My "non diet" diet plan (per my "Motivation" thread)

[ntrprnr 0]

Was talking in my motivation thread how I'm doing another Ironman one year from now, and how I want to do it 40 pounds lighter.

So I started exactly four weeks ago tomorrow on a new diet. Essentially, I've been doing four things differently from how I used to eat:

1) I gave up dairy. No cheese, no milk, no dairy, at all.
2) I gave up breads. No bread. No wheat.
3) I gave up processed foods. No pasta, no Taco Bell, no 7/11 Super Big Bites.
4) I gave up alcohol.

At this point, you're all calling me devil child, especially for #4.

My problem though, is my personality. It's addictive. I know this. I know that I don't have a "moderate" speed. It's either all or nothing - If I don't go all in, I will easily slink back to my ways. Your mileage may vary, so this post isn't about "do it all or nothing like me!" Because who the fuck would?

So here's what happened in one month:

Weight-wise, I've gone from 238 to 222. I don't expect to continue this trajectory for the next year, I know half of that has to be water weight. But I do know that it's simple math - I'm putting less calories than I'm taking out, so the weight will continue to come off. I truly believe I can lose 40 pounds in the next year before the race.

But the bigger thing is how I feel. I'm up with tons of energy, I'm nowhere near as tired as I once was, and my stomach, which I've had a horrible relationship with for the past 25 years, has stopped being horrible. In other words (TMI alert,) I poop like a normal person for the first time since I was ten.

HERE'S WHY I'M POSTING THIS.

So I'm sticking to this lifestyle change for now, because I really like it and what it's doing for me. I'm not calling it a diet. 80% of my food is vegetables, 20% is protein from lean meats, chicken breast, etc.

My question: Anyone else eat like this? I guess it's pretty much paleo, right? So if that's what it is, anyone else eat like me?

I ran my last Ironman in 2010 at 225 pounds. I finished in 15:45:41. I want to run my next one, the one a year from now, at 185, and hopefully finish around a 12:30. I'm 6 feet tall and very broad. 185 might be too lean, but we'll see as I get closer. As I continue on this eating/working out path, I'm liking what I see.

Any help, thoughts, etc., very encouraged. Keep in mind, I'm the guy who could order a large pizza with double everything, and then sit down and eat said large pizza with double everything. I haven't had a pizza in 30 days, or a soda. Amazing how water is really quenching. I just want to know I can keep it up.

So... Talk to me. Good, bad, or other. And thanks. :)

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[Remster 24]

Quitter.

Remster

[normiss 622]

I was going to suggest he start dining with Turtlespeed.

[ntrprnr 0]

You suck. :)

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[quade 3]

ntrprnr

1) I gave up dairy. No cheese, no milk, no dairy, at all.
2) I gave up breads. No bread. No wheat.
3) I gave up processed foods. No pasta, no Taco Bell, no 7/11 Super Big Bites.
4) I gave up alcohol.

I admire your goals. I don't think I could do it even though I could and probably should lose 40 pounds myself.

I've tried a number of things over the years with various levels of success. I am tempted to believe once you've reached a certain age you're simply fighting with almost everything you've got just to maintain stasis; that virtually anything beyond perfection simply adds to the slow decline. And in my case an additional fault is the job I have has me sitting at a desk.

However, with your limited diet I do wonder if you'll actually be getting 100% of the nutrients you need. When you start limiting and without a careful plan, it's very easy to miss out on things you really do need. You won't notice it at first, but it can eventually create a deficit in something important.

Good luck.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[normiss 622]

This is precisely why beer is a staple in my diet.
I will not miss out on things I really need!



The place in life/age/job things you mention are sooo true.

[msf 0]

Just past a year since my eating changes... I started at about 220 lbs, delivery food most nights, and no real exercise.

I've switched to meal replacement protein shakes for 13 meals per week (every breakfast, and 6 out of 7 lunches). I usually have fruit in the afternoons, and eat 4 steamed veggies & lean protein, usually fish, 5 nights per week. I lunch per week (Sunday) I go for Chinese because I like it. 2 nights per week, I get wings and pasta delivered (for me, and I have parrots - one of them LOVES pasta, so he needs his weekly fix as well). On the fish/veggie nights, I usually do splurge with some little dessert.

