How to lose weight without working out?

[Roman Snow]

Swimming is a great idea but the only thing I know how to do is doggy paddle(as sad as that is to admit) but the thing is, I drive a truck all day so it's hard to not wanna just stop for food. I guess I really don't know how to eat healthy and what to look for when shopping.

Yeah, I need to listen better. Someone gave me this advice- doggy paddle. But I misunderstood. It was really embarrassing when my wife and I were kicked out of the public pool. And asked not to return. And cited for...well, you know.

So listen to all exercise advice. And use discretion!

 

[RamzFanz]

Yeah, I need to listen better. Someone gave me this advice- doggy paddle. But I misunderstood. It was really embarrassing when my wife and I were kicked out of the public pool. And asked not to return. And cited for...well, you know.

So listen to all exercise advice. And use discretion!

Same, only was doing the breaststroke.

 

[RamzFanz]

Soda has a ton of empty calories.
I drink more than I should as well. I crave the carbonation of a Coke.

Gatorade and other sports drinks are easy weight gainers as well. They're calorie bombs. Avoid them at all costs. They're not necessary anyway. Water works fine for hydrating. Chocolate milk is great for hydrating as well. ( if you really think you need the extra hydration).

Use a smaller plate for food.

I drink gatorade zero when I need something flavored.

I also lose so much water on keto I have to have electrolytes. I use better than bouillon with a teaspoon of magnesium. It tastes like chicken soup.

 

[RamzFanz]

one more thing could be to do water exercises if you have access to a swimming pool. little to no pressure is put on joints, etc while still getting necessary resistance to burn calories. good luck!

I love to swim but can't stand cold water. We have public pools everywhere here, indoors and out, but they are all cold. I'm going on an expedition to find a heated hotel pool with a back way in. Otherwise, I may go wetsuit. I have zero shame.

watch the amount of fat in premade foods (spaghetti sauce-----alfredo sauce is horrible for this)
eat fresh fruit / vegetables.

I can't agree about most fruit. It's really not that good for you because of the sugars and doesn't supply anything you can't get naturally elsewhere.

Eating fat doesn't make you fat. Eating fat with carbs and sugar makes you fat. Fat is essential for brain function and cell formation and delivers fat soluble vitamins, so avoiding it is bad for your health. Trans fats should be avoided almost completely though.

 

[RamzFanz]

This absolutely works, its tough to get started, really tough and even tough to maintain but you will lose weight and be healthier.

It was very hard for me to switch. It's a learning curve for sure. Now though, I'm pretty fine with it.

You pretty much HAVE to cook a lot though. Even meals that look carb friendly at restaurants can have a ton of hidden carbs, sugar, and transfats. Now that I have a dozen recipes I like, it's gotten easier.

I just made zucchini "spaghetti" with rao's spaghetti sauce and it was really good.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I drink gatorade zero when I need something flavored.

I also lose so much water on keto I have to have electrolytes. I use better than bouillon with a teaspoon of magnesium. It tastes like chicken soup.

That sounds like a very tough, eating lifestyle, to get used to.
I love bread and pasta.

 

[RamzFanz]

That sounds like a very tough, eating lifestyle, to get used to.
I love bread and pasta.

I did too. It doesn't even cross my mind anymore to be honest.

There are actually substitutes for breads and biscuits. Qarbquick is like bisquick without the carbs. You can also use recipes with coconut, flaxseed, or almond flour. I don't really mess with them.

 

[RAMSinLA]

Unsweetened Ice Tea instead of soda. And after dinner when we all want to snack try sugar free gum. Watch the fried foods and the biggest part is portion control like many have pointed out eat less.
But the best advise I can give you is for example; if you blow it at lunch one day and down a couple of Big Macs with fries just make it up at dinner and have a salad or melon for dinner. Don't give up because you fell off track. Some experts say give yourself one day a month to splurge but life goes by fast enough as it is can you imagine living for that one day each month? Actually after a while you won't miss the extra food and the bad food and it all becomes easier.
Two years ago I completely gave up red meat, pork, bacon and high cholesterol foods due to my health history on my fathers side. The only thing I really miss is the bacon.
Now if I only could cut back on Bud Lights Id be doing great but Anheuser-Busch would have to file Chapter 11.......:cheers:

 

[RaminExile]

The guys have got this covered already. I've got some firsthand experience though having dropped 20 lbs from the holidays this year by doing the following;

Eat at a 500 calorie deficit daily - really be accountable for what goes in your mouth. I weighed everything for a while to get used to putting the right amount of stuff on my plate - I'll do it every so often to check I'm not subconsciously going back up on it.

Watch the carbs. I work out - run most days so it's slightly different to you - but on days when I'm not working out I try and eat very low amounts of carbs - 80g or less, and eat more protein and fat. Fat isn't the enemy - carbs are.

Try to be sensible with the booze.

Have a day off every now and again - if you have a bad day so what. Get back on the horse the next day and don't give up. The most important thing in a diet is the persistence you have.

