42 M – Best and most efficient health habits?

r/

I want to be lean (I am dad bod fat). I want a committed healthy lifestyle without having to go full psycho. Please your best routines and food habits that were game changers?

Comments

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  2. nevrstoprunning Avatar

    Commit 30-60 minutes every single day to physical activity. It can be lifting weights, biking, running, walking, kayaking… whatever you like, but dedicate the time daily.

    As for food focus on getting sufficient protein, and minimize processed foods. Eat your fruits and veggies. Track your calorie intake.

  3. Hot_Car6476 Avatar

    No alcohol.

    No bread.

    No milk.

    There are more nuanced and worthwhile guidelines… But these three are simple and clear cut and have a significant impact almost immediately.

    Other suggestions would have to be based on what you’re already doing (exercise) and what you’re already eating.

  4. Timmibal Avatar

    As much as possible, cut out soda, it’s doing absolutely no good for you, and cut out alcohol, your liver can’t process adipose tissue into ketones if it’s tied up dealing with booze.

    30 minutes of daily physical activity. More if you like, but that’s the threshold to kickstart your cells to start eating more glucose.

    Eat thou of the meat and of the leafy greens. Remember you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

    Squats make you better at life. There is literally no exception to this.

  5. Over-Training-488 Avatar

    You have to track your calories. There is no quick fix of cutting out bread or soda that will magically make the gut dissappear.

    Calories in < calories out. You have to track to see results. No guessing.

  6. AdPuzzled3603 Avatar

    East whole foods, limit alcohol and highly processed foods to once a week… have been <10% body fat entire life.

  7. Visual_Buddy_4743 Avatar

    Skip breakfast, this saves me a ton of calories.

    Have a lunch prepped the night before so you don’t order takeout.

    Have chicken breast meal prepped ahead of time so you can quickly toss it in with rice, veggies or a tortilla and make a meal.

    Protein should always be a priority since it is very satiating.

  8. djaycat Avatar

    Salad. Every day

  9. slifm Avatar

    Eat 1/3 of what I want.

  10. valerioshi Avatar

    i do intermittent fasting (6-hour window usually).

    i bought an eink reader to ditch screen time before bed. it’s helped me calm my brain down over time. (No more doom scrolling or attention-diverting apps.)

    i also tape my mouth and use nasal strips for sleep (higher-quality oxygen).

    i eat mostly low carb. half a bowl of brown rice a day. last night i had a charcuterie board for dinner, minus the fruits. just cold cuts and cheeses. tonight it will be steak, yoghurt, and cheese.

    i also do muay thai a few hours a week mixed in with weight training. if you have the space, consider building a home gym. it will pay dividends in terms of coming up with excuses not to go to the gym. i also jump rope when watching tv.

  11. chilld22 Avatar

    Food moderation, follow portion sizes, and get a scale to weigh your food a quick google search will tell u how many calories you need to eat

  12. ThisIsTh3Start Avatar

    Cut sugar, soda, bread and pasta. You can cheat once in a while with pizza or chocolate. Skip breakfast with only coffe or milk. Don’t fill your plate. Exercise 4-5 days a week.

    That should do it.

  13. socalquestioner Avatar

    Lower carbs, more sleep, less alcohol, less smoking. Tons of spinach, tons of protein.

    30 minutes of Cardio and a HITT workout regimen.

  14. TuGuac_Shakur Avatar

    Intermittent fasting helps – mixed with 3 days weight training and 8-10k steps on off days. I do a 16 hour fast at least everyday (except Saturdays) and have an 8 hour eating window. I break my fast with a protein shake and eat normally until my window closes.

  15. Kamaracle Avatar

    Only drink water.

  16. tastygluecakes Avatar

    It’s actually pretty simple, just not enjoyable:

    • don’t eat at restaurants, cook your own meals
    • eat diet high in vegetables, complex grains, lean proteins.
    • don’t drink alcohol, no soda

    That’s 80%. The other 20% is exercise. Lifting weights in my experience is the fastest way to trim down efficiently.

    It’s mostly diet. You can’t outrun a fork, if you don’t eat right too

  17. general-noob Avatar

    Stop drinking any kind of alcohol

  18. ItsJoeDay Avatar

    One thing that’s been helpful for me with eating healthy is I bought a sweet rice cooker and I make low glycemic index grains with every meal in it. So quinoa, farro, bulgur, etc. They really help with hunger and energy levels throughout the day for me. Then I just mix and match proteins and vegetables according to the macros I need. I feel awesome and it’s helped me lose some weight.

    Also, I eat a banana and a parfait every morning, which is perfect for me. I make all the parfaits for the week on Sunday night. Yogurt, oats, chia seeds, and frozen berries. They’re really tasty, pretty cheap, and give me awesome energy until lunch. It’s also great that I can just grab it from the fridge and go in the morning.

  19. Travelplaylearn Avatar

    Less sugar and gluten. Add probiotics.🍟🍔🤔

    gif

  20. TheManRoomGuy Avatar

    Best way to be in shape is do not get out of shape. Constant vigilance.

  21. luffyuk Avatar

    Cut out anything with added sugar.

    That’s literally all you need to do. The tough part is you’ll soon realise EVERYTHING has added sugar.

  22. Little_Baby_6450 Avatar

    Go to the gym. Eat chicken, fish, rice, veggies. It’s not that complicated. It just sucks because we want to eat tasty food.

  23. apuxcom Avatar

    What do you guys do for energy drinks? Black coffee / Green Tea?

  24. anomalocaris_texmex Avatar

    So, this one sounds crazy for health – but check your receipts every week. Because we lie to ourselves.

    For years, I’d conviced myself that I ate healthy. Couldn’t figure out why there was a bit of stiffness around the belly and why I had high cholesterol, because I ate healthy. And I exercised – in fact, I even took a several block walk at lunch every workday!

    Turns out I was lying to myself. I went through a month’s receipts, and noticed just how often I was buying a pop, chips and a chocolate bar at the convenience store several blocks from the office. The exact distance I was taking my lunch walks, in fact.

    Then I checked my grocery receipts – and noticed that on a typical weekly shop, when I’d “buy one treat for the week”, I was buying five.

    We are remarkably good at lying to ourselves about what we eat, and then forgetting that we lied. So what’s made a huge difference for me has been holding myself accountable by checking what I’m actually buying, not what I tell myself I’m buying.

  25. myeasyking Avatar

    Stop drinking and exercise.

  26. MaxHeadroomba Avatar

    You can’t out-train a bad diet. Cut out sugar and processed foods, to the extent possible. You don’t have to suffer extreme deprivation; just control your portions.

    Weight train three days a week (push, pull, and leg days) and do 30 minutes of zone 2 cardio at least two of the other days. 

    Stick to this and you’ll be in noticeably better shape in a few months. Consistency is key.

  27. redballooon Avatar

    Many of the good habits have been mentioned, but I didn’t find this important advice: get enough sleep. Bad sleep and bad eating habits go hand in hand.

  28. HudsonBunny Avatar

    Cutting out sugar is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself, followed by cutting out highly processed carbs. Eat protein, good fats, and high-fiber fruits and vegetables. No nighttime snacks.

  29. Dr_Wristy Avatar

    Quit drinking your calories, and only whole food.

  30. screwfusdufusrufus Avatar

    Stop eating so much and dramatically cut down alcohol

    Being lean is down to diet

    Do the Noom app or similar

    Find exercise you like and do that

  31. Pinkninja11 Avatar

    Remove processed foods, any fizzy drinks, alcohol and bread. Stick to fewer healthy foods that don’t disturb your gut.

    For me, it’s white rice, meat, asparagus/broccoli and eggs.