(sorry, this went long - I the actual point in bold below)
I’m really amazed at the difference some diet changes can make. We all “know” which foods are better than others, but geez... I guess I don’t remember seeing this drastic of a difference.
On the Whole30 program that I linked above, I’ve cut out the obvious bad stuff. No grains (bread, rice, pasta, pizza), no sugar (yeah the normal culprits, but also ketchup bbq sauce marinara... anything that contains sugar), no legumes, and no dairy... as a general rule - nothing with an ingredient that you don’t recognize or isn’t easy to say. Lol. (Oh and no alcohol)
Here’s how the website describes it:
“Eat meat, seafood, and eggs; vegetables and fruit; natural fats; and herbs, spices, and seasonings. Eat foods with a simple or recognizable list of ingredients, or no ingredients at all because they’re whole and unprocessed.”
it has been a ton more work in the kitchen, but my issue with dieting has always been quantity. I’m a big guy and like to eat. With this, I’m not limiting portions. It just so happens that if I need 2 chicken breasts, the calories are still half that of a single pizza slice - where I used to eat 4 slices.
The plan dirswant you to watch the scale or count calories, but I’ve been doing both of those things. Granted, the first week is always“water weight” and falls off me... but going in to the 2nd weekend now and I’m down 17lbs and avg calorie intake has been around 1500 calories.
It is taking a lot of prep time, and self awareness - yesterday I had an all day office meeting and knew breakfast and lunch would be provided. Sure enough, awesome buffet of breakfast burritos, doughnuts and pastries, with one tiny bowl of fruit. I got a bit of fruit and sat down. In my pocket I had an apple, approved meal bar and a baggie almonds. Was a little tough watching everyone else eat Hershey kisses during the meeting while I was munching on my almonds, but I got through it and am glad I held strong.
Everyone else keep up the good work too! My next challenge is to get moving again. I haven’t done a good job of making that happen yet.
edit
#2: editing long posts on my phone really sucks. I’m seeing all sorts of typos and a whole 2 sentences that I had in bold originally aren’t even listed. Between the cursor jumping around and stupid autocorrect.... ugh