I am finally moving forward - Sledgehammer70's progress

[Sledgehammer70]

After failing the 30lb challenge and actually gaining 10lbs I have decided to make a move for myself. I need to loose <s>some</s> a ton of weight and I need to loose it yesterday.

Its funny this new section appeared just after I decided to go forward with this, maybe it is a sign.

So current stats:

Height: 6'5 3/4"
Weight: 297lbs

My goal is to get down to a slim 220-235 range and get more physical by walking or even running a few miles a day.

Progress: The things I have already started to do...

- Cut soda out of my diet - I threw / gave away all the soda in my home
- Eat healthier - dropped by Albertsons and pickup a weeks worth of sandwich stuff to avoid fast food at lunch
- Go on a daily walk/ jog of 2 miles or more - Started this on Saturday
- No more vending machines!!!!!

What I am asking of you...

Yell at me :) and make sure I am sticking to my diet. Feel free to call me (PM for #) or do whatever to help me get these pounds off. I have come to the point where I don't want to be the dad who can't run with his son or can't do activities later in life because I let my health go south.

[Bad_Karma]

The only advice I can give you right now is to be careful when going out to a restaurant or over to a friends house. The temptation sometimes is very strong to stray. If that happens just remember what you said to yourself Sledge

"I don't want to be the dad who can't run with his son or can't do activities later in life because I let my health go south"

Then imagine actually doing those things and fight the urge dude!

[Sledgehammer70]

i'm nopt to worried about dropping soda as I have done it before.. but it is those little snack times that kill me.

I haven't been able to find any good food charts to help give me a daily idea what I can eat that is healthy... In most cases the things I would want are bad for me :(

[Nomad]

i'm nopt to worried about dropping soda as I have done it before.. but it is those little snack times that kill me.

I haven't been able to find any good food charts to help give me a daily idea what I can eat that is healthy... In most cases the things I would want are bad for me :(

Eating healthy doesn't always have to taste bad. In fact, some fast food is even healthy. It really comes down to the amount you're eating, more than what you're eating (although I still highly recommend cutting out sugared food and drink). Here's a list of acceptable fast food items:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=2920231

Find an exercise you enjoy and stick to it.

[Bad_Karma]

Tasty snacks you say.

Ants on a log come to mind (celery with peanut butter and raisins added on top).
I know its the old adage but tasty fruits(plums, mango, melons) are good as well. Just take it slow. It took me 4 months of forcing myself to eat more fruits and vegetables to eventually make then part of my daily eating.

I have also learned of an old eating technique that I have been playing around with to some success (I don't always do this due to time constraints).
I can't remember what the technique is called. Essentially what you do is that at every meal what you will do is that every mouthful is chewed until it is almost a liquid (puree) in your mouth. Doing this actually satisfies your tastes buds to their delight and even tires them out. Now it's a pain in the ass because it takes about thirty chews to get the food there but I have actually found that I will eat less while doing this technique and I find that I am not as hungry as often as I usually am. If I can find a link to the technique I will post it here. Oh, and yes it is a pain in the ass but I find my snack cravings have gone down. If you suffer from lock jaw I wouldn't try this. I used to be a snack junkie (snickers was the best/worst). Just remember to listen to your own body. Eat when you are hungry and not when you are bored. Damn I think I'm starting to sound like a used tire.

[primesuspect]

Isn't that part of macrobiotics (I think that's what they call it)?

[Leonardo]

Don't make too many changes all at once. That just intensifies the psychological stress and increases the odds for failure of the complete regime. The individual choices you picked are sensible and doable.

get more physical by walking or even running a few miles a day Running accomplishes nothing over walking, just completes sooner. Walking is far healthier for the joints and skeleton. (I ran for close to 30 years. After my last physical fitness test in the Army June 2004, I haven't run anymore except to catch my dog. Haven't missed it at all! I do walk and go hiking.)

Suggestions: increase fruit and vegetable intake. The better your nutrition and the more fresh, wholesome food you eat, the less junk and fatty stuff you will desire. In Southern California where you are, there are few places on earth that can compare with variety, freshness, and quality. California is just amazing for quality produce.

