Let's talk diets

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

The big one that started all this for me was stopping drinking sugar whether its real or fake. The difference between soda and juice? Bubbles. The American pediatrics group (or whatever they're called) said juice is not recommended for kids under a certain age and very little amount for older kids.

Coffee, tea, water, milk. I drink water at lunch, coffee in the morning, and decaf after lunch. Flavored or herbal types of brewed teas are nice for variety. We found Four Sigmatic's mushroom lions main and chaga instant coffee quite tasty!

Just because fake sugar doesnt have a caloric value doesnt mean its a diet freebie. Salt doesnt have a caloric value either and we certainly know that can have an impact on health. As for calling stevia natural... so is arsenic. 

Lots of great advice here. And I'm sure any suggestion offered would help. I will say from our own personal experience (Annie and me), in September, 2017, we both wanted to lose a few pounds. We cut out pasta, bread, potato, rice, etc. The result was a slow but steady reduction in weight.  We saw it weekly. Annie lost about 20 lbs., and I lost 40 lbs. That was over a year ago. This was not a KETO diet. We just stopped eating the food I stated. We're still doing without the major carbs and maintaining our desired weight. I haven't curtailed drinking wine, but when I drink beer, it's usually Miller Lite. Occasionally now I'll have a craft brew if we're on a trip or out to a brewery with friends. Don't expect an immediate drop. What we experienced was a slow but steady drop. (I went from a tight 36" waist to a loose 34" waist). I'm very happy with the results. I should add that we don't eat much snack food or take in any sugary soft drinks, so I'm sure that's a positive factor for our success. Too much wine, and an occasional gin martini or beer are my only vices. 

Regarding the cost thing, long term it's far cheaper to eat healthier.  I eat healthier, sure, but I also eat less.  2k calories of healthy food vs. 4k calories of garbage.  Sure the healthy food is probably still a little more, but I dont feel terrible anymore.  That means I'm more productive.  Long long term I will be healthier, and will save on medical costs, etc...

Keep in mind when I posted before I said I switched to a healthy diet cold Turkey and felt fantastic after 3 days.  I hadn't lost any significant weight in 3 days, that took a year, but I felt great very quickly.  It's not (entirely) about carrying the extra weight or what the scale says, but being too heavy is a good sign you arent healthy.  Fix the health, focus on health, the weight will likely follow.  

I should also add I was metabolically healthy, normal blood pressure, very active when I was borderline obese.  Doctor wasnt concerned about anything, even told me I could skip every other physical because I was healthy.  Only once I switched up my diet did I realize how little energy I had, how tight my joints were, how down my mood was, all of that.  The change was night and day, and I had no reason to doubt my health before other than being a bit pudgy.  If you are sticking to a healthier diet and you dont see the scale move as quickly as you want, dont worry.  Stick with being healthy first.  In fact 1-2lbs a week is probably the upper limit of healthy, sustainable weight loss.  You want health #1, weight is just one indicator of many that you are on the right/wrong track.  An important one, sure, but not the only one that matters.

One way I skip the junk food when it's available (at work or while driving like OP mentioned) is to consider the consequences.  Do I want to deal with feeling like crap from that crap food? I dont mean guilt, btw, I mean less energy, sluggish, overall grumpier.  In exchange for a few minutes of admittedly not fantastic tasting chips? No thanks.

I will say outside of actually following through with your diet the most important aspect is tracking your calories.

The majority of people I've tried helping/training were either way over or way under their caloric needs depending on their goal. Download a good app like MyFitnessPal and create an account. Start at their recommendations and modify the calories every couple weeks depending on the progress you are making or where the scale is moving

Take progress pics, they help keep motivation high if you are progressing well. 

Dusterbd13-michael said:

So, this applies to me. A LOT. 

 

my diet is crap. I live in my car, and eat primarily drive through food.

Sounds like cutting back on carbs and refined sugar is the big thing.

How does that work with drive through food? I cant seem to wrap my brain around the problem.....

It can be done, but you really need to remove the fries and soft drinks from the meal. You can order a bacon double cheeseburger in a "lettuce wrap" from most fast-food places. I know that BK and Wendy's do it.

Gary said:

Lots of great advice here. And I'm sure any suggestion offered would help. I will say from our own personal experience (Annie and me), in September, 2017, we both wanted to lose a few pounds. We cut out pasta, bread, potato, rice, etc. The result was a slow but steady reduction in weight.  We saw it weekly. Annie lost about 20 lbs., and I lost 40 lbs. That was over a year ago. This was not a KETO diet. We just stopped eating the food I stated. We're still doing without the major carbs and maintaining our desired weight. I haven't curtailed drinking wine, but when I drink beer, it's usually Miller Lite. Occasionally now I'll have a craft brew if we're on a trip or out to a brewery with friends. Don't expect an immediate drop. What we experienced was a slow but steady drop. (I went from a tight 36" waist to a loose 34" waist). I'm very happy with the results. I should add that we don't eat much snack food or take in any sugary soft drinks, so I'm sure that's a positive factor for our success. Too much wine, and an occasional gin martini or beer are my only vices. 

There is a difference between KETO and low-carb diets. When we did it, I went into ketosis as I needed to lose weight, she did not and just wanted to change her eating habits and eat better. We eat the same dinner, but she takes a healthy lunch to work and snacks for throughout the day. I eat a 3 egg omelet for breakfast and then make dinner that night. It's healthy food for both of us but ketosis is the way to lose lots of weight over time. I've lost 50 and she only lost a few, but the health benefits of low-carb and the just the increased amount of energy are incredible for both of us. 
 

I also discovered Michelle Ultra as an alternative to my favorite beer. Not all that bad!

In reply to lotusseven7 :

And additional benefit for me of low carb was lower blood sugar, which I need to prevent TII diabetes.