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Journal Red Warrior's Journal: diets 27

Journal by Red Warrior
Almost a year ago I decided that I was too damn fat. That would be when I was noticing that my 38" waist jeans were getting too tight. Over a period of 10 weeks (July-Aug-Sept), I dropped about 25 lbs, going from 230 to 205. I used the hacker's diet. It worked. I've kept the weight off for just about a year now, and dropped to a 36" waist. (which had been my REAL goal at the time.) I just did the weight loss part, and ignored any focus on "healthy eating" or "exercise" at the time.

Once I hit my short-term goal, I started doing martial arts and getting in generally better shape. Just focused on maintaining the weight.

I'm taking my son to Disneyland next week, and am planning on repeating last year's performance (-25lbs, -2" waist, approx 12 weeks) upon my return. I'll either just do the hacker's diet thing again, or perhaps the Atkins thing. I think we have way too many carbs (esp sugars) in the average US diet. Whether the Atkins induction phase is a little extreme, is another question.

So, any ideas/thoughts/ruminations/flames about various diets, etc. floating around out there?

In case you're wondering, the point of this post was to publicise my plan, making it harder for me to wimp out.
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  • My wife has lost 40 lbs on an Atkins-like diet from her doctor. Basically, eat anything except starches (no bread, rice, potatoes, corn) and sugars (added sugar, that is, including corn sweeteners and so on). Also avoid Nutrasweet/aspartame. Fruits are OK (except bananas). Sweet potatoes are acceptable, as well.

    It can be a pain at times. You would be surprised how many things have some kind of added sweeteners (FYI, the original Paul Newman's salad dressing does not). On the other hand, you will b

    • My wife has lost 40 lbs on an Atkins-like diet from her doctor. Basically, eat anything except starches (no bread, rice, potatoes, corn) and sugars (added sugar, that is, including corn sweeteners and so on). Also avoid Nutrasweet/aspartame.

      Just out of curiosity, what's bad about aspartame? I know there are some people to which it'll do Bad Things, but in the context of a low-carb diet, what about it makes it something to avoid? (Not that it's in anything I eat or drink...fountain-dispensed Diet Coke

      • I'm not sure about what is bad with aspartame in the context of most diets, but I do think it is something to avoid on GP.

        Some of the research on aspartame indicates it breaks down into nasty things like formaldihyde and may do all sorts of nasty things to your body.

        In any case if you are trying to eat healthy avoiding non-natural food additives is probably a good plan as well.

        If you really need some sort of sugar substitute there are all-natural no-carb sweeteners.
      • I don't recall the exact reason for avoiding aspartame. We don't consume it anyway, as neither of us can stand the aftertaste. It might have been (as ces mentioned) nasty metabolic byproducts. This particular doctor tends to mix holistic-type thinking (in the sense of the body as an integrated system, rather than the mystic new-age sense) with his personal experience (he's well over 70, and in excellent shape). Another possibility is that part of his approach is to decondition the patient regarding swee
  • For me, dieting is psychologically impossible. I simply enjoy good food too much, and eating out in restaurants is a large part of my social life. But I think I can get away with it, since I run 10km 4 times a week. My weight fluctuates between 77 and 81 kgs (when I've bothered to measure it) which is far too much for my height, in theory, but those charts weren't written by or for people who can bench press and deadlift their own bodyweight, so I don't pay any attention to them.
    • That's one of the reasons that I am looking at Atkins. You don't really count calories, just carbs.

      It restricts SOME foods to fairly small amounts, but leaves you open to eat (within reason!) as much as you want of low carb foods.