Drink lots of water. It helps the body regulate so many functions, including appetite. You don't need the silly prissy, useless, expensive bottled stuff (if you are in Florida, GET the bottled water!).

[fatcat]

TBH TBH TBH TBH TBH

best of luck buddy...no :beer: for you!

[GHoosdum]

Great goal, Sledge, and the diet cuts are already progress. I think you'll also find you will end up saving money by eating out less and drinking no sodas.

Nomad, that fast food health list is very useful, thanks!

Bad_Karma, I think I remember the adage as "Drink your food and eat your drink" - which essentially means to liquify solid foods by chewing (also starts predigestion of the food through the enzymes in your mouth) and to "chew" on any drink that goes in your mouth, again in order to get the benefit of the digestive enzymes in your mouth.

[RWB]

I found it easy to cut the soda's, I buy those tea packets that you add to water(caffeine free). Crystal Light is my favorite, the White Tea Blueberry is simply amazing, but annoys most people because it has a strong fruity smell that fills a room quickly haha.

Had a caffeine headache though for like 2 weeks, but it's gone and when I do have a soda(twice a month or so) it's Sprite. Caffeine free ;)

Cutting the soda alone I think is what allowed me to loose 30lbs so easily this past 6-8 months or so. I haven't lost any more weight though in a month and I just can't seem to get out and exercise. I am doing one thing at a time though, after cutting soda I cut all the unnecessary saturated fats from my system...

Anyways, good luck... hope we all achieve our goals.

[Sledgehammer70]

Well last night was tough but I pulled through, I cleared out the fridge of all unwanted items and old leftovers and have started a fresh from there. I also went grocery shopping and didn't pick up one junk food item or anything that was bad for me and noticed my shopping bill was $70 cheaper :)

I am now trying to get some sort of order going to keep me alive and not dying daily for a snack. So I made my lunch with my new items from the store:

Yogurt
Apple Sauce
Banana
Turkey Sandwich - Turkey, Provolone, Wheat Bread, Lettuce, Light Mayo
2 Bottles of Water

Not to sure what else I should pack for lunches but any suggestions would be nice. I avoided chips for the plain fact no chips are good for you :)

Last night I felt very tired and started to get a headache probably because I haven't touched a soda in 36 hours. Going from 2-3 cans a day to nothing is taking its caffeine and sugar toll on me. But hey its for the better...

[GHoosdum]

Those are great items to include in your lunch, sledge. You'll also find that a moderate amount of nuts will make a great snack. Also a single serving of Whole Grain Goldfish makes a nice side item for me.

other good options:
Cottage cheese
PowerBar (not cheap :( )
Oatmeal (oats in the can) made with raisins and perhaps a pinch of brown sugar
tuna
egg salad made with light mayo and only one yolk

[Nomad]

Try cooking some noodles and putting them in Tupperware.

[Sledgehammer70]

Yeah I have some Gold Fish at home can make a small snack pack with them :) As for nuts how much should be considered a small snack? I am guessing I should stick with non salted plain nuts?

Along with that how many snacks should I be having a day. I was thinking something like this

6:00am - Breakfast
9:00am - Snack
11:00am - Lunch
2:00pm - Snack
5:00pm - Snack (when I get home from work)
6:30 -8:00pm (varies) - Dinner
10:00pm - 11:00pm - bed time :)

[Sledgehammer70]

Try cooking some noodles and putting them in Tupperware.

What kind of noodles? Like top ramen?

[cambrose]

Heavens NO. I don't think personally you should be consuming any pasta unless it is of the whole-grain variety, but I come from that school of thought. Something that helps me a lot is make sure you get a heartier breakfast (I tend to do an eggbeater omelete, which consist of a servings of eggbeaters cooked with salsa and a slice of vegetarian cheese or I make a protein shake and blend half a banana in) This takes a bit of time but you don't end up starving 2 hrs later (I ate mini wheats for breaksfast this morning and I'm starving now). Just make sure you have healthy stuff around. Two of my favority "munchy" snacks are "smartpop" popcorn and carrot sticks (a whole bag of them only have 200 calories generally). Also eating a piece of fruit a day helps reduce cravings for sugars as well (and natural sugars are better than that processed crap).

