Healthier lifestyles

[jbrown_9999 1,020]

Started this in response to Davislove's question in the Bullying thread.

 

I've been meaning to ask you this for time. I get the sense you are in pretty good shape. How can a fat boy like me realistically drop a few. I'm not going to the gym everyday or giving up beer. Any secrets or tips.

 

The thing I do is watch carbs. I used Atkin's to lose 60 pounds in six months back a few years ago.

 

Now, I do not worry as much since I am in more of a maintenance mode but I do try to avoid unnecessary carbs (note that I consider beer to be necessary). Some "tricks" are using the low carb tortillas that only have 5 or 6 grams of effective carbs to make everything from breakfast burritos to turkey wraps. (BTW, they are not sold at our Costco but Kroger and Meijer both have them). They are also a great source of fiber which is usually needed on low carb diet "to stay regular".

 

Costco does sell a six layer Mexican dip and a spinach artichoke dip both of which have almost no carbs. A lot of times, I'll use one of those as a condiment, add some grilled chicken (or some Costco rotisserie chicken) and have a wrap/burrito. You can use Almond flour or Cauliflower for the crust of a low carb pizza as well.

 

Fruit such as strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries are also low carb.

 

Even peanut butter isn't that bad from a carb perspective.

 

A frequent dessert for me is a bowl of whipped cream with peanuts and raspberries. Not that many carbs and I pretend it's ice cream.

 

Nowadays, I don't beat myself up if I have carbs but I find it easier to say no to things such as bread or tortilla chips at a restaurant. When I lost the 60 pounds, I was pretty hard core and really did not eat many carbs at all.

 

For beer, if you are trying to lose weight and want to restrict your carbs, you can drink Bud Select, Michelob Ultra, Amstel Xlight, or any of the light beers. Red wine is not too bad either.

 

The big thing I found was that it was much easier for me to go low carb than my wife. As a result, I suggest not "encouraging" your significant other into the low carb lifestyle unless he/she embraces it.

 

If you do go low carb, you need to make sure that you drink plenty of liquids for health reasons. I believe that your kidneys can get stressed if you are not well hydrated.

Edited June 25, 2018 by jbrown_9999

[jessemoore97 1,280]

Good idea for thread. I already posted in the bullying thread the question Davis shot me.

 

Beside the benefits to overall physical health, to me there is nothing better than crashing bigs weights and releasing pent up stress and anger out on the iron. Find something that can give this rush, high, calm, or whatever in fitness.

[Rocketsan 768]

I’m down 50+ since Christmas morning. Cut drinking back to once a week, broke up with Wendy and McDonald’s, stopped eating half a pizza when we order, take my coffee black and started eating breakfast. Haven’t exercised at all save for baseball practice four nights a week. Have about 20 more to go to my forever weight.

[Jim2Dokes 3]

Darbee.com has nice free workouts you can do anywhere. I do the 30 day programs (5days a week though, I don’t workout on weekends). They only take 15-30minutes. I eat my lunch on a quick 10 min break at work and use my lunch for the daily workout. You don’t need any equipment either, but some of them you can add some weights like the military fit plus. That one is loads of fun....

[GunSlinger 28]

Calories in and Calories out. I lift weights 5 to 6 times a week, I don't do much cardio and I should do more but I just can't find the time for it and I really enjoy lifting weights. I'm down to 195 Lbs and I'll be 39 here shortly, 2-3 years ago I was around 280 Lbs. I was in good shape in my 20's but damn I really let myself go in my 30's and I had enough. Too much drinking and too much junk food.

 

I've found that measuring my food and sticking to my diet works best for me. I eat 2150 Calories a day, 40% Protein, 35% Fats and 25% Carbs. (I recently just upped my Carbs to 35% and dropped my Fats to 25%) I use a free app on my phone called my plate to track everything I consume. Normal day consists of oatmeal, a bunch of chicken, fish, eggs, some cheese and milk, brown rice, barley, broccoli or brussel sprouts, protein shakes before and or after working out. A protein bar like a Quest, or One and on some days a meal replacement bar in case I can't get my meal in because of work. Eat often and keep that body fed. Food isn't your enemy, over eating is.

 

I've pretty much cut out booze to once every two weeks sometimes longer, and I use to drink a ton. I will have a cheat day now and then in which I'll eat pizza or whatever I want. But I'll still be reasonable about it.

[davislove 0]

I travel a lot with my work, living out of a hotel. and because of that I end up eating way too much mcdonalds and Wendy's. what are some quick meals I could make or store in a hotel room.

[jbrown_9999 1,020]

I travel a lot with my work, living out of a hotel. and because of that I end up eating way too much mcdonalds and Wendy's. what are some quick meals I could make or store in a hotel room.

 

Not really answering your question but I travel quite a bit and I eat a lot of QDoba. Chicken in a bowl with no rice or beans and as many vegetables as possible. Lunch is usually at the client and I try to eat a spinach based salad with chicken at their salad bar if they have one. Breakfast is typically whatever egg dish is available at hotel.

 

I also carry Costco low carb protein bars and try to eat one around 3 pm every day.

