Results of following US dietary and exercise guidelines for a year

boing
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(waves hand)
Hi there!
At just over 40, I was getting fat, from eating mostly fast food and pre-prepared foods, and working a sedentary job.
I started cutting out soda, then pre-prepared foods, then processed foods containing high-fructose corn syrup, hydro-whatevered oils, and soy fillers. Did aqua-aerobics 2 or 3 times a week.
After a year, I was down 3 dress sizes. I didn’t lose any weight.

I’ve kept it up since then, more or less. I was complaining this week that because of a broken foot, I’ve had to depend on other people for shopping and cooking, and I can’t take any more processed food! My body was craving salads and green stuff!
[ This is so unlike my previous self, which craved chocolate and pizza (and sometimes bourbon). ]

Good whole foods, prepared well, and walking every day interspersed with regular bouts of exercise. That’s the secret. Then you can indulge occasionally with chocolate, or pizza, or bourbon, and not get too sick.

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Interesting. I know lots of people with the sedentary job issue. They do a variety of exercises - walking, spinning, and zumba seem to be the most popular. However, they are still trying all kinds of dietary changes, because they’re not getting the results they want. In the past few years, I’ve been hearing more people telling me they’ve become vegetarians, gone gluten-free, and/or started avoiding GMO, dairy, and sugar. Maybe they are chasing weight goals instead of fitness goals.

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[stands up and claps]

Nailed it.

A person with a BMI of 24.3 who packs on plenty of muscle (thanks to regular resistance exercise), shows healthy blood pressure and cardiac output (thanks to regular cardio), and eats well (lots of veggies, ample protein and fat, low GI carbs) is better off than someone with a BMI of 21.7 who scrapes by on an adequate number of calories from whatever and rides their bike two or three miles on the weekends.

One of my dearest friends has been stocky all her life. She still is. It’s just that now she can bench-press her boyfriend and run marathons.

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craving bourbon is a fine and good thing. well I mean as long as you are not craving it to get drunk, cope, etc.

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It’s also very individual, my stomach tells me to eat right before bed so I have a diet soda (caffiene free like Fresca) to trick my blood sugar into thinking it got something out of the deal and let me fall asleep. It’s been a lot better for me than snacking at night. Without sweeteners I would have a much harder time.

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Did you mean to do that?

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You’d have to ask further up the reply thread. It was @gracchus who chose those words.

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My battle to stay in decent shape has been and likely will be ongoing for my whole life. I’m about 10 pounds over where I’d like to be, but that’s better than being 15-20 pounds over goal, which I’m sometimes at.

I’ve recently had a shift of roles at work, leading to marked less stress. This has led to a decrease in alcohol consumption, a major calorie add-on (and obviously unhealthy for other reasons, especially when being used to self-medicate for stress, as I often was).

I also enjoy physical activity and exercise, so that helps. I’ll be doing a rigorous 45 minute spin class on my Peloton bike in a few minutes, that’s definitely an intense workout.

But according to the facts and figures, for my height, I’m supposed to max at about 155 lbs., and holy shit is that a difficult number for me to hit. I think my best was when I was a very active runner, and even then I could never get under 152-153. My family genetics, especially on my late father’s side, don’t seem to help.

The carb thing is for REAL. We are just starting, it seems, to understand that decades of dietary instruction have been completely off-base. It’s nice to see that our culture is shifting and gaining a better awareness of what we actually ought to be consuming.

One thing I’ll add: If you minimize carbs, it’s not all just about proteins and fats! LOVE YOUR VEGGIES!

As Michael Pollan said, it’s really pretty easy:

Eat REAL food (not processed).

Not too much (portion control).

Mostly plants.

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Welp, [throws cards on table and stands up] I’m out.

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