[Nomad]

What kind of noodles? Like top ramen?

I'm talking real pasta, preferably whole wheat.

[Sledgehammer70]

That my other huge goal... Veggies! I hate them :( but must learn to like them. Veggies are good for you and I know this. My father was a Produce Manager/DM for 42 years :)

I had some steamed veggies the other day but haven't been able to break myself off the non good for you veggies like corn :)

[Sledgehammer70]

I'm talking real pasta, preferably whole wheat. not sure I could just eat plain pasta. I like pasta but not as a daily snack...

[Sledgehammer70]

Well my 2nd day of a packed lunch has made me feel better. I feel a bit more awake (even without soda) and feel very full off a normally small lunch.

My stomach hasn't been to happy the last 3 days not to sure why.. not sure if I ate something bad or if this new diet is making my body start dumping things that need to go? but I will keep it up and contiune to eat better things for me.

Late Snack: Green Apple + Glass of water
Dinner tonight - Spaghetti with a glass of milk & small scoop of ice cream for desert :)

[Nomad]

Sometimes when you change what you eat quickly your body needs to adjust.

[Bad_Karma]

Sometimes when you change what you eat quickly your body needs to adjust.

Reminds me of when I eat McDonalds and feel sick for 2 days.

I like your lunch alternatives Sledge. The only thing I would change though is that white bread. There are some really tasty whole-grain/multi-grain breads out there. Some are way too dry for my liking. I would go talk to the baker and see what they think is a good whole wheat bread. You are off to a great start! Keep it up. (eeheheheh saw the tea party thread):bigggrin: another good addition is a good anti-oxidant tea like green tea or that red tea from Africa that I can never remember what it is called.

The two things that doctors have told me to always watch is my salt and sugar intake. The two evils that the food industry makes billions off of. Looks like you are making good decisions. Keep at it.

[Sledgehammer70]

It was on Wheat bread :)

[Bad_Karma]

d'oh my bad I read too fast for my own good sometimes. Then again maybe I see what I want to see you never know.

[Sledgehammer70]

No porblem :) any suggestions are always taken into consideration... :)

[Kaki]

boomchika boomchika!

[Thelemech]

hey man if you don't mind me asking.. but you black? i don't see too many non-athlete 6'6....


:confused2:clap:

[Sledgehammer70]

boomchika boomchika!

Originally Posted by Kaki
hey man if you don't mind me asking.. but you black? i don't see too many non-athlete 6'6....

:confused2:clap:


I am whiter than a loaf of white bread.

[Kaki]

I am whiter than a loaf of white bread.

alright man my advice on losing a tremendous amount of weight is eat meat only once a day maybe twice on sundays

[GnomeWizardd]

Lemme tell you something Sledge, At our hight ( me at 6'5'' ) It is not easy to loose weight but keep at it, I am starting my own walk / jog thing to get me in shape ( not loose weight ) So ill yell and scream at you if you do the same to me

[Clutch]

Keep at it Sledge, I thought I could never gain any weight, but I adjusted my diet completely and have stuck with it for over a month and I'm up around 13lbs. I wish you the best of luck man, it is so awesome knowing you are doing something positive to better yourself. I use a site www.thedailyplate.com to log everything I eat, every day. It gives me a better idea of how many calories I take in and how much I can take in.

[RADA]

Hi Sledge, great goal man, hopefully I can help.


Eating times -

Great job - 5 to 6 small meals (250-500 cal) is the way to go. For your height/build, you don't want to go below 1200-1500 Calories/Day. If you do, your body will enter "starvation mode" and hold onto every calorie it can... If you can, try to move dinner back a hour or so.. This will give your body time to process dinner before you go to bed. I don't eat after 7:00 pm if I can help it, sometimes this is undoable tho.

