Lost 40 lbs in 4 months - My personal eating plan

[The Dansome]

* Title was updated from 20 in 2 months to 40 in 4

 

Some members asked if I'd post this up and I hope it can help somebody.

Imagine my surprise, with a month to go until I turned 40, to hear from my doctor that I had high cholesterol and blood pressure. Well let's face it, this shouldn't come as much as a surprise for a guy at 5'10" and used to walk around with an average weight of 150lbs who's now 215. I'll admit I have not been consistent with my diet or exercise regiment. And I truly put the PIG in manbearpig.

On January 15th I was 215lbs and on March 15th I was 195lbs. What changed? Diet. So what have I done to turn it all around? Eat healthy. I have literally cut out all the crap, the carbs and for the most part red meat.

So here is my personal eating plan for the last 2 months and onwards. I want to say there are things I wouldn't give up, but that's OK because 98% of the time otherwise I've eaten very, very well. I have not given up my morning coffee with cream & sugar, nor do I care other than the "calorie wise" badge what my salad dressing has in it. Hot sauce is also my friend

WARNING! Boring sounding diet ahead!

OK Nidine & my house cooking rules:
NO SAUCES. If it does not come in a powdered spice we do not cook with it. We add a lot of hot peppers.
No carbs. Pasta, bread and potatoes are out.
IF you eat rice no more than a palmful
No Candy, potato chips etc etc.

* If this does not sound like things you can give up STOP READING NOW!!!

What an average day eating looks like for me:
* 8 Glasses of water.

Breakfast: (every day)
Quaker Quick Oats (regular oatmeal) with honey for sweetening

Mid morning snack:
Banana

Lunch: (not all)
Salad
hearty soup
Tons of veggies with a little tofu

Mid Afternoon snack:
Apple

Dinner:
Tofu, white meat, fish
Beans, salad, spinach - in other words, you can pound all the greens you want into you
Veggies - love peppers, corn and carrots (just eat a ton of veggies)

Evening snack: (not all!)
Green veggies - snap peas etc
Grapes, apples
and a glass of Milk

notes:
Pureed cauliflower is an amazing substitute for mashed potatoes. Unbelievable how good it tastes.
Seriously vegetables are good for you. Eat a lot they'll fill ya up.
If you drink stick to wine.
This brand "Gardein" of fake meat is really good.



Now remember cheat days are not going to kill you. It's just being consistent. In those 2 months I had 3 cheats; macaroni & cheese for my bday, steak and fries once and pizza the other.

I'm' really gunning to lose another 20 and then find a balance with adding pasta once a week or 2 or eat a burger. But for now I'm going to stick with it cause I feel too good.

Like I say I hope someone can take something from this. Not gonna preach or push it, just offering it up. I'll keep adding to the thread as I think of other things.

[apprenti23]

Wow! Good for you! Excellent will power! I would substitute the wine and say jack Daniels or jack Daniels and water is not only better for you but tastes amazing! I hate beer and she drinks wine- so jack Daniels it is! No carbs in jd!

[The Dansome]

Wow! Good for you! Excellent will power! I would substitute the wine and say jack Daniels or jack Daniels and water is not only better for you but tastes amazing! I hate beer and she drinks wine- so jack Daniels it is! No carbs in jd!

 

Good call yo!

[Walkerjames]

That's funny I went to the Dr in Nov and was told I had extremely high choestoril I have been on a Vegan diet since( fish one a week) and have also lost 20+lbs great job MBP keep it up.

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

One thing Danno missed is a HUGE factor as well. SALT (or sodium). We don't cook with salt where we can, which is 95% of the time. Extra virgin olive oil or none at all. If we must, only a pinch. I also try to just use Mediterranean Sea Salt in a hand grinder and you will only need a little because it so more flavorful.

 

You really have to be aware of sodium in things you buy. Maximum sodium intake for people ages 9 - 50 is 1500mg and 1300mg for 50+yrs. That's not much but you will start to actually taste the natural flavors of the foods you eat and start matching spices to compliment them.