 

If I do need to eat fast food, I skip fries and will order one or two grilled chickens and not eat the buns or get a salad but skip the dressing and croutons.

[EddieAngel 508]

Not really answering your question but I travel quite a bit and I eat a lot of QDoba. Chicken in a bowl with no rice or beans and as many vegetables as possible. Lunch is usually at the client and I try to eat a spinach based salad with chicken at their salad bar if they have one. Breakfast is typically whatever egg dish is available at hotel.

 

I also carry Costco low carb protein bars and try to eat one around 3 pm every day.

 

If I do need to eat fast food, I skip fries and will order one or two grilled chickens and not eat the buns or get a salad but skip the dressing and croutons.

 

I like Chipotle a lot better than QDoba but it is a good fix for protein with low carbs. At Chipotle at least, it is worth noting that the food has a crap ton of sodium so that is something to be watchful for.

 

As far as hotels go, I like to make tunafish. I use avocado instead of mayo (Don't like mayo and it is a good way to get healthy fats) it is still fairly creamy. That with some celery, maybe some onion, whatever you like for texture.

 

Almonds are good. I also have a small blender I take with me for protein shakes. I like BRNG (PowerCrunch) chocolate with ice, almond milk and peanut butter.

[Franco 0]

Two related things that people can do is:

1) Do not eat/drink anything with added sugar

2) Watch your overall sugar intake (yes, even fruit)

 

Seriously, you just do that, and your body will love you

[irishwavend 571]

I travel a lot with my work, living out of a hotel. and because of that I end up eating way too much mcdonalds and Wendy's. what are some quick meals I could make or store in a hotel room.

 

Davis, I hear you. I'm the same way. A few things that I have found that have worked and helped me shed pounds, though Thanksgiving rolls around and I just binge through Christmas, are the following:

 

1) I generally dont eat breakfast, but if I do, it's like a granola bar.

2) I try to replace one meal with nothing more than a bowl of soup or just a salad. If I do that, I know that I'm stealing some calories from my ordinary day. I did this for two months and lost 22 pounds. I would walk downstairs to Au Bon Pain. Get a bowl of soup and a soda and that's it. Hell, I even switched to eat like a single hot dog for lunch and it did the same.

3) In the afternoon or morning if I was hungry, I'd get a DD (starbucks if i had to) iced coffee with no sugar or cream. The caffeine suppressed my appetite and it increased my heart rate. The Starbucks Via packets also do the same.

4) I did a tuna only diet for a few weeks out of undergrad and dropped like 15 pounds in two weeks. 1 tuna can per meal with a little mayo. I wouldn't advise this one.

5) When I was eating a lot of fast food at Wendy's and Mickey D's, I would just force myself to get a salad. Then, I would either be too disgusted to eat it which meant I wasnt really hungry, or I'd eat a salad versus the other stuff.

6) I've ordered of the kids menu as a habit for a week or two which made my stomach seem to shrink to those portions which is most likely what we should be eating in the first place.

 

If you combine any of these, the pounds really came off. Just be reasonable with Dinner or whatever.

 

Anyway, you can tell, I've done numerous things. The most effective and reasonable was the Soup/Iced Coffee combo. I found that relatively easy to stay on. Then, just try to substitute beer with soda until it really matters to have a beer.

[Jim2Dokes 3]

Coffee with no creamer or sugar is great, 0 Cals. But I would advise to not sub beer with soda. You can sub beer with water or something. However, beer is way more nutritious than soda. It is most likely the same cal count but with 0 sugar in most cases. Also, beer typically contains a gram or two of protein and lowers blood pressure. Soda is one of the worst things to drink.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Jim2Dokes

[irishwavend 571]

Coffee with no creamer or sugar is great, 0 Cals. But I would advise to not sub beer with soda. You can sub beer with water or something. However, beer is way more nutritious than soda. It is most likely the same cal count but with 0 sugar in most cases. Also, beer typically contains a gram or two of protein and lowers blood pressure. Soda is one of the worst things to drink.

 

I hear what you're saying about the soda, but I think most adults drink zero calorie diet soda. You're right that it's horrible, but it quenches your craving, unlike water, and it removes all the calories.

 

Water is ideal, but for folks looking to reduce weight but struggle with the healthy aspect, water is part of that "problem." You can ease into water, but to go cold turkey means you'll probably stop doing everything. I'm only speaking from personal experience. Water is one of the factors that always undermines my diet, unless I am working hard in the yard on a hot day. Then, I crave water. Otherwise, I have a particular addiction to any drinks that are not water...

 

Iced Tea is a preferable substitute to soda, as well. It's like watered down unsweetened coffee.

[Jersey Irish 205]

I travel a lot with my work, living out of a hotel. and because of that I end up eating way too much mcdonalds and Wendy's. what are some quick meals I could make or store in a hotel room.

 

If you casn't get away from the fast food places on the road, try Chick-fill-A

[VCDomer 68]

I hear what you're saying about the soda, but I think most adults drink zero calorie diet soda. You're right that it's horrible, but it quenches your craving, unlike water, and it removes all the calories.

