What finally worked for me as a guy... So far

dannyoneillmfp

I've always been big for most of my life. I'm from that generation where your parents made you eat everything on your plate and now I find it hard to leave a scrap. I'm also a major salad dodger. Meat, meat and more meat is my thing. Maybe some sweetcorn or peppers.

Over the years i've tried them all. Weight Watchers (the meetings as a guy is just painful), lighter life, cambridge, crash dieting (no breakfast or lunch and a mouthful at dinner time), slimming world, atkins. I've done them all and there's the thing. Every diet works... if you can stick to it. And thats what ive found with commercial diets is you cant stick to them. At some point the boredom of eating plain meat or not certain foods sets in and you break. Commercial diets are also based on one simple fact, they exist to make the creators money. So they tell you "There's no counting calories (but you end up counting points)" or "Eat anything you like". All good at selling a diet, not good at actually working long term. Not for me anyway.

Anyway, I finally got fed up with the yoyo dieting and got to the last resort of hiring a personal trainer. I see him once a week for a beasting for 45 mins and then the other 6 days he gives us daily homework. This started off as just walking for 60 minutes a day before breakfast (so you burn more fat than anything else) then moved up to harder workouts.

As for diet he had one simple rule. No starchy carbs after 5pm. So no chips, potato, pasta or rice. The reason was simple. Starchy carbs give you a lot of energy and at that point in the day you don't need it. So load up on a lovely steak and pepper corn sauce with a side salad and a corn on the cob. Just no chips.

Or in my case make up a bowl of mexican spiced steak strips with some cheese, sour cream, onions and peppers. Basically a fajita without the bread.

Within a week I found something strange happen. I no longer get hungry. Not like usual diet hungry where your thinking about food and cant concentrate. I just don't seem to feel hungry anymore.

I use MFP to track everything I eat to make sure I make better choices. Not healthy choices. Like I said. I don't do salad. But just keep portions to a sensible size.

There is no doubt the exercise has an impact and it's only 45 minutes a day. I use a fitbit to keep myself motivated and push further each time but in terms of diet its really rather simple. No carbs after 5pm.

I think back now and I can see why I failed on things like weight watchers or those other diets which promise you can eat anything you like. I would get to the evening and get the munchies and see I had some points left so I would eat a bit of chocolate. Not something my body needs at the end of the day but hey, it was within my points. The truth I'm told is that you body wont burn that up so just stores it.

So far i've lost over a stone in weight but some of that is now muscle as I went from physical activity level of zero. My fitness is improved so much I actually notice it. I used to walk up stairs and would be gasping for breath, I now run up and dont notice it.

I'm not sure of the point of this post. I just wanted to share some words about whats working for me and how surprisingly easy I found it. Apart from the 45 minutes I work out which are hell on earth but i'm happy to spend that time for the results. And why havent you heard or clicked a link about the no carbs after 5pm thing? Because there is no money to be made in telling people something so simple.

I've got a way to go to hit my 76kg goal but now i've gone from 120kg to 110kg and i'm on the last notch of my belt.

So in short, no carbs after 5pm to reduce calories and curb hunger the next day. Use MFP to keep on track of what your eating. Do some exercise. Even if its just a 60 minute walk a day.

cmsu64113

Amazing job!

xBabyLlamaDrama

I know that feeling. Couldn't leave the table unless the plate was clear. It makes your mentality one of efficiency and cutting waste.. So when you buy something, it sucks to throw any of it away. It tears at your moral fiber and against everything you've been brought up on.

It's hard but it's a total lifestyle change. I just limit what I'm putting on the plate so I eat it all but it's not as much. I win both ways.

Good luck on your journey man.

leecha2014

Good advice thank you! I just finished a big bowl of pasta for dinner, should have read this first! It's a treat but next time, a lunch treat congrats on your success!!

Timshel_

I find that eating earlier in the day helps me stay on track and sleep better. I don't do any low card or such, but I eat most calories in the morning and afternoon and only have a earlier light dinner. Then water up to bedtime.

shadowloss

We must have grown up in the same generation. It wasn't just what was left on the plate, but "hey theres another helping of potatoes, you need to eat those", "there are starving people in the world that would love those". Well then pack them up and send them!!!

Needless to say, it goes against your ideals to throw food away. However, I've started that with both my kids. You're full, throw it away, or put it in a box and send it to Grandpa! He may be hungry.

I'm not blaming my parents, that's what it was. I can also say, we rarely ate fast food, so it was healthy food for the most part, and not a triple bacon burger with a large fries and a Shake that we were being forced to consume.

Your post hit home with me and had to comment. Outstanding insight. I've found this way of eating much easier to lose weight with, however, there are still challenges, and it's still hard work.

Congratulations on your work so far, and the best for your future.

akiba254

I am in the same boat and noticed the same thing. I find I losing sugar out of my diet was far easier than losing the starchy carbs which I was so used to being a staple of my diet. Potatoes were just so easy and versatile to always have with dinner.

dannyoneillmfp

Starving people in the world. Yeah, I was given that line too

I'm actually surprised at myself as I told my trainer that it's unlikely that I can give up chocolate as when I've done that in the past I get seriously grumpy.

I used to eat a kfc for lunch. Pizza for dinner and finish it off with a bar of chocolate. Not a regular bar, one of those big sharing bars. EVERY DAY.

What was an eye opener for me was to log my food intake in mfp on a regular day. I've only ever counted calories when on a diet so to do it for a regular day was a wake up call. 3500-4000 a day and zero activity. No wonder I'm in this mess.

I too am moving to having meals in the day. It means I can have my starchy carbs and something lighter in the evening like a pizza omelet or bowl of chillie.

jee_nee_us

I tried to work out before breakfast but I would get tired so easily so now I eat something before I go out to work out. A month ago I used to be out of breath after walking two miles. Today I walked a total of 15 KM and I ran upstairs to my room without losing any breath after the workout.

BigLifter10

Yes, starchy at night is a recipe for bloat (at least in my case). Since I've been lifting, I've slowly been trying new things with my nutrition and always questioned those who said I could actually eat 'carbs' at night IF I was planning to do a heavy workout in the morning. Well, there are some carbs I can have and some I can't, mostly it depends on how 'natural' the food is, but as a for instance, I can actually eat a Belgian waffle for dinner on the nights prior to lower body workouts (which I do once per week and they are intense). If my body will be using that 'energy' the next morning, there isn't a lot of time for it to settle in and get too comfy. I find it took me a few months to really find what would work, but as usual, everyone is different. I have no doubt that steering clear from starchy carbs at night will yield great results as long as you keep yourself in check other places. Balance, balance, balance! (Congrats, by the way)!