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OT: My fellow board foodies.......

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Nittany_9

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2002
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The time has come that my doctor, my bathroom scale and my pants are begging me to get into better shape. I travel a lot and enjoy good food on the road (generous attitude towards expense account) and enjoy cooking as a stress reliever on the weekends.

I enjoy more than my share of spirits :)

Question: Diet cookbooks tend to be very vegetarian focused, versus portion control and using healthier ingredients, do any of you have any recommendations for a good book that allows me to still eat some real food but get on a program to get some healthier habits?
 
Nittany_9 said:
The time has come that my doctor, my bathroom scale and my pants are begging me to get into better shape. I travel a lot and enjoy good food on the road (generous attitude towards expense account) and enjoy cooking as a stress reliever on the weekends.

I enjoy more than my share of spirits :)

Question: Diet cookbooks tend to be very vegetarian focused, versus portion control and using healthier ingredients, do any of you have any recommendations for a good book that allows me to still eat some real food but get on a program to get some healthier habits?
Click to expand...

A good friend of mine is a nutritionist and I had her put together a plan for me. Eliminated all processed foods in my diet and I also went organic/non gmo for good measure. Basically eliminated all dairy products as well. Lost 35 pounds in 1 month. Eat like a horse, but was eating right things at the right time. Also much healthier portions. I still eat chicken/beef/fish (grill a lot of it) along with grilled veggies and healthy snacks (almonds, other nuts etc). I am back to my high school weight when I was running cross country. I also run almost everyday and surf fairly regularly as well. But the processed food/nutrition was key. Brought my cholesterol way down naturally. Yes I still enjoy good bourbon as well as beer now and then. (Man must have his priorities). I maintain and have easily kept the weight off for over 5 years now. Marketers have brainwashed our country into believing you need to eat like you are at outback steakhouse every meal with gigantic proportions. Your body needs much less food than you think to function properly. Just a thought rather than trying diet cookbooks. Good Luck with everything!
 
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The most important and effective thing you can do is exercise. Something as simple as a good walk daily will do wonders. Then, an easy win is to focus on your drinks. If you drink sodas, that's a lot of calories you can cut out. Trying to make major changes all at once works for some people, but more often than not bad habits start slipping back after a little time. Get some wins under your belt, and don't forget to reward yourself on a regular schedule. It helps ward off the cravings and makes it less likely that you will slip when you do have a craving.
 
Nittany_9 said:
The time has come that my doctor, my bathroom scale and my pants are begging me to get into better shape. I travel a lot and enjoy good food on the road (generous attitude towards expense account) and enjoy cooking as a stress reliever on the weekends.

I enjoy more than my share of spirits :)

Question: Diet cookbooks tend to be very vegetarian focused, versus portion control and using healthier ingredients, do any of you have any recommendations for a good book that allows me to still eat some real food but get on a program to get some healthier habits?
Click to expand...
Alton Brown had some really good recipes that helped him drop 50. All are available on line.

Also, google Ellie Kreiger. She has a bunch of healthy recipes, too. She has this salmon and swiss card thing that will snap you back whenever you think you are coming down with something.

I'm with you on all of what you wrote. If you like to cook, you can do a great bolognese sauce with ground turkey and a ton of vegetables run through the food processor. Just throw in a few cayenne flakes and the San Marzano tomatoes and it will be tough to tell that it is good for you.

On the beverage front, what you drink can make a big difference. Sticking to wine and vodka helps. White wine tends to be more low cal. Stay away from mixers. Personally, I'm a blue sapphire martini guy before dinner, but that can't be helped...

And go get some kettle bells.
 
...and also realize....you are not 19 anymore....so it's OK to be a little out of shape (a little)....

Everyone's body handles weight a little differently, both in terms of aesthetics and health.
 
I've lost a shit ton of weight in the past year through diet and exercise. Essentially, I gave myself gastric bypass. I didn't follow a diet plan, didn't do low carb or low anything.

