I have a beer gut and don't drink beer...

[whm1974]

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

That line of thinking is very dangerous.

You don't fix a bad eating habit by adding more things to eat. 

The Native Americans ate Hominy Maize in various forms. That was a Staple of their Diet.

[Donut417]

6 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

The Native Americans ate Hominy Maize in various forms. That was a Staple of their Diet.

The Native Americans didn't have POP Tarts that have 70 grams of sugar in them, or Mountain Dew that has 75 Grams of sugar in it. Todays society practically snorts lines of sugar like its cocaine. Thats the difference.

[Arika]

4 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

The Native Americans didn't have POP Tarts that have 70 grams of sugar in them, or Mountain Dew that has 75 Grams of sugar in it. Todays society practically snorts lines of sugar like its cocaine. Thats the difference.

Or sit around on internet forums and play video games, they were moving around pretty much every second of their waking lives. Even riding a horse burns calories

 

[whm1974]

12 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

The Native Americans didn't have POP Tarts that have 70 grams of sugar in them, or Mountain Dew that has 75 Grams of sugar in it. Todays society practically snorts lines of sugar like its cocaine. Thats the difference.

I don't recall the last time I had a Pop Tart. And quit drinking Regular Soda a good while back.

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

I don't recall the last time I had a Pop Tart. And quit drinking Regular Soda a good while back.

The point is, you eat like I used to. One day you're going to go to a doctor and they are going to say you have all this shit wrong that could have been prevented. You know how I know? Because Im that guy. Pretty much ever since I got my license and got a job, I treated my body like an amusement park with food. It wasn't until I got insurance and went to get a physical that I found out what I had done. For the last 6 years I have had to take blood pressure medication each day. I was about 1/4 of a step from diabetes, my dad got diagnosed this year. At my heaviest I was 275LBS, not good. Im not going to say Im the healthiest person, but I have started to pay attention more to what I eat. Im trying to do better for myself so I can be around a little longer, all I want to do is make it till about 70. 

[whm1974]

Just now, Caroline said:

What if I told you "diet" soda is actually the same as regular soda but more expensive.

There are little to no calories in Diet. No Carbs or Sugars. Cost the same as regular. Where do you live that Diet cost more at?

[Donut417]

8 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

No Carbs or Sugars

Thats because they use artificial sweeteners and in the state of California those cause cancer. Also some can cause IBS type of symptoms. I know I have experienced stomach issues with some artificial sweeteners. 

[Donut417]

2 minutes ago, Caroline said:

It may take some time to understand that water is the ultimate drink.

To add. For those who like the fuzziness of Soda. There are a whole line of Carbonated Water that are flavored who have no sugar and no artificial sweeteners. AHA, Ice Mountain and Bubbly are the brands I drink. They give you the fizziness of soda but not bad for you like soda. 

 

But nothing beats nice high quality H2O. 

 

For water we buy Primo. As we got on of their dispensers that keeps it cold and can provide hot water. We dont trust municipal water plus the stuff the city provides tastes like pool water, also Flint Michigan also proved that water is not 100% safe even if its government regulated. 

[Donut417]

Just now, Caroline said:

Eh I just drink tap water, the storage tank has a filter on it so it tastes decently. Tap can also provide hot water as the boiler heats it but I'd rather boil some in a kettle to make some tea or whatever.

Ill take it your water is safe. Water mains in the US can contain lead. Which isn't a problem unless the water isn't treated properly. Thats what happened in Flint. Ive heard our area may have lead pipes but they have hardened the water to help prevent issues. But I dont trust it. 

[Arika]

reading through this thread has really made me question how something as basic as "consume less calories than you burn to lose weight" can be so controversial...

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, Arika S said:

reading through this thread has really made me question how something as basic as "consume less calories than you burn to lose weight" can be so controversial...

Americans can make anything controversial. Its like a gift..... or maybe a curse. 

