what better place to get advice than from a bunch of freak athletes that are way more disciplined than myself…now im not overweight, im not outta shape, i dont eat terrible, but my cholesterol numbers would have you believe im a couple french fries from strokin out…
so i need to focus on my diet, any tips or recommended books on clean eating would be great. any recipes that i can whip together that are tasty would be even better!
thanks in advance
-Nick
Logging food is probably a good first start. Certain things might show up that surprise you.
I’m kind of biased towards a “origin-to-dinner-plate” diet. That is, try and have a pretty solid knowledge of the lineage of your food from the farm to your gullet.
Go vegetarian (and try for less dairy/eggs) for 5/7 days a week. There are a lot of great ways to dress up rice and beans…or Indian food. ← I make huge batches of variations off this theme, which take a lot of time up front, but then make for fast weekday meals.
Sleep more. What does the rest of your life look like? Single or are you going to have to affect a family change?
haha sleep… thanks for the info though, im gonna try a 10 day cleanse or something to jumpstart the whole process…
my wife and i had a baby 6 weeks ago so they’re hasnt been alot of sleep so i know im hammering down more coffee/soda to try and stay awake while i sit at a desk all day…
i dont know if it’ll affect her to much, she might be on-board with the whole idea… something’s gotta give though. im 27 6’3 195-200lbs 16% body fat i thought i was pretty healthy but i think im battling hereditary issues… im not about to go on meds for the rest of my life though…
Take some time this weekend to watch Netflix…
Hungry for Change
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.
You know what you need to do, and if you don’t, these will get you started. Doesn’t mean you need to go all out, but just be aware of what you’re putting in your body.
Ease into the exercise. You want to set small goals, see small progressions. The successes, be it making it to the end of the block or around the block jogging without stopping, etc, keep the motivation up. Check out meetup.com and see if there are local running groups. Reach out to find a group of new friends who can help you with encouragement, advice, challenges, etc…
One step at a time…
Good luck.
my wife and i had a baby 6 weeks ago so they’re hasnt been alot of sleep so i know im hammering down more coffee/soda to try and stay awake while i sit at a desk all day…
Congrats on the kiddo! The no sleep stuff will kill you, but, yeah, something has to give. If there’s anything you can do to get a better nights rest(restructure non-work life), it’ll probably precipitate (positively) into everything else in your life.
I’m not a big cleanse type person, but if you need that kind of momentum, do it to it. The coffee+soda crap is the easy stuff to nab… but try and figure out something to replace it rather than just trying to cut things out.
all good advice, thank you. i didnt try to put alot about my personal habbits in the original post cuz i try to stay humble. i do workout already, not as much as i used to but im still active. a couple guys started a tri club in my aera a couple months ago so i have plenty of people to workout with.
any tips or recommended books on clean eating would be great.
“The engine 2 diet” for the philosophy and the “happy herbivore” series for recipes.
Read the book “Clean” by Alejandro Junger and buy a Nutribullet.
haha sleep… thanks for the info though, im gonna try a 10 day cleanse or something to jumpstart the whole process…
my wife and i had a baby 6 weeks ago so they’re hasnt been alot of sleep so i know im hammering down more coffee/soda to try and stay awake while i sit at a desk all day…
i dont know if it’ll affect her to much, she might be on-board with the whole idea… something’s gotta give though. im 27 6’3 195-200lbs 16% body fat i thought i was pretty healthy but i think im battling hereditary issues… im not about to go on meds for the rest of my life though…
Cleanse is broscience. Just eat from the edges of the store (i.e. raw meats not processed, fruits, veggies, fish).
John
haha sleep… thanks for the info though, im gonna try a 10 day cleanse or something to jumpstart the whole process…
my wife and i had a baby 6 weeks ago so they’re hasnt been alot of sleep so i know im hammering down more coffee/soda to try and stay awake while i sit at a desk all day…
i dont know if it’ll affect her to much, she might be on-board with the whole idea… something’s gotta give though. im 27 6’3 195-200lbs 16% body fat i thought i was pretty healthy but i think im battling hereditary issues… im not about to go on meds for the rest of my life though…
Cleanse is broscience. Just eat from the edges of the store (i.e. raw meats not processed, fruits, veggies, fish).
John
+1. Cleanse is a distraction. Make a quick ceremony by grabbing your crotch and shooting a bullet at the moon, then get on with the real work - eating better.
This worked for me:
–This food/nutrition database: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
–An easy to read health mag: Men’s Health (or whatever. After 3 months you won’t need it anymore, but it really is health/diet for dummies, so especially if you’re a new dad and pressed for time/creativity)
–Lots of whole veggies (carrots, handsful of spinach leaves) for snacks
–Tuna, nuts, beans for protein
Andrew Moss
i tell ya’ i did a seven day detox, at the end of it i felt amazing. i travel for a living so trying to eat healthy is quite challenging. i can generally find something ok at the hotels, in the airports that’s another story.
i didn’t ride for almost 2 weeks, the week of the detox and not a whole lot the week before. i’d arranged my sched to be home for the detox week so was gone a lot just before the full on program. when i went back and rode with my buddy that i ride with regularly, i was definitely able to push him to his limit.
i think much of what’s been said is good, eat as much raw as you can and as little processed as possible. but i do think a detox/cleanse is a good way to clean out the bad quickly and start with a ‘clean’ slate.
just my $.02, and i did not stay at a holiday inn express…ever.
