Feeling Better and Getting Healthy

[firebane]

So a bit about me.. I'm 34.. I'm fit but I've been cursed for as long as I know with a gut that just won't go away. I know they say a lot of that has to with diet and I am trying to change that as well as going to the gym and doing more stuff outside now that I know I have asthma and carry a puffer.

I am currently going to the gym 3 days a week and perhaps will be going more if time permits. Of those 3 days 2 are upper body and 1 is lower as my lower body has always been stronger than my upper.

I'm mainly looking for advice on how to change my diet as I feel exercise wise I am doing well as I walk 40-50 minutes a day just to get to the train and home and walk more during the day as per my job and even more as I play Ingress.

This is what you generally see in my lunch bag on a day to day basis and looking for things that I could perhaps substitute for a healthier options. A few things to take into consideration is that I can't stand yogurt and don't like things like dressings and condiments like Mayo or Miracle Whip.

Daily list of what food I usually eat...

Breakfast is generally revolves around 1 cup of cereal (cheerios/shreddies/corn flakes) with 1/2 cup 1% milk and usually a banana.

Lunch is my hardest thing EVER to come up as I usually have NO appetite at all and will usually consist of a sandwich and fruit/veggies

Dinner is usually a hodge podge of random thing but at the minimum rice with fish, chicken or pork.

For snacks it usually revolves around things like Harvest Crunch Granola Bars, Protein Bars, Clif Bars, Trail Mix etc.

I drink anywhere from 1-2 liters a day.

I'm even open to suggestions on healthy things to eat that you guys like to eat that I'd be willing to try.

Sorry about the long winded post but just looking for some advice/thoughts etc.

I should also point out that I find that if I don't go to the gym and do some cardio I feel a lot more bloated if that makes sense and the only way I find to overcome this is to simply do cardio.

[Tej.S]

One thing you're going to have to understand is that you cannot spot reduce fat and if you want to cut down on your gut, you're going to have to be on a caloric deficit for the duration of your diet. Do me a favor and tell me your height and weight. I'll take the initiative and calculate your macros that are required.

[firebane]

Originally posted by Tej.S
One thing you're going to have to understand is that you cannot spot reduce fat and if you want to cut down on your gut, you're going to have to be on a caloric deficit for the duration of your diet. Do me a favor and tell me your height and weight. I'll take the initiative and calculate your macros that are required.

180lbs and 5'10 inches. I think one of my issues is that I grew up in such a way that I never ate properly and would eat maybe once or twice a day which I know doesn't help.

[ExtraSlow]

How is your hunger level during the morning?

I used to have a big problem getting hungry around 9:00. I'd usually fix that with some easy carbs, dougnut, bagel etc. It never kept me full until lunchtime, so I'd snack again around 10:30.

These days, I'm on a pretty strict breakfast of 1/3 cup oats mixture (see below) with 1/4 cup yogurt. It keeps me full for hours due to how slow it digests, and as long as I buy good yogurt, it tastes pretty good.

Oats mix: 1/5 flax seeds, 2/5 steel cut oats, 2/5 old fashioned flake oats.

I added the Flax on the advice of my Dr. to help out my cholesterol levels. They don't really add much taste.

[zipdoa]

prepare meals in advance
include lots of cruciferous vegetables
lean sources of protein (chicken breast should be a staple)
steel cut oats and eggs in the morning
wholemeal carbs
40% carbs/40% protein/20% fat ratio in your diet
don't neglect micro nutrients

once you start eating 6 - 8 small meals a day, you will ramp up your metabolism and will feel hungry quite often. start eating breakfast within 20minutes of waking up and eventually you won't function without it.

[403ep3]

True story. Ever since I started eating more meals per day I have always been hungry every couple of hours.

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by firebane


180lbs and 5'10 inches. I think one of my issues is that I grew up in such a way that I never ate properly and would eat maybe once or twice a day which I know doesn't help.

Okay so there's a few ways you can go about doing this. Obviously to lose your "gut", you're going to have to lose some weight(shouldn't be too hard in your case). However, before you start, you will need to do/learn a few things if you'd like optimal results.


1. Track your macro-nutrients - this means to record your daily intake of protein, carbs, fats, and even fiber and sugar.
2. You will have to be dedicated - this heavily determines your results. If you're motivated to get rid of your gut, this shouldn't be a problem
3. Track your daily caloric intake - this goes hand in hand with tracking your macros. You will need to be on a caloric deficit each day(there are exceptions to this).


Now, I went ahead and calculated your macros and daily caloric intake needed to cut down. In each day, you can eat 2350 calories. If you were to eat that many calories(or less) each and every day, you would be able to lose one pound per week. I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but it's best to take things slow. People want shortcuts and lose weight fast & easy options, but I will tell you that they are a waste of time and possibly even money. Don't waste money on crap such as fat burners and magic diets, they ultimately don't work. As Zipdoa mentioned, beginners can start with a 40/40/20 ratio because it's simple to follow. Based on that ratio, you would be eating 230 grams of protein, 230 grams of carbs, and 51 grams of fat each day. These numbers are rounded(including calories).

With that being said, at the end of the day, these are just numbers on paper. You will have to go through a trial and error process and find what is best for you. I always hated trying to keep my protein and carbs in balance, so I differ the two. Personally, I love carbs so in my diet, I don't like eating less carbs than protein(I have a fast metabolism btw). My split would probably look like 30P/45C/25F. Now the type of diet you wish to do is completely up to you. People might tell you to do a keto diet, atkins diet, low fat diet, blah blah blah. Find what works for you.

