My usual diet, which is pretty routine unless I'm out of town, is as follows:
7:30 AM breakfast; (always routine, I don't need variety at breakfast)
1/4 cup Quaker regular oats (about 2/3 cup of actual oat meal) with 1 tablespoon raw walnuts, and a squirt of honey, a serving of microwaved "Egg Beaters" non-cholesterol, maybe about 2 eggs worth, and a 4-oz unsweetened apple sauce. A few cups of coffee with breakfast, lasting a couple hours after.
Someplace 11:30-1:00 lunch; variety of things, either a bagel sandwich with Buddig turkey or chicken, (NO mayo, as I hate that anyway), just mustard. OR, a can of tuna (Again, NO mayo). Or, a microwave pasta bowl, etc. Also a granola bar, or a few Triscuits, or? No burgers, fries, etc., but maybe a plain burger once a month at lunchtime. And I don't take cheese or other add-ons to any sandwiches. With lunch, I try to eat fruit if on hand.
NOT after 6, dinner; Often eat out, but as with lunch, it's something non-fried and free from any goo such as mayo or salad dressing, etc. When I have a salad, I have only plain vinegar on it. Plenty of hot peppers. Example: Last night, Kay and I went to a local barbecue place, and I had a chicken breast with a side of corn.
DRINKS: Water 95% of the time. I'm part German, so I have to keep the culture and have a beer now & then. A 6-pack every 2 or 3 months. No liquor, VERY FEW diet sodas, NEVER sugary ones. I drink 10 gallons of water per week. That sounds like a lot, but I have a medical problem that causes me to be thirsty all the time. I've drunk 1.5 litres just in the few minutes of typing this post :yes:.
Snacks: Not many. A single serving pack of raw nuts, or maybe some Wheat Thins (yes, fattening, but I like them!!!!) Luckily, I hate candy and cake, etc, and always have. I love salt, which is a bad thing, so I just don't keep chips and stuff in the house. If it's here, I eat it. So I just don't buy it.
My workout program: I'm not into bodybuilding; just want to stay cut and lean. I have a reasonably well-equipped weight room in the house, and I work out in there 3 days a week on average; about 90 minutes including warmup each of the days. I also do an ab workout 7 days/week each morning of 320 reps (150 standard crunches, and 80 reps side crunches each side). and I also do plenty of outdoor physical work, and ride dirt bikes. This, with the eating habits, seems to do the job for me.
This whole fitness thing is mind-over-matter, in MOST cases. If you're doing what your doctor tells you to do, and you are truthful with yourself about what you're eating and how you're exercising, and you can't seem to do it, you might need to have some hormone tests done. If your thyroid, parathyroid, or sex hormones are out of tolerance, you can find it nearly impossible to maintain a healthy body mass index. Sadly, most medical insurance won't pay for those tests, which is stupid, since these tests can sometimes reverse chronic obesity and thus offset costly heart and other health problems.
I know this might sound boring, but I have found that I no longer even like fries, pies, and that stuff. If I think I like it, I just think about how hard it was to get here, and I go take my shirt off and look in the mirror, and think about my age. That instantly gets rid of any fatty food craving!
Charles
The photos are sort-of a before & after... The one of me gulping down the water was taken in early summer '08, and the one with the stupid grin was taken about a month ago, shortly after I had the 5.3% reading. I really didn't notice any difference in my weight, or fit of clothes, but I really see veins popping out with the lower body fat content. That happened fairly suddenly, as compared to how long it takes to get rid of an inch of waist.
. My wife is annoyed because she's in excellent shape too, and hers is (Well, I better not publish it on the Internet if I know what's good for me), but you'd think that the way she takes care of her health, it would be lower than mine. She's a blackbelt, and also was a motocross stunt girl in the 90s.
etc. Read and understand the nutrition labels. Really good way to start by keeping track of all the fat, sodium, sugar that you consume. Stay under 100%!