My perspective as an older guy is this. A few years ago I was turning 40 and had your exact numbers: 6’3, 200lbs, 15-16% bodyfat, elevated BP. Of course at that age, my metabolism was taking a nosedive. I started with regular exercise, which progressed to running, then to multisport training like many on ST.
The food part was difficult, because our entire culture revolves around food! Every friggin party, holiday, football game, get together, reunion, circumcision…everything…has food at the center of it. I used to spend hours planning and preparing a meal. What a waste of time. I literally had to give up my previous notions and beliefs about food. You definitely have to change your whole perception of food: It’s not there for comfort; it’s there for fuel so you can live, work, play, train, perform, etc. So I keep it pretty simple with whole foods, high protein, vegetarian, no fast food, no packaged junk, no sweets. I now spend a few minutes for each meal/snack. Anyway, I think you get the idea. 2 years out from my epiphany, and I’m still 6’3…but have 6-7% bodyfat, 160lbs, normal labs and BP. I’m prepared to tear it up this season, and I feel like an animal when training and racing!
In a way I viewed bad food like I viewed my ex-wife. They were both dangerous to my health and lifespan. So I divorced both of them.
I guess my advice would be to find out what foods you shouldn’t be eating. When I was in high school I thought eating 2 McD’s supersize fries was a good post workout meal. Once I started to find out what wasn’t good for me, I started to eat foods that were better for me.
One time a guy asked me how to lose some weight. I said “eat better”, he said “I do eat good”. I asked “what did you have for breakfast today?” He said “biscuits and gravy”. See my point?
The motivation to exercise has to come from within. Find what motivates you. If it is to look good for the ladies, then let that drive you. If it is to beat other guys in lifting, swimming, biking, running, skiing, etc., let that fuel you.
As far as a recipe, I eat chicken, rice, and a salad (with a vinagrette/olive oil dressing , not that ranch crap). Slice a chicken breast into thin strips, place in a skillet with olive oil, spread the chicken out (it cooks faster when sliced thin), put on some cracked pepper and garlic powder, flip when it starts to turn white (almost fully cooked), after another minute or two, drizzle in some teryiaki sauce, cook for 1 more minute. (don’t be afraid to do this at a high heat setting!) I prefer to use calrose/sticky rice cuz it tastes better. This meal has protein, carbs, veggies, and fat from the oil. Super easy, tasty, and quick.
Yes there are spelling errors. Meh.
… i dont eat terrible, …
… so i know im hammering down more coffee/soda to try and stay awake while i sit at a desk all day…
…
What do you eat? just curious. What’s do you snack on, other than sugar, while you sit down at your desk all day?
Keep a log of everything you eat for a couple of days… it will help you see the big picture.
Good luck.
the jar of nutella staring me in the face is probably a good place to start… thats one of my snacks at my desk… but its not a daily thing.
mostly its alot of sugar though…soda, coffee, and whatever delicious sugarbomb someone brings into the office…
i ate 90% clean this weekend though and feel pretty good. thanks everyone for the info on books and tips, im gonna try to hammer out a couple days worth of a cleanse just to jump start myslef but i dont think i need to go on a full on cleanse, i just gotta sack up and do whats right.
the jar of nutella staring me in the face is probably a good place to start… thats one of my snacks at my desk… but its not a daily thing.
mostly its alot of sugar though…soda, coffee, and whatever delicious sugarbomb someone brings into the office…
i ate 90% clean this weekend though and feel pretty good. thanks everyone for the info on books and tips, im gonna try to hammer out a couple days worth of a cleanse just to jump start myslef but i dont think i need to go on a full on cleanse, i just gotta sack up and do whats right.
The soda is a great place to start. Basically, I made it a rule of thumb years ago to not drink any calories. I stick to black (or very, very light milk) coffee, water, the occasional diet soda, and Powerade Zero. The office temptations are tough buy you’ll find they get easier to pass up over time especially if you pack some baby carrots or something else to munch on as a substitute. Also, take the initiative and bring a box of oranges or veggie tray in now and then.
With statins and diet my numbers went from terrible to a normal range within a year. I haven’t seen anyone mention eating oatmeal for breakfast. Steel cut oats or old fashioned oats are best. I also take two (2) 1000mg fish oil softgels per day and seriously limit my high-fat meats (e.g. ground beef, bbq pork, bacon) and whole egg consumption. Same goes for fried food.
any tips for keeping the fish oil burps to a minimum?
i use to do the oatmeal thing… kinda got sick of it but i’ll probably have to get back into that habbit…
i dont eat alot of beef already, we use ground turkey in almost everything.
the jar of nutella staring me in the face is probably a good place to start… thats one of my snacks at my desk… but its not a daily thing.
I’m not a nutella fan but isn’t the stuff loaded with EFA’s?