What do you eat in a day?

Pre workout meal. 5 eggs, ham steak, toast.

 

Think I found my new favorite thread!

 

Awesome thread.

I'm on a journey that isn't exactly defined in any way except for "better". As in, I want to feel better, I want to eat better, I want better confidence, etc. I am using specific words because I don't know what it will look like tomorrow, the next week, year, years, etc. I just want to make progress in a better direction than I've been headed or living.

First for me was revisiting my consumption. All consumption. I'm tracking to ~2k calories a day intake. Exercise is not factored. It's been surprising in a few ways, but after nearly 2 months of making an effort to be more aware of what I'm consuming, it's become easier to choose "better" things. I no longer care for salty foods because I don't like feeling bloated for a few days. I find myself skipping a burger at lunch because I know I plan to have a beverage or two later.

The other part of this was physical conditioning. I'm old(er) than I was when I used to throw around weights. My shoulders are message up and I recognize I need to view this more like a marathon than a sprint. So I have started with body weight exercises and lots of cardio (stationary bike). Putting in the time and seeing negative impacts really helps me with the consumption part. I can feel the water weight after a poor (for me) decision. It absolutely sucked at first, but now I find myself seeing results and feeling great. I actually miss not sweating my ass off every morning if I miss a day. I don't think I've felt that connection since I was in my early twenties.

I'm using the "Lose It" app to help track my consumptions, which has helped me mentally, a lot. I'm a visual person, so this is a tool to help me process things. I can say as a result, I find myself not going without very often. If I want something sweet, I have it, but I have also found that I prefer more clean and natural sugars instead. I've also found that I can work meals in my own favor. I can eat dinner earlier in the day and have a hearty snack like green pepper slices and tzatziki at lunch for super low calories while still feeling full after it. That frees up the much bigger meal, and by adjusting time, I can still burn it off before bed. We used to eat at 7pm, btw, and that wasn't good for me since we're typically in bed around 9:30pm.

I'll share more once I start to baseline what really works best for me, but right now, I'm just trying to be better than I was. It took a while, but I'm finally happy with the changes because I can both see and feel them.

Thanks for starting this thread and I look forward to hearing and learning from everyone. Enjoy your own journeys!

 

Myfitnesspal app went to a pay to play platform and I'm cheap AF. So now I switched to the Cronometer app for free to track calories and macros. There aren't as many foods in the database but it's pretty good.

For diet I went hardcore keto again for January (less than 10g carbs/day) with a 500 calorie a day deficit to slim down 20lbs "easily".
February I increased to less than 50g carbs/day, increased protein intake to as much as possible (+5g creatine daily) and tried to maintain around BMR for total caloric intake. Goals now is to increase lean muscle mass through body recomposition without losing too much more weight. I will reassess at the end of week 12.

While diet is important, this has been my most successful total body makeover in my life to date and I believe it's thanks to some other key changes:

1. no alcohol
2. lifting weights or doing calisthenics 4 days a week (nothing crazy but way better than sedentary)
3. targeting 10k steps per day

These 3 things combined lead to ridiculously improved sleep! Better sleep makes it easier to make better food choices - leading back into diet and it's a full circle. It really is a lifestyle change and changing just one thing will eventually lead to lack of consistency. Check back to see how fat and drunk I am come September

 

In my experience and professional thoughts is to listen to your body (have my degree in Kinesiology and have held 4 different certifications for training), is to listen to your body.

if you are trying to burn fat, workout in zone 3 to burn calories from fat and watch your “fatty” food intake. The less calories from fat you consume means your body will burn what you already have rather than what you put in.

HIIT training burns dense calories. Yes it feels good but you are only burning dense calories, water weight and maybe some carbs. Which will be replenished quicker than it took for you to burn those “calories.”