[Squeebus]

I just saw this and all I can think is...... we sit infront of computers for ungodly hours a day? of course we arent some Ussain Bolt broom stick guy lol 

I guess do some core exercises and eat less pizza? I eat VERY little and im still round - idgaf. I drink unsweet green tea more than anything - and things like pizza, im a two slice and im ready to die kind of guy. An example of portions for me would be 1 mcdouble and half a small fry is ALL I can do. More than that and I feel like im gonna pop or poop - in no particular order. I get my 2 meals a day in, sometimes one but I will have a couple slices of cheese or something in the middle (real cheese, not that kraft single crap) and thats been my daily routine for several years now lol

[Donut417]

16 minutes ago, Squeebus said:

I just saw this and all I can think is...... we sit infront of computers for ungodly hours a day? of course we arent some Ussain Bolt broom stick guy lol 

Honestly If it weren't for my Job. Id likely be bigger than I am. Actually when I got up to the 275lbs weight I was out of work for 18 months which contributed considerably. I now work in a warehouse, picking on some days which involves lifting and walking, packing on others which requires some walking but mostly lifting. 

 

If we ever get the treadmill we have been talking about Im thinking about doing at least 2 days on the treadmill to get some extra walking in. 

[Beerzerker]

55 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Honestly If it weren't for my Job. Id likely be bigger than I am. Actually when I got up to the 275lbs weight I was out of work for 18 months which contributed considerably. I now work in a warehouse, picking on some days which involves lifting and walking, packing on others which requires some walking but mostly lifting. 

 

If we ever get the treadmill we have been talking about Im thinking about doing at least 2 days on the treadmill to get some extra walking in. 

I only wish I could get to 200  - Never have before and probrably never will but many call me lucky about it too.
Have a bit of a pooch but if I stand up properly instead of the usual slouch it more or less disappears and I can even make myself look like I'm still in my 20's with that (Suck it in a little).
I'm currently around 165-170 and still look thin as a rail except for that, many look at me and sometimes think I'm not an ounce over 140'ish but I am and the scales show it everytime.
Eat what I want, as much as I want, nothing seems to change and I've always been like that.
Sometimes it's great but overall it can be a curse too.

[LAwLz]

7 hours ago, whm1974 said:

The Native Americans ate Hominy Maize in various forms. That was a Staple of their Diet.

Yes, and? Do you only eat what the native Americans ate, in the same quantities, and are you as active as those people were?

If not, then it doesn't matter. 

Inuits eat over 3000 calories a day, most of which is fat (from whales and seals). Does that mean your average Joe in the city should start eating copious amounts of whale and seal fat? Of course not. Your diet has to be adjusted for who you are, where you live and what you do.

 

Also, like I said earlier, you do not fix a bad diet by adding more to it. You fix it by removing and replacing things. "Eating healthily" is not just about eating some salad. That salad won't do you any good if you also eat a large pizza with it. When people say things like "eat a salad" they mean eat a salad and nothing else. They don't mean "eat your usual hamburger, fries and soda, and then eat a salad as well".

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Caroline said:

What if I told you "diet" soda is actually the same as regular soda but more expensive.

That's a load of bullshit.

Diet soda is not at all like regular soda. They might share some similarities, but that's like saying a car and a bike are the same because both have wheels. There are reasons to stay away from diet soda if you want to lose weight, but it's not "because it's the same as regular soda".

also, where do you live where diet soda is more expensive? It's the same price here in Sweden.

 

 

6 hours ago, Caroline said:

"No sugars" is relative, they replace sugar with a mixture of rancid chemicals, paint and acid to make it taste almost the same but that's not my entire point

No, it's not relative. It doesn't contain sugar, which is essentially all calories in soda. 

"Rancid chemicals, paint and acid". You sure try and make it sound as dangerous as possible. Are you one of those people who think "natural" is better than artificial without judging things on their own merits?

Even a really fine, delicious, organically grown apple will contain "rancid chemicals, paint and acid".

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Caroline said:

the thing about soda is that inflates you, literally, so you look fatter than you are. Bread and derivates containing yeast cause a similar effect.

This has to be one of the most shallow things I've ever seen on this forum.

The problem with drinking soda isn't that it "inflates you". The issue is that it contains a lot carbs, and almost all of it are the bad, fast carbs. The same goes for most bread. Believe me, it's not a little bit of carbonic acid that makes OP look "6 months pregnant".

Unless you're constantly drinking copious amounts of carbonated diet soda (or water or whatever), the inflation of your stomach will be very mild and very temporary. We're talking like maybe a couple of minutes.

And the reason you become big from eating bread is not that the yeast puffs you up. You get big from eating bread because it is full of carbs, especially white bread which contains a ton of fast carbs.

