This is where I expect to get the most flack from my audience. I know many of you are eating only those leafy green vegetables, and other are using the Keto Diet, the Paleo Diet, the Cro Magnon Diet, the Ferrari Diet, etc.
Don’t care. I’m not doing that.
Before I reveal my diet plan, I want to let you know where I’m coming from. I feel good, I know I need to lose weight (fighting weight to take on Arlovsky would mean losing about 45 lbs, but I will look good and be healthy losing slight less, I think). And all of the studies say that caloric restriction adds substantially to the lives of genetically engineered mice, who are old and are willing to go hungry to be younger (the mice are all volunteers, correct??).
Problem #1 – Dr. Pepper. Unfortunately, I believe the most wonderful substance on Earth is Dr. Pepper, which contains that combination of caffeine and sugar that addicts a good portion of America and the world, along Coca Cola, Pepsi, or one of the other myriad of sodas of similar ilk.
And I drink a LOT of Dr. Pepper.
This will have to go, obviously, I will need to stop this. I’ve done it before (just like all of you who say “yes, I can stop smoking, I’ve done it dozens of times”). I’ll try to ease off before the project starts, but detox from Dr. Pepper usually means 3 days of headaches and lightheadedness.
Problem #2 – I don’t eat vegetables. OK, yes, I’ll eat corn, and cooked onions on a burger and tomatoes in the form of tomato paste on pizza, but all of that leafy green crap that you vegetarians eat is not for me (you know that grows out of the DIRT, right?). Don’t bother to criticize, no, I’m not going to “learn to like it” and life is WAY too short to be trying to force down food that tastes that bad.
So here is the plan.
https://www.calculator.net says that for weight loss I need to consume less than 2500 Kcal per day.
So I’m going to eat more or less each 2400 Kcal per day. Targeting 2200, but we will see.
I can be very disciplined when I need to be. You won’t force me to eat stuff, but I am perfectly capable of not eating stuff given the right inspiration. And since I am responsible for keeping you, my loyal fans, updated on how I’m doing and completing the project to prove that I can be biologically younger and then kick Arlovsky’s ass, I believe this is worthwhile enough to kick in that strong discipline and stick to the plan.
So as you can imagine, I’m leaning toward the Atkins style, low carb diet, lots of meat, smaller portions of bread, Polar sparkling water instead of soda, along with plain water and an occasional green or chai tea. Perhaps some fruit on occasion. If you remember the “Zone” diet, it claimed you were less hungry if you ate carbohydrates, protein and fat at certain rations. Turns out if you follow the Atkins or low carb diet and are rather sloppy about it, you come close to the “Zone” ratios and you are not that hungry.
What I need to avoid are “binge” foods. I’ve been known to eat a package (a quarter of the standard box) of saltines while watching TV. That’s about 500 calories. If I eat cereal out of the box, that is easily another 500 calories. And then you are hungry an hour later.
And of course, I need to avoid “impulse” foods. I love to eat a Snickers or an Almond Joy, but I don’t need them. I can impulse eat just at well on the 100 calorie peanut bar that I get in large boxes. They are great!
I’ll be writing down everything I eat and putting a calorie count next to each. I know the calories in KFC, each of Wendy’s burger products, 8 oz of steak, a slice of Wonder bread, etc. Every day I’ll keep a running total.
I’ll collect a list of meals that work, but I believe this is a very personal thing, that the best diet for you is the one you are comfortable with. Why try to eat crap you don’t like? You have taken the fun out of food, and you will not have a very sustainable plan. And sustainable is the key. But you have to work at it to get this list.
Will I publish my diet? Well, maybe sometimes. But I will likely publish my favorite meals and snacks.
Some research on Caloric Restriction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4111977/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841173/
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.335.3708&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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