What to eat

Lunch Meat - Better than fast food, but be careful, the cheapo, pressed Ball-O-Turkey is full of fillers, (bad)fats, and who knows what else. With your family being the grocery business, as your Mom or Dad knows who makes the best deli meats. The good stuff has a higher per lb price, but still ceaper than fast food. I like Boars Head..

If you like to cook / grill - Costco has family-size bags of boneless, skinless chicken breast on the cheap. I usually grill up 6-8 at a time, with just some salt & pepper for seasoning. Then I can use them as I like. One day I may chop one or two up in a salad, another day I add a tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce or Italian Dressing to a tupperware container with the chicken in it. This works great if you prepare it the night before for lunch - The chicken really has time to absorb the flavors. Grill some chicken, let it cool, chop/shred it up, add some light mayo, touch of garlic (minced- in jar), some salt & pepper (or red pepper flake- if you like heat), and some chopped celery for an extra crunch, for a great sandwhich filling, or a big scoop on a salad!

Fish is really good for you, tuna, salmon, etc.. you can't go wrong.. If you make tuna salad use light/fat free mayo..

Eggs - Grab an 18 pack of eggs and boil the whole thing, very handy snack! Just eat one yoke for every 2-3 eggs you have. This will help reduce your fat and cholesterol intake. I make egg salad with 4 egg whites, and 1 yoke for flavor, little onion(dried flakes) little spicy brown mustard, light mayo, dash of salt and a healthy amount of pepper works for me..

Do what you can to add flavor - I'm a spice hound, this help to remove the "boringness"/sameness/blandness of eating healthy. Don't be afraid to experiment!!

I'll post more later when I can.. lunch break is over..

[RADA]

Keep at it Sledge, I thought I could never gain any weight, but I adjusted my diet completely and have stuck with it for over a month and I'm up around 13lbs. I wish you the best of luck man, it is so awesome knowing you are doing something positive to better yourself. I use a site www.thedailyplate.com to log everything I eat, every day. It gives me a better idea of how many calories I take in and how much I can take in.

13 lbs!! Hope this is typo! Or we need to get Clutch into the Guiness book!:bigggrin:

[Sledgehammer70]

I had the same lunch and snacks today... was just to easy to make :) tomorrow I will mix it up and have different fruit and make it a roast beef sandwich :)

dinner tonight.. unknown...

Rada

I eat that Costco chicken all the time. I usually bake it frozen for 25 minutes and than throw it on the grill for 10 minutes. It is so juicy that way... I use garlic for seasoning :)

Never thought of eggs as a snack... how many can i eat at one time? 2 or 3? Eggs are easy to cook and shell and are probably healthier than some of the snacks I am looking at.

Would crab or shrimp be good if I cooked them in Garlic? is garlic bad? Or is it a good thing? Being Italian it’s hard to not crave it :)

[Kaki]

you see, the reason you ain't losing any weight is because all you're concerned about is food(which is really a minimal part of losing weight), so i suggest you get your ass up and start swimming, jump roping or do some form of exercise

by the way, sitting down in front of the computer posting in icrontic isn't gonna help one bit

hold up... you weigh as much as that skinny nba baller yao ming, so you don't have much to worry about :)

[Qeldroma]

So current stats:

Height: 6'5 3/4"
Weight: 297lbs



You may have another problem.

I think in a couple of more weeks, Al Davis may come across these stats ....

[RADA]

Never thought of eggs as a snack... how many can i eat at one time? 2 or 3? Eggs are easy to cook and shell and are probably healthier than some of the snacks I am looking at.

Would crab or shrimp be good if I cooked them in Garlic? is garlic bad? Or is it a good thing? Being Italian it’s hard to not crave it :)


1st off, Garlic is incredibly good for you. Use it as you wish!!! (RADA = I-Talian too! fugedaboutit!!!

As for eggs - don't see any real reason to limit yourself other than if you used all the yokes..

