Any solid food tips for shedding a developing beer belly?

[Remodeling Maidiac]

I figure I need to lose about 15 pounds. Up until a couple years ago I worked out a lot but a nasty back injury has put a stop to that. Ever since I've begun to notice my gut is growing.
I don't actually drink a lot of beer unless you consider an average of 2 drinks a night a lot.

Today I decided to nip this in the bud and went to the store after work and bought mostly salad stuff and granola bars. I also got some almond milk as I don't do dairy, or rather it doesn't do me.
I have never been out of shape or worried about my diet so this is all new to me.
I am very active at work (construction) and intend to start using my treadmill again in the mornings but I know a healthy diet is equally important.

So far my plans are no more fast food lunches. I tried a McDonald's Southwest salad today and surprisingly I thought it was pretty dang good. No idea if it was actually healthy or not tho lol.

Anyhow, any tips would be much appreciated.

One thing I wont do however is pack a lunch. I look forward to getting off the jobsite for my hour lunch everyday. At this point I just need to do some research on healthy choices while eating out.

Also is bourbon high in calories? And should calories be my main focus?

Two bottles of Bud is 300 or so empty calories.

Before bed that is very true.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Opinons vary on the topic. Eat more carbs, no just eat starchy carbs but leave refined carbs alone, Fiber this, fiber that, eat this, don't eat that. I'm gonna be a realist with you, though, Gramps. Short and sweet and nice and easy and gare awn teed gonna work out for you.

Fasting works. By that I mean eat all of your food within an eight hour period each day and fast for the other sixteen. It's easy to stick to and requires hardly any discipline. All that other stuff, although it might work, you're just not gonna stick with. I mean you can say you will, but you won't. Hardly anyone does. It's human nature. After about a week you're gonna say screw this crap.

I go through body transformations all the time. Trust me on it.

 

[ReinyDays]

Disk 4 & 5 are toast. I was a weight lifter and runner and that is never gonna happen again. I can not risk my career for extreme exercise. The doctors want to fuse my disks but that too is a no go because if the surgery goes bad so does my career

Sounds like a major change in lifestyle ... I'm sorry to hear this ... just completely out of the blue, I'm going to suggest that your eating habits include too much food ... you've been burning through the stuff with your exercise routine and daily workouts ... and this held the weight you're accustom to ... nicked up back now and not the burning of all that food is what's causing the weight gain ...

Now ... with the new lifestyle ... what is your new healthy weight? ... maybe 15 lbs higher is okay ...

ETA: ... and you don't need to give up beer ...

 

[buttercup]

This anti-carb nonsense pushed by a few here is just that... nonsense. As NC said, it's the refined carbs that should be avoided, and of course things like soda, etc. But the healthy carbs are good. Also good to hear you don't do dairy.

 

[CWayne]

This anti-carb nonsense pushed by a few here is just that... nonsense. As NC said, it's the refined carbs that should be avoided, and of course things like soda, etc. But the healthy carbs are good. Also good to hear you don't do dairy.

There are more studies looking at low carb, moderate protein diets than studies saying go low fat, high grain.

Good carbs are carbs that come from real food. Carbs and sugars are pretty much the bane of our nation's health.

 

[there4eyeM]

Cut down on alcohol. Eat high fiber foods in moderation. Compute caloric consumption and intake and abide by the math. Weight will definitely be lost.

 

[Muhammed]

I figure I need to lose about 15 pounds. Up until a couple years ago I worked out a lot but a nasty back injury has put a stop to that. Ever since I've begun to notice my gut is growing.
I don't actually drink a lot of beer unless you consider an average of 2 drinks a night a lot.

Today I decided to nip this in the bud and went to the store after work and bought mostly salad stuff and granola bars. I also got some almond milk as I don't do dairy, or rather it doesn't do me.
I have never been out of shape or worried about my diet so this is all new to me.
I am very active at work (construction) and intend to start using my treadmill again in the mornings but I know a healthy diet is equally important.

So far my plans are no more fast food lunches. I tried a McDonald's Southwest salad today and surprisingly I thought it was pretty dang good. No idea if it was actually healthy or not tho lol.

Anyhow, any tips would be much appreciated.

One thing I wont do however is pack a lunch. I look forward to getting off the jobsite for my hour lunch everyday. At this point I just need to do some research on healthy choices while eating out.

Also is bourbon high in calories? And should calories be my main focus?

I figure I need to lose about 15 pounds. Up until a couple years ago I worked out a lot but a nasty back injury has put a stop to that. Ever since I've begun to notice my gut is growing.
I don't actually drink a lot of beer unless you consider an average of 2 drinks a night a lot.

Today I decided to nip this in the bud and went to the store after work and bought mostly salad stuff and granola bars. I also got some almond milk as I don't do dairy, or rather it doesn't do me.
I have never been out of shape or worried about my diet so this is all new to me.
I am very active at work (construction) and intend to start using my treadmill again in the mornings but I know a healthy diet is equally important.

So far my plans are no more fast food lunches. I tried a McDonald's Southwest salad today and surprisingly I thought it was pretty dang good. No idea if it was actually healthy or not tho lol.

Anyhow, any tips would be much appreciated.

