I agree. Diet is individual, what works for me probably won't work for you and vice versa. My diet has always been in the macronutrient swampland ( carbs or fat above 30% ) and I have never gotten the desired results. I now have a diet in the "magic zone " and I honestly feel a whole lot better with excellent energy. How are you going to adjust your diet to lose the extra weight and has that way changed as you have aged?
Last few times i went on strict keto diet and it worked like magic. Doesn't mean it's best for my health long term, but it gets the job done.
[QUOTE LacesOut, post: 4426459, member: 488311"]Can someone give a few meals (Breakfast lunch dinner) that would be good for weight loss based on this philosophy? I can eat grilled chicken and broccoli till the cows come home. Eggs n cucumbers. But man it gets so boring.[/QUOTE] Try drinking 16 ounces of water as soon as you wake up, followed by nothing at all to eat for the first hour. Water will ramp up your metabolism after the normal dehydration which occurs during sleep.
Eat plenty of legumes. Have garden salads regularly but skimp on the dressing. Eat some nuts and seeds. Eat some healthy carbs such as fruit and whole grains. Eat omega-3-rich seafood (on the lower end of the food chain to minimize mercury content). Whole eggs are back in style, but I'd keep it relatively modest. Eat slowly and until you are no longer hungry, not until you're full. Avoid sweets, cake and pastries. Wean yourself off sugar; that means sugar substitutes as well because you should try to get over the need for sweet stuff. Anyone who tells you that you can have all the sugar you want and that it's all in the timing is wrong. And, as the good Captain advised, drink some water before, with, and after your meals. And in between meals. It's good for you and will help keep you sated. Further, it has been reported that we sometimes mistake thirst for hunger. Try to avoid that mistake. Oh, and exercise.
Aye, aye Captain! A morning ritual is so important to get your day started right. I drink chicken broth with a little bit of sea salt, potassium and magnesium chloride to start my day. Here's a popular take on getting the metabolism rolling. http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/laird-hamiltons-morning-ritual-20130326
Let me take you through my day. I'll be as honest as I can be as there are some outlier events though I'm sure this can't be the only reason I can't seem to drop the weight. I start every day wiTh a big glass of water, as has been suggested above. Breakfast consists of either: 3 eggs with a slice of cheese Bowl of cereal (honey nut cheerios, raisin bran, or Organic Natures Best) with a half cup of 2% Wheat toast with a TB of Peanut Butter I always take with me on the road to work 2 cups of coffee with 4 TB of Light half and half with a teaspoon of natural honey Mid morning snack is a fruit. Apple or 2 small oranges. Sometimes a handful of nuts. Lunch is a wildcard. If I work out I tend to make a protein shake (banana, PB, Protein powder, water). If I don't...Pho, chicken shawarma, sushi. It's all on the table. 95% of the time it's relatively healthy and not greasy or too carby. I usually grab a coffee at McDonald's after lunch (medium with 2 cream). Afternoon snack is usually a handful of nuts. I drink lots of water through the day. Dinner at 7pm is whatever the wife makes. Half the week it's vegetarian. Quinoa, tofu, sweet potato skillet. 2 days of chicken and 1 day of red meat. One day is a wild card and can be usually take out or something not that healthy. Nighttime snacking is an inconsistent problem. I try hard not to do dessert but I would say about 4 nights per week I'm having a handful of grapes or cheese and crackers after dinner. 2 nights a week I have a bow of ice cream or something sweet. On average, I usually have about 2 bad dinners per week. 2 bad lunches. 1 bad breakfast (bacon and potatoes and buttery toast). It's not consistent. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. Exercise is inconsistent. Some weeks I hit the gym 2-3 times a week. Other times it's a total blank. Oh, and I smoke about 10 cigarettes per day. And lately I've been smoking a bit of weed every day, too. But only a small amount. I generally only drink when I travel which is about 90 days per year. Not every night but sometimes it's to excess (tonight was 7 beers and 2 whisky). I'm a creature of habit. But haven't been able to get into the habit of a rigid diet and exercise routine. Not making excuses but it seems obvious what I need to do. I've been 280 lbs now for over 15 years. Never more than 290 and never less than 270. I've reached this equilibrium and whenever I get to 270 I seem to blow it and don't keep pushing. I have a lot of information. I know what I should and shouldn't do. I do a lot of both. I'm just wondering if I just lack the motivation and personal responsibility to drop the weight and quit smoking etc. Not much anyone can do to help me on this. So there's Laces Routine. Let me have it.
Here's your problem in a nutshell. You can't undo a bad eating day with a good eating day. You're stuck with the shit you ate and drank. Consistency is the key to success. Commit to 3-4 days of some type of exercise, even if it's just a mile or two walk. Stop eating in the evening. Cut out all the crap food for 6 months. Limit you're alcohol intake significantly, and quit smoking, otherwise you'll just be a thinner corpse in the end. Need motivation? Here is the absolute best motivator. A mirror. Stand in front of it naked, and I mean butt naked. Take a long look, a real long look. Get a few angle shots, turn around a couple times. Let the horror be your friend.
Thanks for keeping it real. Using chronometer, I made some assumptions : 50 years old, 6 feet tall and 280 lbs which would give you BMI of 38. Your basal metabolic rate would allow you to eat 2342 calories to maintain your weight. I input what an average day of eating would add up to without including any exercise.
The obvious is that your eating more calories than you should [ingesting 2908kcal with a basal metabolic rate of 2342] so that's the first place to start tweaking. Your macronutrient profile is : Protein - 21% Fat - 48% Carbs - 24% Alcohol - 7% This puts your diet in the macronutrient swampland which I think increases the likelihood that excess energy calories will be stored as fat especially in a metabolically challenged person. Try changing your macronutrient profile to either: 10% or less of calories from fat or 10% or less of calories from carbohydrates, whichever is easier for you. Once you get comfortable with your macro profile, you can then start improving your micronutrients.