Getting in shape, round's a shape right?

[peejman]

Well, I see a lot of talk about getting rid of junk food and garbage food but no one defines just what those might be. I do know about soda drinks like Pepsi , Coke and Dew and I have not drank on of those in about 55 years so  that is not an issue. I am a water freak and buy it 6 cases at a time in the fruit flavored brands. I do drink coffee Black in the morning only. I quit smoking back in July and replaced  morning smoke with a couple Sausage egg and cheese biscuit because my doctor said I need to eat breakfast but never said what kind. I have began swapping out Oat Meal some mornings. I weighed at doctors office last week and came home and weighed and our scales are 2 ounces off but since I began eating breakfast I have actually lost 5 lbs. I have a very bad habit of taking a snack to bed which I know must go but I am also required to eat something with night medications. Until now it's been no such good stuff like Snack cakes from Lll Debbie's so swapped that out for some granola bars like Fiber One's. And trying to stick with one of those each night with night meds.

 

So ok, here is where I know I am stuck and that is supper. I have been working on trying to change a few things like no potatoes(really toughy there) then I hear I can eat sweet potatoes so looking into that. I am trying to go with meat grilled most of the time. White meat Chicken Breasts skinless, Deer burger seasoned up to taste, Beef steak if I am very lucky and catch a butcher mark down with green veggies. Like I said supper is the hard one and I have began adjusting my eating supper times. I was eating at 4 and hungry by bedtime so have began eating later to see if that helps.

 

Now someone tell me what the trash and garbage foods are I still might need to get rid of........................... :up: :up:

 

 

Garbage foods... anything that comes in a box or plastic.  That's pretty broad, but not far from the truth.

 

Start reading the ingredient list on the packages.  If there's more than about 6 ingredients, it's probably junk.  Look for words like "enriched" or "hydrogenated".  Look for really long words you can't pronounce.  Google them to see what that is. 

 

Start reading the nutrition numbers on the package.  Look at the calories, sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol and their % daily value.  If one serving (which is likely a lot smaller amount than you think) has a large percentage... that's not good. 

 

Those sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits aren't the greatest thing either, the oatmeal is a much better choice.  The majority of restaurants post the nutrition values of their menu online.  Some of the results may frighten you...

 

A McD's sausage egg & cheese...   550 calories, 12g saturated fat (61% of your daily intake), 265mg cholesterol (89% of your daily intake), 1320 mg sodium (55% of your daily intake)... in a single biscuit.  Not including the hashrounds or whatever else.  Yikes.

 

http://www.eatthis.com/home

[kieefer]

Junk food IMO is fast food like McDonalds, anything fried, candy or rather basically refined sugar in it contents.
Bread.
Too many pizzas and too much cheese.
Everything in moderation but drastically reduce sugar and bread.

As far as meals. You don't have to eat breakfast stuff for breakfast. I've had salmon and rice, tuna or canned salmon wraps with a bit of cheese and hot sauce for breakfast. Eggs are good but to much trouble for me. Oatmeal is quick, throw raisins or some type of fruit in with it. Yogurts good but watch the sugar.

Make your meals smaller and more often. Those steam bags with veggies and rice are good. I don't eat red meat but a lot of salmon, tuna and little chicken. Kroger has a family bag of "wild caught" salmon individually wrapped for $10bucks. Pan cook it in olive oil or bald it while your steaming veggies or rice in the mic. (Quinoa is actually better than rice but a little more trouble to cook.)

Apple and peanut butter is a good snack.
Salads with grapes, pineapple, carrots and oranges is my lunch usually. I'm surprised how long it holds me. All that fiber I guess.

I seldom eat big at supper and sometimes just have a tuna wrap or salsa and chips before 7pm for supper. Sometimes an just apple.

When we go out we usually eat half and take the rest home. One of our favorites is Tazikis, excellent salmon meals. Zaxbys grilled chicken salads are good. No or little dressing.

Something my wife does is a full blown gluten free natural diet, but its not a diet per say because it just her eating habits. This helps me eat better but basically its good eating habits and breaking old ones. Try to eat natural raw foods as much as you can and less processed.

Something else, get a physical with a total blood work up done including thyroid check.

Do this and other recommendations above and you'll have no regrets eating ice cream every now and then.

[maroonandwhite]

Do this and other recommendations above and you'll have no regrets eating ice cream every now and then.

 

Ice cream is my kryptonite. I will eat a bowl after every meal if I have it in the house.

[JPS]

Good luck with your program - it's important to do what works best for yourself with this kind of thing.

 

My wife and I tried juicing, but found it to be a hassle and too expensive.. 

 

We switched to a Nutri-Bullet, which lets you keep the fiber instead of throwing it away - now we can get by with a piece or two of fruit and some spinach leaves instead of a long list of ingredients and get all the nutrients along with the fiber that fills you up.  Drinking the 'sludge' takes some getting used to, but only because of the consistency, it tastes great to me.

