The official diet and nutrition thread

[PaloAltoCougar]

Nice work, SB! Truly impressive.

[beefytee]

Yes. Please point us in the right direction for this. Do you have specific cookbooks? Websites?

And congrats on the lifestyle change! That sounds great! I have aspirations to do something like this.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Switched to the Mediterranean lifestyle after some bad labs earlier this year (March) and really focused on learning to cook because I know I'll get bored unless I learn to have massive variety. I've spent the past 8 months learning new skills and especially how to cook good healthy meals when I get home after a 10 hour day and don't want to cook (I do all the cooking for the family now). For the first time in my life I've made a huge change that doesn't involve extreme measures (which for me ALWAYS result in a yo yo style return to former weight plus some more). I have no idea how many calories I eat, I eat very well and I've discovered a whole new world of spices, seasonings and variety. I ditched processed foods, reduced my drinking to 1-2 a week and the results have been more than I could have dreamed up. I've dropped nearly 40 pounds, my BP is back to normal, I feel so much better and best of all, I feel like I eat better than I ever have in my life. I had tried the Mediterranean lifestyle a couple years back with good initial success but with very limited cooking skills which proved to be my demise on that attempt. Now that I have a new skill set I'm feeling confident in this being my new way of life.

Wow!!! That is impressive.

Funny you should mention this. I did a physical in October and my HDL is low and my LDL is high-ish but in the reasonable range. The bigger problem is that my LDL is dominated by small particles and is way out of range. I have never heard of that before, but it is a thing. Blood pressure is also high. So one of my options is to go on statins, but I am philosophically opposed to taking meds to deal with something you can probably fix through lifestyle. So I am committed to losing 25 lbs. I already workout and exercise at a pretty high level, so I need to improve my diet. I have been too careless with sweets, rich/high-fat foods, snacking, and overeating.

I bought a new set of scales that links to my phone via bluetooth so my daily weight is automatically recorded and tracked. That will really help me stay focused.

I know the broad strokes of a Mediterranean diet, but what are some of your go-to meals? Tonight we did a med bowl with brown rice, chicken, lettuce, hummus, olives, cucumbers, etc.

[Bo Diddley]

Switched to the Mediterranean lifestyle after some bad labs earlier this year (March) and really focused on learning to cook because I know I'll get bored unless I learn to have massive variety. I've spent the past 8 months learning new skills and especially how to cook good healthy meals when I get home after a 10 hour day and don't want to cook (I do all the cooking for the family now). For the first time in my life I've made a huge change that doesn't involve extreme measures (which for me ALWAYS result in a yo yo style return to former weight plus some more). I have no idea how many calories I eat, I eat very well and I've discovered a whole new world of spices, seasonings and variety. I ditched processed foods, reduced my drinking to 1-2 a week and the results have been more than I could have dreamed up. I've dropped nearly 40 pounds, my BP is back to normal, I feel so much better and best of all, I feel like I eat better than I ever have in my life. I had tried the Mediterranean lifestyle a couple years back with good initial success but with very limited cooking skills which proved to be my demise on that attempt. Now that I have a new skill set I'm feeling confident in this being my new way of life.

What are some of your favorite meals? I feel like I should do something similar.

[SteelBlue]

Switched to the Mediterranean lifestyle after some bad labs earlier this year (March) and really focused on learning to cook because I know I'll get bored unless I learn to have massive variety. I've spent the past 8 months learning new skills and especially how to cook good healthy meals when I get home after a 10 hour day and don't want to cook (I do all the cooking for the family now). For the first time in my life I've made a huge change that doesn't involve extreme measures (which for me ALWAYS result in a yo yo style return to former weight plus some more). I have no idea how many calories I eat, I eat very well and I've discovered a whole new world of spices, seasonings and variety. I ditched processed foods, reduced my drinking to 1-2 a week and the results have been more than I could have dreamed up. I've dropped nearly 40 pounds, my BP is back to normal, I feel so much better and best of all, I feel like I eat better than I ever have in my life. I had tried the Mediterranean lifestyle a couple years back with good initial success but with very limited cooking skills which proved to be my demise on that attempt. Now that I have a new skill set I'm feeling confident in this being my new way of life.

[Pelado]

-8 lbs.

[Green Monstah]

-8 lbs.

[Scott R Nelson]

After eating just a little bit too much for Thanksgiving Dinner, I resolved that I need to stop eating so much - to begin right after eating three kinds of pie.

So I'm going to see how far I can get on willpower alone, before coming up with a better plan. For now I hope to limit my eating to three meals a day, no snacks at all, and smaller portions of whatever I do eat. Yesterday some friends brought over a loaf of Great Harvest Cinnamon Burst bread, which I was craving this morning, so I toasted two slices and called it my breakfast.