I also added cardio work - 5 days per week, about 4 hours worth in the week.

Over the year, I'm down to the low 170's, nearly 50 lbs down. The mountain that used to take me 5 hours to ascend (4.5 miles, 4500 feet in elevation gain) now takes me 3 hours and 15 minutes.

It's worth it, definitely feel better, and I feel a LOT better about how I look and the clothes I buy. I was always an XL shirt guy (since my early teens, decades ago) and have bought size M for the first time ever.

It's a life change, so don't cut out everything bad - figure out how to work in the things you like and need to still feel good (I eat more carrot cake now that I ever have in my life, but everything else is in better balance so I'm still losing weight).

Enjoy the changes!

[oh yeah - I cut out soft drinks too - that was huge. Water, black coffee and unsweetened tea are it now - cutting out diet coke was a least 5 or 10 lbs I'm sure]

[NWFlyer 2]

ntrprnr

So I'm sticking to this lifestyle change for now, because I really like it and what it's doing for me. I'm not calling it a diet. 80% of my food is vegetables, 20% is protein from lean meats, chicken breast, etc.

My question: Anyone else eat like this? I guess it's pretty much paleo, right? So if that's what it is, anyone else eat like me?

Call it whatever (and I personally think there's way too much emphasis on "naming" how you eat), but it isn't Paleo because Paleo wouldn't/doesn't have the focus on "lean meats." Getting plenty of fat from good sources (e.g., grass fed/pastured animals, avocados, coconut oil, etc.) is an important part of the nutritional profile.

Edited to add that I think getting rid of processed foods and gluten (and most or all dairy) can do wonders for most peoples' health... whether or not they lose weight on it. I've tried really hard (and I don't always succeed) to refocus my thinking about food so that it's not about how food affects my weight, but about how food affects my overall health. If I look healthier, feel healthier, am healthier eating a certain way, then it's a lot easier to continue to eat that way. And the cleaner I keep my diet, the more the crap affects me ... immediately ... so it's just not worth it.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Remster 24]

ntrprnr

You suck. :)

I enjoy food too much to make the kind of changes and choice you made Peter. Good on you if you feel it's good for you!

Remster

[amstalder 0]

ntrprnr

Was talking in my motivation thread how I'm doing another Ironman one year from now, and how I want to do it 40 pounds lighter.

So I started exactly four weeks ago tomorrow on a new diet. Essentially, I've been doing four things differently from how I used to eat:

1) I gave up dairy. No cheese, no milk, no dairy, at all.
2) I gave up breads. No bread. No wheat.
3) I gave up processed foods. No pasta, no Taco Bell, no 7/11 Super Big Bites.
4) I gave up alcohol.

I gave up those and then some (dairy, wheat, soy, beef, oatmeal, peanuts, and almonds) when I realized they were causing issues in my breastfed baby. I saw similar changes in my digestion and with my headaches (ie, I didn't have any and when I ate wheat, I got a fierce one). I also discovered that dairy is the cause of my childhood eczema (dairy was the last food I reintroduced and it came back with a vengeance). When we moved back in May and then waited another 6 weeks for our things to arrive from overseas, I found being dairy and wheat-free to be next to impossible.

Anyways, it's worth it, I did it for six months, and want to get back to it. I certainly don't eat dairy or grains nearly as much as I used to, but I find it hard to say "no" when we go out to eat or have dinner at a friend's house. It's a lot harder to drop those foods a second time.

Good luck!

[mattjw916 2]

You can still get in shape without "giving up" so much though. The thing is with diet plans like that, and whatever the latest fad diet is, e.g. Atkins, gluten free, etc, the vast majority of the time people implode and rocket back up to their old weight because their meal plan basically tastes like a bowl of cardboard soaked in the tears from a towel sitting on the floor at Curves.