[Avocado Diaboli]

Reading through this thread is highly amusing. Small wonder that the weight loss industry is so big if there's so much uncertainty about losing weight for so many people. I'm not an expert on any of this, but I can certainly recount my own experiences with losing weight.

 

I used to weigh around 110 kg / ~240 lbs at a height of 172 cm / 5'8", so quite a bit above what I should have. I calculated my base metabolic rate, which came down to pretty much 2000 kcal per day, though I also took into consideration that I didn't want to do exercise and most of my job and hobbies are sedentary. Also, I simply "consulted" a few online calculators, not an actual doctor or something, so those results are to be viewed a bit more skeptically, so I took off another 200 kcal to be sure. In the end my goal was to be somewhere below 1800 kcal, which sounded reasonable enough. 

 

Now I was under no delusion that this would mean that I'd now suddenly lose all that with in a manner of weeks. After all, it took months, if not years for all of that fat to accumulate. It'd be foolish to assume you could lose it faster than it appeared without starving yourself. I set my target weight at somewhere between 70 - 75 kg / 154 - 165 lbs. Simply by adjusting my eating habits, I managed to get down to that target weight in 10 months. No exercise required. And since I've continued to eat the same way I've been eating after I changed my habits, my weight has been stable. Sure, I have some fluctuations around the holidays or in the summer when I eat more off the grill and drink more beer (though I generally don't drink alcohol all that often to begin with because, big shock, alcohol is basically fermented sugar, so no points for guessing it contains a lot of calories), but it mostly just goes right back down to where it was without me having to do much about it.

 

So in general, I agree with @LAwLz that the biggest change you can make that definitely helps is to keep track of your caloric intake. A healthy and balanced diet is obviously beneficial in many other ways as well, but by and large, when it simply comes to weight loss, it doesn't matter what you eat, just how much. And who knows, maybe you'll discover something healthier with less calories that you like more than what you've been stuffing yourself with up to now.

[whm1974]

Speaking of bread, I only eat whole grains and not white at all.

[LAwLz]

54 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Speaking of bread, I only eat whole grains and not white at all.

That's good. Bread is in general pretty bad, but whole grain is better than white bread.

 

Anyway, I recommend you do what @Avocado Diaboli did and try out some online calculators to figure out your base metabolic rate, then start counting calories and not allow you to eat more than somewhere around 400-500 calories below your base metabolic rate.

That will result in a rather slow but good ~1 pound a week weight loss.

[whm1974]

11 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

That's good. Bread is in general pretty bad, but whole grain is better than white bread.

 

Anyway, I recommend you do what @Avocado Diaboli did and try out some online calculators to figure out your base metabolic rate, then start counting calories and not allow you to eat more than somewhere around 400-500 calories below your base metabolic rate.

That will result in a rather slow but good ~1 pound a week weight loss.

Well losing ~1 Pound a week is way better then gaining one. Thanks

[LAwLz]

8 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Well losing ~1 Pound a week is way better then gaining one. Thanks

No problem.

Hope it goes well!

 

Losing weight is no easy task, but it's better to start as soon as you notices the issues, because it just becomes harder and harder the longer you wait.

[whm1974]

2 hours ago, LAwLz said:

No problem.

Hope it goes well!

 

Losing weight is no easy task, but it's better to start as soon as you notices the issues, because it just becomes harder and harder the longer you wait.

To be on the safe side, I should have my blood cholesterol levels checked. Been awhile for that.

[whm1974]

57 minutes ago, Benji said:

Given what you've listed as your diet so far, you should not just get your cholesterol levels, but also your blood sugar level and for eventual signs of diabetes... That's a very common thing with a bad diet.

I am lvl 2 Diabetic. Take Metaforman for that. I also look at the Label for Sugars in food.

[Touch My Hamm]

On 10/8/2021 at 2:47 PM, whm1974 said:

Well LTT doesn't have a Food Section... Yet? I wonder if I would end up consuming more calories due to enjoying more Fried Foods? No oils to buy nor dispose of after deep frying.

Fried foods will almost always be bad for the gut. Usually fried foods are covered in batter which adds alot of calories and its evaporating water and making it absorb more fats. I do love me some fries but cutting out fried food altogether and eating healthy is number 1. Though not always able to be done.