[Help] What are your diets/diet guidelines for weight loss?

[SkullTraill]

Years of sedantry lifestyle has made me quite the chonker, I'm afraid to admit.

I don't eat a lot, but when I do it it's to make me feel better, so a lot of comfort food, and junk food. Even when I cook for myself I use a lot of oil and butter and shit. Tastes too good.

I used to run, but these days it's too hot, so I've started indoor rowing, which I supplement with some weight training. Nothing crazy, just enough to stay somewhat fit and capable.

But diet really is the key to weight loss, so I'd appreciate any diet tips, inspiration, meal prep plans etc.

 

[Mart]

I'm not on it myself, but I've heard Keto in combination with intermittent fasting is one of the most effective weight loss methods.

 

[imagedotjpeg]

I am also a heckin chonker, and I know what you mean by eating so you can feel better.
I've been on a diet that's been pretty chill. I still get to drink sweet teat, and eat some unhealthy food a couple of times a week. But I mainly focus on eating more greens. Try to eat more vegetables; my favorite way of eating vegetables is by boiling them.

That's all I've been really doing, just eating more vegetables and going to the gym for 45 minutes twice a week. I used to be over 205 pounds, now I'm a under 200 pounds. I hope this was somewhat helpful.

 

[SkullTraill]

Thanks for the posts guys!

In the past, I used to do this thing where I would fast for 3-4 weeks, eating nothing, and only drinking black coffee mixed with butter once a day (and a lot of water). I would lose 10-13kg (20-30lbs) this way. Undoubtedly this is pretty unhealthy and risky, and I can't do it right now cause I often got tired quite fast during the first few days of the 3 week fast. I can't afford this rn as I have a lot of work to do. After the first few days though, the ketosis kicks in and I become super alert and not lethargic at all.

Since I can't do that rn I think I'll look at a more healthy and maintainable keto based diet, perhaps with a decent amount of veggies too, to keep me full.

I think I really mainly need to cut out the fried snacks and soda drinks. Those are the worst.

 

[Grundy]

Thanks for the posts guys!

In the past, I used to do this thing where I would fast for 3-4 weeks, eating nothing, and only drinking black coffee mixed with butter once a day (and a lot of water). I would lose 10-13kg (20-30lbs) this way. Undoubtedly this is pretty unhealthy and risky, and I can't do it right now cause I often got tired quite fast during the first few days of the 3 week fast. I can't afford this rn as I have a lot of work to do. After the first few days though, the ketosis kicks in and I become super alert and not lethargic at all.

Since I can't do that rn I think I'll look at a more healthy and maintainable keto based diet, perhaps with a decent amount of veggies too, to keep me full.

I think I really mainly need to cut out the fried snacks and soda drinks. Those are the worst.

That sounds interesting. Not sure of i got the chops to do it tho haha.

 

[SkullTraill]

That sounds interesting. Not sure of i got the chops to do it tho haha.

What I used to do was to wait for a bank holiday weekend/long weekend or any other time where I'd have 3-4 days of no work where I can lie in bed and suffer for the first few days before the ketosis properly kicks in.

After those few initial days of suffering, it's almost no inconvenience to fast for the rest of the 3 weeks. Honestly, I'd feel great, energized and not at all tired and lethargic after the first 3-4 days. The only thing is you still get cravings and desire some good food from time to time. If you can manage that then fasting is great. Though you have to be careful to not overwork yourself or injure yourself physically. You need a lot of protein to heal muscles/wounds and that not provided while fasting. And over time this will impact your red blood cell count and stuff too, so I would not recommend doing it for more than 3-4 weeks with 6 months in between.

 

[Mart]

 

[Scottish_Pride]

So I know others have posted already, but I've had a TON of success with just counting calories to lose weight, when stress eating + being sedentary made me pretty damn pudgy for a long time. Within a few months, I went down at least a clothing size without a gigantic amount of effort, and I'm still not even the most active individual overall. Most my physical activity comes from chores, walking around at work and walking the dog.

