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That's actually a great point, and something I've told friends in a "broscience" fashion: There is nearly nothing in nature that combines fats and carbs. It's

That's actually a great point, and something I've told friends in a "broscience" fashion: There is nearly nothing in nature that combines fats and carbs. It's almost like you need to choose one or the other - balance is how you get into trouble, because then you think everything is legal. Take, for instance, potato chips -- and not the low-fat Baked Lay's or Quest Chips kind. If you're on a "balanced diet", they're legal. But good luck measuring them and not eating the entire bag. It sounds like your success was mainly in portion control. Eating standing up helps you get full faster too, as does focusing on chewing a lot (also prevents choking and other benefits). The biggest problem I forgot to mention above, however, is that people will read all sorts of literature, but when it comes to actually weighing their food with a food scale (costs literally $20) and counting their calories and macros, they all fail. Yes, it's a pain in the arse, but you learn so much by recording everything you eat. But people simply don't want to do it, and it drives me nuts. This also leads me to believe that there's a massive business opportunity somewhere in there to make it easier to do (I have ideas but am too busy).

bokonist 12y ago
My diet was partly portion control, but I also weighed food and used myfitnesspal. It did require greatly simplifying my diet. I would make five pounds of food at a time in a slower cooker, and have my meals all portioned out for the next few days. It was somewhat monotonous but that is actually a benefit. What made the diet stick and work, was that I knew with absolute scientific certainty that if I 1) counted calories 2) always underestimated 3) stuck to it, then it was 100% certain that I would get the results I wanted. And sure enough, ten weeks later, I was 15 pounds lighter and people were commenting on how good I was looking. My recommendation to dieters is to not do it halfheartedly. Go all in, read reddit fitness, geek out on dieting, count calories, come up with new recipes, set a complete routine around cooking the right food, etc. That way you won't be tempted to make exceptions and you will know with 100% certainty that you will get results.
- minikomi 12y ago
  Any favorite recipes?
  - bokonist 12y ago
    Pulled chicken with salsa - 3 pounds of chicken, mixed breasts and thighs. 48oz salsa, three cans of 15oz beans. Mix together, put in slow cooker for 4 hours on high. Pull the chicken and mix in a cup of cheddar cheese. Simple, satiating, and very good. Pulled pork Put a pork butt/shoulder in the slow cooker. Douse with a 16oz bottle of root beer. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull apart. Mix in BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese to taste. This can end up tasting too good, so you might need to portion control when you eat it. Roast beef (or roast lamb, or roast anything) Buy an oven roast and rub in salt and pepper. Cook according to the times laid out here http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume23/TheHealthyButchers-UltimateRoastingChart.pdf http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume23/TheHealt... Very simple, yet amazingly delicious right out of the oven. Baked Chicken Buy a mix of thighs and breasts. Slice the breasts in half so they are the same thickness as the thighs. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook at 400 degrees until they are 160degrees internal temp (37 minutes in my oven, when laid out on a rack, not on the baking pan directly). Once you have baked the chicken, you can eat straight up the first night. Then in succeeding nights you can mix with tomato sauce and do pasta, mix with cheese and make a quesadilla, mix with coconut milk, red curry paste, and peanut butter and do a thai chicken, etc. By doing the work of cooking the chicken all in one night, in following nights you can make a variety of healthy, delicious meals in under 10 minutes. Just reheat the chicken in a sauce and you have instant goodness. Roast veggies But three 1pound bags of frozen veggies - brussel sprouts, "fiesta mix", brocoli, whatever you like. Put in strainer and run water over to thaw out a bit. Dry. Put on baking pans. Brush with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put in oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. If using multiple pans, switch the racks half-way through. It is even better if you do fresh veggies, but it is more prep work in cutting them to the proper size.
e12e 12y ago
> The biggest problem I forgot to mention above, however, is that people will read all sorts of literature, but when it comes to actually weighing their food with a food scale (costs literally $20) and counting their calories and macros, they all fail. There recently was a story in Norwegian media about a person that had gone down some X kgs (basically from overweight to more healthy) -- by eating a strict diet of ready-made meals (heat in the microwave type stuff). The reason behind this anecdote? They all list calorie content. No need to measure (again). Is it a healthy diet? Probably not (high salt, high fat, low vitamins, little variation... the list goes on). But it's easy to then try and follow up on calorie count.
- saalweachter 12y ago
  This is basically how Nutrisystem works. They send you prepackaged meals, and you supplement them with fresh fruits and vegetables. (It's really hard to overeat fresh fruits and vegetables, even with poor measuring.)
- MicroBerto 12y ago
  Yep! People have even lost weight on McDonald's, because you can at least get a ballpark for calories. That said, those same people are probably dying inside from the quality perspective!!

