re: PUTTHEFORKDOWN V. 2024- daily nutrition thread

I am new to this thread but I have read it for some time. Here's my story.

I am a 57 year old male who ate poorly and didn't exercise for years. I am 5'9" and started 2023 at 210lbs. I got so fed up with myself around Christmas last year that I committed to cleaning up my diet, losing weight, and getting back to routine exercise. It's the same pledge I made the last ten years. In 2023, I actually did it.

I started Jan. 1, 2023 with simple calorie-tracking to ensure I was at a caloric deficit and lost 12-15 pounds over the next three months. The quantity of food I consumed decreased but the quality was still a bit sketchy. In April, I got concerning news about my heart so I started eating a diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. I guess it is very Mediterranean-esque. I quit eating all junk food, starches, and sugar. I rarely eat anything out of a box/bag anymore, either. Anyhow, the clean eating made a huge difference in weight loss rate compared to straight calorie counting. This is now a permanent dietary change for me. I am not going back to a crap diet because eating clean is good for my heart and my body feels immensely better than it did for the last 15 years. I assume that's more due to the clean diet than exercise but I can't say for sure.

Regarding exercise, I didn't do much for the first half of 2023, just some sporadic cardio. In July, I started routinely walking three times a week which ramped up to six days a week by late-August. At that point, I added in some jogging which I mix with walking (so the jogging doesn't destroy what's left of my old joints). In Sept., I started weight lifting. Thanks to 777, I recently bought the book The Barbell Prescription which set me on a path to better strength. I have a ways to go with the lifting but I now have a plan and some goals. It's just a mattter of time before I achieve them and set new goals. Rinse and repeat going forward.

Back to fat-loss, I weighed in this morning at 155 lbs. Since Jan.1 , I went from wearing pants with either 38" or 40" waist to wearing 32" comfortably. I don't have a goal weight but I do have a little belly fat to loose, I am guessing 6-8 more pounds. In the end, if I keep eating clean foods and exercising then the fat loss will work itself out. I do have a few nutritional issues to tweak but that's a mattter of better plannning to add more of the right types of foods to fuel the exercise.

And now the testimonial...One of the most important benefits of eating clean is that I don't get hungry as often or as intensely as I did when I was over-eating refined sugar and simple carbs. Clean eating led to fewer temptations so I very rarely cheat. The more crap food you eat, the more crap food you will want to eat. I cannot overstate how much better I feel. I am more alert, am more alive, have almost zero aches and pains, and sleep far better than ever before. If you are looking for motivation, think about waking up in the moring being excited about life, even excited to go to work. My mood is better, my outlook on the future is better, my memory is better, just about everything is better. I have no more arthritis pain, gout is 100% gone, and my lifetime of constant runny nose and sinus issues have cleared up 95%. I am still stunned at the quick transformation to feeling healthy. Eat clean, add exercise, and you can be transformed into a fitter, happier, more satisfied and peaceful person. So if you were as unhealthy as I was, get up off of the couch, start moving, and make better eating choices. Choose 2024 as the year you break the cycle.