There's a ton of stuff out there to try. A change in mindset is what's really needed--you've got to be ready to put getting healthy as the #1 thing in your life, right up there with family, work, and/or friends. In doing so, you'll give yourself the ability to be a better husband, father, coworker, friend, etc.

As the process starts, don't think of the end goal. Take everything one moment, one choice at a time without worrying about the next. Remember that just because you have one bad moment or day doesn't mean there needs to be two. With this said, it's equally important to keep in mind that a calorically healthy choice isn't necessarily a holistically healthy one: In other words, don't miss the family picnic or a carnival because you're afraid that you'll binge.

The key is finding whatever works for you. There's a TON of tools and information out there. Being self-aware and realizing when whatever you're doing isn't working is what will lead to success--it's that adaptability which will see you through the tough times. You've always got to be trying, moving forward, and adapting. After a while, you'll cease seeing it as a "diet" and a new healthy life will emerge.

Kudos to you for realizing it's time. Best wishes on your future success.
 
For me, I tried to get sugar/carbs out of things. Specifically, I cut out pop, preztels and chips and cut way back on "dessert" items. No 3-4 spoonfulls of sugar in my coffee either (Splenda is, um, acceptable tastewise). I was at 225. At about 196 now.

And I get a workout 203 times a week as well. But it was cutting out the pop that made the biggest difference. Nuts can be a good snack, as they are heavier in protein.
 
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A PSU prof wrote a nutrition book a few years ago called Volumetrics which emphasizes eating high volume, low energy (calorie) foods. I believe there was a follow up book with an eating plan and recipe published later.

The example I always remember is that x number of grapes and x number of raisins contain the same number of calories, but eating the grapes will make you feel more satisfied because they have a greater volume and higher water content.
 
I wonder if maybe part of the problem is that some people lives revolve too much around food. Maybe it would to just shut food off every once in awhile, like it's good to shut the TV off once in a while instead of continuing to try to find something to watch. But while you don't have to watch TV, you do have to eat. So the next best thing to shutting off food would be to eat something fast, easy, cheap and healthy.

Try some Soylent now and then. Some people make fun of it but it makes sense to me to just get nutrition in you when you're not way into eating and then focusing on eating a meal when you really want to.

Sometimes less is more. 1-2 meals per day that you're really into may be better than 3-4 meals per day that you're eating just because nature dictates that you need the energy.
 
Nittany_9 said:
The time has come that my doctor, my bathroom scale and my pants are begging me to get into better shape. I travel a lot and enjoy good food on the road (generous attitude towards expense account) and enjoy cooking as a stress reliever on the weekends.

I enjoy more than my share of spirits :)

Question: Diet cookbooks tend to be very vegetarian focused, versus portion control and using healthier ingredients, do any of you have any recommendations for a good book that allows me to still eat some real food but get on a program to get some healthier habits?
Click to expand...
There are no books better than others in my mind. If you want to lose weight, improve numbers and get your energy back stick to vegetables. I make weekly a cabbage soup and eat lots of raw veggies along with it. I eat this meal 4 days a week and stay low fat and low meat protein during the day as well.

Good luck, it is a severe change of behavior but can be rewarding.
 
Here's my #1 tip whenever I'm drifting the wrong direction: train yourself to love the feeling of being hungry, and recognize that it's exactly where you need to be.
 
Simple. Low carb diet...30 grams or less per day for 60 days. You'll loose a pound per day. After 60 days go to 45 to 60 grams per day and stay at that point You'll need to know the number of carbs (minus the fiber) in everything you eat so get a book and study. Now the tuff part will be keeping it off while allowing yourself to have some pizza on Friday or some mashed potatoes on Sunday. The solution to this problem is to go back to 30 grams or less per day for 5 days for each day that you indulged. This allows you to indulge on weekends but starting Sunday night you go back to low carb.

Low carb makes you very cranky on day 2 or 3 after starting so plan accordingly. If you indulge on the weekend that will mean Tuesday or Wednesday you'll be cranky. If something important is happening on those days either don't indulge over the weekend or stay off the diet until Tuesday night.
 
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