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Healthy lifestyle for an unhealthy person
billwill
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Pretty much all my life I've lived an unhealthy lifestyle. I eat fast food all the time, drink tons of soda, etc. As a result, I'm fat. I'm 6'4, and a few months ago I weighed 315 pounds. On February 1, I decided to cut fast food and soda out of my diet. All was well; while I didn't go completely cold turkey on the fast food (I had a small meal at school once a week), it was a vast improvement from eating fast food twice a day. I lost about 15 pounds, and I now hover at 300.
However, it wasn't all good; I really just replaced the fast food with grocery bought unhealthy food. I would chow down on Cheez-Its, cereal, and those microwaveable corn dogs all the time. I replaced soda with milk, which I drank ridiculous amounts of (at least a half gallon a day, usually more). I would also rarely drink water; maybe a liter or two a week was average for me.
A few days ago I decided to stop the faux diet and start really changing my lifestyle for the better. I went to the grocery store and bought bananas, oranges, and carrots to snack on; water as my primary drink and orange juice to have for breakfast; chicken, eggs, and bread (for PB&J) for my primary meals.
I've been drinking ~2 liters of water a day, and it definitely feels weird to not have milk in the house (I didn't buy any because I know I can't drink it in moderation, at least not yet). So far I've been starting with a banana in the morning, along with some scrambled eggs and toast. I then snack on carrots and an orange throughout the day, with a sandwich or two sprinkled in. I finish by having some chicken for dinner. Is this diet roughly okay?
As you can see, it's pretty damn limited; suggestions on what else I can introduce into my diet would be greatly appreciated (please keep it cheap and easy to make). I plan on buying salmon next time I shop, but that's all I really have planned right now.
I would also like tips on exercising. I have a treadmill, and I tried running/jogging, but after a minute my calf muscles really start to hurt, to the point where I can't stand on them. Any alternative workouts would be awesome (would speed walking do for now?).
Thanks a lot.
However, it wasn't all good; I really just replaced the fast food with grocery bought unhealthy food. I would chow down on Cheez-Its, cereal, and those microwaveable corn dogs all the time. I replaced soda with milk, which I drank ridiculous amounts of (at least a half gallon a day, usually more). I would also rarely drink water; maybe a liter or two a week was average for me.
A few days ago I decided to stop the faux diet and start really changing my lifestyle for the better. I went to the grocery store and bought bananas, oranges, and carrots to snack on; water as my primary drink and orange juice to have for breakfast; chicken, eggs, and bread (for PB&J) for my primary meals.
I've been drinking ~2 liters of water a day, and it definitely feels weird to not have milk in the house (I didn't buy any because I know I can't drink it in moderation, at least not yet). So far I've been starting with a banana in the morning, along with some scrambled eggs and toast. I then snack on carrots and an orange throughout the day, with a sandwich or two sprinkled in. I finish by having some chicken for dinner. Is this diet roughly okay?
As you can see, it's pretty damn limited; suggestions on what else I can introduce into my diet would be greatly appreciated (please keep it cheap and easy to make). I plan on buying salmon next time I shop, but that's all I really have planned right now.
I would also like tips on exercising. I have a treadmill, and I tried running/jogging, but after a minute my calf muscles really start to hurt, to the point where I can't stand on them. Any alternative workouts would be awesome (would speed walking do for now?).
Thanks a lot.
I hate you and you hate me.
billwill on
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4 things.
1. A lifestyle change is not temporary. You'll have to understand that if you want to change, you'll have to stick with the changes and keep up with the changes you make. This means that you shouldn't think that once you reach a goal, you can go back to old habits. You will constantly have to work at it.
2. In terms of diet that means that you really have to make a concious effort (in the short term) to consume more good things like veggies and protiens (like lentils, beans, fish) while letting go of bad things (like most processed food stuffs).
One of the biggest things that you'll want to learn how to do is cook. You don't need to become a gourmand and you likely won't ever because that takes a lot of work. But learning functional cooking techniques (how to roast, steam, saute, grill) is a huge boon to making a permanent change. It means you have so many more options so long as you have the ingredients, time and knowledge. You aren't limited to only a few choices. It also saves money.