The white of a large egg, or about 1-1/4 ounces, has 16 calories, 3 g of protein, 2 mg of calcium, 4 mg of phosphorus, 55 mg of sodium, 45 mg of potassium, the weensiest little bit of riboflavin, and no fat, cholesterol, or carbohydrates. At 16 calories each, you can demolish a lot for a snack, and they are filling....

*RADA goes Forest Gump.... got scrambled egg whites, poached, hard boiled, egg salad....... lol

[primesuspect]

lol.. welcome to icrontic, Kaki :D I can tell by your sense of humor that you'll fit in here just fine ;)

Sledge, garlic is awesome for you. Fresh garlic, as much as possible. I roast whole cloves and spread them on bread. oh joy.

[Clutch]

13 lbs!! Hope this is typo! Or we need to get Clutch into the Guiness book!:bigggrin:

No typo my friend. I started on August 1st at 119lbs, I just got off the scales at 134 about 15 minutes ago, which is 15lbs but I would say maybe 2lbs water weight. I got my progress pictures in my thread in the Fitness forums. I eat like it is a full time job for me now, lol.

[Clutch]

Never thought of eggs as a snack... how many can i eat at one time? 2 or 3? Eggs are easy to cook and shell and are probably healthier than some of the snacks I am looking at.



You could boil some eggs and just eat the whites, or even buy egg whites now from the store. I don't waste anything on my eggs and scramble them up. I love me some eggs, there isn't a day that goes by I don't gobble down some.

[Nomad]

Yeah, even with a couple pounds of water that's not unheard of for someone to gain 10-15 pounds in a month if their diet is on when their beginning.

[Kaki]

lol.. welcome to icrontic, Kaki :D I can tell by your sense of humor that you'll fit in here just fine ;)

Sledge, garlic is awesome for you. Fresh garlic, as much as possible. I roast whole cloves and spread them on bread. oh joy.

thank you

but keebler ignores me for some reason

sledgehammer.. i got a great link for you: http://arthritis.about.com/od/preventionandriskfactors/ht/bodymassindex.htm

it talks about health issues amigo, one thing we haven't talked about

[Leonardo]

I am doing one thing at a time though, after cutting soda I cut all the unnecessary saturated fats from my system...Smart, too many people try to be Mr. He-Man and do all at once. Their life is turned upside down and they don't know which way is up. Nothing wrong with one step at a time. That's a sure, steady way to get to the destination.

Sledge, you noted that there was not one unhealthy thing in the shopping cart. Take it easy, man. Make sure that you reward yourself now and then. Make it to hardcore, and you'll give up.

[RWB]

One thing I am finding is dieting is not something you can just pick up. It's an education. Until about I think 8 months ago I was an on and off dieter. I'd go a couple months of eating super healthy then stop. One time I ate nothing but fruits(fruitarian diet), one time I was vegan, etc... usually what stopped me was that I needed to keep my budget in check all of a sudden and all I could afford was ramen noodles for the next couple months.

8 months ago or so, or about a month before that 30lbs challenge we had, I decided I needed to eat healthier. My 2 main goals at the time were 1)heart/digestive health(I have stomach issues and my whole family have heart issues) and 2)weight loss. I was on a path that was likely to have a heart attack by 35 if I had to guess or some kind of cancer along my digestive tract.

It wasn't looking good, and with one grandma dieing of a heart attack in front of me(was brought back thank God), and my other that died because of just utter health degeneration, and other things that went down I decided that was it.

OK I've trailed off, my main point is it's a knowledge... I'm still learning and I learn from trial and error. But every day I do some research into healthy topics, learn something new every time and just continue on. Like yesterday I did some looking into Vitamin A which I felt my current diet had too much of which had me worried that might actually be more harmful than good. But most of my Vitamin A came from Beta Carotene which is water soluble unlike retinol so the body can handle a lot more because it will take what it needs and the rest just flows out. At least from what I've gathered so far.

I do this for each vitamin and mineral I am keeping track of, today I am gonna research into how I can get more magnesium in my diet while not over doing it in some other way. Tweaking the diet here, tweaking some more there... etc.

