How to eat healthy without spending more money

[usedtobefatmatt]

After looking at your macros I think I might be thinking differently than you. Your breakdown has you at 39% fat. Yes that is your highest macro but is 39% considered "high". I guess when I heard high in fat I was thinking 60% fat or something rediculous like that. I would consider that high in fat. You have worked your macros and found something that works for you, which is something everyone is trying to do. I dont think 39% is high at all.

I guess this whole thread could be summerized as a big misunderstanding amongst several people that have all found something that works for them. What is the proper breakdown of macros? I would say what ever works for that individual. There is no right and wrong answer. Atleast that is my opinion.

Matt

 

[PTJustinBowers]

I'm not even going to go into the bit about basically being too lazy to prepare meals. It's not worth it.

For what it's worth though, I don't give a darn what you hear every day, or from whom, or what your experience is. All I know is how it is around here.

If I would like how it is, and didn't try to change things, how do you think I lost over 100 lbs so far? By being fat and lazy, which is what you accuse me of? (In minced words, of course, but let's face it, that is what it comes down to.)

It seems all sunshine and puppies in your family, which is great for you. In mine it isn't. I can't make a full switch, I have to buy my healther options ON TOP of the other stuff. And no, my husbands food choices aren't an excuse, they are an attempt to explain where the problems stem from. But you don't care, do you, because in your perfect little world, everybody loves salad.

Guess what, a lot of people don't.

To answer your question, no, we don't share the care of my stepson, I do that on my own. I do the household, the kid, the job search, juggling the money, caring for his 81 year old mother and my alcoholic sister-in-law. He sits in front of a computer. And I never hear the end of it if the food he wants is not in the house.

So, anything I want to buy for myself, would only be for myself. My stepson doesn't touch fruit. My husband doesn't touch fruit. If I buy it, it's solely for myself, on top of the bill. THAT is where the money problem comes from. And the time problem.

If you manage to live on 4 hours of sleep per night, great for you. I don't. So yes, my time is limited, and so is my patience.

I AM trying to live healthier, and I AM trying to change the way things are. All I was trying to point out was that it's not as easy as YOU make it sound.

But hey, you probably don't give a damn. Guess with your shiny personal trainer certificate (you can do this online over here, costs about $ 300), you don't know how it is to struggle with $ 30 per week for a family of three. Lucky you.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose the 100 lbs so far?

 

[PTJustinBowers]

And no, nobody in my perfect world loves salad.

 

[San2]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose the 100 lbs so far?

Roughly 1500 calories per day, more fruit, no sweets, chocolate, cutting out as much junk food as I can, about 1 hr of cardio every day, light strength training 3x per week. Will have to step it up exercise wise though. And loads of stress that keeps me busy, gives me stomach pain and stops me from eating.

 

[PTJustinBowers]

Stress will get that weight off. If only it was considered the healthy way to lose weight! :[

Great job, and keep it up.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Jesus, do you realize that I've read this thread half a dozen times, wondering why everyone was suggesting that I condoned eating meals high in fat?

Because it's what I typed. This entire time, I didn't catch that. I just read the O.P. and, wow. No wonder I sounded loopy and contradicting when I was defending myself with exactly the opposite of what I suggested. Obviously, that's being changed immediately and please accept any apologies for misleading.

Oh really? So lets see if I have this right.

You're saying now that you didn't mean what you said in your OP about Eat FOODS that are high in fat?

Well, I call it like I see it it too, Skippy, and I'm calling bullshit. I'm blunt -- deal.

Back in post #18 you said and I quote:

I stand by my statement of eating high fat foods in your diet combined with everything else.

I think it's more a case of "Ooops! I made a boo-boo and now I look stupid." instead of blaming the long hours and late nights.

That aside, we can see how confusion arises when we don't qualify our statements. My daughter asks for the keys to the cars and I tell her not to drive too fast. What's too fast? To me it's one thing. To her it's likely an entirely different thing.

Take Matt for instance. "I guess when I heard high in fat I was thinking 60% fat or something rediculous like that."