 

We stopped trying to do it all day/every day, and now just 'whip' up our breakfast on work days, and both of us are feeling good and losing weight slowly.

When we're not working we'll make a healthier-than-we-used-to-eat breakfast (some eggs, cereal, little or no bread, etc.) and enjoy it, but if I don't get my nutri-blast I can feel the drop in my energy levels for the day.

Our juicer is sitting unused in the garage, and we've worn out our first Nutri Bullet and had to get a new one.

[kieefer]

Ice cream is my kryptonite. I will eat a bowl after every meal if I have it in the house.

I know what you mean. To curb my cravings I only buy it on sale and never do the Kroger buy 10 for so in so price.

I also evaluate my calorie intake before adding to it and do a month-on-month off routine with that guilty pleasure.
I came up with that one from my old workout routines. Due to back problems my weight lifting days are over but ride a bike now and then. Edited November 11, 2014 by kieefer

[mudstud]

Ice cream is my kryptonite. I will eat a bowl after every meal if I have it in the house.

I will eat a bowl after every meal if it is in my neighbor's house. Sorry the old me would! cookies and cream :surrender:

[McGarrett]

I came to this same realization about 5 years ago. I am still working but I have lost about 35 lbs. Here are a few things that worked for me:

 

1. Apple Cider Vinegar Drink; http://homeremediesforlife.com/apple-cider-vinegar-weight-loss/, there are several different concotions but I make up a gallon of iced tea and put 1/3 cup of ACV, 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup lemon or lime, a little cinnamon. You get used to the taste, it's just like tangy lemonade. I drink about 3 or 4 16 oz glasses of this a day.

2. B complex vitamin once a day, helps burn fat, 

3. Drink plenty of water

4. Cut out soft drinks

5. Meals; Cut back on carbs and sugar, eat more fruit and vegetables, portion control, eat a small snack between meals, replace 1 meal a day with soup

6. Exercise; I do a combination of walking, push-ups, and total gym. My goal is about 4 or 5 hours a week of exercise. When I started doing push-ups I could really tell a difference. Start with low reps and work up to more, do multiple sets. Mix it up. 

7. Get outside; walk, yard work, gardening, shooting, cut firewood, etc., anything to get away from the TV and food

[tnhawk]

Don't get discouraged with the weight loss numbers afer a short time.  As my doctor said, you didn't gain it overnight, you won't lose it overnight. 

[whitewolf001]

Well I haven't lost anymore weight however I do feel alot better. I started eating last Weds, it was sauteed Kale and Mushrooms. The worst thing I've had to eat so far was half a cold burrito that a friend at work gave me because I was too busy to even think about leaving for lunch. I've avoided fast food like the plague for the most part(I had Subway last Saturday). My intake in the morns usually consists of 16oz of fresh juice and a couple of boiled eggs. Lunch has been a variety of things ranging from sushi to a peanut butter sandwich to turkey wrap. I know I could be eating healthier but in my defense I tried to eat a salad and nearly barfed. My genetics apparently built me to not be a Herbivore. My portions are reduced by about 50%. Self control is the biggest key really. I'm starting back at the gym this week so we'll see how that goes from there.

[LawVol]

If you have a smartphone, I highly recommend downloading an app like MyFitnessPal and using it to track your calories.  It has a huge database of nutritional info for just about every food product out there, including restaurant foods, and it even has a bar code scanner that makes getting the data even easier.  IMO, one of the most important reasons to use an app like this is that it will help you figure out what foods that you didn't think are that bad, are really killing your diet.  For example, putting mayo on your sandwich may cost you 100 calories, whereas sticking with just yellow mustard adds virtually no calories.   You'll learn that you can make less drastic sacrifices that allow you to still eat well and lose/maintain weight.

 

Good luck on your transformation!

[LawVol]

oh, and bodybuilding.com is a great resource, too.  It's not just for meat-heads. 

Edited November 20, 2014 by LawVol

[tnguy]

 I am a water freak and buy it 6 cases at a time in the fruit flavored brands.

 

Watch those. Many are no different than soda, just without the carbonation and coloring.

 

I dropped more than 30lbs a few years ago through diet and exercise but the streak was broken by going on a cruise. I didn't gain much weight on the cruise itself but got out of the good habits. Now I'm back where I was and not too happy about it. I was feeling more healthy and starting to look good down at that weight so now I'm trying again.

 

Most of the false starts over the intervening years have been diet without exercise or exercise without diet. I really need both. The exercise is a great motivator to watch the diet since I hate exercise and it just means wasted effort if I eat crap.

 

Sugars and starches really are the enemy which is difficult as I'm a big fan of bread and sandwiches. Also a problem around here as nearly everything is dipped in batter or breadcrumbs before deep-frying. Sweet things I can mostly do without so that's not such a big deal.