 

Water is ideal, but for folks looking to reduce weight but struggle with the healthy aspect, water is part of that "problem." You can ease into water, but to go cold turkey means you'll probably stop doing everything. I'm only speaking from personal experience. Water is one of the factors that always undermines my diet, unless I am working hard in the yard on a hot day. Then, I crave water. Otherwise, I have a particular addiction to any drinks that are not water...

 

Iced Tea is a preferable substitute to soda, as well. It's like watered down unsweetened coffee.

 

Try Sparkling Water. Arrowhead makes some great flavored ones. 0 calories.

[Pregame 291]

Eat less. Drink water. Problems solved.

[echo88 74]

Vodka tonics w/ lime > any beer when trying to lose weight.

[ndomer4 532]

I'm not sure how much help I'd be since I have an extremely strict diet and work out 7 days a week. However I'm around 6-8% body fat and have been able to lose ten pounds in a few days just by tweaks in my diet.

 

For starters if your not willin to give up drinking your gonna have issues. Alcohol slows your metabolism down pretty drastically and if your eating bad plus not working off the calories then your going to steadily keep gaining weight.

 

If you wanna start with your diet I would severely limit the amount of processed foods you eat. Lots of fruits and veggies, lean meats and coffee/tea/low calorie drinks.

 

I have made meal plans and workouts for former teammates and buddies at the gym if you wanna pm me. You wanna limit carbs too because the more carbs you eat the more fat you'll store. Checkup the glycemic index and load of foods, Harvard has a chart that explains it well.

 

You wanna avoid carbs high on that scale cause they hike your blood sugar up quick like white bread and pasta. I would cut carbs in general or stick to rye bread, brown rice and such. Sweet potatoes should sub white potatoes as well. I would also stay away from any teams fat so butter, cheese, etc. Stick to good fat sources like those in nuts, fish. Saturated fats kinda in the middle of those, it's fine but not in excess. I feel like there's always room for lean protein throughout the day.

 

It takes a lot of time to prep the meals and its pricier eating healthy but if your not willing to do cardio 3-4 times a week and atleast limit drinking substantially then IMO your not willing to do the work to drop a few pounds.

 

Read labels, stick to foods that are natural/grown, and always measure your meals. Serving size is on the label and not measuring can lead to you over eating.

[97domer 74]

ndomer4 - I agree with all you are saying, especially lowering carbs and avoiding processed foods! A few experiences I've had...

 

1) A year ago, I lost 20 lbs in a few months by going on an incredibly low-carb, keto-like diet. I slowly introduced a few more carbs after that and increased exercise to keep it off. I did have some side-effects - I didn't sleep as well (this can be common) and I was occasionally constipated. After doing some research, I was able to overcome.

 

2) I lost 10 lbs in a couple of months once by only allowing myself to drink only on days I exercised. Exercise was defined as a 4 mile walk, 2 mile run, 30 intense minutes on the elliptical, or playing a sport. This worked great for awhile, but I found myself binge-drinking to make those exercise days worth it. It also stressed me out too much.

 

3) I lost 10 lbs once by simply cutting portions, adding lots of water, and slightly increasing exercise. I'd cut portions by taking whatever I ordered at a restaurant and immediately putting the excess into a to-go box. At home, I'd take more reasonably-sized portions and not go back for seconds.

 

More than anything, I'd recommend something you can live with long-term. Though it may not sound like it from my thoughts above, I think it's important to find something you can live with over the long-term, be happy, and enjoy life. The 3 ideas above were things I did to take off some of the holiday/winter-weight. It's my daily lifestyle that sustains my health and happiness. I try to eat lower carbs on a regular basis but not to an extreme. I try to drink one less beer than I normally may want. I try to exercise most every day, even if it's a short walk (and I find exercise I enjoy doing so it's not a chore.) Pedometers are a great reminder of how lethargic you might be on any given day. Also, find someone to go through the healthy changes with you - it's always nice to have a friend to motivate you and help keep you accountable.

 

I'm motivated by a desire to be alive for my golden years and enjoy grandchildren. I also find that I enjoy the present moment when I'm living healthier.

 

Good luck!

[stdntDrvr 12]

I replaced soda with crystal light w/ caffeine and it worked great. It was a very easy transition (I have a strong dislike for 'just water' and can't go without the caffeine). I was on a Keto diet for a while earlier this year, dropped around 25 lbs with some extremely inconsistent workouts. Cutting soda was huge and crystal light really helped. I'm up around 10 lbs now, but I plan on going back on the diet on Sept 1st (my bday is at the end of august and my wife makes amazing cheesecakes). No carbs, limited to no sugar, lots of green vegetables and protein. I dropped 30 lbs in 2 - 3 months. Started at 190 and dropped down to 165. Trying to get down to 150.

[DamshaBua 48]

Vodka tonics w/ lime > any beer when trying to lose weight.

 

Tonic has almost as many calories as soda, about 120-130 per 12 oz.

 

If you switch to soda water and a lime, that's a significant caloric reduction.