 

I also suggest getting some lemons and limes, or just the juices of these to squeeze into your cooking. Sometimes a little squeeze is all you need.

 

Here's something to remember for you all: It only takes two weeks to create a habit, if you can persevere through 14 days you can succeed. I have a challenge for Dan - 14 days of working out, DO IT!

[apprenti23]

My better half tries to eat "paleo" as much as she can- some things she's made have been great- others not so much. My favorites have been pizza made with cauliflower crust and lasagna with grilled zucchini as the noodles. Basically what this diet consists of is only natural and organic foods. She's the opposite of me in that she is a health nut, works out daily, eats healthy, etc. I just quit smoking and chewing in the last few years so I could stand to lose a couple and she's starting to rub off on me- however, I will NEVER give up my red meat!!!

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

For those of you who like chips, I made these and Dan will agree with me they are delicious!

 

Spinach chips

 

I've been told to go make some now.

[The Dansome]

Make some now!!!

[SPY ZINGER]

Congrats, Dan, very nicely done and your dedication is admirable.

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

My better half tries to eat "paleo" as much as she can- some things she's made have been great- others not so much. My favorites have been pizza made with cauliflower crust and lasagna with grilled zucchini as the noodles. Basically what this diet consists of is only natural and organic foods. She's the opposite of me in that she is a health nut, works out daily, eats healthy, etc. I just quit smoking and chewing in the last few years so I could stand to lose a couple and she's starting to rub off on me- however, I will NEVER give up my red meat!!!

 

 

You should surprise her with this:

3min Chocolate Paleo Mug Cake

[apprenti23]

Thanks! She'll love that!

 

Haven't had spinach chips but I do like Kale chips!

[Kanoito]

Pure win, MBP! Appreciate you taking the time to write this up. My parents came to visit for a couple of weeks and eating and drinking had been a little... Excessive lol

 

Things will go back to normal next week and I'll start with my diet. I'll update with the results.

 

Thanks!

[The Dansome]

You know, I got this shirt as my MoM prize and was not able to wear it 20lbs ago. Hell Nidine wore it as a nightshirt @ Christmas time!

 

[JMiller]

Funny thing is MGS never sent me a shirt when i got Member of the Month. So I wouldn't know about what they look like or if I have put on weight and can't wear it anymore.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Outstanding thread! This weight thing is pretty much all encompassing for those of us past 50. Losing LBs gets harder and harder, but it's amazing how much diet plays a role. Went paleo on 2011 and dropped 65 lbs in 9 montths (yup, I was a porker!). As a reward, the wife bought me a set of Mizuno's.

 

She was very happy....

[revkev]

Dan this is awesome news.

 

I was doing so good with my diet/excercise and then of course fell off the wagon -

 

So it's time to get back on as soon as I can get the company out of my excercise room - that would be tomorrow.

[The Dansome]

Outstanding thread! This weight thing is pretty much all encompassing for those of us past 50. Losing LBs gets harder and harder, but it's amazing how much diet plays a role. Went paleo on 2011 and dropped 65 lbs in 9 montths (yup, I was a porker!). As a reward, the wife bought me a set of Mizuno's.

 

She was very happy....

 

Good job John.

 

Now I wonder if Nidine put up a set of Mizzy's if it would get me to the gym?

[The Dansome]

Dan this is awesome news.

 

I was doing so good with my diet/excercise and then of course fell off the wagon -

 

So it's time to get back on as soon as I can get the company out of my excercise room - that would be tomorrow.

 

Thx Rev

 

We're rootin for ya

[The Dansome]

Hey uhhhhhhh, guess who's down another 5 pounds?!!!

 

THIS GUY! (one day I might be that skinny again)

 

[ORNJ]

MBP sounds like a good plan.

 

My current eating habbits are very similar as I am 5' 7" and at the end of January I weighed in at 205.

