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John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

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Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#21

Post by alrex021 »

There is no real "secret". Its simple mathematics. Getting to know what the caloric numbers mean is the starting point. (Its like in personal finance knowing what the debit and credit columns mean.)

For the "math" part, I wrote this short blog post: http://www.hackersinshape.net/archives/109

Oh and the diet part will get you only so far and it is the most challenging part, but without exercise you are missing the big step in speeding up your metabolism that in return burns more calories and the combination which results in exponential results. (Leaner more muscular look. Unless you want you leftover skin to be hanging on the floor of course, I'd strongly recommend exercise as part of the program)

I weighed 85kg on +/-179cm with 25% body-fat. Year later, I weighed 73.5kg with 7% body-fat. Healthier I have ever been and am still sticking to it three years later. Here is my 1 year review: http://www.hackersinshape.net/archives/16

[edit] Know that there is no secret or any form of black magic :), its a combination of "a) some basic knowledge" (Know what you eating [1 avg. donut == +/-250 calories. That equates to about an hour of running.]), "b) smaller quantities of whole foods at more frequent intervals" and "c) exercise" (Both cardio and resistance).

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#22

Post by tome »

GFischer wrote: post #15
rms wrote: post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

I also read the Hacker's Diet, but I went to a doctor-controlled diet, and lost about 34 pounds so far (15 kg), in two months (not 6 months). It's fairly similar to what John advocates actually :) - it's eating WAY less, slower, and mostly vegetables (the main thing about this diet was that the clinic provides the food so you can't overeat). And yes, I was very hungry at first, what I did was drink lots of soup (the…

Cottage cheese is definitely an OK dairy for weight loss!

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#23

Post by forinti »

GFischer wrote: post #15
rms wrote: post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

I also read the Hacker's Diet, but I went to a doctor-controlled diet, and lost about 34 pounds so far (15 kg), in two months (not 6 months). It's fairly similar to what John advocates actually :) - it's eating WAY less, slower, and mostly vegetables (the main thing about this diet was that the clinic provides the food so you can't overeat). And yes, I was very hungry at first, what I did was drink lots of soup (the…

Instant soup is dangerous because it has lots of sodium.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#24

Post by [deleted] »

dzlobin wrote: post #14
andrewcooke wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, it could be, but it doesn't seem like the usual kind of link for here [edit: for example, when i posted, almost all comments - including one now deleted - were negative]. on the other hand, it seems that it's a popular user so perhaps people are simply interested. it's also possible that it got to the front page with just a couple of early votes and then took off (a post of my own just behaved as strangely, whi…

The pile of downvotes is quite likely a stab at the naysayery you displayed in disregarding an interesting article under the ASSUMPTION that someone did not truthfully obtain their votes

[deleted]

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#25

Post by wheels »

Cola is the big one for me. When I start feeling a bit pudgy, it's the first to go. I drink a good deal of coffee and tea, but when I worked out the calorie math, it's actually pretty insane how much sugar is in cola:

  - 250 ml (about 8 oz) of cola has 120 calories
  - 350 ml (about 12 oz) of tea or coffee gets 2-3 sugar cubes
  - 2 sugar cubes is 24 calories
  - Cola has 10x the calories/volume as sweetened coffee or tea
  - I drink 1-2 liters of coffee + tea + cola daily.
So even switching from cola to sweetened tea is a big cut back. Other than that, I just do restraint at the grocery store. Usually I'll allow one chocolate bar every couple weeks.

One thing that I learned when we were out in California for the summer is that the portion sizes in the US can really get you. I shot up 15 pounds (175 -> 190) in 3 months without noticeably altering my diet. After 4 months back in Germany it was gone again, without any intentional intervention.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#26

Post by GFischer »

forinti wrote: post #23
GFischer wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also read the Hacker's Diet, but I went to a doctor-controlled diet, and lost about 34 pounds so far (15 kg), in two months (not 6 months). It's fairly similar to what John advocates actually :) - it's eating WAY less, slower, and mostly vegetables (the main thing about this diet was that the clinic provides the food so you can't overeat). And yes, I was very hungry at first, what I did was drink lots of soup (the…

Instant soup is dangerous because it has lots of sodium.

Wow, it's true, and you're right (just checked the back of a package).

The one I just checked has 600 mg of Sodium per serving (25% of the recommended daily value). No wonder they are tasty.

Still, they did help me get through hungry spells :)

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#27

Post by dgallagher »

jgrahamc wrote: post #9
rms wrote: post #5

>And, boy, was I hungry at first. After a while I wasn't hungry any more... That's the real secret, and it could use some expansion. Isn't that where 99% of dieters fail? Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? People have a great deal of difficulty overcoming that feeling of hunger -- realizing that just because they feel something, they don't have to act on i…

Why were you able to overcome your hunger when so many people find that an impossible challenge? 1. I drank ice cold water whenever I felt hungry. 2. Initially I would look at that photo of me. 3. Later I looked at the chart and the predicted end date.

The very first signs of "feeling" hungry usually means you're thirsty for water, not hungry for food. A lot of people eat instead of drink (or drink something with calories), and that helps increase their calorie consumption leading to weight gain.

I've found keeping a bottle of water on me at all times works well. Whenever I start to feel my mouth go dry I drink some. I catch thirst this way before I even begin to feel thirsty. It's like lubrication for your body. If you don't drink enough of it, things seize up (you'll feel tired, get headaches, hampers athletic performance, etc...).

CamelBak makes some very nice bottles. Sports Authority/Dick's Sporting Goods usually carry them: http://www.amazon.com/CamelBak-BPA-Free-Choose-Re-Use-Better...

Nathan also makes a good one: http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-500-ml-Bottle-Straw-Royal/dp/B0...

Buy like two or three of them. Fill them up in the morning and put them in a fridge. Keep one by your side at all times. Once it's empty, grab another from your fridge, drink as needed, repeat.

Keeping the water "ice cold" is important too. It's so much easier to drink cool water than warm. Probably something derived from evolution where humans had better luck drinking cold water from a running stream than warm water from a sitting puddle from a rain storm. I always throw a few ice cubes in once I pull a bottle out of the fridge.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#28

Post by pmichaud »

dzlobin wrote: post #14
andrewcooke wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, it could be, but it doesn't seem like the usual kind of link for here [edit: for example, when i posted, almost all comments - including one now deleted - were negative]. on the other hand, it seems that it's a popular user so perhaps people are simply interested. it's also possible that it got to the front page with just a couple of early votes and then took off (a post of my own just behaved as strangely, whi…

The pile of downvotes is quite likely a stab at the naysayery you displayed in disregarding an interesting article under the ASSUMPTION that someone did not truthfully obtain their votes

Actually, if you read his post, he's just asking if that happened or not.

Re: John's Amazing Diet Secrets Revealed

#30

Post by brianpeiris »

I'm on the Hacker's Diet right now! As John and others have said, it's all about the math and the self-feedback.

I weigh myself everyday and record it on the online Hacker's Diet application[1]. It gives you a moving average (newer measurements count more than older ones) and gives you a great trend chart to track your progress and give you immediate feedback.

I don't exercise (yet) since I'm already losing weight at an acceptable rate and I've managed to get past the point of craving more from a meal. However, the choice is entirely yours -- if you want to eat a little more on the side, you have to make up for those calories with some (daily) exercise.

[1]: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/online/hdo.html

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