The main thing I really need to do though is work out more... I just don't feel like I always have the time though because most of my free time is at night and my neighborhood gym is not a place I wanna be at night, even at my build. And I simply cannot afford a membership.

[Sledgehammer70]

Sledge, you noted that there was not one unhealthy thing in the shopping cart. Take it easy, man. Make sure that you reward yourself now and then. Make it to hardcore, and you'll give up.

That's the point.. the house was only full of junk.. so their is still plenty of ice cream, candy etc... but even than I am trying to limit myself to one bad thing a day.

Soda isn't even a thought in my mind anymore, I haven't had a craving for the sugar or caffeine :) I am willing to be my supplement of more fruits has been the reason for that :)

Dinner last night was a 1/2 rack of pork ribs with light BBQ sauce. I baked it in the oven and man was it good. I added some fresh potatoes and some green beans and had a semi good dinner. (I hate Greens).

Today I followed the same sort of lunch with yogurt and a banana. I have a glass of water and Apple juice with me for 2:00 break along with some applesauce :)

I would like to think I am doing better, my body seems to be dumping tons of stuff out, at least more than I eat from the looks of it... and I feel much better health wise, more awake and more energy :)

I was 297lbs when I started this and I told myself I would weigh in once a week instead of daily... I have been pretty good about my 3 mile walks daily which seem to go by faster already.

[RADA]

RWB makes some good points. Going from 0 to 120mph will burn you out quickly. This has to become a change in lifestyle, not a diet..

Educating yourself about what to eat helps.. I will still be hard, no matter what you do. If I actually did everythng I know about getting in shape I wouldn't need to worry about getting in shape! Argh!


Adding a good quality multi-vitamin to your daly routine will help too.

[Leonardo]

This has to become a change in lifestyle, not a diet..Exactly. That's why diets, on their own, never, never work unless the person stays on them for life. They are gimmicks. ANY diet works for a while, because it forces the person to focus on what they are doing - discipline. Boom - off the diet - boom, back comes weight. Lifestyle is permanent.

But of course, healthy, less-rich foods will make up part of that lifestyle.

[Sledgehammer70]

Well with the little things I have done I have dropped down 5lbs already! Woot. I still haven't touched a soda and have been eating smaller portions of food along with eating slower. I have nixed out a ton of sugar sweets from my diet, and to be honest I am glad I did.

60 more pounds to go :)

[RADA]

Well with the little things I have done I have dropped down 5lbs already! Woot. I still haven't touched a soda and have been eating smaller portions of food along with eating slower. I have nixed out a ton of sugar sweets from my diet, and to be honest I am glad I did.

60 more pounds to go :)

Great Job!! :cheers: (BTW: these are mugs of apple juice - not beer!) LOL!

[Bad_Karma]

Great Job!! :cheers: (BTW: these are mugs of apple juice - not beer!) LOL!

I second that. Keep at it Sledge.

[mmonnin]

w00t! Start with the little things.

[Enverex]

Actually cutting Soda out of your diet is probably a bad idea. What you need to do is cut out high sugar soda from your diet (which are between say 40-80 calories per 100ml). You can still drink diet or other certain sodas such as Pepsi Max which is 0.4 Calories per 100ml, that translates to a whole 2 litre bottle only being 8 calories. Caffeine is useful as it speeds up your metabolism which in turn means you burn calories faster and it gives you a burst of energy if you need it for exorcising or staying alert (although not that useful if you need to be accurate). The downside of caffeine is that it can make you crave carbohydrates, but you may not even notice that.

Avoid red meats, they are high in fat, white meats on the other hand are very, very low which means you can eat more of them and still be considerably better off fat wise.

There's two initial boosts from starting to diet though. First is that it will seem like you have lost some weight quickly at the start, which really you haven't you simply have less food in your body (it does actually weigh quite a bit) so don't let that discourage you when your weight loss slows a little. Second thing, tied to the first is that you'll feel lighter and generally better due to the smaller amount of food still in your body, which is a nice benefit you get almost immediately.

