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I eat too much crap. Always have had a sweet tooth. With 3 brothers you learned to eat the good stuff quick or lose out, so I think I’m a self trained pig. My BMI is OK due to work activity, but I want to strip down 20 lbs and be in better shape for the hills this fall. Any advice on the best way to do this? Can a person retrain their eating habits short of a health crisis? If you’ve found a way I’d love to hear how you broke bad eating habits.
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Cut out high fructose corn syrup, sodium nitrate,salt intake and read food labels.Get the eat this not that books as well.Fruits and vegetables(frozen or fresh) and stay away from can foods,soda, fried foods and chips.The next time you go to the supermarket look at all the fat Americans and then see what’s in their cart,Junk and convenience! Hope this helps!
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Like he said, get the book and settle down at a frozen yogurt shop and enjoy reading it 😀
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One of my favorite topics! I think we all know, deep down, that eating processed foods is not a good thing. But why not? That’s a harder question.
Two of my favorite authors on the matter of food, and eating are Sally Fallon and her “cookbook” Nourishing Traditions and Michael Pollen and his series of books on food. The three most important being: Omivores Delema, In Defense of Food, and Cooked. I have not read Food Rules yet, but soon will.
I put Sally’s cookbook in quotes because the first 60 pages or so is a warp speed history of food and culture. Then there are recipe’s and more wisdom spread through the rest of the book.
Once you read these books, you will not see food, culture, or the food industry the same again. It’s an eye opening experience that will do many things, include confirm and reinforce your love of hunting.
Real food, whole food, takes time. That’s the rub. Every person/family must decide what is important. Most follow the ideals promoted by the commercialism in our monetary based economy. But those that choose their own path see that culture, family, health, and happiness are enhanced by gathering and preparing whole foods. But it adds hours of preparation to your day. I think the average american family spends under 20 minutes a day in food preparation. Preparing whole foods takes way more time.
I don’t know how to lose 20 lbs before hunting season. Probably not a healthy goal. Michael Pollan sums up what we should do nicely: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” And here’s a link to a quick article on the topic: http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/unhappy-meals
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Thanks for the thoughtful replies. It is all excellent advice! I considered deleting this post, but let it hang, knowing the wisdom that is out there, and that in most cases we are not alone in these issues. I remember eating right off the farm as a kid, and a treat was a TREAT… something usually sugary or salty that didn’t grow well from the ground. Then you grow up and treats are everywhere and no one can say no you can’t have that… +50 years later your diet is to the dogs…lame but true! I do carry much pride in NOT being just another overweight American, but I have to try harder now that our national diets are in general, as bad as they are.
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My hunting partner has started a eating program called “Wheat Belly”. He was about 400 lbs and he has lost about 40lbs in 3 months just by cutting anything with processed sugars and wheat out of his diet. His knees are shot so his has been doing what most would call minimal walking.
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When you go shopping, try to stay on the perimeter of the grocery store. Produce, meat, etc. I only venture into the forbidden zone when I need coffee.
I get my eggs from a local farmer, and eat bacon as much as I want. Mostly the uncured, nitrate free stuff.
No breads, processed-crap-in-a-box, etc.
Works for me.
X2 What Steve Graf said above regarding Michael Pollan. Anything he wrote/writes is worth a look.
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Well paleoman,
Eat paleo. It’s a lot like what other folks have said.
In short, eat lots of veggies, a good amount of meat, some fruit and nuts.
There is a lot of info out there on the paleo diet.
I like Marks’ Daily Apple.
It sure has worked for me and I’m about three years in. Todd Smith
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Cant add much but have a few thoughts.
Think of the body as a filter system, refined foods pass easily thru the filter and get stored as fat, less refined foods take more energy to break down and produce fats that are not so easily stored.
Diets foods are not, just in the same way the banks are not your friend.
Don’t eat when the hunger pangs tell you to, accept them as an indicator that the diets working and wait 30 min to an hour until the hunger has subsided then you will eat less and be more considered in what you consume.
If your diet is for fitness don’t bother with scales your body will change shape as you get fitter and stronger, look at the holes in your belt and fit of your clothes, monitor pressups and sit ups in a given time and recovery time weekly.
Now I just need to put it into practice.
Mark.