To me, when I hear someone say "Eat FOODS that are high in fat", I get visions of Fatkins dancing through my head.

So tell us, what exactly do you mean by high fat meals? What %age of your daily caloric intake do you suggest be from fat?

See, here's the problem with recommending high fat meals as I see it. Suppose someone's on a diet and they set a caloric level of 1200 calories a day to create a slight deficit. Taking Matt's suggestion of 60% fat, that would be 720 calories from fat - 80 grams of fat.

Now if we set our protein level at 100 grams, or 400 calories (which is certainly not unrealistic), that leaves only 80 calories from carbs or 20 grams. Far too low for a healthy diet.

In my book, setting fat first is ass backwards. Set your protein level first, add in your carbs and make up the balance with EFA's.

I believe I saw a suggestion by JB earlier to the effect that I might like to read up on some current research in the field of nutrition, but I see that post has been edited. Believe me, I have read a an article or two.

And I've also put the sweat equity in in the gym to figure out what works and what doesn't work. Believe me, if I use a photo of myself in my avatar, it wouldn't look anything like Justin Bowers.

As it says in the introduction to this forum, THINGS COULD GET NASTY!.

I've been called a lot worse than "skippy" and I don't mind snappy retorts. Keeps things interesting.

If you've got a thin skin, then maybe public forums isn't the place you should be posting advice.

I'm blunt -- deal.

 

[Blancita]

Is there a reason why everyone must follow a certain adversarial approach with any new person that comes on the forum to try to help? Every line debated and every word hung on in an effort to make the poster look dumb. The jury truly is OUT on the correct nutrients for health and weight loss. That is simply the bottom line. And the optimal macronutrient mix is constantly being changed as new science is developed. So really, who is any of us to say the OP is incorrect. I doubt any of you are clinical researchers yourselves..

 

[Blancita]

After looking at your macros I think I might be thinking differently than you. Your breakdown has you at 39% fat. Yes that is your highest macro but is 39% considered "high". I guess when I heard high in fat I was thinking 60% fat or something rediculous like that. I would consider that high in fat. You have worked your macros and found something that works for you, which is something everyone is trying to do. I dont think 39% is high at all.

I guess this whole thread could be summerized as a big misunderstanding amongst several people that have all found something that works for them. What is the proper breakdown of macros? I would say what ever works for that individual. There is no right and wrong answer. Atleast that is my opinion.

Matt

Yeah, but that was when I was on one of my whey protein kicks, so I was getting lots of protein and low fat. There have been plenty of weeks when my fat very much exceeds those levels.

 

[San2]

Stress will get that weight off. If only it was considered the healthy way to lose weight! :[

Great job, and keep it up.

Yepp, would be nice if it was healthy. Guess I'll have to try to do healthy later, and hope I won't do too much damage right now.

Sitting here munching Kiwi fruit right now....every little bit counts I guess.

And thanks, I'll try my best.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Is there a reason why everyone must follow a certain adversarial approach with any new person that comes on the forum to try to help?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there is.

Sort of like a hazing.

You know, like when you enroll in college?

Gotta see what the new guy is made out of.

 

[Blancita]

Well no, that was an approach started by Steve, and many visitors to the forum find it off-putting and highly obnoxious. Its like: how quickly can we chase away anyone else who is interested in helping others with weight loss. Time for a change!

 

[usedtobefatmatt]

. Its like: how quickly can we chase away anyone else who is interested in helping others with weight loss. Time for a change!

Blancita,
I'm sure, or at least hope, you agree that the spam on this site is at an all time high. I think it's more weeding out the ones that want to help and the one that say "i'm here to save the world, just pm so i can sell you something"

Not to beat a dead horse but there are many ways to lose wieght. What works for one, wont work for another. Whatevr works for an individual is the best lifestyle for them.

Matt

I

 

[Cord the Seeker]

Well no, that was an approach started by Steve, and many visitors to the forum find it off-putting and highly obnoxious. Its like: how quickly can we chase away anyone else who is interested in helping others with weight loss. Time for a change!