My last bit of advice was going to be be to slide into the diet, don't suddenly drop everything and try and go fully into it off the bat (as with a gradual change you don't feel like you're forcing yourself to do it) but it seems you're doing fine anyway, so that's moot.

I did hardcore dieting for half a year or so so I've gained my experience from that, but I've put quite a bit back on eating rubbish while I was off work for 3 months and occasionally in hospital (chain illnesses) but I'm back on my diet too now.

[Sledgehammer70]

The only thing I dropped was soda for the most part... which all I drank as high sugar. 2nd off I would never touch diet anything or even a Pepsi product.

As for my diet, I am eating better which doesn't mean I am eating totally different. As of now the Doc has said I have lost 3lbs of pure body fat along with dropping 3 pant sizes already (making all my clothes baggy on me) I have dropped a total of 16lbs which hasn't been all food waste.

Red meat is something I will always eat... I love it and I can't change that, white meat is good and I have supplemented it for some red meats, but I am going to draw the line somewhere.

I am still soda free and am happy to not drink it. Along with not craving sugars or getting that end of day headache for the last 2 weeks I have been sleeping better and feel much more refreshed drinking natural liquids, such as water, apple juice, grape juice, cranberry juice etc… these items are a bit more expensive for the 100% natural stuff but it has been worth it. I have turned away from drinking glasses of milk before bed which I think has also helped.

I also have been eating on a more regulated time frame. Getting a healthy breakfast along with filling in small snacks during breaks and of course having a full lunch and dinner I think have also helped. I have cheated with junk food more than I want to admit but I have been doing better and the vending machines at work are not getting my change 

[RADA]

You're doing it the right way, small consistant changes will help you introduce and renforce healthy eating habits.

Like we've said before, those who do a 180 in their eating habits have the greatest risk of slipping back into unhealthy eating.

Keep going man, and GREAT JOB!

[Nomad]

Actually cutting Soda out of your diet is probably a bad idea. What you need to do is cut out high sugar soda from your diet (which are between say 40-80 calories per 100ml). You can still drink diet or other certain sodas such as Pepsi Max which is 0.4 Calories per 100ml, that translates to a whole 2 litre bottle only being 8 calories. Caffeine is useful as it speeds up your metabolism which in turn means you burn calories faster and it gives you a burst of energy if you need it for exorcising or staying alert (although not that useful if you need to be accurate). The downside of caffeine is that it can make you crave carbohydrates, but you may not even notice that.

Avoid red meats, they are high in fat, white meats on the other hand are very, very low which means you can eat more of them and still be considerably better off fat wise.

There's two initial boosts from starting to diet though. First is that it will seem like you have lost some weight quickly at the start, which really you haven't you simply have less food in your body (it does actually weigh quite a bit) so don't let that discourage you when your weight loss slows a little. Second thing, tied to the first is that you'll feel lighter and generally better due to the smaller amount of food still in your body, which is a nice benefit you get almost immediately.

My last bit of advice was going to be be to slide into the diet, don't suddenly drop everything and try and go fully into it off the bat (as with a gradual change you don't feel like you're forcing yourself to do it) but it seems you're doing fine anyway, so that's moot.

I did hardcore dieting for half a year or so so I've gained my experience from that, but I've put quite a bit back on eating rubbish while I was off work for 3 months and occasionally in hospital (chain illnesses) but I'm back on my diet too now.

I would say if you're looking to benefit from caffeine that you do it through other sources than soda, such as black coffee or green tea, things that have there positive effects to them.

The whole 'don't eat red meat, it's high in fat' is a lot of rubbish. Excess in calories cause weight gain, not fat. A good example of this is a very successful fat lowering diet called 'keto' in which basically only protein and fats are ingested. Sticking to leaner cuts is a better idea because it drops the amount of calories you're getting.

[Enverex]

I would say if you're looking to benefit from caffeine that you do it through other sources than soda, such as black coffee or green tea, things that have there positive effects to them.