Nutrition, in my opinion is key. Yes there are a ton of fad diets but if you keep it simple it will work. What and how you eat is completely based on what you are trying to achieve. But overall listen to your body. 5 servings of small portions is good to start with to keep your metabolism working and burning. “fasting” and “juicing” is good to cleanse your kidneys, liver, and poopoo function and to rid your body of toxins. Lots of water mixed in with some Gatorade or anything to get BCAAS or electrolytes that your body will normally flush out with urine is key.

slow and steady, don’t pay attention to the scale but rather measure yourself. It’s much easier to convert fat to muscle, so with that being said I always asked my clients, “What’s the difference between 10lbs of fat and 10lbs of muscle?” Only difference between those two is that 10lbs of fat has more “volume” like a cloud and 10lbs of muscle is leaner and tighter but they are both still 10lbs. So pay attention to how your clothes fit and feel.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to lift weights. Weights are good for you, male or female. It’s easier to get to stage 3 then doing 10 hours of cardio and your EPOC is greater after as well. And don’t be afraid to go to the doctors and get your levels checked. Testosterone is vital for both men and women. My wife was at a zero and since she’s been checked and got her levels raised she’s lost 25 pounds, feels better and is a better mood. Age, diet and rigorous activities will naturally lower your testosterone levels.

Okie dokie, I’m out for now lol. Definitely stoked to have found this thread! I’ll be posting my meals and stuff as well.

 

@GODZILLA
Ingredients in your food. Our “food” in the USA is shit.
If you have to do a double take to read/pronounce an ingredient, don’t eat it. Stay away from processed foods. For example something simple like “half & half” for your coffee should list “milk, cream” for the ingredients. I’d bet 90% of the refrigerators on this forum had a carton with “sodium diphosphate” or whatever it is written on there too.

Plant a garden. Hunt, fish. Buy local beef chicken eggs etc.

I don’t always stick to this but I try as much as I can. So I exercise to help out. And to kill a few beers at night, or a glass of Kentucky’s finest.

I know you’re not interested in exercise tips or regimens as all of the different plans and workouts and sets and “6x/week this”, “leg day that” is overwhelming to start and be successful long-term. A very simple and effective workout is to get on a rower. It will get the ticker going and has some resistance for building muscle. You can start and do 5 minutes (and if you’re in as awful shape as you claim, it’ll suck enough for 5 minutes, but not bad enough to not get back on the next day). Then you can make it suck as hard as you want by increasing time, and pace etc. I have a bracket on mine that holds my iPad and I’ll watch tv shows or a movie.
50 pushups and 30 min of rowing can keep you in pretty good fighting shape. And sweat out last nights beers pretty easily.

 

Exactly!

We’ve had our own garden for a few years and let me tell you it feels good to just walk up and grab some veggies to throw on the grill. We also added 5 chickens and get 4-5 eggs a day.

We're moving to eastern wa in a month where the sun is out 300 days a year. We plan on going crazy on our garden.

 

The wife and I juiced for awhile back before our youngest came into our life. One thing to keep in mind is the sugar intake. Lemons are great and apples especially green can be very helpful. We felt great when we did it. I need to get that machine back out.

 

Great thread topic @GODZILLA

 

Would make a damn good no workout breakfast as well. Which is probably how I’d have it.

 

For sure. This is normally what I have at work for breakfast. But here’s the thing, I put in my one month notice at work and the next day they asked if I’d like to stay home but still be on payroll for a month. So now I’m eating the same in the mornings and hitting gym an hour later haha.

No work for a month til I start my new job and still getting paid

 

if it has not been said.

regardless of what your diet is.

take 2 tablespoons of Metamucil every night.

it's a non-negotiable addition to your health.

start now.

you don't have to wait till your in your 50's & gut is fouled up.

not benefiber!....use psyllium based fiber.

 

and take a damn Magnesium supplement.

Mag Glycinate is the decent one.

Mag Citrate or Threonate are probably just as good.

just go do it....don't argue.

 

When we were in CA we had a small garden that was very simple and got our chicken from Primal Pasture (they deliver all over). And we usually split a cow with the family once a year.

Since moving to TX and gaining more land we’ve raised and butchered our own chickens (about to get 50 more to raise and butcher), just got egg laying hens and tilled up 1/3 of an acre to start for our biggest garden yet.