Be selective about what you put into yourself, i.e. exclude HFCS, bottled water, corn-fed anything, antibiotic laden meats, most anything from Wal-Mart, ridonculously high-calorie Starbucks options and mixed drinks, etc. But don't be so inflexible or picky that you can't enjoy a night-out and order something sensible from the menu (without making the waiter roll their eyes when you hit maximum autism over what's in each dish).

If calories out > calories in, you lose weight. You don't get bonus points for damaging your kidneys, getting scurvy, or eating like a peasant during the potato famine.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[ntrprnr 0]

That's my point, I think, Matt... That's why I'm not calling it a "diet." For now, I can't have pizza because I don't have the ability to moderate it. In time, perhaps. But the food I AM eating tastes AWESOME. And that rocks. :)

mattjw916

You can still get in shape without "giving up" so much though. The thing is with diet plans like that, and whatever the latest fad diet is, e.g. Atkins, gluten free, etc, the vast majority of the time people implode and rocket back up to their old weight because their meal plan basically tastes like a bowl of cardboard soaked in the tears from a towel sitting on the floor at Curves.

Be selective about what you put into yourself, i.e. exclude HFCS, bottled water, corn-fed anything, antibiotic laden meats, most anything from Wal-Mart, ridonculously high-calorie Starbucks options and mixed drinks, etc. But don't be so inflexible or picky that you can't enjoy a night-out and order something sensible from the menu (without making the waiter roll their eyes when you hit maximum autism over what's in each dish).

If calories out > calories in, you lose weight. You don't get bonus points for damaging your kidneys, getting scurvy, or eating like a peasant during the potato famine.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

mattjw916

You can still get in shape without "giving up" so much though. The thing is with diet plans like that, and whatever the latest fad diet is, e.g. Atkins, gluten free, etc, the vast majority of the time people implode and rocket back up to their old weight because their meal plan basically tastes like a bowl of cardboard soaked in the tears from a towel sitting on the floor at Curves.

Be selective about what you put into yourself, i.e. exclude HFCS, bottled water, corn-fed anything, antibiotic laden meats, most anything from Wal-Mart, ridonculously high-calorie Starbucks options and mixed drinks, etc. But don't be so inflexible or picky that you can't enjoy a night-out and order something sensible from the menu (without making the waiter roll their eyes when you hit maximum autism over what's in each dish).

I'm going to assume bottled water is only on that list because you're paying more for it per gallon than gasoline and if you get it out of the tap (Which really you're just paying your local grocery store to do for you) you'll be able to do several more skydives a month?

Cutting out soft drinks a decade ago pretty much leveled me off all on its own. Last year when I finally had some incentive to get in shape (Discovering my fall rate was 170 mph on a 300 sqft rig as, apparently, the most terrifying AFF student EVER) I stopped snacking altogether, cut out most fast food and started to do a bit of exercise in the morning. I've settled in about 30 pounds lighter than my first weigh-in over at the DZ. I've about leveled off now and could stand to lose a little more but I just did start packing my own gear so we'll see if that increases my burn rate a bit heh heh.

Doesn't hurt that I finally realized I'm lactose intolerant a couple years ago. Too much cheese and I'll be on the john all night feeling like someone stabbed me in the gut. So many times over the years this happened and I had no idea why. Thought I had cancer or something a few times. So I am pretty much entirely avoiding dairy now, too.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[grue 1]

Heyo Peter,

Late last year I was tipping the scales at about 265lbs (I'm 6'3, for reference). I saw a pic of myself at the dropzone back in college and went "Jesus I really let myself go" and snapped. Now I'm a little over 214 as of this morning, and I want to drop another 10-20lbs (I have a mental image of how I should look but I can't give an honest estimate as to how much the fat I would need to lose to fit that image would weigh).

I did two things. First off, I joined a gym because I knew that if I had to pay some assholes money every month on a contract I was gonna get my money's worth. In 2013 there have been precisely two weekdays where I did not do a (minimum) 30 minute cardio session: last Thursday and Friday, when I was at home sick with influenza b. I usually go on most Saturdays as well.