 

I am currently down to 194, so my progress is not nearly as good as yours but I am working on it.

 

I first joined weight watchers and was trying to go by their point system and lost 9 pounds the first month. After that things seemed to really slow down. I was hardly ever going over my points but I was still not going anywhere. I was even running and trying to work out whenever I had time.

 

Well, I think the problem was the fact that on weight watchers there are some foods that count for 0 points and I was eating to many of them.

 

So now I am using a free online calorie counting site on WebMD.com that is a great tool. You can plug in your target weight and how much you want to lose a week and it tells you how much you can eat a day.

 

This is the first week I am on it but we will see if I lose anything!

 

I eat Pumpkin flax and oats in the morning

 

Banana/apple morning snack

 

Something small for lunch like a sandwich(no chips or anything)

 

Apple or celery

 

dinner is usually something simple like fresh vegetables cooked(I never do canned foods if I can avoid it) and some meat.

 

Snack is usually slice of cheese or a glass of V8 fusion and I am only eating 1500 calories a day.

 

I was doing P90X as well and that seemed to be a great system but the problem for me was I had to rearrange my ENTIRE family room to do it....sooo if anyone wants to buy a 1972 Mach 1 so I can convert the garage into a workout room...let me know haha

[The Dansome]

Dude that's awesome and great to hear you're working at it. Keep us updated on your progress and know we'll all be here for support.

[The Dansome]

Just an update - Saw doctor Saturday for monthly blood pressure check and weight in.

 

I'm now down 28.5lbs in 3 months.

Blood pressure fine

Cholesterol is back within safe limits. Doctor said my cholesterol drop for 3 months is unprecedented and wants to use my diet as an example.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

That's flippin' awesome. How about a MGS Forum Weight Loss competition???

[The Dansome]

That's flippin' awesome. How about a MGS Forum Weight Loss competition???

 

I'm down

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Not sure how much more you have to lose

 

I'm in -- any other takers?

[Walkerjames]

Just an update - Saw doctor Saturday for monthly blood pressure check and weight in.

 

I'm now down 28.5lbs in 3 months.

Blood pressure fine

Cholesterol is back within safe limits. Doctor said my cholesterol drop for 3 months is unprecedented and wants to use my diet as an example.

I swear Danno we could be the same person! I had the same thing I was told in dec that I had really high cholesterol LDL 240 HDL 30 and I went on a vegan diet except Fish 2 times a month and I have dropped 30lbs and brought my numbers down to LDL 173 and HDL 38. My doc said the same thing that he had never seen such good results in such a short amount of time although it still high it trending in the right direction. I have blood work again in June so we will see, and my name is also Dan... Wierd Right?

[The Dansome]

I swear Danno we could be the same person! I had the same thing I was told in dec that I had really high cholesterol LDL 240 HDL 30 and I went on a vegan diet except Fish 2 times a month and I have dropped 30lbs and brought my numbers down to LDL 173 and HDL 38. My doc said the same thing that he had never seen such good results in such a short amount of time although it still high it trending in the right direction. I have blood work again in June so we will see, and my name is also Dan... Wierd Right?

 

I WAS adopted. You weren't born on Vancouver Island by any chance?

[Walkerjames]

I WAS adopted. You weren't born on Vancouver Island by any chance?

No Edmonton! Close though. still I feel like our story is strangely similar.LOL keep it up man.my goal is to get it down enough that I can put back a few double doubles when I'm home next time.LOL

[The Dansome]

No Edmonton! Close though. still I feel like our story is strangely similar.LOL keep it up man.my goal is to get it down enough that I can put back a few double doubles when I'm home next time.LOL

 

Ya I want to get to a good point for Vancouver Trip so I can eat what I want when we're out that week.

[Walkerjames]

Ya I want to get to a good point for Vancouver Trip so I can eat what I want when we're out that week.

Ya good call, that's been my biggest problem is when the wife and I are at the Pub, there is only so much I can eat.

Good luck man and keep us posted!