A typical day for me (I'll give you today) was as follows;

Breakfast - quarter of an avocado (pulped with some lime juice and some salt/pepper), a chopped tomato and olive oil, some dried herbs and a fried egg all on a single piece of toast (whole meal),

Lunch - bacon! Hell yeah! Some more avocado because I'd alreDy opened it, some Greek style yogurt and some blueberries and some honey,

Dinner - a big salad - bell peppers, cucumber, leaves and cilantro and some other stuff - a whole lot of tuna and two boiled eggs (medium boiled so they just run when broken). A bit more olive oil etc so don't be scared of fat - you can put mayo on.

Then some more yogurt and blueberries.

I had some jerky as a snack, and a bit of real cocoa dark chocolate after dinner with my coffee - but I had a 5 mile run also so I felt I could do a bit more. I get you can't exercise with your injuries but it does make life easier and a bit more fun because you can eat more!

 

[Force16X]

lots of good advice on here................except my anti fat thoughts. ramzfanz was correct in pointing out (and RaminExile above) that fats arent the enemy *fat is a necessary nutrient*, carbs are. i didnt clarify that at all and should have added that my issue with "alfredo sauce" is that i tend to dump it on top of carbs and have a slice or two of carbs.
bottom line as i noted 2 years ago, moderation. myself, high fat foods dont get along with my metformin so i have to watch my intake of those. salad greens also dislike me (to my newly found dissatisfaction as i loved salads), so i have to keep that in mind as well.
one other thing, dont weigh yourself everyday. dont turn it into a chore, try to make it as enjoyable as you can. there's lots of things i stay away from, however, there's lots of new things i've tried and now like eating as well. you're just trading off bad food / habits for good ones.

 

[HitStick]

Swimming is a great idea but the only thing I know how to do is doggy paddle(as sad as that is to admit) but the thing is, I drive a truck all day so it's hard to not wanna just stop for food. I guess I really don't know how to eat healthy and what to look for when shopping.

Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Most of the stuff in the middle is processed garbage. Stay away from precooked stuff (pumped full of preservatives), forget about sugar (unless it's naturally occuring...like in fruits), and lower your carb intake. Start precooking meals the night before. If you're a sandwich guy, don't get packaged meat. Go to the deli and get the good stuff. Try to eat only white meat. Chicken and turkey have high protein to low fat...

Basically, if you can't grow it and pick it, or hunt it and kill it, don't eat it.

 

[RaminExile]

Also - an easy trap to fall into is to eat something healthy and not account for it - because it's good for you right? But it still contains calories so it's got to be a replacement for something - not on top of something else. Just a simple thing that you can overlook a bit like @Force16X points out above with the Alfredo sauce - it's not in itself doing the damage - it's all those carbs in the pasta you're smothering it in aswell!

 

[fearsomefour]

Trying to lose weight while getting back into lifting after back issues....good read.

 

[Debacled]

Diet is a fine line kinda thing. You can still lose weight/maintain weight with a piss poor diet, activity has to make up for the extra load though.

Fruits are great, but can be damaging in over abundance. The fructose can become a carb issue, and the body does process it like it does alcohol (complications from a nearly all fruit diet are thought to have contributed to Steve Job's cancer). If its a berry or a pit fruit its generally fine (some exceptions such as peaches). Take it easy with stuff like bananas and pineapple ect.

Its great to go on a clean all natural diet, but many times not necessary. My recommendation would be if you can't see yourself sustaining it for the rest of your life, don't go that hard in the pain diet wise. The goal I set for my clients (I work as a personal trainer/health fitness specialist now) is to find a diet that isn't blowing the top off what their BMR would suggest they aim for and still lets them feel like its completely manageable.

12-15 calories per lb of lean body mass (don't count fat mass) is a good starting point. If you are looking to lose weight aim for something along the lines of a 40% protein 40% carb 20% fat diet (adjustable of course). More active people can go a little heavier into carbs (being that it will be used). Keep in mind 4 cal/g of protein and carb, 9cal/g of fat. Alcohol is also calculated around 7cal/g....but thats a misnomer as its about as close to a "empty calorie" as you can get.

Remember its all about the total in/out in regards to weight. Now other health issues such as diabetes or high blood pressure and the likes can still be an issue regardless of how restrictive of the diet. And for the love of god do not go on periodic yo-yo diets. It gets harder every time because when you do that you also lose muscle mass which decreases your basal metabolic rate...and will ensure that you'll be subscribing to life alert far too soon.

 

[Rynie]

It's been mentioned, but just cutting out soda, or any other sugar-filled drink is BIG.

 

[-X-]

It's been mentioned, but just cutting out soda, or any other sugar-filled drink is BIG.

Yep. Cutting as much sugar out of your diet as you can is huge. But it's everywhere. So much so that they don't even list the amount on the ingredients labels of anything. Everything has a percentage of your usda recommended daily allowance except sugar. And that's because it's in everything and it's always too much.

 

[rdlkgliders]

True X-, A good way to decipher your sugar intake is where it is listed in the ingredients.
The ingredients are listed in order of quantity and keeping sugar 4th down or lower helps tremendously.