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Eat only 1/2 hr after you feel hungry (when you feel hungry you are loosing weight – embrace the hunger). Stop eating when you stop feeling hungry. Eat only high protein, or high fiber foods. Spend 12 hrs a day painting houses. I lost 30 lba in 30 days.
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I went gluten free almost 2 years ago and I lost about 20 pounds and went down a waist size. We do read labels and do much of what has already been said like cutting out processed foods and eat meat and vegetables with less breads and pasta. There are a lot of good gluten free replacements for bread and pasta if you live in an area where it is available or can make it your self. In case you are wondering I’m not just following the current fad, I have developed a sensitivity that took a while to figure out but going without gluten has pretty much fixed my digestive problems. If I accidentally ingest some gluten? Well its just rather uncomfortable if its just a small amount but I have had the hives from ingesting too much so I keep some benedryl handy. But that is usually not a problem.
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Speaking of past alternatives, my wife just got this thing called a spiralizer. You can stick a zucchini squash in it and spin it and it turns into spaghetti. So you just make your usual sauce, drop the zuc pasta in it, wait 10 minutes and its good to go.
Yet another use for the dred zucchini 😀
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Steve Graf wrote: Speaking of past alternatives, my wife just got this thing called a spiralizer. You can stick a zucchini squash in it and spin it and it turns into spaghetti. So you just make your usual sauce, drop the zuc pasta in it, wait 10 minutes and its good to go.
Yet another use for the dred zucchini 😀
Dreaded zucchini is right but I may try that. Thanks for the idea. Reminded me of a garden we had when I was about 15. A drought set in and everything dried up but the zucchini. That stuff grew like weeds. So much zucchini we had it almost every night, cooked every way you can imagine. Turned me against it until I got older. I eat it now but always remember how that zucchini fed us when nothing else would.
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I can’t add much more than is already here. I’ve recently dropped ten just by cutting back on carbs. Exercise, read the labels and stick to the perimeter walls of the grocery. Here’s the hardest part for me, limit dairy. I love milk and cheese.
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The Japanese, who are long lived and usually thin, have a simple rule. Eat until you are 80% full. Odd use of a percentage by a people known for their colorful sayings, but there you go.
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Thank you all for inspiring me to jump on the wagon and start eating better and losing weight. I have been neglecting myself and have been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. No fun.
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Look at Loseit.com. Set up your profile (free) and follow the program. It tells you how many calories per day you can have to meet your set weekly weight loss goal and helps you track. You can have anything you want; but you stop at your daily calorie intake.
It really is retraining to eat proper portions and makes it possible to keep the weight off permanently. 62 pounds off in just under a year. Having tried a few different programs, tbis was the easiest and most successful for me. Oh, and it changes all your numbers to levels that your doctor will like. Good luck at whatever you try.
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Paleo,
Man, you got some great hits on this thread. I don’t have much to add, but wanted to offer encouragement. I’m lucky in that I don’t have any serious weight problem, but as I get older it gets tougher. I quit drinking about 7 months ago, but then I doubled up on the cookies. With a suggestion from a doc or two and the urging of my wife, I really cut back on wheat. I still have a cookie or two, but cut way back on bread. We eat oatmeal with nuts and fruit for breakfast instead of toast. I also try to walk at a good pace for half an hour in the morning. It’s all adapting, so give yourself some slack and stick with it. It’ll come to you as you work on it. best, dwc
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dwcphoto wrote: Paleo,
… I quit drinking about 7 months ago…
There are many good reasons to quit drinking, so if those apply to you, well then way to go! But if they don’t, there is a lot of evidence that show’s moderate drinking is good for the heart health, and maybe a few other things.
The studies seem to consistently show that moderate drinkers outlive heavy drinkers and non drinkers alike. Middle of the road, is the best place to be I guess 😀
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Steve,
I agree completely. My reasons are my own and had more to do with needing more clarity in my life right now, but since beer was my main choice, it also led to dropping a few pounds. best, dwc
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I like the others do a good job of eating healthy. However i do not avoid gluten just generally find a local bakery near me that still makes there in the old European style of being healthy and not have a gluten problem. The thing I get the most benefit from is avoiding eating when I ma so hungry I just plow through food, so if I recognize I am doing that I try to slow down and take smaller bites and chew thoroughly this lead me to not eating so much.
