Random diet tips

It’s time for fat loss stuff again. Or dieting, since that’s what everybody’s calling it. I recommend you check out my two previous posts on the same topic – they contain the most essential information. By contrast, today’s all about random diet tips. Quite minor stuff, really. Exactly in-line with the other post of today. Random’s the word.

Something that works for me

I’ll begin with a weird tip that will probably only work for some of you. Nevertheless, bear with me.

Anyway, here goes:

Eat with chopsticks. -Antti.

That’s it.

And how does that help?

Well, I have the fine motorics of a narwhal.

Ever seen a narwhal eating with chopsticks?

It’s not pretty. Not at all.

However, doing that does greatly reduce the speed at which I can shovel nutrients into that huge mouth of mine. (Figuratively speaking only. I mean I may be obnoxiously loud at the wrong time. Some say. However, my actual mouth the body part is quite proportional, if not downright smallish.)

And eating somewhat slowly is good for you. It normally takes something like 20 minutes to feel full – or satiated – so it makes sense to limit the number of calories consumed before that mark, right?

Moreover, it forces me to be extremely mindful of my food. I might as well enjoy every tiny morsel, because the next one is not going to be arriving any time soon. That requires repositioning those stupid sticks.

And enjoying smaller amounts of food sounds like an awesome quality to have, for staying healthy and lean.

Obviously, this tip probably won’t work at all if you are from Eastern Asia and have spent your entire life eating with sticks. Although if you are, statistically speaking you don’t really need to be reading this at all, do you?

Something else that works for me

Since we are speaking about me anyways, let’s take a look at my typical daily diet, on a working(-out) day.

1. Wake up at 6:45 or so. Have a coffee.
2. Gym. Half a protein shake. Or rather, a full-sized shaker with only half a scoop of whey.
3. Post-workout. Another half-shake, plus some juicy and a sugary candy bar since I’m currently gaining some mass.
4. 10:00 coffee break.
5. Lunch at 12:00. Pre-prepared chicken, beans, rice and assorted veggies. Microwaved to perfection. Two oranges.
6. 14:00 coffee break.
7. 15:00 oatmeal bar. Still massing, and it makes me less of an crumpy frak after work.
8. 17-18 or something. Dinner. Always home-made, roughly 50-50 ratio between carbs and protein. Zero to none veggies if I’m feeling lazy. Lots of veggies if I’m not.
9. 19:30-20:00 evening snack. A couple of pieces of rye bread with some rahka, a type of Finnish thick yogurt very high in protein (12g/100g) and practically zero-fat. Enjoyed with lots of frozen berries. (Be mindful of the quality: East-European ones are very often irrigated with sewage and will give you stomach troubles if you are unlucky. Hepatitis if you are even more unlucky.)
10. Bed at 22.00. I need lots of sleep. And chances are you need more than you are currently getting.

That’s all, bringing me to approximately 150 grams of protein, and 200 kcals over maintenance calories.

If I’m dieting, I’ll cut down my post-workout carbs and scrap the oatmeal bar in the afternoon. That alone brings me down by about 300 kcals. The remaining 400 I can cut from my dinner carbs and evening bread, bringing me to a 500 kcal deficit. Which, by the way, is pretty much the optimum for almost everyone.

Now, be aware of two points. Firstly, my veggie consumption is far too low. Secondly: yes I count my calories and macronutrients.

The latter enables me the former. Meaning, I won’t be overeating despite the lack of veg-bulk because I count what I eat. And because my protein intake is spot-on. Still, counting calories obviously won’t help me with the other health benefits of plants that I’m missing. Hence, I’m currently working on improving my diet in this respect. Never too late.

You obviously don’t have to count calories. Especially if  all you want is simply to lose some extra chub, rather than go from a four-pack to full washboard and beyond. For that, simply eliminating the worst of your eating habits is often enough. That will take you 80 percent of the way in any case.

If you want more, we can talk.

Random diet tips