eat meat, vegetables, some fruit and nuts. Isnt that what all mammals eat?
Quote from: peAk on February 12, 2019, 07:25:37 PM
Quote from: TNblueshawk on February 12, 2019, 11:47:47 AM
Quote from: peAk on February 12, 2019, 10:13:41 AM
Giving up alcohol is the hardest for me.
I have narrowed it down to a glass or two of dry red wine or a few Michelob Ultras (water, basically)
The best way I do it really is having this Sat night cheat night thing. Surprisingly, I can make it the other days once I get into it but without my Sat night man it would be a total grind.
The times I crave a few beers the most is sitting down and playing for an hour or two. I sound so much better too :P
I think this is the best way to do it. I just am trying not to have any cheat meals until I reach closer to my goal weight. While I realize Keto/Atkins are basically "fad" type diets, I think they are really the best way to go. Cut out all the refined sugars, breads, rice, flour, etc. Just eat meat, vegetables, some fruit and nuts. Isnt that what all mammals eat?
I agree totally. By fad I really meant they seem to repackage and recycle what essentially is the Atkins concept with respect to little carbs and or low glycemic carbs with a tweak here or there. It's a money maker to be sure. Funny, it's all really math at the end of the day. There is a formula by which we store fat. We store the fat most efficiently through carb intake. Protein just doesn't covert over very well to body fat. The other math part is no matter how one looks at it, in order to lose weight when it's all said and done, each day you must burn more calories than you take in. How one does that is all good to me, within reason. There are bad ways to do it. My mom used to starve herself to death. i suppose that will work but holy moly is that a stress on the body. i'm sure her organs were screaming.
Sorry for the slight derail Brian. But, we are at least talking losing weight.
I'll admit, I haven't read all of the thread yet, but a massive congratulations to anyone trying to lose weight and managing to lose some no matter how much you've lost.
I saw some posts about the vegan diet and I work with a few people that are vegan, and many that have tried it. Some of the people that tried it got quite ill on it as they weren't getting the right nutrients on it. I'm not saying it's a bad diet, but someone needs to do research on it to make sure they are eating enough of the right foods, which is the same for all diets IMO. For me personally, I couldn't do it, however, I have cut down on the amount of meat in my diet and try to have 2 vegetarian days a week.
I have found that exercise and eat what you want, when you want, but in moderation works well for me. Several years ago I had to have a knee operation and lose weight and build up my leg muscles. I'm 6'3" (192cm) and weighed nearly 120kg. I lost a lost of weight by eating more while reducing how much saturated fat and sugar I was eating, plus cycling. I now seem to hover around 95kg and want to lose some more, my problem is that I'm picking on food all day. If I go into the kitchen, I'll get something to nibble on from the fridge or the cupboard and that's my downfall. Would love to get closer to 85kg and this thread in giving me inspiration to do it!
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