However, for me the biggest part of my success was tracking what the hell I was eating. Weighing my portions, learning exactly what I was taking in, so on so forth. I use mynetdiary but there are other solutions. I was underestimating how big my portions were by a long shot, and I was also overestimating how many calories I should take in.

Once I knew how many calories I should be eating to maintain my weight based on my actual activity level, I adjusted my intake accordingly. I've taken a few breaks as rewards, but generally take in about 1,000 calories less than I need to maintain weight, and that averages 2lbs/week lost.

That said, I've had some slips, where I'll take a vacation or something and eat like a fat kid because I'm away from home.

I too have an addictive personality, and I've found one of the best things I can do for myself is to force portion control on myself. If I'm going to order pizza with my girlfriend for a special treat, I don't get a large for myself and a large for her anymore and tell myself "We'll have leftovers for days", which actually means "I'll eat my pizza and half of hers". We order a large to share, or we'll get a medium with a dessert. Most chains publish their calorie information, and if the place you like doesn't, look at similar offerings from places that do to get a rough idea, and then add 15% just to be safe.

A "normal" day for me is like so:

Wake up, go to the gym. At least 30 minutes of cardio keeping my heart rate around 135. If I've got time, I'll do some lifting after as well.

Get to work, make my breakfast shake:

1 cup of light milk
1 medium banana
about 35g of light peanut butter
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard chocolate whey protein
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard chocolate casein protein
Double handful of ice

Blenddddddddd. 700 calories, tastes like a dessert, and keeps me full for hours.



Lunch: Typically something around 450 calories - a couple of homemade spicy chicken tacos on corn tortillas, or a roast beef sandwich.

Afternoon snack when I get home: 3/4lb of steamed broccoli with hot sauce on it. About 50 calories.

Dinner: Generous serving of grilled chicken breast or two (or beef tenderloin), more broccoli and maybe some green beans. About 700 calories.

Dessert: berries and fruit if I'm being good. A candy bar if I'm not.


I only drink water, I gave up soft drinks completely (the ONLY thing I gave up, though I've never had alcohol so take that into consideration) unless I'm having a day where I feel I honestly need caffeine, which is perhaps once a month. Then I'll have a Coke Zero, which might give me cancer but at least it's low calories.


I've dropped a crapload of weight, and my overall fitness level has increased tremendously. When I was in college I was a two-sport athlete and I'm thinking that I'm almost as fit now as I was then, and by the end of October I should be done with the fat loss I'm hoping.

cavete terrae.

[ntrprnr 0]

Grue - Thank you! Great info here.

Totally get it about food. When I was training for my last IM, I figured "Oh, I can eat whatever, since I'm training for an Ironman."

Doesn't work that way. I've since learned that. :)

I'm sitting here munching on a Zucchini with some Hummus. It's not a pizza, but it's actually pretty good. :)

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[grue 1]

ntrprnr

Grue - Thank you! Great info here.

Totally get it about food. When I was training for my last IM, I figured "Oh, I can eat whatever, since I'm training for an Ironman."

Doesn't work that way. I've since learned that. :)

I'm sitting here munching on a Zucchini with some Hummus. It's not a pizza, but it's actually pretty good. :)

On a somewhat related note, I noticed that "my" peanut butter was on sale for 50% off at the grocery store yesterday, so I bought, uh, all of it. Eighteen pounds of light peanut butter.

cavete terrae.

[Arvoitus 1]

grue

On a somewhat related note, I noticed that "my" peanut butter was on sale for 50% off at the grocery store yesterday, so I bought, uh, all of it. Eighteen pounds of light peanut butter.

Doesn't the store bought peanut butter usually have like a lot of sugar in it? Usually I just make my own so I get exactly what I want (roast/salt levels).

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[grue 1]

Arvoitus

***
On a somewhat related note, I noticed that "my" peanut butter was on sale for 50% off at the grocery store yesterday, so I bought, uh, all of it. Eighteen pounds of light peanut butter.