bokonist 12y ago

My diet was partly portion control, but I also weighed food and used myfitnesspal. It did require greatly simplifying my diet. I would make five pounds of food at a time in a slower cooker, and have my meals all portioned out for the next few days. It was somewhat monotonous but that is actually a benefit. What made the diet stick and work, was that I knew with absolute scientific certainty that if I 1) counted calories 2) always underestimated 3) stuck to it, then it was 100% certain that I would get the results I wanted. And sure enough, ten weeks later, I was 15 pounds lighter and people were commenting on how good I was looking. My recommendation to dieters is to not do it halfheartedly. Go all in, read reddit fitness, geek out on dieting, count calories, come up with new recipes, set a complete routine around cooking the right food, etc. That way you won't be tempted to make exceptions and you will know with 100% certainty that you will get results.

minikomi 12y ago
Any favorite recipes?
- bokonist 12y ago
  Pulled chicken with salsa - 3 pounds of chicken, mixed breasts and thighs. 48oz salsa, three cans of 15oz beans. Mix together, put in slow cooker for 4 hours on high. Pull the chicken and mix in a cup of cheddar cheese. Simple, satiating, and very good. Pulled pork Put a pork butt/shoulder in the slow cooker. Douse with a 16oz bottle of root beer. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull apart. Mix in BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese to taste. This can end up tasting too good, so you might need to portion control when you eat it. Roast beef (or roast lamb, or roast anything) Buy an oven roast and rub in salt and pepper. Cook according to the times laid out here http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume23/TheHealthyButchers-UltimateRoastingChart.pdf http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/livetoeat/volume23/TheHealt... Very simple, yet amazingly delicious right out of the oven. Baked Chicken Buy a mix of thighs and breasts. Slice the breasts in half so they are the same thickness as the thighs. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook at 400 degrees until they are 160degrees internal temp (37 minutes in my oven, when laid out on a rack, not on the baking pan directly). Once you have baked the chicken, you can eat straight up the first night. Then in succeeding nights you can mix with tomato sauce and do pasta, mix with cheese and make a quesadilla, mix with coconut milk, red curry paste, and peanut butter and do a thai chicken, etc. By doing the work of cooking the chicken all in one night, in following nights you can make a variety of healthy, delicious meals in under 10 minutes. Just reheat the chicken in a sauce and you have instant goodness. Roast veggies But three 1pound bags of frozen veggies - brussel sprouts, "fiesta mix", brocoli, whatever you like. Put in strainer and run water over to thaw out a bit. Dry. Put on baking pans. Brush with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put in oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. If using multiple pans, switch the racks half-way through. It is even better if you do fresh veggies, but it is more prep work in cutting them to the proper size.

e12e 12y ago

> The biggest problem I forgot to mention above, however, is that people will read all sorts of literature, but when it comes to actually weighing their food with a food scale (costs literally $20) and counting their calories and macros, they all fail. There recently was a story in Norwegian media about a person that had gone down some X kgs (basically from overweight to more healthy) -- by eating a strict diet of ready-made meals (heat in the microwave type stuff). The reason behind this anecdote? They all list calorie content. No need to measure (again). Is it a healthy diet? Probably not (high salt, high fat, low vitamins, little variation... the list goes on). But it's easy to then try and follow up on calorie count.

saalweachter 12y ago
This is basically how Nutrisystem works. They send you prepackaged meals, and you supplement them with fresh fruits and vegetables. (It's really hard to overeat fresh fruits and vegetables, even with poor measuring.)
MicroBerto 12y ago
Yep! People have even lost weight on McDonald's, because you can at least get a ballpark for calories. That said, those same people are probably dying inside from the quality perspective!!