The Lazy Man's Diet

[JediKooter]

Ok, so all the talk about calories in the Health Care Reform thread got me thinking and wanting to get my fat ass, well, less of a fat ass. My ass isn't actually fat, I do have the 'beer belly' though and that's what I want to get rid of.

Last time I weighed myself I was at 245. I'm 6ft and I usually hover around 250-255. That 10 pound difference was mostly because of depression with the crap I was going through with my wife leaving me and just not wanting to eat.

I don't have a scale to weigh myself, but, judging by how my pants fit, I'd say I'm back up to the 250-255 range again. Scientific enough for you? :)

So here's what I'm working with...

Lost my job, so I can't afford to go and pay a monthly fee for a gym. I do have a bike though. I have a knee that was completely reconstructed, so, I will not be doing any running. Plus, I've always hated running to just run. If running is part of a sport, no problem.

Food...I love everything, well, a lot of things that are not conducive to losing weight. I love cakes, mostly the cake and not the frosting, I love burgers with cheese, beer, fried chicken, root beer, steak, and some pies. I have no problem cutting out the soft drinks (I can go weeks without having one), I can go without any cake, I can go without any fried chicken and pies. However, I love a good burger and a good steak and beer. I'm willing to compromise though on those items.

Might be easier to break down my likes/dislikes for food.

Food Likes:

Meats - Chicken, Turkey, beef, pork

Vegetables - Onions, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, potatoes, corn, peppers, green beans, tomatoes. I'm sure there's a couple that I'm missing.

Fruits - Oranges, bananas, avocados, peaches, pears, grapes.

Drinks - Beer, water, soda (caffeine free), grapefruit juice, apple juice, orange juice, milk, sweat tea.

Miscellaneous - Rice, bread (wheat or white), cheese, yogurt, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

Food Dislikes:

Meats - Anything that spends the majority of its natural life swimming underwater and internal organs from any animal.

Vegetables - Peas, carrots, celery, beets, and I'm sure there's a lot I'm forgetting.

Fruits - Pineapple, kiwi, cherries, strawberries, mangos, grapefruit, again I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some more.

Drinks - Soy milk, coffee, carrot juice, those nasty ass flavored waters, diet soda, low fat milk, skim milk.

Miscellaneous - Mushrooms, soy beans, sprouts, rice cakes, again, probably a ton more that I'm just not remembering right now.


Things that are completely non-negotiable and will never eat (with explanation):

Carrots, peas, celery & beets - They all taste no different than just taking a handful of dirt and putting it in my mouth. I just can't eat that stuff, I've tried and they are disgusting to me.

Fish and internal organs of any animal - Fish (and everything else in the water) tastes beyond disgusting to me and that's not even taking into account of the smell. I've heard the 'it just wasn't prepared right' or 'it wasn't fresh' excuses. Nope, that's how it smells period. Don't think I need to go into internal organs of animal as that should be pretty self explanatory. :)

Fruits - Mostly because they are either too bitter for me or they have a dirt taste to them (strawberries).

Drinks - Low fat/non/skim milks. If I wanted my milk to taste like watered down milk, then I'd pour water in my delicious tasting whole vitamin D milk. Love the smell of coffee, can't stand the taste. Diet soda, good lord, that is some vile tasting stuff and the after taste is worse. No, Coke Zero does not taste like regular Coke, it taste more like regular Coke with monkey piss in it. Same with the flavored waters.

Miscellaneous - Mushrooms, soy beans, sprouts & rice cakes all either taste like dirt or, and no exageration, paper. Yes, I've tasted paper.


So why do I eat besides because I'm hungry? Well, I eat the things that I eat because I really enjoy the way they taste. I've never eaten to just eat. I also want to feel full after I eat because I don't want to have to eat again after just a couple of hours since the last time I ate.

I don't normally eat breakfast even though I love breakfast food. It's actually my favorite. Why I don't eat breakfast most of the time, well, because I'm usually still asleep. I do make sure I eat lunch and dinner though. I can do ok with only eating two meals a day, because I have pretty good self control and I do not snack. Plus, I very rarely buy junk food. I'm not big on sweets and stuff like that. I like them, I just rarely eat them and have always been that way.

So, what do I do? I have a limited budget because I'm no longer working. I also have a very tiny refrigerator that limits how much perishable things I can buy. Freezer is non existent. I have a stove, but, no oven. I also do not have a microwave. I can cook and consider myself pretty decent at it. I'm also willing to compromise on the things that I like and cut back or take them out all together to get to my target weight.

