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Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

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Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#81

Post by lamchob »

itchyouch wrote: post #68
lamchob wrote: post #52

"The best diet is the one you follow". This is preached by many people in the Fitness industry, body builders and profrssionals. I was a chubby teen, although I did a lot of sports. But I ate even more. Now I lost a lot of weight in last few months and I'm the leanest and strongest I've ever been. How? The thing is, there is no diet required. A diet is nutrition for sick people. What most people need is a more health…

It most definitely is possible to get a body builder physique on junk food. Called the iifym (if it fits your macros) method. One of the people I follow in the fitness industry though has started that they did wish they had focused a bit more on micronutrition.

IIFYM may very well work for some individuals, as my post said: "be aware of what you eat and what your body needs". And junk food can fulfil the needs of very active individuals. But be careful when adapting diets from individuals with high amount of physical activity to someone with a sedentary job. This gets even more relevant, if recreational lifting isn't possible, as in OP's case.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#82

Post by bitwize »

codesternews wrote: post #61
kevas wrote: post #30

--READ-- Reading all the comments on this thread is pretty funny. I was a trainer for many years and the strategy (note that it’s a strategy rather than a diet) that was most successful takes years to complete with the goal of never doing too much at once. Take the worst thing in your diet. Over the next few weeks, replace it with something slightly better. When your body starts accepting it, move on to the next wors…

how to replace sugar in coffee? I can not live without it.

1/3 sugar and 2/3 stevia or Splenda.

Artificial sweeteners (including stevia) have a tasteable "bite" to them which I don't like. Using a bit of sugar helps smooth out the bite while the bulk of the sweetness is provided by the sweetener.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#83

Post by beatgammit »

dlivingston wrote: post #25
coldtea wrote: post #7

The canonical advice, as someone already wrote is: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I'd add: - Eat mostly what your grand-grandparents would identify as food (e.g. no preprocessed stuff, no chips, etc). - Don't eat constantly. Leave 14+ hours that you don't much (if you sleep 8 hours that's just 6-wake hours off of food). - Don't eat refined sugars, wheat, etc. Whole grain is OK. - Mediterranean diet has been…

Very great advice. A little nitpick - lifting small dumbbells is probably useless. The main benefits from weightlifting come through Progressive Overload, where those small weights must necessarily\* turn into big weights. If (s)he must stick to small weights, there is a very small window of benefit to weight lifting. \* - note that in Progressive Overload you can also increase total number of reps (the true metic is…

There are a lot of benefits to lifting small amounts, just look at the huge number of physical trainers who add small weights to aerobic exercise routines, or runners who add ankle weights, etc. There is a ton of material out there for why it's beneficial that I won't bother getting into it all. Using small weights will add measurable difficulty to your workout, which is great if you start to plateau.

That being said, it's not the most effective way to achieve certain desirable results, like optional strength or muscle mass gain. However, OP wants to lose weight in a healthy way and has a health condition that should be taken into account, and adding small weights to an aerobic exercise program is a fantastic way to increase calorie burn and build a little strength at the same time.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#84

Post by aitchnyu »

cityzen wrote: post #73
codesternews wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how to replace sugar in coffee? I can not live without it.

Do you like beer? Do you remember how gross it was the first time you had it? Black coffee is much the same. I would recommend buying an aero press and a grinder and start making good coffee. Coffee sitting in a pot all day is horrible. Find the best coffee shop around you and try some French press. It takes a few weeks to get over the flavor of black coffee but I can’t imagine drinking coffee with sugar in it anymor…

The milk helps retain the bitterness in your mouth for a while. The bitterness of black coffee goes away as soon as its swallowed.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#85

Post by aitchnyu »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #37
codingdave wrote: post #5

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Grains are a plant, and people on average eat far too many processed grains, and too few fruits and vegetables. I like the simplicity in this statement, but it leaves too much open to interpretation. Let's not have people feeling good about themselves because everything in a PopTart comes from a plant, for example.

The author defines food as lightly processed plants and animals. The first sentence is profound.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#86

Post by return0 »

kevas wrote: post #30

--READ-- Reading all the comments on this thread is pretty funny. I was a trainer for many years and the strategy (note that it’s a strategy rather than a diet) that was most successful takes years to complete with the goal of never doing too much at once. Take the worst thing in your diet. Over the next few weeks, replace it with something slightly better. When your body starts accepting it, move on to the next wors…

Go on, let's hear the Intermediate version :)

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#88

Post by aenygma »

codesternews wrote: post #61
kevas wrote: post #30

--READ-- Reading all the comments on this thread is pretty funny. I was a trainer for many years and the strategy (note that it’s a strategy rather than a diet) that was most successful takes years to complete with the goal of never doing too much at once. Take the worst thing in your diet. Over the next few weeks, replace it with something slightly better. When your body starts accepting it, move on to the next wors…

how to replace sugar in coffee? I can not live without it.

try a good light roast. surprisingly flavorful in itself. helped me.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#89

Post by alexmingoia »

Try eating only whole plant foods (vegan). It's better for you, for animals, and the planet.

Whole foods means unprocessed. Avoid concentrated or processed grains, sugar, and oil. So no flour, bread, or sugar. Just avoid grains entirely except for steel-cut unprocessed oats. Whole vegetables means potatoes, Japanese sweet potato, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, etc. Whole fruits means bananas, oranges, avocados, etc. Eat some nuts but not too many. Drink soymilk (unsweetened) for calcium and protein. Take a vegan multivitamin. Eat from all these groups everyday, and don't snack. Don't eat after dinner. Don't eat out.

I've been doing this for years and have great digestion, feel amazing, and look great. It also feels good to know I'm not hurting and killing animals.

Re: Ask HN: Most sustainable diet long term?

#90

Post by kevas »

return0 wrote: post #86
kevas wrote: post #30

--READ-- Reading all the comments on this thread is pretty funny. I was a trainer for many years and the strategy (note that it’s a strategy rather than a diet) that was most successful takes years to complete with the goal of never doing too much at once. Take the worst thing in your diet. Over the next few weeks, replace it with something slightly better. When your body starts accepting it, move on to the next wors…

Go on, let's hear the Intermediate version :)

What part? overall?
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