Wall-E Wednesday (diet discussions)

[jesusdaughter155]

I'm pretty sure that Wall-E wasn't meant to be a documentary (I'm pretty sure Idiocracy wasn't either) but as anyone can see by looking around, we've got trouble.

As is always pointed out, weight loss is about diet, but diet and life when you aren't 20 is a little more difficult. Buy in from family, work, stress, what worked when you were 20 might not work now.

After that great thread the other day on feeling defeated, I felt that we might need some regular discussion on dieting, not just exercise.

low carb, high carb, paleo, success stories, failures, recipes, approaches, etc

 

[dawn16]

@jesusdaughter155 Eat less. Drink less booze. Be more active.

I've spent the last 4 years trying to figure out how to lose weight quickly with some success. But ultimately, lifestyle change is the only way to stay somewhat fit for the long term. After counting calories for a couple of years, I've found that I should avoid certain foods and eat others sparingly. Get as many vegetables in your diet as you can. Salads are whole meals. Fish is your friend. Don't feel bad about a gluttonous meal or day or week. Just get back to eating with some care and your weight will reduce over time. If it isn't, you aren't taking care.

 

[mjennings]

@jesusdaughter155 Planning is key. I hate the old axiom "failing to plan is planning to fail" but I begrudgingly admit that it is true when it comes to diet in the real world.

You have to be honest with yourself. If you know you should lose ten pounds but just aren't really motivated to do so yet, let it go for now.

I've never had poor diet outcomes when I stick to meat, veggies and some fruit. I eat a lot when eating that way but I feel good, I recover well, I train well and everything just works. Anytime I drift into breads or sugars I lose some of that and when I return, it's all there for me.

Learning to cook was probably the single best thing I ever did for my wife's and my health.

 

[smileyjan]

@mjennings same.

 

[dawn16]

@jesusdaughter155 I have such a hard time with vacations or disruptions of routine. I can go a solid half a year with meal prep planning, exercise and feeling great only to have a vacation screw everything up.

I'm in the middle of a move right now and I'm stuck in a hotel with a tiny kitchen in an unfamiliar country. My eating habits have taken a total dive. Anyone got any tips on keeping a routine through vacations or disruptions?

 

[727billin]

@dawn16 I have no advice, but I hear you! I travel a lot for work with people who love beer. I want to bond with them over a few beers in the evening, but killer on the diet! Hard to fit in a workout too on those trips except early in the am. I think you should just try to do the best you can to mimic what you normally eat, make the right choices but everyone deserves a break

 

[jesusdaughter155]

@dawn16 1 day in a week or one week in 52 isn't going to change the average all that much. Live your life, enjoy your life. I think the hardest thing is coming back after vacation and getting back into the groove. Well that and making sure that your diet isn't really a denial of sorts. That you can live and live well on your diet choices.

 

[victoria52]

@jesusdaughter155 I've had to redo a lot of research, and the best sources I've found all say that to avoid cardiac and circulatory problems and to keep weight down that keto is not really the way to go. I know I tried it for a couple of years, but I was never able to rack up the good lab numbers the keto advocates claim. Also the high protein suggestions for older adults seems to be bro science and not based on any studies that I can find, so I'm back to a high vegetable, low-fat, little red meat diet, four 400-calorie meals a day, and it seems to be working. I've dropped 8 pounds in the last 3-4 weeks, and my energy seems to be pretty high.

 

[annaw]

@jesusdaughter155 Get a good food routine and follow it. Something different works for everyone but here is mine:

During the week

Breakfast - 1 banana, 1 protein shake (everyone has their own mixture or brand, but mine is about 350 calories and 30 grams of protein)

Lunch - spinach, chicken and cheese with greek yogurt dressing in salad shaker container. (I buy the chicken in bulk from cost co once a month, very helpful)

Dinner - different everyday, but always a veggie and protein, lots of sweet potatoes, poultry and seafood dishes though.

I plan my dinners for the week on Sunday afternoon and shop that evening. I have one cheat meal on Friday night, and usually another for lunch on Saturday. I also have a few beers both nights, but I rarely do more than a few (I do drink a few more in the summer).

I work out every morning and have maintained my healthy weight (6'5" 215) very well through my 30s but this plan helps me stay stable.

 

[deion94]

@annaw How do you get 30g of protein in that breakfast shake?

 

[annaw]

@deion94 Truthfully, I just buy it like that. Premier protein from Costco, 30g. It's pricey but worth the no fuss. Just shake and go.

 

[newlove]

@jesusdaughter155 There are tons of articles about how little time we spend preparing food compared to our parents. Almost anything you fix at home can/will be healthier than take-out, but we don't. One of my solutions was to combine time with my SO (friends when I was single) with meal prep and eating.

 

[727billin]

@jesusdaughter155 I'm debating going low carb/high protein/fat... I'm a total carb addict. So it might be hard, but I did a trial one day and I survived I ate 86g of carbs, normally I'm over 200.

 

[jesusdaughter155]

@727billin I have rarely (personally never) seen anyone not be successful losing weight on low carb/high fat. What is hard is staying with it because EVERYTHING (as you've noticed) is buried in carbs nowadays. And of course, if you go back to eating like you did when you were overweight, well, you'll gain weight again.

 

[swainkas]

@jesusdaughter155 The biggest benefit for me when I went low carb, is that it forced me to eat whole fresh foods. Everything packaged and shelf stable is loaded with carbs.

As a result I eat real meat and vegetables everyday and feel fuller, with less food.

 

[727billin]

@swainkas On my trail day this was totally true. I ate yogurt, fruit, veggies and chicken, and I wasn't hungry! The closest thing to packaged food was a small portion of the yogurt which was flavored and sweetened. Probably had the highest carb content. My fat was still really low tho, I'm not sure how to get that higher and still stay within my calories... And I don't like a lot of higher fat things such as cheese and avacados.... I love cheese melted on carbs but I don't like just cheese... I guess maybe more nuts, pb and bacon?

 

[swainkas]

@727billin Higher fat meats help. Fatty fish (salmon, sardines), fattier cuts of beef, ground beef/pork.

Eggs are great. Add oils/butter to cooking.

 

[jesusdaughter155]

@swainkas yeah, kinda like how our parents and grandparents ate (real food, meat and veggies) and very very few of them were fat and obese. Makes you wonder

 

[jsmithcavs]

@jesusdaughter155 Judging by my grandparents, they ate less, they did more manual labor, and they smoked and drank, which curbed appetite.

And of course the modern diet where too many people eat stuff out of boxes and almost everything from restaurants is crazy high in calories. I can make similar stuff at home for 1/2 the calories so WTF are they putting in there...

 

[swainkas]

@jesusdaughter155 I don't wonder at all. Processed foods (high sugar, highly palatable, low nutrition) are a major player in the obesity epidemic.