The other part of permanent change is eating less, period. This will take active management for a while but you'll eventually know that you only really need X amount at a meal and it's okay to have leftovers (and in fact it's a great way of spreading the cost of a meal out). In a way controlling your portions allows yourself to have things that are nutritionally suspect so you aren't feeling deprived of stuff that you genuinely enjoy (I genuinely believe that it's sabotage to cut out completely things you really like eating and you'll become disatisfied quickly with complete diet changes. So if you love cheez-its, you can have cheez-its, you just can't have them all the time, whenever you want, in the portion that you're having them.) . Theres some tricks to reducing portions when you eat at home such as getting smaller plates. When you eat out, try eating only half of whats on the plate and eating the rest for lunch the next day.
Finally, you need to learn that it's okay to be hungry and you will get through it. If you can ween yourself off of snacking and also factor in that your hunger way outpaces your needs when you have meals, you can consciously avoid compensatory eating for forgoing snacks.
One thing that helped me just become conscious of what I ate was keeping a food/calorie journal for 2 weeks.
3. Exercise is one of the most important parts of making a lifestyle change and can be one of the easiest, most rewarding and most fun aspects of it. It's all about choosing things that work for you though. I would advise you to avoid running/jogging until you've lost more weight (you'll avoid injury this way too). What I think you should do is start lifting weights.
Weight lifting has a lot of benefits both psychological and physical.
A. You can start off at any level with a defined starting point.
B. You have measured improvements that are tangible.
C. It builds muscle which increases your resting metabolic rate
D. It burns calories in the activity itself
One of the key things to remember though when you're exercising is that exercising is it's own reward; This means do not do any compensatory eating. You've already rewarded yourself by lifting weights running for 3 miles, etc etc. Things like protein shakes, etc etc are for people that have clearly defined weight lifting goals. One of the biggest problems that people have when it comes to losing weight is that while exercise is all well and fine when it creates a calorie deficit, people often times completely offset that deficit either consciously or subconsciously by consuming more food after exercising.
4. Don't be too hard on yourself if you slip at times or have trouble doing certain things. Weightloss and healthy lifestyles are not binary. I said above that you will have to work at it, and that's always going to be true, but it's not something where you can only allow yourself to have good days or it's not worth doing. We all have good and bad days, but if you can have more good than bad days that's great!
That sounds like not nearly enough calories for your body mass, and it's not a very well balanced diet either. Chicken tends to be very lean, which means your only real source of fat is peanut butter. "Fat" has a reputation of being a horrible dirty word when it comes to food - I mean, it's really saying something when sugar-drenched gummi bears advertise themselves as being "a fat free food!" - but your body needs a fair bit of fat to function. Your body also needs a certain number of calories every day, and while that number varies quite a bit depending on your weight, height, and metabolism, trying to go too far below it will just make you feel tired and weak and strip your willpower. Going back to your daily meals, depending on the type of bread, peanut butter, and jam you use, you might also be consuming a whole lot of processed carbohydrates: a white bread, Skippy, and Smuckers sandwich is marginally better for you than a burger, but only by a depressingly small amount. If bread and peanut butter and jam are things you really like, go with a whole-grain multigrain bread, natural unsweetened peanut butter, and a reduced-sugar jam.
There are plenty of foods that are both tasty and good for you (usually in moderation).
Fruits and vegetables
- potatoes: nutritionally dense, filling, packed with vitamin C, B6, and K, delicious, versatile
- corn and peas: sweet, relatively low-calorie, easy to prepare (the frozen steamer bags are great, and cheap)
- cauliflower and broccoli: tasty raw, or steam/boil and top with ground pepper and melted cheese
- tomatoes: cherry or grape tomatoes are awesome, especially if you grow them yourself (which is super easy to do if you have a balcony or something)
- lettuce: an entire *head* of lettuce has like 100 calories, so you can eat it by the bucket
- blueberries, raspberries, strawberries: a little pricey, depending on your location and the season, but wonderful to add to other foods
- apples: who doesn't like apples?