Hear, hear!

or

Word

or

pick your preferred form of assent.

 

[Blancita]

Blancita,
I'm sure, or at least hope, you agree that the spam on this site is at an all time high. I think it's more weeding out the ones that want to help and the one that say "i'm here to save the world, just pm so i can sell you something"

I've been around here for quite a while now so I do easily recognize people's motivation, some of which is to sell personal training services. Well isn't that what other's on this board have been doing? It's not a big deal as long as they're not pushing their site or services. At any rate, please simply report any spam as it sometimes takes a bit to track down every spam post without it being reported.

 

[Blancita]

I didn't mean time for a change in members, just in that hazing attitude that Doc Bunkun mentioned. When it comes to fat gain and loss, the jury is so still out and what looks like gospel in one decade is dispelled in the next. Theories about fat loss and gain are constantly in flux and studies are often conflicting (even in the same time period). I realize sometimes things do need to be debunked very clearly however, when they are just plain silly (or dangerous) outright.

 

[San2]

Well no, that was an approach started by Steve, and many visitors to the forum find it off-putting and highly obnoxious. Its like: how quickly can we chase away anyone else who is interested in helping others with weight loss. Time for a change!

Was that really neccessary?

Just for the record, I have seen a lot more positive reactions to Steve's post than negative ones, and got a lot more sense out of what he told me than what I got from a lot of other people. The ones complaining were usually the ones who didn't get to hear what they wanted, and the spamming idiots.

As for this one...if somebody comes here declaring that they know what they are talking about, they get challenged. If they can prove they are right, good for them and everyone's happy, if not, one less self proclaimed fitness-guru to deal with.

I don't see what the problem with that is?

 

[Blancita]

I was just being honest about his word parsing approach, and I'm sure he and his followers will ream for me it. Whateva.

This guy came in here and gave his dietary approach. Many dietary approaches work. Why does everyone have to be "hazed" as Doc Bunkum called it to prove how much science they know. Many personal trainers just know the basics, but usually the basics are enough to help people drop weight. Why must they prove themselves to be up there with clinicial researchers or nobel prize scientists to be able to also offer a bit of advice around here?

 

[San2]

I was just being honest about his word parsing approach, and I'm sure he and his followers will ream for me it. Whateva.

I just think that it is out of place for a moderator to single out one specific person they have a problem with, no matter who that person might be. It's like name calling and finger-pointing, fit for a schoolyard, but not here.

And I don't know what your problem is. If somebody comes around and gives me advice, I will question it. Here, and in real life. Why do they think their advice is sound, why do they think they know better than I do? What evidence do they base their advice on? Etc. If they can answer my questions, I'll happily take their advice if it makes sense to me. Why would I just take what somebody else says as a given? Maybe that works for you, but certainly not for me, and apparently not for a lot of others.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

When it comes to fat gain and loss, the jury is so still out and what looks like gospel in one decade is dispelled in the next. Theories about fat loss and gain are constantly in flux and studies are often conflicting (even in the same time period).

Regarding fat gain, I thought there pretty well was a consensus on that.

As for fat loss, I think it's pretty well established how to go about that.

All one has to do is look at the physique magazines to see both male and females that have cut their bf% into single digit numbers.

Now I'm not saying that look is desirable, practical, or even healthy, but what I am saying is that if you have the desire and the discipline, there's no mystery about what has to be done to shed body fat.

Just read the work of some authors such as McDonald, Venuto, Ellis, Berardi, to name a few.

 

[txsqlchick]

Was that really neccessary?

Just for the record, I have seen a lot more positive reactions to Steve's post than negative ones, and got a lot more sense out of what he told me than what I got from a lot of other people. The ones complaining were usually the ones who didn't get to hear what they wanted, and the spamming idiots.

As for this one...if somebody comes here declaring that they know what they are talking about, they get challenged. If they can prove they are right, good for them and everyone's happy, if not, one less self proclaimed fitness-guru to deal with.

I don't see what the problem with that is?

Steve is blunt but I have yet to see him proven wrong.