Simple diet / lifestyle changes

[Vandy321]

I'm an everything in moderation type of guy...meat, carbs, beers, even water. Too much of anything is a bad thing.

I'm not a crazy diet guy, I tend to be able to eat what I want, and always maintain a good healthy weight/body comp and blood panels.

That said, getting older now, turning 40 next month. Wondering what are some simple changes you've made in your diet/lifestyle that have had big impacts on your health markers?

Examples like eliminating added sugars, increasing water intake, focusing on better quality sleep etc. What are some non-drastic changes that have worked for you?

 

[yeti14]

Quit eating on large "normal" dinner plates and switch to the smaller salad size plates for all your meals. It really helps to cut your portion size, and still feels like your plate is full of food.

 

[Rob5589]

It's always portion control for me. Try to eliminate anything from a package. Cut back on alcohol. Definitely more water. Absolutely sleep. I won't get back to normal sleep until I retire in 9 years, unfortunately. Good on you for doing it now, only gets harder the older you get.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Getting old sucks. If it tastes good I spit it out.

 

[INgunner54]

If it hasn't had a pulse or been pulled from the ground, from a tree etc. you don't need to eat it. Obviously it's ok to have a treat every now and then. Lots of water to drink. If you've gotta drink have one quality beer every now and then instead of several shitty lite beers a night. Try not to skip meals, if you're starving you're gonna eat like it!

Moral of the story, yeah it sucks to get older. I'm 36, and miss the days when I could eat like a dumpster, feel great and never gain an ounce of fat. Adulting sucks

Edited to add: Do something physical EVERY DAY. It doesn't have to be anything extreme, take a walk with the wife/ dog/ kids. Swim, bike, whatever you like to do. But do your best to do it every day. At the very least do some pushups and situps before bed if there isn't time for anything else. Youth is precious and finite, make the most out of the years you have.

 

[CoStick]

Much of it is staying active. Recent studies show metabolism stays stead 20-60 years of age, so we need to find something else to blame….

 

[*zap*]

36 & 40 is getting old?.......lol.

 

[INgunner54]

36 & 40 is getting old?.......lol.

Good point! I am older than I used to be though! What is your advice?

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[*zap*]

#1- Clean/natural food diet, no processed foods.....transition to that over time maybe 9-12 months gradually changing. Also eliminate anything with added sugars but that is processed food so if your eliminating processed foods that will be taken care of. No pop and very limited alcohol, drink mostly water, coffee and tea.

#2- Long duration, frequent low intensity aerobic exercise almost daily.

#3- A good complete strength training program where you focus on complete range of motion and form rather than stacking weights on the bar.

#4- 8-10 hours of sleep a day.

#5- Eliminate stress from your life.

Purpose over pleasure.

 

[redwood1199]

44 years old here 6'5 210 pounds I do Submission wrestling 2-3 a week plus weights. The biggest difference for me as far as weight management and strength has been low carbs no sugar with intermittent fasting. I can eat whatever I want or not and I will be roughly 210 pounds. If I want to gain weight I simply add in rice, and potatoes.
Joint pain is down, energy through the roof. I feel better mentally and physically.
I firmly believe the human body depending on your genetics is not supposed to eat carbs and veggies year round. Modern agriculture has only been around for 10000 years and we have been around much longer than that. I eat nuts and berries and mainly meat and fat. I have been doing this for over 2 years.
I will never go back to the SAD diet and I truly believe that Keto type diets can solve many of the health problems we face today as a society.


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[INgunner54]

Zap and Redwood. Excellent!

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[Bearwhisky]

#1- Clean/natural food diet, no processed foods.....transition to that over time maybe 9-12 months gradually changing. Also eliminate anything with added sugars but that is processed food so if your eliminating processed foods that will be taken care of. No pop and very limited alcohol, drink mostly water, coffee and tea.

#2- Long duration, frequent low intensity aerobic exercise almost daily.

#3- A good complete strength training program where you focus on complete range of motion and form rather than stacking weights on the bar.

#4- 8-10 hours of sleep a day.

#5- Eliminate stress from your life.

Purpose over pleasure.

Interesting. My body feels WAY worse if I sleep for 10 hours. Wake up foggy and aching all over.


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[Bearwhisky]

#1- Clean/natural food diet, no processed foods.....transition to that over time maybe 9-12 months gradually changing. Also eliminate anything with added sugars but that is processed food so if your eliminating processed foods that will be taken care of. No pop and very limited alcohol, drink mostly water, coffee and tea.

#2- Long duration, frequent low intensity aerobic exercise almost daily.

#3- A good complete strength training program where you focus on complete range of motion and form rather than stacking weights on the bar.

#4- 8-10 hours of sleep a day.

#5- Eliminate stress from your life.

Purpose over pleasure.

Interesting. My body feels WAY worse if I sleep for 10 hours. Wake up foggy and aching all over.


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[Eltigreblanco]

8-10 hours of sleep sounds amazing. It's not in the cards for me anytime soon, but I wish it was

 

[Willhoffman101]

Prioritize protein. I go for 50grams or more per meal. Eat your protein portions first, always. I’ve found it’s pretty hard to get fat if you’re eating 250grams of protein a day and not eating like a complete A hole…. Even if you eat a ton, like me.

 

[Danimal]

Lots of good advice on here. Every "body" and everybody is different, but whole real foods, sleep, and good vigorous exercise is really not debatable across all philosophies and medical literature as being beneficial.
Couple of things I would add...

Regarding sleep, some data sets show that all the sleep doesn't have to be a continuous uninterrupted sleep, but that often times catching a nap can do wonders for your cognitive state. Yes getting into some stage 4 sleep is important for hormones and metabolic processes, but don't preoccupy yourself with that. Workout and eat like an animal and you'll be tired. Try to stay off your device or TV, do some breathing or reading and your mind and body will thank you.

Regarding diets and dieting. I think the focus for people trying a diet is to see what works for them with the above goals being a sustainable end goal. That being said I do believe that "fasting" has some significant merits when it comes to insulin sensitivity and hormone metabolism. There are certain physiologic mechanisms that our body has in place for times of plenty and also times of not. Remember that if you are living in a western society calories are super easy to come by. Heck our tree nuts are shelled for us, our veggies don't typically get picked by us, we don't slaughter our own animals outside of our hunting, and overall when you observe less technologically advanced cultures they spend way more calories "obtaining" calories.

A strategy that I think works is think about calories as an energy unit per nutritional gain. Make your calories count basically. Tree nuts and berries seem to be better choices than corn chips and grapes. If you continuously think of better choices along this path you'll make significant changes that you will appreciate over the long term.