I've been eating way too many snacks recently, so cutting those out along with smaller portions ought to make a difference. If I can drop seven pounds to get to the next lower multiple of 10 on my bathroom scale, I'll call it a success. Aiming for New Years Day to hit my goal. Yes, this is probably the worst time of the year to start dieting, but it has to happen.

[Pelado]

I was just reading the other day that there are two types of iron - the type from meats and another type from non-meat sources. Apparently, though, the meat sources of iron get absorbed by the body much better than the non-meat sources. Looked like liver is the best source of iron.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Looking forward to your next visit!

Me too! A tasty mug of kefir and a plate of pickles and sauerkraut are on me!

[Clark Addison]

Given my recent fun with prostate cancer and the very premature deaths of my brother and close friend, and because of my classes on inflammation, the microbiome, and currently "Exercise Theory and Design for Health and Fitness," I've made major dietary changes. They include way less sugar and red meat (sorry, cowboy), and a lot more greens (my hydroponic garden is kicking out piles of excellent greens), fiber, and fermented food/drinks. I've only been doing this for three weeks or so, but the good news is that I like eating this way and shouldn't have a problem staying with this (but yeah, let's see how I'm doing six months from now).

Wednesday the missus and I are getting DEXA scans, in part because I think I have excess visceral fat and seeing it in print will be motivating. Also, even though my last Lipid panel was okay (105 LDL, 65 HDL, 85 triglycerides), I asked my doc about Dr. Peter Attia's recommendation in Longevity (very good book I read last week) that taking a statin even with good cholesterol numbers is a good idea because even healthy Americans are accumulating plaque in their arteries. My full body CT scan taken prior to my treatment revealed some aortic arteriosclerosis, although nothing alarming. Yet. Over many years, that can become a problem--why not reduce or eliminate the risk? So I'm now on a moderate daily dose of Lipitor with no apparent side effects.

One other Attia note: he says older folks almost never take in enough protein, and insufficient protein can be very life-shortening, as reduced muscle mass causes a lot of issues among the elderly. He also believes that the US RDA for protein is absurdly low, and that 1 gram per pound of body weight in males wouldn't be excessive. I shoot for around 140 grams/day (RDA would be 70)

Looking forward to your next visit!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Your diet with less red meat and the recommendation to get more protein sounds difficult. How are you getting that protein? White meat?

The past few days, for example, have included turkey, chicken, salmon (meat proteins are encouraged), and some ground beef and ground pork. Also steel-cut oats, eggs, and various types of.beans. And I drink a fairlife (30 grams right there) and a glass of Kefir every day.

[beefytee]

Your diet with less red meat and the recommendation to get more protein sounds difficult. How are you getting that protein? White meat?

[PaloAltoCougar]

Given my recent fun with prostate cancer and the very premature deaths of my brother and close friend, and because of my classes on inflammation, the microbiome, and currently "Exercise Theory and Design for Health and Fitness," I've made major dietary changes. They include way less sugar and red meat (sorry, cowboy), and a lot more greens (my hydroponic garden is kicking out piles of excellent greens), fiber, and fermented food/drinks. I've only been doing this for three weeks or so, but the good news is that I like eating this way and shouldn't have a problem staying with this (but yeah, let's see how I'm doing six months from now).

Wednesday the missus and I are getting DEXA scans, in part because I think I have excess visceral fat and seeing it in print will be motivating. Also, even though my last Lipid panel was okay (105 LDL, 65 HDL, 85 triglycerides), I asked my doc about Dr. Peter Attia's recommendation in Longevity (very good book I read last week) that taking a statin even with good cholesterol numbers is a good idea because even healthy Americans are accumulating plaque in their arteries. My full body CT scan taken prior to my treatment revealed some aortic arteriosclerosis, although nothing alarming. Yet. Over many years, that can become a problem--why not reduce or eliminate the risk? So I'm now on a moderate daily dose of Lipitor with no apparent side effects.

One other Attia note: he says older folks almost never take in enough protein, and insufficient protein can be very life-shortening, as reduced muscle mass causes a lot of issues among the elderly. He also believes that the US RDA for protein is absurdly low, and that 1 gram per pound of body weight in males wouldn't be excessive. I shoot for around 140 grams/day (RDA would be 70)

[Bo Diddley]

before i reached age 30, i was a 6'1 guy who weighed about 160. after age 30, i started to gain and was hovering around 220 by my early 40s. that is when i started intermittent fasting. I got down to about 205 and stayed there for a few years until covid hit and i started working from home. with as much food as i could ever want within about 50 steps of my office, i ballooned to near 240 in the subsequent 12 months. i decided i didn't want to be fat any longer and started a disciplined intermittent fast - within about a year and a half was down to 185. since that time i've hovered at around 185-195 depending on how disciplined i'm willing to be in regard to my calorie intake. after cruising for 7 days and gaining 8 lbs during the week, i'm up over 200 for the first time in about a year. so back to a disciplined "diet" so i can get back down around 190. i like food too much to go much lower than 190, so that's the realistic goal at this point.