The whole 'don't eat red meat, it's high in fat' is a lot of rubbish. Excess in calories cause weight gain, not fat. A good example of this is a very successful fat lowering diet called 'keto' in which basically only protein and fats are ingested. Sticking to leaner cuts is a better idea because it drops the amount of calories you're getting.

Coffee and Tea didn't occur to me as I don't like either of them. Calories are the main issue but lowering fat intake considerably also helps.

Your "Keto" diet you mentioned sounds the same as Atkins where you basically cut out carbohydrates (but can eat as much fat and protein as you like). That works simply because your body thinks it isn't getting anything to turn into energy so it starts burning what's already in your body. It's a very dangerous diet though and isn't recommended by anyone (can cause blackouts and other serious side-effects).

I'm thinking I probably just shouldn't have said anything at all though.

[LawnMM]

Have you tried the diet lipton mixed berry green tea? I didn't like tea either but that stuff is tasty as hell dude. As for lowering bodyfat, carbohydrate cycling is awesome. Only side effects I ever experienced were occasional headaches from low body sugar. Thats what tylenol is for.

[Nomad]

Coffee and Tea didn't occur to me as I don't like either of them. Calories are the main issue but lowering fat intake considerably also helps.

Your "Keto" diet you mentioned sounds the same as Atkins where you basically cut out carbohydrates (but can eat as much fat and protein as you like). That works simply because your body thinks it isn't getting anything to turn into energy so it starts burning what's already in your body. It's a very dangerous diet though and isn't recommended by anyone (can cause blackouts and other serious side-effects).

I'm thinking I probably just shouldn't have said anything at all though.

No, it's fine. Health is really ambiguous and what works for some may not for others. In regards to the "Keto" diet, it's pretty different from Atkins actually. Atkins tries to offer itself as a long-term carbohydrate deprived diet, whereas the ketogenic diet is intended to be an 8-12 week diet at most.

While Atkins completely removes carbohydrates, ketogenic diets often will include a 'carb up' day, in which the dieter will consume carbohydrates again for one day before excluding them during the week in order to prevent stalling. Atkins is actually restrictive about what fat you should ingest (like trans-fats) where in ketogenic diets you'll see people eating sausage and entire pepperoni sticks.

A lot of the blackout stories arise from A) Myth and B) People who are hypoglycemic and attempt a carb free diet, causing them to crash very hard.

[Enverex]

No, it's fine. Health is really ambiguous and what works for some may not for others. In regards to the "Keto" diet, it's pretty different from Atkins actually. Atkins tries to offer itself as a long-term carbohydrate deprived diet, whereas the ketogenic diet is intended to be an 8-12 week diet at most.

While Atkins completely removes carbohydrates, ketogenic diets often will include a 'carb up' day, in which the dieter will consume carbohydrates again for one day before excluding them during the week in order to prevent stalling. Atkins is actually restrictive about what fat you should ingest (like trans-fats) where in ketogenic diets you'll see people eating sausage and entire pepperoni sticks.

A lot of the blackout stories arise from A) Myth and B) People who are hypoglycemic and attempt a carb free diet, causing them to crash very hard.

Fair enough, but the blackouts aren't a myth. It happened to me twice over the time I was on the diet and I'm not hypoglycemic...

[RADA]

Fair enough, but the blackouts aren't a myth. It happened to me twice over the time I was on the diet and I'm not hypoglycemic...

Might be some other factor causing the blackouts.

I've been as low as 15-20 grams of carbs in an entire day (back in my Air Force cop-superfit days), and never blacked out.

I was tired as a one-legged man in butt kicking contest at the end of the day, but never blacked out...

[Enverex]

Might be some other factor causing the blackouts.

I've been as low as 15-20 grams of carbs in an entire day (back in my Air Force cop-superfit days), and never blacked out.

I was tired as a one-legged man in butt kicking contest at the end of the day, but never blacked out...

Atkins for the first few weeks (which is what I was on) was a strict ZERO carb diet.

[Nomad]

Atkins for the first few weeks (which is what I was on) was a strict ZERO carb diet.

Typically blackouts with any diets are due to prior existing medical conditions.