      I agree that BMI (what they use to drive most of those "you should weigh X" charts) isn't a good measure. I figure when I get close to 180lbs, I'll get an accurate bodyfat measure (the Army claims that I'm at 19.8%), and adjust from there. The mirror method confirms that I can lo
  • One easy way to reduce sugar intake is to stop drinking soda (assuming you do to beging with...). Drink water - no sugar, not fat, no carbs, nothing at all as a matter of fact ;-) And it helps you feel more full while eating less. I drink on the order of a gallon a day. Though that's actually more a kidney stone avoidance thing then a diet thing...
    • I also drink a gallon+ of water a day. as far as soda, I moved to diet-only about 6 months ago. I figured, no calories was probably a good thing. The chemicals, etc. in it may be something else entirely, though....
    • Yes, I'm drinking 2 liters+ of water every day. Mostly due to the kidney stones I had earlier this year.
  • I had gained a lot of weight in the last few years (sitting at a computer is not good exercise). I started the Hackers diet on January 27th, 2002. I've lost 90 lbs and I'm down to a size 34 pants now. I cut out most of my sugars because of diabetes in my family, and I started walking and drinking more water. January of this year, my company started paying for gym memberships, so I have been going to the gym about 3 times a week. I feel a lot better and I think I look pretty good now. I had a health sc
    • I've lost 90 lbs
      Wow, that is quite an accomplishment! Congratulations Techno!

      I'm currently working on a "correction" (I won't call it a "diet" because diets imply a temporary "hack" if you will, while a correction suggests a more permanent solution).

      I'm walking 3-4 times a week (2 miles) -- usually taking me between 20-22 minutes to complete, then I do a weight lifting routine for 20 minutes (upper body).

      I consumer anywhere between 4-6 bottles of water, then two large (pint and a half) tumblers of wate
    • Congrats! It's good to see stories like this w/o the name "Jered" attached ;-> .

      I also had a health screening in April.
      They said something entirely other.
      Something about cholestrol and moderately high BP, as I recall...
  • I weigh in at 145 lb, with a 32" waist. And I think I know why.

    The only things I drink are either:
    A> Water
    B> Alcohol (Beer, Liquour, Mixed Drinks, Wine)

    I don't eat many processed foods.

    I've always been mostly a carnivore.

    • I weigh in at 145 lb, with a 32" waist. And I think I know why.

      The only things I drink are either:
      A> Water
      B> Alcohol (Beer, Liquour, Mixed Drinks, Wine)

      Check out page 9 of the August issue [alfter.us] of the newsletter put out by the local homebrew club. Researchers at the Kirin brewery in Japan have found that isohumulone (the component of hops that makes beer bitter) may help keep fat off of you. Mice given high-fat feed with added isohumulone stayed thinner than mice given plain high-fat feed.

      Since

  • food and weight (Score:3, Informative)

    by MousePotato ( 124958 ) * on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @05:29PM (#6574326) Homepage Journal
    A few things to consider; the 'Atkins' diet, which is essentially a ketol diet, can have seriously damaging results to your kidneys that range from mild to necrosis of the kidneys. Not a good option as kidney tissue is not easily regenerated once you pass puberty. If you opt for that route be sure to take in plenty of water.

    I dunno about the hackers diet... Truth be told your post was the first I ever heard of it and therefore I cannot share any opinion on it as it would be made ignorantly. This subject is too important to do that with so I'll hold off until I find out more.

    Weight is something I have struggled with my entire life and is one of the mitigating factors in why I do what I do for a living. I've been over the 200 lb mark sice 14 and even blew up to 250 when my dad was dying of cancer(yeah, i ate my way through that period and suffred professionally for it). Spent many of the preceeding years at 230. These days I weigh in at 208 and feel awesome because of how and what I eat. I couldn't imagine how huge I'd be if I sat behind a desk all the time versus several hours a day training.

    A few years ago I ran across some information on a gerontologist named Roy Walford [walford.com] who has been studying the benefits of life extension through nutrient dense caloric restriction. He is an expert in the field and for me the info in his books is incredible. Now, I don't practice CR per se, as a professional athlete my daily regime is a bit too unpredicatable to count calorie intake vs. expenditures all the time. My wife and I do cook most of our meals based upon his information and his daughters excellent recipes so we eat nutrient dense meals and enjoy the benefits of them. When out on the road at events we usually just east as healthy as possible; mostly large amounts of fruits, vegetables and juices. No soda, no meat(just fish usually) and absolutely no fast foods.

