Looking for suggestions on eating changes

I went vegan 4 months ago and my energy levels are higher than ever before. Overall I just feel better.

It's not for everyone though.
You'll definitely will loose A LOT of body fat. 1. Cause it's way healthier 2. Because you have to be more concious about what yoy eat.

Also don't you worry about deficiencies.
If you eat right, the only thing you'll need to worry about is B12. Just get B12 pills. Problem fixed.


If, for whatever reason, you don't think being vegan is a good idea, I have another tip for you.

Drink a lot of water. Pure water.
Also, try intermittent fasting.
6 hours a day eating. 18 hours fasting.


That's what I do and I lost a lot of bodyfat and feel way better, used to have a lot of problems with digestion. Not anymore.

I don't need to count calories.
Don't need to restrict myself (in that 6 hour window).

PS: I also did blood tests and they were phenomenal. I was also able to build muscle pretty well, even though it's not in my focus. I'm running/jogging mainly. I also ride the bike a lot. Occasionally I do body weight exercises.

 

I like the idea of trying a vegan diet.

I'll share with you a few ideas mainly to help you make the change itself (whichever diet you ultimately end up with).

• Keep in mind diet is very personal.
  
• Don't be afraid to simplify the diet to see what impact a specific food is having on your body (your sleep, training, mental state, stress, energy, digestion and otherwise). For example, don't make the mistake of thinking all fruits are the same or similar (ie for me having an orange is night and day different than having an apple).
  
• Whether you are aiming for vegetables and fruits, healthy meats, eggs or what have you, recognize that if you buy the very best you can afford you will likely get very good tasting food which will make your meals more appetizing. You should make things as convenient as you can so you can build the initial habit. After the habit is built, you will not need to do as much maintenance and will not likely have to invest as much money or time.
• If you have money to spend on your health (you should), don't be afraid to let your money help your mouth.

• Think of approaching this from a habit formation perspective. Personally, I did 30+ days of salad to kick off some improvements in my own diet and am doing a similar thing to incorporate slightly more fruit now. Instead of picking standard prepared salads, I bought the best I could find at Whole Foods to build the best habit possible and to learn about healthy eating (it is completely different incorporating the veggies into your life in a rich capacity than it is reading about their benefits). On that note you might check out the whfoods info to bone up on the current state of nutritional knowledge out there today. I feel it gives a balanced viewpoint and is a good site to use to refer. I can probably offer some references or book recommendations depending on what you say you are interested in learning if such a path is your penchant.
  
• One of the most powerful things you can do is to donate or throw out the vast majority of anything unhealthy you have in your house or apartment and replace it with appetizing but healthy and abundant options. The one factor is huge when it comes to dealing with the addictive tendencies of bad food. I'll freely admit that even today, I put a whole bag of organic chips and a small doughnut container straight down the disposal to help me stick to my diet. I make purchasing errors when I am in the wrong state of mind and take full advantage of correcting them when my mental state is better.
• Adjust your lifestyle to make the change slow and gradual but effectively inevitable. Such is how habits and rewiring work.
• Spend a bit of time around fitness forums to get a sense of how to fuel your body for upcoming workouts.
• It is tough to go wrong with having an abundance of healthy fruits and veggies at your disposal. Find your local farmer's market if you have one and scope out health food stores (like wholefoods, sprouts etc). Go to the health food supermarkets and just watch what other people are buying and doing. You can pick up quite a few good habits by people watching in these areas and even talking with others.

Take notes and keep a good diet journal. If you find something that is working well, don't forget to write it down.

For getting more active, you are going to need to find something you truly enjoy. The best activity is what you will stick to. Keep in mind that at first, your body (Rex) may not want to do a damn thing. 30+ day habits help here too. I know personally that I enjoy running, a few years ago, I ran everyday for 30 days straight. The habit was formed and now I run/do cardio 5-10+ times per week along with lifting. Over time your body will adjust to the new activity. On the flip side, if it hurts in the wrong way, learn how to fix it now. Don't be like me and fun for years with the wrong shoes!

For best results you will likely want incorporate some form of resistance training and cardio. But by all means do what you will stick to. Some people do CrossFit style workouts and love the challenge. Others love variety and do pure cross training. Others do yoga. Some love iron and hit the weights (home gym or membership). Some like functional training so they go with sandbag or kettlebell style workouts. Others swim or bike or frankly just like to be outside. Still others would rather compete and join teams. Personally, I climb stairs as my main form of cardio (indoors btw and might be doable if you work in a high building). What would you prefer? Each different form of exercise has a different group of people and ideas that surround and extend it. Can you link your activity to other things you already do?

Also, join up with the new habit challenge in self development and track your successful workout days. Two good exercises that are hard to argue with are fork put downs and plate push-aways.

 

Hey @Kastor88,

Is that a reference to the Castor River in SE MO? I did some time in that area.

Anyway, let's start a little less drastic.

Sugar.

Try to get the amount of sugar you consume each day below 45 grams. This is nine teaspoons of sugar a day. I lost 19 pounds in about two months by staying on top of my sugar. This will also help you with the energy levels that you experience as sugar is creating it's own problems. Watch the movie "Fed Up" it will be a good start.

After you get past this, then think about something more extreme like vegan, paleo, or cromagnon or whatever.

 

Completely forgot that. Totally agree. Avoiding sugar made me concious of what I eat, which ultimately lead me to questioning animal products.

So yeah, cutting down sugar is the perfect way of starting a habit of concious eating.

 

SO right. Sugar is a "soft" drug, but it is extremely addictive. It has a massive effect on your body, and it. Is. EVERYWHERE. I also live in Missouri, and if you wat to kill your sugar addiction, shop at Aldi's. They have great sugar free alternatives to almost any product you could want. Read your labels everytime. Cut down on red meat (though I am personally not a proponent of vegetarianism or veganism, loading your plate up with more produce is an excellent idea as well), and do an hour of excercise everyday. You don't have to do bench presses or anything really intense, but just get your body moving.

And PM me if you want to talk. Us Missouri folk gotta stick together...just like our clothes are sticking to our body.