Nuts, grains and legumes
- rice: brown rice is cheap, filling, and very good for you
- lentils and beans: great in soups, stews, casseroles, you name it
- oatmeal and hot cereals: if you're in Canada, Red River is basically hearty awesomeness in a bowl; if you're not, regular plain oatmeal is still excellent, and can be healthily sweetened with fruit
- almonds: one of the healthiest sources of fat you can get, but fairly high-calorie
Dairy
- cheese: a bit dense for snacking on its own, but great to cook with
- yogurt: plain Greek-style yogurt has a ton of protein, flavoured or fruit-on-the-bottom types are not quite as good for you (too much sugar), but make excellent desserts
- cottage cheese: good as a snack, or used in recipes to replace sour cream or regular cheese
Meats
- tuna: excellent in moderation, not too expensive
- chicken: thighs have more flavour than breasts, and are usually a fair bit cheaper
- pork: they call it the other white meat for a reason
Even with just those basic ingredients, there are a thousand different meals you could make. Want a big, cold, refreshing, satisfying lunch? Make up a bowl of Julienne salad with romaine and leaf lettuce, chopped hard-boiled eggs, sliced ham or turkey, low-fat dressing (I like ranch), shredded or finely sliced cheese, and maybe some halved cherry tomatoes and shredded carrots. Want a hot, satisfying dinner that will give you a week's worth of delicious leftovers? Cook up a big pot of brown rice and kidney beans, saute some chopped onions and mushrooms and red peppers and diced chicken in a frying pan, then mix it all together with your choice of spices.
At this point, you should be avoiding high-impact exercise like running, because it puts a ton of strain on your joints. Walking is alright, and activities that don't require you to fully support your own weight (like biking or swimming) are excellent too. If you're really serious about working off some weight, though, floor exercises are the way to go. Pushups, squats, lunges, planks - I can ride a bike or walk on a treadmill all day long, but the first time my trainer led me through 20 minutes of nonstop floor exercises, I was sweating like a horse. The Muller technique usually gets recommended in threads like this, and with very good reason: do that every day, combine it with healthy eating habits, and you'll slim down in no time.
Good on you for making the change, and good luck sticking with it!
Go buy those boxes of salad (I find they are better quality than bags) and toss some tuna in there mixed with some light ranch dressing. Awesome meal, lots of vitamins, lots of good good stuff.
You're a big dude. You need to make sure you're eating enough. I know, I know, eating to lose weight sounds weird but its what you need. Otherwise your body drops into starvation mode and you won't lose a thing. Still hungry? Eat more salad or something.
Lemon juice in water can help if you're not used to drinking water.
You mentioned PB&J sandwiches and I'm sure there are other examples in your life, but the quality of food makes a big difference too. Not all PBs are the same. Its going to take some time to get used to these habits. Figure out what you need, what you're looking for, and read the labels. Its going to be a lot of extra work reading about 30 different loaves of bread at the store, but after the first couple trips you'll know exactly what to buy.
Another tip: At the grocery store stick to the outside edges. The inside contains mostly processed and less nutritious food. There are some outlying examples which you should drop in to get, like oatmeal (NOT INSTANT) etc. This is just a rule of thumb.
As for yogurt, get unflavored greek yogurt. The flavored stuff is delicious but has a ton of sugar in it. Want to sweeten it up? Get some Honey, or even better, Agave Nectar (it has a very low glycemic index). I've actually been using agave nectar a lot lately, its wonderful stuff.
Are you also weight training? Building muscles even small amounts can help burn calories faster.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Mark Bittman's Simple and Easy Recipes from the New York Times
It is a great introduction to making healthy, complete meals, with limited kitchen tools.
Bittman wrote The Minimalist, a long-running column in the NY Times which focused on how to make great healthy meals in a minimal environment.
Also, maybe try biking and body-weight exercises (pushups, crunches, squats). With the running, keep it up. It is hell at first but it does get easier.