I'm not looking to get ripped with muscles or anything like that, I just want to be leaner and not get confused with the dude from King of Queens anymore, even though I don't think I'm as big as he is.

Now here's my problem...I know nothing of what works best, or what combination of foods work best for losing the amount of weight that I want to lose or what the best exercises to do without screwing my knee up again. I know every one is different and their bodies will react to things differently than others, but, I am sure there are some common things that work pretty much across the board for everyone.

I am totally open to suggestions and tips.

It is March 27, 2010, weight is 250. I would like to be down to 200 (or close to it) by the beginning of August. That's about 12.5 pounds a month. Is that a reasonable amount of weight to lose per month?

That's it for now.

[Autumn]

I've just lost about 15 pounds, so I have some sympathy, and can offer some hope.

If you really don't generally snack, or eat breakfast, then you must be logging some serious calories in those two meals. So the trick will be finding a way to stay full without quite so much calories.

I've never counted calories, or really paid attention to what I eat, or worried about it. But when I realized I needed some weight, counting calories for a few weeks worked wonders. I don't mean going too crazy, but I used a web site (livestrong.com) and entered in what I ate for a few weeks, as accurately as I could without going crazy. There I put in how much I weighed, how active I was and how much I wanted to lose per week and it gave me a target to shoot at. That really helped me figure out how much I needed to be eating if I wanted to lose.

The biggest trick I have is just to fill up as much as i can on lower calorie stuff. Don't deny yourself some of the things you want (such as burgers), but if you eat some other filling, low calorie stuff, first then you won't feel the need to stuff yourself with the high calorie stuff. you'll have to find what works for you but I just ate a lot of bell peppers and apples. I got some really good, really spicy hummus, and I would eat stuff with that. It was so flavorful that I would keep eating it, but stuff like apples and peppers basically just don't count as calories. Something with a lot of fiber is going to help fill you up but just come out the other end, essentially. If you can find a way to eat it that adds flavor (not just munching celery) I find you can keep it up better.

And as I said, the key for me was not telling myself I can't have this and this and this. I cut out some stuff, like desserts. But then I just would make myself eat a bunch of low calorie stuff first. After reducing portions, and eating like that for a while I find my appetite is less and I naturally just eat less.

Try just using a web site to calculate your calories, it will help you figure out which things you like to eat are good for you and which you should cut down on. You can trim by, for example, getting one of those deli flats instead of a burger roll.

[JediKooter]

Crap, totally forgot I posted this, haha!

I've just lost about 15 pounds, so I have some sympathy, and can offer some hope.

If you really don't generally snack, or eat breakfast, then you must be logging some serious calories in those two meals. So the trick will be finding a way to stay full without quite so much calories.

I don't think I do to be honest. For lunch I usually have Subway (foot long), chips and a drink. Probably, I'm guessing, 7 to 800 calories? I usually get the roast beef with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, spicy peppers, swiss cheese, oil and vinegar and light mayo. I don't get the largest drink. Yikes, just checked, the chips are 230 calories. I can cut out the chips and just get water so that should cut my lunch time intake fairly well.

Dinner is a little weird for me. Sometimes I'll a decent sized meal and then other times I hardly eat much at all. When I cook, it always have a vegetable included with either chicken or beef. I don't have the wildest idea of how many calories those dinners are though.

I've never counted calories, or really paid attention to what I eat, or worried about it. But when I realized I needed some weight, counting calories for a few weeks worked wonders. I don't mean going too crazy, but I used a web site (livestrong.com) and entered in what I ate for a few weeks, as accurately as I could without going crazy. There I put in how much I weighed, how active I was and how much I wanted to lose per week and it gave me a target to shoot at. That really helped me figure out how much I needed to be eating if I wanted to lose.

Just checked out that site, I like it so far! Thanks for mentioning that. :)

The biggest trick I have is just to fill up as much as i can on lower calorie stuff. Don't deny yourself some of the things you want (such as burgers), but if you eat some other filling, low calorie stuff, first then you won't feel the need to stuff yourself with the high calorie stuff. you'll have to find what works for you but I just ate a lot of bell peppers and apples. I got some really good, really spicy hummus, and I would eat stuff with that. It was so flavorful that I would keep eating it, but stuff like apples and peppers basically just don't count as calories. Something with a lot of fiber is going to help fill you up but just come out the other end, essentially. If you can find a way to eat it that adds flavor (not just munching celery) I find you can keep it up better.

That's what I'm trying to figure out now, what is going to satisfy me and not keep adding to the poundage. I bought some yogurt and some low calorie yogurt and for the difference of only about 10 or 20 calories, I'd stick with the regular yogurt due to the taste. I do like peppers a lot. How do you prepare them or cook them?