 

Two things I found really useful: Eggs (several ways to cook them, easy and quick) and bananas (starchy but only about 100 cals per banana and occupy your attention if you're eating partly out of boredom and very cheap)

Edited November 20, 2014 by tnguy

[whitewolf001]

Watch those. Many are no different than soda, just without the carbonation and coloring.

 

I dropped more than 30lbs a few years ago through diet and exercise but the streak was broken by going on a cruise. I didn't gain much weight on the cruise itself but got out of the good habits. Now I'm back where I was and not too happy about it. I was feeling more healthy and starting to look good down at that weight so now I'm trying again.

 

Most of the false starts over the intervening years have been diet without exercise or exercise without diet. I really need both. The exercise is a great motivator to watch the diet since I hate exercise and it just means wasted effort if I eat crap.

 

Sugars and starches really are the enemy which is difficult as I'm a big fan of bread and sandwiches. Also a problem around here as nearly everything is dipped in batter or breadcrumbs before deep-frying. Sweet things I can mostly do without so that's not such a big deal.

 

Two things I found really useful: Eggs (several ways to cook them, easy and quick) and bananas (starchy but only about 100 cals per banana and occupy your attention if you're eating partly out of boredom and very cheap)

^^^ +1. Banana's are also an excellent energy booster, eat two before a workout to provide an energy boost for about 90minutes(ish), especially if this is an evening workout when you're likely to be more tired later in the day.

[whitewolf001]

Well, took a walk with my Husky around half the neighborhood(1 mile-ish) late last night with my go-vest on which has 8 30rd 5.56 mags loaded on it and that acted as a good weight training vest(it was later at night because for one, I didn't get off work till 8pm but also I didn't want to appear like ol' Voldemort in Nashville to some, just to clarify. I'd rather folks around my neighborhood NOT know that.). The jog not only helped with my cardio but also let me know what I need to do to alter my vest just a little bit to be more comfortable, left side was a little lax putting more stress on my right side. This is the kind of data you want before classes or SHTF. Know that your system works and if not, what needs to be improved.

[Superman]

Keep at it. I was up to 280lbs or so a few years ago. No fancy diets or anything, I just cut out all the crap. I pretty much only drink water anymore and no more sugary snacks. I need to start excercising regularly but I am down to 195lbs. I am eating much healthier now than I ever have. Think I am going to start cooking my lunch for the week instead of eating sandwiches. I saw 190lbs a couple weeks ago so I think I really need to start excercising if I am going to get anywhere from here with any speed.

[peejman]

Keep at it. I was up to 280lbs or so a few years ago. No fancy diets or anything, I just cut out all the crap. I pretty much only drink water anymore and no more sugary snacks. I need to start excercising regularly but I am down to 195lbs. I am eating much healthier now than I ever have. Think I am going to start cooking my lunch for the week instead of eating sandwiches. I saw 190lbs a couple weeks ago so I think I really need to start excercising if I am going to get anywhere from here with any speed.

That's great progress with diet alone. Please see a doc before jumping into any sort of exercise program more strenuous than walking.

[DaveTN]

Started Nutrisystem yesterday.

[dralarms]

16 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

Started Nutrisystem yesterday.

What’d that cost?

[DaveTN]

16 minutes ago, dralarms said:

What’d that cost?

I’m not sure... around $700 for 2 months. But its not buy a month, get a month free, like they are advertising. Unless maybe you find the highest possible price known to man.

[swim615]

Keto diet is the way to go!!! 

I haven't read all the comments, but it works!!!

I used to run but got burnt out, gained 50ish pounds. Felt bad & couldn't do all the things I enjoy in life. Did keto & lost all of the weight!

It's a little hard to learn & adjust in the beginning,  but well worth it to enjoy a healthier life!!!

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by swim615

[TripleGGG]

Major major major scare in June. Cardiologist told me point blank get the weight off and to get off insulin or I wouldn't be around in 3 to 5 years. Being a diabetic I had tried several diets etc over the years. A friend recommended Profile by Sanders. I had never heard of them. It clicked with me. I'm down 60 pounds since July 2nd. Dropping 2 1/2 pounds a week like clockwork. Basically teach you how to mix food combinations properly. I can honestly say I have not been hungry and am now starting to feel fantastic. I'm off insulin and reduced all my other meds. My goal is another 40 pounds and be off all meds. 

Finding the program that works for you is key. Diet isn't the right word, it is truly a life change. 

[TomInMN]

20 hours ago, TripleGGG said:

 

Finding the program that works for you is key. Diet isn't the right word, it is truly a life change. 

This. People "go on a diet" when what they need is to change their diet (at a minimum, adding some other lifestyle changes is generally a good idea, too).