I’ve learned that cardio can work, but there’s also a lot of truth to that “you can’t outrun a bad diet” saying. Like you said, your body can subtly undermine your work by making you more hungry, and it can also cause you to be less active in between exercise without realizing it.
Last year I cut out 95% of all junk food and snacking, started eating more lean protein (like chicken), and made sure to cut out ultra processed foods where I could (i.e. home-cooked meals vs frozen dinners), and without increasing exercise I lost 20 lbs in 2 months. Sometimes it really is the diet that holds you back.
Yeah, most of the people I’ve spoken with about their weight issues have terrible portion control. Like they’ll just sit and eat an entire bag of chips while they watch TV for an hour. It’s crazy to me. My parents just got put on a diet to try to get their weight under control because they’re both pre-diabetic and the next day my mom went out to costco and loaded up on fruit for them to snack on instead of chips. Which I guess is better, but an entire shelf in their giant 2 door refrigerator is full of tubs of berries and shit, if they’re planning to eat proper portions of those as snacks half that shit will rot before they get through it. Maybe my mom just has brain rot from all the fad diets she’s been exposed to over the years but I don’t think the idea of just not eating snacks or counting calories even went through their heads.
I stopped soda years ago, but have recently taken up sparking water. I probably should stop that too since apparently it can negatively impact your tooth enamel.
It’s extremely valuable to get “used to” first-world hunger in modern times.
I used to be the same way. Though after about the first 18 months of “diet and exercise” (self-defined and imposed to a healthy level), I basically stopped caring if I was “hungry”.
First-world hunger is akin to a baby crying because their stomach happened to growl. If you’re ACTUALLY hungry, you feel insanely drained and even crappy food is magnificent.
If you even feel a preference about what to eat, you’re not actually hungry! (is the easiest way to exemplify it)
On top of that, it’s wonderful to train your stomach to be able to go, “oh wait, I’m just empty. I know how to be empty. This is fine.”.
To put it succinctly: The urge to eat is totally different when you genuinely need the nutrition. After you’re used to it, fast food and other high-energy but low nutrition meals are … shockingly unfulfilling.
This is because people diet wrong. You can absolutely gorge yourself on vegetables and still easily run a calorie deficit. People instead try to just eat tiny amounts of calorie dense foods, and that’s what fails, because it leaves you hungry and tired.
Also, taking massive doses of iron supplements (or dark greens) helps a lot.
I’ve learned that cardio can work, but there’s also a lot of truth to that “you can’t outrun a bad diet” saying. Like you said, your body can subtly undermine your work by making you more hungry, and it can also cause you to be less active in between exercise without realizing it.
Last year I cut out 95% of all junk food and snacking, started eating more lean protein (like chicken), and made sure to cut out ultra processed foods where I could (i.e. home-cooked meals vs frozen dinners), and without increasing exercise I lost 20 lbs in 2 months. Sometimes it really is the diet that holds you back.
That isn’t a surprise, diet makes a massively bigger difference than exercise, but the real goal needs to be sustainability.
It’s always the diet. Even someone who burns an extra 4000 calories a day can eat themselves into obesity.
That doesn’t mean someone has to starve to lose weight, just watch what they eat, like you did.
That’s a fantastic result, nice job.
Yeah, most of the people I’ve spoken with about their weight issues have terrible portion control. Like they’ll just sit and eat an entire bag of chips while they watch TV for an hour. It’s crazy to me. My parents just got put on a diet to try to get their weight under control because they’re both pre-diabetic and the next day my mom went out to costco and loaded up on fruit for them to snack on instead of chips. Which I guess is better, but an entire shelf in their giant 2 door refrigerator is full of tubs of berries and shit, if they’re planning to eat proper portions of those as snacks half that shit will rot before they get through it. Maybe my mom just has brain rot from all the fad diets she’s been exposed to over the years but I don’t think the idea of just not eating snacks or counting calories even went through their heads.
Many fruits freeze well. Many don’t too, so look each up before doing it. Eating fruit while it’s frozen is especially nice on a hot day
Soft drinks are the real killer. I have a relative who lost about 50lbs just by quiting soda
I stopped soda years ago, but have recently taken up sparking water. I probably should stop that too since apparently it can negatively impact your tooth enamel.
My body isn’t subtle in the slightest.
Any amount of work?
We’re starving, we’re starving! Says my body, like the cats who have a still almost full bowl of food.
Stupid meat husk.
Right? (I know it’s not the same) but come on look at all of this fat you can burn! You’re not hungry, you’re lazy, you know, like I want to be.
It’s extremely valuable to get “used to” first-world hunger in modern times.
I used to be the same way. Though after about the first 18 months of “diet and exercise” (self-defined and imposed to a healthy level), I basically stopped caring if I was “hungry”.
First-world hunger is akin to a baby crying because their stomach happened to growl. If you’re ACTUALLY hungry, you feel insanely drained and even crappy food is magnificent.
If you even feel a preference about what to eat, you’re not actually hungry! (is the easiest way to exemplify it)
On top of that, it’s wonderful to train your stomach to be able to go, “oh wait, I’m just empty. I know how to be empty. This is fine.”.
To put it succinctly: The urge to eat is totally different when you genuinely need the nutrition. After you’re used to it, fast food and other high-energy but low nutrition meals are … shockingly unfulfilling.
This is because people diet wrong. You can absolutely gorge yourself on vegetables and still easily run a calorie deficit. People instead try to just eat tiny amounts of calorie dense foods, and that’s what fails, because it leaves you hungry and tired.
Also, taking massive doses of iron supplements (or dark greens) helps a lot.
Because of the constipation?