And as I said, the key for me was not telling myself I can't have this and this and this. I cut out some stuff, like desserts. But then I just would make myself eat a bunch of low calorie stuff first. After reducing portions, and eating like that for a while I find my appetite is less and I naturally just eat less.

That's where I'd like to be. Not feeling like the portions are too small and I'm still going to be hungry after eating. Did that take a while or fairly quickly for you?

Try just using a web site to calculate your calories, it will help you figure out which things you like to eat are good for you and which you should cut down on. You can trim by, for example, getting one of those deli flats instead of a burger roll.

I'm definitely going to use the livestrong.com website. I'm also trying to keep the amount of foods that I eat that are high in cholesterol to a minimum as that's what was off the charts when I had my last physical. Blood pressure was great though.

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.

[Autumn]

Crap, totally forgot I posted this, haha!

I don't think I do to be honest. For lunch I usually have Subway (foot long), chips and a drink. Probably, I'm guessing, 7 to 800 calories? I usually get the roast beef with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, spicy peppers, swiss cheese, oil and vinegar and light mayo. I don't get the largest drink. Yikes, just checked, the chips are 230 calories. I can cut out the chips and just get water so that should cut my lunch time intake fairly well.

Dinner is a little weird for me. Sometimes I'll a decent sized meal and then other times I hardly eat much at all. When I cook, it always have a vegetable included with either chicken or beef. I don't have the wildest idea of how many calories those dinners are though.
Just checked out that site, I like it so far! Thanks for mentioning that. :)

That's what I'm trying to figure out now, what is going to satisfy me and not keep adding to the poundage. I bought some yogurt and some low calorie yogurt and for the difference of only about 10 or 20 calories, I'd stick with the regular yogurt due to the taste. I do like peppers a lot. How do you prepare them or cook them?

That's where I'd like to be. Not feeling like the portions are too small and I'm still going to be hungry after eating. Did that take a while or fairly quickly for you?

I'm definitely going to use the livestrong.com website. I'm also trying to keep the amount of foods that I eat that are high in cholesterol to a minimum as that's what was off the charts when I had my last physical. Blood pressure was great though.

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.

Yeah, I found putting my meals into that Livestrong helped me just get a handle on calories for meals. You'll probably find some things, like the chips, that are surprisingly high that you can cut out or down on. Maybe there's some meals that have more calories than you'd expect. Like for me it was cheese, I realized that if you throw cheese into something the calories skyrocket.

It took a few weeks maybe, but fairly quickly I noticed a change in my appetite. A lot of it was just breaking habits for me. For example I realized I just tend to take seconds and thirds becuase the food tasted good at meals. If I stopped and waited (or for a couple weeks just didn't allow myself to have seconds) I realized I was actually full. And then eating the smaller portions made me get full even quicker than that, so it was a positive feedback loop.

Basically I fought against or tried to ignore cravings for a few weeks, and now I often just don't have the cravings once I got over those psychological barriers.

I snack on the bell peppers a lot, just raw and with some kind of dip or something that interests me. There's a chiptole hummus I like a lot, I can just have a tablespoon of that and it's so much flavor it makes me chow right through a bell pepper. And then all that keeps me from snacking on something else for quite a while (just eating when I was bored was one of my problems).

I try to use a lot of foods that I know are nearly 0 calories, like apples and peppers. I'm sure there are others but I'm not sure what they are. I figure if I eat those first whenever I'm hungry it will cut down on how much of the heavier food I end up eating.

[JediKooter]

Yeah, I found putting my meals into that Livestrong helped me just get a handle on calories for meals. You'll probably find some things, like the chips, that are surprisingly high that you can cut out or down on. Maybe there's some meals that have more calories than you'd expect. Like for me it was cheese, I realized that if you throw cheese into something the calories skyrocket.

It took a few weeks maybe, but fairly quickly I noticed a change in my appetite. A lot of it was just breaking habits for me. For example I realized I just tend to take seconds and thirds becuase the food tasted good at meals. If I stopped and waited (or for a couple weeks just didn't allow myself to have seconds) I realized I was actually full. And then eating the smaller portions made me get full even quicker than that, so it was a positive feedback loop.

Basically I fought against or tried to ignore cravings for a few weeks, and now I often just don't have the cravings once I got over those psychological barriers.

I snack on the bell peppers a lot, just raw and with some kind of dip or something that interests me. There's a chiptole hummus I like a lot, I can just have a tablespoon of that and it's so much flavor it makes me chow right through a bell pepper. And then all that keeps me from snacking on something else for quite a while (just eating when I was bored was one of my problems).