I know a calorie count sounds like the most basic bitch of diets, but man I was blown away! It is impossible to guess how much is in everything you're eating, and without checking one can easily eat at least twice their daily calorie needs without even knowing.

The obvious benefit of this kinda diet is that you still get to eat what you want, just as long as you keep portions within a certain limit. And if you wanna binge, you can make up for it by eating less the rest of the day. Basically budget the calories like money, keep everything in some semblance of overall moderation. As a serious sugar/junk food addict, this has really saved my ass from just straight-up relapsing. Trying to cut out entire food groups is much harder than you think, your body can literally react as if you're quitting meth or something.

Though it's probably not the only one out there, I use an app called Fooducate to keep track of calories. This one gives you a personal calorie allotment for losing a certain amount of weight per week based on your height, current weight, gender and activity level. It also lets you look up what you're about to eat/have eaten and get the calorie count of it, add your own recipes so it counts the calories for you, and it'll even show you a breakdown of the macro/micronutrients you're getting. (Which includes carbs, protein and fats) You can also log any exercise/means of exertion you've done, literally just cleaning the house can be logged as a type of exercise which is great. That sets back the calorie meter a little.

 

[Mart]

It's too much hassle for most people to do calculations before every bite

 

[Scottish_Pride]

It's too much hassle for most people to do calculations before every bite

That's why you do it by the measuring cup when dishing out food to eat.

 

[SkullTraill]

That's why you do it by the measuring cup when dishing out food to eat.

Yeah but that still only works if you're making your own food. I'm actually OK with calorie counting food I make myself, but otherwise it's just too cumbersome.

 

[Scottish_Pride]

Yeah but that still only works if you're making your own food. I'm actually OK with calorie counting food I make myself, but otherwise it's just too cumbersome.

You gotta remember, most store-bought and restaurant food has a calorie count already there. Serving size calories, how many calories in a whole order of restaurant food, servings per container if that applies. Multiply the number of servings you’ve got, boom done. You can eyeball it a lot of the time. Just a rough guess of your portion is better that literally not doing it.

 

[SkullTraill]

You gotta remember, most store-bought and restaurant food has a calorie count already there. Serving size calories, how many calories in a whole order of restaurant food, servings per container if that applies. Multiply the number of servings you’ve got, boom done. You can eyeball it a lot of the time. Just a rough guess of your portion is better that literally not doing it.

True, true. I do eyeball things most of the time. Like I said in OP, I'm not really an excessive eater. Just gotta control my impulses I guess when I'm stressed or "rewarding myself" after achieving something. It'll be worth it in the end

 

[Scottish_Pride]

True, true. I do eyeball things most of the time. Like I said in OP, I'm not really an excessive eater. Just gotta control my impulses I guess when I'm stressed or "rewarding myself" after achieving something. It'll be worth it in the end

That's the spirit! Ya for me, the calorie counting has just been a good way for me to measure how I'm doing. But because I've gotten such good results so far, I keep doing it, and now it's just an effortless habit. I've also found that at this point, it's as if my stomach has shrinked some. I've cut down on portion size and the amount of snacks I eat, so now I get full much quicker than I do before, and it's like I can't overeat to a degree.

Another tip that might help, is also to drink more water. If you're not physically hungry but are having a craving for food of some sort, sometimes you're just thirsty. That's another thing I've learned.

 

[SkullTraill]

That's the spirit! Ya for me, the calorie counting has just been a good way for me to measure how I'm doing. But because I've gotten such good results so far, I keep doing it, and now it's just an effortless habit. I've also found that at this point, it's as if my stomach has shrinked some. I've cut down on portion size and the amount of snacks I eat, so now I get full much quicker than I do before, and it's like I can't overeat to a degree.

Another tip that might help, is also to drink more water. If you're not physically hungry but are having a craving for food of some sort, sometimes you're just thirsty. That's another thing I've learned.