One thing I wont do however is pack a lunch. I look forward to getting off the jobsite for my hour lunch everyday. At this point I just need to do some research on healthy choices while eating out.

Also is bourbon high in calories? And should calories be my main focus?

You have to figure out why you're getting a pot belly. There might not be anything wrong with your regular diet.

You say you've suffered a back injury and have stopped working out. Since they all work together as a group, weakened back muscles will generally lead to a weakening of other core muscles such as your abdominal muscles and oblique muscles, well, simply because it fucking hurts to use your core when you have an injured back.

And a lack of core muscle tone will cause your gut to stick out more.

Some construction workers will use lifting belts with a back brace after a back injury. And while those belts help to prevent further back injury on the job, they can also weaken your core muscles.

Other things that can cause your gut to stick out more are gastritis, abdominal bloating and water retention, all of which can be caused by a sudden change in diet. Sometimes people see their belly getting bigger and make changes to their diet that can just make things worse.

A lot of construction workers with back injuries will take prescription drugs such as pain killers and muscle relaxers just to make it through the work day, and they can also have an effect on your basal metabolic rate and have gastrointestinal side effects.

 

[buttercup]

This anti-carb nonsense pushed by a few here is just that... nonsense. As NC said, it's the refined carbs that should be avoided, and of course things like soda, etc. But the healthy carbs are good. Also good to hear you don't do dairy.

There are more studies looking at low carb, moderate protein diets than studies saying go low fat, high grain.

Good carbs are carbs that come from real food. Carbs and sugars are pretty much the bane of our nation's health.

I never said anything about going low-fat, or anything about grains. Also, you obviously didn’t read my post very carefully because I did what you just did, differentiated GOOD carbs from bad carbs. My point was that GOOD healthy carbs are not to be feared, contrary to what certain silly fad diets have been promoting.

 

[CWayne]

This anti-carb nonsense pushed by a few here is just that... nonsense. As NC said, it's the refined carbs that should be avoided, and of course things like soda, etc. But the healthy carbs are good. Also good to hear you don't do dairy.

There are more studies looking at low carb, moderate protein diets than studies saying go low fat, high grain.

Good carbs are carbs that come from real food. Carbs and sugars are pretty much the bane of our nation's health.

I never said anything about going low-fat, or anything about grains. Also, you obviously didn’t read my post very carefully because I did what you just did, differentiated GOOD carbs from bad carbs. My point was that GOOD healthy carbs are not to be feared, contrary to what certain silly fad diets have been promoting.

No, the truth is, getting away from carbs and going as low as you can is the most healthy way to eat.

When your diet can actually reverse one of the worst diseases out there (Type II Diabetes), it really is the way we should be eating.

Having said that, I do not and never will, advocate for forcing people to give up or eat any specific way. Nor will I call people names who don't agree with the science.

 

[Crixus]

I figure I need to lose about 15 pounds. Up until a couple years ago I worked out a lot but a nasty back injury has put a stop to that. Ever since I've begun to notice my gut is growing.
I don't actually drink a lot of beer unless you consider an average of 2 drinks a night a lot.

Today I decided to nip this in the bud and went to the store after work and bought mostly salad stuff and granola bars. I also got some almond milk as I don't do dairy, or rather it doesn't do me.
I have never been out of shape or worried about my diet so this is all new to me.
I am very active at work (construction) and intend to start using my treadmill again in the mornings but I know a healthy diet is equally important.

So far my plans are no more fast food lunches. I tried a McDonald's Southwest salad today and surprisingly I thought it was pretty dang good. No idea if it was actually healthy or not tho lol.

Anyhow, any tips would be much appreciated.

One thing I wont do however is pack a lunch. I look forward to getting off the jobsite for my hour lunch everyday. At this point I just need to do some research on healthy choices while eating out.

Also is bourbon high in calories? And should calories be my main focus?

I did beef and veggies. Lay off the beer and walk a mile on Saturday and Sunday. Don't stroll, keep a good pace, but don't speed walk that's gay. If you are just doing remodels salad may be okay, but if you are framing, roofing or land scaling you will burn those calories up fast and be starving or heading to McDonalds. Eat, just eat good stuff. That aside, nothing wrong with a gut. Nothing at all. Just stop letting it go when you can't see your dick anymore.

 

[initforme]

Ahhhh yes God bless america and her rotten diet. For being the greatest nation on Earth we sure know how to fill our shelves with crap foods so $ can be made. Now, avoid the middle of every grocery store. More water intake. Any increase in exercise helps. Replace one meal per day with a handful of almonds or cashews and water. Watch it melt off. Slowly but surely.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Ok folks I need some suggestions. I tried Almond Milk in a bowl of cereal this morning. I actually liked it.
Haven't been able to eat cereal for decades because I can't do milk.

Anyhow I need some pointers on cereal that doesn't taste like dried grass clippings but is good diet wise. I bought Honey Bunches of Oats because it had the lowest calorie numbers of the ones I saw posted on the box. Even Grapenuts had more calories.

Anyhow this will give me the ability to eat a quick breakfast on workdays without stopping for fast food or gas station junk.

Any suggestions?

 

[initforme]

Buy yourself some organic granola and have a little cup with some almond milk.bbavoid regular boxed cereals they're full of pesticides and herbicides.