    Similar in concept is the 'Zone' diets which are CR of a sorts. Any of the Zone Diet books will make an interesting read.

    As you spend more time training you will find that unhealthy habits fall to the wayside(junk foods, alcohol, drugs, smoking, etc.). Its a natural progression in how you feel versus how you want to feel. Body building legend Bill Pearl has written extensively about this over the years. He is a vegan(I'm not a pure vegan as once a year I'll have a steak and totally enjoy it;) and won many body building titles. Check out his book 'Getting Stronger' for more info. Also check out the American Cancer Society's diets. Excellent info there on gradual and proper weight loss/management.

    Congrats on losing and keeping off the weight. There is a lot to be said for that. Just remember; We all dig our graves with our teeth. Always ask yourself as you plan to eat 'will this meal extend and improve my life?' If you want to be healthier, you will answer that question honestly every time, in turn your 'diet' will gradually become another facet of your lifestyle, transparent in regime and cascade across your entire life.

    Peace
    • Hacker's Diet cliff notes:
      "Less (calories) input -->Lose weight"
      I oversimplify (the book is over 300 pages), the book goes into depth, from an "Engineering" perspective, deals w/feedback mechanisms, homeostasis, etc. I especially like his "rubber bag" analogy. OTOH, the loosing weight portion does have a downside. You are HUNGRY while loosing weight....

      Maintaining my weight has gotten easier as I work out more, but hasn't done anything (like I'd hoped) to have it start creeping down.

      Thanks for the refe
  • and let me tell you, that atkin's style diet is a tough one to gain weight on. Of course, mine is because i can't eat most starches, along with a slew of other stuff. I've watched my cholesterol creep up, though, and the kidney damage part is dead-on.

    Moderation seems to be the key. Atkins style diets have been looked over for certain population segments and they seem to predispose one towards non-hodgkins lymphoma over the long term, but it's not an immediate or over-large risk. I wouldn't stay on it long

  • 4000-5000 calories a day
    Current weight: 98 lbs

    Of course, this one requires a medical condition... and it's expensive having to eat massive amounts to maintain a low weight... :-p
  • ...this I know, from many sources, and from experience. I drink about a gallon of water a day. It does a number of things for me:

    *Keeps me hydrated
    *Removes waste material
    *Gives me a good excuse to leave my cube and walk around

    I actually replaced almost all consumed liquids (except for milk and juice) with water. I've felt better since I started doing this - and I don't gain weight quite so easily. Excercise 3 times a week, and I'm golden. Actually built some muscle, too.

  • I have been though this over the past several years, and am throwing the same amount of weight around as a general rule as you are. I am 5'8", 215 at the moment. I have been as low as 192 and as high as 234.

    The difference between being healthy and feeling good or not is in maintaining physical condition and knowing when to break the healthy cycle.

    2 things I do that help...

    1) work out in the AM. Right now I lift weights mon-fri at 6:30 AM. It's the easiest time of the day to do it and only requires th
    • Thanks!
      Lots of good advice there.
      I really do need to make time to get back into the gym. And since it's less than a mile from my house, and open 24/7, my excuses are kinda weak.

      If I have a "cheat" day, thoug, I think I'd have to modify the eat_the_house parameter. I can (and have) eat 2+ large pizzas by myself! :->
      • Well....

        My last cheat day started with 4 McGriddle sandwiches and 3 hashbrowns. Then I had a large steak and cheese sub for lunch. I ate an ice cream cone, and various chips and snacks throughout the day, and had a pizza for dinner, along with more ice cream and more snacks.

        And...since I am only doing it on Sunday, I am still losing weight. Think about this...how much damage can you do in a day if the other 6 you are eating clean?

        Also...eating bad once a week will actually help your weightlifting. I

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