I try to use a lot of foods that I know are nearly 0 calories, like apples and peppers. I'm sure there are others but I'm not sure what they are. I figure if I eat those first whenever I'm hungry it will cut down on how much of the heavier food I end up eating.

Yes, just noticed that adding cheese to the sandwich pushes up the amount of calories for it. Didn't realize it was that much. Especially since they aren't that big and are pretty thin.

My problem right now is, I tend to eat everything that I make because I don't have a microwave to warm things back up and I have very limited storage space. I'll have to start making smaller portions from now on and do what you are doing with no seconds.

Never been a fan of regular hummus. Do you like regular hummus or was it the chipotle flavored hummus that you only like?

I made an onion soup the other day that was just onions, water and some chicken broth. Came out pretty good and I think is pretty low in calories and was pretty filling as well. I do have to buy some apples so I have something to snack on. Funny story, when I worked at Apple, they would put out fruit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for us. It was awesome and free! It beat hitting up the vending machine and I usually grabbed an apple or a banana.

[Autumn]

Yes, just noticed that adding cheese to the sandwich pushes up the amount of calories for it. Didn't realize it was that much. Especially since they aren't that big and are pretty thin.

My problem right now is, I tend to eat everything that I make because I don't have a microwave to warm things back up and I have very limited storage space. I'll have to start making smaller portions from now on and do what you are doing with no seconds.

Never been a fan of regular hummus. Do you like regular hummus or was it the chipotle flavored hummus that you only like?

I made an onion soup the other day that was just onions, water and some chicken broth. Came out pretty good and I think is pretty low in calories and was pretty filling as well. I do have to buy some apples so I have something to snack on. Funny story, when I worked at Apple, they would put out fruit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for us. It was awesome and free! It beat hitting up the vending machine and I usually grabbed an apple or a banana.

I like regular hummus fairly well. But I'd get tired of eating it pretty quick without the flavor. I just found that if I find something that's really flavor intensive then I don't need to eat a lot of it. Things that are kind of bland I have to keep eating and eating to feel like I'm satisfied.

Yeah, soup is a great idea. I think it's pretty clear why people historically ate soups - you can stretch the bit of meat or whatever you put in it pretty far, and the volume of liquid fills you up, yet is mostly water. I keep forgetting to make soups, but i agree that's a real good choice.

Yeah, I had to break the habit of eating stuff just to get rid of it. I'd be like, "Oh I can't fit this all in the tupperware, I'll just eat the rest."

[JediKooter]

I like regular hummus fairly well. But I'd get tired of eating it pretty quick without the flavor. I just found that if I find something that's really flavor intensive then I don't need to eat a lot of it. Things that are kind of bland I have to keep eating and eating to feel like I'm satisfied.

Yeah, soup is a great idea. I think it's pretty clear why people historically ate soups - you can stretch the bit of meat or whatever you put in it pretty far, and the volume of liquid fills you up, yet is mostly water. I keep forgetting to make soups, but i agree that's a real good choice.

Yeah, I had to break the habit of eating stuff just to get rid of it. I'd be like, "Oh I can't fit this all in the tupperware, I'll just eat the rest."

Ah ok. I've never been a big fan of regular hummus. Might have to look for the flavored ones though.

The good thing is, I love soups. I like making cabbage soup and onion soup. I always forget to buy enough broth though, so by the time everything is reduced, I have far less than I anticipated that I would have, haha.

Man, that is exactly what I do: It doesn't fit, it gets eaten by me, haha.

[Swaggs]

Is there any reason why you cannot buy a microwave? I only ask because it seems like it is preventing you from eating as well as you could be and you can find a number of good microwaves for under $80.

[JediKooter]

Is there any reason why you cannot buy a microwave? I only ask because it seems like it is preventing you from eating as well as you could be and you can find a number of good microwaves for under $80.

Mostly because of limited space. Another reason I never got one is, when I was still married, it was just an extra expense (of buying one) that my wife would have given me a hard time about. I could probably get one, but, it would have to be pretty small.

If all goes well with my job search, I will be moving and into a bigger place soon and will definitely be getting a microwave then.

[flere-imsaho]

When you're getting sandwiches at Subway, try to skip the oil. Oil has a ridiculous amount of calories in it (even small amounts) that aren't typically counted in the calorie counts.

[JediKooter]

I didn't know that about the oil flere, thanks for the heads up on that. I switched to the sweet onion chicken terriaki and don't get any oil or spreads on it. Just the chicken and bread and some salt and pepper.