Not a believer in deprivation - this whole go to bed hungry? wow that is seriously f*cked up. this is my hobby not my career.


I go to bed every night feeling like I could eat but if I don't, I wake up with far more energy, don't feel sluggish. Since I stopped eating after a light dinner, I have kept my weight stable and lower than when I did Ironman's. I've also found it easier to eliminate junk from my diet since my cravings are gone and all my blood tests are far better now than ever, at age 56.

It has zero to do with triathlons since I don't even do them anymore. I do it strictly for health.

feeling like you could eat and actually being hungry are 2 different things

Out of curiosity, what makes you say it's "that one little thing extra" that separates good and great?
It seems like you're assuming this is an accepted principle of some sort. Can't say I accept it. And if it's not valid, which I would contend is the case, then the whole basis of this thread is undermined.

I've heard plenty athletes talk about their little unique thing they do alright, but it always comes across as either something they're just using to fill out an interview (or often something the interviewer asks, and they oblige) or a personal superstition of sorts.
I really don't think there is any reality to the idea that copying the little unique habits of others will make you great. This idea gets peddled a lot in mainstream media and certainly the vast majority of it is nonsense. The whole celebrity diet idea is nothing but idiocy and based on this idea that there's some little, but vital, secret the general public don't know about. I'm not saying this is where you're going with this, but the idea that there are little secrets that separate good from great is false a dangerous one IMO.

Actually, I wish I could retract the good from great comparison in this specific case, because that wasn't my intention with my original post and question.

It was to hear what unique habits that some people have when it comes to weight loss/staying fit. Superstition or not. I never once said, "Hey all, I'm looking to lose weight, tell me what I should do!"

I live in the south. My diet growing up and into my 30's before I took control:

Sweet Tea - 2 cups of sugar per gallon
Veggies - Only veggies were Collards fried in bacon grease, fried squash, fried cauliflower, peas cooked in ham fat, fried okra, corn
Carbs - cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream (fried mashed potatoes from leftovers), dumplings, grits (fried grits with leftovers), apple pie, brownies, muffins
Meat - Fried chicken, fried pork chops, country fried steak, ham, hamburger steak (with tons of gravy), fried fish, fried chicken livers/gizzards

Pretty much ate that everyday. So those pics you see of guys who have a narrow frame but a belly that sticks way out past there pants... that was me.

My largest pants size was only a size 40. But the trick was to just wear the pants lower as the belly got bigger, instead of buying larger size pants.

I lost the weight over a 5 year period (ending in 2013), so luckily dont have a lot of saggy skin. How did I lose the weight? For one - no more fried foods, zero sugar and no simple carbs. In fact, my 9 year old was at his friends house and had regular spaghetti noodles for the 1st time in his life. The mom told us that he kept telling her how her spaghetti was the best spaghetti he had ever tasted. It was the noodles.

There hasnt been white bread, vegetable/canola oil, sugar, candy, cereal, snacks or soda of any kind in our house since 2009.

For exercise, the 1st weight came off with running. A lot more came off with 2 rounds of P90X (I am not a coach or affiliate), the rest came off with running.

I carried most of my weight in my stomach so to this day I am paranoid my stomach is going to get big again.

Here is my advice on what works for me:
1.)Food journal and count all calories
2.)I base my burn rate at 1600 calories. Then I add extra calories to my diet to make up exercise differences. I found that trying to base everything around 2000 calories was too high for me
3.)Eat heavier one to two days before a big event
4.)Switched to water only on my training rides (instead of energy drink mixes)

This has really worked great for me this year. I've stayed thin and my training has went pretty well.

What's P90X?

reminded me of this great SNL skit...

https://vimeo.com/97370236

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
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