 

Working out hard 6x/week has been a life-changing experience for me.

Most people are aware that the average American diet is a total and utter shit show. But it seems only recently that people are coming around to the idea that modern man is plagued by a severe lack of movement.

We were meant to move and to move against resistance and to sweat. I’m finding out just how much more my previously extra-average dad bod is capable of. I feel more accomplished and even more capable through the rest of my day simply by picking heavy things up and setting them down repeatedly.

“Motion is lotion.” As I get stronger and as every single ache and pain of my lower back, hips, shoulders, and neck has melted away, and I believe this to be true more than ever before.

Other benefits include confidence, being treated differently (you’d be amazed at just how much differently people will view you and treat you when you make a solid and noticeable transformation in the gym..or in my case, in the garage).

All of you who struggle to do what you know you should: you can do it. There is a region of your brain that is atrophied, but will actually grow the more you do things you don’t want to do. I’m referring to the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (if I recall correctly). Andrew Huberman was telling David Goggins in a recent podcast that this part of the brain is potentially thought to be the seat of the human will. It is larger in athletes, larger in people who perceive themselves challenged and who overcome that challenge. It is smaller in obese people yet grows as they work out and lose weight. It’s worth chasing. The benefits spill over into every area of your life.

Ok, enough rambling. Get after it

 

LOL I was thinking "okay Huberman"! He's talked about it a lot recently and catching on into other long form content creators identities as well. I believe in it. I believe I used to have a much stronger preference for "type 2 fun" aka hard work where the reward was delayed and that has definitely atrophied.

By just doing hard things: workouts, diets, practicing will power, being present, tackling tasks you've been putting off for a myriad of excuses - the momentum is intense and great motivation to continue on, spilling over into all facets of life. Aside from my health and wellness so far this year I've strengthened relationships and am in the midst of a major career change I've let self limiting beliefs get in the way of for years. All thanks to deciding to diet and exercise, building up that momentum. Making this the most inspiring thread on the tundra forums.

 

Good call. Supplements are very important.

I take magnesium, fish oil, vitamin D, ashwagandha and creatine monohydrate.

 

Due to all my injuries sustained in my previous career and not really taking care of my body then I am really paying for it now. So far this year I have incorporated cold plunge, chiropractic, cupping and sauna. Won’t fix my problems but has definitely made a world of difference with my recovery process.

 

80-90% whole foods, a little bit of “other” mixed in. Keep it simple but delicious.

 

Post workout meal. Been really nice having the last month off that I could hit the gym early in the day and bbq.

 

In morning sanwichies. For lunch soups and for dinner - something fried or baked like baked meat or salmon.I also make sure to consider the benefits of medications from canada drugs when planning my meals for better health management.

 

I went hardcore Keto a few years back when I hit 320lbs. I'm 5'10" and carried it surprisingly well (lots of folks thought I was a wrestler or body guard). I sit a lot for work and that was a major factor. Always been active when not working but the ratio just doesn't fit lol. I dropped 100lbs in a little over a year and have managed to keep most of it off. It's rather easy now since we moved from Florida to Montana and live off-grid. We have a small hobby farm and I get my 10k steps daily no problem at all (average 12-15k steps on most days). I don't do weights as lifting hay bales and feed bags covers most of that off. The main goal is to get our green house up and running this year to complete the transfer to be completely self sufficient and eat much better food.

 

As one who has spent the last 44 years in the gym, I can tell you with absolute certainty that my own body responds very poorly to highly processed foods, seed oils, corn oil, canola, fully or partially hydrogenated oils, and sugary substances.

Its sad when I walk into a gas station convenievce store, and there is hardly anything I can eat, other than a banana, or some pretzels, or rarely a chocholate chip cookie, or peanuts as a treat. I get horribly sick when i eat any Hydrogenated oils, such as commercial peanut butter, and will probably never eat it again for as long as I live

 

I wish I had been smart and active more in my youth. Exercise has always been miserable and food has been delicious. It's a vicious cycle. Lol