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Paleo, I too suffered from a terribly aggressive sweet tooth and with my job keeping me out on the road, I found eating healthy a tremendous challenge. A couple things that have worked well for me are… One, make a list of healthy snacks and keep to that list religiously for about 3 weeks. This will give your brain sufficient time to retrain it’s cravings. Second, eat smaller meals 5 times a day versus 3. This will keep the hunger pangs at bay which usually triggered eating binges for me. This also accelerates your metabolism which will aid in burning fat stores.
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80/20 Rule: eat “healthy” 80 percent of time and eat the old way 20%.
Never eat prepared foods with more than 5 ingredients listed on packaging.
Emphasize raw or minimal cooked fruits and veggies.
Drink LOTS of water.
It’s a start.
And remember muscle weighs more than fat. So it’s possible to replace 20 lbs of fAt with 10 lbs of muscle and be much healthier than if you somehow just got rid 20 lbs of fat.
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Paleo,
I happened to be talking to a dietitian about this last year as I was in charge of some wounded soldiers who were struggling to maintain lean bodies while they were recovering.
Her advice was that despite a lot of interest in different types of energy sources (like saturated and unsaturated fats, simple and complex carbohydrates, ratings on glycemic index) the only reliable indicator of what is going to happen to your body fat percentage is the relatively simple relationship of energy input vs energy output.
That’s not to say that there aren’t other health considerations attached to your choice of energy sources, but in terms of body fat, it doesn’t matter if you get your x000 calories from nuts and animal fat or from a bag of white sugar.
I remember two guys being particularly successful with weight loss, one who went to the same dietitian and she basically worked out his average daily output and told him how much to put in every day. The other chap did the same thing with a website that I think was called myfitnesspal. They had some kind of calculator and he did the same thing. Lost 17kg in 6 months … about 37 pounds? And the only exercise he could do was a daily walk no longer than an hour.
In terms of paleo diet, I’ve tried it and I can best describe it’s effects as “misery”. I think it’s probably very well suited to business men whose physical activity is limited to 3 times a week in the gym and whose goal is a lean body with minimal effort. It is a simple way to reduce your energy intake, because you’ve pretty much cut out about 2/3 of your normal dietary energy sources.
Happiness in my life is always about balance. Balance for me includes white bread lathered in butter, chocolate and jellybeans 😉
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The truth of the matter is that it is not so much “What you Eat” But how much you eat and how your body absorbs, stores and metabolizes what you put into it. People are making millions of dollars on all the marketing that has gone into “Dieting”. It is a crazy world that we live in. Do some research on food for yourself instead of what the “Marketing World” is trying to sell you. PM me if you would like to discuss this in more detail. Obesity is a learned behavior and not natural to the human body. To gain weight a human has to intake more energy than they use. I believe that the society we have developed has lead us to be more sedentary then the human body was designed for. Sitting for long periods of time is unnatural for the human body and is the main cause of weight gain. If you sit 8 hours a day at a job your body will develop a slower metabolism. If you are active most of the day your bodies metabolism will be higher.The more active you are the more food you can eat. It really is that simple.
Ready for the big surprise – Food is Food to the body. The human body is an amazing machine and will filter out what it can use and what it must get rid of. You would be amazed to see what your body actually considers a good food and what is junk and it’s not what the “Marketing World” declares.
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Down 40lbs and counting. Do a lot of walking/hiking, All of which have given me a big boost in energy! When you live in North Idaho, you owe it yourself and the game you hunt, to be in your best shape.
No diet, just eat real whole foods, not man made food. Has made a big difference in how I look at food now. Food is medicine, or poison depending on what is in it.
I can eat what ever I want, but I just choose not to.
Good luck all, and that goes for your hunting this year also.
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jczieske wrote: Down 40lbs and counting. Do a lot of walking/hiking, All of which have given me a big boost in energy! When you live in North Idaho, you owe it yourself and the game you hunt, to be in your best shape.
No diet, just eat real whole foods, not man made food. Has made a big difference in how I look at food now. Food is medicine, or poison depending on what is in it.
I can eat what ever I want, but I just choose not to.
Good luck all, and that goes for your hunting this year also.
Strong work, John!!
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