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RickJWagner | karma 10011 | avg karma 2.41 · 2019-06-04 06:55:36

That's my plan. I've got the gym membership and use it often.

I struggle mightily with eating less crap, though. (Especially chocolate.) Food is one of the great pleasures in life, and I haven't found really healthy food to be a good replacement for tasty junk.

Maybe advances in food production will bring hope?

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vostok | karma 1509 | avg karma 2.42 · 2019-06-04 07:16:51

I've found that I can improve things simply by eating healthier for my boring meals. Then for my fun meals I eat whatever I want.

You can also reduce how much you eat for your fun meals, but changing the boring meals makes a difference even if you don't.

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mcv | karma 23993 | avg karma 2.57 · 2019-06-04 08:17:37

Interesting distinction, but what if you're already making your boring meals more fun?

nradov | karma 36463 | avg karma 2.08 · 2019-06-04 12:58:39+00:00

Try eating dark chocolate with minimal added sugar. It contains fewer calories and if you buy the good stuff it's quite tasty.

phonypc | karma 918 | avg karma 1.77 · 2019-06-04 09:23:05

Darker chocolate should trend towards being higher in calories, containing proportionally more fat.

chrishynes | karma 503 | avg karma 3.57 · 2019-06-04 14:57:53+00:00

Sure, but a nibble of dark chocolate is very satisfying and satiating. I can easily eat a bar or two of milk chocolate but naturally stop with a square or two of the good dark stuff.

phonypc | karma 918 | avg karma 1.77 · 2019-06-04 11:56:58

Oh for sure, sweeter chocolate is way easier to eat too much of. Just pointing out that dark isn't actually lower in calories.

newnewpdro | karma 1778 | avg karma 0.83 · 2019-06-04 16:48:02+00:00

You're confusing Dark and White chocolate.

100% Dark chocolate isn't 100% cocoa butter, it's the non-fat solids. If you eat some it's quite obviously not fatty, it's bitter and dry like a burnt coffee bean.

Edit: I'm mistaken here, dark chocolate is half fat, TIL.

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phonypc | karma 918 | avg karma 1.77 · 2019-06-04 17:06:36+00:00

100% chocolate is roughly half fat by weight, easily verified by looking at the nutrition information on the packaging. Not to be confused with cocoa powder, which is indeed just the non-fat solids.

As you add sugar to chocolate, the proportion of total weight that is fat goes down, and fat being more calorie dense than sugar, calories per unit weight go down.

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newnewpdro | karma 1778 | avg karma 0.83 · 2019-06-04 17:24:42+00:00

You're right, I'm mistaken - I didn't realize even 100% dark chocolate is half fat by weight.

kaybe | karma 3621 | avg karma 1.66 · 2019-06-04 10:28:44

I have found I actually really like fruit even more than sugared sweets. The problem is that it's too bothersome to eat them.

It helps a lot to separate preparation from the moment I want to eat something, like cutting and packing an apple in the morning or washing a bunch of berries and carrying them in a jar.

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jriot | karma 818 | avg karma 2.18 · 2019-06-04 20:29:21+00:00

This is just purely my observations. I'm of the firm belief that it doesn't really matter what you eat if you exercise enough. Military (actual combat, outside the wire) live off MREs yet are in phenomenal shape. I train strongman/powerlifting, it doesn't matter what I eat - double cheeseburger, fry, and chocolate shake, thats fine because my body needs the calories from the morning workout. It doesn't lead to six-pack abs, but I'll trade that for my level of strength.