Yeah, when I was in my final year of uni, due to a variety of reasons but mainly being a broke student, I would only eat one meal per day, and have small snacks once or twice the rest of the day. After that, my stomach really did shrink! It became REALLY hard to consume a lot in one sitting!

I think that's not really an issue for me. Ever since uni I've never ever had big portions.

The water thing too, I already do it.

The main issue for me isn't any of that it's the little things I eat, and enjoy when I am bored, feeling stressed, or watching something. Chips and cola for example. I don't eat a LOT of them, but definitely any amount of it has a negative impact.

The point of this thread was to sort of find healthier alternatives. I know the keto diet has a lot of alternatives for snack foods that are healthier and have a lot less carbs, which is the main reason I'm kinda leaning towards it. But I really wish there was a substitute for chips and cola

 

[Scottish_Pride]

But I really wish there was a substitute for chips and cola

I know they make veggie chips out there, like where it's literally using flour from dehydrated vegetables, made into a pringle-like chip. I've had em before, they're actually not half bad. The illusion of a potato chip holds solid. They have veggie sticks with the same concept, except made more like a cheese puff. Peatos are a brand I really like in particular, but they're expensive, so my cheap ass doesn't get em much.

As far as soda goes, they've got fruit flavored sparkling water that REALLY tastes like soda if you find the right brand. ICE is a good one, for example.

 

[SkullTraill]

I know they make veggie chips out there, like where it's literally using flour from dehydrated vegetables, made into a pringle-like chip. I've had em before, they're actually not half bad. The illusion of a potato chip holds solid. They have veggie sticks with the same concept, except made more like a cheese puff. Peatos are a brand I really like in particular, but they're expensive, so my cheap ass doesn't get em much.

As far as soda goes, they've got fruit flavored sparkling water that REALLY tastes like soda if you find the right brand. ICE is a good one, for example.

Haha yeah sometimes I get these like veggie stick things made out of black beans or something... still not sure if they're using hydrogenated palm oil or whatever else cancer machine oil they normally use. Gotta look into it.

Man I love sparkling water, could totally replace coke with it. But over here they're so rare and more expensive than coke! Like the fuck!

 

[Scottish_Pride]

Haha yeah sometimes I get these like veggie stick things made out of black beans or something... still not sure if they're using hydrogenated palm oil or whatever else cancer machine oil they normally use. Gotta look into it.

Man I love sparkling water, could totally replace coke with it. But over here they're so rare and more expensive than coke! Like the fuck!

Lol, everything causes cancer. At least in the States, it does. I've kinda learned to ignore it a lot, because tbh I'm probably still better off than most. I don't smoke, drink a ton or get fake tans, I no longer live in the city where you're surrounded by pollutants. If anything's gonna kill me first, likely gonna be my own stupidity.

That's ass when it comes to the sparkling water, though. Have you tried any online sources? Maybe you can bulk buy em for cheaper somewhere.

 

[SkullTraill]

Lol, everything causes cancer. At least in the States, it does. I've kinda learned to ignore it a lot, because tbh I'm probably still better off than most. I don't smoke, drink a ton or get fake tans, I no longer live in the city where you're surrounded by pollutants. If anything's gonna kill me first, likely gonna be my own stupidity.

That's ass when it comes to the sparkling water, though. Have you tried any online sources? Maybe you can bulk buy em for cheaper somewhere.

Might be a US thing, I hear about it a lot when I watch videos about all those crazy ingredients used in the US.

As for cigarettes, they'll probably kill you slower than the actual carcinogens in food and air pollutants.

Yeah man! I should look up some online! Imagine that though. The height of consumerism. Ordering water online internationally. Fugg.

 

[Scottish_Pride]

Yeah man! I should look up some online! Imagine that though. The height of consumerism. Ordering water online internationally. Fugg.

But it's fancy water, you see. It's FANCEH