The first step in my lifestyle re-organization is: Food

We aren’t getting any younger so its time to change the fuel that powers our machine.

My Food Lifestyle
One of the first things I am revamping is my eating habits. Like almost everyone of us, I’ve had a tendency to eat unconsciously and carelessly, giving into cravings or boredom and munching on things I shouldn’t be which doesn’t do me (or anyone) any good. As Dr. Oz would say I need to shrink my omentum (ie gut).

A little history about my food lifestyle before I get into whats changing. I’ve been a picky eater for the longest time, eating only what I knew I liked and not trying anything new. I missed out on a lot of good years of eating. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been one to gorge on Oreos or eat a pint of ice cream in a sitting but like every other belt busting American, I do enjoy the confectionery goodies in the pantry and the deep fried goodness more than I should. Its kind of embarrassing but my eating habits have been retarded, Hell, there was even a time when I would only eat Ragu pasta sauce or a hamburger w/o the bun. Although I was way ahead of Dr. Atkins when I was 10, it was really retarded and kinda funny to laugh at now. Anyway, we are really pretty good about this already as we don’t keep too much junk in the house but we are both slaves to the carb-loaded goodness that comes from a fresh loaf of bread, biscuits, etc. For someone like me, it adds up quickly around the waist, especially when you don’t eat enough fruits and veggies.

I do feel like I’ve been getting better because I’m really open to trying new things, I just like to do them on my own accord. Over the last few years I’ve eaten and learned to like: tuna, lobster, crabs, oysters, mahi, other fish, pine apple, clementines, strawberries, blue berries, goji berries, peaches, musk melon (cantaloupe), apples, and I’m sure there is more that I’m forgetting but for someone who never liked seafood or didnt eat much fruit, its a good step. I’m still not so good with the vegetables but I’m working on it slowly.

I’m adjusting my eating habits to be more healthy. While this sounds pretty boring, like I’ll be eating like a rabbit, that is not the case. I’ll be eating smaller portions, more balanced meals, and I’ll be able to cheat when I want to. Its not really a “diet” just a better understanding of what I’m eating. I’ve found if you eat conciously (thinking about what you are really eating), you’ll naturally eat better.

To help me with this I’m firing up my old FitDay.com account. FitDay is a great food tracker. Its simple to use, informative and pretty accurate. Although some of the activity stuff is overstated, it gives you a decent estimate and the ability to customize any food to make it more accurate. The best part about it is that its Free! I started using FD back in 2004/5 but for some reason slowly stopped putting my information in, I don’t remember why but in order to prevent that from happening, I’m making my Food Journal public so you people can keep me accountable. Here is Evan’s Fitday Food Journal. The days show you what I’ve eaten each day and the estimate nutritional values. Some of those I had to enter on my own, but b/t all the info on labels and the internet, I think the accuracy is pretty good. If you see me eat something, make sure I put it in there please.

When you first start inputting your calories its pretty overwhelming how quickly they add up. Its actually pretty gross. Fitday can also be overwhelming with the amount of info it has in it but so far my research has given me some things to focus on:

What to Look for on Food Labels.
Fat - Don’t be fooled by Total Fat grams, its not all bad because some fats are good for you. Look below the total fat at the number of Saturated Fats. You should see a ratio of 3 to 1. Thats 3 grams of total fat for every 1 gram of saturated fat per 100 calories.
Example: If a frozen dinner has 400 calories and 12 g total fat, that’s 3 g per 100 calories, but if you look further and see Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats listed, the food is probably healthy. Companies don’t have to list these so its more like bragging.
*Important*: Stay away from Trans Fats.

Total Carbohydrates - Don’t be fooled its not the total number its the kinds of carbs (see Fiber and Sugar)…

Fiber - serves as a pipe cleaner for your digestive and circulatory systems. Fiber comes in two types-soluble and insoluble-and each is crucial to your diet. Because insoluble fiber is digested but not absorbed, it helps you feel full. As it moves along, it keeps the other stuff you’ve eaten moving along, too. (This property can have a beneficial effect on your waistline. A USDA study found that people who eat 36 g fiber each day essentially lose an extra 130 calories.) And, of the two types, insoluble fiber is much easier to find; just look on the ingredient list for the words “whole grain.” You’ll also find insoluble fiber in nuts, seeds, and beans. Soluble fiber moves from the digestive system to the circulatory system, keeping blood vessels lubed so cholesterol won’t stick. Top sources include oranges, apples, and oats.
*Important* Any food with 2 g fiber-of any kind-per serving is good. Five grams or more is great. Generally, the higher the fiber count, the healthier the food.

Sugar - The average American eats 150+ lbs of sugar a year! Some sugars are good sugars, like the following: fructose (fruit sugar), glucose (dextrose), galactose (milk sugar), lactose (another milk sugar that blends glucose and galactose), and maltose (malt sugar). The sugars to worry about are the table sugars (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup (check the ingredients and make sure its listed AFTER the 5th ingredient, any higher is bad bad bad.)
*Important* - Aim for 5 g or less of sugar per serving and avoid HFCS (ie soda et al).

Protein - From a MensHealth expert “Ever meet an American with a protein deficiency? Me either. The only thing you really need to know about protein is that it helps keep you feeling satisfied. Gym rats should top out at 162 to 225 g per day. Thinner guys need no more than 114 g.”
*Important* When choosing foods, especially snack foods you’ll be tempted to overeat, make sure they contain some protein.

Protein Tips from MensHealth
- Trying to shed fat, keep protein intake at a minimum third or your daily caloric intake
- 1 gram of protein = 4 calories. Take your calorie # (Basal MBR) divide by 3 then divide by 4 to get the number of protein grams you want per day.

Guy Tips for Reading Food Labels
• 3g to 1 gram ratio of Total fats to saturated fats = good
• Cholesterol - shoot for 300mg or less per day
• Sodium - Unless you have high blood pressure or are sodium sensitive, use 2,000 mg as a reasonable target for total daily sodium intake.
• Any food with 2 g fiber-of any kind-per serving is good. Five grams or more is great. Generally, the higher the fiber count, the healthier the food.
• Try to keep fat to 1/3 of caloric intake
• Fats should balance out to 1/3 of each (Saturated, Poly-un, Mono-un)
• - A gram of fat equals 9 calories. To figure it out, take your daily calorie number (MBR), divide by three to get the calories from fat, then divide by 9 to get the grams of fat per day.
  (…..more to come)

*Basal MBR is how many calories you burn on a normal day based on your height/age/weight, its an estimate. Mine is 2145.0

Some Other Tips I’m gonna Focus On
• Drinking lighter beers, no more than 2 to 3 a day (although I usually only drink Fri/Sat anyway)
• Eating what I want, but trying to stay balanced
• Giving myself one day a week to eat w/o guilt.

My Food Goals
• Change the way I eat, for good.
• Currently, 216lbs but would like to get to 190lb by Jan 1.