Doesn't the store bought peanut butter usually have like a lot of sugar in it? Usually I just make my own so I get exactly what I want (roast/salt levels).

It's probably higher than it could be, but the overall calories are in the range I'm ok with.

cavete terrae.

[grue 1]

Update: Grabbed some to check.

Looks like the amount I put into my shake, which is about two "servings" comes out to:

220cal
7g protein
15g fat
13.4g carbs, of which 3.6 are sugars.

Seems about right!

The whole shake comes out to:

700 calories
19g of fat
67g protein
67g carbs (mostly from the banana)

(those numbers are slightly rounded, before someone does the math and calls me out on it.)

cavete terrae.

[ntrprnr 0]

ADDED BONUS:

Making your own peanut butter allows you to play with the colors and the consistency. For instance...

I made cashew butter that looks surprisingly like baby poop. I have a three-month old. I went and changed her, threw the dirty diaper away, put a clean one on her, took another clean one, spread some cashew butter on it, and called my wife in.

"Honey, this doesn't look or smell right. It's rather light brown... I think something might be..." (scoops finger in, puts wad of "baby poop" in mouth) yeah, this is off...

(Wife screams, runs out of the room, gagging.)

Best baby joke so far.

I do kind of feel bad for my wife that she's married to me, though...

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[grue 1]

ntrprnr

ADDED BONUS:

Making your own peanut butter allows you to play with the colors and the consistency. For instance...

I made cashew butter that looks surprisingly like baby poop. I have a three-month old. I went and changed her, threw the dirty diaper away, put a clean one on her, took another clean one, spread some cashew butter on it, and called my wife in.

"Honey, this doesn't look or smell right. It's rather light brown... I think something might be..." (scoops finger in, puts wad of "baby poop" in mouth) yeah, this is off...

(Wife screams, runs out of the room, gagging.)

Best baby joke so far.

I do kind of feel bad for my wife that she's married to me, though...

That… is… stellar!

cavete terrae.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

grue

***ADDED BONUS:

Making your own peanut butter allows you to play with the colors and the consistency. For instance...

I made cashew butter that looks surprisingly like baby poop. I have a three-month old. I went and changed her, threw the dirty diaper away, put a clean one on her, took another clean one, spread some cashew butter on it, and called my wife in.

"Honey, this doesn't look or smell right. It's rather light brown... I think something might be..." (scoops finger in, puts wad of "baby poop" in mouth) yeah, this is off...

(Wife screams, runs out of the room, gagging.)

Best baby joke so far.

I do kind of feel bad for my wife that she's married to me, though...

That… is… stellar!

That's horrible.
Truly awful.

Cruel, mean, disgusting.

And totally awesome!!!!

Seriously, you really have to change your mindset about food, not just what you eat.

And you have to make it enjoyable.

Which you seem to be doing. Congrats.

And the baby poop prank in truly inspired.
I now see how you made it to where you are.

Your mind just ain't right.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[ryoder 1,381]

ntrprnr

ADDED BONUS:

Making your own peanut butter allows you to play with the colors and the consistency. For instance...

I made cashew butter that looks surprisingly like baby poop. I have a three-month old. I went and changed her, threw the dirty diaper away, put a clean one on her, took another clean one, spread some cashew butter on it, and called my wife in.

"Honey, this doesn't look or smell right. It's rather light brown... I think something might be..." (scoops finger in, puts wad of "baby poop" in mouth) yeah, this is off...

(Wife screams, runs out of the room, gagging.)

Best baby joke so far.

I do kind of feel bad for my wife that she's married to me, though...

You went to all the trouble of setting that up and forgot to get it on video???

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[jumpwally 0]

You seem to be on the right track but a few dangers lurk...get the book "Eat to Live " by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

After the reading the first 20 pages you won't be able to put it down, its that good. Tons of fact based discussions with all the reaserch dataq back up. Good luck.............

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[adamUK 3]

This is the best thing I've read or heard all day. I'm wiping the tears from my eyes.