The only thing that people digress about dieting is that it sucks, a lot. They've read or have been told that they should eat very clean and steer clear of junk food. As humans, most of us hate not being able to eat the stuff we love. Some people will have "cheat days" to keep themselves sane(this is when you have one day in the week where you eat whatever you want). This is one way to go about it. I do what's called "flexible dieting" or IIFYM(if it fits your macros), although I don't like calling it that because broscientists proceed to come at you full force :nut:

Basically this means that you can eat whatever you want AS LONG as you are hitting your macros. Of course, I still have chicken as a staple food, but my diet doesn't stop me from eating sugary delights either. If you like the idea of this, I would still recommend that you eat fairly clean, ie. eat your chicken, beef, vegetables, fruits(although don't overload on fruits), but if you feel like eating a damn cinnamon bun(if that's what you're in to), then eat it. The only thing I would mention if following this type of diet is that if you're going to eat your sugary/fatty foods, have them in the first half of the day because it's tougher to fit them in late during the day or at night(since you should have hit the majority of your macros by then). I can tell you that from personal experience, this diet has worked the best for me(and a few of my friends) since it allows me to keep my sanity by eating my fav snacks/foods when I feel the need to, but I'm also making solid progress at the same time(losing weight, cutting BF%). This diet also keeps my cravings under control so I don't eat junk a whole lot anyway. Also, Zip offered great advice as well. Meal prep sucks, but it saves A LOT of time afterwards. Eating more often yields it's rewards as well. You don't have to eat a lot of food in one sitting, I've found it easier to have smaller proportions more often. Unless I'm starving, I only eat meals until I'm about 80 or 90% full, it's a lot easier on my digestive tract too.

Remember though, like any other diet, this isn't a magical one. It will work only through hard work and determination. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask :D Sorry for the lengthy post.

[firebane]

"As Zipdoa mentioned, beginners can start with a 40/40/20 ratio because it's simple to follow. Based on that ratio, you would be eating 230 grams of protein, 230 grams of carbs, and 51 grams of fat each day. These numbers are rounded(including calories). "

Holy man I have a hard time try to ingest any protein at all! Its difficult to add certain foods into your diet because of being such a fussy eater.

Guess I'll have to figure out ways to add things to eat that will help this.

[Tej.S]

Haha, you could make it easier and just try to take in 1g of protein per lb of body weight(180g in your case), which would make it a little easier. You could keep the ratio of fats the same and just up your carbs. Just play around with the numbers and see what works best :P

[403ep3]

How is it so hard to eat your proteins for the day? There are SO many types of foods that have a decent amount of protein. Try Greek yogurt with berries, granola, and hemp seeds; that's probably like 20-25g of protein right there depending on the serving size.

[ColoDano]

One of the biggest things that helped me feel better, and drop good weight, was switching from white rice, bread, pasta, potatoes etc. to whole grain bread, wheat based basmati rice, whole wheat pasta etc.

The basis of most of my changes was the G.I. diet, and it has worked well.

I didn't go into it looking at a "diet" though, it has just been a chagne in overall eating habits, to maintain for life. Due to this I still "cheat" when I feel like it, and don't get stressed about it, as I know I am still following a better eating regimen 80-90% of the time or more.

One thing you didn't mention is cardio, are you doing any, or just weights? If you get a good sweat going with weights, and then do 20 minutes of cardio once your body has already ramped up metabolism, it will definitely help.

[firebane]

Originally posted by 403ep3
How is it so hard to eat your proteins for the day? There are SO many types of foods that have a decent amount of protein. Try Greek yogurt with berries, granola, and hemp seeds; that's probably like 20-25g of protein right there depending on the serving size.

Unfortunately I'm very fussy and don't like yogurt which really sucks because I know that it is good for you and can make it even healthier by adding things to it.


Originally posted by ColoDano
One of the biggest things that helped me feel better, and drop good weight, was switching from white rice, bread, pasta, potatoes etc. to whole grain bread, wheat based basmati rice, whole wheat pasta etc.

The basis of most of my changes was the G.I. diet, and it has worked well.

I didn't go into it looking at a "diet" though, it has just been a chagne in overall eating habits, to maintain for life. Due to this I still "cheat" when I feel like it, and don't get stressed about it, as I know I am still following a better eating regimen 80-90% of the time or more.

One thing you didn't mention is cardio, are you doing any, or just weights? If you get a good sweat going with weights, and then do 20 minutes of cardio once your body has already ramped up metabolism, it will definitely help.

I do cardio but perhaps not as much as I need to and this was something I was thinking about today. I think I am going to start doing more cardio vs weight training and see how that works for me.

[Tej.S]

Oh god, please no. Anaerobic exercise is FAR better than cardio when it comes to weight loss. Weight training > Cardio. Cardio is only a TOOL you can utilize to help aid with extra weight loss.

[EK69]

What are some foods high in protein?
Perhaps that will help the op get his protein intake up
(other than meat of course lol and the few that were mentioned already like Greek yogurt)

[403ep3]

chicken
eggs
quinoa
fish
hemp seeds
nuts
cheese

[firebane]

Originally posted by 403ep3
chicken
eggs
quinoa
fish
hemp seeds
nuts
cheese

I've been eating a lot of nuts lately.. well actually trail mix type stuff. I've been trying different variations of canned salmon to find one that I like as I generally don't like this type of food.

We've discovered quinoa but trying to find good ways of making it so it has flavor and such.

I thought cheese was bad for you? Or is it specific type to eat?

[Tej.S]

Who on earth told you that cheese was bad for you?

[firebane]

Originally posted by Tej.S
Who on earth told you that cheese was bad for you?

Is there a particular type I should eat? I actually love eating cheese and used to eat far to much of it until I just "heard" nobody actually told me that it was bad and quit eating a lot of it.

I usually eat swiss, marble, cheddar or go with something else like monterey.

[Tej.S]

Haha it doesn't really matter. Just check the nutritional facts before eating it when tracking your macros :D