Nutrition Methods that Actually Work

I wrote these up for a friend that was trying to lose weight.  He lost 8 lbs. in two weeks already.  These are the 19 commandments I've found that work for me.  I'm now at my ideal body weight and rarely hungry because of this list.  I've lost a total of 40 lbs. using these methods.  You'll notice that lots of this is how to eat, not what to eat.

1. Get a digital scale at Target. $25. Must weigh to 10th of a lb.
a. Weigh yourself daily after you get up and pee.
b. This enables you to see trends.
c. Yes, you will fluctuate a few lbs. a day, but this keeps you on top of it.


2. Stop eating BEFORE you get full.
a. You can actually eat pretty crappy food and still lose weight by doing this.
b. Start paying close attention for that feeling of fullness.  
c. Stop INSTANTLY once you feel it.  Put that half sandwich in a ziploc.  You will not die.
d. The first time is hardest.  Keep trying. With time, it gets easier.


3. Chew slower.
a. Gives you more time to feel the full feeling.
b. The ultimate drill for this is chewing a sip of water 20 times.
c. Realistically, it's more like 10 chews per bite.
d. If you wait too long between snacks or meals, you'll wolf down your food.


4. Base your meals around fruits and veggies first, THEN meat and carbs.
a. This is the opposite of what most people do in USA.
b. Steak and carbs (starches, pasta, bread) should accessorize your meal, not be the center of it.
c. You can eat as much fruit and veggies as you want. No limit.


5. Don't eat late at night.
a. Studies show that eating late puts on twice as much fat.


6. Fruit juice is sugar water.
a. It's essentially fruit sugar with no fiber.
b. Eat a piece of fruit and drink a glass of water instead.
c. If you do drink juice, cut it in half with water.  It tastes almost exactly the same.
d. If it says High Fructose Corn Syrup, that's not food. That's a corn processing by-product.  Don't drink it and throw it away so nobody else will either.


7. Look for foods with tons of fiber.
a. Fiber pushes food through your system much, much faster. Doesn't let it park in your gut and give you unnecessary calories.
b. Fruits and veggies.
c. Pumkin seeds.
d. Grains can have lots of fiber, but are also calorie dense.  Be careful with those.


8. Diets are stupid. 
a. By definition, they are short-term, forced eating methods.
b. You can't avoid bad foods all the time. You'll be miserable and hungry and then quit.
c. You just want to limit the damage from the bad foods.
d. This is how the French eat some of the worst food and1
still stay skinny.


9. Instead, adopt an eating "style".
a. The Paleo diet is a great guidline (http://www.earth360.com/diet_paleodiet_balzer.html)
b. Allow for mistakes, just watch the scale daily to make sure you're on track.
c. Try to stay in line with the rules, but definitely stray if you feel the need.  Treat it as a philosophy, not a diet. 


10. If it's not real food, don't eat it.
a. You wouldn't put crappy gas in your car.  Why are you putting crappy fuel in your body?
b. Just put it down and step away.  There's always better choices.

c. By not real, I mean stuff that is made in factories.  Cheetos, chips, cokes.  Quit treating yourself like a cow in a feedlot.


11. Don't get stuck at work, the airport, a car ride, whatever without healthy food.
a. If you know you're going to be in a captive environment with crappy food, then you have enough time to pack b healthy snack/meal.
c. This is why we have ziplocs and tupperware.


12. Bread, pasta, and potatoes are crazy-dense in carbs and calories.
a. You should avoid these whenever possible and only eat them when your prepping for a mega workout.
b. Treat them as emergency endurance fuels. You can ride a bike 20 miles on a single bagel.  Are you riding 20 miles on a bike when sitting at your desk?  Nope.


13. Many diet foods just make you hungrier later.
a. Diet cokes, diet whatever are nutrient deficient.
b. Your body will compensate later by overeating other foods.

14. Eat food for what it has, not for what it has not.
a. Eat an apple because it has vitamins, fiber, minerals.
b. Don't drink a diet coke because it has nothing.


15. Look for foods with "low glycemic index"
a. This means the sugar in the food takes longer to hit your bloodstream.
b. This makes you feel full longer.
c. You get diabetes from sugar hitting your bloodstream too fast and your pancrease gives up trying to deal with it.
d. High - sugar, bread (sugar in loaf form), cokes, fruit juice, potatoes.
e. Low - veggies, meat, nuts, whole fruit.


16. Caffeine
a. Can be a roller coaster of highs and lows, making you lose control of willpower.
b. Is the most abused drug in the USA.
c. You should try to limit it, within reason.


17. Graze on healthy foods so you don't overeat at a meal.
a. 3 square meals are a product of the industrial revolution so that foremen could keep the production lines running in unison.
b. Eating big meals causes blood sugar to spike big-time.  You want the blood sugar level to stay low and even.
c. Protein also makes you feel full and slows down blood sugar spikes.


18. Your body stores excess blood sugar as fat.
a. You can actually eat more food and lose weight by spreading it out instead of concentrating it into meals.
b. Mix protein and fiber in with your meal to slow down the absorbtion.

19. Statistics show that people that skip breakfast are fatter than those that don't.

Just thought you'd like to know.  :)

Comments

[Tamsin]

These are wonderful tips and all common sense. Whether are not you're fat, it is wise to pay attention to these things.

[Jamie]

I've adopted most (definitely not all) of these over the past year and have seen major changes in my body, grocery shopping habits and PERFORMANCE. I'm still a really fast eater though.

Looking back at last year's workout logs, I'm about 10-12 lbs lighter than last year and super lean. I didn't even think that I had 10 pounds to lose last year! I'm about the same weight that I was when I was my most fit in high school, but with more lean muscle mass.

Holisticguru is a lifestyle councelor, not a nutritional counselor.

[Seth]

Awesome post. Diets don't work! If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to adopt a lifestyle change.

I think a lifestyle change should incorporate some room for a little indulgence now and again too. I don't think there is anything wrong with splurging after a long, hard weekend of training or a race. Just keep it within reason.

One thing you did leave off was booze: beer/wine/alcohol. That stuff essentially puts the brakes on your metabolism. So if you do like to drink, limit your intake to 1or 2 (max) per day, otherwise your gains are basically erased.

[Matt]

Awesome! This is a great list that even I can try a step at a time. You also (I think) mentioned on a p-cast @ up-ing your effort and the great effect that has had. Keep it up you do a fantastic job!